Blood Assimilation

By comparison, his [Blood Assimilation] ability only allowed him to possess a portion of a target's traits or skill set based on the amount of blood he consumed. For example, he had only acquired 30% of the Werewolf King of Wind's form, traits, and combat power because he hadn't consumed enough of his blood.

This mystic-rank skill, which rivals divine-rank abilities, became even more profound in Randy's mind. It required only a sample of a target's material essence to inherit their achievements and abilities — a truly incomprehensible power by mortal standards.

The only drawback was the cooldown period after deactivation. Then again, this wasn't much of an issue, as long as the form he assumed possessed the strongest possible power, making it unlikely that he would ever need to deactivate the transformation. According to the skill's description, he could essentially maintain the same form for eternity if he chose to.

Reflecting on his own abilities, Randy realized that the reason he needed to consume more blood to fully replicate a target's power was due to the limitations of his innate ability, [Blood Assimilation]. This restriction meant he couldn't attain the full combat strength of targets stronger than himself without consuming a substantial amount of their blood.

From Randy's analysis, the stronger the target, the more blood he needed to absorb to obtain their complete blood knowledge, allowing him to acquire their form skills, traits, and combat power.

Realizing his thoughts were drifting, Randy refocused and turned his attention to the system.

"What about the Wisdom Scroll?" he asked, receiving an immediate response. However, the reply was no longer robotic. Although neutral, the tone was impossible to attribute to any specific gender.

[[Would you like to use the scroll now?]] The system prompted.

"Yes." Randy replied, though he found the question a bit odd.

'Isn't that the whole reason I asked? Then again, maybe it's trying to make a point. Right, I still don't know the scroll's application.' He calmly thought while maintaining his composure.

[[Have you decided what to use it on?]] The system asked next.

"No." Randy shook his head and asked: "By the way, what exactly is its use?"

[[The Wisdom Scroll has many uses. You can sacrifice it to grant sentience to anything you own, such as weapons or equipment, or you can use it to obtain a form of wisdom from the universe — be it skills, historical knowledge, or something else. Anything granted sentience will be bound to you by contract. As for universal wisdom, it is limited to what your current level of existence qualifies you to know.]] The system explained.

"That's a bit vague." Randy muttered, pondering his options.

"I don't really need new skills or partial knowledge of the universe right now. As for granting sentience... I only have the Glacial Beast Sword and the Shadow Beast Leather Armor, which I've already given to Brawler Randy. Besides that, what else do I even have?" He pondered aloud, his thoughts interrupted by the system.

[[Unfortunately, the Wisdom Scroll has already been assigned a target, so further deliberation is unnecessary.]] The system revealed unexpectedly.

"Wait, what? What do you mean it's already assigned?" Randy asked, perplexed.

[[The Wisdom Scroll can only be used on the Ancient Black Tome in your possession. It will allow you to unlock its secrets without spending divine points.]] The system clarified.

"Oh." Randy murmured in realization.

He had forgotten about the Ancient Black Tome when he thought about his current inventory. He still possessed it, but because he couldn't access more knowledge from it without using divine points, he subconsciously disregarded it until he could use it without concern about divine points expenditure. So far, he had only glimpsed some introductory sections, which were still beneficial.

However, if what the system said about the effect of the Wisdom Scroll on the Ancient Black Tome was true, he would now be able to unlock all the secrets and knowledge written by an arch-sorcerer. The thought of what he might uncover made him eager to use the Wisdom Scroll. However, before proceeding, he paused, lost in contemplation.

'The system said I could use the Wisdom Scroll to turn anything I own into a sentient entity.' Randy mused.

'Instead of using such a precious gift from the Grand Librarian just to unlock the Ancient Black Tome's secrets, wouldn't it be better to turn the tome itself into a sentient artifact?'

This wild thought began to take root in Randy's mind. The more he pondered it, the more convinced he became that this would be a better use of the Wisdom Scroll— a miraculous object that countless powerful beings in the universe would likely fight for if they ever found out a mortal possessed it.

Having made up his mind, Randy voiced his thoughts to the system.

"System, I don't want to just unlock the knowledge from the Ancient Black Tome. Since it's in my possession, can I use the Wisdom Scroll to grant it sentience instead?"

[[…]]

There was a brief pause from the system. Moments later, it responded with a series of texts.

[[You can indeed use the Wisdom Scroll for that. Despite its origin, the Ancient Black Tome is now considered your possession.]]

[[Do you wish to use it now?]] The system prompted.

A smile crept across Randy's lips. The system's pause seemed to indicate that his idea was acknowledged as more beneficial. After all, why merely extract information from a tome owned by an arch-sorcerer when you could turn it into a sentient historical artifact, filled with knowledge from a transcendent being?

He believed that transforming the ragged Ancient Black Tome into a sentient artifact would be far more useful than simply obtaining raw information. Instead of deciphering vague words or struggling to interpret hidden meanings, he could ask the artifact's sentient mind for explanations or guidance on how to apply the knowledge it contained.

Back in his world, artifacts with sentience were not unheard of, so the concept didn't surprise him. What did surprise him was how easily he could transform something into an artifact using the Wisdom Scroll that the Grand Librarian had so casually granted him.

It was unfortunate that the Wisdom Scroll was limited to the Ancient Black Tome. Otherwise, he would have preferred to use it on something even more valuable. But given the tome's history and the fact that it had belonged to an arch-sorcerer who had perished fighting enemies threatening their entire world, Randy felt that this was still a worthy choice.

He also wondered if the sentient tome might provide more information than what was already written within. For example, he could directly ask the artifact about the arch-sorcerer themself once it gained awareness.

With these thoughts in mind, Randy took out the Ancient Black Tome and examined it thoughtfully. Then, turning to the system, he gave the command. Stay updated with empire

"Use it!" He said firmly, tone laced with excitement.

Suddenly, an ancient-looking parchment, tied with a red string around its girth, materialized from Randy's chest, glowing with an enchanting light. As if drawn to the Ancient Black Tome in Randy's hand, the Wisdom Scroll unraveled and dissolved into golden light, merging with the tome.

The Ancient Black Tome began to emit a faint dark glow. There was a moment of complete silence, where no further changes seemed to take place. Randy stared at the tome, anticipation rising within him. But as the seconds passed without any visible transformation, a flicker of doubt began to creep into his mind as he stared at the seemingly unaltered tome.