His heartbeats increased as his spiritual vision showed him a frightening scene of a wild red-wine spiritual aura contained inside the beam... it seemed to be screaming to be released, but the beam forced it to remain in place.
After a brief struggle, the wild spiritual aura began transforming into the genie’s body...
A single glowing eye with the same major rune of blood (ᛒ) burned at the center of its featureless face.
Golden bracelets glistened on its misty crimson wrists, and a broad golden collar rested around its neck... Its final form looked like smoke colored with blood, with its lower body merging into a long, flowing mist.
After the summoning was completed, the beam dimmed out, but the array stayed active. The Omnigenie crossed its arms and gazed at Levi and the rest expressionlessly.
Then, it uttered: "Voice your wish."
Its voice was cosmic and raspy, like they were spoken to by the universe itself.
’Whoa... I have seen videos of OmniGenies being summoned, but experiencing it in real life is not the same.’
Arthur spoke telepathically, his message delivered to his teammates across the dimensional network.
The others nodded in support, feeling somewhat tense around this mysterious entity... an entity whose true origins and purpose in serving the CRS Platform were unknown to them.
All they knew from the network was that the OmniGenies were bound to the very foundation of the universe.
They were not omnipotent, but custodians of one of the rarest and lineage-bound aspects... The Wish Aspect.
Some considered Genies as an ancient race born from the fundamental laws of the universe since their powers didn’t stem from Shadowlife seeds, and some believed they were man-made entities under Nocturn’s hands.
He was the only entity known in the entire universe with the power to replicate reality as it was... the Boundless Expanse was the best proof of such a theory.
Though none were assured.
For now... the only confirmed knowledge to the public was that Genies came in many shapes and forms, each one tied to an elemental or conceptual essence.
Naming a few: Blood Genies (Sanguigenie), Wind Genies (Zephyrogenie), Fire Genies (Pyrogenie), Water Genies (Aquagenie), Earth Genies (Terragenie), Shadow Genies (Umbragenie), and Light Genies (Solarigenie).
Each Genie had the power to bestow wishes based on its essence...
Sanguigenie before them could grant wishes tied to Vitality, Life essence, Blood Aspect-related Lineages, Evolutionary Recipes, Materials, Artifacts, Treasures, and the list goes on.
If the genie commanded a different essence, the list would more or less remain the same, with changes to the Aspect or Law it touched upon.
While the Nocturnal Ring had its titles bestow privileges related to the Boundless Expanse, the prize system in the CRS Platform was the Genie Wish System.
After all, the CRS Platform was a systemized war... not like the Nocturnal Ring, which had the infrastructure necessary to motivate the Rifters to aim for the titles, which were linked to the Boundless Expanse.
Plus, the CRS Platform already had a main reward... which was the Yearly Stability Rewards for Conquerors and Saviors faction, creating treasuries for the Raiders to steal.
In this manner, a full circle was completed, with all parties amply rewarded for their efforts.
The Genie Wish System was the bonus for anyone daring to aim for their titles or wipe out the other team.
"Shia, this one is for you." Levi smiled.
Levi, being the captain, was responsible for the wish distribution... he created a fair system, where the team members would have an exclusive wish if the Game’s Genie was related to one of their Aspects. If it weren’t, the wish would be team-based.
Everyone agreed to this system, understanding that there was a massive difference between an exclusive wish and a team-based wish.
If they went for a team-based wish, they would be limited to weak bodily enhancements such as increasing their lifespan, vitality, enhancing the richness of their blood, or such.
The enhancement quality was based on the Genie Order and its access to the Wish Aspect... The way to know their Order was The Eye.
One eye implied the weakest Order Genie, and Nine Eyes was believed to be the peak.
Naturally, the Genie’s Order corresponded to the Death Game’s rank... in this case, Invaders, Sentinels, and Marauders.
On the other hand, if Shia were to make the wish exclusive to her... she would have access to Blood Aspect-related Lineages, Evolutionary Recipes, Materials, Artifacts, and such.
All were extremely important and useful for her Blood-Aspect Evolutionary Path.
"Are you guys really sure about this?" Shia asked, a bit hesitant to go for it.
"Yes, we already talked about this." Arthur grinned, "I would rather have us snatch such opportunities to get empowered immensely, than waste them in cheap team-wide enhancements."
"He is right... with the number of Genies being in the hundreds, it is extremely rare to find a Genie corresponding to our aspects since they are based on the Death Game’s theme." Nurah nodded.
This game was the best example... although the map was around water to give an advantage for the defending team, the OmniGenie was Sanguigenie.
This wasn’t a coincidence... the system worked like this to ensure that the defending Faction wouldn’t keep getting Genies corresponding to their Aspects while the challengers got none.
"Oki!"
Seeing that her friends were really cool with it, Shia couldn’t help but get excited... she eagerly stepped closer to the Genie and requested access to the Library of Blood Aspect-related Lineage Bloodlines, which she could wish for.
She didn’t request the Genie, as that would have counted as a wish fulfilled... they didn’t give a shit about the Rifters. Once they uttered a wish near them and they had the power to fulfill it, they would go for it.
Soon, a list of Lineage Bloodlines appeared before Shia and her friends:
House Veyrath: Blood reveals visions of the past or future.House Draelis: Blood takes form as spectral beasts that obey their will.House Thalyss: Blood that can steal or transfer life essence.House Kaerith: Blood crystallizes or sharpens into metallic implements.House Myrrath: Blood that bursts into flames or combusts violently.House Vaelith: Blood can heal, enhance, or empower allies temporarily.House Eryndor: Blood corrodes or dissolves matter upon contact.House Sylthar: Blood carries curses or subtly manipulates emotions.House Zhaemir: Blood can be sentient, forming tendrils or grasping shapes independently.House Rhyssar: Blood can track or mark individuals, creating a mystical bond.
All of those Lineages were known to have taken the Blood Aspect and perfected a single use of it until it became its own signature Lineage Aspect... just like Lord Idriss’ Blood-Fusion Aspect.
If Shia were to choose any of them, they would get linked to the Shadowlife seed’s library and give her an almost guaranteed chance to unlock that said Aspect.
This meant she would be able to create techniques from that specific Aspect much more easily, her visualization having an actual link... instead of visualizing techniques from the massive library of Blood Aspect.
"I think there are higher quality bloodlines than this, but the Genie’s rank doesn’t allow it to bestow their bloodlines," Levi asked, "Are you sure you want to commit to a Lineage bloodline now?"
"I know they aren’t the best of quality... but this is a fine opportunity to narrow my evolutionary path to a path of my choice," Shia said with a solemn tone.
Shia knew that if she chose a bloodline now, her next perfect evolution would have her unlock amazing abilities from the chosen Aspect... She simply got rid of the randomness of it whole, wanting to choose a bloodline that fit her fighting style exclusively, which would make it easier to have a domain fitting her.
In video game terms... Blood Aspect was the Main class, while Blood-Fusion, Pyroblood, Crystablood, Wraithblood, Seerblood, and such Aspects were considered sub-classes.
Each Lineage mastered either a single subclass, multiple subclasses, or even an entire main class, depending on their affinity to said main Aspect.
Radians and such Ancient Lineages were the letter.
’Ash’Kral, is there any unknown bloodline that isn’t mentioned in the list, but the Genie can still bestow it?’ Levi checked with the Wikipedia in his mind.
’Hmmm... based on the girl’s close range and barbaric fighting style, there might be one fitting her greatly.’ Ash’Kral said, recalling a specific extinct lineage.
’Really? What is it?’
’House Throgar... valiant, barbaric warriors from the Trueborn Gorrathi Race... they used to be one of the most feared races during the early days of the CRS Platform establishment.’
’House Throgar... Gorrathi Race.’ The Titan murmured, ’These names somewhat ring a bell.’
’Old Bark, how can you forget about their bloodline?’ Ash’Kral frowned, sending a telepathic message, ’Their ancestors fought alongside us... remember? The followers of that red-haired murderous hobo witch?’
The moment he mentioned this, memories flashed across the Titan’s mind of hundreds of tribal tall berserkers with scarlet tattoos.
They had dark maroon skin and eyes that glowed crimson when enraged. Their teeth were sharper than humans’, and they wielded weapons ranging from one-handed axes, double-handed axes, and glaives.
Although there were a mere hundred of them, their ways of fighting spilled terror across the enemy lines, as they knew no such thing as tiredness, injuries, or death!
As long as they had access to blood, they were literally immortal in combat; not even slashing their bodies in half could finish them.
Those were the ancestors of House Throgar, which meant the bloodline Shia was getting was at the bottom of the food chain in that Lineage... however, the funny thing about bloodlines, as long as there was a connection, an evolutionary path was created.
’Ah... such valiant warriors... I can’t believe even they went extinct.’ The Titan smiled wryly, ’They sure have cleaned us out.’
’They have, but we can always rebuild.’ Ash’Kral said, his eyes affixed on Levi and his friends.
Usually, Ash’Kral wouldn’t bother giving his time on matters unrelated to Levi’s growth... but it seemed like he stopped seeing Levi as the sole gear in his goal.
’If I revived House Throgar’s bloodline, there might be a chance I could revive their ancestral bloodline, which will lead to reviving that blood-harvesting witch.’ He thought to himself while giving Levi the information he needed to convince Shia.
When Levi relayed the news and told her to check on them in the dimensional network... nothing came up. Yet, Levi still insisted on her wishing for the bloodline, telling her to put her trust in him.
Hearing this, Shia kept staring at Levi for a few moments... then, she gave him a slight nod and voiced her wish to Genie even when she had no legitimate reference to the bloodline.
But for Shia? Levi’s word was all the legitimacy she needed.
Once her wish was voiced, the Sanguigenie uncrossed his arms and pointed a finger at Shia’s heart... then, it uttered emotionlessly: "Wish has been granted."
Before anyone could react, the Sanguigenie broke off into crimson mist... the array slowly dimming out.
Everyone swiftly crowded around Shia and asked her how she felt... but she shook her head, telling them that she felt no difference.
"It seems the bloodline is dormant and will be awakened only once you evolve to Warden rank." Levi shared.
Levi knew that his situation was different from Shia’s... he had awakened his Half-Raidian bloodline the moment he obtained the Sun Origin seed.
But for those who possessed Shadowlife seeds, the bloodlines could only awaken through evolution, since everything was stored within the genetic code... and the Shadowlife seed would read those codes only during the process of granting rewards to its host.
"Most likely." Shia nodded in agreement.
"Imagine if it never awakened." Arthur grinned, wanting to tease Shia a bit.
"Imagine if I cut your ponytail while you’re sleeping," Shia replied, smiling.
Arthur felt chills course down his long, glamorous ponytail, knowing that when it came to hair, Shia was a little bit crazy.
"Heh, why so quiet?" Jojo smirked, "Are you scared of her?"
Arthur looked down at Jojo for a moment in confusion, and then he turned to his friends.
"When did raisins learn to talk?" He asked, gazing at her shriveled bald head, which resembled a raisin.
"Asshole."
Levi and the girls stifled their laughter after noticing Jojo drinking another recovery totem with an annoyed expression; her scalp refused to heal back to its shiny, smooth appearance.
"Alright, let’s get moving... we have a treasury to loot."
With a faint smirk, Levi opened up a dimensional portal through his will, and everyone walked through it.