Chapter 307: This could Prove Troublesome...

The alchemists gave Thalion a wild look when he dropped the corpse of the leviathan right on their doorstep and told them to figure out the runes, write them all down, and hand him the results later. Thalion kept one tentacle in his spatial ring, just in case the alchemists messed something up. The head alchemist made it clear this would be a group project, with over twenty alchemists working hard on the leviathan. Those runes could be advantageous for every survivor with water abilities, and the head alchemist also mentioned that many humans from the water planet had joined them. Thalion wondered why that was the case.

The Blue Robes had strong leaders and had found each other early in the tutorial, so something must have happened. Tensions had been building between the patriotic Blue Robes and the normal humans, since many knew that the Blue Robes had been enslaving humans from Earth on a daily basis. Of course, there were some Blue Robes who just wore normal clothes, in which case nobody knew, but there were also those who were more aggressive, thinking themselves superior to Earth’s humans, which led to occasional conflicts.

Thalion decided to leave finding a solution to Kaldrek and Maike. They had enough guards and elite fighters to easily handle such situations. Besides, with the offensive on Ankhet’s palace currently underway, there might be fewer internal struggles. On the other hand, Thalion had learned that ruthless people often used such distractions to their advantage, but again, he trusted Maike and Kaldrek to handle it. Thalion had more than enough credits, so losing a few people if they got thrown out didn’t bother him. He wanted a good environment, and for that, sometimes you had to throw the bad people out.

Instead of returning to Lucan’s cellar to test a few skills, Thalion decided to go for a little flight. He had a passive skill that hid him in the sky, and once he got far enough away, he could cut loose a little without anyone noticing his power. Besides, he wanted to get out of the basement, stretch his wings, and feel free. He’d spent so much time in the catacombs, and after that, buried in crafting work. A short flight and some testing sounded perfect, and really—how much would people see with him high up in the sky? He could travel quickly, and with his empowered skills, probably faster than ever before.

His projects were also constantly progressing: the Fear Pillar was being used to torture and kill orcs, and Maike had told him that mages were using its aura to strengthen their souls. The leviathan was with the alchemists, and Lucan was working on runes for his sword and armor. Taking some time to fly as Eagly and blast lightning at the horizon sounded like exactly what he needed. After handing the leviathan over to roughly thirty alchemists, Thalion transformed into Eaglys and launched himself into the sky.

The moment he took off, he immediately felt the difference. It seemed the bloodline was affecting passive skills as well, because his horns were now channeling electrical energy through his body like never before. Stormborn Resilience absorbed the energy, making him feel much stronger than usual while in Eaglys’ form. In moments, Thalion was over a kilometer in the air, heading away from the desert. Following that course should take him deep into the fifth stage, where the stronger beasts had fled and many survivors were now hiding.

Thalion relished the feeling of gliding on the wind with crackling electricity spinning around him. He only needed to beat his wings occasionally to maintain speed. It was a bit disappointing that this stage didn’t have an area like the third stage, with its wind crystals and abundant flying beasts. Here, airborne predators were rare, and according to reports, most lived high in the tallest tree canopies, hunting close to the ground.

Instead of scouting for prey, Thalion focused on suppressing the flames of his bloodline as he gained altitude. He didn’t want a trail of blue fire behind him, it would make it far too easy for others to spot or track him. After half an hour of shooting across the horizon, he finally decided it was time to test his skills.

Below him stretched a savanna of tall grass, inhabited mostly by relatively small beasts. The larger ones had likely fled deeper into the fifth stage or had been killed by his hunters. Thalion decided to start with Skydive, a movement skill that shot him like a cannonball in a chosen direction. This time, he aimed forward rather than at the ground because slamming into trees at such speeds from this height would end badly.

Thalion stretched his wings wide, as he had during the flight, and activated the skill. It was like someone had strapped a rocket to his back and then pulled the trigger.

In no time, Thalion passed the one-kilometer mark with Skydive, the air howling around him. When the skill ended, he had to extinguish some fires behind him that had started burning in the air. His skills were now so powerful that his bloodline could ignite the air around them even when he supressed his aura, something that was more than a little annoying. Controlling his abilities was clearly not going well.

Still, Thalion wasn’t overly worried. During the tutorial, he should remain overpowered compared to the others. The problem was, that status quo would only last until next Sunday. It would also make his task of capturing the female elf much harder. She should be on an equal power level to the vampiress he had defeated in the catacombs. Now he had far more raw power, but little control over it. The chances of either killing her or letting her escape were, in his opinion, too high. No, he needed to get his skills under control, at least a little.

There was another possibility he hadn’t tried yet: letting the darkness elemental or Sanguis Impera take over. The darkness elemental could manipulate shadows, while Sanguis Impera could unleash all the blood abilities he possessed. Whether these were also boosted by his bloodline was something he needed to find out soon. His divine passive skill definitely worked on the vines he used because otherwise, they would have burned to ash. Whether the bloodline also affected the elemental and Sanguis Impera remained to be seen, but first Thalion wanted to get some skill testing in.

He dashed further into the distance several times and, with nothing in his wake, really tried to fuel Skydive with decent power. The effect was… intense, to say the least. Thalion couldn’t remember ever moving this fast. He had little control over where he ended up, but he did manage to put out the fires along his path this time. A small victory.

Next came his claw and beak attacks, probably the simplest strikes in his arsenal, and the first he could actually control. His beak and claws vibrated violently from the power coursing through them, but they still worked well. More difficult to use, yes—but functional, and that was enough for now.

Then came Windblade, which… didn’t go so well. The power surge in the skill was so great that his wings were forced back, throwing him off balance for a moment. Still, this was something he could adapt to, and after some practice, he figured out how to fortify himself when using it. At full power, it would still affect his flight, but otherwise, he was fine.

Finally, it was time for his main single-target damage skill: Lightning Beam. This ability had always been so potent that overcharging it could injure him. This time, he funneled in the bare minimum, just enough to trigger the skill. The build-up was fine, but the release sent him spinning through the air.

It was with this skill that Thalion finally grasped how his bloodline worked. The details were still a mystery, but he realized his abilities grew stronger the moment he released them. Until now, he hadn’t noticed this. The Lightning Beam shouldn’t have been so powerful with the small charge he had gathered, but the instant he opened his beak, the power spiked to insane levels.

This post-release amplification was useful for several reasons. First, it spared him from overloading himself. Eaglys’ body simply wasn’t strong enough to hold that much power safely. Second, future enemies with abilities similar to his title’s might sense the build-up and underestimate the actual attack.

Hopefully, this realization would help him control his skills better, because at the moment, things weren’t looking great. He could kick himself for sending the elf off to organize a duel. Maybe he could postpone it? Thalion was confident in winning, but victory wasn’t his main objective. In retrospect, he couldn’t understand how he’d ever imagined the rest of the tutorial would be smooth sailing.

Dwelling on it was pointless, he needed to practice. There were likely no shortcuts. So he continued, focusing mostly on Lightning Beam and Windblade. He felt he was actually making good progress, and it was far more pleasant doing this high in the sky with the sun on his back instead of in some dark cellar.

The only abilities he avoided were his domain skills. They were far too destructive, and he didn’t want to push his luck. The passive buff from his Stormhorns was already insane, there was no need to escalate into summoning a massive storm that resonated with them. That would have to wait until he had a better handle on things.

Sadly, his intense practice session was cut short by a message from Maike. The elves were now attacking human hunting parties, killing them in grotesque and painful ways. Some victims had simply vanished. Maike suspected they had been enslaved and taken to the elven fortress. Multiple hunting parties were already searching for the elves. Knowing Thalion was nearby, she asked if he could help and “make a point” by killing a few of them.

Thalion was more than willing. He’d had a solid training session and was ready to test his capabilities against ordinary elves. He also genuinely disliked elves, especially how they preyed on the weak. Maybe he’d even find a cozy position near their base and see how much damage a Crimson Eidolon could inflict.

The elves, however, didn’t seem to be the only predators targeting his hunting parties. Maike said too many groups were going missing, mostly in patches of dense jungle. The wide savannas were, according to her, relatively safe. Annoying, yes—but Thalion needed moving practice dummies, so there was no reason not to take a little hunting trip.

In the end, he’d see who was the hunter and who was the prey. And besides, there was still a certain black pillar that needed feeding.




<author note>

Good day, dear readers.

Treating each other with respect is one of the most important pillars of life in the Endless Empire—right up there with not poking dragons and paying your tavern tab.

Now, at this point, you might be thinking that elves are pretty evil and completely devoid of etiquette. That, my friends, could not be more wronger-er. In fact, offending an elf is shockingly easy, and Thalion himself didn’t have the faintest clue about courtly rules at this point.

That’s where I come in. My job is to give you reliable, life-saving knowledge, so that if an elf ever invites you to their gathering and you somehow haven’t been enslaved yet, you’ll know how to navigate the minefield of their delicate sensibilities.

I’ve already written far too much this week and frankly I value my free time. So instead, I will graciously introduce you to a classic masterpiece:

Polite Pointy-Ears: A Survival Guide for the Socially Unaware
by the illustrious Professor Archibald Fernsniffer.



Chapter One: Don’t Trip Over the Welcome Carpet (and Other Ways to Die in Style)

Greetings, hapless reader. I am Professor Archibald Fernsniffer, three-time winner of the Best Dressed at a Funeral award and your only hope for surviving the deadly minefield known as “Elven high society.”

You think etiquette is about good manners? Wrong. It’s about survival. One misplaced fork, one sneeze in the wrong direction, and you’ll find yourself “accidentally” invited to an extended vacation in the Elf Dungeons (all expenses paid, including a lifetime supply of damp straw).

Lesson One: The Carpet Trap.
When attending an Elven banquet, you will be greeted by a ceremonial welcome carpet. This carpet is enchanted to trip exactly one guest. Statistically, that guest is always you. The goal is to fall gracefully, ideally landing in a pose that could be mistaken for an artistic statement. I recommend keeping a rose in your pocket at all times so you can fling it dramatically upon impact.

Lesson Two: The Handshake of Doom.
Never shake hands with an Elf. Their hands are so soft, so delicate, you’ll either crush them into a fine paste or pet them absentmindedly like a guinea pig. Last time I forgot, I woke up three days later married to a duke.

Lesson Three: The Bow of Peril.
An Elven bow must be precisely 17 degrees deep. Too shallow? You’re insulting their ancestors. Too deep? You’re headbutting the table centerpiece, which is often made of live swans. Never underestimate the vengeance of a swan.

Lesson Four: Table Etiquette (AKA The Dinner Deathmatch).
You will encounter 14 forks, 9 spoons, and something that might be a tiny shovel. Use the wrong one, and an Elf will politely whisper your sins into the nearest potted plant, which will then inform the entire room telepathically.

By the end of this chapter, you should be able to enter an Elven banquet without causing an inter-kingdom incident. And if you do cause one, at least make sure you look fabulous while being thrown out the window.

<author note>