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Despite saying I wouldn't abuse my power, I still wanted to use Evolution once more. It was simply too fun. I had thought about evolving my house and bringing it along with us on the trip. Wouldn't that be awesome? But I decided I could do that tomorrow. Another idea crossed my mind. Maybe I could evolve my bloodline. What if I touched my own flowing blood?
While in the shower, I quickly sharpened one of my nails and cut my arm, letting blood flow freely from the wound.
"Now… Evolve."
I touched the warm, flowing blood and evolved it on the spot. I knew bloodlines were more than just literal blood. It involved genetics and so much more, but—
FLASH!
"Woah?! It works!"
I gasped as my Mana and Divine Power were rapidly drained almost to nothing. My blood glowed brilliantly, turning completely golden like liquid gold for a few moments before flowing back into the wound and sealing it perfectly, as if it had never existed.
"D-Did it work?!"
As the wound closed, I felt something deep within me stir and awaken. Clear red and golden scales spread across my body. Flames flickered here and there while my horns grew even larger.
An intense, fiery power surged through every part of me, and my canine fangs lengthened and sharpened.
"It evolved… Woah, a tail?!"
A long, red-scaled tail with a golden spear-like tip dangled behind me. I stared at it in amazement, moving it around as naturally as a fifth limb.
"Wow, this is nuts…"
[You have used your Trait [Evolution (??? Rank)] to evolve your [Bloodline]: [Horned Fire Snake Bloodline – Tier 1: Rank 1 (C Rank)] into [Two-Horned Fire Lizard Bloodline – Tier 3: Rank 1 (B Rank)]!]
[All of your Stats have increased by +3,000!]
[You have learned the Bloodline Ability: [Two-Horned Fire Lizard Transformation – Tier 3]!]
[You have learned the Bloodline Ability: [Fire Spirit Beast – Tier 3]!]
My eyes widened as the new notifications appeared. I jumped all the way to Tier 3, gained another three thousand stats across the board, and received two powerful new Bloodline Abilities.
It was insane. The power of Evolution was truly incredible. Yet this euphoric sensation… I knew I shouldn't let it go to my head, just like everyone had warned.
Still, my bloodline had grown much stronger, even if it was nowhere near becoming a dragon. I wondered when that would happen. I supposed I would have to keep eating monsters to find out.
I wanted to test my new abilities right away, but beyond the transformation itself, I decided to wait until tomorrow.
♢♢♢♢
"Brunhild! Wake up! It's time to get going! Come eat breakfast already!"
"…Eugh."
I slowly opened my eyes to the loud voice of my beastly mother. Looking through the window, I realized it was a surprisingly fine day for the middle of an unforgiving winter.
The sun shone brightly, and the thick clouds that usually covered the sky had parted enough to make everything feel brighter than usual. Warm sunlight streamed through the window, a shocking but welcome surprise. Outside, the air felt fresh and far less biting than normal.
As I woke up fully, I saw the village already bustling with life. Warriors roared and trained vigorously, sparring against my newly summoned units. Magicians practiced outside their homes, launching fireballs, vines, tree branches, and wind attacks across an open snowy field.
"It's a nice day today too."
I smiled, a warm feeling blooming in my chest. This was the peace we had all built together. The village we had created from a wandering barbarian tribe had truly changed how we looked at life.
Though I missed the days of roaming the plains, winter made that too dangerous for now. Once warmer days returned, I would definitely explore this vast world again.
Today's mission, however, was not for pleasure. We needed to gather as many Soul Points as possible and prepare for what might become our greatest battle yet.
I changed clothes and ran downstairs to join my family for breakfast. My grandfather had come to visit as well, bringing gifts with him.
"Good morning, Brunhild! Come sit down."
"Oh? Grandpa, what's up?"
I sat down, and he smiled warmly before placing a large wooden box on the table and opening it.
"These are potions we made," he said. "The Alchemy Team was worried about all of you heading into such a dangerous mission, so everyone worked together to create the best potions they could. There are enough Health and Mana Potions to last the entire trip. Antidotes and other elixirs for diseases and poisons are included too."
"Wow, this is amazing!" I said happily.
"You really didn't need to go this far, Father. We could manage on our own," my father said with an annoyed expression.
"Hey brat, you may be a family man now, but you're still my damn son," my grandpa replied. "I'll take care of you until I die, you hear me? Even if you're an old man yourself."
"Just accept the gift and stop being stupid," my mother sighed, smacking the back of his head. "Anyway, thank you, Chief! We'll happily accept these. Brunhild, can you store them?"
"I can, but we'll distribute some so everyone always has a few on hand," I said. "Just in case we get separated. We can never be too careful."
"Right… though I hope that never happens," my mother nodded. "Very well. Let's eat breakfast and get going. The faster we finish this, the better. We should make full use of this nice day."
We all agreed, sharing a big, bountiful breakfast before preparing to leave. Everyone packed their own bags in addition to what I would carry. Once we stepped outside—with my mother carrying little Krarlak in her arms, dressed in an adorable dragon-themed fuzzy pajama—I stopped and touched the house, storing it inside my inventory.
"It works, I guess," I laughed.
"?!"
"…!!!"
"The house is gone?!"
Everyone panicked for a moment, but I quickly calmed them. "Yeah, I stored it in my inventory. This way I can bring our house with us on the journey! Wouldn't it be nice to always have home wherever we go?"
"I never thought that was possible…" my dad muttered.
"Kind of takes away the fun of outdoor camping though," Magnus sighed. "I like building tents…"
"Yeah, but with this cold? Are you crazy?" Astrid shot back. "This is way better for our health!"
"I guess so," my brother shrugged.
"Well, that's good," my mother said. "I just hope there's enough space where we're going to place it."
Once ready, the entire village gathered to see us off. Before we could leave, my friends came running toward us, dressed in warm winter clothes and carrying their own backpacks.
"You guys! You came?!"
I smiled from ear to ear, overjoyed to see them.
"Of course we're going! We're not missing our only chance to 'level up' or whatever," Ulf said with a confident nod.
"Leave the fire to us!" Kara smirked, conjuring flames in her small hands. "You can use fire magic, but you don't have to carry the whole burden. The chief said we could help."
"And I'm coming too, obviously," Sigrid added. "You invited me. My Snow Magic can help clear paths, so I'll be useful."
"Yeah, you will," I said, patting her head. "Were your parents okay with this?"
"They were worried, but we convinced them," Ulf smiled.
"Yeah, they're such worrywarts," Kara sighed. "But it worked in the end!"
"My parents didn't mind," Sigrid said. "They were happy I'd be traveling with the town's hero."
"Hahaha, I feel flattered," I laughed awkwardly. "Anyway, we'll ride our tamed beasts to move faster, so get ready. I'll make sure you don't fall off, but you'll have to hold on tight."
"Sure!" Sigrid nodded, clearly excited.
"Ah, before that…" I said, turning toward the crowd and calling for Ylva. "Can you wait a bit? I almost forgot something I wanted to do."
Before leaving, I needed to evolve the other items we had obtained earlier, like the Fireball Necklace and the Winged Boots.
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