"You!! Have you awakened that currsedd blooddlinee?!!"
Raiden had never felt so much pressure and such intensity as he did now from his Aunt Ruby.
If looks could kill, he would have been dead by now.
"W-what bloodline are you talking about, Aunt?" Raiden stammered, as he didn't know how to explain his powers. He can't say he came to this world and took over the body of dead Raiden, along with his feelings and thoughts now, could he?
Ruby didn't say anything, just moved closer to Raiden as she coiled around his body and started sniffing him.
After a while, she let go of Raiden as she slithered back down.
"Strrange, I can't smeell that currssedd bloodlinee on youu" Ruby's eyes flickered with doubt. But what Raiden told was too preposterous. She couldn't think of anything else that would grant the same abilities other than that accursed bloodline.
"Explain how yourr powerrs work exactlyy~" Ruby narrowed her eyes as she took a look at him, causing him to flinch.
Raiden took a big pause, thinking about how to explain his abilities to her. It was also a good time to gather all the facts he knew about his abilities so far.
"Well, I can upgrade the potential of any living thing I touch. It takes various amounts of time to upgrade them. The higher their current potential, the longer it takes. I can also feel their current potential. I also can't upgrade anything that is too high-level. Only something that is on the same level as me, aka Bronze."
Raiden talked as vaguely as possible. He couldn't tell her everything, or that he knew what her actual rank was. What if it brought danger to him? The pressure was too big.
"And how long does it takee prreciselyy?" Ruby asked, her voice hiding her shock. If what he said was true, it was an absolutely broken ability.
"I... I don't know precisely. It takes anywhere from 1 day to more than a week or months. Depends on the potential." He knew exactly how long it took.
F to E: 1 Day
E to D: 2 Days
D to C: 4 Days
C to B: 7 Days
B to A: 15 Days
This was the data he gathered so far. He didn't know how long it would take to go even higher. Or even if a higher Tier than A existed. He will only know once he reaches it.
But his gut told him it did. And he absolutely had to reach the top tier before evolution.
"Umm, Aunt... What is this cursed bloodline that you talked about?" Raiden asked, not letting any chance of getting information out of her go to waste.
Ruby hesitated for a second, wondering if he was capable enough to handle it.
"Hiss~ One of yourr parrentss hadd a bloodlinee abilityy. It wass a trruly brroken onee. It also brrought currse downn uponn themm for theirr entirree livees. I will tell you morree about it when you arre strrongerr."
'So Bloodline in Sylvia, it came from our parents. But why don't I have it?
Raiden mused that he continued to press Ruby for answers.
"Curse? What kind of curse are we talking about, Aunt? Is it related to their deaths? Is someone after them? How strong do I need to be?" He rapidly fired one question after another.
Bam!
"Oww!!"
Ruby hit Raiden's head with her tail, making him scream in pain and hold his head while crouching down on the spot.
"Don't askk you questionss youu shouldn'tt askk. I'll telll youu whenn itss timee."
"Have youu toldd anyyone about yourr abilityy yet??" Ruby asked, as she took another look at him. His ability was absolutely broken. No matter what, she had to confirm it with him.
"No, I haven't told anyone yet. Just you." Raiden rubbed the sore spot on his head as he replied. This Aunt of his was truly a savage, absolutely no grace at all, hitting others on the drop of a hat.
"Goooddd~ If anyyonee finds out aboutt itt... Killl Themm." Her eyes narrowed as a wave of bloodlust exploded from her.
Raiden, who was sitting directly in front of her, felt this impact the hardest. He felt as if he had been submerged in oceans of blood, hills of skeletons all surrounding him from all sides.
The metallic smell was so strong and powerful, he felt suffocated under it, and as if he was about to drown in the oceans of blood.
When he looked at Ruby, it felt like he wasn't looking at his Aunt, but a prehistoric monster, one that had drowned the world in oceans of blood. And that's when he recalled her description,
A Walking Calamity, known to have drained the blood of an entire continent, and killing hundreds of millions.
Ruby only released her bloodlust for a split second before withdrawing it immediately, realising what she had done, but it was kind of too late. As soon as she let go, Raiden took big grasps of air, feeling the chokehold on his throat disappear.
While only a second had passed, that second seemed like an eternity to Raiden, as he fell down on the ground, still feeling the terror in his bones.
Try as he might, but Raiden was not able to get that scenario out of his mind, still feeling the suffocation and the oceans of blood, as he started choking once again.
"Stopp thinkkingg about itt. Breathee." Ruby laid her tail on his head, channelling her powers as she did, calming him down somewhat, but he still couldn't breathe.
So Ruby did the only logical solution that came to her mind.
Bang!!
Raiden felt a pain in the back of his neck, as he felt his consciousness slipping away.
The last thing he heard before blacking out was.
"That brrat mentallityy is too weakk. Needd to trainn it uppp~."