Chapter 13-Destruction Birth Physique
"Holy shit! What the hell did I do?!"
The moment Dominic opened his eyes, those words escaped his mouth.
His gaze immediately landed on the figure lying beside him.
A girl.
A partially dressed girl.
Then he looked down at himself.
He was also partially dressed.
For a brief moment, Dominic's mind completely froze.
Then panic erupted.
What the hell happened?!
He shot upright on the bed.
However, after looking more carefully at the girl beside him, he finally recognized her.
Silver hair.
Beautiful features.
Those cold, indifferent eyes.
Alexandra Blackwood.
His sister.
The panic disappeared almost instantly, replaced by confusion.
'Alexandra?'
Out of everyone in the family, she was the last person he expected to find sleeping beside him.
His mother?
That would make sense.
Escanor?
That would also make sense.
Even Collins would make more sense.
But Alexandra?
He couldn't understand it.
As if hearing his shout, Alexandra slowly opened her eyes.
Those familiar indifferent eyes stared directly at him.
For several seconds, neither of them spoke.
Then Alexandra looked down at her clothes.
Without blushing.
Without embarrassment.
Without any visible reaction whatsoever.
She calmly adjusted her clothing, stood up, gave Dominic a small nod, and walked toward the door.
The entire process was so natural that Dominic was left completely speechless.
The door closed behind her.
Dominic sat there for a few moments.
"...What?"
Even after she had left, he still couldn't understand how she had remained so calm.
Before he could think further, the shadow beside the bed suddenly twisted.
Darkness gathered together.
Rachel emerged from the shadow and immediately bowed.
"Greetings, Young Master."
Dominic turned toward her.
"What happened here?"
Rachel straightened slightly before answering.
"During your awakening, Young Master, the pain became so severe that it alerted the entire family."
"They came to investigate?"
"Yes."
Rachel nodded.
"After discussing the matter, they decided that the best option was to allow you to rest and recover naturally."
She paused.
"Miss Alexandra volunteered to stay behind and look after you."
Dominic blinked.
That answer only made him more confused.
Alexandra?
Volunteered?
Those two words didn't seem like they belonged together.
Rachel noticed the confusion on his face.
"Young Master, the Wood Awakening makes it difficult for members of the Blackwood Family to express their emotions."
She lowered her head slightly.
"But the emotions are still there."
"Young Miss Alexandra may appear indifferent, but her actual feelings may be very different from what she shows."
Dominic fell silent.
Then he remembered.
The Wood Heart.
The curse-like blessing carried by every member of the Blackwood Family.
It suppressed their emotional expressions, making them appear indifferent, playful or whatever personality they awaken.
Yet beneath that surface, the emotions still existed.
After calming down, Dominic immediately focused on something else.
'System.'
A familiar panel appeared before him.
"System, show me my physique attributes."
A blue screen materialized before his eyes.
---
Physique: ??? ??? ???
System Analysis: Unknown
Status: Weakened Physique
Name: Destruction Birth Physique
Abilities:
1. All previous abilities of the former physique have been significantly strengthened.
2. Life Call
The host may heal, corrupt, or destroy targets through blood, energy, and willpower.
Note: The stronger the target, the weaker the effect becomes.
3. Dark Forest
The host may create a Forest of Darkness.
Within this domain:
• Host may merge with trees.
• Host may command all vegetation.
• Host may blind enemies.
• Host may corrupt enemy willpower.
• Host may force enemies to face their greatest fears.
Methods of escape:
• Possessing a domain or territory ability.
• Possessing a direct counter ability.
• Weakening the forest.
• Defeating or killing the host.
4. Holy Sun Forest
The host may create a Forest of Holy Sun.
Within this domain:
• Host may merge with nature.
• Host may command all vegetation.
• Host may unleash scorching solar flames.
• Host may heavily damage darkness-affinity enemies.
• Host can blind opponents.
Warning:
Against opponents significantly stronger than the host, darkness-based attacks may become a counter to the domain.
Methods of escape are identical to Dark Forest.
5. Holy Revival
The host may revive an entity in a Holy Form.
Holy Form Duration: 24 Hours
Cooldown: One Month
While revived, all attacks gain holy properties and holy enhancement.
6. Dark Revival
The host may revive an entity in a Dark Form.
Dark Form Duration: 24 Hours
Cooldown: One Month
While revived, all attacks gain darkness properties and darkness enhancement.
7. Holy Hell Creation
The host may combine Dark Forest and Sun Holy Forest.
This creates a supreme domain.
Effects:
• Enemies are heavily weakened.
• Darkness, Sun, Fire, Holy, and Wood affinity users suffer additional suppression.
• Allies receive significant enhancement.
• Host becomes ten times stronger.
• Host gains near-limitless energy reserves.
Warning:
Increasing domain power drastically increases energy consumption and shortens duration.
8. ???
9. ???
---
Notes:
Physique has been significantly weakened.
Original abilities remain sealed.
As the host grows stronger, the physique shall gradually return to its original state.
Current Affinities:
• Sun Affinity
• Darkness Affinity
• Wood Affinity
Fire Affinity
Holy Affinity
Training talent and affinity compatibility are unparalleled.
---
Dominic stared at the screen.
Silence filled the room.
He had expected a powerful physique.
He had expected some changes.
But this?
This was absurd.
When the system told him the physique had been weakened, he had assumed it had been heavily nerfed.
Instead, even in its weakened state, this physique could easily make him the greatest prodigy in the entire world.
A terrifying thought appeared in his mind.
'Just how ridiculous was the original version?'
As he thought about it, Dominic slowly began understanding something.
Ever since obtaining the system, it had repeatedly used terms that didn't belong to this world.
Multiverse.
Omniverse.
Those terms never appeared in the original novel.
Even the power system introduced later by the Chaos Instructor was incomplete.
It mainly applied to soldiers and physical fighters.
It didn't properly account for mages, spirit users, or other races.
Most people simply judged strength through intuition and danger perception.
Yet according to the system, his physique was weak.
That could only mean one thing.
The system wasn't comparing him to this world.
It was comparing him to something much larger.
Far larger.
Far more terrifying.
Before Dominic could think further, the door suddenly opened.
Four figures entered.
Alexandra.
Collins.
Serafina.
Escanor.
Escanor immediately stepped forward.
"Are you alright?"
His face twisted slightly as he remembered the scene.
"That awakening was... painful."
Collins appeared beside the bed with a grin.
"I thought you were going to die."
He ruffled Dominic's hair.
"Do you know how funny that would've been?"
Dominic slapped his hand away.
Serafina ignored the two.
Her eyes remained fixed on Dominic.
"What happened?"
Her voice was calm.
Too calm.
"The Wood Awakening is painful."
She narrowed her eyes.
"But not that painful."
"What exactly happened?"
Dominic had already prepared an answer.
"I found an old manual hidden in the library."
Everyone immediately focused on him.
"The manual described a method to accelerate the awakening of a Wood Heart."
"I felt my awakening approaching, and the sensation was unusual."
"So I decided to try it."
The room became silent.
The explanation made some sense.
But not enough.
Everyone could tell he was hiding something.
Still, none of them pushed further.
Every member of the Blackwood Family had secrets.
Eventually, Serafina asked,
"Can we see this manual?"
Dominic shook his head.
"I wish I could, Mother."
"The manual disintegrated after I memorized it."
He paused.
"But I still have the list of ingredients."
Rachel immediately stepped forward and handed over the paper.
The family gathered around it.
As they examined the ingredients, their expressions gradually changed.
Confusion.
Disbelief.
Shock.
If this method truly worked...
It could change everything.
Yet after witnessing Dominic's awakening, they remained hesitant.
Noticing their thoughts, Dominic spoke.
"Don't worry."
He paused briefly.
"My awakening was... special."
Everyone looked at him.
"It seems my physique is more unusual than expected."
"Most people shouldn't experience what I experienced."
That explanation eased their concerns somewhat.
Then Dominic looked at Rachel.
"Bring me a pen and paper."
A few minutes later, he finished writing.
He handed the completed document to Serafina.
"This is the complete procedure."
"You may do with it as you see fit."
Serafina carefully accepted it.
Before anyone could continue the discussion, Dominic turned toward Escanor.
"Uncle."
Escanor grinned.
"What is it, kiddo?"
"Can we start training?"
A spark appeared in Dominic's eyes.
"I feel full of energy."
Escanor froze.
Then his face split into a massive grin.
"Hahahahaha!"
"Our boy is itching to train!"
He pointed toward the window.
"Much better than those fools outside swinging swords like children!"
Then he stood up.
"This afternoon."
"We begin the real training."
Before the conversation could end, Collins suddenly asked,
"You said your physique was unusual."
"What exactly do you mean?"
The room became silent once more.
Dominic answered calmly.
"As we all know, special awakenings sometimes create additional affinities."
He looked toward Escanor.
"Uncle Escanor possesses Fire Affinity alongside his Blackwood Affinity."
He looked toward Serafina.
"Mother possesses Holy Affinity alongside her Blackwood Affinity."
Then Alexandra.
"Sister possesses Blood Affinity alongside her Blackwood Affinity."
Finally Collins.
"Brother possesses Berserk Affinity alongside his Blackwood Affinity."
He paused.
"I seem to have awakened a unique affinity."
Everyone leaned forward.
"A combination of Sun, Holy, Fire, Darkness, and Wood."
The room froze.
For several seconds, nobody spoke.
Then—
The entire room erupted.
"The Blackwood Family will rise!"
"Unprecedented talent!"
"A genius!"
"A monster!"
Even Serafina looked stunned.
Only Alexandra remained expressionless.
Though Dominic noticed something unusual.
The corner of her mouth seemed to twitch slightly.
Almost as if she wanted to smile.
Yet her Wood Heart refused to allow it.
Seeing that, Dominic felt a strange sense of pity.
The Blackwood Family possessed overwhelming talent.
Yet they could never fully express themselves.
They could never live normally.
some could never laugh as freely as others.
But Dominic made a silent promise.
One day.
He would break that curse.
One day.
He would free them all.
After some more conversation, the family finally left.
The room became quiet once more.
Dominic rested for several hours.
Then, as afternoon arrived, he stood up.
He changed into his training clothes.
Adjusted his sleeves.
Took a deep breath.
And prepared himself for the beginning of his true training journey.