It was night. Drayen sat on his bed, his back straight. He talked to Wing.
"Wing, what is the ability he used? Did you analyse it?"
[It's a passive ability of the Werewolf. It's very rare.]
[You would awaken one if you had more luck or a higher-grade bloodline.]
Passives were abilities that were always active in the body, and they didn't require any nightmare essence to activate. Usually, one needed at least a First Grade bloodline to awaken a passive. If the bloodline was too low-grade, the only option was to keep absorbing cores and depend on luck.
Drayen went into his own thoughts. He was very angry. The arrogant boy was also Rank 1, and this was the difference between them. He was helpless as he stood there, staring while he attacked Lina.
Abilities were what defined the Nightborne.
He had just two abilities—Few Butterfly Dust for healing and Moon Butterfly Eyes. Few Butterfly Dust was the new ability he had obtained before the previous hunt. He didn't have any passive, and he didn't even have an attack ability. Moon Butterfly specialized in support rather than attack. He would have been defeated instantly if he had gone to fight him without a gun.
Drayen asked, "Wing, I have so many bloodlines. You have collected enough data through the books and other sources I provided. Anyway, did you find anything that could be an advantage for me?"
[Yes.]
[There are two ways. Both are hard. One depends on luck, while the other depends on you.]
Drayen's eyebrows went up. "What are the two ways then?"
[First way: a talent-increasing flower. It's very rare. You can completely forget about it.]
Drayen's eyes squinted. "In detail."
[It's not something you can purchase. If you are lucky, you might find it. More data is here.]
Drayen sighed as he looked at the data. Even hoping to obtain this talent-increasing flower was a dream. The difficulty of acquiring it was far too high.
He shook his head. "Second way."
[It's not confirmed that it can be used in practice. But you can stack passives from multiple bloodlines.]
[My advice is that you reach Rank 2. Then you will have more Rank 2 cores, which you can exchange for Rank 1 cores of other bloodlines and absorb them until you gain a passive.]
Drayen's brows furrowed. "I can stack passives from multiple bloodlines? Even if you're correct, won't I have to grind blindly to achieve it? How many Rank 1 cores are needed to gain a passive from a low-grade bloodline?"
[I cannot guarantee its practicality. But I believe that if you are lucky, and if we optimize according to your bloodlines and the abilities you need—focusing only on growth rather than trying to obtain all passives—it is feasible.]
Drayen's brows furrowed even deeper. Leaving everything else aside, was it even easy to reach Rank 2? He gave a mocking smile to himself.
He needed a total of eight Rank 2 cores after touching the threshold by absorbing eighty Rank 1 cores. The eighty Rank 1 cores weren't a problem—but the eight Rank 2 cores were.
Even if he killed a Rank 2 Tainted, half of the core would go to the school.
Not to mention—could he even kill a Rank 2 Tainted? This was a joke.
More than anything else, the most important issue was whether he could really stack passives. He had read that having multiple bloodlines caused internal conflict. He was ready to hear bad news, but Wing was saying otherwise.
He hesitated. This was the question he had been trying not to ask.
His mouth twitched as he finally asked, stammering, "Can I really stack passives? Won't it conflict? What about bloodline conflict? Why am I not feeling any?"
[According to my analysis, you do not have any bloodline conflict whatsoever—and you never will.]
[As for passives, I am ninety percent sure you will not face any conflict.]
His expression relaxed upon hearing it, and he let out a long breath.
Let's just absorb the cores first.
In his hands, there were only two cores.
In ten days, he could have gained more abilities, but because of school, he had to give half of his loot away. He had only absorbed twelve cores till now. Most days, he only obtained one core, as the other went to the school. If this continued, it would greatly obstruct his progress toward Rank 2.
He closed his eyes and began to absorb a core. After a few moments, it was absorbed—no ability. Disappointment was clear in his eyes.
He absorbed the second core. His disappointment only deepened.
In the morning, it was Sunday—a holiday. He went to Kira's house.
Drayen knocked on the door.
"Coming. Wait."
After a few minutes, the door opened. Kira had just woken up. Her hair was messy, and she was wearing night pants and a shirt. His mind wandered as he stared at her—cute.
He waved the cover. "I brought breakfast," he said, showing the cover in his hands.
She yawned and stretched her arms. "Come in. Wait for me to freshen up."
After a few minutes, they started eating. Kira had freshened up and was wearing casual clothing.
Drayen asked, "Did you complete level 34 in JD?"
"No. I was busy. The fucking monster just won't die." There was a hint of anger in her eyes.
Drayen laughed internally. She was so good at dealing with Tainted, yet she was awful at video games.
"Kira, which rank are you?" he asked.
She looked him in the eye. "Finally couldn't hold your curiosity, huh?"
Kira knew he was a curious bee. Even she was surprised he had held out this long.
He laughed it off.
"Rank 2 in number, but I can combat Rank 3 easily," she said smugly.
Drayen smiled. "Why didn't you rank up then?"
She glared at him. "Are you doubting me about dealing with Rank 3?"
"No, no!" he waved his hands quickly.
She exhaled and leaned back slightly. "It's not really a secret. I have seven bloodlines. If I push for Rank 3, they'll start conflicting."
Drayen froze.
Seven?
She noticed his expression and snorted lightly. "What's with that face? Oh—right. That shadow at your awakening? That was me."
She smiled teasingly.
He stared at her, unable to form a proper sentence. She was the shadow from that day… and she had seven bloodlines.
Before he could speak, she continued casually, "And honestly, I'm pretty sure you also have multiple bloodlines."
He almost choked on his food.
"During awakening, people appear near others with similar bloodlines. You appeared near me. So—simple logic."
Drayen acted panicked. "Whaaat? So I'll also get stuck at Rank 2?"
"And you were the one who scared me to death??"
"Probably not," she said calmly, dodging the second question. "But we have to check to know for sure. I guess you'll get stuck at Rank 3. I have seven, so I'm stuck at Rank 2. Don't be disappointed—it's actually good news."
Drayen already knew this. He had checked the materials. If you had two bloodlines, you would get stuck at Rank 3. With more than two, Rank 2. As for all bloodlines—no one was born like that.
She sighed softly, disappointment flickering in her eyes.
They finished eating. The mood had grown heavy, so she clapped her hands suddenly.
"Let's play a game. We'll think about this later."
Drayen was nervous. There were always experiments on non-conflicting bloodlines. His hands were sweating. He was relieved she diverted the issue, though he was curious why she had chased him as a shadow. He wanted to ask, but he held back—it wasn't the right time.
"Yeah, let's go."
They took out their phones and started playing. Slowly, Drayen became immersed.
"Use the special ability. Now!" he shouted.
"I'm trying, wait!"
"No, no, no, the boss will kill us!"
"Did you not practice?"
"I have a job, you know," Kira lied.
"Oh, look who's talking. Want me to open your profile? It shows how many hours you played this month. You play more than me—just admit you suck."
They had become more casual as they grew closer. Now they felt like buddies rather than teacher and student. Drayen, however, was very clear about the situation. He knew he had a crush on her, and he was ready to pursue it. He wanted to get to know her better. After all, a crush and love were two different things. Coincidentally, they were getting closer and closer.
The word Dead appeared on the screen.
Kira dropped her phone onto the sofa, angry at herself.
"Let me teach you," Drayen said.
He came behind her, holding her hands and guiding her moves. She felt his breath near her ear. He was close—too close.
Her cheeks turned red.
Why is my heart beating so fast? When did we get this close?
Her hands slipped.
"Where is your mind? Focus," he said.
She looked at his face up close—serious. She gulped and nodded. He still looked guarded.
"I was drunk that night," she said, rubbing the back of her head embarrassedly.
The next day, outside Mr. Dordo's office, Zuko stood.
He took a deep breath and knocked.
"Come in."
Zuko entered. Mr. Dordo looked up from a book.
"Mr. Dordo… I want to change to mysterious school."