Admittedly, improving the [Blood Shield] could work against Khan's precautions. Pushing the defensive alien technique to his new physical limits could make him able to endure pretty much anything, increasing his survival chances if he forced his organization to take him down.
However, the issue had another side that could work in Khan and his forces' favor. The [Blood Shield]'s drawbacks had always been harsh, and their intensity grew with each superior checkpoint. Khan might end up abusing it if he lost his sense of self, killing himself in the process.
Moreover, Khan needed familiar sensations to remain grounded in reality, and few of his techniques had accompanied him for so long. Chances were the eventual heaviness on his chest would help him fend off the invasive mories, saving his forces from his terrifying outburst.
Everything was obviously theoretical. Khan had done his best to explain and coordinate with Garret, but the scientist's limited understanding of those alien fields left much unclear. The risks were unavoidable, and Khan could only prepare himself and his forces as much as possible before jumping into that dangerous, potentially final, training session.
Hours passed as Khan kept tinkering with his huge sample of the ancient creature's flesh. The big, gory chunk grew smaller with each cycle, but the failures also diminished.
Khan's mastery not only improved with each attempt. Clearing each checkpoint allowed him to use stronger samples, which were more in line with his previous expertise. He didn't need to weaken the ancient creature's flesh too much anymore, pushing him away from that uncharted territory.
The cycles even reached the point when Khan had to stop weakening the Great Old One's flesh, allowing him to use the mastery accumulated over the years fully. The procedures stopped failing altogether, and the [Blood Shield] grew stronger with each of them.
The backlashes intensified, too, but Khan's body easily endured them and recovered in no ti. He didn't need to rest or take breaks due to his incredible resilience, saving valuable hours from an otherwise ti-consuming process.
The seamless, smooth process almost made Khan believe his body lacked proper limits, but they eventually arrived. A harsh drawback finally hit him, cutting off his breath and making him lie on the tal floor while his blood vessels clotted and relaxed wildly.
Sweat even accumulated on Khan's forehead while the drawback unfolded, and his muscles trembled to no end during it. His body looked on the verge of rejecting that alien technique, but he slowly relaxed, regaining his ability to breathe and stand straight.
Khan straightened his sitting position and wiped off the sweat on his forehead before looking at the tal platform. Most of the buckets were empty, but a relatively good chunk of the Great Old One's flesh still stood among his eyes' light. The sample had survived the cycles, albeit in quite a mangled state.
Khan took a few deep breaths before performing his check-up technique. His body was in perfect condition, and the [Blood Shield] had also survived. He lifted his left hand, commanding the skill to activate, and his blood vessels instantly clotted.
Black worm-like shapes rose from Khan's skin, enveloping his scarred hand and fingers into a thick, hideous armor. Blood vessels popped up everywhere, but the process didn't stop there.
The [Blood Shield] usually left patches of skin uncovered. Those gaps in the armor had beco beyond tiny after the recent checkpoint but still existed.
Yet, the blackness of the clotted blood vessels now invaded those gaps, tainting his skin and the muscles below. Khan's whole hand beca dark, and touching it revealed its firmness.
The event genuinely surprised Khan. He expected the alien technique to grow stronger and firr, but it seed a proper evolution had occurred. The [Blood Shield] had no gaps anymore, and a few calculations told Khan he could cover his entire body with it.
'I bet [Zalpa] would have never expected a human to push it to this level,' Khan grinned. 'I wonder what face that old hag would make.'
Khan shook his head, pushing his teasing desires aside. Even his smirk disappeared as he retracted the [Blood Shield]. He had probably pushed the old ways past their original limits, but the Niqols weren't there to praise him.
After a sigh, Khan moved his glowing eyes to the leftover flesh. He didn't have any use for it now, but that wouldn't necessarily be true in the future, especially since his attunent with mana was still incomplete.
Also, Khan had never t anything stronger than the Great Old One, and the chances of finding a superior monster were low, if not non-existent. Things would have been different if the ancient creature's species were still alive, but every clue pointed toward their extinction.
'We are lucky it's a big guy,' Khan considered, drawing his phone to type a ssage to Garret. 'I'm done. The sea station can resu working at full power.'
Garret replied in no ti, listing a series of questions and worries Khan answered to the best of his capabilities. Truth be told, the interrogation was rely routine, and neither hoped to get any valuable conclusions out of it.
'Keep storing samples and blood for ,' Khan eventually typed, 'Especially the blood. I shouldn't need much more, so don't hold back with the other experints.'
'My Prince, the creature is too big for that to be a risk,' Garret wrote back, reassuring Khan. 'Both you and the labs won't run out of samples for years.'
Khan couldn't help but agree. He actually had guessed as much but wanted Garret to prioritize the experints. Much had yet to be tested, but humankind as a whole would probably benefit from that finding, and things wouldn't stop at one species.
Ideally, Khan would want his forces to create sothing similar to Baoway's supplent. He didn't know if humans or other species could mutate as seamlessly as he, but Garret was bound to develop sothing useful from the Great Old One's corpse. Chances were the universe would need it against the scarlet eyes.
'I'll seclude myself in my quarters for a few days,' Khan replied. 'Once I co out, I'll deal with that project.'
'The nukes are in position, My Prince,' Garret responded. 'Hopefully, we won't need to use them.'
Khan was about to type sothing but eventually decided otherwise. He stored his phone and closed his eyes, pushing aside the worries about the imminent training session. He still had to absorb the mana from the [Blood Vortex], but the Great Old One's conclusions about the Nak awaited him once he was done.
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