Beyond the Bloodline-Chapter 252: Halrith City
"Still, I’m impressed. It’s only been what? A year or so? And you guys have already broken past Grandmaster and hit Epic Realms."
Jamie remarked with genuine approval in his voice as he looked at the SS Rank Stats on the Status boards of the three, along with their levels above 500. 𝕗𝐫𝚎𝗲𝘄𝐞𝕓𝐧𝕠𝘃𝕖𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝚖
Considering they were 19-year-olds, it was actually quite good.
David puffed out his chest, a proud expression on his face, while Davina and Wanette exchanged subtle glances.
Jamie chuckled at their reactions, his gaze growing distant for a moment as though recalling a memory.
"Though... I did meet someone once. A 17-year-old Transcendent."
The room went silent as the words registered. The three froze, their wide eyes snapping to Jamie in disbelief.
"Wait, Seventeen... and a Transcendent?"
"How is that even possible?"
David frowned and Davina had an expression of complete disbelief. Jamie had to be messing with them, she thought.
But just as she had that thought, Jamie proceeded to drop a line that dropped their jaws to the floor.
"Ah, right. He did hit Half-Deity before his 18th birthday, didn’t he? Crazy guy, I tell you."
The shock on their faces deepened. Davina’s voice came out in a whisper, tinged with awe and confusion.
"What sort of irregular existence is that?"
Jamie burst into laughter at her words, completely understanding how she felt. Even he had only become a Half-Deity at 25.
"He’s definitely an Irregular, all right. A bug in the Cosmos kind of irregular."
Of course, Jamie decided to conveniently leave out the fact that he was the same grade of Irregular as that guy.
"Lord Jamie, I-"
"Hold on right there."
Jamie raised a hand to cut off Wanette, his other hand gesturing toward the fake Adventurer IDs they held.
"We’re going to be entering a Gate in Halrith soon. Since we’re all supposed to be acting as unaffiliated S Ranks with no ties to this whole Guild and Clan stuff you guys set up, let’s get one thing straight.
You cannot call me ’Lord’ while we’re in there. It’d ruin the whole ’we’re just regular adventurers’ vibe."
"..."
The three vampire teens blinked at him, their confusion evident. It was the first they’d heard of this "backstory" Jamie had apparently cooked up for them.
However, they did understand one thing: Jamie wanted them to drop the honorifics.
That, quite frankly, was—
"Not possible."
Wanette declared, shaking her head firmly and the twins nodded in agreement.
They were the grandchildren of Race Rulers and Noble Vampires raised in traditions where addressing authority figures with utmost respect was second nature.
Even Seren, whom David and Davina often played with, was referred to by them as ’Your Excellency’ in official settings.
Addressing Jamie—someone of far higher standing—without an honorific?
Absolutely unthinkable.
Hearing their unanimous refusal, Jamie sighed, rubbing his temples.
"Alright, then. Looks like I’m gonna have to mess with your minds a bit."
"In that case, I’m gonna have to mess with your minds a bit."
"...Excuse me?"
Instinctively, the trio took a cautious step back. It was a natural reaction to being told someone planned to tamper with their minds.
Seeing their wary expressions, Jamie chuckled and explained.
"Relax. I’m not going to mind control you or anything. All I’m doing is lowering your inhibitions toward me.
That way, you won’t feel like you’re committing some grave offence if you address me normally."
His explanation did little to ease their concerns. Davina glanced at him nervously, her voice barely a whisper.
"...Can we, um, maybe pass on that?"
Jamie’s response was instant and accompanied by a booming laugh.
"Bahaha! No."
From the very beginning, they never had the luxury of choice.
◇ ◇ ◇
The Iron Fang Guild.
It was the undisputed powerhouse of Halrith City, renowned for its dominance over the Dungeon Gates in the region.
With many resources and elite adventurers at their disposal, they claimed the rights to most Gates, ensuring a steady influx of rare materials and treasures from the other worlds beyond them into the city.
These materials, harvested from these other worlds, were carefully processed and utilized for the betterment of Estea.
This was not just the case in Halrith, but everywhere else on the Apex Planet.
Weapons, and advancements in magical technology, both practical and theoretical were enhanced by these resources, turning what could have been catastrophic for most worlds into an opportunity for growth.
It was a classic Estean move—facing misfortune head-on and rising stronger. After all, what else could one expect from an Apex World?
Today, the Iron Fang Guild was tasked with exploring a newly emerged Dungeon Gate, rated SS-, direct correspondence to the stats of the stronger monsters within it.
Its monsters started at Level 466 and escalated beyond Level 500 as one ventured deeper into its depths, maxing out at 566.
Handing this venture was the guild’s second-class team, a group of capable but less experienced adventurers eager to prove themselves.
Leading this team was a human man named Eryan, brash, ambitious and arrogant. With tousled brown hair, piercing green eyes, and a constant smirk that seemed to taunt the world, Eryan was infamous for dismissing the skills of others and overestimating his own.
It was for this reason he had not earned his most desired first-class team spot, but the man himself didn’t seem to realise this.
To him, this Gate wasn’t just a mission—it was an opportunity. An SS- Gate could be the stepping stone he needed to earn a coveted position in the first-class team. Eryan was determined to make this exploration his shining moment.
And it was this very Eryan that Jamie and the three vampire teenagers encountered as they approached the Gate.
He had been told at the last minute that some unaffiliated adventurers were joining them and Eryan was none too pleased about this.
He stood in front of his team, his arms crossed and an air of confidence radiating from him. His eyes narrowed slightly as he took in Jamie’s relaxed posture and the teenagers’ apparent youth.
Well, technically they were adults, but since they still had ’teen’ in their ages, then they were also still teenagers.
Didn’t really matter since they were all babies from Jamie’s POV.
"You lot here to watch how the big leagues do it?"
Eryan called out, his voice laced with condescension and Jamie just tucked his hands into his pockets as he glanced at the rest of Eryan’s team, appraising them with his eyes.
"Something like that."
He responded casually, not bothered by the pressure Eryan was giving off. He was just a mere Epic Realm Human, after all.
Even Jamie from January who was at the weakest he’d ever been in a billion years was capable of wiping the floor with him.
Eryan’s smirk widened, mistaking Jamie’s nonchalant demeanour for inexperience.
"Well, try to stay out of the way, yeah? This is serious business. Not a place for spectators or amateurs."
Wanette glanced at the man with a raised brow, about to retort, but Jamie raised a hand to stop her and responded.
"Don’t worry. I’m just here to enjoy the show."
Clearly, Jamie had zero intention to hide the fact that he was here for the fun of it.
Jamie and the three others moved past the team and headed towards the gate, and as Eryan watched them go, his smirk faltered slightly under the weight of Jamie’s unbothered confidence.
"Amateurs."
Eryan muttered under his breath, turning back to his team. A flicker of doubt lingered in his mind—a doubt he quickly shoved aside as he refocused on the task ahead.
◇ ◇ ◇
Jamie had used a recognition inhibition spell on him and the other three for rather obvious reasons. Leaving aside how any sufficiently learned person could easily recognize Jamie with all the recent waves of his return, his face was too eye-catching.
Though he considered altering his appearance entirely, that was something Jamie didn’t really like doing so he settled for recognition inhibition.
As for David, Davina and Wanette, though not as popular as Jamie was, they were still descendants of Race Rulers so their names and faces were public knowledge.
Couldn’t have the Elves notice them and start making noise about it.
Though nothing below Transcendence could see through the spell on the teens, it was useless to Deities. But given how they had zero plans of meeting any Deities, Jamie wasn’t bothered and just used the low-level spell like that.
While the gate’s final stability checks were underway, Jamie walked around it, studying the spatial power in the gate.
