"Alan! What have you thought about that thing I mentioned last time?" Instructor Carter asked with a smile.
"What was it? I forgot."
"Ahem... It's about your dad's collection of vintage wine. I've begged him several times, but he won't even sell me a bottle. What a stingy guy!"
Instructor Carter put his arm around Alan's shoulders, a more ingratiating look on his face.
"Alan! The boys at school all praise your loyalty. Now it's time to verify the rumors. Can you help me get a bottle of good wine from your dad?"
"Sorry! That wine was brewed by my dad himself and saved for my sister's dowry. Are you thinking..."
Alan finally managed to swallow back the "You're just imagining shit."
"You want to buy some wine? It's no use asking me. Go talk to my sister!"
"Come on! Don't you know Kelly's temper?" Mr. Carter scratched his head in frustration. "How dare I bring this up with her?"
Alan wanted to tell him to give up, but then he thought: Instructor Carter was a regular at his tavern, had a good relationship with my father, and held a certain social status. It wouldn't be worth offending him just for a bottle of wine.
After a moment's thought, he slowly said, "Instructor, if I can get you that wine, how will you thank me?"
"How can the bond between men be tarnished by a tacky transaction?" Instructor Carter feigned indignation.
Alan scoffed and turned to walk away.
"Hey! Wait a minute!"
Instructor Carter realized the boy wasn't falling for his trick, so he ran after him, a fawning smile plastered on his face.
"Alan! If you can help me get some wine, I'll take you in as my personal disciple and teach you all my lifelong martial arts!"
"Not until you teach me the real thing!"
"Hey! That's really hurtful, kid! What I teach in class is real kung fu!"
Alan didn't bother beating around the bush and came clean. "Last time you got drunk at my tavern and said you had two special moves: one called the Hound Step and the other called something or other? Teach me those two first, and I'll buy you a... Wine!"
Carter rubbed his unshaven chin and said bitterly:
"Alan, I'm not being secretive! 'Bone-piercing Strength' and 'Hound Step' are both tier-one magical skills, requiring mana to use. You must first awaken your warlock bloodline and open your magic pool before you're eligible to learn these two skills."
"How do you awaken your bloodline talent and open your magic pool?"
"First, you must go to the Glass Garden, find Ms. Sora, and take the bloodline talent test."
Instructor Carter explained patiently.
"If you detect a low-level bloodline talent, you'll receive an entry-level training tutorial. If you detect an average or higher talent, you'll have a chance to receive a letter of recommendation for admission to the Warlock Academy."
"After that, you can meditate according to the tutorial to unleash your bloodline's potential. When you reach a certain level of practice, you'll unlock your magic pool and become a novice warlock apprentice."
"When that day comes, it won't be too late for you to come back and learn magical martial arts from me!"
"I understand." Alan nodded thoughtfully.
...
Principal Sora is a master gardener.
She built a greenhouse, called the "Glass Garden," where she cultivates many exotic flowers and plants.
Every Saturday, during the school cleanup, some students are assigned to clean the principal's garden.
Alan had been on duty twice before and was quite familiar with the surroundings.
As he approached the glass door, he heard rustling sounds.
He looked down.
A vine, as thick as his wrist, slithered towards him like a emerald green python.
If he hadn't been here twice before, he'd have been startled!
Alan took off the school badge and showed it to the animated vine.
The animated vine extended a slender branch and touched the uneven pattern on the badge, as if verifying the visitor's identity.
After a while, the animated vine retracted its branches, clearing the way to the garden gate.
Alan breathed a sigh of relief and knocked on the door.
For a long moment, no one answered.
"Is the principal away?" Alan asked the animated vine.
It didn't respond.
It seemed as if it didn't understand him.
Alan stood at the garden gate, debating whether to come back another day.
Just then, a system notification suddenly appeared!
"Unknown Level 2 toxin detected!"
"Insufficient sample, unable to identify!"
Alan's heart skipped a beat!
Level 2 toxin?
Where is it?
He took a deep breath.
The floral fragrance wafting through the crack in the door lingered in his nose.
The toxin the system detected must have come from some plant in the garden!
After a moment's hesitation, Alan took a step forward and tried to push the door.
Creaky—
The glass door, unlocked, slowly opened before him.
Alan turned to look at the animated vines, confirming that the monster had no intention of stopping him. He then said to it seriously:
"I'm here on duty to clean the garden!"
Not caring whether the animated vine understood him or not, he walked right in.
The animated vines swayed, appearing somewhat lost.
After a brief hesitation, it followed Alan closely, creeping into the garden to monitor the boy and prevent him from causing any damage.
As Alan entered the spacious, bright garden, system notifications immediately began to buzz.
Various identification reports on food ingredients, medicinal herbs, and toxins flashed across his mind!
The principal, as expected of a naturalist, had planted many medicinal plants in the garden.
As the saying goes, medicine and food share the same origin.
Plants that can be used as medicine can often also be used as food, greatly enriching the system's built-in food guide.
Alan was more concerned about the plants and flowers that contained toxins.
As he walked along, pretending to admire the flowers and plants, he casually touched their petals and leaves, using the system to identify them.
So far, no fewer than ten poisonous plants have been discovered, most of which contain Level 1 toxins, something his Toxic Resistance was completely immune to.
One of the white flowers had leaves that contained a Level 2 toxin.
Alan, delighted by the sight, reached out to pluck the petals.
Swish!
A soft green vine reached out and wrapped around his wrist.
Alan glanced back at the revitalized vine and awkwardly retracted his hand.
It seemed the principal had issued an order to this "gardener."
Students coming in to clean could only look, not pick.
However, Alan was unwilling to give up the good stuff right before his eyes.
After a moment's thought, an idea came to him.
This time, he didn't pluck the petals, but instead gathered fallen leaves from the flowerbed.
The revitalized vine didn't stop him.
Perhaps it mistook his action for trash removal.
This showed that this revitalized plant had limited intelligence.
Thinking to himself, Alan selected a relatively fresh fallen leaf, casually stuffed it into his mouth, and slowly chewed it.
A fiery, spicy liquid immediately filled his mouth.
"Holy crap!! This is so potent!"
It felt like chewing a tobacco leaf. My head was buzzing, and I couldn't help but feel snot and tears streaming down my face...
"Cough cough cough... Ugh!"
Spitting out the remaining leaf in his mouth, Alan took out a handkerchief and wiped his tears.
After a long while, the pungent, choking sensation that had shot straight up into his skull slowly subsided.
He opened the system and secretly rejoiced!
A tiny fallen leaf had brought him unexpected, enormous benefits.
Virus resistance had risen to level 2.
In addition, his bloodline had also changed.
...
Bloodline: Human (nearly pureblood), Ogre (approximately 5%), (Beastman ≤ 1%), Venom (≤ 1%)