Chapter 33: Crimson

, The Mysterious Calamity

Black Stone Manor.

Aaron, bearing the title of "Baron of Black Stone," had returned to his own fief.

Well, after this martial arts tournament, Theodore began a massive distribution of titles; basically, all the Knights of the Lower Green Forest were promoted by one rank, and some even became Viscounts.

However, they were all empty titles, and no one's fief increased in the slightest.

In Aaron's view, at least the title of Baron sounded better than Knight...

Besides that, there was another strange phenomenon: Colin's son, Xia Ya, was enfeoffed as an Honorary Viscount, but he himself was nothing... Aaron had originally thought he might snag an honorary title like Viscount Sotos; it seemed Theodore was expressing some dissatisfaction with Colin, but was very satisfied with the third-generation heir.

This seemed to correspond to some undercurrents, but Aaron did not take them to heart.

Inside the bedroom.

Aaron opened his eyes, feeling the differences in his body.

Receiving the ritual and the Offering in the dream world for the first time, especially the disappearance of the "Crimson" essence at the end, gave him an indescribable feeling.

"The 'Crimson' essence used as an Offering is actually the quintessence and concentration of 'Crimson' Spirituality; in terms of quantity... perhaps it is enough for an ordinary person to fully awaken their Spirituality and embark on the Extraordinary path."

"And at that time, the Offering in the ritual disappeared, and my consciousness felt that it might have come here... to the real world, into my body?"

Aaron's eyes brightened slightly; if this were true, he might have finally found the path to the Extraordinary in reality!

"Master!"

He rang the bell to let Daili come in to help him dress, unable to wait to feel the differences in his body.

'It seems to be an illusion... but I feel that today, I seem to have a bit more Vitality?'

Aaron looked at Daili in front of him, and it was undeniable that his body had a slight reaction.

Daili also seemed to feel something, and with a blushing face, she helped Aaron tidy his clothes.

'A bit troublesome... I feel a surge of desire... 'Crimson'... is it inherently related to reproduction and Vitality?'

Aaron felt a bit awkward: 'It seems I must be careful in the future; one cannot eat things indiscriminately, and one cannot accept Offerings recklessly...'

"What would you like for breakfast?"

At this moment, Daili asked.

"Steak, well-done... no... medium-rare, and bring a glass of deer blood!"

Aaron blurted out.

Daili's expression was somewhat astonished, but she quickly calmed down and retreated.

Inside the villa's dining room.

The almost raw beef lay on a white porcelain plate, still continuously oozing blood.

Aaron's daily breakfast was basically vegetable salad, accompanied by bread and jam, which was relatively light in flavor; this was the reason why Daili felt surprised.

At this time, Daili stood to the side, watching Aaron elegantly pick up the knife and fork; the cold fork only pressed slightly, causing the beef to ooze a large amount of blood again, as if it were struggling, screaming, and resisting...

But it was useless; the table knife fell mercilessly, separating the flesh and causing blood to spray, carrying the elegance of a predator.

A pinch of coarse salt and a pinch of black pepper powder were sprinkled onto the cow's corpse, like a funeral rite for the dead...

Finally, the piece of meat was sent into his mouth, seemingly falling into a bottomless Abyss...

"Hmm, the taste is unexpectedly good?"

Aaron drank another mouthful of deer blood, while ruminating in his heart: "Is this the pleasure of consuming flesh and blood? 'Crimson' is indeed inside my body; it is influencing me!"

'Fortunately, my reason can still restrain it; this is probably because the existence on that Crimson Moon is not in this world?'

'As for Lin, she was influenced quite severely from the beginning, equivalent to half a devotee of the Mother Tree of Flesh and Blood... of course, it was also subconscious... the Mother Tree probably doesn't even know she exists, otherwise I shouldn't have been able to save her...'

'Those members of the Black Sun Cult belong to the type that is influenced imperceptibly; although they couldn't compare to Lin at the beginning, as time goes on, the influence will gradually deepen and become increasingly terrifying...'

'And Daili, what is this expression... what is this look of both fear and hope?'

'Has she been influenced by me?'

Aaron put down the knife and fork: "Clean this up!"

"Oh, yes!"

Daili gave a start, seemingly finally coming back to her senses, and stepped forward to clear the dining table, her breathing becoming heavy without her realizing it.

"I'm going out to exercise!"

Aaron felt his self-control trending downward and dared not stay any longer, otherwise one Daili might not be enough; he immediately went to the training ground outside the villa and swung his huge Cross Sword.

In normal times, swinging this heavy sword for a few moves would consume a great deal of strength.

But now, Aaron felt the difference.

It was not that his physique or strength had improved, but rather that every time he was about to reach his limit, a new surge of power would well up from within his body.

It was as if there were an extra source of power inside him!

"This is the Extraordinary of 'Crimson'!"

Aaron's eyes lit up: "Although... I don't really like this path... but it is undeniable that all things Extraordinary are so brilliant and fascinating..."

After exercising for several hours, he was already drenched in sweat; casually grabbing a towel to wipe himself, Aaron suddenly picked up a dagger and made a small cut on his arm.

Fresh blood soon flowed out; he observed intently and saw the bleeding stop automatically, even feeling a tingling sensation.

"Life Vitality, promoting wound healing?"

"It's just that there seems to be a loss..."

Aaron frowned; Lin sacrificed the concentrated essence of much "Crimson" Spirituality, enough to push someone through the door of the Extraordinary.

But by the time it reached him, only a little seemed to remain.

"Is this... the loss brought about by crossing between two worlds? But it doesn't matter; let Lin sacrifice a few more times, and the accumulation will be enough for me to push open the door of the Extraordinary, but... I don't like the path of 'Crimson'..."

"Hmm, next time I'll have Lin sacrifice some other spiritual items... but she only knows how to collect 'Crimson' essence; every trade has its master, it seems letting her establish a multi-path Cult is a good decision."

A moment later, Aaron stood up and shook his arms; the wounds on his arms had long since disappeared, leaving only a faint white mark.

"Very good!"

He looked at the sky and felt a bit hungry: "It's time for lunch... Is lunch still rare beef? No... I want medium-rare..."

Aaron felt the hunger and thirst within his body, and his expression gradually began to change.

Facts proved that his changes were not limited to this.

By evening, looking at a piece of rare steak, he could not bring himself to eat it, and in the end, he had Daili take it back to the kitchen to be cooked well-done.

"Terrible..."

As the thick, warm texture of the beef entered his mouth, Aaron sighed in his heart: "The Spirituality is dissipating... so its influence on me is also constantly weakening..."

"I must observe this."

The next day.

Aaron rang the bell to let Daili in.

He watched the maid's various movements, his heart calm, filled only with endless regret: "Is this world truly on the non-Demon side... even the Spirituality I finally managed to obtain will dissipate as time passes..."