Blood Assimilation

Chapter 24 - An Unknown Power

Let us rewind time a bit, back to when Randy first apprehended the burglar and forced him to undo the seals on his storage bracelet. At this time, the female police officer and her team were still on their way using the satellite to search for the burglar's whereabouts.

…

After inserting a wisp of mana into the bracelet, almost immediately, a couple of items started dropping down on the ground next to his feet, shocking Randy greatly just by the sheer amount of treasures the other party had in his storage bracelet.

'Did he steal everything in the vault or something?' Randy looked at the items on the ground and silently thought in surprise.

After his initial surprise, Randy suddenly bent over to grab the items on the ground and immediately, he was puzzled by what he saw immediately after assessing the items.

"This is…" He muttered in surprise.

The moment Randy grabbed an item on the floor, there was a notification that appeared on his system's screen. This was not surprising at all, as everyone who awakened their innate ability also gained the ability to appraise items through their systems. So Randy only glanced at the description stated of the item in the void in front, as he did, he could see that lines of text in white color appeared on the light-red, almost pink panel in front of his eyes. He had heard people say that they had blue panels or yellow panels but his turned out to be light-red instead. Randy did not pay any attention to this and continued to direction his eyes to the text.

?[Steel Dragon Fang Dagger(Semi-Artifact)]?

?[Rank: S]?

?[Weapon Property: Pierce(C)]?

?[Description: A peaked-quality weapon crafted by highly skilled human who excel in making all kinds of equipment. This dagger was made from the fang of an S-ranked Steel Craw Dragon renowned for their fearsome biting capabilities thus attaining the unique property of the fang of the Dragon, the ability to penetrate any obstacle]?

"Holy Shit! An S-rank dagger?!" Randy screamed in shocked.

This finding was unexpected for him, but when he thought about how the police were persistently chasing after this burglar, he finally understood the reason for their persistence. One had to know that there are not that many S-rank weapons out there, especially one created by a human craftsman and yet, there it is, an S-ranked weapon and it even said that it is a semi-artifact. The perk of artifacts lies in the fact that they had unique abilities or skills in a form of weapon property.

A fucking Semi-Artifact!

An artifact are things that can only be found in dungeon or gates. And usually, to receive this kind of weapon, you would have to defeat the 'Boss' or leader of the monsters before you can obtain it. The leader of the monsters usually carries with them certain artifacts from their own world as they invade this side, and they came in different sizes, shapes, and functions. Some artifacts grant control over certain elements, others increase your overall strength or certain statistics, and there are some with unique abilities of their own.

In any case, they are very expensive and hard to obtain even with money, usually one can only obtain such an item or equipment by trading with something of equivalent or other precious resources. And so, one can only imagine what a semi-artifact would cost. Even though it is only a semi-artifact, it still had a C-ranked weapon property, [Pierce]. One cannot simply underestimate it just because it is a C-ranked weapon property as it could easily determine the outcome of any battle.

Randy's thought turned and he then quickly glanced at the remaining items on the ground with his heart beating in anticipation.

He picked up another dagger with a different design that seemed to be made out of steel.

Immediately lines of glowing text appeared in front his eyes with the description of the dagger.

?[Steel Dragon Craw Dagger]?

?[Rank: A]?

?[Weapon Property: None]?

?[Description: A high-quality weapon crafted by a highly skilled human craftsman. This dagger did not contain any properties, but it has a destructive capability to cut through any steel when imbued with mana]?

Randy put this down right away without much thought. It was not like it was unimpressive or anything, in fact it was an amazing weapon but after seeing that S-ranked dagger just now, he could not be bothered to look at this weapon for now.

His gaze turned and he grabbed a blue book or more precisely, a manual with some words written on the front cover.

The moment Randy picked it up, lines of text glowed on the screen in front of him, revealing the details of this manual.

?[Void Rippling Punch Technique]?

?[Rank: A]?

?[Type: Martial Arts Technique]?

?[Description: A set of fist techniques with the capabilities to send destructive shockwaves to your opponent upon mastery. At its peak, you can directly shatter the bones and explode the internal organs of your opponent from a single strike. There are three stages to this fist techniques, namely: Void Punch, Void Wave Punch, Void Ripple Punch]?

"Ohhh! This is one terrifying punching techniques, you can even shatter bones with this technique. How amazing, I definitely need to learn this fist technique. This burglar definitely knows his stuff, to think he got his hands on this terrifying fist technique. Tsk, tsk, tsk, unfortunately, you met me so it will all be mine soon." Randy said with a triumphant smile.

He placed the blue manual on the side and picked up another item. It was also a manual with a tattered appearance. Randy picked it wondering what amazing technique it would be this time.

Soon, it was revealed in front of him eyes.

?[Unseen Sword Art (Secret Art)]?

?[Rank: S~]?

?[Type: Oriental Sword Technique]?

?[Description: A compilation of sword techniques that originated from an immortal cultivation-type world. This sword techniques were created by a sword expert whose understanding of the sword had reached its peak; thus transcending the norm. They could be said to be the strongest in their world when it comes to sword techniques. However, no one had managed to comprehend this set of sword techniques after its conception. Furthermore, the creator of this sword techniques had already ascended to become an Immortal, so there is no one to receive guidance from, and thus, this sword art was deemed as useless]?

"Damn! Another S-rank item and an S-rank technique to boot. This is really my lucky day, Hahaha!" Randy rejoiced upon seeing the rank of the technique and only proceeded to skim through the remaining description.

However, unusually enough, another notification suddenly appeared underneath the description section.

?[Reminder: This sword art is a secret art thus compiled into four sword techniques. Meaning there are four forms to this particular sword art, and it is as follows:]?

?[Visible Sword Strike(First Form)]?

?[Phantom Sword Strike(Second Form)]?

?[Double Phantom Sword Strike(Third Form)]?

?[Unseen Sword Strike(Final Form)]?

"Oh, I see, so there are four forms, huh? But still, would I even use the sword? Even though the technique is amazing, I always envision myself using my fist to fight instead of using weapons though. Well, I will keep it for now, perhaps I might change my mind in the future." Randy muttered upon reading the details of this S-rank sword art.

'Hm? I see now. It should be a sword art since it is made up of four sword techniques.'

After putting this tattered book away, Randy turned around and picked a certain item, the appearance of this item was very familiar, and Randy started doubting whether it really was something worth stealing by this burglar. However what he saw next took him by surprise.

Lines of text glowed on the screen in front of him.

?[Reflecting Mirror of Double Return(Artifact)]?

?[Rank: Legendary]?

?[Weapon Property: Double Reflection(S)]?

?[Description: This is a powerful artifact from a magic-type world with the ability to absorb and reflect double the attacks receive from an opponent. It requires the use of mana to operate but it does not necessarily require the user's own mana, magic crystals could be used as a substitute for its operation]?

"Holy fuck! This is an artifact, I thought it was just an ordinary mirror with a luxurious design; never would I have thought that it would be an artifact instead. This is a legendary rank artifact, surpassing even an S-rank equipment." Randy jumped from fright when he saw that the unassuming mirror turned out to be an artifact.

He soon calmed himself down and was about to put the mirror down when a sudden change occurred.

?[Warning!]?

?[There is an unknown power trying to establish connection to the system]?

?[Determining the hazard level of this unknown power. Please wait…]?

"This is…"

"What the fuck is going on?" Randy muttered in shock as he saw the text on his light-red panel changed to blood-red text instead of white text.

After a while, a new notification appeared on the screen, surprising Randy.

?[Upon further analysis, the system had determined the factors of this unknown power and the following conclusion had been drawn:]?

"What the hell is it?" Randy doubtfully asked.

?[The unknown power is trying to synchronize with the system]?

?[Notice: This synchronization might bring unforeseen changes to the system]?

?[Would you permit this change?]?

?[Attention, if the host refuses, this unknown power might forcefully synchronize with the system]?

'What the hell! What really is going on? You are saying that some 'unknown power' is trying to synchronize with my personalize system and you cannot resist against this unknown power and if I happen to disregard its 'kind' intrusion, it might forcefully synchronize with the system in response. So I have no choice but to permit it instead?' Randy reiterated the meaning behind the system's prompt.

?[Affirmative]? The system only gave a curt reply to his question.