Chapter 31: Rank Up
A dragon with a sinister smile appeared before them.
His words implied their fate would be worse than death. Two women in the group paled at the prospect of becoming his slaves, screaming his name in bed. The men pictured rituals or experiments before their last breath. Fear ran in their veins as they shuddered with no escape in sight.
He said he’s an acolyte? Like us? This can’t be!
Is he jesting?
Toying with us like that? He’s definitely some Young Master!
None of their reactions eluded Han.
They break so fast. Good.
Seeing them like this sent a surge of adrenaline and excitement through him, his Dragon’s Pride throbbing in his chest. He asserted dominance with his presence, demanding obedience, and the circle of experienced maids led by the powerful, alluring Hanna only heightened his aura.
He felt like bullying these intruders even more than Xena and Bellatrix.
"Why aren’t you brandishing your weapons at me? Didn’t you come here prepared to die? Didn’t you choose this dark side knowing the consequences?" Han’s smile widened. "Or did you never expect the consequence to be a handsome dragon like me?"
His Dark Dragons slithered out from the black magic circles and wrapped around his torso and wings, all their heads turning toward the frightened acolytes. The moment the dragons appeared, the garden’s temperature plunged and goosebumps ran down their spines.
A new magic circle formed beside Han. It was made of black mana, its script similar to the Dragonification Spell. Hanna noticed the similarities at once, but there were clear differences: no dragon was drawn within the circle, and several inscriptions carried different meanings.
Han took out a vial of monster blood and splashed it across the circle. It shone brightly, a vivid crimson. A Dark Dragon slithered into the new circle and lunged at an acolyte. Fear tangled the man’s limbs; he couldn’t dodge.
The Dark Dragon bit into his arm. A few breaths later, dark fur sprouted and his hand warped into a paw.
"Ahhh! W-what is this?! S-stop this!"
Fur raced up his body, turning him into a humanoid wolf. He lost human speech, his bestial eyes held no intelligence, and he hunched low with his claws hanging. Low groans leaked from his muzzle. His teammates edged away, horrified.
Don’t look at his eyes. Don’t look.
Did he turn him into a monster?!
What kind of spell is that? I don’t want to die as a monster!
Han applauded. "Looks like we have a new variant of wolf: werewolf. Not much of a success, though. He lacks intelligence and doesn’t respond to commands. He’s basically a mindless shell. The issue must be the low-quality blood. We can still stabilize him.
"And others," he added, turning his eyes to the rest.
The second woman broke under Han’s stare. She stepped forward, unbuttoned her robes, and started undressing. She frantically shoved at her clothes as they pooled at her feet.
"Enslave and plow me, please! Anything but that!" she begged, pointing at the werewolf.
The other woman, Tess, was shocked, yet it seemed the most sensible choice. It might spare them from becoming monsters and dying as ones.
Han chuckled. "You’re so eager to breed, huh? I’ll lend you that werewolf, then."
The woman and Tess went white. How could this get worse? Their reactions amused Han, and he laughed aloud.
"I can spare you this fate if you answer me carefully," Han said.
The two women nodded fervently.
"Why did you come here?" he asked.
"We found a hidden note during the exam that pointed to this mansion. Claiming this place and killing everyone inside would earn us S Grade, the best grade possible! We’d receive resources and help from Masters to rank up from Acolyte to Initiate Stage!"
Meanwhile, as Han’s Dark Dragons bit into them, the other men underwent the same change. They slowly turned into mindless monsters, rigid as statues. Their screams were lost on the two women, who now cooperated fully to avoid the same fate.
Dying here seemed like the best option now, something none of them had expected.
At the mention of the Initiate Stage, Han’s bloodlines stirred. His fifth spell, Evolution, worked without issue. It allowed him to force evolution in others and turn them into whatever he wanted. The spell paired well with his Obsidian Cauldron Art, letting him more easily control mana, blood, and genes.
His other two spells were tied to bloodlines as well: Bloodline Analysis and Appraisal. The former helped him dissect bloodlines, combine them, and produce stronger effects. Appraisal focused on the body, giving Han a look into people’s mana veins, tissues, organs, vital points, and more.
With those spells, Han’s foundation was complete, and he could rank up to the Initiate Stage, where he would be able to contract others with his True Name.
Han’s wings stretched, his tail went erect, and his horns seemed to elongate. He closed his eyes as the shackles of the Dark Path slowly broke. It was a breakthrough scene his maids would cherish for eternity, and the first of many they hoped to witness.
The werewolves at the scene muttered Han’s True Name as his mana tore through the shackles.
"Hænn."
"Hænn."
"Hænn."
Someone outside disturbed the ceremony. A swarm of rats poured through the main gate and flooded the garden, rushing straight to the mansion. There were so many that the maids couldn’t keep up despite their best efforts.
Ten minutes later, Han opened his eyes.
"Gather," Han said.
All his maids stopped killing rats and assembled at his side, at his service. Hanna stood at their head, devotion in her eyes as she met her master’s gaze.
"We’ve been invaded. There’s no helping it. We’ll proceed calmly."
"I know it’s not the time for this, but congratulations on achieving Initiate Stage and earning your True Name, Young Master Han," Hanna said, and the others behind her echoed.
Han smiled. "There’s no bad time to praise me. Thanks."