Chapter 42: Blood Sorcery

It had been said before: the magic-barren nature of most of the Safro Kingdom created a relatively safe environment for ordinary civilians, significantly lowering the dangers of the wilderness.

However, they were now in the lower reaches of the Wedel River, near the mountains, having left the region of magical scarcity behind. Here, magic had returned to normal levels, and naturally, most of the threats common to the rest of the continent began to appear. Not to mention, this was an entirely unexplored territory, teeming with dangerous creatures.

Cana was well aware of this, which is why he did not push the party further downstream in search of a better site, even if there were more suitable locations for setting up camp or constructing rafts. By establishing a camp right at the edge of this mana-rich zone, they could significantly mitigate the risks. With their limited manpower, losing even one person—or even suffering an injury—would be a heavy blow. Any unforeseen danger could easily derail their progress.

True to their reputation, the residents of Riverbend Town who had followed them were mostly former soldiers, or at the very least, had undergone some form of training. Under Aliris's command and with the assistance of a few veterans, a crude camp was quickly erected. As for the wooden walls and lookout towers Cana had envisioned, those would have to wait for another day.

Since they had not set out early, night fell shortly after the camp was established.

"Awoo!"

The howl of a wolf echoed from the distance.

"Damn, we aren't going to be attacked by wolves tonight, are we?" one of the recruited laborers asked, sitting by the campfire. Several others nearby shared his concern.

"Don't worry," another laborer said, pointing outside the camp. "We have soldiers on patrol. If they come, it’ll just be extra food for us."

"Hahaha, then let's hope they drag you off first!"

With the camp set up, the patrol shifts were already assigned. George chimed in from nearby, "There are dozens of us here. Unless those wolves are idiots, they wouldn't dare approach us, even if they were starving to death."

The others echoed his sentiments, for it was the truth.

At the entrance of the largest tent in the camp, Popot couldn't help but remark, "That may be true within your borders, but the magic levels here are higher. Even if the wolves don't dare come, there will always be other annoying things that might harass us."

"That is exactly why I didn't push any further, isn't it?" Cana said with a smile.

He certainly didn't believe they were perfectly safe here, but at least they could avoid the truly insurmountable dangers.

"It feels easier to control that blood—blood sorcery?"

"Blood Magic," Cana corrected.

"Right, Blood Magic," Aliris said, opening her palm. A glob of blood was swirling in her hand; it was not human blood, but from a rabbit George had caught while scouting earlier.

"The concentration of magic is higher here, so any power related to mana flows more smoothly." After saying this, Popot looked at the blood orb in Aliris's palm and couldn't help but add, "I have never seen magic that manipulates blood before. It looks rather evil. If we are to deal with outsiders, it would be best not to display such power casually."

Manipulating blood, no matter how one looked at it, seemed like an evil art.

"Don't worry," Cana said. "Aside from attacking and enhancing one's own body, Blood Magic has no other uses. It isn't very versatile."

Of course, by "not very versatile," he meant for those like them who had not been converted into vampires yet but could still wield the magic. If one were fully transformed into a vampire, the marvels of Blood Magic would be far greater. After all, there is a trade-off for everything. Furthermore, there was a high probability that this ability could be strengthened in the future.

"How can I become stronger?" Aliris asked, controlling the blood so that it seeped into the soil. She had only awakened this power a few days ago and had no idea how to utilize it. Although she trained daily, she only knew how to open wounds to draw blood and make enemies bleed out rapidly.

Hearing her question, Cana seized the opportunity. "That depends on your vision." He opened his palm. "For us, there are two ways to use this power."

The skin on Cana’s arm turned ruddy, his veins bulged, and his hand took on a somewhat savage appearance. "You can manipulate the blood within your own body to enhance your physical strength. Of course, this not only consumes mana but also leaves you fatigued afterward."

Aliris and Popot watched him in surprise, wondering when he had mastered Blood Magic.

"No need to be surprised; after all, I always had the potential for it, didn't I?" Cana continued the demonstration. "Or, you can specialize in controlling the blood of others. A tiny wound would be enough to make an enemy bleed uncontrollably. You can even control an enemy's own blood to strike at them."

In the game, these were the two paths of a Blood Knight.

"Of course, the two can be combined, but you have to specialize in one aspect first, don't you?" Cana looked at Aliris. "Though for you, perhaps you can advance in both simultaneously. You have that potential."

Controlling others' blood was the simplest; Aliris had done it instinctively after awakening. Strengthening one's own body was more difficult and required careful exploration, but for Aliris, it was not impossible, as she was already a knight who had pushed her physical capabilities to the current limit.

Hearing Cana's explanation, Aliris began to grasp the concept. Cana had never expected his own talent in this area to rival Aliris's. After all, in the game, she was a Blood Knight from start to finish and the most powerful figure in that profession within the lore.

As for himself, while his talent might not be enough, he possessed a skill system. As long as he practiced, he could master the game's skills even without natural talent. Furthermore, he knew the development trajectory of Blood Knight skills, and these multifaceted advantages would allow him to keep pace with Aliris.

Moreover, in reality, it was impossible to be restricted to only one profession as in a game, or limited to only learning combat skills of a single class. There was nothing stopping him from merging multiple complementary professions. At the very least, with the skill system, Cana was confident he could fuse two or three professions together. By then, he might not be a legend, but he would surely have a hero-tier stat block. He had that much confidence.

As the sky turned completely dark, everyone retreated into their tents, leaving only the night watchmen to remain vigilant around the camp. Cana lay in his tent, checking his mana.

[9/12]

It had to be said that in a region where magic had returned to normal, the recovery of his own mana had also accelerated. By tomorrow morning, he should have enough mana to digitize the shield and the orb he had acquired. He could hardly wait.

"Your Highness, here," Aliris said as she prepared to rest, returning the spatial pouch to him.

Cana took it and winked at her with a smile. "Well, does it meet your expectations?"

"Yes, it's very interesting," Aliris said with a shy smile, before returning to the tent next to his.

Cana then settled down in his own tent to rest.