Lucius first read the entry for the Stampeding bulls.

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Stampeding Bulls: E rank rune beasts commonly found living in the plains south of the Province of Etara.

They are usually docile and live in heard but when threatened their entire herd will break into a terrifying stamped that can easily kill people and change the lay of the land. The stamped can cause tremors that can be felt for more than three kilometers away.

A single herd of the stampeding bulls can contain hundreds of these rune beasts and need to be treated with caution. The territory of the stampeding bulls is to be marked and any migratory action noted.

On an average, one in ten beasts will yield a Rune crystal.

Rune crystal gift: Stampede

Description: Creates tremors that increase in intensity the more number of beasts are present

——

“Hmm… so they are like the wildebeest living in a heard can causing massive stampedes when they travel. Though their numbers are less than a wildebeest herd from my past world.” Lucius muttered to himself.

He then flipped the pages before reaching the page where the information for the Plow Worms was given.

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Plow Worms: D rank rune beasts that are large and solitary worms. The closest location to the province of Etara where they are found in is the hills surrounding Brion Forest. They live underground and make tunnels in the hills, unearthing large amounts of soil and rocks.

They are considered to be one of the protected rune beasts as the soil and rocks they unearth are used by people for many purposes. Their population is widespread and can be found in all over the Grantz kingdom’s lands.

If they are sighted, they are to be reported to the closest settlement so that the authorities can take proper actions.

On an average, one out of five beasts will yield a Rune Crystal

Rune crystal gift: Plow

Description: increases the strength of the beast while underground, allowing it to move large amount of earth using its body.

——

“This is actually higher ranked than the Stampeding bull?” Lucius said, feeling surprised. “No wonder the requirement to evolve the tremor stomp skill needed half the amount of rune crystals as that of the stampeding bull.” Lucius analyzed.

Another thing he was amazed by was that there were actually rune beasts which were considered to be protected here. Lucius didn’t know if this world had the concept of ‘Animal conservation’ but looking at this example, there definitely was.

‘But it’s probably for those rune beasts which are considered beneficial to the humans. In the case of the Plow Worms, they probably unearth minerals and save a ton of work for the miners.’ Lucius thought to himself.

Still, this information opened up more avenues for experimentation for Lucius. He learned the difficulty level that would be needed in acquiring a rune crystal and the people that would be required in order to obtain them.

“Whether it is the stampeding bulls or the plow worms, both of them have their own set of difficulties in obtaining their rune crystals. For stampeding bulls it’s their number, while for the plow worms it’s the kingdom itself that will protect them.

Though… considering they are D rank, I doubt they will not be dangerous. While it says they are large, it doesn’t say exactly how large.” Lucius figured.

He had seen a lot of animals that had mutated in his past life, including worms that reached massive sizes, and even while traveling through the various worlds and dimensions, Lucius had seen his share of monstrous worms.

Even among the demons of hell, there were many demons that were in the form of worms and could be extremely powerful. He even knew a few people from the Barrom Clan that had their true names as one of these worm demons.

‘I definitely won’t be collecting these any time soon. Besides… this brings no personal benefit to me anyway. If I really do try to evolve someone’s gift, they would have to be someone that will support me and will be of use to me.’ Lucius thought to himself.

He had not spent that long in this world, but a couple of faces popped up in his mind. The very first of which was none other than Kiana. She had been taking care of him when he was paralyzed and was truly dedicated to him.

Not only that, but her own power seemed to be decent and she was not a weak woman. He had seen the gazes with which the guards and servants looked at her and knew that she was not someone to be messed with.

The second face that popped up in his mind was Gabriel himself. He was his current father and also had a great authority as a count. There was no doubt that if Gabriel got stronger, it would also help Lucius due to their influence getting stronger.

“Hmm… Gabriel is too far of an option. I doubt I’ll be able to see the requirements for the evolution even if I already have the information about his gift. Kiana it is then…” Lucius spoke to himself.

He spent a little more time reading up on the other Rune beasts, and did his best to memorize them. He didn’t know at which moment this would come in handy. He then thought of the goal he had in his past life.

He wanted to be the strongest and to conquer the world. Lucius failed in his past life due to Mira but he knew he would not do the same this time. Since he didn’t have as much personal power in this world, and there didn’t seem to be a way to obtain it, he decided to grow his power along with other people.

These people would be his pawns to use, his shield to defend against his enemies and his blade to decimate his foes.

A plan started forming in Lucius’s mind as a smile appeared on his face.

“It will take long… but I’ll definitely get there!”