Bloodbound Codex: I Grow Stronger in Secret

While Seraphiel Rosaria was on her way to Lumivale to solve two problems, Atlas was also heading toward Lumivale to start increasing his strength again.

During the next thirty days, Atlas crossed forests, hills, old roads and rough terrain. He hunted bears, deer, wild boars, and any animal that crossed his path, then used them as food whenever he stopped at night and lit a campfire. His rations were only meant to support him, not feed him for the whole journey, so hunting became part of his daily routine.

Atlas also used this time to raise every Attribute to 9. In just eleven days, all his basic numbers had reached the current visible limit.

The hardest one was Spirit.

When he raised Spirit from 3 to 4, the same pain returned again. His veins burned, his body shook, and for a short time he could barely breathe properly. Still, he forced himself through it because he understood one thing clearly. If he did not raise Spirit, his reserves would remain too weak for the Traits he planned to assimilate after entering a ruin in Lumivale.

His Codex’s first page looked like this now.

Strength: 9 _ [Locked]

Stamina: 9 _ [Locked]

Agility: 9 _ [Locked]

Spirit: 9 _ [Locked]

The second spaces of every stat had opened, but Atlas did not write anything there yet. Increasing a stat from 9 to 10 was clearly not the same as increasing from 8 to 9. He did not know what kind of reaction it would cause, and if the backlash released too much Spirit, it could attract powerful people nearby. So he left the next step for later and planned to test it inside a ruin again.

One thing Atlas did not know was that his current overall strength had already reached the level of a peak B-Rank Spirit User. He could feel that his body had become far stronger than before, but he had no accurate way to measure it by himself. The only proper way to confirm his level would be through a Guild evaluation.

Halfway through the forests, Atlas noticed many trade carriages passing along different side roads. From their conversations, he heard that chaos had started on the eastern side of Lumivale.

’I am going through the western route, so it does not matter.’

That was what he thought at the time, so he continued his journey without changing direction.

And now, after thirty days of travel, after his packed rations had finally run out, Atlas stood at a high clearing and looked down at the massive city of Lumivale.

The city stretched far beyond anything Ormolio had shown him.

Its walls were larger, its roads were wider, and several huge white towers rose high into the sky. What caught Atlas’s attention most were the flying Spirit Jets shooting out from those towers and moving across the sky like controlled streams of light.

’Whoa, the technology here is way above human technology...’

Atlas did not know how much technology had improved in the Human Continent because he had never had the luxury to study those things properly. But seeing Lumivale made one thing clear.

’If the outermost city has this much, then the central parts of Celestara must be even more advanced.’

He looked at the map in his hand again, confirmed the route, then folded it and slid it back into the bag on his shoulder.

Atlas moved down the terrain and reached the flatter outer region. From there, he could see the massive gates of Lumivale more clearly, along with two Angelic guards standing at the entrance. Both of them were tall, easily crossing six feet six. Even with Atlas’s own height of six feet two, he felt smaller in front of them.

But that did not matter.

He walked forward and reached the gate. Strangely, the entrance was not crowded today.

One of the Angelic guards looked at him and spoke.

”Human traveler?”

Atlas answered, ”Yes, from Ormolio.”

The guard planted the spear in his hand into the ground and spoke in a formal tone.

”We need to see your Guild Card or Merchant Card before allowing entry into the city.”

Atlas nodded and took out the inactive Guild Card he had received from the Ormolio Guild receptionist.

The guard took it, examined both sides, then handed it back.

”You can go now, Mr. Atlas.”

Atlas nodded, slid the card back inside his clothes, and passed through the gate. Internally, his thought moved toward something else.

’Mr? Hmm, their etiquette is quite good, huh?’

This was one of the reasons Atlas had chosen to come here. In the Angelic Continent, discrimination between races, nobles, and commoners was far lower than what he had seen in the Human Continent. Status still existed, but people were not treated like disposable trash at first glance.

After entering the city, Atlas finally took in the scene before him properly.

Massive white buildings rose toward the clouds. The white towers he had seen from outside stood among them, and those were the structures releasing the flying Spirit Jets. Their number was limited, but each one dominated the skyline.

’Only seven of them, and each one seems to be separated by at least five kilometers or so?’

Atlas kept walking while observing the city.

Eventually, he reached a market area where Angels were buying food, tools, cloth, and other necessities before continuing with their work. The whole place felt busy, but not chaotic. Merchants called out to customers, guards moved through the road, and travelers passed without being stopped every few steps.

Atlas walked toward a fruit shop and spoke.

”Excuse me, where can I find the Guild here?”

The Angel sitting behind the fruit stall looked up.

”Hmm? Human traveler? New here, I suppose.”

”Yes, I just arrived in this city,” Atlas replied.

The vendor pointed forward while organizing fresh fruits.

”Go straight from here. After you cross the market, you will see two paths. Take the right-hand one, and you should see the Guild banner from far away. It is quite big.”

”Thank you.”

Atlas spoke through his mask and followed the route the vendor mentioned.

For the first time in a long while, he felt like someone had recognized him as a human traveler instead of judging him first as a commoner or outsider.

The vendor’s directions were correct. After crossing the market and walking for another ten minutes, Atlas saw the Guild banner.

The massive banner carried a symbol of Angelic wings flaring outward proudly.

That made sense.

The Angels took pride in their wings.

Atlas entered the Guild and immediately sensed several strong presences inside. Five A-Ranks, dozens of B-Ranks, and no obvious C-Rank or lower explorers in the main hall. Above them, there was also one stronger presence that felt like an S-Rank.

’Must be the Guildmaster.’

Atlas did not focus on them too much. Whether they were strong or not, he was going to reach that level too, and soon at that.

The Angelic explorers in the Guild did not bother him either. Some glanced at him once because he was human, then returned to their own work, missions, or conversations.

Atlas also noticed something strange.

There was no ordinary mission board.

Instead, a large floating screen hovered in its place. When he stepped deeper into the Guild and looked closer, he saw that the missions were displayed directly on that screen.

His eyes widened slightly.

’What in the world?’

Before he could think further, a voice came from a counter at the far end of the Guild hall.

”Mr. Traveler? Are you here to register?”

Atlas turned and saw a female Angel receptionist behind the counter. Her wings were folded neatly behind her, and her Guild uniform carried the same wing symbol etched near the chest area.

Atlas walked toward her and stopped near the counter.

”Yes, I am here to register as an Explorer.”

”Then I would like you to show me your previous affiliated Guild Card, please. It can be inactive or active.”

As she stretched out her palm, a paper materialized from her Spirit.

Atlas saw it and immediately thought.

’Hmm? She converted Spirit into an object?’

He did not stare for too long and handed over his Guild Card.

The receptionist examined it thoroughly before giving it back. Then she pinned the paper down, and a pen materialized in her hand as she started writing.

After a minute, she handed the paper to Atlas.

”Please sign in the blank spaces. It is a formality before making a new Guild Card, sir.”

Atlas nodded, took the pen and paper, and signed it.

Although he had been born a commoner, he had learned how to write from watching nobles. Whenever those nobles took children from his area for unknown reasons, papers were signed each time. Atlas had seen enough of those scenes to understand letters, names, and basic writing.

The receptionist took back the paper and pen, then nodded.

”Now, please wait for a moment. Your card will be ready shortly.”

She released the paper into the air, and it floated toward a small relic behind her.

Atlas looked at the relic, then spoke again.

”May I ask about the ruins in this city?”

The receptionist turned back to him.

”Your Guild Card shows that you are from Ormolio, so the difference is simple. In Lumivale, ruin classes start from Hollow-Class. There are no Veil-Class Ruins in this city.”

Atlas nodded with understanding.

”How can I take on a Hollow-Class mission? And it would be only me.”

The receptionist’s eyes widened slightly.

”You want to enter a Hollow-Class Ruin alone?”