Richard had spent a whole night fucking Maria, it was not something he was proud of but he was unable to stop once he started. Moreover, his magic allowed him to reinvigorate Maria and through that...

It was a coincidence, some may even call it an accident.

But the reinvigoration, coupled with the powerful mystical force carried by his semen...

All of that created a "magical reaction" that healed the scars all over Maria’s body. Moreover, her skin had become fair. Not to white but it was also not too dark, just a bit lighter than a latina but not as pasty as a vampire.

If that wasn’t enough, Maria also found herself getting stronger, her body did not gain much muscle but the power behind her got enhanced.

Richard did not notice it until Morgana came inside his room and commented on Maria’s state-

"You turned her into a thrall?"

Through Morgana’s explanation, Richard learned that a thrall does not always mean a reanimated corpse.

It could also be a term used to refer to a magical slave, but unlike individuals bound by a magical pact/contract, Thralls are beings who are deeply infused with the mystic and life force of their master.

The reason most Thralls are reanimated corpses boils down to resistance.

A living being, even without mystical power could still impose a will, while most would be unable to impose it unto the world, they could fully do so with their own bodies.

Most non-mystics in the past had focused on such techniques to surpass human limits.

But this ability is also the reason why thralls are mostly corpses, without a soul, a mystic could turn a being into a thrall since their mystical encroachment would face no resistance or obstruction.

Still, it was not impossible to create a living thrall, though it was rare as few people would willingly subject themselves to domination. Even the most loyal subjects would instinctively resist domination.

But Richard never tried to dominate Maria...

Well he did... but it was not in the same way as making a thrall-

"The desire to dominate is what’s needed, whether you wish to turn one into a thrall or not, the combination of mystical power, life energy and desire is all the ingredients needed to create a thrall- of course, a willing victim is the biggest factor that decides whether you succeed or not"

Richard didn’t want to accept it but he had no way to deny the fact that literally lay before him.

Maria was still passed out due to exhaustion but she would likely wake up in a couple of hours.

When that happens, Richard would have to deal with telling her about her current state.

"What’s the difference between a living thrall and a dead thrall?"

"One is alive and stronger with more potential, the other is just a corpse that could move around like a puppet"

Which means that Maria had potential to get even stronger. Maybe even become a witch...

"With enough time and learning, she could become a witch comparable to that lover of yours"

"Lover?"

"The young witch with glasses"

"..."

Richard neither confirmed nor did he deny as even he did not know what kind of state his relationship with Cindy was in at the moment.

Moreover, even if he did want to say that his relationship with her was more than just "friends with benefits"... something inside him made him stop.

Richard had already experienced too much and he didn’t want to go down the same path over and over again.

For now, even when things looked like they were going well, all that was happening around him was just an illusion of stability.

There was still the worldwide witch hunt, the chaos that was happening where his eyes can’t see and the various matters that he dropped and delegated to others.

Some may call him an idiot for looking away willfully but Richard had a feeling that things would get even more wild the moment he shoves his hands into anything.

"I won’t advise you on how to act, but as someone who is bound to you, I would suggest you to take this event as a learning experience. While I personally believe it to be impossible, with the way things are going... there is a non-zero chance that this transformation would not only occur to non-mystic women you engage with..."

Morgana didn’t try to help Richard with his relationship problems or the emotional struggles he was going through.

Instead, she focused more on the important matter that Richard was willfully ignoring.

"That..."

Richard didn’t want to think about that matter, he didn’t even want to believe that it was possible.

But the fact that Morgana talked about it made him feel like her words were a foreshadowing of what was to come.

While it did sound like good fortune, after all, witches transformed into actual mystics, not some talented non-mystics who had access to Merlin’s system...

Richard already had problems dealing with witches that wanted his seed to create pure blooded mystics. If they learned that he could transform them into one...

"You won’t be able to hide it for long, moreover, you can’t really deny their desire to get stronger can you? Your seed- at least for now helps them reach power they could have only dreamed off, albeit temporary, many of the witches use that momentary boost to peer into realms they could only dream of, hoping to use that experience in order to further their own strength."

All it takes is one case, one accident... if one witch somehow finds themselves transforming.

"Too late"

A familiar voice called from the door, Richard turned to see the face of Cindy who had a look of confusion and worry.

But what was striking about her was that, unlike Maria whose changes were subtle and not too obvious, Cindy’s change was...

"It seems that you have descended from a dragon, there were people in the past who harvested the flesh and blood of mystical beings. Based on your appearance alone, I could confirm that you have blood from the Imperial Dragon Eaters..."

Cindy’s changes were not subtle at all, her eyes had become something close to that of a reptile but not. They were unnatural but enchanting at the same time and her skin had signs of scales at certain areas.

Moreover, she also grew out fangs, they didn’t protrude from her lips but they were very obvious once she opens mouth.

Fortunately, she didn’t grow a tail or horns but the changes on her body were very obvious.

"Is there a way to hide it?"

Richard asked Morgana who shook her head and answered.

"I don’t know, do you think anyone would want to hide such features in my era? By the time the era of mystics going into hiding came, the people who had such features already died out. The last one to vanish was Merlin who did not have any explicit mystical features but carried the strongest mystical blood"

Simply put, there was no technique that could help Cindy at the moment- but that did not mean that all hope was lost.

"If something doesn’t exist, then all we need to do is make it right?"

Richard was not the type to give up so easily.

He didn’t care if others called him mad or if his plans seemed impossible.

If the spell or method didn’t exist then all he had to do was make it!

Richard didn’t think of such things because he had the knowledge and ability of Merlin, he thought of such things because he knew that innovation comes from will.

Innovation doesn’t come to innovators through a dream about a new innovation. True innovation is born out of necessity and right now- Richard faced that very necessity.

The question now wasn’t-

"Could it be done?"

The question was-

"When will it be done?"

For both his own and Cindy’s safety... Richard had to resolve this matter and he had to do it fast-

"When’s the Goddess when you need her?"

Still, getting as much assistance as possible was also key to success and the missing goddess really put a wrench in his plans.