67 Meeting the Empress Once Again
Each evolution was different for people. Some would easily be able to evolve and reach a higher realm without so much as sweating a bit, while others would need to prepare for months and even years in order to do so.
Lyle had previously managed to improve his strength with relative ease, he didn't really face a bottleneck for his first two evolutions, which could be attributed to his race and him being a perfect hybrid.
This time, it was no different. He was able to jump in for the evolution the moment he reached the maximum level that was needed for it.
The blood ball that was covered in darkness covered him up completely and he soon lost consciousness.
Instead of being inside the forest, Lyle found himself staring at an ocean of blood once again. He was once again sitting on a giant rock in the middle of the ocean while the altar was still present and continued pouring blood into the ocean.
The statue, however, was no longer there.
Lyle looked at the altar in confusion. After he had opened his eyes and seen the familiar sight, he was fully expecting to see the person he firmly believed to be the empress once again. His mind churned as he thought of what might happen and what he might do, but she wasn't there.
'It's a good thing, I suppose, at least she won't be able to know what realm I'm at, which gives me an advantage in the future.' Lyle thought before his eyes constricted as he felt a warm breath tickle his neck from behind.
A slender hand came from behind him and gently grabbed him by the chin before turning his head around.
In front of him, stood one of, if not the most beautiful woman he had ever seen in his life.
Her hair seemed to be even darker than night itself, her red eyes were like two rubies that stared at his own while her lips were plump and red as blood.
"Tell me little one, why wouldn't it be good for me to know how strong you are?"
Lyle's eyes opened wide as he tried to get away, only to find out that he couldn't move at all.
Multiple vines that were made out of blood had coiled around his body and forced him to stay in place.
"Look at you, so scared, so frail." The Empress spoke as a smile bloomed on her face, "Why are you scared little one?"
"Hmph, shouldn't I be scared when your majesty is so close?" Lyle teasingly said as the empress suddenly blinked at him before giggling a bit.
The giggling alone was enough to make her seem like an angel in Lyle's eyes.
"So you have already realized who I was." The giggling disappeared as a serious expression appeared on the woman's face. Her nails came closer to Lyle's eyes before she started stroking his cheek.
"Little one, do find me as soon as you can, I will look forward to our first true meeting, but it seems your time here is nearly over." The empress said with an almost sad face before staring into Lyle's eyes.
"Don't try to charge into things, do not try to gain power too quickly, be mindful of the things around you, and do not die before coming to me, that's an order from your empress, Lord Lyle." The empress suddenly said seriously as Lyle stared at her with confusion.
"How do you kno-"
"Goodbye for now little one." The empress said before Lyle's eyes closed.
When he opened his eyes again, he was in the forest. Adam was a couple of meters away from him and the area around them was in shambles.
Blood could be seen splattered around, the grass, trees, and bushes had withered away and life was barely present there anymore.
Far away in the Moonless Night Empire, the empress could be seen sitting atop her throne. Her eyes were closed while a small smile appeared on her face, before disappearing the moment it appeared.
As for Lyle and Adam, they had taken their leave the moment their evolutions were finished. They had caused quite a scene in the forest, and although they were far away from the city and the dungeons, there was no telling whether a sensory-type adventurer or soldier was somewhere nearby.
Mana would be sucked into the person that was going through an evolution, and for such characters, it was very easy to notice something like that happening. The last thing the two wished was for some knights to appear at this moment and see them.
As they were leaving the area, Lyle glanced at his status window, eager to find just how much stronger he had gotten.
Name: Lyle
Level: 50 – 110 000 / 100 000 Soul Power
Class: Blood Lord (more info in the class menu)
Race: True Vampire Lord (more info in the race menu)
Attribute points: 0
Strength: 54
Agility: 63
Endurance: 38
Vitality: 38
Willpower: 40
Spirit: 50
[ The character has managed to evolve and reach Tier I. ]
[ The status window has been updated ]
[ The soul power needed for each level has been increased. ]
[ Level up! ]
[ Free Attribute points + 5, strength + 2, agility + 2, spirit + 1
Name: Lyle
Level: 51 – 10 000 / 300 000 Soul Power
Class: Blood Lord (more info in the class menu)
Race: True Vampire Lord (more info in the race menu)
Attribute points: 5
Strength: 105
Agility: 117
Endurance: 72
Vitality: 72
Willpower: 80
Spirit: 111
Both Lyle and Adam stared at the status window for a while before gulping and making their way back to the city.
Lyle already knew that once a person evolves, they would pretty much become double as strong as they were, but this was the first time that he was able to see just how big of a difference an evolution made.
It wasn't only the stats he was good at that were increased by a lot, but all of them were almost doubled.
The sheer increase in power was incredible and it would make a world of difference for them.
As for the high increase in the soul power one needed in order to level up?
That was of course to be expected, after all, evolution was not a small thing and the monsters they would be hunting from now on would be monsters that were of the Bronze Core realm, which would definitely give a generous amount of soul power to them.
Even before the system arrived, people that went through an evolution were able to notice that with each evolution, they needed to take in a lot more mana in order to notice any signs of becoming stronger.
Some would even struggle to notice any difference in their body after doing so for a couple of days, which would make some mad in anger and frustration. Some would never even be able to improve after reaching the Bronze Knight realm.
For some, it was because they didn't know how to draw in mana more efficiently and use it to strengthen their body, while for others, it was simply because their body was inherently weak and couldn't take more.
Mana channels and mana organs also played a part, if they were small and frail, then a person would only be able to draw in a little bit of mana each time, which wouldn't help them much.
As for what had happened during the evolution, Lyle decided not to think too hard about it.
He didn't understand why the empress would show up again, and why she would even show such care and affection to him. She even told him to be careful and to take his time before becoming stronger and coming to her.
'Is she that confident that I will go to her, why, why would she be that certain of it?' Lyle couldn't wrap his finger around it, there had to be something he was missing.
'Wait.' He suddenly stopped in his tracks as Adam looked back at him in slight confusion.
"Master?"
'Is, is my father there, in that empire?' Lyle asked himself.
It was the only thing that would draw him to the empire, and the empress. Perhaps there was another reason, but since he had already been certain that his father was a powerful vampire who held a high position in a noble clan, then it was only natural that he would be in the empire, serving the empress.
'But still, how could she know that that is my goal, I never mentioned anything of the sort to anybody, so it can't be it.'
'Is it maybe something related to my race, do vampire lords naturally seek out the empress because of the bloodline?' Lyle didn't know, but he knew that he had to find out.
If the empress had some sort of power over him thanks to the bloodline, then he might never be able to get away from her.
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