"Well, it looks like there’s not much we can do!" Helda and Skyler, the only two participants without Blood abilities, stood at a far distance while watching the Blood Mutants take down two of the three large worms. The first one, in which Ace and Cherry were, fell to the ground, its body bloated with blood filling certain gaps within. Its mouth oozed with blood, slowly spilling out, and it had serious wounds in its mid-section that killed it instantly. The second creature burrowed into the ground, slamming itself against the ground, causing immense tremors. The third worm started feasting on the first one, paying no attention to whatever had happened to it. "Meh, they take care of the worms while we sit back and watch," Skyler shrugged as she sat on the ground. "If it goes on , I’ll be more than glad." "Do you not wish to become like them?" Helda asked, noticing the expressionless look on Skyler’s face. "You could ask the orange-haired one to turn you as well once he achieves the Blood Bishop Rank." "No!!" Skyler quickly answered. "I’m not interested. They may look powerful and all, but I do not want to have to feast on blood for the rest of my life." "Well, that’s not true," Helda responded while sitting next to Skyler. "You can also eat raw meat, which I hear tastes really good to them. Of course, you can still eat other foods, but your body will prefer bloody meals." "No, thank you," Skyler insisted, refusing to comply with Helda’s wishes. "Besides, it gives me an opportunity to develop my fighting skills. If it weren’t for their Blood powers, I’m sure none of those mutants would be able to beat me at all." "You speak highly of yourself, young lady," Helda said as she witnessed the massacre happening before her and Skyler. "I’m sure you’ll one day become as strong as you claim. As of now, I think it’s best that both of us hold back and watch the Blood Mutants fight. After all, they are the ones going to be leading the war." "War?" Skyler wondered and then questioned, "What do you mean by war? Do you mean those Ethisian creatures we killed before coming here?" "It’s more than that, Skyler," Helda went on to explain. "We Granians have a lot of enemies. Even though we are backed up by technology, we still cannot strike permanent fear that’ll keep them at bay. The Ethisians stole our original Blood Mutants, and with them, they have managed to conquer hundreds, almost close to thousands, of civilizations in this galaxy. "We plan on doing the same, but our main problem is the Blood Mutants the Ethisians possess. Their strength is far greater and superior than what these four can do... combined." Skyler’s eyes widened in shock as she partially understood the gravity of the situation they were in. If the Ethisian’s Blood Mutants were more powerful than Ace, Cherry, Jim, and Anya combined, then there was a big understanding as to why they were being pushed to such extents of training. "How strong are they?" She asked, hoping to get a faint analysis of how strong the original Blood Mutants were. "Well, you see that these four are taking quite some time to kill these beasts, yes?" "The originals would kill all of them just by stretching their hands out. They can control an ocean’s worth of blood. Their roars are so loud and powerful that they can shatter bones. Their vicious, bloodthirsty lust has led them to have millions of bodies killed by them. These four, compared to those two, are like ants sizing up against a lion." Official source ıs 𝓷𝓸𝓿𝓮𝓵⁂𝓯𝓲𝓻𝓮⁂𝓷𝓮𝓽 "Wow!" Skyler remained amazed and started to understand the intensity of the situation before them. "Why don’t you guys fight them instead? You seem strong enough. A couple of days ago, Anya told me how she was battered by Lord Grania. He seems strong enough to take them on." "Again, Lord Grania, compared to those two, is like your planet’s mongoose going against a lion. It may show spunk, strength, and aggression towards it but in the end, it will get eaten if it cannot stand its ground. That’s just the reality of the situation. If we wanted to kill them, first, take out the Blood inside of us, and maybe, just maybe, we would have a battling chance to escape with our lives." The more Helda spoke, the more frightened Skyler grew at the thought of the strength difference between the Granian and Ethisian Blood Mutants. She may have understood why the Granians so desperately needed more Blood Mutants, but she also wondered why they couldn’t defeat them themselves. With their cloning technology, they were more than capable of creating clones to help them accomplish their goal, and yet here they were using four humans as their walking weapons. "One last question," she asked. "Instead of using these four dead mutants, why not create clones of yourselves to fight the Ethisian Blood Mutants? Surely you can come up with a way of making blood-free clones, right?" "Blood Mutants strengthened with human intelligence can only be killed by other Blood Mutants strengthened with human intelligence... well, actually, it’s a lie. We can kill them, but it will take an incredible amount of valuable lives, resources, time, and energy. More importantly, it would be a very perilous task. As I said, those two can kill beasts as large as those with nothing but a mere swipe of their hands, so imagine what they’ll do to an entire Granian army." "So, in other words, you’re fighting Blood with Blood?" "Precisely, if that is how you wish to simplify it," Helda answered and remained quiet for a while, witnessing Ace and Cherry cutting their way through their killed beast while Jim and Anya still battled with the last. "I do urge you, Skyler," she spoke one last time, "Consider joining the Blood Mutants. You will have a higher fighting chance and will also be able to secure your own survival. Imagine if this were no mere test but a true battle. Don’t you think we would both be dead?" "I understand your concern, but as I said earlier, I would never become a Blood Mutant. I’ll figure something else." "Then allow me to personally show you what other option we have available." A deep, gravelly voice echoed with a large shadow casting over the two females. Looking over, they saw Lord Grania with Grim standing not too far behind. "I have overheard your concern. Perhaps Grim and Helda would demonstrate the other option we have." "Do you wonder how I was able to beat your human friend Anya?" ------------------------------------ [You +1 more have successfully killed a Sand Worm.] [Half a blood Point has been granted to your total score.] "Only half?" Ace questioned out loud, forgetting that he was standing next to his sister, who exchanged judgmental glares at him. "Why is it only half?" [The Quest was to Kill the Sand Worm by yourself. You had assistance. Therefore, you are only eligible for half a blood point.] [Total Blood Points: 1.5] [Points needed to level up to the Blood Bishop Rank: 10] "What are you going on about?" Cherry questioned, and as she did, she noticed the third worm devouring the one they just killed from its backside. "Oh, it’s not that important," Ace answered. "Let me have a go at this one. I have a feeling I can take it on." "Don’t be stupid, boy," One Horn interrupted, having snuck up on the Blood Mutants with a Blood Mutant Blocker in his hands. "You’re not yet at that level of strength to start killing creatures that are over one hundred times larger than you alone. Congratulations, however. You two were the first to make it here, so you have completed the first stage of your training exercise." "First stage?" they both asked, having had no idea that this was a stage-based exercise. Even so, they did not know how many stages were there until their training for the day was done. "Precisely. Do not question how many stages you two have left. I am only here to take you through the first all the way to the third. Please wait patiently as your comrades finish off with the last one." [Transformation: Cancelled.] "What about the third one?" Ace asked, eagerly anticipating the odds of him killing on his own in order to obtain the remaining blood point. "What are you going to do about it?" "Nothing. It shall consume the body and return to hatching more eggs. Please follow me to get your refreshments. I understand you can feed off of this beast’s blood, but Lord Grania insists we get you on a new species diet." Ace and Cherry reverted to their human forms and followed One Horn. As they did, they felt the ground beneath them rumbling due to the fight the colossal worm was putting up with Anya and Jim. ’I bet they’re giving that beast hell.’