Xavier's eyes fluttered open slowly. The direct sun rays from the broken glass shimmered into his eyes.
He stared down, but only saw trails of blood on the floor. Events of the past night flashed in his eyes as he jumped out of bed.
He saw Bryan leisurely sitting on a dining chair, with a blood crystal in his hand. "Where is my mother?" He yelled.
"Stop shouting," Bryan said calmly, still fumbling with the blood crystal in his hand.
Xavier's gaze grew heavy. "You killed my mother, why?" He yelled, running into Bryan, his fist clenched to deliver a punch.
Bryan dropped the crystal when he saw this.
In a swift motion, he caught Xavier's hand and threw him to the floor. Spit flew from Xavier's mouth as his back hit the floor. "If you act crazy, then you will also follow her," Bryan said with an assertive voice as he stood up. He turned back to sit on his chair.
Xavier stood up quickly. Before Bryan could even react, he punched him hard in the back.
Bryan flew forward, his body crashing against the chairs and table. The crystal rolled away, stopping mere inches away from Bryan.
Bryan stood up slowly, his back straightening. He glared at Xavier with a dead, cold gaze that sent chills down Xavier's spine.
"Kid, you shouldn't have done that," those were the last words Xavier heard before he fell. Once again, he lost consciousness from Bryan's punch.
Bryan walked up to him and placed his body on a chair gently. Looking around, he saw a rope that was lying lightly in a corner.
"That should be strong enough to hold him down," Bryan mumbled beneath his breath, then went to grab the rope. He tied Xavier tightly to the chair, then picked the blood crystal up and went back to his seat.
'To think that the system is actually giving me double rewards because there are two souls in this body,' he mused.
He had been too busy to check his reward properly yesterday, but when he checked the log now, he saw it clearly.
Every diven gain was doubled.
"Even I am surprised," a voice echoed in his mind.
"You have not said anything since yesterday, you only came out now, why?"
"You were too busy yesterday, didn't want to disturb you."
Bryan scoffed. "It's not like you do anything other than disturb."
Their batter went on in Bryan's head.
Alex, the voice in Bryan's head, was the true owner of the body. When Bryan transmigrated to the high plane, his mother was still pregnant with Alex. Bryan's soul entered the same fetus. After struggling together in the womb, they finally decided to co-exist, with Bryan using the real body and Alex providing help.
"Use it already, why are you playing with it?" Alex roared in Bryan's mind.
"It feels different from the other blood crystals I absorbed. There is a strange energy coming from it," Bryan muttered.
"Just use it, not like you can really die in this place."
"Okay."
Bryan nodded, resolving himself. Not like he will just look at it without doing anything. He placed the orb over his sigil, slowly and calmly. A blinding crimson light erupted, radiating through the house.
"Why is the light brighter than the former ones?" Bryan screamed as he covered his eyes.
"How the fuck do you expect me to know?" Alex yelled back.
Bryan sighed, unsure of what to say.
The light began to dim slowly before finally disappearing.
Bryan heaved a sigh of relief.
[Host has absorbed the bloodline crystal and gained the Painlust bloodline.]
[Painlust bloodline: The user never feels pain.
Blood Thrill: Taking damage boosts strength and speed for 10 seconds.
Reverse Vitality: Strength scales inversely with health.
Crimson Bloom: When near death, enters a berserk state of uncontrollable rage and regeneration.
Scarlet Overdrive: Inflicting pain on oneself triggers a berserk state. Strength and ferocity skyrocket.
"A bloodline?" Bryan furrowed his brows as he read the descriptions. "If she had a bloodline, why is she poor?" He thought.
"Snap out of it, thinking is not meant for your tiny brain," Alex teased, bringing Bryan out of his train of thought.
"If you have nothing to say, just keep quiet," Bryan replied with a snort.
"Whatever," Alex replied. "But you were really lucky that you killed her instantly; you could have died if any of these traits were activated," Alex's tone turned serious.
"I know, right?" Bryan muttered. "But one did activate, remember that time I kicked her out, and she got faster," Bryan asked.
At his question, Alex got vexed. "If you remembered it with how dumb you are, why won't I?" He asked.
Bryan just left him, not wanting to argue with him anymore.
"System, open the transaction log," Bryan commanded.
[Deposited 100
[Spent 700 Divens on a Dire wolf bloodline, balance=300]
[Spent 300 Divens on a wolf bloodline, balance=0]
[Deposited 400 Divens]
[Spent 100 Divens on a healing potion, balance=300]
[Deposited 400 Divens]
Bryan looked at the total he had spent, which amounted to 1100 divens. This was an incredibly absurd amount for a person to spend in just one day. "Consequences of descending in a world like this," he mused.
"Just be thankful I forced you to study," Alex said, showering himself with praise.
But for the first time since they got here, Bryan agreed with him.
"So, what do we do from here?" He asked Alex.
"We wait for the boy to wake up, then explain everything to him. I have a feeling that the main quest will be related to that Duke they've been mentioning since yesterday," Alex responded.
"While we wait, let me get something to eat," Bryan said, already walking towards the kitchen.
He lit the charcoal brazier after countless unsuccessful tries and took the same grain-like thing they ate before.
"System, purchase the cooking knowledge of this world," he said.
[Host has spent 50 Divens to acquire the knowledge of dishes in Blood Wastes.]
With the chime came a swirl of white light that entered his glabella. After a few seconds of a slight headache, the knowledge was finally embedded in his brain.