Chapter 383: Pulling A Hand For A Finger
Chapter 383: Pulling A Hand For A Finger
"These four contain noble bloodline..." Leo said, trailing off as he fell into thought. Katherine immediately caught it.
"Leo, do you have something else to say?" she asked.
"Yes..." He hesitated, weighing whether to reveal a part of his talent. He was strong enough to defend himself—and valuable enough that others would too.
There was also the collaboration with Professor Gunther; he was already expected to reveal something. And Katherine and Brant had proven trustworthy. There was no real issue.
"Actually, yes," he began.
"I would like to display how my talent works."
He glanced around the room. Only Kaelion, Miho, Sylrael, Lily, and Katherine were present. Tavian was still outside, surveying the newly made bunker—likely sketching a blueprint for his own territory and studying where arrays could be built.
"Hoh? You finally trust us enough to do so?" Katherine said, amused.
"Though I know you’ll only show a part of it, I’m still curious. Go on. If I find something that can help you, I’ll point it out."
Leo nodded and looked again at the separated cores.
Thunderveil Skyreaver Beastcore (High 4-star) – Noble Bloodline
Tempest Raven Beastcore (Mid 4-star) – Noble Bloodline
Storm Condor Beastcore (Low 4-star) – Noble Bloodline
Thunderveil Skyreaver Beastcore (Low 4-star) – Noble Bloodline
He decided to keep one Thunderveil Skyreaver for the final beast and sacrificed the Condor’s beastcore.
Ding!
Thunderveil Skyreaver Beastcore (Low 4-star)
Low 4-star → Low 4-star
Noble Bloodline: 34% → 68%
Katherine’s eyes sharpened as she sensed the Condor’s essence being pulled apart. Pale, white-bluish streaks shimmered in the air, drifting like mist before shooting into the Skyreaver’s core as the former cores completely sublimated.
"This..." she muttered.
"Did you just purify the bloodline present in the Skyreaver’s beastcore?" she guessed.
"Yes. This is what my talent can do."
Leo didn’t pause for further questions. He picked up the Raven’s beastcore.
Low 4-star → Mid 4-star
Noble Bloodline: 68% → 97%
Elements: Lightning and Wind
Leo’s eyes narrowed slightly.
He knew that once it reached the Royal bloodline, any further sacrifice would be pointless. Spending an entire noble bloodline core for just a 3% increase would be pure waste.
So instead, he picked up a super bloodline beastcore—this time pairing it with one that carried a water element.
Tidal Skybreaker Beastcore (Low 4-star) – Super Bloodline
Ding!
Mid 4-star → Mid 4-starNoble Bloodline: 97% → 100%
Ding!
Thunderveil Skyreaver (Mid 4-star) – Royal Bloodline (1%)
Katherine’s eyes widened. The beastcore in Leo’s hand visibly grew, its presence thickening as it began to emit the pressure of a Mid 4-star beast.
"What bloodline rank is it now?" she asked, voice tight.
"Royal," Leo replied simply.
"I cannot increase the bloodline any higher than this. I don’t know why."
"Of course you can’t! Because—wait, you won’t be able to hear it." She caught herself, then shook her head with a sharp exhale. "But this is mind-blowing!"
Her gaze snapped back to him.
"Wait. Don’t tell me—you can do the same for beasts that are alive?"
"I can. But only for my tamed beasts."
Katherine pressed a hand to her forehead.
"No wonder you have such unique and strong beasts..." she said, her tone tinged with jealousy.
Then her eyes shifted toward Lily.
"Monsters from the outskirts... now I understand how."
A beat passed—and then something clicked.
"Wait! You still haven’t mastered your talent yet. What if you can advance the bloodlines of beasts that aren’t contracted to you? And what if you can manipulate bloodlines freely? It’s entirely possible you could do the same for beast skills—or even the talents of intelligent beasts!"
By the end, her eyes were gleaming, almost feverish. She had never encountered anything so unfathomable.
"This... this is the perfect skill any lord could have!"
While the others stood stunned, Leo felt a faint grimace tug at his lips.
Nothing good had ever come from revealing even 1% of his abilities to a professor. Give them a hint, and they would try to pry out everything hidden within you. Pulling a hand for a finger.
Katherine’s sharp gaze returned to him.
"You will not reveal this to anyone other than Gunther and us. And I suggest you approach him as soon as possible. Your talent is simply monstrous. You can turn a dying commoner into an empire-leading monster."
"No wonder both your strengths are skyrocketing," she concluded.
Leo set those thoughts aside and focused on something else she had said.
"Professor Katherine, what do you mean by this being a perfect skill any lord can have?"
Katherine nodded.
"Tell me—what does a lord do for his subjects?"
Leo thought for a moment.
"Lead them... and keep things in check?"
"That’s true," she said, "but there’s something just as important—providing."
Her voice turned steady, deliberate.
"I’ve seen cities fall because their strongest individuals left. Why? Because the lord couldn’t provide for them."
She looked straight at him.
"Your talent is priceless. You can bless someone with power—and they’ll follow you for life. And I am 100% certain that if you can bestow it, you can also strip it away.
"This makes you a permanent provider. Loyalty is rewarded with talent, skills, and stronger beasts. Betrayal becomes a death sentence. If that’s not perfect, then what is?"
Leo’s eyes widened slightly.
He had never considered it from that angle.
For someone like him—who valued trust above all else—the ability to enforce absolute loyalty was nothing short of a dream.
And in a world of endless possibilities, he could even learn a skill to discern whether someone was trustworthy... or a snake.
That alone would make him an unrivaled ruler.
After all, people fell for only 2 reasons—weakness or betrayal.
He would never be weak.
And betrayal?
He could make sure it never existed.
As for his talent... if Katherine’s speculation about stripping talents and skills proved true—
Wouldn’t that make him the strongest existence to ever exist?
Just as he had expected—if revealing his hand to a snake was disastrous, revealing the same--even if it’s a fraction--to someone like Katherine could be miraculous.
And in this world, lurking with danger, having an army of loyal subjects is nothing sort of blessing. Suddenly, a spark of getting stronger as quickly as possible came to his mind.
Why should he care about the difficulties of controlling his strength in future, now? He could just become as strong as possible and learn things slowly along the way. Because in front of absolute strength, skill is nothing.
And, as if answering to his thoughts, a notification arrived on all the students’ devices.