Chapter 110 ● Blood and Lineage!]
"Woooh..." Aezaleon genuinely gasped aloud.
Even though he completely lacked a proper frame of reference for the exact value of such vast resources, the sheer scale of the massive numbers alone was more than enough to leave him utterly stunned.
"That's..." His eyes widened considerably. "That's an absolutely absurd amount of wealth." A wide grin slowly spread across his face. "With rich resources like these, mine, Auguszta's, and Aphryne's ascension to Monarch is practically guaranteed. And with your expert guidance, Clementine..." The grin widened even further. "...one of us might even have a genuine chance of reaching Sovereign."
His eyes sparkled with excitement. "Right? Am I right?"
"Now, now, don't drift too far into your wild fantasies, husband~ Even with my direct assistance, aside from Anastasia, the three of you are still quite some significant distance away from true Sovereignty," Clementine's response was completely immediate, her calm tone instantly dismantling the lofty future Aezaleon had already begun constructing inside his head.
"As for our little Anastasia, before she can even begin to consider advancing her Core Tier, she must first reach Ascension Rank Five. After that milestone, she will likely consume ninety percent, if not the entirety, of our current wealth. That includes the many corpses we collected, the rare ores, the powerful artifacts, and every single other resource of value presently in our possession."
She paused briefly to let that sink in before continuing.
"Also, you're forgetting something incredibly important, husband. A Monarch Core must first be thoroughly refined through exactly ten thousand Legendary Energy Stones of the corresponding Ascension Rank. Only after reaching Ascension Rank Five in either the Material or Spiritual Ascension System does that entire process become possible."
"Ah..."
Aezaleon muttered, immediately coming down from his emotional high.
Indeed, there was also the critical issue of compatibility to think about. Energies one or two tiers entirely above his own, let alone several ranks stronger, were definitely not something he could recklessly absorb simply because he possessed them in storage. After checking his status through the bracelet, he had already learned that his Form Fortification Rank was only Three, perfectly matching both his Material and Spiritual Ascension Ranks.
"Well, it's already quite good that my path toward becoming a Monarch has been thoroughly established. All of this happened within just five short days of my birth." He shook his head slowly with a self-deprecating smile. "I suppose I was getting a bit ahead of myself."
"Indeed," Clementine replied, shifting lazily on her luxurious bed as she nodded faintly. "Ahg~ five days is hardly worth measuring in the grand scheme of things, husband. What you've accomplished within them is already far more than most people manage in several decades. There is absolutely no need to hurry toward the next summit when the current one has yet to be fully climbed."
Then, her expression became slightly more serious.
"For now, simply focus on your concepts. You possess remarkably few of them at the moment, while your mastery over those you do possess is still rather shallow."
Aezaleon's brow twitched slightly at her blunt words.
"And while you're at it, improve your Form Fortification too. With the vast resources currently available to us and your powerful innate sub ability—Essence Devour Ascension: Matter-Soulmatter Absorption—that should be among the simplest of your concerns."
She was clearly not finished yet.
"As for the Engineered Ability System, you've been neglecting it far too much." Clementine opened one eye slightly. "At present, how many learned abilities do you even possess? Merely four?"
She began counting them off one by one. "Linear Frost Severance, Glacial Vector Impalement, Cryovant Fracture Lockdrive, and Frostsword Executioner."
Her deep crimson eyes curved seductively as they settled upon him.
"Two learned abilities and two created abilities would be highly impressive for someone your age, normally. However..." She paused briefly, her lips curling upward. "Two learned abilities and two created abilities as my husband is rather lacking. Don't you think?"
Aezaleon nodded in agreement. Unfortunately, he genuinely couldn't argue with a single word she had just said.
Concepts.
Form Fortification.
Abilities.
After mentally reviewing everything Clementine had pointed out, he realized there was only one major aspect of his growth they had yet to discuss.
His bloodline.
"With that, only my bloodline remains," Aezaleon stated. Dividing a small portion of his attention, he focused inward on Clementine, who was currently lazing around inside his Soul Sea. "I think that's a topic we've pushed aside far too many times already, so why don't you tell me what I should be doing about it? I'm completely blank there."
Clementine opened one lazy eye.
She gave the floating fragment of his consciousness a brief glance before closing it again the very next second.
As Aezaleon already knew, the Bloodline Tiers of Calamities followed an entirely different naming system from those of most other mortal races. Among elves, vampires, humans, demons, beasts, fiends, and the vast majority of known species, a Tier Two bloodline would generally be classified as a High Blood. For Calamities, however, the equivalent designation was known as Void Blood.
The names differed slightly, but that was all. The underlying evolutionary requirements, thresholds, and overall progression remained exactly the same between them.
— — — — —
Bloodline Tier Classifications
Standard Races:
1. Pureblood
2. High
3. Archaic
4. Primordial
5. Original
— — —
For Calamities:
1. Pureblood
2. Void
3. Infernal Void
4. Abominable
5. Accursed
— — — — —
Tier Evolution Requirements
• To become a High/Voidblood: Kill 10,000 of one's kind, OR 10 High/Voidblood of one's kind, OR 1 Archaic/Infernal Voidblood of one's kind.
• To become an Archaic/Infernal Voidblood: Kill 1,000 of High/Voidblood of one's kind, OR 5 Primordial/Abominable of one's kind, OR 1 Original/Accursed of one's kind.
• To become a Primordial/Abominable: Kill 100 of Archaic/Infernal Voidblood of one's kind, OR 1 Original/Accursed of one's kind.
• To become an Original/Accursed: Kill 10 of Primordial/Abominable of one's kind, OR 5 Original/Accursed of one's kind.
— — —
● Elimination Rule: Targets must be of the same or higher Ascension rank!
● [Note: The gap between ranks, cores, or quality doesn't matter one bit; only the Number and the Lineage are tracked!]
— — — — —
Conception Probability Rates
• High × High: 10% probability of conceiving a High progeny. 50% for Pureblood.
• High × Pure: 5% High. 30% Pureblood.
• Archaic × Archaic: 10% Archaic. 50% High. 100% Pure.
• Archaic × High: 5% Archaic. 30% High. 80% Pure.
• Archaic × Pure: 20% High. 50% Pure.
• Primordial × Primordial: 10% Primordial. 50% Archaic. 100% High.
• Primordial × Archaic: 5% Primordial. 30% Archaic. 80% High. 100% Pure.
• Primordial × High: 20% Archaic. 50% High. 100% Pure.
• Primordial × Pure: 30% High. 80% Pure.
• Original × Original: 10% Original. 50% Primordial. 100% Archaic.
• Original × Primordial: 5% Original. 30% Primordial. 80% Archaic. 100% High.
• Original × Archaic: 20% Primordial. 50% Archaic. 80% High. 100% Pure.
• Original × High: 30% Archaic. 50% High. 100% Pure.
• Original × Pure: 20% Archaic. 30% High. 80% Pure.
— — —
[Note: The probabilities do not mean that out of every ten children born between two Highs, one will always be a High and the remaining nine Purebloods. Rather, each individual conception carries an independent 10% probability of producing a High progeny. In other words, if their luck happens to be poor, it is entirely possible for a couple to produce a hundred children and still have every single one of them be Purebloods, with none inheriting the High lineage. Though it is statistically very unlikely.]