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nA drop of sweat ran down my cheek upon hearing the word “Zeus,” causing me to drink the liquid much faster than anticipated.

nIt went down without a problem, and I didn’t feel much of a change, but before I could ask for its use, Arachne had already disappeared, and this strange warm feeling spread through my chest.

nIt felt as if a gate had been opened within me, letting a substance air out inside of me, bringing me just the slightest bit of drowsiness.

nBut through the day, that drowsiness got worse, eventually forcing me to skip dinner and just head right to bed.

nAnd soon, once I closed my eyes, they were forced back open, revealing a plane of white around me.

n“Your throne world is special, to say the least….” A raspy and deep voice called out from behind me, but what really shocked me was the familiarity.

n“Are you… my spear?” I asked, slowly swiveling my head and seeing a single eye blood-red eye greet me, twisting and turning its pupil as if it were to greet me.

n“No, I’m the soul held within the spear. I’m a guide for whoever becomes a Prince of Sangria or a Vector of Fate… an anomaly, to say the least,”

n“Are you here because I drank that potion made from the ichor of Athena?”

n“Think what you want. I am only here to awaken the true power of your throne world… The Basin of Roses,”

nSuddenly, the white floor beneath me turned into an endless stretching lake of blood only about one foot tall.

nRoses similar to the ones tatting my body sprung up from the blood, unfurling themselves to reveal a singular blood-red eye in the middle of the swirling petals.

nThey sent shivers down my spine, not only from their appearance but the bloodthirsty aura that they continuously radiated into the atmosphere.

nIt felt as if thousands of hungry beasts had sprung up from the floor instead of these beautifully-creepy flowers.

n“This is my awakened throne world? Why would I ever need this?” I asked since it just seemed worse than my previous one.

nYes, the flowers felt like beasts, but that was the exact problem; they were just flowers in the end and only felt like beasts that could ravage an entire city.

n“You’ll understand some time later. It’s a key meant for you to understand more of your past and why you were even selected as the Sangria-Eyed King. In exchange for wielding me, you have a duty that you must uphold… but, for now, you must survive,”

n“So you’re telling me my throne world just upgrades like this? No challenge or anything? I thought there would be something more?”

n“Ah, yes… since Athena is a Goddess of Wisdom and such, most of your skills will reach a higher level once you wake up… but I don’t want my host to be such a spoiled brat. Fight me,” He demanded as the eye began to shake and then suddenly melt into a dripping red goo.

nIt looked similar to the hell I created with my previous throne world, but instead of burning the ground beneath it, it was just absorbed into the lake.

nBut a second passed before I felt a shiver shoot down my spine.

nA man slowly rose up from the blood below, clad in various robes, and even had a large-ass wizardly hat that sat neatly atop his head.

nHis face was expressionless… almost dead, in fact, and his pale white skin and dull black eyes didn’t do much for him.

nHe was tired.

n“Don’t mind the eyebags… because if you underestimate me, I’m going to slaughter you whole,”

nDespite his threatening words, I didn’t feel very… threatened to say the least, as his presence was weak and almost dying.

nAnd although his appearance was pitiful, I still took a sturdy gaurd, ready to block any attack coming straight from him-

nKSH

nJust barely, I dodged a spear of blood erupting from the lake below me, but what was crazy about it was that the attack could almost be called instant.

nAnd the man before me showed no signs of even conjuring up a new spell or even chanting a skill… meaning this man could also be a god… an existence outside of the given system.

nThe spear just barely scraped out a part of my torso, but at least the fatal attack was redirected into something much easier to handle.

n“Next time, I won’t miss,” His mouth uttered, a string of nonchalant words that seemingly served as the command for the next attack.

nIn an instant, my ankles were locked down onto the surface below me, but it took just a bit of force to rip them out.

n𝑂𝚟𝓵xt.𝑐𝓞𝑀

nThough, I knew this was bait to draw my attention away from the thousands of spears erupting and charging straight toward me from the thick blood below.

nThere were so many… too many, but they were slower than before, allowing me to slip past most of them and surprisingly summon my spear.

nI knocked away the rest of them with this spear and closed the distance between myself and the mage in front of me.

n“Disable,” I muttered, causing the man’s eyes to widen as my spear penetrated his chest, forcing him to cough up a whole lot of blood.

nIt nearly coated each and every square inch of his beautiful robes, untouched by any filthy thing.

n“Did you… really think I was purely a mage based on my attacks and outfit?” The man smiled, his neck and head slowly tilting to the side.

nI attempted to pull my spear out, but something under his robes held it tightly down… no, the spear itself wouldn’t listen to me no matter what I did.

n“Of course not,” I muttered with a smile, blocking the man who reached out his hand, attempting to vice-claw my face and possibly crush my head with his overwhelming strength. “Royal Blood Magic,”

nIt should’ve been over with this attack, but a chilling feeling continued to rummage under my skin like a thousand ants were crawling inside of my arms.

n“I am the one who wields all blood… The Warlock of Blood,”

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