There was a small chest in front of the statue that was similar to the ones in the first room he encountered. The difference was that this chest was incredibly tiny. He could guess that nothing big would fit in it, so he expected one out of two things.

The chest was closed, so he bent down and opened it. Inside was what he expected would be there – another piece of the ruby slip he had been collecting. It was the third piece so far and it seemed to be the final one.

He took out the combined piece from before and held them together. When he did, the two attracted each other and shot out of his hands. They snapped into place, setting off a chain reaction.

A huge amount of aura was released from the small slip in his hand. It startled him a little so he quickly put up an Arcane Shield around himself. 

The aura congregated around the statue, making it glow. As the aura levels rose, he got a little concerned for himself. As if sensing his concern, Nefrati calmed him down.

“This might seem like a lot of aura, but it isn’t. For someone at that level, even if he put a small array, it would release at least this much aura to activate. That is the price for anything to last for eons without deteriorating.”

“So what will happen now? What array is he activating? Another test?” Leo asked.

“No. I think you are done with all the tests. Since you came out of the mental fortitude test without becoming insane, it means you passed it. And that is generally the most important, dangerous, and final test that I would expect from him.”

Leo trusted her words and waited for the aura to show its results. He was curious to see what something from several hundred years ago would look like.

The aura didn’t show any signs of stopping. As it grew without bounds, it reached a level that was suffocating to him. It was like the gravity steps at the Eldridge Academy, but multiple times more difficult. And that was when the pressure started.

As the aura kept increasing, he was forced onto his knees. He was panting while rapidly circulating all the magic in his body. Unfortunately for him, the amount of aura only kept going up. His entire body became pinned to the floor, making him unable to move.

However, his laxness was very short-lived. He realized that he was no longer alone in the room. His body bolted up and backed away from the shrine. Inside, the statue was unlike before. 

The statue’s eyes that were previously closed were now open and staring at Leo. Their gaze was unnerving, given that its eyes were made out of ruby like the rest of the statue.

“So… you must be the one who passed my trials!” A low rumbling voice sounded in his head. He couldn’t see the lips of the statue move, but he knew that it was the source of the sound.

“Blood God?” He asked with curiosity. Since he didn’t know how to converse with the Blood God inside his head, he said it out loud. Unlike Nefrati who was living inside his head and could read his thoughts, he was guessing the Blood God could only transmit into his head.

“That is the title that I have been called for the majority of my life. I am not concerned about what you choose to call me. My only interest is what you choose at this point.”

“What do I choose?” Leo asked, puzzled at his question.

“I am presenting you with a choice, boy. You can become my successor and inherit that Blood Shrine or you can walk away with the prizes you have so far.”

In his mind, Nefrati was shouting with excitement.

“Take it! Take it! I never thought that I would live to see the Blood God finally accept a successor. This is unbelievable!”

While she was saying that, Leo smiled sheepishly.

“I am sorry, but I cannot accept that position without knowing what the Blood Arts entail. If I am being pushed to kill as many people as possible to grow stronger, then I would rather stick to the subpar aura manuals that I am using now,” he said.

His response didn’t trigger the Blood God as he thought. He only got back a calm response.

“Typically, I would have let you go. But I do not wish to let go of someone with as great potential as you. Moreover, I do not want you to leave with your incorrect understanding of Blood Aura. 

To kill people and take their aura for yourself is indeed the fastest way to grow while using Blood Aura. It is unique to the Blood Element. However, in my Blood Shrine, it is highly restricted. 

You will be taught it during your training but instructed clearly to not use it unless required. Each time you use this technique, you are also absorbing the malice and grudge left behind by the freshly deceased. These emotions need to be purified before being completely absorbed or they will separate your mind.

The only thing that will make this easier is by achieving the Divergent Mind Stage like you have. But it is still not necessary for you to use methods like that to grow in strength. If you ignore that one technique and train like normal, you will still progress faster than every other element.”

After his explanation, Nefrati scolded him.

“Are you retarded? Why would you say no because of your foolish questions? You are lucky that he even-“

Leo wasn’t in the mood to listen to her even though she only meant to give him good advice. He knew everything he needed to make the decision so he wanted some peace to do that. His tattoo glowed and her voice faded away.

He was now in peace to think about the choice presented to him. However, when the tattoo glowed, the Blood God noticed it as well.

“You are not solely an Aura user. That is very surprising.” 

Leo’s eyes shot up with surprise. He didn’t expect the Blood God to realize that he had magic. But after thinking about it, it wasn’t as surprising. Someone of that strength would know if he had a different power than aura.

“Yes. It is called Magic.”

“I know the existence of magic, though I understand your assumption. It is not native to this continent so none of the residents here are aware of it. I am surprised that you are using magic though, because I have never seen a native use it.” He said to Leo. “But more importantly, I also sense that you are not without a master.”

Leo’s sheepish smile returned as he explained the origin of his magic.

“I inherited my magic from a tome. The tome of the Arcane Emperor.”