Chapter 219 - 214: A Price I Am Willing to Pay
This time, Tristan didn’t go home to ask for his parents’ opinions. He simply agreed on the spot.
Velin led him to the Golden Sail Commerce Association’s secret underground Alchemy Workshop in the Royal Capital.
This workshop was originally built to create higher-grade alchemical products.
Passing through the back room of a shop that sold nautical charts and equipment, Velin pushed open a secret door disguised as a bookshelf.
The stone steps leading down were narrow, and a damp chill crept up from below. A Moonstone emitting a cold light was embedded in the wall every ten paces.
Velin walked in front.
He had changed out of his noble’s casual attire and was now wearing a simple linen research coat, his entire being gradually entering a state of concentration.
Tristan followed behind, his gaze sweeping across the workshop.
There were rows of copper distillers, neatly arranged glassware sorted by category, and dried herbs and Magical Beast parts hanging on the walls, each item bearing a label.
Velin stopped in front of a long, polished granite workbench.
He took out several sealed boxes from a nearby storage cabinet and opened them one by one.
There was a chair in front of the workbench.
"Sit."
Tristan sat without hesitation.
Having modified the bloodlines of others many times before, Velin fetched several thick leather straps and fastened Tristan’s wrists and ankles to the chair.
"This is standard procedure. It’s to prevent you from unconsciously injuring yourself during the process."
Velin offered this brief explanation as his eyes scanned Tristan. Data that only he could see materialized in his vision.
[Tristan Lorenzo]
[Level: None]
[Bloodline: Star Whisper (Golden Tier) 31%, Son of Tides (Silver Tier) 29%, Mixed Bloodline 40%]
[Abilities: None]
[Overall Evaluation: The two bloodlines are in similar proportion and interfere with each other, causing the bloodline to lie dormant. Can be activated through targeted guidance.]
[Guidance Potion: Main Ingredient: 1 Deep Sea Soul Crystal. Supplementary Ingredients: 1 stalk of 20-year-old Dragon Saliva Grass, 3 grams of Void Jellyfish Tentacle Powder, 300 ml of Activated Spring Water.]
The name of each of these ingredients represented a massive sum of Golden Suns.
Especially the Deep Sea Soul Crystal, a rare material found only in the Lightless Abyss, worth over a thousand Golden Suns.
Velin silently calculated the cost in his head. Over two thousand Golden Suns.
This sum would have to be deducted from his future salary in installments.
He placed all the ingredients into a crystal mortar in a specific order and proportion, then stirred them with an Obsidian pestle at a fixed frequency and force.
The potion gradually transformed from colorless and transparent to a deep azure, within which specks of silver light drifted like stars.
Velin poured the potion into a bowl.
"Open your mouth."
Velin held the bowl and fed the concocted potion to Tristan.
As the potion went down his throat, he felt nothing at first.
After about three heartbeats, a searing energy erupted from his stomach, surging through his veins to every corner of his body.
Tristan’s body tensed violently.
The veins on his neck and arms bulged, and his skin turned Crimson Red at a visible rate.
He could clearly feel a violent power repeatedly scouring the walls of his blood vessels, as if they were about to burst.
The intense pain made him let out a muffled groan, his jaw clamped so tight that his teeth made a grinding sound.
Beads of sweat seeped from his forehead, slid down his cheeks, and left wet marks on the chair.
Velin watched the system panel, ready to intervene at any critical moment.
Tristan felt his consciousness being torn apart.
One power sought to reconstruct his brain, making his thoughts clear and meticulous as countless data points and logical chains materialized in his mind.
Another power assaulted his senses, making his vision and hearing incredibly sharp; he could even hear the faint echo of a water droplet falling on the stone wall.
The two powers clashed within his body, neither giving way. His body had become a battlefield.
Tiny beads of blood began to seep from the surface of his skin, quickly converging into small red streams.
Tristan’s consciousness was already blurring, and the thought of giving up surfaced in his mind.
’Just give up.’
’Ending it like this might be a release.’
Velin saw dangerous fluctuations appear in the vital signs on the panel. He gathered his Spiritual Power, preparing to intervene.
Just then, a glimmer of light reconverged in Tristan’s fading gaze.
’No.’
’I can’t give up.’
’I didn’t come this far just to be saved by someone else.’
’The child in the library, who didn’t yet know his bloodline was dormant, who studied Magic diligently and thought himself a prodigy—he didn’t do all that just to give up now!’
’The young man who, after being judged "Bloodless," still walked the lowest rungs of the Royal Capital, enduring scorn and contempt, meticulously recording grain prices, tax rates, and water management—he didn’t do all that just to give up now!’
’The Tristan Lorenzo who was secretly mocked, ignored by his family, and judged a "waste" by the entire world—he most certainly did not endure all that just to give up now!’
’This is my chance! A chance I seized for myself!’
’This pain is the price I must pay to break free from the cage of fate!’
’And I’m willing to pay it!’
Blood seeped from his clenched jaw, but his eyes became incredibly resolute.
Velin’s hand stopped in midair.
He looked at Tristan, a flash of surprise in his eyes.
The data showed the bloodline purification progress bar starting to move again.
This second son of a noble was using his own willpower to forcibly tame a bloodline storm that would have destroyed an ordinary person.
Velin lowered his hand.
He decided to remain an observer.
He wanted to see just how high this caged eagle could fly.
The burning sensation faded.
The tearing sensation vanished.
Tristan’s pain lessened abruptly.
A gentle yet powerful force slowly awakened from the depths of his marrow, from the depths of his very soul.
He felt his mind had never been so clear; it was as if he could see through the fundamental laws of the world at a single glance.
His hearing extended infinitely, allowing him to hear the sound of water dripping on the stone steps outside the workshop.
He snapped his eyes open.
Brilliant stars flashed in the depths of his gray-blue eyes.
Velin undid the restraints.
Tristan slowly sat up from the chair.
He looked down at his own hands, feeling the ceaseless power flowing within him.
This was something he had yearned for for many years.
Without a shred of hesitation, he dropped to one knee.
"My lord."
"I, Tristan Lorenzo, offer you my complete loyalty."
Velin looked at him, accepting this pledge of fealty.
He now held this key firmly in his grasp.
Tristan stood up and stretched his neck, his bones letting out a crisp crack.
He looked toward the workshop’s exit, the door that led to the outside world.
On his perpetually stern face, a long-absent confidence appeared.
The brilliant starlight deep within his eyes slowly faded, returning them to their usual gray-blue.
But his entire demeanor had been changed forever.
The man standing here now was the mayor of the Grey Marsh Territory, a vassal to Velin Klein.
"My lord."
"As for the council, I believe my father will have some new ideas."