CHAPTER 32: ATHENA’S EVOLUTION

"Grandfather, can I perform the ritual to obtain the Black Heart Soul now?" Richard asked.

"Yes, you can, you truly can. It might not even be painful for you, since the pain it brings comes from evil influence, not physical assault," Aldric replied.

"But... do you have the required materials?" he then asked.

The necessary ingredients were both easy and difficult to find, for they consisted of human parts.

The very first was the blood of a virgin woman.

In this world, there was no such thing as blood donors. One could not expect to obtain blood without hurting someone.

Aside from blood, a brain was also required—specifically, the brain of someone with a strongly evil nature.

Then, ten pairs of different eyes.

All of these were needed to summon wicked souls.

They were special—not ordinary evil souls. And even with those materials, one could not summon them without having at least 90% Dark Element Affinity.

"You don’t need to worry about the virgin’s blood, we can take it from the Fire Spirit Queen," Aldric said when Richard fell silent.

Richard’s eyes widened at that, staring at his ancestor with a twitching face.

"Is she still a virgin?" Richard asked, struggling to even say the words.

"Yeah, of course. In this world, many powerful women are too busy practice from a young age. They have no time for marriage—or even dating..." Aldric chuckled as he explained.

"In that case, I only need to find the brain of someone with an evil nature, and ten pairs of eyes," Richard said.

That was something that required him to act ruthlessly.

Of course, he didn’t have to target ordinary people, since this world was not lacking in criminals.

At times, such things were indeed necessary—not just for soul rituals, but often to help increase elemental affinity.

For example, someone who wanted to raise their affinity with the Wind Element could use the body of another who had the same affinity as a material.

The methods varied—turning them into potions, concoctions, or other means.

Though it seemed cruel, few would hesitate when it came to gaining power.

"Grandfather, was there anything else that drifted down the river?" Richard asked.

He was a little curious about what had happened while he was away.

"Unfortunately, nothing useful," Aldric replied.

"Were they useless?"

"Yes, but that doesn’t mean worthless. Most of them were fragments of weapons and such, all made of high-quality materials."

"Ohh, could you give me one to sell? I need money."

Richard knew those fragments could be recycled, but he lacked the knowledge to do so. Naturally, if they were high-quality, their price would be high as well.

"Take this..." Aldric casually handed him something from his pocket.

Richard found it was a sword hilt, made of wood that seemed stronger than most iron yet still as light as ordinary wood, has a long dragon carving.

"That’s Obsidora Wood. Don’t sell it for mortal coin—you must sell it for Nature Spirits," Aldric instructed.

Nature Spirits were the currency of Magi, known for being able to rapidly restore their spent Aether, among many other uses.

Richard nodded and stored the sword hilt away.

"Grandfather, I also have a Bloodline Potion. Do you think it would be suitable to give it to my horse?" Richard pulled out the red liquid-filled vial he had obtained from Olivia.

"It’s worth a try. The result might be good," Aldric answered.

"Mm..." Richard then looked at Athena, gesturing for her to approach.

The horse obediently came closer, looking at him with curious eyes.

"This drink can help you evolve, so try drinking it," Richard told Athena as he opened the bottle.

Athena, obedient as ever, nodded her head to Richard, opened her mouth, and allowed him to pour the potion inside, swallowing it without hesitation.

Afterward, Richard stepped back, curious to see what would happen.

Buzz!

The horse’s body shone with a red light, glowing even in her eyes.

Richard saw her muscles grow tauter, while her skin darkened with a faint red tint.

Yet the horse remained calm—not even restless—as though nothing unusual had occurred.

"Ehh..."

The red light suddenly condensed into radiant wings upon her back, fluttering gently, though not lifting the horse into the air.

"Not bad—the Primordial Bloodline of this horse has awakened. It has evolved into a Primordial Beast, now at Tier 1+. Richard, if you want it to continue evolving, you must feed it grass mixed with Nature Spirits. If it reaches Tier 11, it will gain true wings and be able to carry you through the skies..." Aldric explained.

"That’s too far off," Richard replied.

Tier 1, 1+, and so forth were still considered mortal ranks. Tier 10 was the equivalent of a Magus in the Aether Will Realm.

For Magi, there was only the Aether Will Realm, but within it, their strength varied based on both the quantity and quality of their Aether.

Their power could be gauged as equivalent to what tier of Primordial Beast they compared to—or also to Sky Armor Knights.

As for wild beasts, though they were divided into similar tiers, they usually peaked at Tier 5 unless they evolved into Primordial Beasts.

"But grandfather, since this horse can release wings of light now, can’t it be used for flying?" Richard asked.

"Of course not. At most, it can only slow its descent when falling from high places," Aldric replied.

"I see..." Richard nodded.

"In that case, grandfather, I’ll be going now," Richard said.

"Yes, make sure to surprise me again when you return."

"Hahahaha, that’s a promise..." Richard chuckled.

He mounted Athena, but had her retract her wings of light before galloping away.

’I’ll train first,’ he thought, not rushing to gather the materials for the Black Heart Soul, since he had only just returned to the village, and for now there was an unknown crisis—though it should only be a small matter, to be resolved once the Sky Armor Knights arrived.

Not wanting to waste time, he planned to spend the rest of the day in training.

DING!

(Your affinity with the Wave Element has increased from 79% to 85%!)

(Wave: 85%)

Richard suddenly received a notification from the System—but only his elemental affinity had risen.

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