Sun rays shot through Aquazyl’s crystal clear water as daybreak arrived upon it. The various settlements that had appeared during the nighttime vanished along with its entrance, hidden in the depths of the sand below, far separated from the outside world.

Damien stood alone and gazed at this empty Aquazyl. The wonder and youthful exuberance he showed the Ruvia Clan Elder were already gone from his visage.

‘This Mystic Realm…is interesting.’ He commented internally.

The Prominence War that the old elder boasted so heavily about, clearly he was only open because he was sure Damien couldn’t make any waves in this massive conflict. However, to Damien, the information he received was crucial.

The way the Prominence War and Aquazyl as a whole were structured, with Damien’s knowledge that Aquazyl was indeed a Mystic Realm, held a completely different meaning.

‘The Prominence War is this Mystic Realm’s task. It must’ve been something else when it first appeared in the world, but that Sea God character managed to manipulate it and place it under his control, changing its structure to his liking.’

There was no reason to give the Sea God Clans sovereignty over the Emperor Bone Sea. While these clans were blinded by tradition and the prospect of absolute control, they didn’t realize just how limited their control was.

As long as they remained in Aquazyl, the Emperor Bone Sea could only serve as a factory to produce more clan members for them. Their actual authority remained limited to Aquazyl itself.

‘The only way to utilize the full extent of this authority is to leave Aquazyl, but they don’t have the ability to do so. Even when they enter this realm, they do so unwillingly, forcefully transported here. Yet, they don’t realize this due to their idolization of the Sea God and the fact that his machinations are the root of their intelligence. In reality, the entire conflict is pointless. The Prominence War was designed in a way where outsiders gain the most.’

Damien’s blood began to boil with excitement. Only people with Sea God bloodline qualified to bear the Emperor Bone Sea’s crown? Laughable. For Damien, this obstacle was practically non-existent.

‘Tephit Clan, right? I wonder how they taste…’

A devious plan began cooking in his head. At first, Damien’s only goal was exploration and satisfying his curiosity. He could only spend a maximum of three months in the Emperor Bone Sea before he needed to return to Hidden Death Valley for closed training in preparation for the yearly assessment.

But with such a delectable cake placed right in front of his face, how could he stop himself from taking a bite?

***

‘The Prominence War…isn’t this a buffet for Damien?’ Zara thought to herself after hearing the old Oga woman’s explanation.

Damien’s Devour ability could easily grant him the qualifications to participate in the war. And if he decided to claim the Emperor Bone Sea for himself, could anyone truly stop him?

“Ah, it’s a Mystic Realm! I get it now!” She exclaimed out loud, though there was nobody nearby to hear her.

Zara’s brain worked at maximum capacity and after a strenuous amount of thinking, she came to a similar, albeit less detailed, conclusion to Damien.

‘Then, we need to participate, right?’ She asked herself. Without much thought, she pulled out her transmission token and poured mana into it.

“Hm? Zara? What’s up?” Damien’s voice came from the other side.

“Oh? Okay then, let’s hear it.”

Zara gave a brief rundown of what the old woman told her. While it was almost the same speech Damien received, it didn’t have the same level of detail just like her previous inference.

It was Zara’s first time prying for information, after all. There were a few questions she could’ve asked that she missed due to inexperience.

But for her first time, she truly did a spectacular job. Damien couldn’t help but be impressed at her growth rate.

“What do you think we should do?” He asked, curious about her response.

Zara took a moment to think before answering. “We should participate.”

“And why is that?”

“Hm? Because we can get stronger that way? These Sea God Clan members smell tasty; I think they can aid my evolution. And also, don’t tell me you aren’t interested in controlling the Emperor Bone Sea?”

“Hahaha!” Damien laughed wildly. “You’re right! There’s no way I’d let such an opportunity go. In fact, I already have a plan in mind. By the way, how are things going over at the Oga Clan?”

“The Oga Clan village was destroyed in a battle with the Tephit Clan. But don’t worry! I helped them defeat the enemies and even kept them alive for questioning! How is it, didn’t I do good?”

“Haha, I can’t say you didn’t. You’ve actually created a perfect opportunity for me…”

Damien’s voice faded. While Zara questioned what he was doing, she noticed an aura approaching from the horizon.

Damien’s figure materialized in a bout of warped space, not far away from her location.

“This should be…around the right place?” He muttered to himself. As he looked around, he spotted Zara and smiled.

“Yo! A little wolf told me that you prepared a gift for me?” He teased.

“I’m not little!” Zara harrumphed, “if you want your gift, say I’m not little.”

Damien scratched his head awkwardly. “Alright, you win. You’re a big girl now and I’m an old man who has eyes but can’t see. Are you happy now?”

“Very!” Zara said with a beaming smile. She waved her hand, allowing the Shadow Rose to rise from the ground and open up. The squirming bodies of the Tephit Clan members were revealed to the world.

Damien smiled wolfishly as he saw them. Could he ask for a more perfect situation?

“Well then, I’ll thank you for this meal.” He said.

Void Mana materialized at his fingertips and shot out as a group of hundreds of strings, each attaching to a Tephit Clan member.

Their bodies slowly faded into essence as Damien devoured them. Since they were already on the verge of death, the process didn’t take long at all.

Damien took a deep breath as he felt the changes in his body. Along with an evolution of his physique that allowed him to breathe underwater, a fourth bloodline had been added to his system, forming a link with the other three in their perpetual cycle.

‘This is the Sea God’s bloodline? Honestly, I’m a little disappointed.’

With the way the elder praised the Sea God, Damien at least expected the man’s bloodline to be magical or domineering. Instead, it was quite ordinary. He didn’t gain any traits or strength from it at all. Even the experience he should’ve gotten from those kills was swallowed by his Void Mana for its own improvement.

But devouring the Tephit Clan members wasn’t without reward. While he might not have gained anything material, he never desired material rewards in the first place.

Now, he was a bonafide Tephit Clan member himself.

Because of Zara’s help, he had easily gained the qualifications to take control of the Sea God’s legacy.

All that was left now…was to stir the pot a little.