At the sight of what had happened, Percival nearly pissed himself, and out of fear it might happen again, he didn’t dare open his mouth.

The others were also shaken after witnessing what had just happened, but they quickly turned serious once they realized the situation was far more dangerous than they had initially thought.

"Stay alert. The beasts have been disturbed," the instructor called out, expanding his mana sense to examine the surrounding area, and just as he had suspected, the creatures of the forest were agitated.

Several kilometers to the east of the forest, Evan, still processing the system notifications that had hit him, was carefully checking what had happened with Luna.

---

[Name: Luna Ravencrest (Half-Hollow)]

[Age: 20]

[Rank: A (S)]

[Void Corruption: 90%]

[Bloodline: Abyssal Couatl (Legendary!) ] (!)

---

Evan noticed the changes immediately, and the moment he did, his expression darkened.

’Fuck, 90%? How the hell did it jump that far? It’s barely been seven days since the last increase,’ he thought, unsure whether he should be happy or worried about such a drastic change.

Then his gaze landed on the exclamation mark next to the bloodline, and he tapped on it.

He knew from experience that it meant something had changed, something related to the bloodline itself.

[Ding! Subject Luna has awakened her bloodline.]

[Ding! A mutated bloodline has been detected. Effects on the subject are unknown.]

---

[Bloodline: Abyssal Couatl]

[Rank: Legendary]

[Stage: Spiritual Manifestation]

[Assimilation: 27%]

Description: The Aurora Couatl, rulers of the skies, one of the seven most powerful dragon species, passed down its bloodline to those who earned its approval. Yet fate saw that bloodline fall under the influence of the abyss, succumbing to void corruption. Rather than being destroyed, it adapted, giving rise to a new variant: the Abyssal Couatl.

NOTE: Due to the subject’s exceptionally high affinity with void energy, the bloodline has manifested ahead of schedule. It is strongly advised to use it with caution before reaching the Overlord rank, as continued use may result in serious physical consequences for the user.

---

Evan read through the new information and fell into a deep silence.

Just as Bruce had said a week ago, she had indeed been trying to awaken her bloodline. But to think she had actually succeeded and gained such a tremendous increase in strength.

It was unexpected. But then again, a breakthrough of this magnitude was never going to come without risk, and the final note made that very clear.

There was, however, something else he didn’t understand.

The bloodline stage.

’Spiritual Manifestation?’

Evan had no idea what that meant. He knew bloodlines were rare, and that unlocking them required certain conditions to be met if you already carried one in your body, but bloodline stages? That was new territory entirely.

’Bruce, do you know anything about this?’ he asked the system directly.

[Yes. The stages in question refer to the levels of bloodline awakening, phases that determine the degree of understanding and assimilation of a given bloodline.]

The moment those words echoed in his mind, a system screen materialized in front of him.

---

[The Awakening process is divided into five Stages:]

> [Awakening]: The initial stage. This is what allows the bloodline’s host to begin walking the path toward inheriting the full power of that bloodline.

> [Spiritual Manifestation]: Once a sufficient amount of the bloodline has been assimilated and understood, the host can manifest an initial form of the species from which the bloodline originates. Under normal circumstances, this stage is only reachable at S-Rank.

> [Transformation]: When the host reaches a sufficiently deep understanding of their species of origin, and bloodline assimilation of that species’ characteristics is high enough, the genes of the original species dormant within the user’s bloodline begin to awaken. 𝗳𝐫𝚎𝗲𝚠𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝘃𝚎𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝗺

> [Ancestral Incarnation]: Upon reaching this stage, the host can finally manifest an almost complete physical form of the species from which their bloodline originates. In Luna’s case, this means being able to fully unleash the strength of the Abyssal Couatl.

> [True Inheritance]: The final and highest stage of bloodline awakening. At this point, the host reaches directly into the origins of the bloodline itself and obtains the original power of the founding species. This stage cannot be reached before achieving SSS-Rank, in other words, only the strength of a demigod can bear the weight of a complete Awakening.

---

[The higher the bloodline assimilation, the greater the power increase and the more characteristics and abilities of the original species are obtained.]

[The base requirements for each stage scale with the Rank of the bloodline. The higher the bloodline’s Rank, the more difficult it becomes to advance to subsequent stages.]

[In Luna’s case, she should have normally been able to awaken her bloodline only at peak A-Rank, as even at the first stage the power it releases is more than her body should be able to bear. However, due to the unique nature of Luna’s constitution, not only has the bloodline mutated, but her affinity with it is so high that she has forcibly vaulted to the second stage while still at B-Rank, which in turn has forcibly elevated her overall power.]

Evan had already formed a rough idea of just how absurd Luna’s situation was, but after reading through the system’s explanation, he couldn’t help but be even more stunned.

’Holy cow. Is she on steroids or something? Why the sudden explosion in power? Bruce, are you sure this training of hers isn’t getting a little out of hand?’ he thought, unable to stop himself from worrying.

If he had understood correctly, the fact that she had not only awakened her legendary bloodline but had already reached the second stage meant her body was not handling it well.

That much was already visible from the final note in the description, and from the fact that her power had been forcibly pushed up by an entire rank.

[Although her condition is currently stable, it is not without complications. If she continues to use the second stage for extended periods, she may encounter various physical consequences.]

’Just as I suspected,’ he thought wondering whether he should go look for her or simply hope she could get herself out of whatever situation she had gotten into.

If she had been forced to unleash her bloodline, then she was undoubtedly facing something beyond her level, perhaps a powerful enemy.

Just then, he was pulled out of his thoughts by a faint tremor in the ground beneath him.

With his heightened perception, even the slightest change could not escape his notice. The moment he sensed it, his expression turned serious as he jumped to his feet and looked toward the eastern part of the forest.

’Sht’

⬇️