Chapter 108: 108 | The High Elf King's Bloodline

In a white temple sitting on top of a mountain, a white-haired woman opened her eyes from cultivation.

She turned her head toward the east. The golden light on the horizon was already fading but she had felt it clearly.

"So he finally returned..." She murmured with some surprise in her eyes.

On the opposite end of the continent, in a palace half-swallowed by shadow and black mist, a black-haired woman's eyes snapped open.

She was lounging on a throne of dark crystal, one leg draped over the armrest. She looked in the same direction and her violet eyes narrowed as the last traces of golden light vanished from the sky.

A slow grin spread across her face. "I thought he was gone for good. Guess not."

'What do you think?' The black-haired woman's voice echoed directly into the mind of the woman millions of miles away. 'Will he be of any use to us?'

'He would definitely be useful.' The white-haired woman answered without hesitation. 'He's the only one who can command the World Tree.'

'But he clearly hasn't recovered.' The black-haired woman's tone shifted, the amusement gone from her voice. 'I can barely feel the World Tree's presence. It would be foolish to count on someone this weak when we're running out of time.'

'...You're right.' The white-haired woman agreed after a pause, her eyes deepening. 'But something else is bothering me.'

'What?'

'His presence... I can't tell the exact location but it's coming from the human world.'

Neither of them spoke for a long moment.

'The human world?' The black-haired woman sat up from her throne for the first time in a long time. 'What is the Elf King doing on that side?'

The white-haired woman had no answer.

Both of them turned their gaze in the same direction, past the forests, past the oceans, toward the human side of the world.

'What is happening over there?'

While both of them were curious, neither had the time to look into it any further.

The Elf King and the World Tree would certainly be a valuable asset if they returned to full power. But at this level of strength, they were no different from not existing at all.

The elves in the forest had already begun organizing a search for their King. Word was sent out to all branches of their race, the ice elves, the dark elves, and the rest scattered across the continent.

Scouts were dispatched in all directions, scouring the outer continent from end to end.

…..Not a single one of them thought to look toward the human world.

Dante had no idea about the mess he just caused in the awakener world.

People were convinced the High Elf King had been reborn but the truth was far from it. He was a completely different person who just happened to get the bloodline from the system.

The day he crossed paths with his so-called subjects wasn't that far away.

***

While the elven race was scrambling to find their king, the man himself was sitting cross-legged on a bed in a mansion in Tempest Bay.

Morning light filled the room as Dante opened his eyes. His body was still floating in the air and before he could drop, he flipped backward and landed in front of the mirror without a sound.

"What the..." He looked down at his hands, then his arms, then the rest of his body. His body felt light and flexible but the strength running through it was on a completely different level from before.

His hair had grown past his shoulders and a pair of pointed ears poked through the strands. His muscles hadn't gotten any bigger but they felt denser and more refined under his skin. He was also slightly taller than before.

He was shirtless with just his pants on and his long hair flowed to one side.

Right now, he looked like the man who had soloed all the tailed beasts.

"Not bad. Long hair suits me too." Dante looked at his reflection with a smug smile. But as he felt the strength coursing through his body, the smile faded. 'This...'

'I'm already on the verge of Mid Stage? Is this from the awakening?' His eyes widened with pleasant surprise.

He still had some Ascension Essence left over and it was more than enough to push him through to the next level.

He didn't rush to cultivate. There were more important things to check first. 'Let's see what the bloodline gave me.'

He pulled up his status panel without wasting another second.

[Name: Dante Ackerman]

[Realm: Body Reformation Early Stage]

[Bloodline: High Elf King Bloodline (Divine) (10%)]

[Talents: Foresight(EX), Mana Affinity(SSS), Master of Four Elements(SS), Elven Grace(A), Comprehension(A), Scheming Mind(S), Thousand Masks(B), Business Sense(D)]

[Luck: Common (In Rise)]

[Villain Points: 50,500]

[System Slots: 2/3]

[Bound Targets: Natasha, Emma]

[Techniques: Aether-Nether Convergence Technique (Divine), Mana Zone (Legendary), Blind Spot (Legendary), Flowing River Art (Super Rare), Dance Master (Rare), Golden Hands (Rare), Basic Combat Techniques (Rare)]

[Inventory: 95 Mana Stones (Mythic), Ascension Essence (75% left), Formless Fragment]

Dante's eyes went straight to the bloodline column and a wide grin spread across his face. After staring at an empty slot for weeks, there was finally something there.

'I used to pray for times like this.' He wiped the nonexistent tears from his eyes and immediately looked at the talents.

"One... two... three... four?!" He was thrilled after seeing the number of changes. Not only had his Mana Affinity jumped to SSS rank, he also gained another SS rank talent and two A rank talents.

Master of Four Elements, Elven Grace, and Comprehension.

Comprehension was straightforward. The ability to understand and learn techniques, concepts, and knowledge faster than normal.

The ones he was really curious about were Master of Four Elements and Elven Grace.

[Master of Four Elements (SS)]

[Description: The innate authority of the High Elf King over the four pillars of nature: Earth, Water, Fire, and Wind. Techniques related to these elements have their mana consumption and casting time greatly reduced.]

[At higher purity, the depth of control and scale of power will increase accordingly.]

[Elven Grace (A)]

[Description: A racial trait shared by all members of the elven race.]

[Enhances reflexes, agility, balance, and body coordination and all movements become silent, fluid, and efficient. The body instinctively moves in the most optimal way without conscious thought.]

"So that's why my body feels so light." Dante clenched and unclenched his fist a few times. The landing earlier, the way his feet made no sound when they hit the floor, it was all because of Elven Grace.

He then looked at Master of Four Elements and a thought crossed his mind. 'Reduced casting time and mana consumption for four elements at SS rank... and this is only at 10% purity?'

He didn't even want to imagine what it would look like at 100%.

'Now I can finally use those combat techniques.' Dante thought with a smile. The basic combat techniques from the Path of Awakeners contained dozens of elemental spells.

Since he had no affinity for any element before, he could only use the non-elemental ones like Enhancement, Shield, and Mana Blade. The rest were just sitting there collecting dust.

Until now.

"Fireball!" Dante held out his palm and a ball of fire formed instantly. It was way too fast and way too big. It swelled to the size of his head before he could react and nearly singed his face.

The tip of his long hair caught fire.

"Shit! Water Bullet!" He panicked and fired a stream of water at his own head, putting out the flame in an instant.

Water dripped down his face as he stood there in silence.

He looked at the scorch mark on the ceiling, then at the puddle on the floor, then at his reflection in the mirror. His hair was smoking on one side and soaking wet on the other.

'...Maybe I should practice outside.'

Dante grabbed a towel and started drying his hair when he noticed something in the mirror. The burnt ends on the right side looked shorter a second ago.

He squinted his eyes. 'Am I seeing things?'

He held the damaged strands between his fingers and stared at them.

Nothing happened.

He was about to look away when the hair in his hand grew by a fraction of an inch right before his eyes.

"..." He blinked and looked again. It grew a little more.

"What the..." He grabbed a pair of scissors from the drawer and cut a strand short. Then he stared at it.

A minute later, it was the same length as the rest.

"My hair grows back?!" He looked at his reflection with wide eyes. The burnt side had already caught up to the other side like nothing ever happened.

"Is this regeneration?" He pulled a dagger from his storage ring and ran the edge across his forearm.

A thin line of red appeared on his skin.

He watched it closely and within seconds, the wound was already closing on its own. A few minutes later, there wasn't even a scar left.

"This is amazing! This should be from the bloodline techniques, right?" He quickly tapped on the bloodline and a list of techniques appeared.

[High Elf King Bloodline (Divine)]

[Current Purity: 10% ▰▱▱▱▱▱▱▱▱▱]

[✦ UNLOCKED]

[Sovereign Physique (S)]

[King's Eye (S)]

[LOCKED ✦ 20%]

[LOCKED ✦ 40%]

[LOCKED ✦ 70%]

[LOCKED ✦ 100%]

'Two techniques unlocked at just 10%? Not bad.' He studied the panel with a thoughtful look. 'But both are SS rank. They're probably nerfed because of the low purity and my realm.'

Even though the other four were locked, he tried tapping on them anyway. Nothing happened except the same warning popping up each time telling him the technique was locked.

He shook his head with a dry smile and tapped on Sovereign Physique and King's Eye.

Two golden panels appeared side by side, their glow reflecting off his face.