[Blood Curse] (Ice) : The curse of vampiric blood runs through your veins.
You are easily distracted by the smell of blood.
Drinking blood has body strengthening and hallucinogenic effects.
Consuming another Vampire’s blood is highly poisonous.
Your blood is Ice. You have a very low body temperature and your blood will turn to Ice if outside your body.
You take double damage from fire and heat.
You take halved damage from ice and cold.
Your body and mind will wither without a regular consumption of blood.
As an ice-blooded, your touch has a freezing effect on liquids.
This skill is hereditary.
That’s a lot… I guess Astelia has a fire curse then. Must have helped her a lot against the bolt.
Sofia re-read the description of the curse multiple times. “Sorry to ask but, is this the reason for your skin color? I couldn’t help but notice since you are so pale and Astelia is quite.. Tanned.”
“That is the case, yes.”
“I see. Thank you for sharing this. It feels like something I shouldn’t know…”
“It is something we have kept a well-guarded secret for centuries. It only took one traitor for it to fall apart. I would ask that you not carelessly share this around, but many already know,” Agran answered in a saddened tone. “We are almost at the lady’s chambers. Only she can quickly bring you back to the mainland, and I foresee that she will want to speak with you when she wakes up. Would you mind staying with her?”
“I- I don’t mind…”
“Very well, I will arrange for a second bed, could you please take her to hers?”
And that is how Sofia ended up in front of heavy double doors, a young vampire in her arms. She’s burning. It’s like she has a strong fever. But I guess not. Her contented face is definitely not something you see on the face of someone with a high fever…
Due to it all burning, there was no more blood on Astelia. Her clothes had mended themselves, the armor had disappeared. It was as if the fight hadn’t happened at all, and she was peacefully sleeping, curled up in Sofia’s arms.
That takes me back… Perhaps I’ll hold Chino like this again one day. I hope she’s alright…
Astelia groaned when Sofia put her down on the huge bed at the center of the spacious circular bedroom. She’s still sleeping, right? Sofia looked around. The room itself was nothing special. Of course it was much better than anything Sofia had been used to, but knowing how filthy rich the Vampires were… This room with little in the way of decoration beside shelves and shelves of books, scrolls and papers was a far cry from what Sofia would have expected, especially for a wealthy fourteen year old.
There were the odd toy looking objects and a few plushies here and there, but they were outnumbered a thousand to one by the books. She does have [Fast reading] at level 100.
Let’s see. These are mostly about magic theory and rituals, this shelf is arithmetics, this is astronomy, next is combat theory… Adventuring guides? Maybe I should have a look at these myself… This next shelf is just random books and the rest looks like, uh, fiction?
‘Last day on the lake’
‘Fighting for love in the Heroes’ world’
‘The fallen God’s happy marriage’
‘The Dainty Vampire and her Seven Rich Wolvesmen’
“...”
Maybe I should stop there.
Let’s see, what did I learn from this battle? Well for a start I’m nowhere near strong enough to take on the Church’s Oracle if a literal kid beats me like this. Would have been easier during the day since the Templars really took a beating. I need to be wary of space mages just teleporting near me, I should try to get a magic shield skill if I can to prevent that. Though I also think it’s possible to train my mana perception enough that I can predict when and where they teleport.
What else… Don’t try weird things and always start the fight with [Consecrated grounds] no matter what. Also this time Pareth could reach her by jumping up but for actual flying enemies I need a way to pin them down, that was also a problem against the Templar in the jungle. Or I could find a strong flying monster to feed to the book and have Pareth ride them. Or at least be carried.
I’ve read about monsters when I was in Hooasow… A scaled wyrm might be ideal but those seem a bit dangerous. What else could be strong enough to lift him? A Griffon? Those are even higher level, and supposedly extinct if I believe the book.
Wait there was this one other big bird. Something to do with stone? Oh, Rocs. I might even be able to find a skeleton without fighting, but they were described as endemic to the beastmen continent…
Her introspection was interrupted by Astelia stretching and yawning as she woke up. The young girl looked around, and was apparently relieved to see Sofia was around.
“How long was I out for?” she asked, still half-asleep.
“About half an hour.”
“Really? I’m getting better at recovering then. Well fought, Saintessomancerer!” she happily exclaimed, giving a thumbs-up from her bed.
“You fought well too, really got me at the end. Was that [Immovable object] preventing Pareth from moving?”
“Yep that’s the one, you can read the description if you want, it’s an idiotic skill, but I like it a lot. And the big guy is the one called Pareth? So that was your specialization… Even then he’s way too strong! Actually cut me in half!” She recoiled a bit while saying that, and looked down inside her robe as if checking whether she was back in one piece.
[Immovable object] : Locks the position of your physical body in space relative to your referential of choice. It cannot be moved otherwise by any means. Your mental capacity and mana usage are unaffected.
Costs 1000 mana per second. Minimum Duration : 5 seconds.
“That’s him alright. I can get him out again if you want. Also, ‘referential of choice’?”
“It’s what it sounds like, it's the object I tether myself to, usually I just choose the whole planet, but sometimes I target other objects. I need to be careful because it could become dangerous… Let me show you.” Astelia stood up and jumped off her bed, she walked up to a wooden ball hanging from the ceiling at the end of a rope. With a slight movement of her fingers, the ball started swinging like a pendulum. “Now if I jump and target the ball with the skill...”
And she did that. She became like a statue mid-jump, clothes and all, completely rigid. And her whole body was following the swaying movements of the wooden ball in the air. Her whole body moved and yet she was perfectly still, not even her hair swayed, as if frozen in time. That was until five seconds passed and she gracefully landed on the carpeted floor.
“What if there’s something in the way, like a wall?”
“It’ll be pushed to the side or broken as I go through, depending on the material.”
“No matter the material? What about mana shields?”
“I’ve never found anything to be able to stop it, if that’s what you want to know,” Astelia answered as she walked back to sit on her bed.
“I understand why you called it an idiotic skill… I would keep it too.”
“Right?!”
“Oh, can you tell me how much damage my attacks did by the way? That would be good to know.”
“Oh yes of course, uh, so… Getting cut up like a piece of ham was about seventy thousand before I regenerated, and when I got my legs back I was still missing around fifteen. And the lightning explosion was about twelve thousand, but I have protections against that so it would be a lot more against someone else, like triple that maybe!” She let her back fall on the bed, “Honestly, the sound was the worst part…”
Their discussion was interrupted by two young looking Vampire men in black costumes knocking on the door. They were bringing in a bed and a third one came soon after, pushing a trolley overflowing with delicious looking food. They were all ‘supporters’, level 112, 127 and 133 respectively.
The two girls kept discussing their fight as they ate, sharing most of their skills' descriptions with each other. Astelia had some interesting insights on theoretical mana control and stamina management while Sofia had much to say about positioning and priorities during the fight. She felt that the young oracle could have wiped the floor with her without taking that much damage had she gone about the battle differently.
Sofia wasn’t even annoyed that she had lost. There wasn’t anything on the line, and they had both learned much. The two had a lot in common, down to the same straightforward attitude about what mattered and what didn’t. The whole exchange was cheerful, and refreshing. It allowed Sofia to forget her pursuers, and the Gods, and everything else, if only for a short, precious while.
Come on, you could at least try to say the class name right! It's already not so glorious, no need to make it worse!
[Blood Curse] (Ice) : The curse of vampiric blood runs through your veins.
You are easily distracted by the smell of blood.
Drinking blood has body strengthening and hallucinogenic effects.
Consuming another Vampire’s blood is highly poisonous.
Your blood is Ice. You have a very low body temperature and your blood will turn to Ice if outside your body.
You take double damage from fire and heat.
You take halved damage from ice and cold.
Your body and mind will wither without a regular consumption of blood.
As an ice-blooded, your touch has a freezing effect on liquids.
This skill is hereditary.
That’s a lot… I guess Astelia has a fire curse then. Must have helped her a lot against the bolt.
Sofia re-read the description of the curse multiple times. “Sorry to ask but, is this the reason for your skin color? I couldn’t help but notice since you are so pale and Astelia is quite.. Tanned.”
“That is the case, yes.”
“I see. Thank you for sharing this. It feels like something I shouldn’t know…”
“It is something we have kept a well-guarded secret for centuries. It only took one traitor for it to fall apart. I would ask that you not carelessly share this around, but many already know,” Agran answered in a saddened tone. “We are almost at the lady’s chambers. Only she can quickly bring you back to the mainland, and I foresee that she will want to speak with you when she wakes up. Would you mind staying with her?”
“I- I don’t mind…”
“Very well, I will arrange for a second bed, could you please take her to hers?”
And that is how Sofia ended up in front of heavy double doors, a young vampire in her arms. She’s burning. It’s like she has a strong fever. But I guess not. Her contented face is definitely not something you see on the face of someone with a high fever…
Due to it all burning, there was no more blood on Astelia. Her clothes had mended themselves, the armor had disappeared. It was as if the fight hadn’t happened at all, and she was peacefully sleeping, curled up in Sofia’s arms.
That takes me back… Perhaps I’ll hold Chino like this again one day. I hope she’s alright…
Astelia groaned when Sofia put her down on the huge bed at the center of the spacious circular bedroom. She’s still sleeping, right? Sofia looked around. The room itself was nothing special. Of course it was much better than anything Sofia had been used to, but knowing how filthy rich the Vampires were… This room with little in the way of decoration beside shelves and shelves of books, scrolls and papers was a far cry from what Sofia would have expected, especially for a wealthy fourteen year old.
There were the odd toy looking objects and a few plushies here and there, but they were outnumbered a thousand to one by the books. She does have [Fast reading] at level 100.
Let’s see. These are mostly about magic theory and rituals, this shelf is arithmetics, this is astronomy, next is combat theory… Adventuring guides? Maybe I should have a look at these myself… This next shelf is just random books and the rest looks like, uh, fiction?
‘Last day on the lake’
‘Fighting for love in the Heroes’ world’
‘The fallen God’s happy marriage’
‘The Dainty Vampire and her Seven Rich Wolvesmen’
“...”
Maybe I should stop there.
Let’s see, what did I learn from this battle? Well for a start I’m nowhere near strong enough to take on the Church’s Oracle if a literal kid beats me like this. Would have been easier during the day since the Templars really took a beating. I need to be wary of space mages just teleporting near me, I should try to get a magic shield skill if I can to prevent that. Though I also think it’s possible to train my mana perception enough that I can predict when and where they teleport.
What else… Don’t try weird things and always start the fight with [Consecrated grounds] no matter what. Also this time Pareth could reach her by jumping up but for actual flying enemies I need a way to pin them down, that was also a problem against the Templar in the jungle. Or I could find a strong flying monster to feed to the book and have Pareth ride them. Or at least be carried.
I’ve read about monsters when I was in Hooasow… A scaled wyrm might be ideal but those seem a bit dangerous. What else could be strong enough to lift him? A Griffon? Those are even higher level, and supposedly extinct if I believe the book.
Wait there was this one other big bird. Something to do with stone? Oh, Rocs. I might even be able to find a skeleton without fighting, but they were described as endemic to the beastmen continent…
Her introspection was interrupted by Astelia stretching and yawning as she woke up. The young girl looked around, and was apparently relieved to see Sofia was around.
“How long was I out for?” she asked, still half-asleep.
“About half an hour.”
“Really? I’m getting better at recovering then. Well fought, Saintessomancerer!” she happily exclaimed, giving a thumbs-up from her bed.
“You fought well too, really got me at the end. Was that [Immovable object] preventing Pareth from moving?”
“Yep that’s the one, you can read the description if you want, it’s an idiotic skill, but I like it a lot. And the big guy is the one called Pareth? So that was your specialization… Even then he’s way too strong! Actually cut me in half!” She recoiled a bit while saying that, and looked down inside her robe as if checking whether she was back in one piece.
[Immovable object] : Locks the position of your physical body in space relative to your referential of choice. It cannot be moved otherwise by any means. Your mental capacity and mana usage are unaffected.
Costs 1000 mana per second. Minimum Duration : 5 seconds.
“That’s him alright. I can get him out again if you want. Also, ‘referential of choice’?”
“It’s what it sounds like, it's the object I tether myself to, usually I just choose the whole planet, but sometimes I target other objects. I need to be careful because it could become dangerous… Let me show you.” Astelia stood up and jumped off her bed, she walked up to a wooden ball hanging from the ceiling at the end of a rope. With a slight movement of her fingers, the ball started swinging like a pendulum. “Now if I jump and target the ball with the skill...”
And she did that. She became like a statue mid-jump, clothes and all, completely rigid. And her whole body was following the swaying movements of the wooden ball in the air. Her whole body moved and yet she was perfectly still, not even her hair swayed, as if frozen in time. That was until five seconds passed and she gracefully landed on the carpeted floor.
“What if there’s something in the way, like a wall?”
“It’ll be pushed to the side or broken as I go through, depending on the material.”
“No matter the material? What about mana shields?”
“I’ve never found anything to be able to stop it, if that’s what you want to know,” Astelia answered as she walked back to sit on her bed.
“I understand why you called it an idiotic skill… I would keep it too.”
“Right?!”
“Oh, can you tell me how much damage my attacks did by the way? That would be good to know.”
“Oh yes of course, uh, so… Getting cut up like a piece of ham was about seventy thousand before I regenerated, and when I got my legs back I was still missing around fifteen. And the lightning explosion was about twelve thousand, but I have protections against that so it would be a lot more against someone else, like triple that maybe!” She let her back fall on the bed, “Honestly, the sound was the worst part…”
Their discussion was interrupted by two young looking Vampire men in black costumes knocking on the door. They were bringing in a bed and a third one came soon after, pushing a trolley overflowing with delicious looking food. They were all ‘supporters’, level 112, 127 and 133 respectively.
The two girls kept discussing their fight as they ate, sharing most of their skills' descriptions with each other. Astelia had some interesting insights on theoretical mana control and stamina management while Sofia had much to say about positioning and priorities during the fight. She felt that the young oracle could have wiped the floor with her without taking that much damage had she gone about the battle differently.
Sofia wasn’t even annoyed that she had lost. There wasn’t anything on the line, and they had both learned much. The two had a lot in common, down to the same straightforward attitude about what mattered and what didn’t. The whole exchange was cheerful, and refreshing. It allowed Sofia to forget her pursuers, and the Gods, and everything else, if only for a short, precious while.
Come on, you could at least try to say the class name right! It's already not so glorious, no need to make it worse!
