About half an hour after Vivian departed, Rhea’s long eyelashes fluttered slightly before she finally woke up.
She slowly opened her eyes, revealing a pair of pupils that were still as magnificent as rubies, yet filled with the confusion of a newborn.
Her long, silver-white hair was spread across the ground, and the black bat wings behind her back instinctively folded inward.
The first thing she saw was Ize, who was standing nearby with a complex expression on his face.
After a brief moment of daze, a massive amount of information rushed into her mind like a flood breaking through a dam.
It wasn’t an external infusion of memories, but rather inheritance and knowledge originating from deep within her bloodline.
Information regarding the use of vampire abilities, the laws of survival in the dark, and the strict hierarchical system within the race… everything a newborn vampire needed to know was rapidly merging with her original memories.
She lay there quietly, neither screaming nor crying, simply enduring and organizing this torrent of information in silence.
Time passed in the silence… Rhea gradually finished absorbing the abilities and knowledge of the Blood Kin.
Watching from the side, Ize felt a bit apprehensive.
He had anticipated all sorts of reactions from Rhea upon waking—collapse, anger, fear, or falling into deep self-doubt.
He had even mentally prepared several sets of comforting words to deal with her potential emotional breakdown.
However, there was none. After a long while, Rhea propped herself up with her arms and slowly sat up.
Her movements still carried a hint of the stiffness that came with her newfound life, but her eyes had gradually regained their clarity. Yet, within that clarity, there were too many emotions that Ize could not fully decipher.
She looked up, her gaze landing calmly on Ize’s face. In a tone that was almost a statement of fact, devoid of much emotion, she whispered:
“Ize… it seems I am no longer human.”
Huh?
Such a flat reaction?
This overly calm acceptance actually caught Ize off guard, as he had prepared a stomach full of comforting words.
He opened his mouth, finally only able to respond dryly, “Yeah… it looks like that’s the case.”
Rhea did not mind the slight awkwardness in his tone.
She closed her eyes slightly, as if feeling the new power flowing through her body.
In the next moment, the pair of massive black bat wings behind her back slowly retracted like phantoms, eventually disappearing completely beneath her shoulder blades.
The silver hair that cascaded down to her waist also seemed to have a life of its own, shortening itself and returning to her previous neat, short hairstyle.
Most notably, her ruby-like eyes gradually faded in color, returning to their original shade.
Furthermore, she perfectly restrained the faint, cold aura belonging to the Blood Kin that surrounded her. At this moment, aside from her complexion being slightly paler than usual, she looked no different from the usual genius of Lyue Academy and heir to the Arseid family. In fact, she seemed even more restrained than before.
“From the knowledge passed down through my bloodline, I have learned many things.”
Rhea spoke, her voice returning to its usual calmness. However, upon closer listening, there seemed to be an added layer of depth that came after experiencing such a major upheaval.
“What I have become now is a magical species known as the ‘Blood Kin.’ This is an ancient race with a long history. They feed on blood and possess longevity and power far beyond that of humans.”
Ize nodded. He had recently received this information from Vivian. “I know a bit about it.”
Rhea’s gaze turned deep as she looked at Ize earnestly, as if trying to see through his appearance to something deeper.
“Ize, do you know? Through this inherited knowledge, I truly realized that in this vast world, humans might be… far smaller than we imagined.”
She paused and continued, “An eighth-tier Grand Archmage is already a top-tier power in the human world, revered as a legend. But in the understanding of the Blood Kin, that is far from the end of power. Above the eighth tier, there are even more vast and terrifying levels of power… realms that ordinary humans can hardly reach or even comprehend.”
Ize’s heart stirred slightly.
As a transmigrator, he wasn’t entirely ignorant of this.
In the vague game settings of his memory, the division of the magic system was much more complex and massive than what ordinary people on this continent knew.
Low-tier, mid-tier, high-tier, super-tier, and even forbidden magic that touched the rules of the world…
What humans could generally master and utilize was mostly limited to basic elemental magic and a few special magics.
As for the “Origin Magic” possessed by ancient races like the Blood Kin, its level and power were likely far beyond common imagination.
Just as Ize’s thoughts drifted away and he was prepared to continue listening to Rhea share more about the power system, a sudden change occurred!
Rhea’s figure moved without any warning!
There was no mana fluctuation, no starting stance—it was simply the ultimate speed brought about by an explosion of pure physical strength!
Like a ghost, she instantly closed in on Ize. A hand-blade, carrying a whistle that tore through the air, cut straight toward Ize’s neck!
The speed and power of this strike far exceeded her peak as a human, enough to easily shred the defense of an elite-level magical beast and even threaten a Lord-level existence!
Ize’s pupils contracted sharply. It was purely an instinctive reaction developed through long-term training under the “care” of the system.
His arm rose as if he had foreseen the move, blocking Rhea’s wrist with pinpoint accuracy.
*Bang!*
A dull thud rang out.
Ize’s arm remained motionless, like a rock.
Feeling the counter-shock from her wrist, a flash of intense surprise flickered in Rhea’s eyes. She immediately withdrew her power and retreated, landing lightly back in her original spot.
Her eyes were now as sharp as a hawk’s, locked onto Ize, filled with scrutiny and disbelief.
“So, Ize… I really want to know. How did you—a second-tier mage with only five percent elemental affinity, someone who has never systematically practiced martial arts—actually manage to stop my ‘Mother,’ and how did you take that strike of mine just now so casually?”
She had a clear understanding of her own strength.
Although she hadn’t used her full power in that strike, it was by no means something an ordinary human mage or warrior could block, let alone so effortlessly.
Not only could Ize see through her lightning-fast movements, but he could also block them with pure physical strength without taking any damage.
This completely contradicted the entire cognitive system she had built up in the past as a human.
At the very least, a human could not possibly possess such a powerful physical body.
Looking at her scrutinizing gaze, Ize sighed inwardly.
He knew that his “useless loser” disguise could no longer be maintained, at least not in front of her.
He lowered his arm, a helpless yet honest expression appearing on his face. “I know it’s hard to believe, but the truth is… that’s just how I blocked it. No techniques, no magic, purely… the body’s instinctive reaction and strength.”
Rhea stepped closer, her eyes blazing. “So, are you actually human?”
She asked the question that had been swirling in her mind for a long time.
The anomalies Ize displayed had long exceeded the scope of what could be explained by being a “human genius.”
Meeting her gaze, Ize nodded with certainty, his tone incredibly serious. “I promise you, Rhea. I am indeed a human. At the very least, that is how I perceive myself.”
Both her logic and her inherited bloodline knowledge told Rhea that Ize’s words were full of holes; it was impossible for a human to have such an outrageous physical body. But looking into Ize’s eyes, which were filled with helplessness and sincerity, and hearing his unwavering tone, Rhea fell into a state of conflicted confusion once more.
However, this confusion only lasted for a very short time. She shook her head lightly, as if temporarily setting aside this unsolvable question.
“Forget it.” The sharpness in her tone softened slightly, carrying a sense of relief. “Whether you are human or not doesn’t matter to me anymore.”
After all, even she was no longer a pure human.
Could she really go and crusade against the unfathomable Ize based on the reason that “those who are not of our kind must have different hearts”?
She should be lucky enough not to be listed as a target for elimination by the Empire and the Church.
Furthermore… deep in her heart, she had never truly harbored any thought of becoming Ize’s enemy.
“What are your plans next?” Ize shifted the topic at the right time, asking the key question.
Rhea was silent for a moment, her gaze toward the distant outline of the Raymond Territory ruins. Her voice was steady yet firm.
“I plan to… continue living as a human. At least, before I successfully complete my studies at the academy and take over and stabilize the Arseid family, I cannot lose this identity. As for later… perhaps when the family no longer needs me to support it, I will consider returning to ‘Mother’s’ side.”
“Mother?”
Ize keenly caught this term and asked with a hint of surprise, “You call that vampire… loli, ‘Mother’ quite naturally, don’t you?”
Rhea was slightly taken aback, and a complex, hard-to-describe expression appeared on her face as well.
She lowered her head, looking at her fair palm that now contained non-human strength, and explained softly, “It’s strange, isn’t it? From the moment the Embrace was completed, my perception and thinking seemed to be influenced by some kind of connection deep within my bloodline. According to my past logic as a human, I should hate her. She forcibly changed my life. But… I don’t. I can’t feel any hatred. Instead, what is transmitted through the bloodline is only an indescribable sense of closeness and… belonging.”
Hearing this, Ize felt a chill in his heart.
He didn’t expect the bloodline bond of the Blood Kin to be so overbearing. It not only bestowed power but could also subtly influence the emotions and perceptions of the one who received the Embrace.
This was almost touching upon power at the level of rules, carrying the scent of forbidden magic.
He couldn’t help but comment, “I didn’t expect your sense of mission toward your family to be so heavy. Even after becoming a vampire, you’re still obsessed with going back and taking over the family…”
His words carried a faint trace of admiration and a touch of incomprehensibility.
A very faint, almost uncatchable sorrow flickered in Rhea’s eyes.
As the titular “heir” of the Arseid family, she had been indoctrinated since she was young to become a qualified “male” head of the house and shoulder the responsibility for the family’s rise and fall.
That rigorous training and the constant, tense disguise had long since exhausted her mentally and physically.
On the contrary, this sudden identity as a member of the Blood Kin felt like an unexpected crack, allowing her to temporarily gain a bit of breathing room from those heavy expectations.
The taste of this was complex and difficult to put into words. she could not, and did not want to, fully confide in Ize.
Looking at the fleeting vulnerability in her eyes, Ize seemed to understand something.
He switched to a relatively light tone and said, “Alright, look at it from another perspective. You might not have to worry so much about your identity being exposed in the future.”
Rhea looked at him in confusion. “?”
Ize threw up his hands and explained, “Look, you now know my secret too—that I’m a ‘second-tier mage’ with ridiculously strong defense. We can consider this as having leverage over each other, reaching a delicate balance. So, in the future, you don’t have to keep your nerves taut and constantly watch or test me like before. You can… free up more time and energy to do the things you actually want to do.”
He intended to ease Rhea’s pressure and let her relax.
However, after hearing his words, the emotion that flashed through Rhea’s eyes wasn’t the relief or ease Ize had expected. Instead, it was a more complex look, mixing a bit of disappointment and… resentment?
She turned her head slightly and let out a very soft, somewhat reproachful sound from her nose: “Hmph…”
The sound wasn’t loud, but it was exceptionally clear. This “Hmph” was different from the cloying coquettishness caused by the side effects of the “Obedient Water.” It was also different from the cold detachment she usually maintained. It was more like a natural reaction of a girl with a bit of a temper.
“Let’s go. We should head back and regroup with Senior Sarah and the others.”
Rhea didn’t look at Ize again. She turned directly and took the lead toward the meeting point.
Watching Rhea’s retreating back and seeing her short silver hair swaying gently in the breeze, an extremely strange feeling rose in Ize’s heart.
That “Hmph” just now, the way her cheek seemed to bulge slightly when she turned (was that his imagination?), and that last glance she gave him, which seemed to contain a hint of indescribable… grievance?
Everything combined actually made him feel… that it was unexpectedly cute?
Ize quickly shook off that dangerous thought and hurried to catch up.
He quietly observed Rhea’s profile from the side and found that her expression had returned to its usual cold and indifferent state, as if everything that just happened was merely his hallucination.
‘Am I overthinking it?’ Ize muttered in his heart. ‘Or rather… can this vampire bloodline even influence one’s personality?’
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