Bear School Astartes

"Pitch-black blood."

The director of the Ecological Research Institute, while assisting with handing things over below, murmured to himself,

as he looked at the large jar of what appeared to be oil-like blood in his hand.

"The dragon attribute energy in this blood cannot truly be called ’Ancient Dragon Pure Blood,’ yet even when compared to normal ’Ancient Dragon’s Blood,’ it significantly exceeds it. Unfortunately, it’s ultimately not an ancient dragon, even if it’s so formidable."

With Lann leading the dissection, parts of the Terror Tyrannosaurus body were gradually separated out.

Besides the stomach pouch, an organ that gathers magic power, Lann directly handled other parts; the pendant around his neck remained inactive.

Once this was confirmed, the scholars and researchers, who had been watching nearby, cheered loudly and quickly joined the process of handling and studying the corpse.

A large pile of biological tissue was cut from Lann’s dissecting knife, then passed to the back, while new containers were sent forward.

"After all, it’s an ancient dragon; it can’t reach this level solely through sheer battle strength."

The sword master, who started assisting out of curiosity, received the glass jar, looked at the substance inside - oily but flickering sporadically with blood-red lightning - and continued passing it backward.

This was the blood Lann gathered near the throat of the Fog Nest Master, which likely accumulated dragon attribute energy during the Terror Tyrannosaurus’s breath.

Even having died, the ’pitch-black blood’ retained its red hue around the throat.

When Lann was cutting near the throat earlier, he barely managed to avoid exposing his skin to this dragon attribute energy-rich blood.

As the apex of nature’s food chain, ancient dragons are few, yet variations among species are incredibly diverse. It’s likened to categorizing by ’kingdom, phylum, class, order, family, genus, species.’

Two organisms among the ancient dragons might sometimes be more distanced in classification than a Waving Eel is from another one.

Yet, they have certain commonalities, allowing humans to categorize the bizarrely varied creatures as one type, collectively known as ’Ancient Dragons.’

’Ancient Dragon’s Blood.’

Though the species differences are vast, the blood within them flows with only subtle discrepancies.

A Qilin, as a small ancient dragon with a horse-like frame, is deemed an ancient dragon because it also contains ’Ancient Dragon’s Blood.’

If an ancient dragon has a long lifespan, is battle-hardened, or chooses distinct and suitable habitats, then it’s naturally far superior to its kin.

Consequently, the blood flowing within such an ancient dragon, exceeding the original species in various attributes and features, is coined ’Ancient Dragon Pure Blood’ by scholars.

The blood within the Fog Nest Master’s body is rich in dragon attribute energy, yet it is merely a common indicator among Ancient Dragon’s Blood.

This blood might have significant uses otherwise, but it’s ultimately not Ancient Dragon’s Blood.

Subsequently, Lann dissected many organs from the Terror Tyrannosaurus’s body.

Including its heart, which must be robust to support such an enormous and muscle-overflowing body, yet the heart could not be healthy given the ecological tendency of the Terror Tyrannosaurus toward self-destructive behavior.

The short lifespan of the Terror Tyrannosaurus is comprehensive.

Its heart shows clear signs of pathological enlargement akin to rampant growth with bodybuilding hormones.

The empty intestines, as Lann speculated, confirmed it hadn’t ingested ’normal’ food for a long time.

During the Magic Middle Ages, the cursed fog demons solely satiated its appetite.

Its stomach evolved to digest magic under the curse and magic stimulation.

Yet its intestines regressed.

As physical food hadn’t passed into the intestines for ages.

On the other hand, another super organ of the Fog Nest Master, the kidneys, made it reckless, capable of consuming anything, indifferent to toxins.

When the kidneys of the Terror Tyrannosaurus were removed from the body, Lann felt an incredibly smooth texture upon touch.

It was the sensation of the layer of fascia covering the internal organs.

Unlike the crazily hormone-boosted muscular growth of the Fog Nest Master, it felt like touching an immensely healthy piece of meat.

The kidneys were exceptionally healthy, even with such dense dragon attribute energy in the blood, the kidneys filtering the blood were unaffected.

Still in a healthy deep red, normal in shape without excess growth, regeneration, or defects.

Once removed from the body, the surrounding people could even feel the vibrant life force lingering on the bright red organ.

As Lann dissected further, the researchers around moved the extracted organs outside.

Scholars with feather pens recorded details and observations throughout the process.

Even with Lann’s skill, emptying the vast Terror Tyrannosaurus of its internal organs took nearly two hours.

"Alright, everyone, don’t take any organs or the corpse out of the arena!"

The director stood on a large box, loudly reminding the people, seeing the dissection nearing completion.

The pointy-eared old Dragon-man’s ears swaying atop his sparse white hair.

"Those with blood on their hands should clean up within the arena."

"Our harmless observation of the Fog Nest Master’s corpse is still ongoing and needs to continue for at least two weeks without any anomalies before we can dissect and distribute the remains to let the natural environment dissolve them. Understand?"

Everyone present, the Dragon-man Race and humans, scholars and hunters, nodded to indicate their understanding.

Lann merely glanced at the stomach sac and kidneys, which drew his greatest attention, then began washing the blood that had splattered on him during the dissection process.

Extracting the super organs is one thing; distilling, summarizing, and assimilating the knowledge inside them into one’s mind is another.

Learning and summarizing take time; it can’t be rushed.

Wende, as a powerful hunter preventing accidents, needs to stay long-term in the arena during the dissection and research period.

Having this ace of aces safeguard the arena also reflects the investigation team’s cautious attitude towards Chaos Magic Power, this alien force.

After washing the blood off, Lann jestingly patted the arena guards Wende and Gaffi before heading out of the arena.

Dissecting and researching a large monster is quite the task, requiring a phased, step-by-step approach.

Upon leaving the arena, the Demon Hunter did not head to the Weapon and Mountain Cat Pavilion for lunch at the Star Base’s third floor, even though the sun was directly overhead.

He was somewhat concerned about Tishaya, who had fallen into a Magic Power low after casting spells.

Leaving the arena, Lann ascended the wooden stairs back to the residential area.

He knocked on Tishaya’s door, and after a brief wait, the wooden door was opened from inside.

Tishaya was now frowning deeply, but her eyes were unfocused, like a fever-addled patient in a daze.

Seeing Lann, she didn’t greet him but shuffled heavily into the room, listless.

Entering the room, Lann frowned with a hint of worry as he looked at Tishaya.

"Are you..."

The words he meant to ask couldn’t even be finished.

The female warlock, her back to Lann, suddenly trembled, then a whimper emerged from her throat, sounding like a dry heave.

Her shaking body reached out to steady itself on the nearby table.

"Wow..."

Lann was astonished at Tishaya’s violent reaction, not expecting the effect of the Magic Power low period to be so intense on her.

In fact, he wasn’t the only one surprised; Tishaya herself hadn’t foreseen it.

Ever since she ceased being the little girl who first touched magic centuries ago, this feeling had almost vanished from her life.

After all, who could take Chaos Magic Power away from Tishaya de Veris?

But now the answer was clear—’the world’ could.

"You’re really in bad shape right now."

Lann shook his head, took a step forward, and helped the female warlock to a chair.

She probably held her forehead, enduring the discomfort while resting her eyes, then struggled to stand and open the door upon hearing the knock.

"There’s nothing here to replenish your Chaos Magic Power, Tishaya."

The young Demon Hunter frowned.

"It’s my oversight; your situation seems dire. How can I assist you?"

The female warlock rested a hand on her forehead, her head swaying in discomfort and dizziness.

It was unclear whether she was refusing or just trying to combat the discomfort through the dizziness.

The meticulously maintained, symmetrical hairstyle had now let a few strands fall quietly onto her cheeks or slender, fair neck.

She pursed her lips without speaking, appearing as if she’d vomit if she opened her mouth.

The female warlock’s extraordinary qualities were largely built on magic, and once deprived of an environment supplying Chaos Magic Power, the discomfort surpassed that of Demon Hunters casting several Magic Seals.

"Think of a way, Tishaya!" Lann frowned, but continued supporting her shoulder, encouraging her, "Warlock matters are beyond Belengar and me."

"If you stay like this... this isn’t a matter of resting a while to recover your strength; there’s no Chaos Magic Power here for you to absorb!"

The Fog Nest Master’s corpse does contain Chaos Magic Power.

But it’s Chaos Magic Power twisted into a curse, and any warlock daring to absorb it should pray they die immediately during the process.

That would at least be more straightforward, less torturous.

Lann’s encouragement seemed somewhat effective; Tishaya didn’t let the discomfort consume all her energy.

Her hand supported the drooping forehead, yet her eyes slanted, glancing at the Demon Hunter through the loose strands of hair.