After a day's rest in Oakhaven, Sloane and Isolde stood by Vance's manor.
"Vance, we'll need your help to look after this young baby for an hour or two. We need to head back out to investigate the beast horde," Sloane asked, the attack led by a tier 7 beast lingering on his mind.
Within the Vance estate, Isolde and Sloane's infant was placed in a crib with Vance's newborn Granddaughter.
Their small hands touched, and a radiant light enveloped Vance's Granddaughter Rosanne.
By a thread of fate, she had undergone premature awakening.
[Rosanne Vance]
[Awakened: Light Element]
**
The elderly Blackwell couple stood by the western gates of Oakhaven, the stench of blood thick in the air, and looked out onto the beckoning forest.
"Let's make it quick, in and out, avoid combat if necessary," Isolde whispered.
Sloane nodded as they dashed out of the gates into the despairing woods.
It felt as if the forest welcomed them back.
No sounds of critters or beasts could be heard.
Its living ecosystem felt vacant; the attack on Oakhaven left it empty, awaiting new inhabitants from migration.
A pack of undead vultures circled the skies above, where the tier 6 midnight panther died, its potent blood essence staining the ground.
[Undead Vulture] Level 47
[Undead Vulture] Level 42
[Undead Vulture] Level 49
[Undead Vulture] Level 43
[Undead Vulture] Level 49
[Undead Vulture] Level 41
The cave where Sloane found the young infant collapsed, as if it never existed.
"You see those rocks that collapsed, there was the entrance where I found him," Sloane pointed at the cliff formation.
"Let's head back theres nothing left for us to find here," Isolde whispered through the wind, hiding her voice from her surroundings.
**
Sloane and Isolde made their way back to Oakhaven, picking up the young infant, heading for the airplane tarmac.
They boarded a mana-enhanced C-130 transport plane and departed the border town of the Valerian Empire.
"Good Morning, Major Blackwell. Your transport has been arranged," a lieutenant saluted with crisp precision.
A military escort awaited them upon arrival; a comforting Mercedes G Wagon sat on the tarmac.
"Thank you, lieutenant. Let's move," Sloane replied, groaning under the strain of his bandages peeking from beneath his uniform.
They arrived at their mansion on Cedar Grove Avenue, a marvel of modern architecture with hints of historical elegance.
It boasted a private beach and an acre of magically enhanced soil, its fertility prime for cultivating rare herbs.
"Welcome home, Master Sloane, Master Isolde,"
The Artificial General Intelligence NOVUS greeted them as they entered the estate.
"My dear, how did you find this child in the wilderness of the forbidden forest?" Isolde held the young infant in her arms, tightly against her chest, as she gently caressed his soft, plump cheeks.
"I ran into a cave and found this baby boy in a cradle of light within," Sloane replied, "As I got close, the energy detonated."
"It dismembered the panther, saving me in the process. Beyond that? I am as clueless as you are."
"We spent our youth participating in border conflicts and plundering portals, in our middle age, we tried to build a family that never came," Isolde said, trembling with emotion.
"We're past the age of parents, why not adopt him as a grandchild, considering our age now?"
Sloane gently kissed Isolde on her forehead, "A Blackwell raised by a Fire Lord and a Wind Sovereign? The Empire should prepare itself for a generational prodigy."
"He needs a name that has the bearing of our legacy," Isolde said, "One that can stand on its own against the world."
Sloane intertwined his fingers with Isolde, embracing her with the child between them.
"He shall leave his mark on this world," Sloane declared. "Markus, Markus Blackwell."
"Master Sloane, the biometrics of the child are unique. It is neither human nor beast. Its energy signature is not of Mana, it's something superior." NOVUS reported.
"Ignore his unique biometrics, NOVUS, register Markus Blackwell into our estate's system," Sloane demanded.
"Identity Registered: Markus Blackwell," NOVUS announced.
Baby Markus awoke, lethargic after his first flight across the country.
"GA GA!"
His small hands reached out to Sloane and Isolde, sending his unique energy through them.
The chains shackling their advancement from level 69 to 70 were shattered.
The superior energy ran its course through their mana channels, purifying them and enlarging their mana passageways.
They set baby Markus down in a cradle of pillows, as they sat cross-legged, their entire focus was set on condensing their mana core.
The gap between level 69 and 70 is a large chasm that many awakeners fail to cross.
This is the vast valley in which regular humans evolve into high-humans.
Some spend their entire lifetimes breaking the chains of existence.
For as long as one shatters all the chains shackling their core, they would be able to condense a mana core within themselves.
The mana core acts as a conduit between man and nature, allowing the human body to absorb mana directly from the atmosphere.
Young Markus's unique pair of eyes, one black and one white, glowed as he sent another wisp of energy into his grandparents' mana core.
A gentle smile stretched across both Sloane and Isolde's faces, this miracle grandson of theirs using his unique energy to solidify their mana cores.
In no time, Sloane and Isolde released a wave of mana from their cores, a successful breakthrough from 69 to 70.
It rewrites the core genetic sequence of a human being, evolving their DNA from a double-reinforced helix into a triple-reinforced helix lattice.
Furthermore, the human blood undergoes a burning process, ridding itself of all impurities and imperfections, transforming from its crimson nature into gold.
"NOVUS, please deep clean the couch, we have stained it with impurities excreted from our bodies," Isolde requested.
"COMMAND RECEIVED, CLEANING ROBOT DISPATCHED." NOVUS acknowledged.
Sloane left for the Valerian Council to report on their findings in the Forbidden Forest, as well as to inform the council on their breakthrough past level 70, ascending to high-human.
Isolde spent her time nurturing baby Markus with a blend of mana-rich greenhouse-grown herbs and nutrient-rich tier 1 beast meat.
After Sloane returned, weary from the bureaucratic snakes of the Council, they swapped roles; he took charge of caring for Markus, while Isolde went to the Aurelian Embassy to report her breakthrough.
She was part of the royal family in the Western Empire of the North American Continent.
----------------------------------------------------------
Name: Isolde Aurelian Blackwell
Age: 68
Class: Verdant Alchemist
Affinities: Wind (S)
Level: 71
Health: 39,000/39,000
Mana: 30,000/30,000
Mana Core: 1 ring
Strength: 72
Agility: 98
Constitution: 83
Intelligence: 172
Available free attributes: 5
Active Skills:
Wind Blade
Wind Walk
Wind Wall
Avatar of Wind
Zephyr's Storm
Wind Empress's Domain
Passive Skills:
Rapier Mastery
Verdant Step
Eagle Sight
Body Refinement (Stage 6)
Alchemy Mastery (Master tier)
Equipment:
Aurelian Battle Robes
Crosswind Stinger (Rapier) Durability: 100/100
Dimensional Storage Ring (Tier 3)
Aurelian Royal Family Crest
----------------------------------------------------------
Sloane spent his free time telling Markus about the history of the Blackwell family.
Originating from an era before mana existed, where technological weapons reigned supreme.
The Blackwells had a long ancestry of Naval officers, decorated through wars and conflicts.
Their current estate is a standing reflection of the result of blood and tears shed through American conquest.
After the world's mana apocalypse, countless nations fell to enhanced beasts running rampant in society.
Technological weapons at the time proved worthless against the beast's reinforced body structure.
The continent of Australia was the first to fall, as awakened snakes, spiders, and crocodiles ravaged the lands.
Its citizens fled the nation surrounded by water, now refugees in nearby Southeast Asian nations.
Isolde's family, the Aurelians, have been pioneers in the medical field for generations.
After the mana apocalypse, they delved into research, focusing on mana-enriched herbs, developing potion formulas, creating an empire on the west coast, and commanding respect from neighbouring Empires.