At first glance, it looked like a tube of freshly drawn blood, with the vibrant hue of arterial blood, but it seemed to have been mixed with a bit of fluorescent agent, giving off a faint bluish glow.
A rich aura of Life Energy swirled within, radiating with the brilliance of apprentice-level Wizardry Energy.
"Neanderthal Bloodline..."
Roy murmured to himself.
This was an uncivilized, cave-dwelling human species of the Homo genus, belonging to an ancient branch of barbarians.
Wizards extracted hematopoietic stem cells from their bone marrow blood through a special method, combined with Wizardry Energy, to create this Bloodline Potion.
It could bestow ordinary humans with the corresponding Bloodline, thereby gaining certain genetic expression traits.
In essence, it created acquired warlocks!
This was fundamentally different from those natural-born warlocks in the outside world, but in terms of final manifestation, it was strikingly similar.
"There might be various inexplicable negative effects due to Bloodline conflicts.
However, low-level Bloodline Modifications rarely result in such situations, and even if they do, they are not difficult to handle.
The reason I chose this branch of the Homo genus, rather than other Magical creatures or even aberrant types, was for better compatibility."
Roy briefly reviewed the knowledge he had acquired in the library, then filled the injection device with the potion and began the basic Bloodline Modification on himself.
As the needle pierced his skin, the mechanical self-injection device activated, slowly pushing the Bloodline Potion into his body.
At first, he only felt a cold stream entering his circulation, making his body slightly chilly.
But soon, an inexplicable heat emerged.
Late into the night, it felt like catching a cold, with a fever that didn't subside until the next morning.
Roy got up and went to the bathroom, looking at himself in the mirror. His eyes were bloodshot, with dark circles, and he looked utterly exhausted.
But the restlessness within him was undeniable. In his normal state, he had already gained three times the physical strength of an average person.
This was equivalent to the strength of an intermediate knight!
...
Not long after, in the training room.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
Roy swung a spiked club, delivering blows with a force completely disproportionate to his size, smashing wooden targets.
In the blink of an eye, he obliterated the targets one after another.
The sturdy pine and cedar targets turned into foam boxes before his weapon.
And he didn't even feel like he was exerting much effort.
"Indeed, my strength has significantly increased! If combined with Adrenaline, it's comparable to an advanced knight!"
Immediately after, Roy sprinted around the training field at high speed. It felt as if an invisible force was propelling him, making him light as a swallow and swift as the wind.
He ran several kilometers in one go before starting to breathe slightly heavily, with sweat breaking out on his body.
"My endurance has also been enhanced!"
However, at the end, when he tried to sprint for a kilometer, he suddenly felt dizzy and nauseous.
Roy quickly slowed down, took out a piece of candy he had prepared in advance from his pocket, and popped it into his mouth to recover.
"Basically, I can confirm that I now have the strength of an intermediate knight in my normal state, and an advanced knight in my burst state.
If I push myself to the limit, I might even be able to squeeze more out of this body, reaching the true state of a berserk barbarian!
But the consumption has also significantly increased."
After confirming this, he left the training room and returned to his residence to continue with other tasks.
In fact, bloodline modifications during the apprentice stage are mostly superficial. Apprentices have limited knowledge and resources, often relying on bloodline potions crafted by others.
However, once they become formal Wizards, their bloodlines become more complex, and each bloodline potion needs to be custom-made.
This could allow others to peek into the secrets of their bodies, even grasp their fatal weaknesses.
Wizards are more accustomed to crafting their own potions or abandoning this path altogether, opting for prosthetic body implants like Mechanical Wizards, or even transplanting their brains into new bodies, as Sophia did.
This is precisely why Roy isn't overly concerned about the various side effects and negative states of this body.
After all, it wasn't his original body to begin with, and he would eventually replace it with a better one when the opportunity arises.
The key is having enough capital, as only with capital can one have choices.
Roy isn't the type to pursue power at any cost, but the battle with the Fishman Lord made him realize the fragility of life.
"Next is the previously modified Hair Demon Physique.
If the Neanderthal bloodline is a foundational enhancement rooted in the physical body, then this hair, imbued with Law Remnants, is rooted in the soul!
This kind of ability, conceptual in nature, is a true long-term investment!"
Last time, Roy had already begun researching Aquinas magic gold, but due to limited resources, he failed to extract the Law Remnants.
But this time, his resources suddenly became abundant.
He spent over 1000 Magic Stones, purchasing various materials and potions to experiment with.
During the waiting period for the bloodline modification, he had already seen initial results.
...
That afternoon.
"Finally, I've extracted it!"
With a hint of joy, Roy poured the solution containing Law Remnants into a beaker. After several filtrations, he mixed it into a hair care ointment and chanted the Animation Art incantation.
"..."
Just like when he crafted the Hair Ghoul Bloodline Potion, the ointment began to wriggle as if alive.
Roy grabbed the gelatinous substance and applied it to his hair, which, already dark and lustrous, became even more radiant.
By evening, he had a servant bring him a basin of fresh sheep's blood. Eagerly, he closed the door and stimulated his hair to grow, like black tentacles reaching into the basin.
Instantly, a faint red mist spread, subtle yet unmistakable, quietly merging.
The originally jet-black hair inexplicably took on a hint of golden-green.
"It really worked! This is the characteristic of Aquinas magic gold—it can absorb the mysterious energy from blood, bestowing metallic properties!
Moreover, it can freely switch between soft and hard states, making the hair strands even more resilient and powerful!"
Roy tried pulling on his hair, and with a bit of force, he managed to break a strand in the middle.
But the resistance was noticeably stronger than before the blood absorption.
This was exactly the kind of growth he needed!
Then, he activated the Hair Demon Physique again. His long hair, like a rolling black cloud with golden-green aura, grew wildly. In moments, it reached three meters in length, floating in the air behind his head like a black serpent.
With a surge of mental energy, the hair suddenly tightened, and the front half-meter shot out in all directions like thousands of iron spikes!
Thud! Thud!
The chairs, tables, counter, and bed were all pierced.
Even the walls were riddled with clearly visible deep holes.
"Not bad at all!"
Roy smiled with satisfaction.
"Though I wonder how many enemies I'll have to kill and how much blood I'll need to absorb to achieve the true strength of demonic gold.
Only then will it reach its mature form, right?"
(End of Chapter)