After adding the Gale Wolf’s pathways, I did something else entirely. It was nothing much, but I used partial shifts to transform my bones, flesh, muscles, and skin as well.

Having access to several Tier-2 Demons, each of which I could permanently transform into at this point, I made something work. It took yet another week to replace my human bones with those of a Tier-2 demon without changing my structure too much. My shoulder blades were broader and thicker than before, and the hint of wings protruded from them, but I didn’t have suitable wings or similar structures to attach to them.

That might change as I progressed further, but it was not yet feasible. My skin was darker than before by several shades, yet it shimmered in a pale light at times, which was odd to everyone staring at me. Then there was a black, curved horn protruding from my forehead. It didn’t change my physical strength much, but it looked cool.

Appearance had never been incredibly important to me, but I didn’t really want to look like a demon simply because I didn’t plan to scare everyone shitless. However, that didn’t mean I couldn’t look like a mixture of multiple races—a human with demon blood, the genetics of a vampire, and more besides.

At the end of my transformation, I did not look all too different from before. I was a little taller and wider, my muscles were bulging, and I was a few shades darker than before, but that was alright. The only ’issue’ was probably my eyes. They were darker than before, with a vibrant violet touch to them. They definitely didn’t look normal, which they were not, considering they were an amalgamation created from the strongest Rotheart Vampire’s eyes and a Tier-2 Demon.

Adjusting the frequencies of their forms had been incredibly hard, but my vision was better than ever.

My gains aside, Cintre changed a lot over the course of the week. Gareus and his army had returned the night before to rest and recover. They, too, looked as battered as Cintre’s residents, which only made sense when we learned that they had been attacked by demons pouring out of the dungeon entrance.

The Zetrian Empire faced the full brunt of the demon masses flooding the Eserian, but they were more numerous and crushed the demonic forces more easily. At least, that was what Fern learned from the few soldiers she tended to in the Hain of Recovery.

When Gareus was informed of what happened in Cintre—he saw the destroyed buildings and was already fuming—his rage only burned deeper the more he found out.

"The Infiltration should not have happened for another year," Gareus of House Gaia was said to have stated when he found out, confirming Fern’s suspicion.

This had not been the first ’Infiltration’ of the Vampires, and Cintre failed to defend against it. As for why the Infiltration did not happen when Gareus had expected it to, it was fairly simple: the Vampires must have heard about the dungeon entrance, allowing them to make changes and kill more people.

Considering that the Vampires were in cahoots with Demons, in some way at least, that would make sense.

Gareus’ rage meant little to me. Honestly, he could do whatever he wanted. What I was interested in was House Gaia’s response to the attack and the invasion of demons. Surely, Gareus didn’t expect the demons to stay in the Eserian. For the time being, they may, but Cintre and the clusters of farms were weaker than ever. Or they would have been, if not for the survivors of the Houses’ armies resting in and near the fortress.

But would that be enough? Gareus of House Gaia certainly did not think so. They needed help, for their forces were battered and exhausted. As for their enemies, they flooded the Eserian, biding their time to strike.

And I wanted to help. We wanted to help Cintre. Sure, we might help House Gaia and maybe even the Forea Alliance by doing so as well, but that wasn’t something we cared about. Making sure Cintre and the surrounding farmers were safe mattered much more. If I could get paid with some blood rather than chips or some other treasures, that would be best.

"A Culling Mission?" I mouthed to myself, staring at the open mission board before the Huntrice. Gareus ordered its construction not too long ago, but it was already ready and flooded with Culling Missions, dictating the worth of every known Vampire and Demon carcass. Their fangs or horns were all that was needed to analyze them, and the chips offered by the Officials of House Gaia were generous, to say the least.

"Can I exchange the chips with another currency? Blood, for example?" I asked the elven receptionist, which earned more than one odd glance. The Hunters were confused by my appearance, to say the least, and my words certainly didn’t help them feel at ease.

The only one who was nice enough was Jer. When the Huntrice was of no help, it was the young Minotaur demihuman who appeared before me with a vial as red as a healing potion.

"The vial contains my blood," he said with deadly determination. "I heard about your System update from Clove. He... well, he needed someone to talk to—someone with a Bloodline. So he told me. I hope you don’t hold that against him..." He shook his head. "Anyway, I told nobody, and I won’t if you don’t want that. And if you help me kill those fuckers, I will give you more. As much as you need."

I wasn’t sure what had gotten into Jer, but his proposal was sound.

"You might die out there."

"I don’t care. They killed my father," Jer growled, which earned a raised eyebrow from me. Brook was dead? That... How did I not hear about that?

"I will help you." I nodded slowly. "Whether you give me your blood or not, I will make sure you get your revenge."

Jer let out a deep grunt and pressed his blood vial into my hands.

That evening, I emptied the bottle, triggering the Bloodline System for the first time.

Bloodline has been consumed. Blood Source has been acquired.