Chapter 151 : Chapter 151

Chapter 151 - Blood Stream Sorcery

I returned to Eclipse.

By then, the clone son was also in the room.

The Head Maid was with the Forest Witch, and only the clone had returned to Eclipse.

I knew the reason.

“The plan using the Nightmare Reaper didn't go perfectly, did it?”

“Right. I managed to salvage a few memories, but the gaps between them are severe, and she herself is confused. Especially her body.”

If the owner of the memories knew they were her own, she could simply pull herself together, but the Head Maid was an excellent sorcerer.

Her body would try to remember the old movements it had lost along with her memories.

But since her memories hadn't returned completely and she had forgotten her own habits, it was understandable for her to be confused.

Even the way she walked and breathed was completely different from before she lost her memory.

For a while, the Head Maid would undergo rehabilitation with the Forest Witch, using the Soul Powder the clone had obtained.

In the meantime, Eclipse had to fight the second defensive battle against the First Son at the citadel.

However, the one who would face the First Son in this defensive battle was not the main body of the Youngest Son.

“That thing called Blood Stream Sorcery. You seem quite confident in it, so show me.”

“It wasn't intentional. I just had the curses of the East and the magic of the West in my hands, and I saw a subtle connection between the two.”

Two kinds of power bloomed from the clone son's hands.

In his left hand, a stream of blood created along his index finger rippled in the air.

In his right hand, a gloomy, blue-gray light writhed and sharpened as if it would spread out at any moment.

“Main body, you learned curses, but you rarely used them.”

“Because curses have unavoidable side effects.”

That was why curse-based characters had to remove the waste products with Wisdom’s purification potion, which was obtained after the second act.

Curses were like cigarettes; they brought quick pleasure but ruined the body.

However, the clone didn't need to worry about such side effects and only saw its usefulness.

The clone son nodded and brought his hands closer.

“Watch this.”

The blue-gray curse and the blood stream drew near.

Normally, being different powers, they should have passed each other by like a dog seeing a chicken.

“…They're clinging to each other.”

“That's right. Curses are driven by magic power, just like the magic of the West, and this blood stream, created by me as a Magic Assimilator, is…”

“Magic power….”

Under the great trunk of magic power, the smaller branches of curse and blood stream were being tied together.

The back of my head grew hot with shock. Why hadn't I thought of this?

Since I was taught and enlightened by myself, it might have been a thought I would have had someday.

But the survival instinct was also projected onto the clone, leading to another route for survival.

“There are many flashy options around the main body. Just look at Bloodflame. That's probably why you overlooked something like this.”

[Khehehe. He got one over you.]

Enad sneered.

Tak─

The clone son’s hands came together completely.

Upon the neat magic circle of the Water Attribute’s Samche, the imperfection and irregularity of the curse were layered.

The runes filling the magic circle vibrated and shook, painting the blood stream red as if with paint.

Yet, being bound within the framework of magic power, they didn't fly apart but held each other firmly.

In the end, the orderly magic circle was as red as blood. It was as beautiful and seductive as a single rose.

If there was an answer where the West and the East had unified their views, this was surely it.

The clone son shrank and expanded the magic circle on his palm.

“It's not like Western magic, which has formulas. Curses have a minimal framework like sorcery formulas, but we don't need something like that.”

The Blood Stream Sorcery magic circle changed into a single stream of blood following his gesture.

“I'll hand it over.”

The clone son was so astonishingly similar to the main body that even a demon would acknowledge it.

Since he was taking the main body's magic power, the Youngest Son naturally received the blood stream the clone had prepared.

However, the magic power that returned, different from what he had first given, felt distinctly alien.

“Do you see what's different from the original blood stream?”

“It's imbued with a curse.”

“That's right.”

The Youngest Son moved the blood stream over his hand.

It writhed like a snake, coiled, then stretched out straight.

But it didn't just stop at changing its shape.

“The blood stream has merged with the curse of decay. Try it on that apple over there.”

“Alright.”

I aimed my palm at the fruit in the basket.

Samche was magic that changed the properties of liquid.

Half of the amount from the blood stream turned into a dagger and embedded itself in the center of the apple.

Puk─

Jjeojeojeojeok─

No sooner had it done so than the dripping juice turned black, and the split crack began to rot.

The curse of decay had hit its mark.

“This should be possible too.”

I applied Samche once more to the remaining half.

The blood mist, created to the size of cotton candy, floated in the air and enveloped the apple.

Simultaneously, the decay did not stop at the split crack. The entire surface that touched the blood mist rotted away.

“With this, the benefits will outweigh the side effects of the curse.”

“Conventional curses have a low chance of working if the opponent knows a counter or a way to dismantle it, but this is almost impossible to counter.”

“Whether it’s a solid or a gas, as long as it can inflict damage in any way, the curse takes effect.”

“Also, if you use Blood Stream Sorcery consecutively, you could probably use different curses at the same time.”

It wasn't that I could only create one dagger of blood.

Just a moment ago, it was a dagger containing the power of decay, but next to it, I could also place a dagger that caused confusion.

“Try entrusting that ‘purification potion’ to the Forest Witch and Josephine. They should be able to create something similar.”

“My thoughts exactly.”

The two presidents quickly decided on their employees' overtime.

It would be a good thing for the Potion Development Department to have more products to sell, and it would also be good to sell them to the family's curse sorcerers.

But I digress.

This time, the Youngest Son himself created a curse and a blood stream in both his hands.

He gathered the two different, yet similar, powers in one place.

Having seen the construction process right before my eyes and handled it myself, it was easy to get the hang of it.

“You're doing well.”

Along with the clone's plain compliment, Blood Stream Sorcery also appeared on the Youngest Son's hand.

Looking at it again, this blood-colored magic circle was so beautiful it felt like it shouldn't be touched.

Like a rose named ‘magic circle’ embracing thorns named ‘curse,’ Blood Stream Sorcery could be considered to be at the pinnacle of curses.

The aggressiveness of those thorns varied depending on the curse, and with Samche, even its form was free.

It compensated for the curse's inherently slow attack speed and monotony with the blood stream.

‘The blood stream itself has excellent applicability with Samche, but its killing power is low. Bloodflame is also difficult to use unless in the Blood Demonization state.’

In contrast, Blood Stream Sorcery was extremely versatile and had excellent attack power.

My attack patterns became noticeably more diverse, much like the First Son, who weaves Bone Sorcery with Cursed Swordsmanship.

He, too, unleashed a continuous stream of unexpected sword strikes depending on which Bone Sorcery he wrapped around his blade.

Blood Stream Sorcery held the same potential.

The aggressiveness of the thorns was determined by which sorcery it was woven with.

However, dealing only with high-grade curses was unreasonable.

“High-grade curses require at least half a day of preparation time, even if the range is narrowed to a single individual. It's impossible in the middle of a battle.”

“Then I'll need to practice quickly handling multiple low-grade curses.”

“Exactly.”

The two Youngest Sons, in perfect sync, began to set their future course.

To learn how to spam low-grade curses, yet be able to set off one big, well-prepared high-grade curse.

The Youngest Son focused on the latter part.

“To face the Magic Dragon at the summit, a moment will come when a high-grade curse is needed.”

However, high-grade curses required a long preparation time, a casting time.

If I could prepare a high-grade curse in advance.

If I could store it somewhere and use it when needed.

That would be truly great.

Tak─

I snapped my fingers.

“There is a way.”

The Youngest Son rolled up his sleeves, a corner of his mouth lifting.

This time, it was the clone who stared at him intently.

There was something on this forearm that was definitely there but invisible.

The item from Wisdom, a magic power regeneration magic circle, had been a dutiful son that had helped me out immensely in the beginning.

‘Let's just remove the forearm part.’

To engrave a new magic circle, I would remove the existing one.

The heat generated as magic power concentrated to its limit on both forearms cleanly erased the magic circle that was set like a tattoo.

[You should've said something first. You scared me.]

Leaving behind Enad’s complaint, who was also on the forearm, I rummaged through my memory and found a new magic circle.

This one was also for golems, its role being to store commands so the lumps of stone could move on their own.

But from now on, it would become a repository for storing curses.

‘It's a strain on my body because I'm doing something it's not meant for, but it's at a level I can negate with my regenerative ability.’

The burden from curses accumulated within the body, so it couldn't be helped with regeneration.

However, a problem like this was a different story.

Just as Hinek used a book as a medium to channel curses, the Youngest Son would use the storage magic circle as a medium.

“Do you know what I'm trying to do?”

“Yeah. I don't know the principle, but I think I know how to do it.”

“I'll do the left. You engrave it on the right.”

“Alright.”

With an extra pair of hands, the work speed also doubled.

Things like curses had to be done alone, but for simple tasks like this, the clone was of great use.

Naturally, the pain was mine alone to bear.

“……”

“You look like you're in a lot of pain.”

“Yeah. Hooo, it hurts a lot.”

Even so, the two did not stop their work.

About an hour might have passed. The Youngest Son was finally able to wipe his sweat-drenched forehead.

“Should I just call it a curse-embedding magic circle?”

Nevertheless, he looked down at his arms with a satisfied smile.

“What curse are you thinking of putting in that magic circle?”

“Hinek's curse alone feels quite insufficient. It's for blocking intrusions, so its scale can't be large either.”

It would be a different story if the opponent were human, but the one at the summit of the Ash Mountains was a mad Magic Dragon.

A beast that had lost all semblance of intelligence due to demon followers.

Its sharp claws and scales, as if forged from steel, were weapons in themselves.

Even a high-grade curse, unless it was an exceptional one, would surely not even leave a scratch.

“I can embed one curse per arm. So two in total. To learn something useful… I'll have to go there.”

The clone immediately guessed the Youngest Son's thoughts.

“The Great Sorcery Archives?”

“Yeah. There’s nowhere else.”

Rubbing both forearms, I finally stood up.

“You go to Edwin, explain the situation with Older Brother, and ask him to get a medium to contain the curse.”

“You mean to put the high-grade curse the main body will learn in there.”

“Hinek's curse is fine too. It will be a help in the fight against Older Brother, and if it's stacked, it will be burdensome even with the direct line's curse resistance.”

Not everyone was immune to curses like the Youngest Son's body.

Even an immune body felt pain and hurt, so how much worse would it be for others.

“I'll do that. And you know this too, but don't stop practicing Blood Stream Sorcery. I won't either.”

“We can share training experience while sharing memories.”

However, too many clones would divide their intelligence among themselves, making them unable to perform even simple commands.

At this level, one clone was the maximum for entrusting such a mission.

The clone son nodded.

“I hope you find a good curse. I don't want to feel what death is.”

“I'll do my best. And the Griffin alone won't be enough, so take these guys too.”

The Youngest Son gave him a few of his private soldiers and boarded the Ghost Ship.

The ship's bow was headed for the Great Sorcery Archives in the Pantheon, and its role, like the Magic Tower, was the accumulation of information.

In the Great Sorcery Archives, one could even view ancient sorcery if they had the authority to do so.

Of course, ancient sorcery wasn't ancient in a good sense.

Just as ancient humans were closer to hairy monkeys, that era was raw in itself.

What I needed to embed in both forearms now was a curse whose side effects had been reduced as much as possible by the smart people of the current generation.

‘The only thing is, this is my first visit to the Great Sorcery Archives.’

For players entering the Great Sorcery Archives for the first time, there was a prerequisite quest before they could use the place.

It served to broaden the player's sorcery options, but of course.

Neither the game company nor the librarian of the Great Sorcery Archives gave such opportunities easily.

But a veteran has his own ways.

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