Seeing the deep blue Blood Jade and the completely different rewards from before, Ciel's eyes flashed with delight. He had expected this batch's standout reward would again be Blood Production Enhancement, just at a higher tier. He had not expected it to be entirely different.
[Blood Jade — Current Rewards]
[Limb Regeneration(Platinum)]
[Ink Escape (Gold)]
[Vortex (Silver)]
"Is it because North Sea Kraken blood is far stronger than the other two, changing the Blood Jade's rewards so drastically?"
It made sense. Limb Regeneration was one of the Kraken's signature traits. After being hit by Ciel's Giant Slayer toxin, it had severed several tentacles on its own. When it ambushed the two-faced man off Drear Island, several more were destroyed. Before long, it had regrown them, somewhat weaker at first, needing time to recover.
For Ciel, that ability was immensely practical. Combined with his once ascended Legendary Life, it would lift his survivability to a higher plane.
The other reward, Ink Escape, was the Kraken's ace escape technique. Facing overwhelming foes, it would spew a highly disorienting ink that not only obscured sight but also scrambled magical perception across an area, making pursuit impossible. It must have been how it escaped the Hufflepuff lady who had once hoped to keep it at Hogwarts for sashimi.
"Another escape tool," he muttered with a twitch. The Kraken truly was the consummate survivor. No wonder it had lived from eras older than the Four Founders to the present.
He was not complaining. No one ever disliked having too many ways to stay alive.
As for the third reward, Silver tier Vortex, that at least touched combat.
"Likely for use at sea. The Kraken always brings whirlpools, trapping ships that are its targets. It seems to be a native talent. Just like the dragonfire and toxins I gained from earlier Blood Jade, I can inherit the Kraken's talent through this too. How best to use it, I will know when it is fully mature."
He narrowed his eyes and looked to the bioluminescent mushrooms. These strange fungi had surprised him more than once. They carried a special trait, under the induction of powerful blood, they could mutate.
"I wonder if they can bear Titan Giant blood."
That was the thought, use the troll priest Cyrus's blood to induce the mushrooms. Cyrus's bloodline came from Titan Giants, thin as it was, it was myth tier. Even after so long, it had let him inherit a potent ancient fire magic.
If such blood could induce the mushrooms, perhaps the effect would outstrip even Kraken blood.
He did not hesitate, he returned to Sprout Island, secured a fresh vial from Cyrus, and hurried back. With care and expectation, he misted the blood over a cluster.
The instant the mycelium absorbed it, flames rolled across the hyphae.
At that moment, a Diamond tier glow flickered above the cluster. A single kind of troll priest blood could create a diamond reward mushroom?
Then, what if he remixed it like the third batch, three magical creatures' blood? Epic? Seven bloods? Legendary?!
A wild thought flashed. "Wouldn't that be broken? Voldemort, Dumbledore, line them up."
The thought popped and popped like a bubble. The diamond light winked out, and the blood-drunk hyphae burnt to ash.
He went still.
So that was a false high.
He did not feel too dejected. The Titan Giants were revered as gods in the Olympian era. Their blood, across magical history, was absurd. Even demigods inheriting Titan blood did jaw-dropping things. If a mere mushroom could harness that, it would be a half-god itself. Failing to bear it was reasonable.
"Fine. Just discovering my blood accelerates Blood Jade metamorphosis is a huge win."
And he had not imagined the flash. The diamond light had been real, even if fleeting. That was proof the mushrooms could in principle mutate under Titan blood. They simply were not robust enough.
If he could modify the strain and push them toward withstanding such blood, then one day, he might mass-grow demigod plants.
For now, that was far off. Re-engineering a plant to tolerate Titan blood would be nightmarishly hard.
"The black wizard who traded with Bogey Lockman probably has accumulation on this path. If I can find him, it might save a lot of effort."
He set the thought aside. The deep blue Blood Jade needed more time yet to mature. The Quintaped blood mushrooms would be faster, days, likely. Then he could access Quintaped Transfiguration and perhaps learn a weakness, giving the Aurors a way to hurt Quirrell badly enough that he would stop hunting Ciel.
In the meantime, he would not idle.
"Time to test how much platinum Waterborne Empowerment can push me in runic script. Maybe I do not even need platinum perception; Waterborne Empowerment might carry me to the threshold of Ancient Weather Magic. Another strong card."
Light danced in his eyes. He cast Bubble Head again. On the panel, boosts to magic perception and strength lit at once. A heady, omnipotent feeling surged, he checked himself. Not omnipotent, just truly surging.
"Let's see how far I can go with ancient runes now."
His wand traced strange arcs. Magic streamed from the tip, building runic skeletons.
The first nodes for all three runes formed in a blink. Then second, third. His eyes brightened. Where before three nodes had cost him everything and left him drenched, now, even if not effortless, he had reserves.
Crackle. Crackle.
At three nodes each, the runes resonated again. Arcs danced on the wand. Still too weak, barely enough to make a common first-year yelp, not enough to wound meaningfully.
"Continue."
He pressed on. The fourth node, never completed before, came haltingly, not nearly as fluid as the first three, but it came. On the panel, Ancient Weather Magic's iron-black lustre spread, closer to true Iron tier.
[Ancient Weather Magic (Iron, nearing)]
The arcs thickened, blue-white serpents writhing. Now it could seriously threaten a student and even an adult wizard.
Still not enough.
"Keep going."
His wand slowed. The old weight returned, tipping like a mountain. The fifth node was a leap in difficulty from the fourth. His vision darkened. It felt like his spirit was being wrung out. He clenched through it, Occlumency grinding, even biting his tongue to spike pain and sustain focus.
The tip traced the final stroke.
Three runes, five nodes each, fifteen nodes. Complete.
[Runic Nodes Constructed: 15]
[Fehu — 5 nodes]
[Thurisaz — 5 nodes]
[Dagaz — 5 nodes]
[Resonance: High]
The resonance surged. The coarse, rolling electric serpents from the fourth node twisted together, becoming a single, much thicker bolt. The scent of singed air hit his nose.
[Output: Lightning Spear — Released]
He stiffened. "Not here! Not in the greenhouse! If I fry the ceiling, what am I planting under?"
He burst from the small greenhouse, wand skyward.
A bolt ten plus metres long tore the air like a drawn blade and stabbed from earth to sky.