Bloodbound Codex: I Grow Stronger in Secret

The first S-Rank line finished forming.

[ Crowbeast Wings — Rank S ]

Atlas stared at the words without moving.

Crowbeast Wings.

The Trait came from Velgrath’s body itself.

The massive black wings that had carried the S-Rank Boss across the battlefield in moments. One wingbeat from Velgrath had scattered soldiers, monsters, weapons, corpses, and broken relic fragments across the northern field. If the Codex had recorded even part of that ability properly, then this Trait was not only for combat.

It could change travel.

Escape.

Movement inside ruins.

The ability to enter places others could not reach.

Atlas’s fingers tightened slightly.

But before he could think further, the second S-Rank line completed beneath it.

[ Velgrath’s Spirit Sphere — Rank S ]

Atlas’s body became still.

This was the attack.

The pale-gold sphere Velgrath had released toward Ormolio’s defense line.

The attack that had broken layered barriers, shattered relic formations, killed Rovan Halbrecht, and erased more than half the defensive force in one release.

Atlas remembered it clearly because even the shockwave from a distance had thrown him to the ground like his body had no weight. At that time, he had understood one thing very clearly.

If he had been closer, he would have died.

And now, that same ability had appeared on the Codex’s Trait Page.

Atlas slowly lowered his gaze and read the four new Traits again.

[ Qield’s Horn — Rank A ]

[ Regenerative Hide — Rank A ]

[ Crowbeast Wings — Rank S ]

[ Velgrath’s Spirit Sphere — Rank S ]

Two A-Rank Traits.

Two S-Rank Traits.

The reward from this Outbreak was far beyond what Atlas had expected.

Qield’s Horn likely carried the horn power and Spirit pressure of the Qield’s Watchers. Regenerative Hide was easier to understand. Those Watchers had healed through damage during the battle, so this Trait could give him recovery or durability after assimilation.

Crowbeast Wings and Velgrath’s Spirit Sphere were more difficult to judge.

They were S-Rank Traits, and Atlas had already seen the result of one of them.

That made them valuable, but also dangerous.

Atlas looked toward the bottom of the page.

The unknown Trait flickered again.

[ ??? — Rank ??? ]

The distortion lasted only a moment.

Then the text returned to its unreadable state.

Atlas’s brows tightened faintly.

This was not the first time it reacted.

It had reacted when Velgrath’s blood entered the Codex. It reacted when the A-Rank and S-Rank Traits appeared. That meant the unknown Trait was connected to something stronger than ordinary monster blood, or something inside the Codex was responding to the quality of Velgrath’s blood.

Atlas did not have enough information to understand it yet.

Guessing too much would only waste time.

He looked back at the new Traits.

Every one of them tempted him.

Regenerative Hide tempted him the most because survival came before everything else. If the Trait could help him recover from wounds, then his chances inside future ruins would increase heavily. Qield’s Horn could also strengthen his attacks if it worked like the Watchers’ horns.

But Atlas immediately suppressed the thought.

He could not assimilate here.

Spirit Tails had caused a strong reaction inside a Veil-Class Ruin when he assimilated it. That had only been a B-Rank Trait. If he assimilated an A-Rank or S-Rank Trait inside the Guild branch, the reaction could spread through the building.

Mark was still nearby.

The Guild was full of wounded explorers, staff, relic users, and high-ranking people.

This was the worst place to test the Codex.

Atlas slowly looked around the Monster Storeroom.

The Qield’s Watcher remains had become too dry around the horn roots, neck wounds, and torn flesh where the Sanguis Stylus had absorbed blood. Velgrath’s beak fragments also looked duller along the cracks that had carried dried blood earlier.

If someone inspected them carefully, they might notice that too much blood was missing.

Atlas moved at once.

He started with Velgrath’s beak fragments, turning the drained edges downward and pushing broken sections closer together. From a distance, the missing wetness would look like damage from battlefield processing or preservation loss.

Then he moved to the Qield’s Watcher remains.

The dry areas were too visible, especially near the neck and horn roots. Atlas pulled thick preservation cloth over the worst sections and adjusted the tags attached by the Guild workers so the covered areas looked like normal storage handling.

After that, he checked the runes across the floor.

Several preservation markings still flickered faintly.

That was useful.

Atlas shifted some of the remains closer to the runes, making it look like the preservation arrays had over-dried certain parts while stabilizing the materials. It was not perfect, but the Guild was too busy after the Outbreak to inspect every monster part immediately.

Then footsteps echoed beyond the storeroom door.

Atlas stopped.

The Codex still floated before him with the Trait Page open.

His eyes sharpened.

He spoke under his breath.

”Terminate.”

For a short moment, the Codex did not obey.

The page remained open, and the S-Rank Traits pulsed faintly with black-red and pale-gold light. The relic felt heavier after consuming Velgrath’s blood, almost as if it wanted to keep processing the new Traits instead of returning to his body.

The footsteps moved closer.

Atlas’s voice lowered.

”Terminate.”

This time, the Codex folded shut.

The Sanguis Stylus dissolved into crimson particles, and both relics sank into Atlas’s chest. The crimson glow disappeared from the storeroom, leaving only the faint light of the preservation runes behind.

Atlas turned away just as the door opened.

Cathy Merium stepped inside with a small lantern.

Her brown hair was messy from exhaustion, and dried blood still stained one side of her armor. She looked tired, but her eyes remained alert as she looked across the storeroom.

”Atlas?”

Her gaze found him near one of the material racks.

”You’re still down here?”

Atlas adjusted one of the labels calmly.

”Checking counts.”

Cathy walked a few steps inside, and the lantern light spread across the stone floor.

”They’re asking for the remaining material records upstairs. I thought you might have fallen asleep down here or something.”

Atlas glanced toward her.

”I don’t sleep standing.”

Cathy stared at him for a second.

Then a tired breath left her.

”That’s almost a joke.”

”Maybe.”

Her eyes moved across the covered Watcher remains and the rearranged Velgrath fragments. Her gaze stayed there for a moment.

Atlas kept his breathing steady.

He did not explain.

He did not look away.

Cathy eventually rubbed her forehead and sighed.

”Come on then. They need bodies with working legs upstairs.”

Atlas nodded once.

Together, they left the Monster Storeroom.

As they climbed the stone stairs back toward the main Guild hall, the noise from above grew louder. People were groaning, orders were being shouted, and names were being called across the hall. The Guild branch was still functioning, but only because everyone who could move had been forced into work.

When they reached the upper floor, Atlas saw Mark immediately.

Mark stood near the far side of the hall, surrounded by high-ranking Guild staff and several wounded explorers. His posture looked relaxed, but everyone around him stood tensely while he reviewed casualty numbers, remaining monster routes, and survivor reports.

Atlas lowered his gaze slightly beneath his hood.

At the same time, the Codex inside his chest became completely still.

It acted as if it wanted to stay hidden.

Atlas’s expression darkened faintly.

Even the Codex was cautious around Mark.

That was enough to tell him that staying near this man was dangerous.

Cathy did not notice. She was looking toward the casualty board where exhausted Guild clerks continued writing names.

Rovan Halbrecht.

Confirmed dead.

Multiple B-Ranks - Dead.

C-Ranks - Dead.

Some lower ranks were missing.

Unidentified.

Zenon Drakes.

Missing.

Presumed dead.

Atlas took in the damage.

Ormolio had survived, but the city had paid too much. The Guild building had become half hospital and half morgue. Wounded explorers lay on blankets across the floor, and support relic users moved between them, using whatever energy they had left to keep people alive long enough for proper treatment.

The city had not fallen.

But its strength had been badly damaged.

Atlas turned away.

This changed his plan.

He had wanted to stay in Ormolio for one week, gather information, understand Spirit, learn about relics, and prepare before leaving. Now the Guild’s information system would be buried under casualty reports, investigations, reconstruction, and Outbreak recovery.

Missions would change.

Survivors would be questioned.

Remaining here longer would only increase the chance of someone noticing him.

Late night settled over Ormolio by the time Atlas returned to the Golden Inn.

The streets were not like before. Guards moved in groups, civilians whispered from behind half-closed doors, shops remained shut despite the hour, and the northern side of the city still glowed faintly from fires that had not fully died.

Atlas entered his room quietly.

He locked the door.

Then sat at the edge of the bed.

For a while, he did not speak.

Moonlight entered through the small window and spread faintly across the wooden floor. The room was quiet, but Atlas’s thoughts kept moving.

’This city will take months to recover.’

His gaze lowered.

’My information gathering is ruined.’

That irritated him deeply.

He had planned to stay for one week, learn what he could, and leave quietly. Now Ormolio had become a damaged city filled with Guild attention, recovery orders, noble interference, and questions.

Staying longer was not worth it.

Atlas’s eyes narrowed faintly.

’I don’t have enough time to remain on this continent.’

The Human Continent was dangerous.

Monsters were not the only reason.

Humans here treated birth as value. Nobles and Royals could decide the life of a commoner without thinking much about it. Atlas had already experienced that directly. They had used him as bait for an Eternal-Class Ruin because his life had been cheaper than the risk of sending someone valuable.

The slums had taught him the same rule in smaller ways.

Nobles arrived in clean carriages. Poor children disappeared afterward. Rumors spread through filthy alleys about bodies being sold, organs being harvested, and slaves being transported across borders. Atlas could not confirm every story from back then, but he knew enough to understand the pattern.

The Human Continent was not safe for someone like him.

From those same slums, he had also heard fragments about other continents.

Elven Continent.

Angelic Continent.

Dwarven Continent.

Dragon Continent.

None of them were truly safe.

But from what he had heard, their societies did not function exactly like the humans’. Some valued strength. Some valued craft. Some valued lineage differently. Some disliked humans entirely. That created danger, but it also created distance from the Royal Family and the noble systems that had already tried to use him.

Atlas slowly turned his gaze toward the window.

”The journey will be long.”

His voice was quiet.

”I’ll need food, clothes, maps, tools, and more money.”

His fingers tapped faintly against his knee.

”I have enough to last months if I spend carefully.”

The gold he had earned from monster materials and Guild rewards was no longer a small amount. For a commoner, it was wealth. For Atlas, it was preparation. Money meant distance, supplies, fake normalcy, and the ability to keep moving without begging for help.

He leaned forward, elbows resting against his knees.

”First, I will withdraw my Guild record.”

”Then, buy everything I need.”

Food, Clothing, Travel supplies, Maps and some Tools.

Possibly a better weapon, though he still had to be careful not to look too prepared.

”And once I’m past the border...”

His hand moved slowly toward his chest.

The Codex rested there quietly.

”...I will finally begin Assimilation.”

He could not do that here, not while the city was filled with Guild eyes, noble interference, and Mark’s presence.

He would leave first.

Atlas looked out through the window again.

Beyond the city walls, the remains of Velgrath still stained the ruined northern field.

Inside his chest, the Bloodbound Codex pulsed once.

Quietly this time.

The Traits were already recorded.

Now Atlas only needed a place where he could take them into himself without anyone seeing it.