Bloodbound Codex: I Grow Stronger in Secret

Atlas stood before the open Trait page inside the Abandoned Wind Chapel.

The lower prayer hall still smelled of monster blood and wind residue. Dead Wind Imps and Hollow Crows lay across the cracked stone floor, already dried after the Sanguis Stylus absorbed their blood. Only broken bodies, scattered feathers and Spirit remains were left.

Atlas ignored the lower-ranked Traits for now.

His eyes stayed on the four lines that mattered most.

[ Qield’s Horn - Rank A ]

[ Regenerative Hide - Rank A ]

[ Crowbeast Wings - Rank S ]

[ Velgrath’s Spirit Sphere - Rank S ]

These Traits came from monsters far above the ones inside this Hollow-Class Ruin.

Two Rank-A Traits from the Qield’s Watchers.

Two Rank-S Traits from Velgrath.

Atlas still remembered Velgrath’s Spirit Sphere from Ormolio. A single attack had erased most of the defense line and sent the shockwave far enough to throw him down even from a distance. That attack had made him understand how large the difference between ranks could become.

Now the Codex had recorded that same ability.

Atlas tightened his grip around the Sanguis Stylus.

He decided to assimilate the higher-ranked Traits first. If he wasted focus on lower-ranked Traits before this, the stronger ones might become harder to endure. His Attributes had all reached 10, and his foundation was currently at its most stable state.

That made this the best time.

”S-Rank first.”

The Sanguis Stylus moved toward [ Crowbeast Wings - Rank S ].

The moment the tip touched the words, black-red light spread from the Trait line with faint pale-gold threads mixed inside it. The words melted into the page, then surged toward Atlas’s chest.

The reaction entered his back first.

”Ghh—!”

Atlas’s shoulders tightened, and a burning pressure pushed outward from the bones near his shoulder blades. The pain was focused and deep, like new Spirit pathways were being opened around his spine and connected to parts of his body that had never been used before.

Atlas clenched his jaw and stayed standing.

His back burned.

His shoulders pulled apart.

His Spirit veins near the upper body widened, then connected with the rest of his flow. For a few seconds, his breathing became rough because the Trait was changing the way his Spirit could move through his back.

A faint black-red outline appeared behind him.

Large wing shapes flickered once.

They were unstable and incomplete, but the function was already there.

The wind inside the chapel reacted. The floor runes flickered, and loose feathers from the Hollow Crows moved around him as the wing outline formed.

Atlas understood the first part of the Trait.

Crowbeast Wings gave Spirit-based aerial movement, air balance, pressure control, and the foundation for flight. Using it properly would require control, Spirit output, and practice. His body had accepted the Trait, but flying immediately with poor control would likely send him crashing into walls.

The wing outline disappeared after several seconds.

The page updated.

[ Crowbeast Wings - Rank S — Assimilated ]

[ Grants wing-based Spirit movement, aerial balance, air pressure control, and high-speed flight potential derived from Velgrath, the Crowbeast. Full manifestation depends on user control and Spirit output. ]

Atlas breathed heavily while reading the description.

”Flight potential...”

That alone changed many things.

Travel.

Escape.

Combat position.

Ruin exploration.

For someone without wings in a continent filled with winged beings and flying monsters, this Trait had more value than a simple attack ability.

Atlas moved to the next Trait.

The Sanguis Stylus touched [ Velgrath’s Spirit Sphere - Rank S ].

The page compressed inward for a short moment.

The air around the Codex bent toward one point, and black-red light mixed with pale-gold Spirit surged into Atlas’s chest.

This pain struck his chest, lungs and throat.

Atlas staggered back and grabbed the broken statue beside him.

CRACK

The statue broke under his fingers.

His Spirit began gathering toward his throat and mouth by instinct. Atlas forced it down immediately because the function of the Trait was already clear.

Gather.

Compress.

Release.

Velgrath’s Spirit Sphere used dense Spirit compression to form a destructive sphere. With proper output, it could break barriers, melt formations, and destroy large areas. With his current control, even a small mistake could damage his body or collapse the prayer hall around him.

Atlas forced his breathing to remain steady.

The Trait fought against his control for several seconds, trying to gather Spirit by itself, but the pressure eventually settled inside him.

The Codex page updated.

[ Velgrath’s Spirit Sphere - Rank S — Assimilated ]

[ Allows user to gather and compress Spirit into a destructive sphere. Power depends on Spirit density, compression control, release stability, and available reserves. Current control level is insufficient for safe full output. ]

Atlas stared at the last line.

”Current control level is insufficient...”

That was expected.

The Codex had placed the function inside him, but it had not given him the experience needed to use it. If he tried to release the full ability now, the failure would probably be worse than the attack itself.

The Trait would be stored for later training.

His gaze moved to the A-Rank Traits.

[ Qield’s Horn - Rank A ]

[ Regenerative Hide - Rank A ]

Atlas touched [ Regenerative Hide - Rank A ] first.

If the next Trait caused damage or if something deeper inside the ruin attacked, regeneration would help him recover.

The words melted into crimson light and entered his body.

The pain spread across his skin first, then moved into his muscles, blood and bones. His flesh tightened, and his body began learning a new recovery pattern based on the Qield’s Watchers. The Trait had to adapt a monster’s regenerative structure into a human body, so the process was rough but far more stable than the S-Rank Traits.

Small cuts on his arms and shoulder began closing.

The marks from the Wind Imps and Hollow Crows faded.

The ache from reaching Attribute 10 did not fully vanish, but it reduced enough for Atlas to notice the difference immediately.

The page updated.

[ Regenerative Hide - Rank A — Assimilated ]

[ Grants enhanced physical durability and regenerative recovery derived from Qield’s Watchers. Regeneration consumes Stamina, Spirit, and stored biological energy. Severe wounds require higher reserves and time. ]

Atlas looked at his arm.

The cuts were gone.

”So it consumes reserves.”

That meant the Trait could save him, but only if he had enough Stamina, Spirit and stored energy to support it. It was useful, but relying on it without thinking would become dangerous in a long fight.

Only one A-Rank Trait remained.

Atlas touched [ Qield’s Horn - Rank A ].

Dense Spirit pressure entered his forehead, upper spine, arms and chest.

This Trait felt more structured than Spirit Horn. It created a focusing point in his Spirit flow, like a way to compress and direct output through a sharper path. Spirit Horn had been simple. Qield’s Horn was heavier, denser, and better suited for piercing force.

Atlas endured the pressure until it settled.

The Codex updated.

[ Qield’s Horn - Rank A — Assimilated ]

[ Grants high-density Spirit focusing, piercing output, horn-based Spirit pressure, and enhanced charge force derived from Qield’s Watchers. Can strengthen Spirit attacks when used with controlled output. ]

Atlas lowered the Sanguis Stylus.

His body felt different again.

Attributes changed his base.

Traits changed what that base could do.

Crowbeast Wings opened aerial movement.

Velgrath’s Spirit Sphere gave him a destructive attack that he could not safely use yet.

Regenerative Hide increased survival and recovery.

Qield’s Horn improved Spirit focusing and piercing output.

Atlas lifted his right hand.

A faint Spirit Claw formed over two fingers.

Then he added a thin layer of Qield’s Horn pressure into the claw.

The Spirit edge sharpened at once.

Atlas stopped the flow before it grew too much.

”So Traits can support each other too...”

That was important.

Spirit Claw could become sharper with Qield’s Horn.

Spirit Fang could be compressed further.

Spirit Horn and Qield’s Horn might combine into a stronger piercing attack.

Crowbeast Wings could work with Spirit Tails for aerial balance.

Regenerative Hide could help him endure backlash and injuries while training unstable techniques.

Velgrath’s Spirit Sphere would need Qield’s Horn’s focusing effect before he could control it safely.

Atlas slowly exhaled.

He had gained more than four separate Traits and parts of a fighting structure.

The Codex pulsed once.

Atlas looked down at the Trait page again.

The four newly assimilated Traits remained listed clearly.

At the bottom, the unknown Trait flickered.

[ ??? - Rank ??? ]

The distortion lasted longer than before.

Atlas narrowed his eyes.

The unreadable line shifted faintly after the S-Rank assimilation, and for a brief moment, another line almost formed beneath it. The letters broke apart before becoming readable.

”Again...”

The unknown Trait had reacted when Velgrath’s blood entered the Codex.

It reacted when the S-Rank Traits appeared.

Now it had reacted again after he assimilated them.

That meant it was connected to something higher than normal monster Traits.

Atlas thought of several possibilities.

His own blood.

The Codex.

The thing sealed inside the monolith.

Or something connected to Velgrath’s rank.

The Codex gave no answer.

Atlas closed his fingers around the Sanguis Stylus.

Wanting answers did not make the page open.

So he focused on what he had already gained.

His Attributes had reached 10.

The strongest stored Traits were assimilated.

His control had improved slightly.

And he was still inside a Hollow-Class Ruin where more monsters and possibly a Chapel Wraith waited deeper within.

Atlas looked toward the corridor ahead.

The wind there had changed.

It moved slower than before, and the Spirit interference coming from that direction had become thicker.

Something deeper inside the chapel had reacted to the change in him.

Atlas closed the Codex halfway, but did not dismiss it.

He still needed to test these Traits carefully before moving further.

Especially the S-Rank ones.

Because gaining them was only the start.

Learning how to use them without destroying himself was the real problem.