After collecting the dark crystals and poison glands, Alex left the poison pits area, returning to the passage's entrance, a much safer place where no wandering creature came because of the previous presence of gemstone drake.
It would normally require the help of a Master Blacksmith and the use of Third Rank forging flame to refine the dark crystals from their poisonous nature into the desired material named the Etherealite Shards.
But Alex didn't need to go through such trouble to refine the dark crystals thanks to the selective refinement skill of the Red Gem.
Alex placed the gathered dark crystal into a single pile before using the selective refinement skill, covering them in a cloak of red mist.
The dark crystal's nature began to shift and change under the influence of the gem's power, and the poisonous aura that once surrounded them started to dissipate into the air, leaving behind only the raw essence of the crystals.
After close to an hour of wait, the mist retracted back into the red gem leaving behind the transformed crystals of a mesmerizing deep black color, but now they were devoid of any harmful effects.
Alex looked at the transformed crystals, which now exuded a faint ethereal glow, indicating their newfound purity, with their weight now being one-third of what they were initially.
Alex placed the crystal shards into his inventory before taking out all the poison glands he gathered and then used the selective refinement skill to remove any impurities, enhancing the quality of the poison while also diluting their corrosive nature.
The poison glands of the newts contained potent toxins with magical properties that, once refined from impurities, could be used in various rare concoctions, poisons, and potions, and they were also helpful to the growth of poisonous creatures.
After half an hour, the refinement process was completed, and the poison glands now took on a different hue, indicating their altered nature, and without any delay, Alex summoned Ricin, his beast companion.
Ricin seeing the pile of poison glands, looked toward Alex and, after receiving permission, started eating, finishing the small pile in mere moments before staring at Alex with his deep purple eyes, the only thing about him that made him look dangerous.
Alex poured a pile of poisonous newts carcasses on the floor, and while Ricin enjoyed his food, Alex used the Bloodline Refinement skill on Ricin to understand how the skill worked.
The Red Gem Shined for a moment burning through ten thousand energy points and releasing a dark mist as usual that started to cloak the giant frame of Ricin, making him panic, but before Alex could calm him, he fell flat on the floor, going unconscious.
The Red mist cloaked Ricin in a flowing red blanket and stayed like that for twenty-six minutes before returning to the Red gem, and instantly, a transparent system window appeared before Alex, which showed him information about Ricin's bloodline.
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Poisonous Vulture.
Bloodlines: Poisonous Vulture (89%), Plaguewing Hatchling (7%), Venomous Necroavian (2.40%), Unknown (1.6%).
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Alex could see a spectral overlay of Ricin's bloodlines, displaying their current strengths and potential for dominance, and one by one, he started checking the detailed information.
The dominant bloodline of Ricin, the Poisonous Vulture, was a common grade bloodline that could be refiled into a rare grade bloodline named the (Venomous Virulent), and it prominently represented the essence of Ricin's nature, granting him poison-related abilities and attributes.
However, there were two other rare bloodlines within Ricin that could be refined and made dominant.
The first one was the bloodline of the (Plaguewing Hatchling), an Epic-grade bloodline granting vast control over plagues and poisons, and even though it was faint, it had largely greater potential than the dominant bloodline.
The second bloodline was that of the (Venomous Necroavian), also an Epic-grade bloodline with control over various forms of poison and the element of death.
The time and energy points Alex needed to invest To refine and make any one of the bloodlines dominant and promote its overall potency and evolve into dominance were different.
The refinement of the Poisonous Vulture bloodline into Venomous Virulent will take three days of using the Bloodline Refinement skill in total and a cost of 2.4 Million energy points.
The Plaguewing Hatchling bloodline would take approximately one month of time and a cost of up to 8 Million energy points.
But besides the cost of time and energy points during the refinement process, Ricin needed to be fed various Poison, Plague, and life nature materials in rich quantities. Otherwise, the time needed and cost of energy points would increase more than two folds.
During the refinement process, Ricin's affinity towards his bloodline elements will grow stronger, and he will experience physical changes, granting him new abilities related to that bloodline.
The Venomous Necroavian bloodline was much stronger than the Plaguewing Hatchling's bloodline, but because of its nature and lacking dominance in the overall bloodline structure, the time and resources needed to make it the dominant bloodline were also much greater.
The Venomous Necroavian bloodline required about One to Three months of using the Bloodline Refinement skill and a higher energy cost of about 22 Million energy points, which was mind-boggling to Alex.
Alex understood that just the time he needed to spend using the Bloodline Refinement skill ranged from 500 to over 2000 hours depending on the bloodline he selected, and that was after he fed Ricin rare elemental materials.
Alex also knew he wanted nothing less than the best, and as the unknown part of the bloodline couldn't be touched, the only option left was the Venomous Necroavian bloodline.
Alex understood that as his strength and control over the Red Gem grew, the time the skills needed to do things would decline.
So after some thinking, Alex devised a plan for Ricin to break his current bloodline shackles and progress faster and eventually completely replace his bloodline for the better.
'I will start by refining Ricin's common bloodline to Venomous Virulent, making him capable of advancing to the fourth Rank, and refine his Venomous Necroavian bloodline when I prepare to advance to the fourth Rank,' Alex thought.
Alex will need to spend a lot of time in meditation to awaken his Elemental Flame and build the mana veins needed to advance to the fourth Rank, and he could use that time to refine Ricin's bloodline.
'I still have more than ten hours before I need to logout, and as I can't hunt in the poison pits without the help of my summoned elementals, so might as well spend the time my skill is on cooldown refining Ricin's bloodline and also refine my mana sense,' Alex thought, looking toward Ricin, who was still asleep.
Alex started the process, instantly covering Ricin in a blanket of red mist while he sat down cross-legged nearby, entering a meditative state and working on his mana sense, which was a crucial part of any of his battles.
Alex extended his mana sense to his current limits and started working to attune his mana to the flow of mana in the surroundings while sensing every minor movement in the pitch-dark depths of these mines.
Time passed, minutes tuning to hours while Alex stayed in meditation while the red mist shifted and flowed like water expanding ever so slowly, showing signs of the changes happening within it as Ricin's Poisonous Vulture bloodline evolved into Venomous Virulent and his body experienced new changes.
After six hours of intense meditation, Alex opened his eyes with a smile, sensing that his mana sense had significantly improved as he was now more attuned to the mana within and around him.
Alex stopped the refining process for Ricin's bloodline, and mere moments later, Ricin woke up with minor but noticeable changes.
The once deep purple eyes now had a hint of virulent Red in them, while Ricin's feathers, previously mostly Green, now displayed subtle thin Red streaks, a physical manifestation of his evolving bloodline.
Ricin now stood over ten feet tall, his body having lost quite some weight making him look lean and ferocious with his already razor-sharp beak and claws having gained a newfound glow.
In terms of abilities, Ricin had gained greater control over poisons, and his venomous attacks had become even deadlier while all his physical stats were improved significantly.
Alex felt happy seeing the changes just from a six-hour session, knowing his plan for tuning his companion into a terror of the sky would slowly come to fruition.
"SHHRRRIIEEEKKKKK"
Alex's chain of thoughts broke after hearing the high pitch screech, and seeing the confused yet happy-looking giant bird spreading his wings made him smile as he walked toward him.
Alex fed Ricin a big meal before he put him back in the companion space and went back to the poison pits area to clear a second lair of newts in the next few hours.
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