Chapter 70 - Purity and Inheritance

95%!!

What a number!

Just 5% more and Draco would be the literal incarnation of Lucifer. With a whole 95%, he wasn't far off from that as well!

The Snake on the table was shocked when it heard that, meaning it could understand the human language. This fact was what startled Draco much more than learning of his bloodline.

Fyre laughed and patted her Pet Snake on its head gently, speaking to it in a weird and raspy language. Draco was startled to find that even though the language was completely foreign to him, the now awake Black Dragon could understand it.

Though they weren't connected properly and could only transfer feelings as well as the barest form of correspondence, Draco was able to understand what Fyre was saying roughly.

"He is my nephew, Draco. We don't know his exact Serpentine Affinity, so can you help him discover it?"

When the blue colored Snake heard that, its eyes first flashed with wonder and then gentleness. Since Draco was the direct blood relative of its bonded partner, he was as good as its family!

Fyre turned to Draco and saw that he had a strange expression on his face.

"Oh, sorry about that. We of the Serpent God faction can communicate with serpents of any kind. Since you probably have no idea what we said, I asked my Pet Snake to check your Serpentine Affinity."

Draco already knew that, but he didn't want to let her know that his bloodline was already recovering. He was waiting for it to be freed so he could begin to practice with its usage.

Since he obviously started far behind all the other lineage members, he would be at a disadvantage. However, his bloodline strength made up for that ten times over, since no one could claim to have a bloodline purity at his level.

"How can my Serpentine Affinity be checked?" Draco asked with folded arms.

Fyre smiled evilly. "Why through a gentle little bite of course!"

Draco raised an eyebrow. "A bite from a poisonous snake is not so gentle, Dear Aunt."

Both Fyre and her Snake looked unimpressed by Draco's complaint. "This Nephew here, must you be so fearful? Why would Your Aunt, I, poison you like this for no reason?"

"Besides, can you even be poisoned? Your Bloodline might be inaccessible but that only concerns the superhuman and supernatural aspects of it. Since your flesh and blood are of the Lucifer Lineage, do you think a snake's poison can affect you?"

Fyre commented this with a harrumph and gave Draco the side eye, as if wondering how her darling Nephew could be so silly sometimes.

Draco was startled then he became speechless. She was right, it didn't make sense for a member with the Serpent God Bloodline to be susceptible to snake poison.

Maybe other forms and sources of poison would be effective, but snake poison in particular should be useless. It would be like trying to drown a fish in water.

How could he continue to act tough? With a depressed look, Draco stretched out his arm. Fyre and her Pet Snake cackled in victory, as the serpent swaggered up to his outstretched limb.

Instead of a deep and piercing bite, the Blue Snake only lightly bit into his arm and remained still. It closed its eyes and tried to assess Draco's bloodline's optimal Serpent to represent him in battle and in life.

The Black Dragon sensed this and minimized the force of its presence within Draco's bloodline. If it didn't, the snake could suffer some damage due to their origins and qualities being far too different.

Even so, the Snake recoiled from Draco's arm, hissing with pain and discomfort.

Fyre had expected this of course, so she rubbed her comrade's head gently and made sure she was okay. She was no idiot, if her Nephew had the highest bloodline purity, his Serpentine Affinity couldn't be something simple.

It would likely be on the tier of a Dragon! After all, they had done a preliminary check when Draco was born and discovered this, hence his birth name. However, he had been far too young for them to detect the exact Dragon.

Fyre waited for her partner to get her act together. When it did, it looked at Draco with surprise and respect. Unlike beings of the same bloodline in most animal families, as well as mythological families, serpents didn't feel fear when meeting one of a higher bloodline, only respect and obeisance.

To describe it using an analogy, other bloodlines that inflict suppression on lower purity members from higher purity members were similar to a wicked emperor walking down a parade street. The citizens would behave properly and respectfully due to fear of consequence, not from their hearts.

For the serpent bloodline, it was like a benevolent emperor doing the same act. The people would cheer and wave with excitement and reverence, their faces flushed with pride and glee to be under such a ruler.

"Well?" Fyre asked a bit impatiently in the serpent language.

"His affiliation is… a Black Dragon major and a God Serpent array minor." The snake's speech was a lot more clear and pleasing to hear, and was a feminine voice. The Black Dragon shared that feeling over to Draco, which was how he knew.

Fyre was stunned when she heard this, looking as if she had been whacked with a pillow while drunk. "Did you say… Black Dragon…?"

The Pet Snake didn't bother to answer as it was aware that Fyre was asking that rhetorically. She was just shocked from the revelation, and given what the snake knew, this wasn't surprising.

Fyre took in a deep breath and closed her eyes. She performed many breathing exercises, much to Draco's and the snake's amus.e.m.e.nt.

When she stabilized herself, she looked at Draco solemnly. "My Nephew… Draco. I know you might have some grievances with our family due to how we treated you…"

Draco's face went from smiling to stiff and bland. He didn't expect Fyre of all people to suddenly jump onto this matter and so soon.

Noticing Draco's expression, Fyre sighed. It seemed like she wasn't the best person to do this, but some preliminary preparations had to be set so that when he returned to the family, Draco would be more accepting of the explanation given.

"We would never have even considered crippling your bloodline and sending you out into the world if we knew you had a Black Dragon's bloodline! We were only aware that you had a Draconic Affinity, which was why you were so highly feared by the Pangu Linage, those dogs!"

Her face became so fierce when she spoke of the Pangu Lineage, that Draco felt his blood begin to boil. His face changed when he realized that his Aunt's hatred of that bloodline was so potent that it could affect him.

One should not forget, this wasn't the digital world of Boundless where such things were made easier due to the nature of the world. This was the real world where science was the law!

To be able to do something so unscientific… these Lineages and their bloodlines were truly something.

"We wouldn't mind sacrificing 40% of our descendants in war while you grew up and mastered your Bloodline! We would all gladly do it because our future would be limitless!"

What?!

Draco was stunned. To sacrifice 40% of their descendants for him to grow…? How many lives would be lost?!

Of course, the Pangu Lineage and other Lineages would also suffer some losses, but not like the Lucifer and Amaterasu Lineage.

According to Eva, the stalemate between the Lucifer and Amaterasu Lineage and the Pangu Alliance was so because neither side gave in their all during the fights.

That was normal, after all, they didn't have a reason to fight to the end, especially after their progenitors left the world and headed into space to seek revenge.

But the Pangu Lineage was aware that if Draco was allowed to grow with a Draconic Bloodline, he would be an absolute threat to their existence, tipping the scales so firmly into the other side's favor that all hope would be lost!

If he further copulated with Eva, their child would be no different from their progenitors. It would definitely be over for them if they had still managed to persist somehow.

One couldn't compare a cornered rat with a playful cat. When the rat realized that death was locked onto it, its beady eyes would become sharp and all hesitation would be lost!

It would fight viciously with the predator it normally ran from, dealing only damage while sacrificing its defense. The cat would be stunned and very careful, most probably being suppressed by the rat because it still had its hesitations.

It would be thinking about how to prevent serious injuries so that it could enjoy the rat later. As opposed to its crazed enemy, its momentum was weaker and its resolve was shaky.

However, if the cat needed the rat's flesh in order to feed its starving young, it too would become incomparably vicious, trading blow for blow regardless of defense with the rat.

The former situation with the hesitant cat represented the Lucifer Lineage that was pressured by the crazed Pangu Alliance, since their prodigy was Draconic, but his affiliated Dragon could be ordinary.

Of course, an ordinary Dragon was still a Dragon!

That was why they only sealed his bloodline and sent him out to the mortal world. The former was to defuse tensions with the Pangu Alliance and the latter… was due to their internal conflict.

Of course, Draco did not know that last bit.

However, a Black Dragon was different! Similar to Boundless - or it might be even possible that the AI directly implemented this fact from acquired real world knowledge - The Black Dragon was King!

When it roared, all other Dragons and Serpents bowed with respect! At his side was always a White Dragon who gazed at him with piety and adoration!

With such a Serpentine Affinity, no losses suffered for Draco were too much!

This was what Draco reasoned from Fyre's admission as well as all the knowledge he had so far. He became silent as he realized this, his stiffness melting away a little.

Draco realized that he might have to be a little more understanding. Of course, forgiveness was still out of reach, but openness to listen and some benefit of the doubt should be given.

It was just like when he was enraged with the AI. His dark feelings had dissipated when he considered the whole picture. A similar thing occurred here.

Fyre noticed that she had made some headway and decided to drop it here while she was ahead. There was no need to rush this matter with Draco now that he was aware of everything.

"Still, my Nephew, you are truly a beast! To have a Serpentine Affinity with the Black Dragon as well as 95% bloodline purity! Your Aunt, I, must go bang my head on a wall somewhere."

Fyre returned to her playful self. Her BlueSnake companion climbed back up her sleeve, doing what, only god knew.

Draco was a bit skeptical at this juncture. "Shouldn't bloodline purity decide the quality of Serpentine Affinity?"

Fyre cackled at Draco's ignorance. "No! For the Lucifer Lineage, there are two aspects to our bloodline!"

"That is Purity and Inheritance! Purity decides how much raw power you can channel into your inheritance! Inheritance is the branch ability of the Bloodline you fall under!"

Fyre pointed at Draco with a look of superiority.

"Purity and Inheritance are closely connected, but do not affect each other beyond the fundamentals! You can have a bloodline purity of 2% and still have access to a strong Serpentine Affinity assuming you inherited the Serpent God Bloodline! However, if your Inheritance is powerful and your Purity is low, the power you can bring forth is limited!"

Draco froze.

How could he not understand?

For the Lucifer Lineage, Purity and Inheritance were what one gained from birth due to the bloodline. Purity was raw power and Inheritance was application. To put it in Boundless' terms, Purity was one's stats and Inheritance was one's skills.

With higher stats, one skills would be inherently more powerful, but stats didn't prevent one from learning powerful skills. However, if one had powerful skills and low stats, the skill's OPness would be nerfed heavily.

A bloodline purity of 95% and such a strong Serpentine Affinity meant that should he be freed, he would be able to display 95% of a true Black Dragon's power!

MON DIEU!

Sometimes, the shock was so heavy that one had to exclaim in a different language in order to vent their surprise properly.

(Author's Note: In this case… it was me.)

Of course, this was just taking into consideration raw power. In terms of fine control and technique, Draco was worse than a child since he had no training.

Still, the kind of damage a retarded Black Dragon could do was terrifying!

This wasn't even factoring in the Horned Demon and Dark Angel Inheritances!

Draco could only take a deep breath at this point. Fyre noticed his shock and was incomparably satisfied.

This Nephew of hers hadn't understood just why the Pangu Lineage was so terrified of his growth. It all sounded like exaggerated words when spoken, but now that Draco had an idea of what he could do, he would understand more things.

Draco was silent for a long while before asking, "What about my other Inheritances?"

Fyre displayed a difficult expression. "This… well I cannot help. I am limited to my own Inheritance. You would have to find Lucifer Lineage members of other Inheritances to find out."

Draco breathed out lightly at that. Maybe it was better this way. He was starting to become terrified of himself at this point.

Bloodlines were in essence, a progenitor's ability to condense his/her powers or unique characteristics into his/her DNA and s.e.m.e.n/egg so that the future generations would be able to access these abilities without having to develop them on their own.

Similar to a hand me down, or like a noble title that was passed down in the family.

Assuming the progenitor developed the ability to create space portals, he/she could condense this into his/her seed and allow their descendants to be able to create space portals of differing strengths.

If the descendant's purity was 100%, their abilities would be the same as the progenitor. If it was 70%, it would be 7/10th of the progenitor's power.

Bloodlines had advantages and disadvantages.

The main advantage was ease of access. Unlike the Progenitor who had to suffer to acquire the unique characteristic through evolution, experimentation or understanding, they could use it right off the bat.

Another advantage was that they would be able to develop on the abilities that the progenitor passed on even after he had died, developing new ways to apply it with much more efficiency.

However, the disadvantages were heavy.

A bloodline inheritance was like a prison, especially when considering the human/sapient factor.

Because the ability was learned easily, it was not understood. One should not confuse learning with comprehension, especially in the area of bloodlines and the esoteric.

Learning would be the act of being able display the ability to create space portals, how to handle their frequency, the opening point and exit point, among others.

Understanding would be knowing how space portals were created, the theories behind it and how space itself worked.

The difference was that in learning, the execution of abilities were automated for the descendant. They instinctively knew how to create a space portal and how to direct it, but not the intricacies of it.

It was like asking a human how they breathed. They would shrug and say 'with my lungs, what else?'. However, the combination of processes that go into breathing that was automated for humankind was extremely complex.

Another disadvantage was that bloodline descendants would mostly never branch out of their bloodline. They would pride themselves on their inheritance and live off it, never developing anything substantial of their own.

This was why bloodlines were a prison.

A descendant who might have great talent in some other field might stick to his space portal inherited bloodline for life, disdaining everything else because he had been born with the bloodline.

His bloodline purity might be even low, making him average within the descendants, but he would still feel he was better than everyone else.

Usually, the outcome of bloodline descendants was falling out of grace as they either inter-bred and developed various deficiencies and diseases, or they cross-bred and the bloodline purity thinned with every generation.

They would also usually never surpass the achievements of their ancestor and build upon the bloodline, thinking that it was too mysterious or profound for them, especially when the inheritance was strong.

Of course, all of these speculations of Draco's were taken from fictional representations of bloodlines, hence his far-fetched examples. But what were the Lineages of not almost fictional?

Now that he understood his bloodline's fundamentals, he realized that he really was a monster. He felt surreal. He had grown up being shit, having gone from shit to legendary through his own efforts, creating a legacy in the old timeline.

All of that was without a lick of assistance from his bloodline.

The curse that plagued bloodline descendants, where they would never have achievements of their own outside their bloodline, was turned on its head by him. He had exemplary achievements on the outside, with almost none in terms of bloodline.

However, his bloodline was too strong and adding it to his repertoire would see it becoming just another tool to him, not his whole arsenal, unlike other typical bloodline descendants.

That was why Fyre was not even a little bit angry when Draco had kicked out at her. When she saw Draco use Control, she was extremely satisfied!

This Nephew of hers would be the greatest Lineage descendant across time and space for the 9 Lineages of the Original Human Gods!