Chapter 80: First mission
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Sekhmet nodded."Yes," he said quietly. "Now."
Bat Bat’s eyes widened, instantly awake again.
"Family time," it whispered.
Sekhmet sighed. "We will see," he muttered. He reached into his void land storage. His fingers closed around the vial, even through the connection, and pulled it out into the real world.
The small vial appeared in his palm. The dried pink blood glowed faintly in the dim room light.
Sekhmet stared at it. His blood eyes still read it the same.
Rare.
Old.
Divine.
Potential.
Three dried drops of pink-red blood clung to the inside, old enough to be history, precious enough to ruin a lesser man’s sanity.
Bat Bat sat on the edge of the bed, tiny body leaning forward, eyes fixed on the vial like it was the only important thing in the room, right now.
Sekhmet’s room was quiet, the Dawn House sleeping around him. The lantern on his table burned low, its flame steady. The air smelled faintly of the underground — smoke, iron, a trace of danger that clung to his coat.
He lifted the vial slightly. His mind reached for the summoning trigger— "Blood summon."
And then—
Ding!
The sound did not echo through the room. It echoed inside his skull, clean and sharp, like a bell struck in a silent temple.
Sekhmet’s eyes narrowed. He paused. He did not move the vial.
The system’s presence settled into his thoughts like a cold hand on his shoulder.
[Ding! First Mission Available.
Mission Name: Blood Variety Trial.
Mission Requirement: Consume a total 20 different types of blood.
Mission Progress: 11/20
Mission Reward: +40% Blood Proficiency.]
Current Blood Proficiency: 60.6%]
Sekhmet’s eyebrows rose slightly. His fingers tightened around the vial. He lowered it slowly, placing it on the table as if it might explode if he breathed wrong.
Inside his mind, he spoke carefully.
"Mission. Now. You chose a very annoying time to give me a mission."
The system responded instantly.
[Host is advised to complete the mission before summoning. If completed. Better results will be achieved. From time to time the system will give the host some missions. It will help the host.
System advice: To get stronger the host must complete all the missions.]
Sekhmet’s gaze sharpened.
"Better results," he repeated inwardly. "How much better?"
The system did not give poetry. It gave blunt certainty.
[Blood Summon quality is influenced by Host’s Blood Proficiency. Completing the mission increases Blood Proficiency by 40%.
Higher Blood Proficiency and leveling up the blood summon improves summon stability, growth ceiling, and initial battle parameters.]
Sekhmet’s throat tightened slightly. He stared at the vial again. If he summoned right now, he might still get the harpy bat.
But if he waited, if he completed the mission and leveled up his skill, the summoned being might be stronger from birth. More stable. More intelligent. More useful.
Sekhmet hated the logic. He loved the advantage. He glanced at Bat Bat.
Bat Bat was staring at him as if Sekhmet was personally insulting its hunger.
"What wrong," Bat Bat asked. "Why stop. Summon family."
Sekhmet exhaled slowly and controlled his face.
Bat Bat did not know about the system.
Bat Bat only knew that the world moved, fought, bled, and fed.
Sekhmet could not reply with the truth. So he replied with something close to it.
"I need to prepare," Sekhmet said quietly.
Bat Bat’s ears drooped.
"Prepare is slow," it muttered.
Sekhmet’s eyes narrowed slightly.
"It is necessary," he said. "Summoning is not a child’s game."
Bat Bat blinked, then sat up straighter like it was offended by the implication that it was a child.
"I not child," Bat Bat said.
Sekhmet’s mouth twitched faintly.
"You are," he replied.
Bat Bat huffed.
"I am... young blood bat," it declared.
Sekhmet ignored it and returned his focus inward. "Mission progress eleven out of twenty," he thought. "How?"
He asked the system directly. "How is it already half done?"
The system answered.
[The host has consumed 11 different blood types in the last three months during purgatory travel.
Recorded blood types include: Orc, Scavenger, Werewolf, Beast, Multiple beastkin, and minor monster variants.
Blood types are counted by distinct racial or beast classification.]
Sekhmet’s eyes narrowed.
He remembered the taste of that first werewolf blood too clearly. The way it had slammed into his body like fire turning into strength. The way his fatigue had vanished as if it had been a lie. The way his mind had recoiled from what he had done, then accepted it because survival demanded it.
Eleven types.
He had not realized he had already become that kind of creature.
The system chimed again.
[Must do recommendation: Upgrade Blood Summon to Level 2 before summoning.
Host qualifies after reaching 100% Blood Proficiency.]
Sekhmet inhaled slowly. His gaze drifted to the blood jars he had bought from the witch. He had spent two million chaos stones. He had enough variety to complete the mission easily.
He also had enough blood to feed Bat Bat for weeks. He did not like the idea of drinking from jars like an addict sipping from drug bottles.
But the system’s reward was too large to ignore. Forty percent proficiency.
That meant 60.6% would jump to 100%. That meant he could upgrade a skill again. That meant Blood Summon could reach level two. That meant the harpy bat could be better.
Sekhmet’s merchant instincts stirred.
"If the price of one ugly sip is a better summon for life," he thought, "then the trade is worth it."
He placed the divine vial aside gently. Then he reached into his void land. A line of jars appeared one by one on the table, arranged neatly as if his room had turned into a blood tasting shop.
Fresh jars.
Dark jars.
Jars with faint glows.
Jars sealed with wax.
Bat Bat’s eyes widened until they looked too large for its face.
"So many," it whispered, voice trembling. "So much good. Will you feed me?"
Sekhmet raised a hand. "Do not touch," he said. "It’s all for you but I need to take a sip."
Bat Bat froze. Its wings twitched like it wanted to argue. Then it nodded slowly. Sekhmet is its master. Bat Bat must obey his command.