Locke attempted to close the Magic Eye/Innate Magic Eye that had appeared on his forehead. He discovered that by closing it, the duration of maintaining this Bloodline Activation state could extend from 10 minutes to 30 minutes, consuming approximately just over 16 Mana per minute.
The consumption was only one-third of when the Innate Magic Eye was active.
Yet he could still retain the Three-Eyed Tiger Eye Cat's incredibly powerful physical combat abilities.
However, to truly gauge how formidable his current melee capabilities were, he needed to find an opponent to test them against.
Locke immediately thought of the First-class wizard apprentice vampire Howard in his possession.
Locke deactivated his Bloodline Activation state. All the tiger stripes on his body vanished, his frame rapidly shrank back to normal, and his hands reverted to their human form.
The Demon Eye Mark between his brows also automatically concealed itself, leaving his appearance almost completely unchanged.
Locke examined himself in the mirror. After the Bloodline Modification, his physique had actually improved—more symmetrical and perfect.
He picked up a wrench from the workbench and gripped it with his left hand alone. The iron wrench bent under his sheer strength. "The Three-Eyed Tiger Eye Cat's Bloodline has enhanced even my baseline physical form."
"My strength and defensive capabilities have all received a massive boost. I might now be able to brawl with a troll bare-handed, without using any Spells at all."
"I wonder how my current baseline physical abilities compare to the great knights and legendary knights from Raun's homeland?"
Locke mused, "This means my body has been strengthened. And with a stronger body, I can handle even more potions."
"At this point, my physical prowess among wizard apprentices must already be at an exceptionally formidable and top-tier level."
"Unfortunately, my precision in targeting the Three-Eyed Tiger Eye Cat's Bloodline still isn't perfect. If I could refine it further before synthesis, I might have gained even more of its power. Right now, I've only acquired a portion."
Locke shook his head slightly. "Well, perfection isn't always worth chasing. Pursuing it would just waste too much time."
"Successfully modifying my Bloodline is already an achievement in itself."
"The long-lost abilities of the Three-Eyed Tiger Eye Cat, sealed away in history hundreds of thousands of years ago—so ancient that no one remembers them—have now been brought back into the light."
"This is a successful traceback to an Ancient Creature."
The faint pattern between Locke's brows seemed on the verge of forming into a Magic Eye—an Innate Magic Eye. "It's a shame there's a limit to the quantity and quality of Bloodlines the body can accept for modification."
"Otherwise, I could have modified even more Ancient Creature Bloodlines."
Locke checked his current state and noticed that the Three-Eyed Tiger Eye Cat's Ancient Creature Bloodline was already somewhat suppressing the Orcadian Giant Bear Leader Bloodline.
If he were to add another Ancient Creature Bloodline now, it might outright expel the Orcadian Giant Bear Leader Bloodline from his body and trigger a conflict between the two powerful Bloodlines.
For that reason, he had no plans to introduce any new Ancient Bloodlines in the near future.
After all, researching Ancient Bloodlines required a significant investment of money, time, and effort. The expenses for purchasing fossils, studying archaeology, and acquiring equipment had already cost over three thousand Magic Stones.
This was even with McCarthy waiving the tuition fees for his archaeology studies, saving him a considerable sum.
Nevertheless, Locke decided to continue his research on the Ancient Creature Bloodline of the Three-Eyed Tiger Eye Cat, as there was still much room for improvement in the precision of his Bloodline positioning.
He could continue cultivating Gray Mushroom Bacillus and extracting Ancient Creature Bloodline from his two Catwoman maids to further enhance the quality of the Three-Eyed Tiger Eye Cat Bloodline Modification Potion he produced.
This was certainly feasible.
By consuming higher-quality Three-Eyed Tiger Eye Cat Bloodline Modification Potions, the precision of the Three-Eyed Tiger Eye Cat Bloodline within his body would steadily increase, while also continuously improving his physical constitution.
After all, a fully developed Three-Eyed Tiger Eye Cat was estimated to be a first-tier Magical Creature!
Locke gazed at his reflection in the mirror and mused, "The Innate Magic Eye of the Three-Eyed Tiger Eye Cat seems to have multiple functions—it can enhance my detection abilities and even emit a Spell energy called Geomagnetic Primordial Magnetism."
"The quantity and quality of Geomagnetic Primordial Magnetism will improve alongside the growth of my Mana, potentially reaching first-tier levels."
"However, since this is an ancient creature, most of the information I have is speculative and not entirely reliable."
"Geomagnetic Primordial Magnetism might actually be a composite natural Mana structure undiscovered by the modern Shaping School's Spell system. I could analyze it further."
After some thought, Locke decided to put it aside for now.
He lacked rigorous scientific training in the Shaping School, and the gap between the Shaping School and the Life School was far too vast. This was interdisciplinary research on a grand scale, not just a minor academic crossover.
Rather than attempting it himself, it would be better to commission a Shaping School research team to investigate for him.
Given the allure of an Ancient Creature, he should have no trouble attracting interested research groups.
Locke changed into a fresh set of clothes and summoned a Catwoman maid to clean his laboratory, where he had already stored all important items.
Then, he left his lab and, using the key given to him by the Witch Sophia, entered her Magical Creature Breeding Room.
Many of the Magical Creatures inside were far more sensitive than humans.
Upon Locke's entry, several of them began to tremble with fear.
These creatures felt an instinctive dread on a primal level.
Even the most dangerous Dryad in the room clutched at its Restraint Cage in terror, crying out, "Wizard, why am I so afraid of you now? What have you done?"
The Dryad's eyes were filled with terror. It didn't know Locke possessed the Three-Eyed Tiger Eye Cat Bloodline, but the Three-Eyed Tiger Eye Cat had once been the ruler of ancient forests.
The descendants of Magical Creatures that once lived in those forests still carried that deeply ingrained genetic fear, unchanged even after millennia.
Locke frowned slightly. It seemed he would need to take a special Potion to conceal his Three-Eyed Tiger Eye Cat Bloodline—otherwise, the effect was far too conspicuous.
Locke walked up to the Restraint Cage holding the Vampire Howard, who currently looked listless.
The moment Howard heard someone approaching, his ears perked up, and his eyes grew alert.
When he looked up and saw Locke, he nearly jumped. "Damn it, you've gotten stronger again. Your Mana is rising way too fast."
Howard had already been beaten into submission by Locke, and now he couldn't muster even a shred of the will to challenge him. Instead, he stared at Locke with growing fear and unease.
On the surface, Locke merely seemed to have grown significantly stronger in Mana, but for some reason, Howard felt an inexplicable dread.
Locke looked at Howard coldly and said, "Howard, I'm giving you another chance. Fight me hand-to-hand. If you defeat me, I'll let you go."
The Vampire Howard gripped the bars of the cage and shouted without hesitation, "You hypocritical White Wizard! You just want to use me for experiments again! I refuse! I'm not going anywhere—I'm perfectly fine staying right here!"
Locke paused, then frowned. "That's not up to you."
"I need you to test the results of my Bloodline Modification. If you refuse, things will get much worse for you."
Without another word, Locke opened the Restraint Cage, seized Howard by the throat, and hauled him out like a ragdoll. Along the way, he forced a vial of fresh blood down Howard's throat to restore him to peak condition.
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