Chapter 206: Corrupted Blood of Mother Freya

Luke pushed himself up from the ground and leaned against a nearby tree. His entire body still pulsed with heat, the lingering aftershock of fusing the Blood of Mother Freya into his bloodstream, only for it to immediately clash with the Dark Blood already inside him.

I should’ve taken that warning seriously, he thought, still wincing as the residual pain simmered in his veins.

Slowly, his blood began to cool. The burning eased. His breathing leveled out.

“Hey, Luke? You alright?” Artemis chimed in, her tone somewhere between casual and annoyed. “For all I know, you’re just collapsing and groaning in pain. You could have food poisoning or be dying, and I wouldn’t even be able to tell the difference.”

He ignored her sarcasm.

“I chose a skill that… sort of altered my biology. What you saw was the side effect of that process.”

A low whistle came from Artemis, mock-impressed.

“What was that for?”

“Mortal beings are weirdly attached to the bodies they’re born with,” she said. “Which is funny, considering their bodies are basically their biggest weakness. And yet, most of them instinctively reject any kind of mutation. So the fact that you embraced one? That actually means something to beings on a more… cosmic scale.”

“Seriously?”

“You’ll understand someday,” she replied, cryptically as ever.

A notification popped up in front of him.

[Your skills have evolved.]

[Blood of Mother Freya (Rare)] -> [Corrupted Blood of Mother Freya (Ultra-Rare)]

Luke blinked. “Corrupted?”

He tapped the message.

The skill hadn’t just changed its name, it had jumped in rarity too.

[Corrupted Blood of Mother Freya (Ultra-Rare)]: The botanist’s blood, once blessed by Mother Freya and now fused with a demonic symbiotic essence, has evolved into a living organism. It functions as a perfect catalyst, enhancing and stabilizing any plant-based concoction. When applied to flora, it regenerates damaged tissue, accelerates growth, and can even revive near-dead specimens. It allows cultivation in infertile soil and can induce natural mutations, reshaping plant structures. Internally, the mutation has fortified the user’s body. The blood now grants high resistance, or even immunity, to most poisons and diseases, thanks to active antibodies that seek and neutralize threats with lethal efficiency.

“Holy shit,” Luke muttered.

This wasn’t just an upgrade. It was an entirely new playing field. He could feel it in his gut. Or maybe that was just leftover nausea from almost dying.

The potential here was massive. His blood wasn’t just reactive, it was alive. A mutagenic super-fertilizer that could reshape nature itself… and a toxin-resistant miracle source all in one.

“I literally have the cure for cancer running through my veins,” he said, half-joking.

“Yeah, not impressive,” Artemis replied. “Most diseases in your world are laughably easy to treat with magic. They’re not even magical diseases.”

“Well, sure,” Luke shot back. “But that’s only useful if someone has a system. They need mana, they need stats. But me? I might be able to use this as a base to treat people without access to the system, like folks from universes that haven’t been integrated.”

Artemis snorted. “Your universe was one of the last ones to join the network. Pretty much everyone else already has the system. So whatever it is you’re imagining? It’s a dead-end anywhere else.”

He didn’t argue. Not because she was right, but because he knew she lacked vision. Luke could see it: antidotes forged from his own blood, field kits built from his cells, maybe even entire forests grown with just a few drops.

“I need to test this super-fertilizer on some real soil,” he muttered, eyes gleaming.

That’s when a new notification flashed in front of him.

[Plant Growth (Uncommon)] -> [Corrupted Plant Growth (Rare)]

And immediately after, another followed:

[Skill evolution complete.]

“Another one?” he muttered, eyebrows raised as he tapped to open the description.

[Corrupted Plant Growth (Rare)]: The herbalist channels magical energy to accelerate the growth of plants within a controlled radius. Inside this area, seeds germinate faster, sprouts mature with vigor, and herbs bloom outside their natural cycle. The technique demands focus and harmony with the surroundings and is effective only in small, controlled spaces.
Due to the Corrupted Blood of Mother Freya, the botanist can now summon mutated roots within a five-meter radius. These roots grow unpredictably and aggressively, reacting to the environment with abnormal patterns of development.

“What the hell?” He had to reread it to make sure he wasn’t hallucinating.

“What happened now?” Artemis asked, voice wary.

“My plant growth skill got an upgrade. I can apparently make roots burst out of the ground now.”

Raising his hand, Luke focused. In his mind’s eye, a translucent circle formed around him, faintly glowing green. It wasn’t visible in reality, just a projection from the skill, marking the effective range. The green glow probably represented the mana field.

He concentrated harder. A sound tore through the soil beneath him, and right where he pointed, something burst out from the earth: a thick, gnarled root. But something about it was… off.

“Black roots? That’s creepy as hell,” Artemis muttered.

The thing didn’t look like a root so much as a writhing black tentacle. Luke reached out and touched it, then activated Identify.

[Corrupted Root (Uncommon)]: A root formed by a botanist’s mana. The root has undergone mutation, altering its appearance and properties.

He tried using his Herbology skill to see if the root could be used as a potion ingredient, but the system didn’t offer any info. Blank.

“So… that’s it? You make a root pop out of the ground?” Artemis asked flatly.

“Pretty much. Based on the skill description, I thought it’d be… you know, cooler.”

Luke sighed, pointing to a different spot. Another black root burst upward, then froze, motionless and inert. That was all the skill did. Summon a root. Underwhelming. Until he remembered another skill buried in his arsenal: [Plant Manipulation of Mother Freya].

He pulled up the system and reviewed the description.

[Plant Manipulation of Mother Freya (Rare)]: Similar to one of Mother Freya’s own abilities, you can mentally control plants you’ve cultivated. They must be within your perception range and respond to your will as extensions of your body. The complexity of control depends on the bond of friendship with the plant.

Luke’s eyes narrowed. Now that had potential. A thought began to form. If those black roots were technically his… then what stopped him from controlling them?

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Luke stared at the root, a slow grin spreading across his face. He raised a hand toward the thick, black tendril and flicked his wrist to the side. The root obeyed, mimicking the motion like it was wired into his nervous system.

“No fucking way,” he muttered.

He pointed at another root and focused, willing it to grow longer and coil around itself. It responded instantly, twisting into a tight spiral.

“No fucking way,” he said again, louder this time.

With both hands raised, he pointed skyward, then sharply down. The ground burst open in response, and thick roots erupted from the earth all around him, cracking through soil and stone. He waved his arms, and the roots moved with him, slithering like massive, serpentine limbs, synchronized with his will.

From his storage bracelet, he pulled out a wooden barrel and tossed it high into the air. He extended a hand toward it. Several roots shot upward, wrapped around the barrel mid-flight, and locked it in place. With a grin, Luke slowly clenched his fist. The roots mimicked the gesture. A sharp crack echoed through the clearing as the barrel caved in, crushed like a tin can between the roots.

Luke let out a low breath, eyes gleaming. “Looks like I just stumbled onto something very, very interesting.”

***

Luke sprinted through the city streets under the cover of night, drawing closer to the fortress with every step. Below, scattered patrols of foot soldiers, stone knights without their mounts, moved in tight formation. He didn’t slow down. Instead, he vaulted from a ledge and landed right in the middle of them.

The statues reached for their horns, but Luke raised a hand to the ground. Black roots burst through the cobblestones, entangling them before they could blow the alarm. Charlie dropped in right behind him, her fist glowing with stamina and skill energy.

[Princess Charlie has slain a Watcher Knight – Lvl 45]