??? POV

"Journal: Influence of food in the infant phase of blood demons, category 3. I hope this will show some results. I really need funds for more research on Demons. *sigh*."

Looking around and trying to get acclimated with the area. I thought about how this research could be sold towards Noble families who would find it helpful... if it is successful.

Too complicated.

Why can't I be interested in something more popular like "Linguistical Magic: The influence of pitch towards Mana "? This paper was really a hit, and the author's further research was funded like hell.

Never mind, let's begin. *slap* slapping myself on my cheeks to get into the mood. Since I need at least two years to finish this research, I should start as fast as possible.

I opened my space bag and brought out 180 clay jars.

In 90 of these jars are blood demons sleeping inside their "blood shell," waiting to be "activated." They are all the same type of category 3 blood Demons, which I personally bred, so they are similar to the most common ones you could find in this category 3 area.

The other 90 jars have 8 concentrations of my particular potion I mixed with their regular food together. The 9th type is for control, which means their typical food without my brew blended in.

This brew should influence them in a particular way.

I have already tried so many studies to set the parameter for this one.

For once, I can't just breed them inside my laboratory and let them out into the wild after that. I tried, and they died even if they are the control group - they need to be in the wild from the beginning, or else it will not work.

It probably is because of the Aura around them in the air.

I started with the subjects A1-9. I opened their jar and filled it up with the first concentration plus my control. After that, I distributed them around the vicinity I mapped out before, which should be close to their natural habitat and as far as possible from each other.

While they feed on their "first food," I put a weak illusion spell around them, so they will not be attacked. When ready, they will crawl out and do their thing.

The important thing is that they should not die! They should populate into a weaker state generation by generation.

Usually, it would need Demon's multiple generations to show even a smidge of weakness, even if I gave them poison to eat their whole life, generation over generation.

Luckily, blood Demons pass it on to the next generation directly. My tests showed that the weaknesses in infancy will significantly follow to the next generation in a closed environment.

But it also has a strong ripple effect which will proceed to the generations after that, even if they eat their regular food from the first one onwards, after the infancy of course.

If it works, I hypothesized that it will help different territories in a couple of ways.

The weaker the blood demons are, the more they breed, but it depends on their prey's area.

Too weak, and they die out almost instantly. I already tested it out.

The more they breed, the more food they need, so their prey, which is now much weaker, will be in much greater danger, but it cant be at too much risk since if the subjects are too weak, they can't take over other Demons.

Short: I want to disrupt the whole food chain till it reaches a certain point.

The weaker they are, the more they populate.

-> They target more vulnerable Demons than themselves.

-> The chain above these "more vulnerable Demons" has fewer food resources since blood Demons can't be eaten because they are so disgusting, dangerous, and poisonous.

-> The disruption will go on till it reaches the Apex.

-> In the end, they will turn to cannibalism if there are no other preys for a significant amount of time.

This plan will automatically and slowly thin out the Demons.

A perfect ripple! An ideal exit strategy!

It is also safe for beings like me! Blood Demons control their prey by crawling inside them, towards their brain or nervous system, and scatter their Demon aura and part of their blood. If their prey is too strong, they will just die inside them. It will, however, result in poisoning but in a weak one though.

There is also the bonus that they will have a much harder time jumping into higher Tiers because they are so weak!

Everything is accounted for! I can already smell the mountains of coin!

"Muhahaha! *cough*." Whoops, I got carried away.

Now, let's start.

...

...

...

Observation Journal

Day 1:

Group A with subjects 1-9 was provided food, and the infant demons were distributed around the area. Illusion spells were put on their containers for safety reasons.

*sigh* Now I need to wait...

Day 17:

Group A is starting to crawl out of its containers and is slowly looking for food sources. They look smaller and are much slower. Also, their demon aura is much weaker except for A9 as a control group.

Day 32:

The last one (A2) found his first food source. This concentration seems too strong as they can barely survive. Only A7 has luck and is starting to breed. But he is almost dead like the others.

Only A9 is growing like expected.

Day 57:

The last one of group A died. Concentration is definitely too high of my brew in this group. A9 was put down. I am starting with Group B.

'Okaaay, they survived much longer than expected... damn it. This will cost so much more time than expected.'

Day 119:

Group B died...

Day 340:

Group E...

Day 714:

Group H...

Day 728:

Group I is all out and hunting for prey, but I3. I can feel the Aura around him in the container.

He is far outside the standard parameters as he needs longer to digest the food provided - possibilities are that the subject is a mutation. Further observation is required.

Day 739:

Group I is doing much better than Group H, as with previous Groups.

I3 is out for hunting now. He looks very stable, unlike all others. Even better than the control group.

I checked the contents of I3's infant food, and it has the same concentration as the other subjects of Group I.

*Note -> Further research on digesting speed and how it affects the development in the infant phase.

Day 783:

Group I is doing slightly better than Group H. All the indicators speak for it. The control group is the same as always.

I3 is doing much better than even the control group. He controls weaker demons like imps, but they become much stronger after I3 invades them.

*Note -> Need to research I3 further and find out the reasons for this kind of strength improvement.

Day 807:

I3 couldn't hold the Demon for long. The imp got wasted much faster than usual. After getting out, he had a red-blackish shell around him, and he started grabbing a hole inside the earth and vanishing inside it.

Need more observation to know what the anomaly doing.

Day 815:

...

I3 is out and shedding his shell off. He is much bigger and healthier looking.

The shell started moving, it looked like a blood Demon, and it was remarkably healthy. Also, it seems like it skipped his infant phase.

The reproducing is an anomaly.

I3 is multiplying by this way instead of the typical breeding by using the body of his prey.

Usually, a blood Demon will have to use the body of the prey, and it would, in turn, become unstable while breeding inside it. As such, you could locate any Blood demon under Tier 4 more easily.

I3 kind of breeding is much safer, especially in lower Tiers.

Note to me: a hazardous mutation.

Day 858:

I3 has control over the child. This kind of blood Demon has a hive mind mentality. 'It's definitely dangerous; by the next shedding, it needs to die.'

I3.A1, the first child, has caught its first prey, but only lesser Imps.

I3, on the other hand, can now control greater Imps. 'Damn it, why can't I breed powerful Demons? This would be a breakthrough!'

There is but a question: If I3 is starting to get more powerful, will be his future "children" also more powerful? His reproducing is more in line with copying his previous built.

Such phenomena are seen in some Insect Monsters, but these are much weaker and never go over Tier 1.

'I3 is higher Tier 1...' Biting my nails, I was curious about what it could do, but it was too risky to keep it alive for too long. I will keep observing it till the subsequent shedding.

Day 898:

Group I is almost dead. All of them were hunted down by I3 and I3.A1. It appears they can feel the specific Aura of other blood Demons.

'I have a breakthrough!'

It occurs that the Aura of specific Demon breeds has distinct Aura's that they can somehow sense between themselves.

*Note -> More research is needed on this topic.

'This could actually be my next topic... Demons from Tier 3 and upwards are too aggressive... well, "wild Demons" at least and the more sophisticated ones, have nothing to do with the Cathedral, so there is almost no research exchange between us.'

Day 917:

I3.A1 is now shedding, and I3 is looking after him. It shows that I3 also needs more time and food for more children because of the size increase.

*Tsk* 'Damn it, I need to kill them. Otherwise, it can become unpredictable. It was such a good research subject. Even if I cant achieve my main goal, I found something interesting out!'

Note-> I3 has the potential for exponential growth in an ideal environment.

Day 918:

Group I was all in all a failure, Subjects I3 and I3.A...

"What is this weird sound...? Shit!" *Swoosh!*

Jumping to the side, I barely evaded a spear. "Who the fuck are you!"

'Better safe than sorry!' "Mana, heed my call and let me be a bird! Free from the restrained earth and take me to the free sky!"

Tiny wings appeared on my feet, and I flew towards the sky to escape the possibility of a melee brawl and see who actually wanted to ambush me.

"Hoho, I didn't know that people from the Cathedral are this fast on their feet, not bad for a bunch of dusty scholars, kikikiki."

A human being came out behind some rocks. Glazing at him, I instantly knew what it was, and I got a bad premonition. "...a Scavenger..."

His body was humanoid-like. Well, he was a Demi-human, so it would make sense. The one difference was that he had reddish skin, which had yellow scales.

They are historically discriminated against by other humanoid races. They even were expelled towards... shit! Am I in their territory?! But I am from the Cathedral and a Dragon-kin. There should be no bad blood!

"Kikikiki, let me borrow your space bag, little lizard." He rushed towards my bag, lying on the ground just as he said it.

'‘DAMN IT! Don't touch it!" He can't have it! Fuck the journal, I have the [Good Memory] Skill, but there are my subjects inside!

I wanted to rush to that too but decided against it… something is going on. My [Danger sense] Skill is telling me this.

The Scavenger bolted towards my bag and picked it up.

Looking at how he examined it, I floated a little higher up and wondered where I was exactly. 'It should be the buffer zone close to Kratikal. Did I overstep some boundary accidentally?' No way!

This means... what the hell is a Scavenger doing in the buffer zone? Everything is too sketchy.

After looking at my possessions, he turned to me with a smile. "How boring. Why not stay and answer some of my questions?"

My lips twitched. I need to run away. "How about you go fuck yourself? How about this?"

I floated higher and higher and towards the direction of the nearest Cathedral. It should be in Wolfsteeth, and I could reach it in a couple of days if I use some spells and mana potions.

"Oh, please don't fly away!" Savagery appeared on his face.

*ziiing!* An arrow flew by and scratched my ear. I could feel a particular Mana signature from it. '...Night elves, damn it! This is the group which was expelled years ago!'

This is an emergency… if some elves are in this, this will be really a problem, and I am for them nothing more than some flying target!

'Mana bubble times 5!' An almost transparent bubble surrounded me with 5 different layers with a radius of 5 meters - everybody who should see me couldn't make out my definitive position since I refractured the light.

Grabbing inside my robe, I tried to find that damn scroll. If an emergency is to come, I should use it. Otherwise, using it casually, I would be made a couple of inches smaller - it is that stupidly expensive!

The next shot came. *ziiiing*

*crack!* "Urgh!" How the hell can he shoot through my bubble and hit me? DAMN IT.

But I found it! Grabbing the scroll, I instantly put mana in it and tore it apart. *Crrrrr*

*puff*

…

…

…

The teleport felt like I was inside a tornado filled with colorful colors. Coming out from the between space, I puked a mouthful of blood and food out.

Looking around, I was in the main hall of my Cathedral in the North-west of Moorgrel.

Falling to my knees, I saw the damn arrow inside my stomach and blood all over my robe. 'I am going to die...'

*drip*drip*drip*

Suddenly, after a couple seconds of silence, screams erupted around me inside the hall.

"DON'T STAND THERE! GET A PRIEST AS FAST AS POSSIBLE!"

"Who attacked a scholar?! Get the investigation-Mages ready!"

"I need the damn name of his Master! Does somebody know it?"

The screams transformed into murmurs which I couldn't decipher anymore, and the world lost its color. All I could sense was the taste of iron and my breakfast before I fell unconscious.

…

…

…

Opening my eyes, I noticed a white ceiling. 'Sickroom?'

Trying to bring myself up, pain invaded my lower region. "Argh!"

"Oh, you woke up? Please wait a bit!" Hearing a high-pitched bass as a voice, I knew it was Gnome.

'So I am in the sick room.' Gnomes usually have a knack for Medicine. Don't know why, but they make excellent doctors and magic surgeons, probably because of their little hands and naturally high [Dexterity]?

After a minute or so, a nurse came over. "Hey! how are you?"

Such a high-pitched voice and this is a guy... "I am fine, thanks. How long was I out?"

The Gnome caressed his green beard and probably thought about it.

...

...

...

"… so?"

"What? Oh yeah, no idea! I am actually in another department. I was brought here over just yesterday because of shortages."

"Can you please get someone who knows?" I hate the medicine departments so much... well, not till someone again will shoot an arrow into my stomach.

"Sure junior, give me a couple of minutes!"

*tap*tap*tap*

Taking the blanket away slowly and carefully, the bandages were over half of my lower body, which means the damage was significant…

I should get my mind used to busy paperwork… since I am probably out for the following months.

I couldn't believe what had occurred. A Night-Elf and a Scavenger should speak for the expelled ones, but why would they attack me? They could see that I am just a scholar...

Robbing me is bad but more acceptable than trying to kill me.

Grabbing my hair and ruffling it slightly, I could feel how oily they were and forgot the previous thought.

I also feel a little off. I am probably on some pain reduction potions.

Trying to concentrate on the events which transpired, I... I3... "FUCK!"

I totally forgot! There is a god damn Mutation running wild!

*tap*tap*tap*

"Lizko, I heard that you woke up!" Coming into my room was my Master, an old Nightelf-kin.

How did he know that I woke up? Did he have some surveillance spell installed inside the room? He is such a control freak...

He had a Light blue goatee and long hair which flew towards his shoulders. He was wearing the old robe before the redesign because he liked it more - he was very attentive to his appearance and made me do it too.

Most scholars just don't care about their appearance and use some spells once a day to clean themselves but look like beggars most of the time.

Master says that you should look top-notch. This would also make you think differently - I can't really feel the difference, but what can I do? He is my Master.

"Master, I am sorr..." I was shut down before finishing my sentence.

"Shut up! How could you get injured like this?! Who did this! Tell me!" How Master shows his care is always a little overbearing.

"I… I was attacked by a Scavenger and a Nightelf, but I couldn't see the Night-elf. I only felt that he had this typical Mana fluctuation like you when he attacked me with an arrow."

Master looks not good… he looks angry... "Master, they also stole my Space bag and other research material... it is possible that I unleashed a catastrophe..."

He caressed his goatee and signaled me to keep talking. In normal circumstances, he would say that I should just get better and rest, but I needed him to clear out my subjects as fast as possible.

"I was doing my research on blood Demons, and I was observing a specific group or rather an outlier who was probably a mutation..."

He raised his eyebrow. "Go on."

I nodded slightly. "I wanted to kill it after observing it and... I was attacked before I could do it."

"*sigh*, tell me please that this mutation is in some way weaker and not just stronger."

I shook my head. "No, it is actually much stronger... in every way."

He scrunched his eyebrows. "Where is your Journal?"

I looked down. "I..."

He interrupted me. "I get it. So, some insects dare to attack a Cathedralian scholar, my student no less, steal his research and unleash something into this world..."

I could sense Mana fluctuations coming from him… a Tier 4 Mage is frightening when they get angry. "KALI! SWING YOUR ASS TO ME NOW!"

His voice was so loud, you could hear it probably all around the medical departments. Luckily I already know him too well and just used a silence spell on my ears.

He uses a space/sound spell combination for this. Only people in a radius of a couple meters can hear him, which also happens to the one he targets.

*tap*tap*tap*."

"*huff* Yes, Mashter? *huff* you called *huff* me?" Ah, my junior. I feel bad that I left for my own research - so she had a much higher workload.

As students, we should assist in our Master's research and administration work, and depending on the kind of research or administration, it can be a lot of work.

"Too slow. Next time I will turn you into a fireworm if you are this late!" He always starts his rants when he is angry.

"I am sorry *huuuuuuuuff* Master."

Master nodded and looked at me. "Kali, sit down with this sad sack and write everything down what he says. I need to check if his project will become a disaster or not."

Holding his hands behind his back, he became serious and addressed both of us. "This is very important. If this is really bad, I need to take the appropriate steps. So take your time but not too long, and you..." he pointed at me. "...try to remember every detail, and work out some possibilities together with your junior."

We both nodded naturally.

This can be a catastrophe, but I am now on pain potions. Thus, my mind is very off... damn it, this will be a painful couple of days since I need to get off them.

*tap*tap*tap*

"Get out of my way! Who the hell colored their hair green?"

"Shut up! You have blue hair!"

"Whatever!"

Master is really on edge.

*tap*tap*tap*

Looking at Kali, she had giant bags under her eyes. "Are you fine?"

"Don't worry Lizko, I took something from the Alchemical department… too bad it doesn't work too well. I am tired but can't sleep, heh." She twitched a couple of times while talking.

"Fine, do you have something to write? We should start right now."

She sat up straight and showed me something. "Of course! What do you think of me?"

My eyebrows twitched. "This is a shoe and a carrot..."

She looked at it, blushed, and stood up. "Give me a minute!"

*tap*tap*tap*

Facepalming slightly, it has gotten worse with her. Why is Master consistently overloading newbies with this much work?

*tap*tap*tap*

"I am back!"

Looking at her, she needed sleep. She is really talented as a shaman but has so many problems as a Fairy. They are much more resistant to potions and other stuff, so they cant use it like other races. This means that potions which could elevate tiredness are absolutely useless to her. Still, the Alchemical department is always trying stuff on her, and she... well, out of desperation, just takes it.

"You brought bread..."

She gazed at her hand and handed this to me. "Of course! You are obviously hungry! I will be back in a minute."

*tap*tap*tap*

*sigh* 'This will take a long time...'

*****

Kali POV

2 months of recording every little detail from Lizko's research and writing down all probabilities was a bit annoying, but at least I could sleep again regularly.

What a joy!

Jumping happy through the corridors towards my Master's office, I tried to ignore that hell was coming back again, but at least I could suffer together with Lizko this time!

'Muhahaha' "HAHAHAHAHA!"

Why is everyone looking at me like I am crazy? Never mind, they are just envious! Being a young Tier 2 Shaman with the age of only 55. Try to copy it! You magical race bastards who were given everything by birth!

*whistling*

*knock* "Master, it's me - I have the report!"

"Come in."

*clank*

Lying down the report on the desk of Master, he was reading some papers. Trying to peek, I felt a pain on my forehead.

*snap!* "OW!" holding my forehead, I almost teared up. "This hurts, Master!"

"*sigh* Let me see." He took the research paper and read through it in only 5 minutes, and it was around 1000 pages long! I can't imagine what reading skill he has and how high-leveled it is.

His brows scrunched down. "This is not good. We need to investigate first and do our best to find this darn blood Demon - if not, we need to send a letter to Count Moorgrel."

"Master? Why not send a letter as backup towards the Count, and if the investigation is successful or not, we can always call them back?"

He shook his head. "This will not work. For this, we need to act first."

I tilted my head in confusion. "Why, though?"

"Take a politics and history course, moron."

He is again so rude! I pouted and crossed my arms and just stood there and waited to answer me.

My interest is in shamanistic Magic and the use of Totems, not something so dull as history or politics!

"*sigh* fine!" He leaned back and looked at me. "What will happen when we report to the Count?"

Holding a finger towards my chin, I really thought about it. "Hm, they will send us some help?"

He nodded. "What are the consequences of this?"

"Hm?" Flattering a bit with my wings, I was confused. "What do you mean, Master? We will receive help and hunt down Subject I3 and his children?"

"What will happen after this?"

My wings flattered stronger, made me fly a little. "We will have a party?"

He shook his head. "Take a politics course. In recent years, the Cathedral caused too many accidents because of our moronic projects."

He paused for a moment and looked out of the window.

"...plagues which killed off whole villages, wild and highly intelligent monster were unleashed which are not captured to this day, which we wanted to use as mounts or bodyguards, Magic projects which burned down not a small part of the forest and...

I interrupted him. "I get it! We made some mistakes!"

"Haha! Some? Why do you think we are so hated in almost every Empire or Kingdom? Don't underestimate the stupidity and carelessness of your colleagues."

"Ok, fine!" Now flying to focus, I was reminded that the Cathedral was not an institution with the most prestige, to say it lightly.

So, what can we do to make it good for our mistakes?

Sitting in the air and crossing my legs, I fell in thought for a moment. "Don't we do a massive amount of volunteering!"

"Haha! Do you think it is this easy? Think a bit..."

Interrupting Master, I screamed out. "Wait! Do you say that he wants us to go to war in the west?!"

Master smiled. "You got it. You are not as much as a moron as I thought!"

Again this rudeness! "Master! I am very talented for your information!"

He waved his hand. "Sure sure, but back to the topic."

He became earnest. "Our debt has accumulated to not a small amount, and Count Moorgrel is patient enough not to send us directly towards the west to go against the human and dwarven kingdoms - it has probably 2 reasons."

Holding 2 fingers up, he continued. "Either he has information that they also have possible help from the Cathedral in their Kingdoms, or he is holding us back till the real war starts. Right now, there are only skirmishes."

I got a bit frantic. "But... can't we just refuse?!"

Master shook his head. "No, if this happens, we will need to leave his county, which is impossible since we are 70-80% Beast-kin and are hunted by other Kingdoms. Even if we have an iron rule that we do not discriminate against other races - it only applies internally, not externally."

He looked suddenly solemn. "Or we go to war against this county..., and this will destabilize them internally, lead to a probable loss in the west front, and the first possibility will materialize itself..."

"Wait! But what about doing nothing?!"

Master snickered. "Nobles are nobles because society accepts them as such to lead, and if they lose face or prestige or whatever - other, lower noble families will try to stab them in the back to take their place... this will lead to internal conflicts and... there we are, possibility number 1."

I was baffled. This means that we are pretty much...no wait! "What about other territories inside of Mal-Gil?"

"Did you look at least once at the map? We are surrounded by other territories - and far away from something which is resembling another Territory of Mal-Gil."

"No! I don't want to go to war! War is stupid! Stupid, I say!"

"Calm down. You will not go anywhere till this problem is resolved. We need to try it ourselves first - if nothing works, we will go to the Count, and he will probably take it to the Leonandra's... I really don't want this..."

"Why, Master? Aren't they just some Knight Family? They couldn't even stand you if you took it seriously!"

Master shivered slightly. "I don't want to talk about it. However, get 5 Mage or Scholar squadrons ready to go out. Choose the ones who have superior scouting ability. They have a time frame of around 2 years, rewards and everything else will be listed on the draft I will make ready."

"Alright, will do!" Flying now around freely, I remembered that he changed topics to get me out! Not with me! "...Master, what about the political stuff?"

He was already writing his draft. "*sigh* Right, it is complicated, but in short: the only ones we can ask are the Leonandra's because of how they train their Soldiers. Don't forget, it is Kratikal or the border of it, so the Demon Aura concentration is too high for ordinary soldiers or even advanced ones from the Count - we need the ones with stronger Mental resistance towards the poisoning..."

Hmm, he stopped writing and is thinking.

"... there is also the problem with the attackers. If they stole only the subjects, all good, but if they also read his journal and look for I3, the Count will be in no position to act because of the treaty with them."

He stopped writing and looked me dead into my eyes while I was in the air.

"...he is fighting in the West, and if he started another war with some rogue group, this would thin out his troops, not even the Leonandra's cant defend against the blood Demon and them at the same time."

This... was complicated!

*scribble*

"Like I said, there is also the treaty they made with this group - if nothing other than the loss of trust, the Moorgrel would rather avoid being an aggressor, so even if we knew that they had the Demon, the Count can't attack prematurely."

While writing, a frown was slowly building. "The worst would be if they used it as blackmail or something similar and implicate us in this situation... we can't let this happen."

Master sighed and stopped talking about politics.

"Don't worry, concentrate on your tasks, research and studies - this is only interesting for the Administration."

"Oki Master!"

"Now leave and come again in 3 hours. I will be ready by then."

"Aye aye!" I flew out.

...

While flying towards my laboratory, I tried to think it through.

I don't care about politics and all that stuff, but I want to have a higher position inside the Cathedral, and for this, I need to know more about things like this.

This is a lot to digest... I don't really want to go to war... but I can understand the reasoning - we can't trust other Kingdoms, and Cathedrals hold only relative power and are decentralized, so there is no unifying front. If someone would assassinate or kidnap us, the Cathedral couldn't go to war without evidence, too...

I flew faster.

...it is not like we could kidnap the nobles who would order such things ourselves and use [Mind reading], [Lie detection] or so, on them.

...

"ARGH! So many damn variables!"

...

I think this all through later, as this topic was complicated!