Evolution of the Ruined Heir

Chapter 224: Fresh Blood

Malakai tapped on the Fresh Blood Rankings the instant he saw it. A list of names appeared alongside their corresponding points, and Malakai observed each one carefully.

Fresh Blood Rankings

Valerian Von Sanguine – 77,935

Othric Von Sanguine – 68,323

…

29. Malakai Von Sanguine – 29,312

‘As expected.’ Malakai gazed calmly at the rankings of the Sanguine Clan’s youth. He wasn’t surprised, not even slightly.

The Fresh Blood Rankings featured every young blood knight in the clan. Although names stopped affecting the board once a person crossed the age of twenty, they were never removed.

Their presence was meant to serve as a legacy, one that others would strive to surpass, and fail.

Malakai’s gaze went to two things the moment the rankings showed: the very top, and his own name. To him, those were the only things that mattered. He didn’t bother checking anything else.

‘It increased.’ He silently noted.

He could still remember his previous total from the hunt, and it had clearly gone up.

‘The hunt reward… it was 20%, but the Sovereign doubled it.’

He did the math in his head. After running the numbers, he realized that roughly 160 points remained unaccounted for. But that was reasonable, considering he had just returned from a mission.

‘The grade two corrupter and…’

Malakai was certain something else was at play. From the hunt, grade one darkness creatures were worth, at most, 20 points.

Grade twos, no matter how significantly stronger, couldn’t be more than 50. Which meant the one he killed had probably awarded 50 points. That explained 50, but what about the rest?

‘The mission.’

The thought clicked after a second. He tapped on his lifeguard and checked. Sure enough, the earlier mission that had popped up now had a completed mark beside it. He looked at the reward.

‘Over a thousand.’ It was exactly 1,100 points.

‘Ten percent.’ Malakai narrowed his eyes. That would be 110 points. Perfectly aligned with the discrepancy.

‘So we get about 10% of the overall mission points.’ He concluded.

It was another avenue for gaining points. Killing two birds with one stone.

After noting the other veins’ positions on the board, Malakai left the Fresh Blood Rankings and navigated further. Another board came into view, but this one wasn’t for individuals.

‘Is this… the squads?’ he thought. There were different categories, one for the Blood Knight squads within the Kaer Thorn district, and another covering all squads in Sylvastein.

Regardless, Malakai sighed the moment he saw their squad, labeled by their captain’s name, showing up last in nearly every ranking.

He shook his head.

‘Of course.’ It didn’t surprise him. Captain Rhett had clearly been banished to a forgotten corner of the district. It was no wonder they rarely got missions. Today had just been a fluke.

Malakai closed out the rankings and lay back on his bed.

He had a lot to think about.

…

The hours went by quickly, and night had already descended.

“Tell me everything you know about the Murkroot Hollow.” A cold voice echoed in the middle of a quiet forest.

The moon’s sliver glow shone down on two figures facing each other in front of a massive tree.

At the question, the man clad in a pure white suit bowed. His eyes were calm, but there was no fooling the first figure. He could see the gate within those eyes. But he didn’t care.

It was none other than Malakai and Whiteshade.

Following his long thinking session, Malakai had called for a meeting with Whiteshade to discuss the Murkroot Hollow and everything he had found out today.

“It’s the only underdeveloped district inside the city, Ninth Vein. It is currently ruled by multiple clans across the city who only want a piece of the resources it has to offer.”

“I heard the city has been trying to populate and develop it for about 30 years now. What is keeping them from doing it?”

Malakai didn’t say everything he knew about the Murkroot Hollow or the savages he met today. Aside from the fact that he couldn’t trust Whiteshade, he was here to gather information, not give it away.

Whiteshade took on a thoughtful look, gathering his thoughts. “Before I start, I must warn you that this information isn’t completely reliable.”

“Why?”

“Because the matters of the Murkroot Hollow are kept in the Murkroot Hollow. From what I hear, none of its inhabitants are allowed to step out of the district, especially the Blood Guardians and Knights, who would know what’s going on.”

“So you don’t have any sources coming into the Red Maw?” Malakai asked.

Whiteshade shook his head. “We do.”

Malakai gestured for him to continue.

“Do you know who visits the Red Maw the most, Ninth Vein?” Whiteshade asked.

“The poor.”

“And the wretched. Lost souls who have given up on living a good life and are addicted to the thrill,” Whiteshade said. “There’s a lot going on at the Murkroot Hollow that is unknown, but it is leaving men injured and crippled for life. Some of these men are allowed to work at the border. From there, they sneak into Kaer Thorn and enter the Red Maw.”

“But…” Whiteshade suddenly shook his head. “Their words are unreliable. There’s no way of confirming if what they say is true or not. And some have already been caught contradicting themselves.”

Malakai nodded and gestured for Whiteshade to continue once more. He understood what the man was trying to say. What he was about to say could be considered nothing but rumors. Still, it was better than nothing.

“Some say the reason the city can’t make any progress is because the forest is fighting them. Nature is angry, they say. Nonsense talk.” Whiteshade shook his head. It was clear he didn’t believe in superstitions.

“Some say it’s a new group they’ve never heard of, stopping any chance of development. Some say failed experiments, others say new species. The speculations are endless.”

“Why hasn’t the city done anything about it yet?”

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