Imprisoned for a Trillion Years, I Was Worshipped by All Gods!

Hearing Daniel's response, the man froze for a moment.

What rank was that?

He had never heard of a Realm Overseer. Was it some kind of special designation? Or perhaps it didn't align with the system of ranks he was familiar with?@@novelbin@@

"Does your faction have Tier-Platinum powerhouses?" the man asked skeptically.

Daniel barely managed to suppress a laugh, but then he replied carefully, enunciating each word:

"If my orders are strictly followed, the number of Tier-Platinum mages in Riverside City alone… would probably be a small fraction. Maybe less than a few hundred thousand."

After all, most of them had likely already surpassed that rank.

Even the Level 14 Forge at Crossbridge Academy… who knows how it was doing now?

The man's jaw dropped at Daniel's words.

"What…"

He wanted to say, That's impossible.

What kind of faction could have hundreds of thousands of Tier-Platinum powerhouses?

It sounded utterly absurd.

Tier-Platinum mages weren't ordinary people. Even a city with hundreds of thousands of regular residents would be a monumental achievement, let alone mages of that rank.

The man's eyes narrowed in suspicion as he stared at Daniel.

Experience tales at My Virtual Library Empire

"You're not under the control of my gu bug, are you?"

He fixed his gaze on Daniel.

"How can a mere ordinary person resist the influence of my gu bug?"

The idea of hundreds of thousands of Tier-Platinum powerhouses was an insult to his intelligence.

If Daniel's faction had such overwhelming power, why would someone like him be wandering around in a remote village?

"You're right—your gu bug didn't affect me. But everything I said just now should be true. Hmm, probably," Daniel replied calmly.

To the man, however, it sounded like Daniel was mocking him.

"Shut up! I already knew you weren't ordinary, but I didn't expect you to be capable of this…"

The man glared coldly at Daniel and said,

"Didn't the elders in your faction teach you… to keep a low profile? You're just an ordinary person with no discernible strength, yet you dare to act recklessly in front of me!"

"I was just curious about what you're up to in this village. And now, it's clear you're doing something you don't want others to know about," Daniel said, glancing at the containers around him.

The man suddenly let out a grim laugh, one that was both ugly and chilling.

"In that case, let me teach you a lesson! Curiosity without strength can get you killed!"

As the man spoke, his pupils turned a ghastly shade of blood-red.

Streams of blood erupted from his eyes, forming sinister, crimson threads that surged toward Daniel.

Each thread radiated an evil, blood-soaked aura.

The threads coiled around Daniel, tightening rapidly, aiming to crush him on the spot.

But just as the blood threads were about to touch Daniel, they suddenly… stopped.

It was as if they had lost all their power, freezing in midair.

The man stared in shock as his attack inexplicably came to a halt, the threads hanging lifelessly.

He tried to reactivate his spell, but… nothing happened.

To his horror, he realized that even his own body was immobilized.

A strange force was traveling back through the blood threads, pinning him in place.

It was a backlash—a powerful one—rendering him utterly helpless.

"Before you try to teach someone else, you should make sure you've learned your lesson," Daniel said indifferently.

"Do you really think I'd confront you without preparing a countermeasure?"

The man's face contorted in fear.

He couldn't believe it. How could an ordinary person with no mana possibly turn the tables like this?

His blood-based spells could easily subdue powerful mages, let alone a regular human.

Crushing Daniel should have been as simple as squashing an ant.

And yet…

The reality before him was completely different.

Daniel remained unfazed, while he himself was completely immobilized.

Daniel began examining the man's research.

The underground chamber was filled with jars and containers of various sizes, all brimming with blood.

The overwhelming stench of blood permeated the air, explaining the suffocating odor.

If Daniel wanted to uncover the man's intentions, the best way was to ask him directly.

"So, what exactly are you researching here? Explain," Daniel said, snapping his fingers.

The man found himself regaining partial control over his body, though much of it still felt restricted.

He glared at Daniel, wanting nothing more than to attack him, but he was powerless.

"Don't waste your time trying to use your crude spells on me. Just answer my questions," Daniel said coolly.

"Unless, of course, you'd prefer not to survive this encounter."

The man's expression flickered between defiance and fear. Eventually, he chose to relent and began explaining his situation.

The man's name was Singriel, and he hailed from a city thousands of miles away from Tuck Village.

As a child, he had dreamed of becoming a mage.

When he reached adulthood, he eagerly began practicing Genesis and proved to have decent talent.

However, he lacked resources.

Born into poverty, he could only watch as those far less gifted surpassed him, leaving him behind.

The unfairness of it all drove Singriel to seek alternative paths.

Eventually, he discovered them—gu bugs and blood magic.

This path was grueling, dangerous, and demanding.

It required exceptional talent and… an immense amount of blood.

Using blood to cultivate gu bugs and cast spells turned him into a pariah.

Singriel couldn't openly display his abilities and had to keep his practice hidden.

The smell of blood clung to him, growing stronger as his practice advanced.

Still, he refused to give up.

He continued honing his skills, knowing this was the only path available to him.

Along the way, he found like-minded individuals, forming a group that trained in secret while evading persecution from larger factions.

But the relentless hunts didn't stop.

Blood magic was too taboo—using human blood to fuel spells was considered unforgivably evil.

To escape, Singriel eventually fled to Tuck Village, where he stumbled upon something extraordinary.

Through his sensitivity to curses and blood, Singriel discovered that the villagers of Tuck Village were unable to become mages due to a bloodline curse.

This curse was deeply embedded in their blood and had been passed down for generations.

It completely blocked them from cultivating magic.

At first, Singriel was terrified.

A curse of this magnitude had to have been cast by an entity of unimaginable power.

No ordinary being could lay such a lasting, effective curse across generations.

But then, a new thought struck him.

The curse, deeply rooted in their bloodline, was a treasure trove for someone like him.

Blood… and curses.

Both were essential to his magic.

To him, Tuck Village was a sanctuary, a dream come true.

If he could break through his current limitations—or even unravel the secrets of the bloodline curse—his power would skyrocket.

With such strength, he'd no longer need to fear the larger factions hunting him.

And so, Singriel remained in the village, studying the curse in secret.

As for the being who cast the curse, he reasoned that they probably no longer cared about the village.

After all, why would anyone bother with a place full of people who couldn't cultivate magic?