Read Novel Full Chapter 1196: The Advancement
Chapter 1196: The Advancement
"This…"
Lisa had already taken six, and each one had grown heavier, pressing against her vampiric essence. It wasn't just physical weight… it was as if the Tower itself was peeling away her limits, testing her bloodline piece by piece.
Suddenly, the view had changed. The staircase dissolved into mist, and Lisa now stood in a corridor of shifting shadows. The walls pulsed like living flesh, and she felt as if her insides were being distorted. Ahead, the seventh step glowed faintly, but it was no longer just stone…
Then, everything went normal…
'What the heck is that?' Lisa couldn't understand what she was doing anymore. It was as if it was just testing her mind whether she goes crazy or not!
Then, after taking a deep breath, she continued on her path…
She realized that this staircase was most likely the eighth floor's trial itself.
After reaching this thought, Lisa finally calmed down.
'This is just a test.'
On the seventh step, her vision blurred. She saw herself as a mortal girl, fragile and powerless, mocked by some figures she recognized since she was a child…
"You were never meant to be Immortal."
She clenched her fists after hearing this, forcing the illusion away. It was true… If not for Vale's help, she would never have reached this stage at all.
However, she also believed that she was chosen… She deserves this, even if she wasn't meant to have.
Just like that, she had a few more steps…
On the eighth step, her blood burned. She felt her vampiric essence being drained, as if the Tower demanded she surrender her lineage. She bit her lip until blood spilled, and with that crimson spark, her aura flared back to life.
On the ninth step, the air thickened witha suffocating aura as if she was drowning…
She heard the voices of Chad, Magnus, and her previous classmates, all saying she was the weakest, unworthy to stand beside them. Rage surged through her veins.
"I don't need your approval. I will carve my own place."
On the tenth step, beasts of shadow crawled from the walls, fangs dripping with venom. They charged at her, tearing at her cloak. However, Lisa fought them off, her eyes glowed with killing intent, until the beasts dissolved into mist.
On the eleventh step, her heartbeat slowed. The Tower tried to stop her blood from flowing, to freeze her essence. She forced her vampiric regeneration to ignite, her Divinity allowed her to continue…
"This is getting a lot more dangerous than I thought…" Lisa thought as she recalled how many times she was warned to be careful of this Tower.
Even Sreas, the Asura, would only stick around the sixth floor after all.
Still, if she wanted to improve, she needed to do this.
Lisa then took her time to recover before she continued.
On the twelfth step, she saw Magnus, the Human Immortal, standing before her. He smiled sadly as if he was looking at her with pity.
However, Lisa gritted her teeth.
"You think you're stronger than me? You're not. You're just afraid." Lisa roared, striking the illusion down.
On the thirteenth step, the staircase shook violently. The walls bled, rivers made of blood flowed downward. Lisa steadied herself…
"Blood is not weakness. Blood is power." She muttered as she engulfed herself with blood as if she were receiving a baptism.
On the fourteenth step, her reflection appeared again, but this time it was monstrous… Her wings were torn, with fangs dripping with blood, but her eyes were hollowed as if someone had taken them out…
Then, charged at her, screaming.
'No… I will not fight you…'
This time, Lisa didn't feel any killing intent. The figure wasn't here to harm her, so she didn't raise her weapon. Instead, she raised her arms and embraced it, absorbing the shadow into herself.
Whoosh~
It seemed that it was the right answer as the figure disappeared, and she felt her body getting stronger…
'This is it…' Lisa thought as she was now even more determined to continue.
On the fifteenth step, time itself slowed. She saw centuries of vampires before her, all failing, all dying. She clenched her teeth… She understood what it was trying to tell her…
"I will not be another forgotten name." Lisa softly muttered.
On the sixteenth step, her aura seemed to have weakened so suddenly. Soon, she realized that the Tower demanded sacrifice. She cut her palm, letting blood drip onto the stone… Suddenly, the staircase absorbed it, glowing brighter.
Just like that, the path of the Vampire Immortal became clearer to her…
On the seventeenth step, her body trembled. Every weakness she had ever known pressed against her… It was hunger, doubt, fear, and others.
"I accept them… but they will not define me."
On the eighteenth step, the surroundings turned golden. Angelic light pierced the chamber, burning her vampiric essence.
It was as if it was trying to kill her…
She screamed at the light, but forced herself forward… She knew that she had to prove she could endure even holy radiance.
'Right… This must be it… A Vampire Immortal unafraid of Holy Light!' Lisa thought.
After enduring it, Lisa felt more confident about this trial.
On the nineteenth step, silence fell. She felt nothing… There was no blood, no aura, no strength left in her body. It was emptiness, the void of death.
'What is it this time?'
She closed her eyes, remembering the students she had sworn to protect, friends she wanted to be equal with… and whispered, "I will live for them." Her essence reignited as she muttered this.
She recalled her death. She recalled how she had revived from a single drop of blood… In just a few moments, she entered enlightenment…
She didn't know how long had passed, and after she realized her situation again, she finally reached the last and the twentieth step.
This time, nothing unexpected happened.
The staircase ended in a vast chamber. At its center stood a golden chalice with rubies… It was also filled with glowing crimson liquid.
Then, she heard something…
"You have endured the trials. You have faced despair, hunger, weakness, and doubt. Drink, and your bloodline shall ascend."
Lisa lifted the chalice... Its crimson glow was definitely attractive.
It seemed perfect. The scent of blood was intoxicating, rich and ancient… Just smelling it knew that it was promising power beyond her imagination. Her fingers trembled as she brought it closer to her lips.
But then she stopped.
Her instincts screamed at her. This was the Dark Arts Tower, a place meant for all practitioners of shadow and forbidden paths, not just vampires. Why would there be a chalice crafted so perfectly for her bloodline? Why would the Tower offer her something so convenient, so tempting?
It was too good to be true…
'Is this…'
Lisa lowered the chalice as she thought carefully… "No… this isn't a gift. It's another test."
With a sharp motion, she threw the chalice to the ground. It shattered, spilling its glowing liquid across the chamber floor.
Just like that, the crimson light hissed, evaporating into mist.
The chamber trembled.
A deep rumble echoed through the Tower, as if the very structure had acknowledged her choice.
"You have rejected false power. You have chosen truth. The trial is complete."
The voice faded, and suddenly the entire Tower shook violently…
On the lower floors, students who had been training were suddenly thrown out of their meditation circles. The doors burst open, and one by one, they were expelled from the Tower itself, stumbling into the cold night air outside...
Confusion spread instantly.
"What happened?"
"Why are we outside?"
"I wasn't finished with my training!"
"Did the Tower… close?"
"What the heck?! Did I use all my Academic Points? I still have 10 hours, right?"
"I need a refund! Why is it closing now? Is there a maintenance that wasn't mentioned?"
They soon gathered at the base of the Tower, staring up at the mysterious Dark Arts Tower…
The entrance was sealed and its aura was also gone. No one could enter.
Panic and frustration rippled through the crowd.
The Dark Arts Tower had always been open to those who sought strength, as long as they had Academic Points… Its trials were endless, and it was helping each of them get stronger… But now, for the first time in history, it had shut itself off.
Inside, Lisa was also confused. The chamber dissolved around her and the walls melted into shadow. She tried to move, but her body felt heavy, her essence pulled in every direction.
It was as if she were eaten up by the Tower itself!
"What… is happening?" she whispered.
Suddenly, the Tower's voice returned…
"You have been chosen. The Tower accepts you. You are no longer a visitor… You are part of it."
Her eyes widened. She felt her body sinking, her aura merging with the walls, her bloodline resonating with the Tower itself. It was as if she were being consumed, absorbed into its essence.
"Wait… This isn't—"