ALL NOVEL Chapter 180: Clearing the Tower!
"Haa... haa..."
The heavy breathing of Nikolai echoed as he sat with a torn jacket at the entrance to the eighth floor, his body riddled with wounds from the current floor monsters. Although he could easily crush them alone, on this floor, the monsters came in packs of six at the least.
'These damn werewolves...'
Unlike the werewolves outside the tower, even if he used his bloodline and tried to suppress or cause their morale to fade.
It didn't work.
'It's like they are protected from mental damage, or maybe the tower controls their mind?'
'Damn... I feel exhausted, and it's probably time to sleep.'
Fifteen hours had passed since he came to the tower, and only thirty remained before he needed to meet the person Alucard would send to meet him.
'It's times like this, and I wish my mother could respond here...'
"I should tend to my wounds first..."
Somehow, he noticed that the monsters in the tower kept features that seemed to have disappeared over the many years of evolution. The werewolves on the eighth floor were able to cause light paralysis thanks to a strange secretion on their claws.
He leaned against the cold wall, looking at the beautiful forest area with various broken huts and buildings that were the homes of the wolves.
Nikolai held a small makeshift pouch, which held dozens of red, blue and black potion vials. Though the blue bottles were larger, he found that the higher you climbed, the quality of these ichors also improved.
"Haa... their bodies melt back into the dungeon..."
"What worries me is if these monsters... will they one day start appearing on my world?"
There was a constant worry now because of those caves which Nikolai couldn't block out. He struggled to relax or sleep, wondering if today would be the last. No matter if he could protect himself... 'What about the innocent humans?'
He didn't believe they were all bad.
And not to mention, he was a human for two decades; it would be a lie to say he had no affection for humanity.
"Phew... let's take all these vials and the pain should force me to sleep. When I wake up, the ninth and tenth floor await me..."
Nikolai grasped the vial and closed his eyes before quickly pouring the sticky red fluid into his mouth.
"Urgh...!"
A sour flavour that made his throat tingle before an overwhelming earthy aftertaste. If he were human, he'd have probably vomited, but Nikolai was not, and he could only struggle and swallow.
"Guh... I hate this taste."
He opened his eyes, and his wounds healed, but they still felt sore, as though the potion wasn't as effective as his body required. The red vials seemed to improve his mind; the aching pain in his head felt like thousands of pins poked his brain at once...
He couldn't afford to drink them one at a time.
Nikolai took a deep breath, tears at the bottom of his eyes as he downed the dozens of vials, one by one, blue, red and black.
"Hrrk... help.....ugh...!"
A fool, that's what Nikolai Volkov was! The moment the sticky liquids fused, a foul stench flowed like a sizzling gas, and then his stomach began to hurt before their effects overwhelmed him. The tensing muscles and writhing veins as his muscles, organs and bones began to enhance themselves. Meanwhile, it felt like someone hit his head repeatedly with a metal hammer.
'What is this?!'
He felt his body change, and it was not a pleasant experience, not at all... The potion seemed to have a strange effect when mixed with the others, almost as if they had a synergistic result.
"Ugh..."
He felt his mind going blank and his vision fading, unable to handle the pain coursing through his body.
Nikolai couldn't stop the vomit from leaving his throat, the burning sensation like someone poured acid down it. His entire body felt like someone tossed him into a volcano, and it was only after a few moments that he fell unconscious from the pain.
***
"Where am I?"
He finally woke up. The black, red and blue ichor had dried on his face, and he was lying in a pool of vomit, blood and sweat.
Nikolai had slept for almost ten hours, and his body felt revitalised—the wounds had healed. He no longer felt that unbearable pain that drove him to the brink of insanity.
The first thing he did after waking up was to look at his body, and he realised he had become taller and slightly bulkier. The change surprised him, as it seemed the potion was far more effective than it would have been if he had drunk them one at a time.
He used a mirror to see his face and gasped.
"What?!"
His long silver hair was silky and had a shine like the moon, and his eyes looked clear like gemstones. His skin became soft, silky and smooth; honestly, touching it felt like Nikita or Selene's. 'Why did it have this effect...'
Rather, the truth became clearer when he used his Mother's way to analyse his bloodline.
——----------------------------------
[Name: Nikolai Báthory Volkov]
∟ Royal Vampire (80% Awakened)
∟ Imperial Werewolf (85% Awakened)
∟ Lupus Diabolus (65% Awakened)
[Bloodline Level]
1
∟ Adult (Period of Adaption)
[Physical Force]
∟ 550 Explore more stories at m,v l'e-m|p y r
[Mental Force]
∟ 380
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'Though something tells me there wont be any significant changes with this level of ichor anymore... Only that big one that dropped once from the boss...'
However, when he notices the change in power from before entering this dungeon, he defeats Alistair and abuses the vials.
He felt now he could probably fight that Elder, though he might not win without using his Devil form. It would still be possible to deal with his strength thanks to his evolution from a young state to a mature one.
'I have come too far too quickly since I first awakened a month ago... my body feels light and a little sore.'
Nikolai could feel it deep inside—his blood was now mostly monster, and very little human blood remained. This growth led to his changes in the past few weeks, such as becoming more reckless, following his desires, and growing aggression.
'Though I cannot let myself lose the thoughts and feelings of a human. I am changing too fast to catch up mentally and physically...'
'Is this what the Period of Adaption means?'
He began to consider that adaption meant the aching bones in his body. The pain he felt when he took a deep breath or used his muscles.
'Well it also explains this damn headache I've had since taking all those vials...'
'I wonder how long it will take me to adapt.'
"Phew... how far can I transform with such highly concentrated bloodlines?"
Nikolai knew that once it reached fifty, then he could transform both arms and legs.
Meanwhile, he noticed that the werewolf bloodline could transform his entire body, minus his head, into a beast...
'Should I give it a try?'
Because he didn't want to damage his armour, he began to strip off while looking at the portal to the ninth floor.
Could he clear the floor while fully transformed, not bothering to use his human form once?
"Well let's do it..."
He didn't transform and stepped into the portal while storing his clothes in the portable item ring he bought outside for a few thousand Nexus coins.
'I am glad I bought it...'
However, he bought four extra rings for his women and Sarah.
—-------------------
[High-Grade Item Ring]
∟ Stores up to 100 items with a space of 15 cubic metres
∟ Keeps items isolated from time.
∟ Only Nikolai Volkov can remove it.
—
[Mid-Grade Item Ring] x 3
∟ Stores up to 50 items with a space of 10 cubic metres
∟ Keeps items isolated from time.
∟ Only the owner can remove the ring.
—
[High-Grade Item Ring]
∟ Stores up to 100 items with a space of 15 cubic metres
∟ Keeps items isolated from time.
∟ Only the owner can remove the ring.
—-------------------
The reason he bought the second High grade was mostly for Sarah, because of the business. Nikolai intended to buy low-tier ones for his employees and thralls but would wait a little while first. All because he spent a large amount of his coins on these purchases.
'I have a huge amount of coins thanks to that old man betting on me... but I feel guilty spending it all at once.'
In reality, because of the special rings he got from the auction house. Nikolai planned to visit a jeweller in the Jhin world to see if he could fuse the two since he bought special jewellery and hadn't given it to them yet.
"Phew... let's go!"
Into the twisting portal, he felt a little vulnerable being naked, but he couldn't replace the clothes he wore if he transformed and destroyed them. Even his boxers were items from the Nexus auction house.
The moment he stepped onto the ninth floor, a fresh scent and the sound of water flowing filled his ears, a unique atmosphere than what he had become accustomed to.
"The ninth floor..."
The ninth floor had a beautiful lake area with an enormous tower in the centre. It had a single path that reached it, and the creatures that inhabited it were all types of water creatures.
He took a deep breath, sucking the cool, minty air with a taste of citrus, and then closed his eyes, focusing on himself.
A thick stream of red flowed like a raging river.
A calm yet boundless sea of blue flowed through his body like a master.
Then, a dark, eerie black flow lurked in the depths.
'Let's transform... bring everything under the control of my Celestial Aura... turn the red into blue, the obsidian tide supporting... a whirlpool of three, becoming two.'
The whirlpool of red, black and blue soon became dominated by the blood bloodline, with the black tide turning a dark blue as if to complete the missing blood needed. Yet within that beautiful dark blue blood were vermillion crystals that shone.
'I see... when I use the black bloodline it turns the other into crystal form...'
The moment the bloodlines aligned... Nikolai's body began to transform.
HOWL—!
I have replaced the Racial level with Bloodline State. The bloodline state is the current level at which their bloodline is.
Child -> Teen -> Young Adult -> Adult -> Mature -> Elder -> Great Elder -> Ancestor
These show the strength and power that a monster would have on average, with Elders having Mental or Physical strength of at least 800-1000 force.
While an adult would have roughly 400-500 and need to reach a certain plateau to evolve and advance into an Elder.
Adult: 400-599
Mature: 600-799
Elder: 800-1199
Great Elder: 1200-1999
Ancestor: 2000-????