Bloodline Evolution: I Can Choose Opposing Paths-Chapter 44: Another Step Forward

–One Week Later–

Aren hung onto the railing ahead as the bus cruised by, sometimes his luggage would shift around but he’d straighten it.

His sister was sitting in the seat right next to him, completely fast asleep as she leaned against their father’s shoulder. His father was looking for something on his phone before looking up.

"Something wrong?" he asked, seeing Aren’s stare. "Nothing really, just...thinking about the path ahead."

Even at the insistence of his sister, they decided to keep his dad in the dark about the whole incident.

"Hey, don’t worry about it too much," his dad reassured him. "You’ve done so much for us already."

Aren grimaced as his dad was blissfully ignorant, yet it was for the better. The story they came up with was that Aren contributed a bit during the incident. The millitary, seeing his potential, sponsored him to go Imperial City College.

Well, a part of it was true. Captain Eric had given him a load of money along with paperwork for a new house within Imperial City.

Aren looked back out the window.

The road seemed to stretch on endlessly forward, cutting through green fields that once existed in Sun City.

Strange that the incident was just a week ago.

He reached into his pocket without thinking and immediately found his new phone. Strangely, after the incident, Luna was nowhere in sight.

The person that he’d share the entire incident with had suddenly up and vanished. When he asked Captain Eric, even he seemed hesitant to answer, giving a short comment:

"Her father arrived personally, and she left with him that same day."

Even so, after things settled he sent her a few texts and even called a few times. But everything afterward went unseen or straight into voicemail.

He’d stopped trying to convince himself it didn’t bother him, but clearly—

Aren tried to shift his mindset somewhere else, but each time more questions started to come than answers.

His mind shifted to the Core, to the Defilers, to the Iron Seraph...

Weren’t Bloodlines a byproduct of the old gods with humans? How can her Bloodline then—

That was when he realized his own Bloodline. Aren’d been too busy thinking about everything else and healing that he’d completely forgotten a crucial detail.

He was Line 3 now, which meant...he could pick another element.

Aren slightly adjusted his stance and closed his eyes. The bus’ engines slowly drifted into silence as he drew his consciousness inward.

The Canvas unfolded before him once more. But this time, a faint sheen of green had covered the entire area. Undoubtedly the influence of the Fertile Core.

The Internal Brush materialized in his hands immediately as he brought up his Record.

[Record] 𝒻𝓇𝑒𝘦𝘸𝑒𝒷𝓃ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝒸ℴ𝘮

Name: Aren

Bloodline: Azure Flood Dragon

Lines: 3

Elements: Water (Stage 3)

Trait: [Morphing]

Arts: [Dragon’s Claw], [Dragon Gauntlet], [Aqua Veil], [Spiritual Flight]

Aren nodded once at his Record, confirming his growth.

A flying Art, nice. Now I have a way to deal with other flying targets.

He’d noticed it immediately during his fight with the Veteran-Grade Defiler. Against aerial threats like the Iron Seraph, he was forced into pure defense.

At least now, he’d have an option.

But still, this wasn’t the most important part. He’d come here for one thing...choosing his next element.

The Canvas responded the moment he focused on it. The branching paths of ink responded once more as they shimmered into existence.

Aren thought about it for a while. He had to choose his next element carefully. With the core stunting his growth speed, the decision had to be as careful as ever.

Just because he could pick an opposing element, doesn’t mean it’s better than compatible ones.

Right now, his greatest weakness was obvious. He lacked any semblance of area control, having to resort to run at the target.

He needed a devastatingly powerful Element that would force multiple opponents back at once.

His gaze shifted toward the compatible branches first.

Wind and Ice Elements caught his eye first. Both were capable of massive area attacks such as large cyclones or a barrage of ice spears.

But neither solved the problem completely, as their firepower was simply not enough.

His focus shifted to the other side, the opposing branch. Two elements caught his eye immediately.

Fire and Lightning.

If he wanted pure firepower—well, it was literally in the name. Fire was perfect if he wanted to achieve the exact goal of keeping targets at bay.

But the more he thought about it, the more he realized how volatile the element was. Fire as an element was too volatile, it destroyed too much. He needed something that he could control.

Lightning, however...could boost his speed to even crazier heights and he could create bolts of lightning to drive back targets.

And more importantly—

In theory, water amplified conductivity. A storm over the ocean was far more destructive than a spark in dry air

For a brief second, the Internal Brush hovered dangerously close to the Lightning branch.

But Aren was hesitant. This would be the first time he’d break the fundamental laws of evolution.

What if something goes wrong?

With his growth slowed by the Core, he couldn’t afford any more mistakes. Aren sighed before closing the Record.

Imperial City would have professors who knew more about the Pathway than he did. If Lightning was the correct pick, he would confirm it there.

The Canvas slowly faded out as Aren opened his eyes. Outside, he could see it clearly now.

He’d been to Imperial City a handful of times before, but it never failed to impress. At first it was just clusters of taller buildings rising past the outskirts, but once the bus turned onto a broader avenue, the skyline seemed to expand all at once.

Front-facing stores filled the street, filled with everything from fashion, to shops, to different restaurants. People were walking in steady streams along sidewalks with delivery drones weaving between buildings.

Vendors were on both sides, with crowds of people lining up to buy their delicacies. Everything here felt more busy in a way that Sun City never managed to be.

As the bus continued deeper into the district, the buildings grew more compact, apartment complexes stacked closer together, more similar to Sun City’s structure except newer.

A soft automated voice rang through the cabin.

"Next stop—East District Residential Terminal."

The bus pulled in with a gentle hiss of compressed air before the doors folded open.

The air that smelled completely fresh as opposed to what they’re used to had taken them off-guard.

"Wow...so this is what the capital looks like," Anna exclaimed as she took it all in.

Aren and their father followed behind her.

Above, digital screens displayed advertisements for Mystic gear, auctions, and college announcements.

No one here knew who he was.

Aren adjusted the strap on his bag and looked up at the towering buildings surrounding them.

This was the start of it all—

One more step toward becoming the strongest Mystic.