- Day 17 -

Power-Ups

I abruptly awake from slumber to the sound of a clearly annoyed Bella, banging around my room with little to no recollection of how I ended up here. From the looks of her, she's been waiting for me to naturally wake for some time.

“You’re awake?”

“Hard not to be with you pacing around at a hundred decibels… What’s the matter?”

I swing myself up out of bed, rubbing at my eyes while asking.

“Gruff... That's, um... Just put it away, will you? Gruff sent me to get you for morning training.”

I look down to realise I'm baring all, pulling the sheets around me quickly.

“You… Ugh, never mind, I’ll be right down.”

Bella just looks at me for a moment, as if wanting to say something but unsure how.

“The issue with Risk and me looks to be resolved for now if that's what's bothering you. He’s not going anywhere--”

She shakes her head.

“It’s not that… Look, I feel there’s more power in me that needs that thing again."

I check her with [Scan], and sure enough, she's wholly processed her EXP. It’s interesting that she can sense her stat and skill points herself, even if she can’t actively use them.

“Indeed, looks like you’ve processed your essence.”

I take a seat on the floor with crossed legs and gesture for her to do the same. The taut expression she gives is not one I’m used to seeing from Bella.

[Detailed Scan: Bella]

Hm?

Static Effects:

Depression Loss of a love one, believed at fault, Will-30%, [Alcoholism]

Wasn’t that ‘major’ before? Is that from the time she’s spent with us? Aw shucks Bella--

“What’s taking so long?”

“S-sorry, bear with me.”

STAT points remaining 82 STR 102 999 AGI 074 999 STA 052 999 VIT 040 999 PER 033 999 INT 012 999 WIS 008 999

Let’s see.

STR 140 999 AGI 100 999 STA 052 999 VIT 070 999 PER 033 999 INT 012 999 WIS 008 999 STAT points remaining 0

“Here we go.”

I hit commit, and the theatrics begin and end with Bella collapsing back to the ground. I had considered catching her like Sybil but got the feeling I would regret doing so, instead choosing to let her collapse back to the ground with a loud thud.

HP: 5676 / 5676 MP: 780 / 780 ST: 5066 / 5066

“Ugh, my head… Is it always going to be like this?”

“Seems so Bella, nothing I can do about it I’m afraid.”

She picks herself up and offers me a hand up. I chuckle and take it, feeling the roles should be reversed--

“Will you get dressed already!--”

...The sheets covering trunky came loose.

“If you’ll kindly remember, you haven’t given me chance!”

She sighs loudly, walking towards my bedroom door.

“Gruff and Risk are training you this morning… From their moods, it’ll likely to be another two on one match, and I doubt they’ll be as easily bested… Watch yourself little doe.”

Bella leaves the room, pulling the door closed as she goes. Was that genuine concern for me she just showed there?

HP: 5440 / 5440 MP: 31,279 / 31,279 ST: 3626 / 3626

Hunger: 52% Thirst: 72%

Blood State: Greater

Hm, odd. My blood state still hasn’t lowered since coming back from the Catacombs? I still feel a bit of that feeling as well, nowhere near as strong but if I forced it, I could probably still activate cheaty mode…

Have I been doing this whole blood thing wrong?

...I mean, I assumed I needed blood as some sort of dietary requirement. I did think it unusual that I also needed to eat and drink as well, as all the vampires from the stories in my world merely needed blood to survive. In some stories, they couldn't even process regular food at all... I don’t get this. It’s a long shot, but AE?

[**Unknown. Data required.**]

As Expected… *Sigh* Fine. Hmm, so maybe I only really need blood to maintain my hidden power?

...Perhaps blood is being used like electricity. Like I'm attempting to power a battery that’s continually trying to start an engine. Until the engine actually starts, the battery keeps going flat, so I need more and more blood to continue powering the battery to prevent it from going flat. Once there is enough charge in the battery, the engine gets to start and mainly propels itself for a time?

...It’s the only explanation I can think of…and it’s not like this world comes with a new players guide, is it! ...tch, not rising to it huh greeny?

Does this mean I’m not a vampire at all, but something else entirely...?

Hmm. The power I feel inside is considerably faint compared to before, perhaps I should get a top up and see what happens?

So many unanswered questions! My brain is fried...

With all this on my mind, I get dressed and head downstairs. I was heading to the bathroom to wash up, but Gruff spotted me--

“Come you. Morning practice!”

There's a fire in his eyes... He’s one of those battle crazy types, isn’t he?

Jumping, lunging, sprinting, push-ups, pull-ups, will this just end already!

Gruff’s idea of a warm-up would be mosts full workout rushed into fifteen minutes. I’m completely out of breath by the end of it and hunched over--

“Risk, an Axe and the lads kit.”

Seriously. Can I not get even a second here?

“*pant* T-Two on one again? R-Really, can we not just go back to technique training?”

Gruff bellows out, half laughing.

“No no, you’re all mine today... but I think a few rules are in order--”

“Let me guess. No magic, no skills?”

He gives a wicked smile while nodding.

“You know that puts me at a massive disadvantage though right?”

“Lad, I’ve got one arm, how much a handicap you want?”

That's... a fair point. Ugh, fine!

I walk over to collect the spear and shield from Risk--

“He’s been to the temple. Don’t aim for the cracked rib.”

He speaks softly, practically whispering. I nod in thanks for the advice.

I turn to face Gruff as he begins lowering himself into a sort of horse stance, putting his right stump forward and holding that massive axe extended behind him with just the left. The sheer reach that stance gives him due to his strength is alone, enough to make me wary of approaching.

This is totally going to suck…

“Begin.”

Risk starts the spar and moves to the back door, taking a seat on the ground to watch. Bella and Emily are also spectating and every now and then, I spot Hannah looking out the dining room window.

For what seemed like forever, neither one of us moved. Both just standing in stance, watching the other carefully. Eventually, I get impatient and decide to make the first move, raising my shield arm and darting into Gruffs range.

I figure I can get four or five paces in before he'll swing at me, just enough to be able to jump back out of reach before charging back at him again once he's off-balance from the swing.

My fourth step in and Gruff launches forward, unexpectedly charging right at me. I was expecting him to keep the distance and swing, but instead, he raises his back leg. He's going to kick me!

I force my shield into my centre mass just in time to brace for Gruffs heavy healed boot. The sheer power staggering me and throwing me back awkwardly. I'm given no time to process as he immediately presses his advantage, closing the distance he just made while raising his enormous axe above his head and letting out an impressively loud war cry.

I somehow managed a quick reposition, just in time as the axe comes hurtling down atop of me, screaming metallically as it catches and rubs vertically along my shield. Despite only glancing it, and regardless of my attempt to brace, my arm gets tossed down due to the pure strength of Gruffs attack.

The bone-shaking war cry he let off before seems to have affected me more than I realised as I miss the opportunity to counter and instead, mistakenly jump back causing the previous events only to repeat themselves. This time though, my body listens to me, and I decide not to try and dodge, pushing off my back left foot instead, throwing myself into Gruff before he has a chance to hurl his axe down on me again.

I crash into him, forcing the shield into his chest before using it to uppercut his chin. I follow up quickly by retracting slightly and pushing into him again with all my might, forcing him back and out of close range, to a distance I can finally use my spear!

While he’s still on his back foot, I press on, unleashing precise, quick jabs with the spear.

The jabs are light and too fast for Gruff to counter with his heavy axe, forcing him to dodge and move backwards continuously. I have him completely locked down... but it’s a clear stalemate with none of my attacks reaching him and him completely unable to counter-attack.

The more I attack, the more tired I become and Gruff’s barely having to move to dodge… A war of attrition? I can’t help but feel myself let out a single laugh as my concentration waned.

Seeing my lapse, Gruff takes a massive jump backwards while hurling his axe at me.

I know what he's trying to do. If I block it, I'll lose sight of him. A blindspot will be created that gives him an ample opportunity I won't be able to prevent. I should dodge instead. I know it, and yet, with the sudden enormous axe coming unsuspectingly right at me, my body refuses to listen and I instinctively turtle behind the shield--

*Sploosh*

“C-cold!”

I find myself looking at a cloudy sky, with a headache worse than my original hangover from this morning...

“Gruff knocked you out.”

Risk thought I needed an explanation, I didn't.

“You did well lad, you’ve clearly got the basics down… Sorry”

Gruff bows his head while apologising.

“You bested me, and I got carried away. Today, I just wanted to see yer true level by stripping away your fancy spells.”

I can’t help but chuckle as Risk helps me to my feet.

“Does that mean you’re taking over my training then?”

He gestures to Risk, who shrugs before explaining with a complicated look.

“I thought it best if you get training from all three of us and in turn, over time, you train us as well…”

Train them? In what exactly?

“Listen Aburi, that two on one fight was a real eye-opener for me. With just one spell and reading the situation, you overpowered us in seconds. We may have the melee advantage over you, but that’s meaningless to a combat mage like you.”

I guess that’s true. Being able to move position quickly, hammer flanks and interrupt or disrupt is very hard to deal with... but--

“Risk, you already have a skill capable of launching disrupt attacks? I don’t know what you could learn from me--”

Gruff jumps in, pointing to Risk's fatal flaw.

“He’s predictable, falls into a rhythm. When you went for my chest, it shocked me, I didn’t realise yer had your focus on me. I’d never seen anything like that in all the years--”

“You just want me to train you all in tactics then? ...Can’t say I’m really sure how to teach that… I guess I can give it a go though… Yeah sure, fine. I’ll give it a go.”

I shrug, nodding to them as Risk and Gruff also nod in agreement.

“Just how hard did you hit me though, my head is killing me, think I’ll go lie down for a bit… Risk, wanna try letting me power you up first?”

He hesitates for a moment before agreeing which causes me to laugh, especially after watching his face twist like that.

“Sit, close your eyes and let’s see if it'll work.”

STAT points remaining 128 STR 064 999 AGI 052 999 STA 058 999 VIT 028 999 PER 032 999 INT 021 999 WIS 011 999

Alright, looks to be working. I guess that means the rift is closed... So, let's go with this.

STR 100 999 AGI 070 999 STA 070 999 VIT 040 999 PER 050 999 INT 040 999 WIS 020 999 STAT points remaining 4

My thinking is that Risk has an aptitude for minor magic based on his current skills alone. If I can teach him some spells, he’ll become something of a spellsword… Which would be pretty awesome right?

Skill Points: 33

Hmm. Skills are going to be a little more difficult… From what I can tell, Risk doesn’t have one particular form he uses in a fight. He seems to choose the best weapon for the task at hand, so he’s a jack of all trades in that sense.

I’ll just spread out the points I guess.

[>>>]

Shield Style Lv 7 / 10

[>>>]

One-handed Style Lv 8 / 10

[>>>]

Spear Proficiency Lv 7 / 10

[>>>]

Two-handed Style Lv 8 / 10

[>>>]

Axe Proficiency Lv 7 / 10

[>>>]

Blunt Proficiency Lv 6 / 10

[>>>>]

Sword Proficiency Lv 10 /10

[>>>]

Greatsword Proficiency Lv 8 / 10

[>>>>]

Magical Perception Lv 7 /10

[>>>>]

Compositional Magic Lv 10 / 10 Skill Points: 0

Okay, time for a light show.

“You ready?”

“No...but do--”

I hit commit without giving him a chance to finish his sentence.

Static Effects:

Cursed Offended Nerti. Will die in 6 years Master 'Sword Proficiency' +20% STR transference while wielding regular Sword weapons Mastery of Compositional Magic +25% spell duration and -25% mana requirement

After he collapses back to the floor, I take a moment to explain to Gruff, whos slack-jawed expression was priceless.

“Hmn… Can you do everything the Templar Priests do?”

“I’m not really sure what they can do so I can’t answer. Though what I can do is use your stored essence and advance your class if the option presents itself, I can’t heal broken bones and such if that helps.”

Gruff gives a silent nod, looking deep in thought before heading back inside the house. I guess it’s a lot to take in. Risk staggers along behind him in true comedic fashion.

With Risk, Bella and Sybil now all ‘upgraded’, it just leaves Katharine and Emily. I’ve already decided not to upgrade Emily to allow her time to build LP naturally, as I don't know if upgrading her will limit her ability to gain LP. With her basic stats being so low, it's not worth chancing.

For Katharine, I’ll have to visit Manor de Armstrong at some point as she's not likely to be calling around anytime soon, what with JED duties. It’ll still be a day or three for her to finish processing her EXP as Katharine’s processing speed is around the same as Emily’s, so there’s plenty of time yet anyway.

*sniff* For now, I think a bath is in order.

Heading into the main room, I notice Kate and Hannah are both already in the bathroom, chatting and running a bath which I assume is for me. The topic of their conversation caused me to stop dead and eavesdrop from the doorway--

“No, I do understand Hannah, but why Alchemy specifically?”

“...I want to be useful to Master.”

An answer in hesitation is only half an answer--

“Hm, I think that’s an admirable reason, but it’s not the real one is it Hannah… Is it to do with those children you spoke with the other day?”

Hannah pauses for a moment, looking thoughtful. I get the feeling I really should just walk in, but I can’t help myself, instead choosing to lean against the outside wall, hiding myself from view and continuing to listen.

“...How did you become a slave Kate?”

“How? Hmm. That's a question without an easy answer..."

The room goes quiet for a moment with nothing but the sound of flowing water. I started to get a little concerned, wondering what could be happening outside of my view, when Kate resumes the conversation.

"...I’m from a large family, the sixth daughter of a farmer... Do you remember that long winter? You probably would have been around... six maybe?”

“...Our orphanage ran out of food.”

“A lot of people did Hannah, we did too, that grain allowance per family was so strict..."

Kate pauses again, only for a short second this time, letting out a slight sigh.

"Father just... simply couldn’t feed us all so… So he took my mother and two older brothers hunting with him to look for food... At the time, I didn’t understand why my mother went with them--”

“Kate, I--”

“It’s okay Hannah… Thinking back on it hurts, but it’s not like I don’t understand it now. With no adults in the family to care for the rest of us, we were taken in by the state where we were fed, clothed and cared for throughout the rest of that harsh winter... Had father not done what he did, we would have all starved or perhaps froze. It’s a lesson I'll remember and thank him for should the gods let us meet again…”

I hear the water stop flowing. The bath must be run.

“...One of the things I remember the most, while we were all in the orphanage together, was the fear on my little brothers face. He was so scared all the time Hannah, always crying no matter what I did to try and comfort him... I took care of all my siblings as best as I could, I promised them firmly we'd all remain together no matter what... Hm, it was an unknown lie, told by a naive little girl with honest intent, just trying to help her little brother the only way she could... Anyway, a few years later, when my twelfth year came and they threw me out, I sold myself into slavery. The money would later allow the others to regain the farmland of our father, my way of honouring him, and it also gave me a way to ensure the others were kept safe... It wasn’t my only reason, but it was the main.”

That’s... a pretty heavy story to overhear. I’m not sure how I feel about it either--

“The children, Lily’s my sister, she turns twelve next year--”

“I see, and you want to spare her from the same fate as you?”

“I… she’s still innocent… If someone… If--”

That range of emotions in Hannah’s voice… anger, fear and hurt... It’s not news to me that Hannah knows the darkest side of humanity and I can understand that she wants to keep her little sister from it too. The thing that’s annoying me the most is that she hasn’t asked me to help directly, though I guess I understand that somewhat as well.

“You should tell Master--”

“N-No… I can’t… Kate, please don’t tell him!”

“Calm Hannah, I won’t as it’s not my place--”

Hmm… So I guess she wants my help in a roundabout way. I teach her Alchemy, free her, she works as an Alchemist and takes in her sister? …Could this be why she warmed to me? She feels she can trust me? There’s probably more to it...

Ugh, fine. I’ll let this play out as Hannah wants it to but I’ll do some digging and keep an eye on her sister from the shadows--

“The bath is ready Master.”

Kate stands in the bathroom doorway, loudly calling outwards towards the backyard before turning back to the bathroom, giving me a smile as she does. I guess that means she knew I was here the entire time and wanted me to overhear… Damn vixen!

I give it a few moments and then head in to find Hannah and Kate both topless standing before me… It took my brain a moment to catch up, what with the conversation I was processing just a moment ago but it’s pretty apparent their just offering their blood.

After explaining to them both that it looks like I’ve been doing the whole blood thing wrong, I absorb a little bit of blood from Kate until the electric feeling returns in full force.

HP: 5440 / 5440 MP: 31,279 / 31,279 ST: 3626 / 3626

Hunger: 48% Thirst: 32%

Blood State: Greater