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nKeith went to the spot immediately to study the plant. The tangled tree branches made it hard for any regular humans to enter that spot. As Keith cut through many branches covering that plant like a shell, he entered a small dome-like structure made of tree branches.

n‘This is?’

nKeith noticed the empty space surrounding the small plant. There was no plant life for two meters surrounding it. Not even grass was present and the ground looked barren. At the center, the small plant the size of his pinky finger glowed deep blue.

nIts leaf was green but the countless tiny blue flowers illuminated the small plant like a small light bulb. Because of the protective barrier of branches, the light couldn’t escape this place. And the place was deep inside the garden. Humans couldn’t just cut the entire trees just to get here. The building security would never allow that.

nMoving closer to the plant, he could feel the life energy emanating from the plant. It was a very neutral presence, unlike humans and animals. It was pure and attribute-less life energy. Only the system’s purification was of higher quality than this tree’s life energy.

n This plant is very rich in life energy. Compared to the other plants the life energy density is a hundred times higher. This small plant holds the equivalent life energy to a fifteen-year-old human’s entire blood-qi.

n‘That much? Then what if a human eats it?’ Keith asked.

nThe excess life energy will dissipate, but the sudden surge of energy will give them quite the stimulation.

n‘Stimulation… Like drugs?’

nNot exactly… They will feel incredible power running through their body all of a sudden. Their hormones will secrete rapidly and they will enter into an energized state for a couple of hours until the excess energy dissipates.

n‘So like performance-enhancing drugs.’

nBut these will permanently increase their life energy and their health will peak. It has no other effect except the one I’ve mentioned.

nWait…This..

n‘What happened?’ Keith asked curiously.

nI just finished the entire scan and it looks like this tree is just a seedling. But its age is hundred years old. Imagine the life energy it can store if it reaches its prime.

n‘But this tree will take centuries and millennia to grow. We can’t wait that long.’ Keith said with a disappointed voice.

nYou’re right. Thousand years is too long. You would be at the king level if nothing goes wrong. I doubt you’ll need it then.

nKeith plucked a small flower from the plant which was so tiny it was almost crushed by his two fingers. He carefully put the flower in a small pouch.

nAre you going to give it to your maid? The system asked.

n‘Yes. It will improve her vitality and life force, so I will give her this to consume.’

n This is extremely potent so the life energy will make her hyperactive for some time. Try not to stay close to her.

n‘What do you me..’ Keith realized what the system was talking about.

nHe didn’t notice the subtle cues about the stimulant, so now he understood the other effect of the plant.

n‘She can’t force herself on me. I am much more powerful.’ Keith consoled himself.

n Do what you want. She’s your maid anyway. The system said without a care.

nKeith went back to his room and kept the flower in his drawer. As he entered into the state of extreme focus condensing blood-qi, the afternoon went by. In the night Rena returned with a glass of blood for his night meal.

nKeith drank his blood and took out the flower from the pouch.

n“Rena, eat this flower.” Keith opened Rens’s palm and placed the tiny flower at the center of her palm.

nAre you insane? What are you doing? The system shouted from within.

n‘Shut up. I don’t know what will happen if I leave her alone. I can’t fully trust you yet. You don’t harm me because you are bound to me and can’t harm me, but what about others.’

nBut you asked with the intention of learning the truth. I said it won’t hurt humans. The system interjected.

n‘Still, I need to be with her to see how it will react. You will monitor her changes and tell me if anything goes wrong.’ Keith said sharply.

nThe system snorted and started monitoring her.

nRena was confused after seeing the small flower on her palm. It was so tiny that it looked like a grain, but it gave a blue tint glow that looked beautiful.

n“What is it, young master?” Rena put the flower in her tongue.

nShe didn’t doubt that Keith was giving her anything harmful, but she was curious to know what this flower was.

n“It’s a special flower. It will increase your vitality and health. Your strength will increase too.” Keith replied with a smile.

n“Really? You are giving me such a precious herb. I..” Rena hesitated.

n“Just swallow it. It’s of no use to the vampires, so only humans can consume it.”

n“If you say so, I will take it. Thank you, young master” Rena swallowed the flower and gulped.

nSeconds later, her eyes wavered and her face turned red. With a flushed face, she gripped her dress and panted heavily.

n‘Any changes in her physique.’ Keith asked the system.

nThe life force is increasing steadily. She is handling it very well. Most humans would be jumping around now.

n‘You said it will be a mild reaction.’ Keith asked back.

nYeah… Mild has a lot of spectrums. She will still experience it for half an hour at least.

nKeith looked at Rena, who was panting heavily while lowering her head. He didn’t say anything and sat there silently.

n“Young..master…” Rena called out with great difficulty.

n“How are you feeling?” Keith asked.

n“I… I don’t feel good.” Rena replied while huffing.

nKeith stared at Rena and chose to leave the room instead.

n“You stay here for a while, I will be just outside.”

nAs he was leaving, Rena grabbed his hand and shook her head.

n“Don’t leave… I am fine now. The effect is going away.” Rena said while taking deep breaths.

n‘How is she? Her life energy is still increasing?’ Keith asked the system.

n Her… Lifeforce suddenly absorbed all the life energy. The effects should’ve stayed for half an hour, but she absorbed all the life energy in a minute.

n‘Isn’t that a good thing?’

n Yes, but aren’t you curious how she was able to absorb that much life energy so quickly.

n‘What are you implying?’ Keith was also curious to see her get to normal so fast.

nMaybe she has a special physique that is better than normal humans. We should give her more of these flowers and see how much she could absorb.

n‘Not at once. I will give her these flowers every day. That will keep the side effects away.’ Keith let go of Rena’s hand.

nShe sat down on the bed and calmed her head.

n“Young master, that was really a weird flower. I felt really funny. I had this kind of strange attraction to you for a moment.” Rena said with a tilted gaze.

n“Don’t worry. It’s just the side effect of the flower. Your body will experience some dizziness and attraction to the other person.” Keith replied.

n“Ah! I can’t believe I was feeling that… I’m sorry young master. I showed you something embarrassing. I heard this from other maids, but I never experienced it myself.”

nRena put her two hands on her face and looked away in shame.

n“It’s alright. I would’ve stopped you even if you went out of control.” Kieth consoled her.

nRena peeked through her hands and after seeing Kieth’s determined face she opened her hands.

n“You should rest for now. The life energy is still coursing through your body, and it will take some time to stabilize. You can feel the increase in strength now.”

n“I can feel it. My hands feel way lighter than before and I’m full of energy. This is amazing. I feel like I can carry double the amount of luggage.” Rena gripped her hands.

n” That’s good. Go back to your room now and tell me if anything happens in the night.” Keith excused her.

nAfter she left his room, Keith looked at Rena’s recorded physique which doubled in stats. She was now two times stronger than she was before. This level of growth was unprecedented in a human.

nUsually, Humanas had to train for years to increase their strength by a few points. But she was able to get double that amount. The excess life energy didn’t dissipate and got absorbed into her blood.

nThis was really unique and the system also agreed that she had some kind of special physique than regular humans. Keith also wanted to know how far her body could evolve and how strong she can become.

nKeith spent the rest of the night condensing blood-qi and focused on his warrior frame to further increase the blood-qi.

nThe next morning he noticed a slight change in his rune card. He was accepted into the blood summoning department and the emblem of the department was added to his card.

nUnder the emblem, there was a message containing the information about the first class. The scheduled class was three hours later and asked the students to wear the normal uniform.

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