The green error screen flickered before me, and my stomach dropped.
I'd never heard of anything like this happening before.
Then more messages appeared:
[Presence of a Bloodline detected]
[Incompatible with the Gaia System]
A chill ran down my spine.
Then the voice came again, echoing in my head — calm but cold.
[Remove Bloodline or Reconfigure System]
Remove… my bloodline?
Did I even have a bloodline? Would I feel it being removed? Would it hurt?
Either way, that didn't sound like a good idea. I didn't even know what that meant — or what I'd lose.
So, I focused on the second option.
[Reconfiguring system]
[Fusing with the Terra System]
[Infusing ??? Predation Growth]
Light pulsed through the room. My surroundings warped — the familiar green of the Gaia System flickered to red and grey, then turned white, like an unranked card after being put together. Finally, it darkened into crimson. A black outline shimmered around the new screen.
It looked nothing like the Gaia interface I'd seen in the simulators. They were vibrant, clean, and soothing.
This one felt different — hungry, alive — as if it were watching me back.
Essence: 0
Name: Lucen Noctis LV: 1 [50 Essence to LV 2]
Race: Half–Vampire
Title: [Descendant of a ???]
Class: ??
Rank: Initiate
Trait: Restriction
Racial Skills: Blood Manipulation (Basic), Predation
[Skills] [Stats] [Inventory]
A red background.
Black edges.
It pulsed faintly — almost like a heartbeat.
The only thing I understood on that screen was my own name.
Race: Half–Vampire.
That… wasn't supposed to be possible.
Normally, everyone started as Human, and only after surviving the Ordeal of Ascent did their body evolve into a High Human.
Half–Vampire?
My thoughts drifted to my father.
He'd been from South Africa — before the Red Rift incident thirty-eight years ago. A rift that spewed corrupted vampires across the land, wiping out nearly all life there. He'd been one of the few refugees who made it out.
Was that it? Was that what he really was?
I shook my head. I'd ask Mom later — when I made it back.
Title: Descendant of ???
Its description was identical to the name itself:
"As a descendant of ???, you possess the blood and heritage of the inhabitants of ???."
Not much to go on, but it had to tie into my race somehow.
Class: still unknown — that was normal until level 10.
Rank: Initiate — also expected.
Then came my Trait:
Restriction — Placing a restriction on yourself for a fixed duration grants a temporary buff or a permanent increase afterward.
Placing a restriction on another grants a timed debuff (1 minutes).
Beneficial restrictions can be applied to others with consent.
So it worked both ways — a double-edged trait.
Risk for power.
That, I could understand.
Then I saw something new:
Racial Skills.
I'd never seen this before in any system sim.
Blood Manipulation (Basic) – Control the blood of others by injecting your mana or blood into their system.
Predation – Heritage of the Fallen. Converts the blood and flesh of the slain into Essence.
My eyes widened.
That second one… Predation.
Additional Essence gain from fallen enemies.
There were items that did something similar, but the increase was minor — 1.1× at best.
This… this could be far higher.
Each of those items cost at least a million ques — around two hundred thousand Essence.
This wasn't just rare. It was broken.
The Skills tab was empty, as expected.
So I opened Stats.
HP: 50
MP: 50
Strength: 6
Agility: 5
Stamina: 7
Constitution: 5
Vitality: 5
Mind: 5
I stared in disbelief.
Average human stats were around 5 in every field.
Sure, I had slightly higher Strength and Stamina, but still… nothing exceptional.
I was a second-generation awakener.
Mom had refused Gaia's Call, but Dad hadn't. I should have higher base stats because of him.
Unless... he wasn't what I thought he was.
No time to overthink it. I was about to start my ordeal.
I needed to test what I had.
I focused on Blood Manipulation, aiming it inward.
A strange warmth spread through my veins.
The blood in my hand stirred, and through my skin, crimson began to seep out, forming small droplets that floated before me.
Half a litre of blood, maybe more.
It danced in the air under my command — until dizziness hit me like a hammer.
The blood splattered onto the white floor.
It faded instantly, absorbed into the light.
I checked my stats again.
MP: 0 (Critical)
My head spun.
So this was what Mom felt all the time...
It was awful.
Then an idea came to me.
What if I could use my Trait — Restriction — on my mind stat?
I focused on my mind stat, imagining it sealed away.
A new prompt appeared:
[Seal 5 Mind stat and gain 3 free stat points in exchange]
I grinned. "Perfect."
With a thought, I allocated one point each into Strength, Agility, and Vitality.
A rush of warmth spread through my limbs.
My weakness faded slightly.
"Guess that's the best I can do," I muttered.
Then, as I took my first step forward since appearing in the Room of Ascension, another prompt appeared before my eyes:
> [Attempt the First Ordeal of Ascension?]