Osho perked at the term bloodlines.
Throughout all the lessons they’d been taught in school, that had to be the most obscure thing. It was one of those things that most people knew existed but very few people knew the intricacies, and when someone had brought it up in class once, Mrs Jane very flatly told them that such information was pointless to them.
So her bringing it up so suddenly was certainly a surprise, and everyone’s interest was piqued.
"Bloodlines," She started slowly. "Are special lineages some beasts possess. But their intricacies vary from beast to beast." She paused for a moment and looked at all of them carefully.
"Think of it as a legacy imprinted on every beast’s essence. It’s speculated that every beast has a bloodline, however, the concentration is so low that it is dormant for their whole lives, which is why most beasts show no indication of having a bloodline. It goes beyond just traits, they carry a certain dominance as well as instincts and even abilities that are separate from conventional Affinity-based skills, but not exactly independent from Mana either." She watched everyone’s reactions before continuing.
"Some bloodlines are stronger, older, and more refined than others, and when two beasts with bloodlines meet, the one with the stronger bloodline suppresses the other. Remember, bloodlines are etched into a beast’s very essence, so even if it’s dormant, it’s still there, so suppressing the bloodline is no different from suppressing the beast in its entirety. This is what we call bloodline suppression." This caused murmurs to run through the bus, but Osho listened with rapt attention.
"Bloodline suppression isn’t something that can be observed with the naked eye. In most cases anyway. It’s a clash of instincts, an invisible battle at the most primal level for beasts. If a beast with a sufficiently powerful bloodline is around, it doesn’t need to hear its fangs, roar, or consciously display aggression to paint itself as superior. Its bloodline will do that for it, and any beast with a lesser bloodline will naturally submit.
"This is different from normal Aura or Mana suppression. A bloodline is woven into the very existence of a beast’s being. It resonates with the Mana in the world around it. Enforcing the beast’s dominance without them needing to act consciously." When she said that, Osho thought for a bit.
Ever since he hatched Gale, he noticed how the other beasts looked at him. He couldn’t say it was suppression per se, but it was more like them recognizing that he was above them in some way. Or something like that. However, he noticed that this was drastically reduced with Sugil as the snake was only a rank behind when it came to potential, but that had changed after Gale had evolved.
"As for the abilities," Mrs Jane continued. "Bloodlines sometimes awaken skills that can’t be learned or taught to a beast, at least, not under normal circumstances. Think of them as gifts left by powerful ancestors. They often compliment a beast’s natural Affinity, but they aren’t exactly Mana-based techniques either. They’re a strange mix of instincts and lineage." Her gaze fell back on Osho, or specifically, Gale.
"That’s why some beasts possess strange abilities outside their affinities, or abilities that seem far more advanced than what their ranks should allow. It’s also why some beasts can dominate other beasts beyond their rank." She shifted her gaze to Osho.
"Osho, Gale seems to have a particularly potent bloodline. One he seems to consciously keep suppressed. But when the intent-filled gazes of the beasts in this forest fell on everyone, I believe that spurred him to instinctual use his bloodline. This caused all the beasts that had been watching to experience bloodline suppression which forced them to avert their gazes." When she finally finished, the gazes of everyone fell on Osho again, even the soldiers glanced at him briefly.
As for Osho, he fell into deep thought.
’Bloodlines huh?’ He replayed all his interactions with Gale since the bird hatched and considered if there were any times the bird showed any signs of possessing a bloodline.
’His intelligence and strength could easily be chalked up to his potential. Same thing with his learning capabilities. Hm..’ That’s when he remembered.
’Right, those strange markings.’ Osho had asked Gale to hide those markings on his body as he simply thought of them as strange additions to his body.
’But then again, what’s the point of being able to hide markings if they are pointless? If they serve no purpose, then what’s the point of the ability to deactivate them? Beasts don’t particularly care about their appearances, so would Gale truly just possess something purely aesthetic and then have the ability to hide it?
’Yeah, seems suspicious, also intriguing.’ He rubbed his chin but was talented out of his thoughts when the bus seemed to hit what felt like a bump.
The other students were also startled by the change, their fixation on Osho and Gale briefly being removed as they looked out the window. The bus was still going along a path, but now it wasn’t as smooth or straight as before.
There were numerous imperfections in it, some so deep that an ordinary car would struggle immensely to get past it, but the buses and military vehicles were equipped with special suspension, so the bad road felt like a minor annoyance that could easily be ignored.
Osho hummed before looking at and past the trees. The undergrowth was intense, and it was hard to see very far without the numerous plants and similar things interfering. Moreover, the air was quite humid, and when Osho had that realization, he was surprised to realize that he wasn’t sweating.
In fact, he felt quite cool, and he quickly noticed that it was due to his Synthetic High Durability Suit. It was quite breathable already, but now it seemed to have the function of being able to regulate its temperature, possibly being able to adapt depending on the climate.
’These things should be cheap due to how many were bought. Makes me wonder how good the high-level gear is.’ Osho thought as he looked at Mrs Jane secretly. It was easy for one to think jer attire was simply based on fashion due to its appearance, but as one of the few Expert ranked beast tamers in their Citadel, there were more than a few clips of her in action, and Osho knew that her clothes were far from ordinary, and they were certainly better than whatever they had on, which already seemed quite impressive.
But Osho remembered that these weren’t that good in the grand scheme of things. Gale at the Grey rank had no problems putting a hole in a steel dummy that could easily shatter Osho’s ribcage. So in the face of a beast that was fully intent on killing him, relying on its defenses probably wasn’t a great idea.
The loud sound caused everyone except Mrs Jane and the soldiers to flinch.
Before they could think of what happened, the sound happened again, and Osho realized that it came from the turrets of one of the buses.
He looked through his window as best as he could and saw one of the turrets on the bus directly in front of them aimed to the side, its barrels spinning as it was locked on something.
Its barrels flashed again, and finally, a pained roar that Osho felt in his chest came some ways to the side echoed, and he looked to see a beast that looked a lot like a raptor as tall as a door with green skin fall to the ground, a few fist-sized holes in its body.
’Damn.’ Osho thought.
Everyone stared as the buses drove past, and eventually, the beast was out of sight.
’I wonder what those rounds are made of.’ He thought curiously and turned to tye back where the supplies were, among which were the several large crates filled with bullets for the turrets.
The reason the war against the beasts was so difficult in the past was that conventional weaponry was almost useless, as weapons lacking any sort of Mana couldn’t pierce their hides easily. But for these turrets to so easily punch holes in that raptor which had skin that certainly wasn’t weak, they had to be something special.
"You’re zoning out again." Ellie said with a pouty expression and poked his cheek.
Osho blinked and turned to her.
"I mean, yeah. Lots to think about." He shrugged and she narrowed her eyes.
"Tell me your thought process starting from after Mrs Jane explained how bloodlines worked." Osho blinked again and scratched his head.
"Uh, well, I thought about how Gale might have showed he had a bloodline since I hatched him, then I noticed that I’m not sweating despite how humid it is, and I felt like these suits are pretty impressive but remembered they aren’t in the grand scheme of things, then I–" Ellie cut him off.
"I swear you have ADHD." She said flatly and he raised a brow.
"How does my thought process point to that?" He asked confused and she just pinched the bridge of her nose.
"You know what? Whatever." She folded her arms and looked away, still pouting. Osho blinked.
’Did I do something?’