Mage Adam

"We did spot some mysterious people hanging around outside the mountain area. They seem afraid to get in the mountains," Lina answered back.

That was pretty normal. Places known to have dragons were like magnets for attention. Some people might be plotting to score big, while others just wanted to stay far away. Either way, being watched like that was something dragons couldn\'t dodge.

Lina took a sec before adding, "Also, we\'re starting to tick off other tribes. If we keep this up, it\'s not gonna end well, I fear..."

"We\'re still not strong enough," Adam let out a sigh. His own power level was low, and the forces he had under his thumb weren\'t all that great either. Being held back like this was really getting to him.

In the tribe\'s center, only a few forest elf slaves were still around, doing their thing next to the ice spikes, using their natural skills to keep the life-saving machines going. They looked pretty zoned out. When Lina gave the word, they left without even looking at Adam.

"Master, what\'s our next move?" Lina questioned.

Adam went up to an ice spike and poked it with his finger, pulling out some blood. Then he grabbed Lina\'s arm, cutting it to get more blood. Looking at both samples, he saw the info inside the ice spike blood was way more packed in, but still not totally perfect. Even without fancy gear, he could totally feel the junk in there.

But for now, it was good enough. These regular forest elves could only do so much. To get it super clean, he\'d need a better sample---maybe from Lina, who already had one bloodline upgrade.

Thinking this, Adam snapped his fingers. All the ice spikes lit up a bit, and tubes came out of them, hooking up to his lab. Grabbing Lina, he zoomed to the lab, telling her, "Next up, we\'re giving you a blood transfusion."

This second step didn\'t have anything to do with magic stuff or spooky things. It was just a basic way to put the kinda-cleaned-up blood into Lina\'s body, swapping out her old blood. It was a bit of a hassle but super simple.

A bunch of tubes floated in the air, making a big enough hole for Lina to fit. Adam put on his safety gear again and said, "This is probably gonna be rough. I\'ll cut off your pain feeling for a bit, but it won\'t help much."

"It\'s cool, Master," Lina said back.

Adam nodded, pleased with her attitude. Extending his dragon claw, he suspended Lina in mid-air. "Good, hang in there. If you die, all the subordinate slaves bound by contract to you will also die."

Caught off guard by the statement, Lina barely had time to ponder its meaning when she felt an icy blade slice through her clothes and skin. Hundreds of sharp tube mouths then grew and deeply penetrated various parts of her body.

It was regrettable for Adam that due to lack of equipment, he couldn\'t document this fascinating experiment, nor observe any rejection reactions. The blood now entering Lina\'s body came from hundreds of different forest elves, with unknown blood types and compatibility.

Still, forest elves were a race with extraordinary powers. Her immune system should be able to handle this minor issue.

...

It was an indescribable sensation---worse than pain.

Adam had severed her pain receptors, but Lina was fully conscious. She clearly felt foreign objects penetrating her body, blood flowing in reverse, and new blood rapidly filling the empty spaces. The old and new blood fought within her as if her body was their battlefield---a struggle incomprehensible to mortals.

Her life force rapidly drained, only to be replenished at the same speed. Lina watched herself die and be reborn, a mental torture that could drive anyone mad.

Rejection was also intense. Her organs, muscle tissue, cells, and neurons revolted, fighting off the invading forces. Her body turned from dark red to purple, irregular patterns and blotches appearing. Her temperature skyrocketed, her blood thickened, and her organs began to convulsively expand and contract as if about to explode.

"Ahhhhhh!" Lina screamed in agony. She wished she could kill herself.

Adam released a blast of cold air towards Lina, stabilizing her collapsing body and alleviating some discomfort. However, that was all he could do. Whether the bloodline upgrade would be successful ultimately depended on Lina\'s willpower and luck.

In just a few minutes, Lina had used up way, way more than her own amount of blood. Most of this blood didn\'t work out and got kicked out of her system, but a little bit actually stuck. This cleaner blood, once it was running her system, showed some really surprising strength and energy.

This new blood started getting rid of the old blood fast, heading straight for her heart.

***Pop!***

With that loud noise, Lina\'s heart just exploded. Right at that same second, the new blood turned solid and a huge wave of green energy burst out all over her body. This green stuff somehow made her a brand-new heart super quickly.

The green energy rays shot out, smashing the ice tubes one by one. Lina was floating in mid-air, her face all covered by this green light.

Adam made a quick move with his hand to get rid of the tubes. He was super focused on the green light and started talking to himself. "Did it work? The energy levels are going up. The way creatures with special blood get stronger is really simple, isn\'t it?"

The green light started to fade away, and the plants that had been held back by the cold lab started to push through the ice and grow like crazy inside. Outside, the already super tall trees started to look even more alive, their branches reaching out and covering up the sky.

About ten minutes later, Lina appeared, standing there without any clothes. The second she touched the ground, flowers started popping up all around her."