The Essence Blood looked different from the one in Gio’s possession. It ca from a monster, not a beast, and from one that reached its full potential.
The Dark Demon Tiger attacked during one of the earliest eras of Sequencing. People had just barely learned how to extract Sequences from beasts and humanity was barely starting to regain ground.
That was when the Dark Demon Tiger appeared. It was a massive monster that was bigger than most cities. It swept a paw and erased hundreds of thousands of people. It looked like an impossibility that humans couldn’t understand.
It was eventually defeated.
After tens of millions of people had died and several countries had been exterminated, it was finally taken down.
Its body contributed greatly to science. It was still talked about by teachers who were teaching young Sequencers about the dangers humanity faced.
Gio looked around for a long ti to figure out why its Essence Blood was in the Atmos Clan’s estate, but he couldn’t find any definitive answers.
’The trail cut off at a certain point. The most I could find out was that this vial of Essence Blood was stolen at so point. Either the thief, their buyer, or soone who found the blood later put it here.’
As for why it was set up like a trial?
How was he supposed to know? The best he could say was that soone was feeling extravagant and made sothing like this.
’It’s not like it matters, anyway. The point is that this blood is in my hands now.’
Gio opened his Storage Hole and walked in. The vial was thin and it looked like the Essence Blood was eating through the glass, so before anything, he found a new vial he’d taken from the Old Lady’s Do and transferred the liquid.
After it was stored safely next to the Blackwing Blood Serpent’s Essence Blood, he returned to his cart and made his way back to the mansion.
He pulled out his phone and dialed the Head Butler’s number that his father had given them.
The call was answered before the first ring could end.
"Who is this?"
The voice from the other side was older and sowhat hoarse.
"It’s Gio," Gio responded.
His father had already made the proper preparations. When he said his na, the Head Butler imdiately understood the situation.
"So it’s you, Young Master. What can I assist you with?"
His tone beca much more polite in an instant.
"I need a driver to take into the city. Is it possible?" Gio asked.
"Yes, Young Master, it is possible, however..."
The Head Butler hesitated for a mont.
"...firstly, it will be late soon. There won’t be much for a child to do. Secondly, I must inform your father if you wish to leave the estate grounds. If that is fine with you, then I can arrange a driver."
Gio furrowed his brows.
"That’s fine, but I want to get there before the stores close. Try to act fast."
"I will call you back as soon as possible with an update, Young Master."
"Alright."
Gio hung up with a frown.
’It’ll be difficult if Father denies permission, but...we’ll see what happens.’
His main goal wasn’t in the city. He only wanted to go to Helix to do so shopping. As for his true goal...
He dialed a new number and held his phone up to his ear. It rang several tis. Gio almost hung up before letting the voicemail ssage play, but just before he moved his phone from his ear, he heard sothing from the other side.
PSSSSSSHHHH!
Gio’s eardrum almost blew out as so sort of pressurized machine blasted directly into the other side’s mic.
As he moved his phone away in a bid to save himself from going deaf, a loud voice overtook the sound of rushing steam.
"Hello?! Can you hear ?!"
"Barely."
"What?!"
"I said barely."
"Hold on! I can’t hear you!"
Gio rubbed his forehead with his phone a foot away from his ear as he listened to the woman on the other side scuffle through a ss of random things. The ear-piercing sounds beca further away until they were finally at a level where they could be ignored.
"How is it now? Can you hear properly?"
"I can..."
"That’s good. Now, then, who are you?"
Gio looked at the phone with a strange expression.
"My na is Gio. Raymond gave your number."
Raymond really had a knack for surrounding himself with...interesting people. Such was Gio’s first impression of the woman whose number he’d been given before leaving the zephyr.
"Raymond...as in that one? Captain Ray? Tall, blonde, and handso?"
"He’s none of those things."
"Right, so it’s the sa guy. I call him that because he’s none of those things."
The woman on the other side responded with a grin that leaked through her words.
"If you’re Gio, then you must be the kid he was talking about last ti. He’s been ignoring for the past two years and he suddenly decides to call back because of you. That creates high expectations, you know?"
Gio raised a brow.
"Expectations? Are you planning to test for sothing?"
"Hmm?" The woman responded curiously.
"Didn’t you call because you want to get into FSI?"
Gio almost forgot what the original reason for Raymond’s recomndation was. She was supposed to get him into the First Institute. She was also supposed to help him into Arcadia, but she must’ve accepted that he was already in the 2nd Stratum when he called her.
Calls across Strata were very expensive, after all.
"I don’t really need a recomndation for FSI. I’m actually calling for sothing else."
The information on the card was succinct, but it was enough.
[Farrah Sinclair]
[FSI Recruiter]
[Head Researcher, Tauras-Rauth GBR Division]
Anyone in Arcadia knew Tauras-Rauth, one of the greatest manufacturers of Sequences to exist.
A Head Researcher at Taurus-Roth’s Gene and Blood Research Division was a person of very high status with access to a great deal of things.
"I wanted to ask if I could borrow a lab of yours to complete so research I’ve been working on. Would it be possible?"
What Gio needed access to now wasn’t a way into the First Institute.
It was a lab with the proper equipnt to fuse two Essence Bloods that were both so strong and volatile.
"What? You want to use a lab?"
Farrah responded in surprise.
"Aren’t you just a brat from the Wasteland? What kind of research could you be doing?"
"Well, if I was just a kid from the Wasteland, would we be talking right now?"
"Oh...you’re not wrong."
Farrah nodded to herself. She didn’t get any alerts that this was an interstratal call, so it must’ve co from Arcadia.
"But my labs are a bit too advanced for regular research. Is there a reason why I should let you use one?"
Gio knew it was almost impossible for him to imdiately receive permission, but he couldn’t rent ordinary lab space that was available to students.
To fuse an Equinox Grade Bloodline with the sa equipnt used to make BurrowGrade ones...only an idiot would think it was possible.
"If I didn’t need a lab of yours, I wouldn’t have asked for it," Gio said.
"But I can prove that to you in person. There’s nothing I can do to convince you over the phone, right?"
"True."
Farrah agreed imdiately.
"Are you in Celestele?"
"No, I’m in Helix, but if you pick up we can move through Nightreign."
"Hmm...you’re moving fast. I like it. Since you’re soone Rayray is backing, I’ll give you so leeway. et in Nightreign tomorrow, 3 pm CST. How’s that?"
"Works for . How do I find you?"
"You know my na. Look it up and you’ll know my face too. Just co up to and I’ll figure it out."
"Okay."
3 o’clock in the afternoon in Celestellan Standard Ti was several hours past midnight for him, but that didn’t matter. Gaining access to the lab was more important than his sleep schedule.
Gio confird the ti with Farrah one more ti before hanging up the phone. Not long after, he received a call back from the Head Butler telling him that his father had approved his trip to the city.
’Okay.’
It would be another day before he t Farrah, so it was good to get this out of the way as well.
’If I find you on my first try, everything you said to in the past becos void.’
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