Early morning light filtered through the curtains as Victor Stone stirred from his meditative trance. His eyes snapped open, awareness flooding back as he assessed his internal state.
"The shackles are loosening," he murmured, a satisfied smile crossing his features. "I should be able to breakthrough soon. I'll need to find time for proper seclusion."
He rose smoothly from the bed, stretching slightly before making his way out of his room and into the manor's main hall.
Only Krul sat on the sofa, watching some television program with apparent disinterest.
"Where is everyone?" Victor settled onto the cushion beside her, extending his spiritual sense throughout the manor grounds. The familiar presences he expected were conspicuously absent, leaving only himself and Krul within the estate's boundaries.
"Shinoa took everyone to Stelle's world," Krul replied without looking away from the screen.
Victor raised an eyebrow and pulled up the chat group interface, scrolling through the message history. Sure enough, the logs confirmed Krul's explanation. Apparently Penacony was hosting some kind of seven-day free admission event, and most of the girls had jumped at the opportunity.
"Why didn't you go with them?"
Victor dismissed the chat panel and turned his attention to Krul, who had already shifted position to drape herself across his lap.
"Because of this, obviously."
Without further preamble, Krul tugged open Victor's collar and pressed her fangs to his neck.
Victor immediately released the spiritual energy shield protecting his body, allowing her access. The sharp points broke through his skin with practiced ease, and golden blood, rich with concentrated spiritual power, welled from the puncture wounds.
Krul drank deeply, her small hands gripping his shoulders for stability.
Victor slid one arm around her waist to support her weight more comfortably, preventing any awkward angles. His other hand rested naturally on her hip.
Ten minutes passed in companionable silence.
When Krul finally pulled away, her pale cheeks had flushed a becoming shade of rose, and her eyes held that distinctive glazed quality she always displayed after feeding from him, like someone pleasantly drunk on expensive wine.
"Thank you, dear." Her voice came out breathy and satisfied. "With this, I should be able to push through to the next stage in one clean breakthrough."
Victor's blood was, without question, the most effective cultivation aid Krul had ever encountered. Better than any pill or elixir could hope to be. Whenever her advancement stalled at a particular bottleneck, drinking from him inevitably provided the push she needed to break through.
Sometimes Victor envied that particular aspect of her physique, the way her unique biology allowed such straightforward progress.
"I should go into seclusion now." Krul made as if to stand, but Victor's arm tightened around her waist, pulling her back down.
"Hold on," he said, a playful smile tugging at his lips. "I'm planning to enter seclusion myself for a while. But before I do, I think I deserve a proper reward for my generous donation."
Krul's already pink cheeks deepened to crimson. She ducked her head against his chest, her voice muffled against his shirt. "Not in the living room. Let's go to your bedroom."
Fighting in the living room would inevitably create a mess. She had no desire for Shinoa and the others to return home and immediately realize what had transpired in their absence. The teasing would be unbearable.
"Fair enough."
Victor's smile widened as he stood in one fluid motion, Krul still cradled in his arms. A moment later they vanished from the living room entirely, reappearing in his private chambers.
The door had barely closed before pleasant sounds began drifting from behind it, a symphony that would continue for quite some time.
More than a month slipped by in what felt like the blink of an eye.
"Finally," Victor breathed, opening his eyes as the last traces of spiritual energy settled into his newly-expanded meridians. "Middle stage of Divine Transformation Realm."
The cultivation session ended, he rolled his shoulders and stretched the lingering stiffness from his limbs. "Tinker, how long was I in seclusion this time?"
The system's mechanical voice chimed in his mind. "Master, your seclusion lasted thirty-four days, nine hours, forty minutes, and fourteen seconds, a new personal record for longest continuous cultivation session!"
Victor frowned thoughtfully. Over a month. Considerably longer than he'd anticipated.
"Each stage takes longer than the last," he mused aloud. "The progress keeps slowing down."
At his current cultivation level, Victor could only rely on brute force meditation and the assistance of his formation arrays. The most effective method, supplementary pills, remained frustratingly out of reach.
Not for lack of knowledge. He'd mastered most high-level alchemy techniques. The problem was materials. He simply didn't have access to the spiritual herbs and medicines required for advanced-grade pills.
The medicinal garden in the Soul Land world could produce ingredients for mid-tier pills at best. Anything beyond that remained beyond his current resources.
"It would be perfect if the chat group could invite members from higher-level cultivation worlds," Victor muttered, running one hand through his hair. "Fantasy worlds should have the herbs I need."
[Ding! Welcome Medusa to the chat group!]
Victor froze, staring at the notification that had materialized before his eyes.
Was his luck really that good? Had he actually manifested a new member just by wishing for one?
Well then. Apparently the chat group was more attentive to his needs than he'd given it credit for.
The system understood him after all. A pillow delivered exactly when drowsiness struck!
[Kiana: Wait, what? There's a new person?]
[Belle: Am I seeing things? Is there really a newcomer?]
[Victor: No, you're reading it correctly.]
[Shinobu: It's only been about a month since the last addition. That's considerably faster than previous intervals.]
[Bai Yuekui: And just one person this time, rather than a group.]
[Stelle: Newcomer! Show us what you look like!]
[Lumine: Yes, introduce yourself properly!]
[Shinoa: Newcomer, if you have questions or need clarification, please check the chat group announcement section first.]
[Jibril: Greetings, senior! Please treat me kindly!]
[Gu Yuena: What senior? You only joined a month before her.]
[Tsunade: I wonder how strong this new member is.]
[Victor: Her strength isn't bad. Should be around early Foundation Establishment stage.]
If Victor's knowledge served him correctly, this Medusa should be one of the heroines from Battle Through the Heavens, also known as Cai Lin, Queen of the Snake-People Tribe.
Her cultivation level sat at Dou Huang realm, which roughly translated to early Foundation Establishment in immortal cultivation terms.
A genuine character from a fantasy world.
Though Battle Through the Heavens ranked among the lower-tier fantasy settings when compared to true high-level cultivation worlds, it still qualified. And more importantly, alchemy flourished throughout the Douqi Continent, far more advanced than even many mid-tier fantasy worlds could claim.
The world's overall power level remained relatively modest, with fewer supreme masters to complicate matters. But it possessed abundant high-grade spiritual herbs and medicines.
Exactly what he needed.
Perfect timing. The chat group truly did understand his requirements.
[Medusa: Are you truly from other worlds?]
At that moment, Medusa had finished reviewing the chat group's announcement section. Shock registered clearly on her exquisite features.
[Victor: Absolutely genuine.]
[Medusa: Then please allow Medusa to offer her greetings to all fellow cultivators here.]
[Lumine: Well, well! Look at that attitude! That's how a newcomer should behave. Unlike certain people who immediately called everyone monkeys and made enemies of the entire group.]
[Gu Yuena: Exactly! So arrogant from the start!]
[Jibril: ...]
[Tokisaki Kurumi: Gu Yuena, you might not want to criticize others on that particular point.]
[Gu Yuena: ...]
Fine. If they weren't going to maintain basic courtesy and refrain from bringing up embarrassing first impressions, they could forget about friendship.
Medusa's humble and cautious approach surprised even Victor somewhat.
Was this really the proud Snake-People Queen from the story?
Actually, there was a logical explanation for Queen Medusa's careful behavior.
She'd just finished reading the announcement when her eyes landed on Victor's casual assessment of her strength in the chat log. He'd called it "not bad", which implied his own power exceeded hers, possibly by a significant margin.
That fact alone demanded caution. The message was clear: this group contained individuals whose cultivation surpassed her own.
Compared to Gu Yuena and Jibril's initial approaches, Medusa demonstrated considerably more wisdom. At minimum, she hadn't immediately antagonized the entire membership.