Chapter 249: Bloodgem

After extracting the Blood Essence of the 700 plus Forlorn elves, Tristan immediately retreated back to the royal palace and made his way to the royal chamber. The moment he entered it, he was surprised by the grand scale of this supposedly bedroom of his.

Eventually, he went back to his initial goal of coming here. 

Tristan ordered the elven warriors who stood guard outside of the chamber to not let others disturbed him, not even his wife Serene. Of course, he instructed them to ask Serene to leave politely lest they would suffer his wrath.

Immediately, the chamber door was closed and everyone was barred from entering. Right after that, Tristan checked his total reserve of Blood Essence.

[Blood Essence: 126.350]

A silly smile crept its way into Tristan's face as his eyes transmitted the six-digit number of his Blood Essence to his brain. This time, instead of rushing to upgrade his body to the next level, Tristan sat on the floor in lotus position and let his soul enter his domain, the Heart of Monarch.

Tristan once again found himself arriving at the familiar blood lake. He immediately walked to the construct and headed down the stairs, to the room where he previously saw the red-skinned woman with horn and wings on her.

As soon as he arrived, Tristan immediately saw the other party and vice versa. The moment she saw him, she immediately bowed her body.

"My Lord Monarch, have you come to release me?" the woman asked with a hopeful look in her eyes.

Faced with the inquiry, Tristan only replied with three simple words. "Yes, I have."

The half woman half creature standing in front of Tristan seemed and acted so familiar to him, even though they had just met. The woman was apparently one of Virtaz's most loyal subjects.

The last instance they encountered each other, he didn't have enough Blood Essence to release her. Now that he had enough, the thought of freeing her was the first thing that came into his mind.

Tristan quickly approached the woman and touched the chains that bound her.

[Release the Mythical Beast - Bloodgem Dragon]

[25.000 Blood Essence required]

Even though it took a whooping 25.000 Blood Essence to release the other party, the name this woman had - which clearly told him her origin - was more than enough for Tristan to spend more Blood Essence, let alone that amount.

"Yes"

In the instant he confirmed the option, the chains that bound her hand and feet immediately shattered apart before disappearing into motes of.. Blood. The eerie sight slightly caught Tristan off guard, but his attention immediately attracted by the sight of the woman transforming.

Scales began to appear on her skin, while her fingers and canine teeth grew into sharp claws and fangs. Long, similarly-scaled tail was seen on her rear, while her body grew larger rapidly until she almost filled the entire room. 

Looking at the monstrosity standing before him, Tristan was not afraid, instead he was bedazzled.  It was a beautiful dragon with red scales and a streak of silver on her back.

In the meantime, the room they were currently in shook violently and just like last time, Tristan could feel as if the entire floor was sent to the air. After the tremor ended, the room he was in at the moment was already level with the blood lake.

Tristan turned his head to where the dragon should be and was immediately greeted by a violent gust of wind. Keeping his eyes open with difficulty, he saw the red dragon take off to the sky and flew around for a while before returning right in front of him and transforming into a woman again.

"My Lord, thank you for releasing me. I will forever assist you, just like i always have"

Upon hearing her words, Tristan didn't immediately acknowledge her and instead questioned, 

"You haven't told me your name"

"My Lord Monarch, you usually called me Nara."

The answer this woman called Nara gave him brought more questions. Hence, he asked, 

"Tell me, Nara. Who am I?"

A confused expression was seen on Nara's face, but it didn't last long as she immediately answered Tristan's question.

"My Lord, you are Virtaz the Blood Monarch." Tristan was about to ask more when he noticed hesitation on her. "What is it? Say it."

"Actually, My Lord.. I can see changes in you,  But I can tell you are indeed our monarch."

Hearing this, Tristan could now confirm that when Virtaz disappeared, it was just as he had suspected. A part of him really did go and merged into him. It could also be because of the memory fragments. Either way, he was glad that at least he was in control.

Tristan's mind swiftly got caught by something. He could see the floor opened up again and another stairs leading downward once again appeared, sealed with similar chains as its predecessor.

While Tristan was contemplating, Nara explained that he needed to upgrade his soul to reach deeper. Put it simply, the same thing as what Virtaz told him previously.

Knowing that he wouldn't be able to head down today, Tristan finally turned his attention to Nara who was looking at him the entire time. 

"So, what should I do with you, Nara?"

"It's up to you, Master. You can summon me any time you want."

He looked at her, and saw nothing strange. "Do you wish to be summoned outside, Nara?"

"Of course, Master." answered Nara with a calm tone, but Tristan could clearly see the expectation on her eyes.

Nodding his head, Tristan exited his domain and returned to the real world, more precisely, to the royal chamber where his body was still sitting in lotus formation.

The next thing he did was none other than improving himself.

[Upgrade host's body to stage five Blood Monarch?]

[Cost 50.000 Blood Essence]

Clenched his fist tightly, Tristan mentally replied, "Yes, upgrade!"

[Upgrading to Stage Five Blood Monarch..]

[50,000 Blood Essence used]

[Advancing to Blood Monarch - The Fifth Stage…]

The moment the last notification appeared in his mind, Tristan immediately felt changes happening in his body.

He could feel the blood that was running through his veins stirred as it all flowed backward simultaneously, heading to his heart. The beating of his heart sped up, and came with it was a deluge-like sensation. New, stronger blood was pumped and circulated throughout Tristan's entire body.

[Stage five advancement completed]

[Advancement affect host's physical body]

[Battle power increased significantly]

[Battle power Undefined]

[Stage Five Innate Skill has been unlocked]

[You have learned a new skill Blood Summon]

Finally, Tristan had reached stage five. The upgrade cost him a spectacular amount of 50.000 Blood Essence and a requirement to eradicate 20% of an elven kingdom's entire population. He could only imagine what kind of thing he needed to do, who he needed to kill for the next upgrade.

Even though he couldn't see it in definitive numbers, Tristan knew his physical strength had just increased into another level. As for the reason as to why he couldn't see it, he had some idea in his mind.

But those were matters that could be resolved later, because now, Tristan had other things he wanted to do. Summoning the dragon that dwells within him.

[Blood Summon]

[Summon Mythical Beast Bloodgem Dragon]

[5000 Blood Essence required]

After recently spending tens of thousands worth of Blood Essence, Tristan couldn't help but feel five thousand was such a low number especially for a dragon.

"Yes, proceed."

In the blink of an eye, masses of blood were diffusing out from his palm and coalescing into something. Its appearance was followed by an advent of strong force that rapidly gathered on his palm, making Tristan inwardly nervous.

Slowly but surely, the masses of blood coalesced into the figure of the same red dragon he saw inside his domain. However, the previously majestic dragon had been reduced into a miniature scale, about half a meter in length.

[Bloodgem Dragon]

[Magical Beast Level 50]

The Bloodgem Dragon, or rather, Nara swiftly flew around in the air before she landed on his right shoulder. Before Tristan could say anything, he was surprised when he heard her voice inside his head. Apparently, she was able to speak directly to his mind.

"Thank you for your grace, My Lord. unfortunately, with your current stage of Stage Five Blood Monarch, only so far have I been able to maintain myself."

Tristan didn't seem to mind her current appearance. After all, having a flying mount and companion was an extraordinary matter, much less a dragon at that. He was sure that even at this size, a dragon couldn't possibly be weak. Besides, his main purpose to release and summon Nara was to know more about the Blood Monarch's past. 

With a dragon on his shoulder and another upgrade to his body, Tristan was ready. 

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Written by Avans, Published exclusively by W.e.b.n.o.v.e.l,