Ch.50A Big One’s Coming (6)

“Ahem… I’ll conclude the Q&A session here. While I’d like to take questions from each of you individually, unfortunately we don’t have much time left.”

Everyone seemed disappointed, but it couldn’t be helped.

It would have been insane to try taking questions from this many people.

For me, it would simply be a matter of receiving and answering questions, but everyone else would have to wait for their turn, and those not interested in the questions would have to wait until the entire Q&A session ended.

While I’d like to do that, there’s a difference between what’s desirable and what’s realistic.

I put the paper back and composed myself to begin the lecture.

“Well then… before starting the lecture, I have a question. Just raise your hand to answer.”

I explained that it didn’t matter where they were seated since my peripheral vision would easily distinguish who raised their hand first, then I spoke.

“Can anyone explain what the foundation of Blood Magic is?”

Snap!

Many people raised their hands.

At a glance, it might be impossible to tell who raised their hand first, but I already knew.

A True Ancestor’s physical abilities and peripheral vision were good enough to immediately identify who raised their hand first, even among thousands of people raising their hands simultaneously.

“Let’s see… Student #187, Berd.”

“Huh?! What?!”

Berd was shocked that I recognized him immediately.

“H-how do you know my name…”

“I remember every Blood Mage in our Blood Tower.”

“!!”

Of course, that was a lie.

Except for Irina, Razak, and the elders, I didn’t remember any of the mages in the Blood Tower.

Even though Blood Mages were relatively few in number, there were still thousands of mages in the Magic Tower.

Remembering all of them wasn’t easy.

No, it was nearly impossible.

But that was just from my perspective.

‘This is convenient at times like this.’

I subtly shifted my gaze.

There was a semi-transparent window visible only to me, functioning as a status window.

I usually keep it turned off, but there’s nothing better for quickly identifying someone’s basic information.

Right now, I could pretend to know the names of lower-ranking mages I’d never met, enhancing my image.

How would they know I was just reading their names from my status window?

The most reasonable explanation from their perspective would be that I had memorized the names and faces of all Blood Mages.

Sure enough, when I said I remembered him with a benevolent expression, Berd was so moved that he kept thanking me profusely, looking like he might burst into tears at any moment.

No… there’s no need to thank me…

“First, would you answer my question?”

“Ah… I’m sorry. Ahem… I believe the foundation of Blood Magic is ‘how quickly one can take control of blood.'”

“Hmm.”

Control, is it…

“I’m afraid that’s incorrect. Think again.”

Berd looked surprised, clearly not expecting to be wrong, but I couldn’t focus solely on him.

There were thousands of others listening to my lecture besides Berd.

Sure enough, as soon as Berd got it wrong, other Blood Mages raised their hands, eager to answer.

Berd returned to his seat with a dejected expression.

Having already noted who raised their hand first, I called on the next person.

“Let’s see… Student #452, Melina. Is that right?”

“I’m so grateful that you remember someone like me!!”

Please stop being so thankful just because I remember you…

I initially turned on the status window just to maintain my image, but now I was feeling somewhat guilty about it…

‘Even I think it’s ridiculous that I’d remember all Blood Mages…’

Someone smart enough to become a Magic Tower Master might be able to memorize them all, but unfortunately, I’m not a mage.

The reason I handle blood so well is because I’m a vampire—specifically, a True Ancestor, the first vampire and a Transcendent of life.

While I’m smarter than the average person, I’m not as intelligent as mages whose minds are filled with all sorts of formulas and calculations, so there’s no way I could memorize everyone.

Regardless, seeing Melina so overjoyed just because I called her name made me think that pretending to know people through my status window might be the better approach.

“Anyway, what do you think is the foundation of Blood Magic?”

“I think it’s magical efficiency.”

“Oh?”

That was quite an interesting answer.

I didn’t expect such an answer from a lower-ranking mage, so I smiled and asked Melina:

“Why do you think so?”

“Blood Magic is ultimately about using the magical power contained in blood to freely manipulate it. If you improve the efficiency of the magical power controlling that blood, you can do more with less blood and magical power, regardless of what you’re trying to do.”

That’s correct.

At least for Blood Claw Art, this is right.

Equally important to infusing blood with magical power is how you handle that magical power.

In other words, efficiency.

If you can manipulate blood more efficiently, you can create more powerful effects while using less blood and magical power.

That’s precisely why I used Blood Strengthening Art on Irina.

Blood Strengthening Art involves me directly manipulating blood to modify the heart.

While “modification” might sound extreme, it’s actually strengthening the heart so much that even using it on an ordinary person would instantly improve their lung capacity.

Since it directly uses life energy, it only makes people healthier without any side effects.

But what happens when you use this on a Blood Mage?

It increases the amount of magical power they can infuse into their blood and helps them handle it more efficiently.

In fact, after using this magic on Irina, she demonstrated power and versatility incomparable to before, proving its effectiveness.

“That’s correct. I’ll give you a special reward.”

“A-a reward?! W-what kind…”

“What would you like?”

I was willing to grant most reasonable requests.

Whether intentional or not, she had given an excellent answer that penetrated the essence of Blood Claw Art.

Even if she asked for money, that would be fine.

I could just give it as a research grant.

However, what the woman wanted was different from what I expected.

“C-can I hug you just once?!”

“?”

Did I hear that wrong?

“Did I perhaps go deaf…?”

“Please let me hug you just once!”

“I see, providing more research opportunities wouldn’t be bad either.”

“Please let me hug you just once!!”

“Or perhaps I could give you private lessons?”

“PLEASE LET ME HUG YOU JUST ONCE!!!”

Damn.

She doesn’t know when to give up.

“Alright, alright… Come here.”

I spread my arms, and only then did Melina approach me with an emotional expression, walking step by step.

And then,

“Mmph?!”

“Ahhhh… Midir… I’ve wanted to hug you for so long…”

“Mmph… mmph…”

“Aww! Midir, you’re so cute~”

Why are this woman’s breasts so huge?!

The moment she hugged me, my entire face was engulfed by their fullness, making it hard to breathe.

It’s fortunate that I’m a True Ancestor who doesn’t need to breathe, because an ordinary person would have suffocated to death, compressed by these massive fat deposits.

‘Well… it doesn’t feel bad though…’

Having originally been a man, being buried in breasts like this wasn’t entirely unpleasant.

Perhaps because all the women I’d met before had been flat as boards, being buried in these maternal pouches was somewhat…

“That’s not fair!”

“Woooo!”

“I haven’t even hugged her yet!”

“I’m jealous…”

I’m mentally noting everyone who just made those wooing sounds.

And what’s with the person saying they’re jealous…

“Hey Melina, you crazy woman!! Let go right now!! That’s the Blood Tower Master!!!”

“Stop that woman!!”

As I struggled while buried in her chest, Blood Mages who appeared to be Melina’s acquaintances jumped onto the lecture platform one by one, trying to pull her away.

The lecture hall quickly descended into chaos, and though the elders hurriedly stepped in to mediate, the waves of confusion had spread too far to be easily calmed.

“I want to hug too!!”

“Can’t resist those maternal pouches!!”

“Blood pack pouches!!”

Who exactly are you people attracted to?

In the end, it took a full 10 minutes to escape from Melina’s embrace and resume the lecture.

At this rate, I have no idea when I’ll be able to finish the lecture… I’m already feeling overwhelmed.

I let out a deep sigh.