Transcendent Gene-Chapter 301: New World [1]

From Origin Level 1-3 to Origin Level 1-4. The distance didn’t seem much different from what separated levels 1-2 and 1-3, but there was a significant gap between the two.

Origin level 1-4 was the first level of a Stage 2 Sequencer. The first large step one could take was this one.

The first 3 Origin Levels were training wheels of sorts. As a Stage 1 Sequencer, everything from power to versatility to even physical flexibility was limited.

By reaching Stage 2, one was making the affirmation that they were prepared to become real Sequencers.

Many people never passed Stage 2 in their lifetimes. That wasn’t to say it was incredibly difficult, but many humans had potential that capped early.

For Sequencers who attended the First Institute, Stage 2 was a goal to reach by their third year of schooling,

By the end of their fourth, they were expected to be either deep in Stage 3 or at the very least approaching it.

Gio was still only a few months into his first year at the institute and he was attacking the same checkpoint.

It was a monumental achievement, but to him, it was an ordinary milestone.

There was one main thing he was looking forward to, but before he could think about it, he had to control the rampant energy invading his body.

"Huu...huu..."

He took deep breaths as his defensive web reached equilibrium. His senses focused in on the essence of his Bloodline, temporarily ignoring everything else.

’This feels a lot like Genesis Essence. If it isn’t the same thing, it’s something similar.’

The upside was that it was absorbable and accepted his control quite easily.

The downside was that before he brought it under control, it was like a pack of raging bulls barreling through his body.

Luckily, with his attention consumed by his Bloodline, pain was the last thing he was feeling.

Ba-dum!

Ba-dum!

The sound of his own heartbeat echoed in his ears, accompanied by the rush of blood through his body’s systems.

He felt the strength of the Blackwing Demon Tiger Bloodlime coursing through every drop of blood in his veins, awaiting his permission to devour the energy around it.

An Equinox Grade Bloodline couldn’t be harmed by rampant energy alone.

To a bloodline of such quality, the deadly arcs of black lightning looked like nothing more than food.

And when Gio brought that lightning closer to its jaws...

Crackle!

Sparks of electricity traveled through his bloodstream as the black lightning became a part of him.

He pushed most of it through his channels and into his main Bloodline Core. Both the Purity and Density aspects of his bloodline were rapidly enhanced.

The color of his blood became much darker as impurities were removed from its flow. His heart pumped slower and with more purpose, pumping with the same efficiency while conserving more energy.

The dark crimson blood that flowed through his veins became thick enough to have a tangible weight. It radiated with aura as it became more robust than it had ever been.

The sparks of black lightning in his blood turned white. The fragments of energy that manifested them had their purpose completely overwritten by Gio’s blood.

Density, Purity, Spirituality, and Inheritance. For a long time, only the first two would matter to any ordinary Sequencer.

But the only man in existence to inherit an Equinox Grade Bloodline was not an ordinary Sequencer.

The sparks came together and formed an image that was reflected in his mind.

His bloodline flashed with spirit. For a brief moment, it pulsed outside of Gio’s control, almost as if it had its own thoughts.

The image in his mind started as a constellation with the appearance of the Demon Tiger.

As more and more energy was absorbed into its bloodline, as it edged closer to the final boundary of purity and density separating it from Stage 2, it appeared in front of its new owner with a light of challenge in its eyes.

He didn’t know how he was experiencing such raw emotion from a projection, but he felt every bit of the tiger’s malice towards the world.

Its size couldn’t be estimated. Gio was looking at it from a perspective that made it seem only a few feet taller than a human, but he was almost certain that it was several times that size.

Its cost was an ash-grey color blended with pure black, giving it a sort of midnight gradient. There were rings of barely visible white fur across its entire body like stars in the night sky.

Its sides were home to two pairs of wings that were almost bigger than its body. One pair was draconic with a menacing reptilian appearance, while the other looked like the wings of a fallen angel.

The pure black slits within its crimson eyes stared up at where Gio stood. It bared its fangs, revealing an aura that sent a wave of icy cold down his body both spiritually and physically,

Its appearance wasn’t the most robust. Its wings were interesting. Its tail was similar to a scorpion and had a stinger at the end, but it hid that detail from its enemies and didn’t let them notice until the last second.

Overall, it looked like a tiger that was born with black fur and red eyes; a genetic mutation at most.

’If it’s really that size, then you would never realize you’re facing a catastrophe until it decides to let you know.’

Because Gio sensed the aura that washed over him. The chill that went down his back wasn’t an instinctive reaction. He fully realized what that aura meant, and it terrified him.

The Blackwing Demon Tiger wasn’t a beast that had ever existed in this world. The fact that its blood was successfully synthesized proved that it had existed before, but humanity had been lucky enough to not face it yet.

’That was an aura of pure death. It was, in every way, the antithesis of what I felt from the being at the end of the tower.’

That was a being he considered a "God."

Was he meant to believe a beast or monster of Equinox Grade heritage would become an entity similar to a God at its peak level?

His eyes narrowed, but he refused to show the entity a hint of his fear.

He pressed down on his bloodline and forcefully reminded it of its master. At the same time, he stared directly into the eyes of the beast in his mind.

’This is my world.’

His thoughts were conveyed perfectly to the manifestation.

’If you don’t want to obey my rules, then remain in a cage for eternity.’

He willed it, and it became the truth. A thick metal cage appeared around the tiger and trapped it.

Despite its thrashing and roaring, the cage could not be broken.

Gio already stated it clearly. Within his mind, his rules were law.

OOOOOOOOOH!

The beast made a sound somewhere in between a roar, a bellow, and a hiss. It raised its head to the ceiling and cried out in indignation, but its furious eyes were met with the stoic expression of its creator.

It calmed down, understanding a bit about the situation it was in.

Though it was a creature born to exist at the peak, it still possessed the instinct to submit when it sensed absolute power.

Whooooosh!

Gio felt a wave of aura pass through his body. The tiger in his mind lowered its head, and when he released its cage, it backed away and faded into nonexistence.

His blood flowed slowly and calmly, and his bloodline no longer showed any resistance or spirituality.

However, something was different.

It wasn’t just about how his body and mind had grown. It wasn’t just about how much more he’d be able to use his Sequences now that he’d ranked up.

In fact, even the feeling of reaching Stage 2 was numbed by a greater boon.

’An active trait.’

His confrontation with the tiger wasn’t for nothing. It lost the war of will and gave something up to the victor.

Gio was always going to receive some sort of trait enhancement with this rank-up. It was part of the process of reaching Stage 2.

However, he didn’t just receive a trait enhancement.

The bloodline that acknowledged him gave him an active trait.

’It’s not like regeneration where it just exists as part of my body. Not only does it have a passive effect, but it can also be used actively to some effect...’

To know what effect, he’d have to first use the trait and understand it. At the moment, he could only feel its existence within his Bloodline Core.

’Tch!’

He wanted to look at it immediately, but he had no choice but to put it to the side.

Ranking up made it easier for his body to contain the energy that was already present inside, sure, but–

RUMBLE!

–the storm was very much still active above his head.

CRACK!

BANG!

And it wasn’t going to leave him alone to celebrate.

In almost the same instant that his consciousness left his Bloodline, another huge arc of black lightning struck his body and rampaged through his insides.

His tribulation wasn’t anywhere near its end yet.