Chapter 42: Blood Magic

It had been said before.

The mana scarcity in most parts of the Kingdom of Safro had created an environment that was relatively safe for ordinary civilians. This significantly reduced the level of danger in the wilderness.

By now, they had already reached the lower reaches of the Wedel River near the mountains, an area that had exited the mana-scarce zone. As mana began to return to normal levels, the various threats typically found on the continent naturally began to appear here as well. Not to mention, this was an undeveloped region teeming with all sorts of dangerous creatures.

Therefore, Kana knew this clearly and did not allow the team to continue downstream in search of a better location, even if there were better areas for setting up camp or constructing rafts. Setting up a camp right at the edge of this mana-recovery zone would suffice, as it would greatly minimize the level of danger.

With so few hands, they couldn't afford to lose even one person; even a single injury would be a significant loss. Any danger could easily slow down their progress.

As expected of the residents from Riverbend Town, most of them had served as soldiers, or at least had undergone training. Under Aliris's command and with the assistance of several veterans, a crude camp was quickly established. As for the wooden walls and simple watchtowers Kana had mentioned, those were not tasks that could be completed today.

Because they had not set out particularly early, night fell shortly after the camp was established.

"Awoooo!"

The sound of wolf howls could be heard from afar.

"Damn it, are we going to be attacked by wolves tonight?" one of the recruited laborers couldn't help but ask while sitting by the campfire. Several other laborers nearby expressed similar concerns.

"Don't worry," one laborer said, pointing outside the camp. "There are soldiers on patrol. If they come, they'll just be an extra meal."

"Hahaha, then I hope you're the first one they carry off!"

Once the camp was set up, the patrol shifts had already been arranged. George also added from not far away, "There are dozens of us here. Unless those wolves are stupid, they won't dare approach us even if they're starving to death."

The others chimed in in agreement, for it was indeed the truth.

At the entrance of the largest tent in the camp, Bobot couldn't help but say, "That might be true within your kingdom, but the mana has risen here. Even if those wolves don't dare come, there will always be some annoying things coming to harass us."

"Which is why I didn't push further, isn't it?" Kana joked from the side.

He certainly didn't think this place was absolutely safe, but at least it allowed them to avoid true, insurmountable dangers.

"Being here, does it feel easier to control that blood... Blood Magic?"

"Blood Magic," Kana corrected.

"That's right, Blood Magic," Aliris said, opening her palm.

A mass of blood was swirling in her palm, though it was not human blood. It was a rabbit that George had killed while scouting the surroundings a short while ago.

"The mana concentration is higher here. Any power related to mana will become smoother to use." After saying this, Bobot looked at the sphere of blood in Aliris's hand and couldn't help but remark, "In the past, I have never seen magic that could manipulate blood. It looks quite sinister. If you are dealing with outsiders, it might be better not to display such power casually."

Manipulating blood looked, no matter how one viewed it, like an evil spell.

"Heh, don't worry. Aside from being used for offense and self-strengthening, Blood Magic has no other uses; it isn't very versatile," Kana said.

Of course, "not versatile" was relative—it applied to people like them who had not been transformed into vampires but could still manipulate Blood Magic. If one were fully transformed into a vampire, the utility of Blood Magic would be immense. After all, there is always a trade-off. Moreover, there was a high possibility that this ability would be strengthened later on.

"How can I... become stronger?" Aliris asked, controlling the blood as it seeped into the soil.

After all, she had only truly awakened her Blood Magic a few days ago and had no idea how to utilize this power. Although she trained every day, she only knew how to cut a wound, pull out blood, and cause an enemy to bleed uncontrollably.

Hearing Aliris's question, Kana took the opportunity to speak directly. "That depends on your mindset."

With that, he opened his palm. "For us, this power has two uses."

The skin on Kana's arm turned a flushed red, his veins bulged and protruded, making his entire hand look somewhat ferocious.

"Manipulating the blood within your own body to strengthen your physical power. Of course, it doesn't just consume mana; you will also fall into a certain level of fatigue once it's used up."

Aliris and Bobot looked at Kana in surprise; they didn't know when he had mastered Blood Magic.

"Don't be surprised. I always had the potential for this, didn't I?"

Having said that, Kana continued his demonstration. "Or, you can specialize in controlling the blood of others. A tiny wound is enough to make an enemy bleed out. You can even control their blood to attack them from within."

In the game, these were the two distinct paths of a Blood Knight.

"Of course, the two can be integrated, but you have to specialize in one aspect first, don't you? However, for you, perhaps both can be pursued simultaneously. You have that potential," Kana said, looking at Aliris.

Controlling the blood of others was the simplest; Aliris had mastered it instinctively upon awakening. Strengthening one's own body was more difficult and required gradual exploration, but it wouldn't be too hard for Aliris. After all, she was a knight who had already trained her physical strength to its current limit.

Listening to Kana's explanation, Aliris roughly understood.

Kana had never expected his talent in this area to match Aliris's. In the game, Aliris had played the Blood Knight class from beginning to end, and in the lore and background, she was the strongest of that profession.

As for his current self, while his talent might not be sufficient, he possessed a skill system. As long as he used them frequently, he could smoothly execute the skills from the game even without innate talent. Not to mention, he knew the direction for developing Blood Knight skills; his multi-faceted advantages would allow him to at least keep pace with Aliris.

Furthermore, in reality, it wasn't like the game where one could only have a single class and only learn the combat skills of that profession. It didn't stop him from merging multiple compatible classes together. At the very least, with the skill system, Kana was confident he could merge two to three classes. By then, even if he didn't reach the level of a Legend, he would surely have a Hero-tier stat sheet. He had that confidence.

As darkness fully descended, everyone retreated into their tents, leaving only the night watchmen to remain vigilant around the camp.

Lying in his tent, Kana looked at his mana.

[9/12]

It had to be said that in an area where mana had returned to normal, his own mana recovery had also accelerated. By tomorrow morning, he should have enough mana to digitize the previous shield and sphere. He was somewhat impatient.

"Your Highness, here." As he was preparing to rest, Aliris returned the spatial waist pouch to Kana.

Kana took it and gave Aliris a smiling wink. "So, does it meet your expectations?"

"Mhm, it's very interesting." Aliris gave a shy smile and returned to the tent next to Kana's.

Kana also returned to his own tent to rest.