The third day in the Verdant Trial Grounds felt like the thirtieth.
Ankit's muscles ached from countless dodges, blocks, and desperate parries. His palms were raw from holding his talwar too tightly. His clothes—once a simple cotton kurta—were torn and bloodstained, no longer white but dyed by combat.
He hadn't slept more than an hour at a time.
The beasts didn't wait.
But he hadn't just survived—he'd adapted.
[System Update – Level Progression: 47% to Level 2]
Swordsmanship Proficiency: 13%
Soul Weapon Sync: 8%
Vital Status: Minor Fatigue / No Active Bleeding
Mana Sense: 2% unlocked (Dormant)
Bloodline Affinity Detected – Class: Dormant
That last line had appeared after his seventh kill: a serpent with three eyes and shadow-touched scales. When he pierced its throat, its body disintegrated, but it dropped something that the previous creatures hadn't:
A glowing shard of bone, deep black with red veins.
The moment Ankit touched it, the shard had burned itself into his palm and disappeared.
And the system had responded instantly.
[You have acquired a Bloodline Fragment]
Bloodline: Unknown
Purity: 2%
Type: ???
Progression toward awakening: 2/100%
Bloodline.
Ankit had heard the word in Tower whispers. Children around the shelter zones spoke of legendary rewards—bloodlines, ancestral inheritances, genetic mutations from mythical beings. But nobody knew how to get one. Until now.
He had one.
And he was still alive.
Night – Day 3
Forest Edge
A few kilometers from his previous shelter, Ankit set up camp near a high cliff, where a waterfall fell in silence, surrounded by glowing mana-rich plants. The beauty of it almost made him forget this was a training field designed to kill him.
He cleaned his talwar with a strip of his sleeve, kneeling by the water's edge. The sword's blade no longer looked like dull steel—it shimmered faintly with red lines that pulsed when he stared at it too long.
The Blood Pact was evolving the weapon.
Not just sharpening it—bonding with him.
Suddenly, he heard footsteps. Soft. Hesitant.
Ankit tensed.
His talwar snapped into his grip as he turned toward the noise.
It wasn't a beast.
It was a girl—about his age, slender and alert, her eyes narrow and calculating. She wore reinforced clothing made of Tower material. Her soul weapon was a chakram, floating slightly behind her shoulder.
She didn't speak at first. Just eyed him. Then, cautiously:
"You're from Earth?"
He raised an eyebrow. "We all are."
She shook her head. "I mean… not a construct. Not a fake projection. A real one. I've run into illusions. They reset. You didn't."
"…Yeah. I'm Ankit."
She tilted her head. "Meera. From Nashik. I've been in here four days."
Ankit relaxed a bit. "Same. You been alone?"
"Yeah. Thought I saw others… they weren't real. Tower's testing hallucination boundaries."
He nodded. That explained the dream he'd had the previous night—his mother offering him a warm meal in their courtyard before the table turned into a beast.
The Tower tested more than combat.
It tested will.
They sat together at the edge of the cliff. Meera shared some of the wild mana-fruits she'd gathered; Ankit cooked a small lizard-beast over a fire he'd learned to make with mana sparks.
For the first time since arriving in the Tower, there was… silence. Not peace, but a moment where survival wasn't tearing at their throats.
Then Meera asked, "You get any skills yet?"
He glanced at her.
"…No. Just sword proficiency and something else."
"What?"
He hesitated.
Then decided.
"I got a Bloodline Fragment."
She froze mid-bite. "Are you serious?"
He nodded.
"Do you know how rare that is?" she asked, voice lowered.
"No. First one I've seen."
She leaned in. "They say bloodlines let you tap into abilities from creatures stronger than mana beasts. Some say those who awaken one can evolve their Soul Weapon to a living form."
Living?
He frowned. "What does that mean?"
Meera shrugged. "Like the sword becomes more than a weapon. It becomes a part of you. A being. Some Tower climbers in projections call them 'Companions.'"
Ankit stared at his talwar, the crimson pulse still faint but steady.
Companion…?
He whispered, "Is that you?"
The sword hummed once in response.
Meera backed up. "It responded?"
"...I think it did."
She exhaled. "Damn. You're going to be dangerous."
Training Grounds: Floor Interface Sync – Tower Message
Suddenly, a beam of light struck the sky above them.
The voice of the Tower boomed again.
"Attention. All trainees who have acquired a Bloodline Fragment—you are summoned to the First Baptism Ground."
"Survive the Baptism, and the Bloodline shall awaken."
"Reject it, and lose the right forever."
Meera looked at him. "You going?"
He stood, talwar in hand, heart already pounding with adrenaline. "Yeah."
She didn't try to stop him.
"Then don't die," she said softly.
He nodded and stepped into the pillar of light that now engulfed his body.
The world around him dissolved.
Unknown Location – Baptism Ground
The air was thick with mana—so dense it clung to Ankit's skin like steam.
He stood in an arena of ancient stone, surrounded by statues of beasts—dragons, serpents, titanic humanoids—all worn by time and power.
A single figure appeared at the center: an armored warrior without a face, wielding a blade just like Ankit's—but darker, corrupted.
The system whispered:
[Bloodline Trial Initiated]
Survive against the Echo of a Forgotten Wielder.
Duration: Until Victory or Death.
Reward: Bloodline Awakening (Rank: ???)
The echo charged.
Ankit raised his sword.
And smiled.
End of Chapter 3