Lucien stood before the altar, but his mind, far from it.
Finally, he sighed. He was not one to dwell too much on matters he had no control over. Since there was nothing he could do to avoid it, he was going to embrace it.
"What is this?" He muttered, his head turning to the small altar in front of him.
Like it were a trigger, as he looked at it, a blue, transparent screen materialized before his eyes.
[Lord's Altar]
[Description: By binding with the Lord's altar, a person can become a lord]
That was all. The description was short, but to Lucien, its powers determined his life or death.
"How do I bind with the altar?"
[Drop your blood on it]
Lucien looked at the words on the screen. 'Is this a cult initiation ceremony?' He wondered.
But curiosity got the best of him. Walking towards one of the trees, he held a branch and bent with all his strength.
The result, not as expected. The branch did not so much as bulge, even after he applied all his strength.
"Why is an ordinary branch so hard to break?" He yelled, frustrated. It was a bad idea. As his voice rang through the forest, the replies that came were ferocious growls. Savage and unrestrained, the howls echoed.
Lucien's face froze. "No, I can't die," he said. His survival instinct, honed by countless years of scrapping in the slums, kicked in.
He did not want it to be painful, so he decided to use a sharp stick. Although he did not know what would happen if he became a lord, he had a feeling that he would survive.
With all his strength, he dashed towards the altar. Standing in front of the altar, he bit deep into his fingers, enough to make him bleed.
His eyes turned red from pain, but he held it in.
Blood gushed out of his fingers, dampening the altar in a red hue. As he saw the altar take the blood, Lucien quickly covered his hand to prevent further blood loss.
From the altar, a surge of golden light erupted, spreading in a round arc.
[Congratulations on becoming a Lord]
As the screen showed the words, the altar burst into fragments. The fragments drifted and coalesced into a wooden manor. As the manor was erected, a golden veil rose, covering an area of 500 meters.
Lucien furrowed his brows. 'How did an altar that small create a manor that big?' The question rang in his mind like thunder. "And what is this veil?"
Before he could dwell on the thought for too long, another message popped into his sight.
[The space within a 500-meter radius has been converted into your domain]
[As a new Lord, you have been granted a Lord's manor, a 3-day protection barrier, a talent orb, a summoning gate, and a newbie gift pack.]
As the screen materialized, two chests appeared in front of Lucien. Both were colorless.
Instinctively, Lucien bent and opened one of the chest's covers.
[You have opened a newbie gift pack, and gained 1 liter of water, 500 grams of meat, 500 energy points, 1 mage change certificate, 1 warrior change certificate, 1 archer change certificate, and 2 lifestyle change certificates.]
The chest burst in a blinding light. In its place were a keg, a bag containing meat, and the class change certificates.
[You have received 500 energy points.]
The system chimed.
He looked at all of them calmly. Then, without hesitation, he opened the other one.
In it was an orb, golden and shimmering with a light that drew Lucien closer. The other was a small, miniature gate-like structure.
As he looked closer, some information popped up.
[Summoning gate (sealed): Place it in a part of your domain, and drop blood on it.]
[Talent orb: Drop blood on it to activate your talent.]
Lucien looked at the description of each one, especially the last words. "What is this world's obsession with blood?" He could not help but ask angrily.
The memory of the pain he endured crept back up. "But it should be easier now," he muttered, looking at his hand that was dyed red from his own blood.
He stood up and scanned the entire domain. "It will be better beside the manor," he guessed. He bent and picked up all the things on the floor, then placed them into his coat.
"Ehh!" He was surprised as he pulled something out of his pocket. "The noodles came with me," he whispered.
But he left it. "I can eat that later, I am really starving," he commented.
He walked towards the manor and placed the gate on the floor just beside the manor.
He pressed his hand hard against the finger that was already healing, squeezing blood out of it. The blood touched the gate, making it glow gold.
It began to grow at a speed visible to the naked eye. "No, it will collide with the manor at this rate," Lucien panicked.
As if matters could not be worse, he saw the wolves that had howled earlier approach the barrier, clawing at it with all their strength. But Lucien did not worry; he could deal with them later. Their strength was not enough to make the barrier even ripple.
As the gate closed in the manor, something happened. As if steered by a god, it began to shift, creating a gap as it grew.
Until it could no longer grow.
Lucien's eyes were wide open throughout. "I need to get used to scenes like this," he made a mental note.
[Summoning gate: Summons 5 humans every day with chances of professionals appearing]
Lucien nodded. But he did not summon. Not until he activated his talent.
He brought the orb out of his pocket. Blood dropped on it, slowly, diluting the golden color.
In a flash of white, the orb flew into his glabella.
Headache wrecked his entire frame as he tried to stabilize himself. His eyes began to dim from pain. In the next instant, the pain stopped entirely, like it had never existed in the first place.
[Talent: Endless Dimension]
[Tier: 9]