Chapter 1040: Enlightened For the entirety of their history, no single Blood Bound had been able to step past the Deific Rank, and although there were rumors of ancient monsters within the ranks of the Blood Bounds who had remained at the Deific Rank for hundreds of thousands of years, no one could confirm that rumor. The only advantage of the Blood Bound was their quick growth rate, somehow they were able to gain far more Aura when they fought and killed their enemies, whether they be Explorers or Calamities. This made them flawed but useful tools, and the Blood Bound traits were no longer killed off or bred out of the population but the opposite actually occurred. Massive continents were filled with Blood Bound slaves, bred for nothing but battle used as shock troops, and other deadly aspects in the battle against the Calamities. They could be given few resources and yet quickly grow to become Deific Ranked Explorers, and they were one of the primary reasons why the Explorers had been able to fight off the invasion of the Calamities for the last half a million years. It would seem that his blood had affected the outlined destiny of this world, but Rowan did not know if that would lead to his advantage or disadvantage in the long run. Roael was a Blood Bound but he had hidden this trait of his for long, willfully slowing down his advancement speed and traveling to the Silver Alliance, an area that was far from the influence of those who utilized Blood Bounds in their service. Yet there were still mysteries behind this man and that was related to his brother. A portion of Roael's memories was missing, sliced away so deeply it affected his soul, and whatever was in that portion of his memories must be very important because his brother was an Ascendant! This was an interesting development, but not one Rowan was particularly interested in. It would be a side project to his overall pursuit of exterminating this World's Will. "Blood Bound!" Rowan growled, never in a thousand Eras had Rowan ever imagined that his glorious bloodline would be reduced to the dirt, made slaves and fodder, and his light was painted by shame. He clenched his hand in fury and assimilated the dot of golden blood, pushing it inside the safety of his spine where it would be hidden from the gaze of the world. He might have just discovered a shortcut in piecing together his shattered consciousness but this method was nothing he would ever choose willingly. Pushing the matter of his bloodline to another consciousness node in his spine, he focused on the new state of his body, unraveling its secrets and preparing it for the next level. New companies would not be far behind, and his elevation would be swift and merciless, but a foundation needed to be built first. For an average Explorer in the Enlightened Realm, the main growth they saw after leaving portions of their mortal body behind and officially climbing in the ranks of an Explorer, was their senses. Everything from sight, smell, touch, and other mystical senses were fully activated and dialed up to eleven, the reason they were called Enlightened was that they were now able to peer into the hidden realms of this world, and for the first time, they were able to see Aura. Not sense it vaguely as some talented mortals were able to, but truly see it. Rowan had never had an issue with viewing Aura but that was not the case for the average mortal, only at the Enlightened Realm could they begin coming in contact with this mystical force and the stage to start their foundations as Explorers began. Another gift of the Enlightened Rank was the ability to manipulate the Aura inside the body in order to build the foundations for higher rankings as an Explorer. Explorers would select the techniques that would carry them throughout the course of their lives and give birth to their Natal Treasures at the Glorious Rank. 𝓯𝙧𝙚𝒆𝙬𝙚𝒃𝙣𝙤𝒗𝓮𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢 Rowan focused inside himself as he analyzed all the techniques in the minds of every Explorer he had killed. He soon figured out the crux behind the creation of these techniques. It was just a simple application of the mutated Auric properties of this realm in a specific pattern that could draw out some of the mysteries in this space that aligned with the nature of the realm, giving the Explorers the chance to control a very tiny portion of the World's Will. The method if Rowan was to admit was genius, but in the end, it would do nothing but tie the Explorers deeper into debt with this realm. A realm that seemed to favor their enemies the Calamities more than the Explorers, and Rowan understood that no matter how this game was played, the winner in the end would still be the World's Will. Rowan had no intention to partake in this rat race with the rest of the Explorers seeking to utilize a piece of the World's Will as a weapon. Instead what he wanted to do was to craft his own path forward, but he paused in this consideration. Perhaps if he followed the path of his own making, he would be stronger, but that would do away with the advantages he had with the occupation of this body that still fit into the overall pattern of this World's Will. He had not forgotten the way he had previously died, the creature below the earth tricked his senses and the World Will bounded his consciousness in a rocky shell. His major advantages were crushed and he could not fight with his greatest strengths, if he had learned anything from that encounter it was that he would have to repay the enemies in their own coin, and against the powers of the higher dimensions, he still had much to learn. Rowan had almost been tempted to follow his pattern of breaking the Will of the worlds he was in and making their rules his plaything, but sometimes the best way to destroy something was from the inside. There were many mysteries in this world that might be linked to events that happened in the first universe he had inhabited, in addition to this unknown danger he was sensing from 'time' itself. He needed to walk this path with great care. If all this was the case, then he should not break the current pattern he was pursuing here, he would still remain an ant under the World's Will but a terrifyingly large ant. He would hide in the most obvious place possible, which was in the full gaze of the World's Will, but no matter how much splash he makes, he would still fall under the permitted patterns that were acceptable in this world, and like a frog that was slowly being boiled to death inside a pot, the World's Will would be unable to do nothing, because although it was crazed, it had to still obey certain rules, because breaking them would risk its destruction. "So which technique should I now create that would fit the pattern of the World Will but taken past its limits?" The horizon vibrated as in the distance tens of heavy warships appeared, zooming towards the dead continents, Rowan paused and rubbed his face, "Let us put that matter on hold for the moment." Turning to the Shiik, he nodded, "Time to feast. I shall be making you a Legend by the time this battle is over."