As his eyes turn red Helo has to catch himself on the wall. The boost from Hinata’s vitality was powerful and felt like bliss. It was enough to push away the potion effect and get Helo on his feet. But now that the effect has worn off everything is hitting him at once. But he needs to be stealthy and can’t let himself get spotted before he strikes.
Activating ‘Bloodline Awakening’ the increase in power and endurance is helping him push past the worst of the pain. “Just one strike.” Helo keeps muttering to himself as he starts to sneak toward the fight.
Heading toward the town wall Helo scales the side and peers down on the kill box. Inside he can see a group of people hiding from the fight. A ton of dead bodies and more people who are unconscious or cowering. Then there are the fighters. Rain, Emi, Drahnel, and Rogar.
Rain is keeping as close to Rogar as possible. Striking as often as he can with blows that are meant to stagger and not kill. He doesn’t have the time to charge a blow strong enough to kill. Half the time he is intercepting attacks that are meant to kill the people cowering in the kill box, or the people manning the walls.
Emi is taking care of the heavy hitting. She is standing back with her bow held aloft and wind swirling around her. She is launching powerful arrows that are capable of outright killing any tier 1 fighter, even Helo. But Rogar is a vampire with a lot of easy blood to access. Everyone who is pulled from the wall by Rogar’s blood takeover skill is another health potion for the vampire.
Drahnel is using his skills to heal and control the field. He is trying to keep the people who are getting attacked safe and alive. But he is having a tricky time, he is constantly bottoming out his mana, and bottoming out mana can cause an extremely painful headache. Doing it over and over, that can lead to one that is completely debilitating or even long lasting negative effects.
With his prior injuries and the potion mixture in his system Helo is on a clock. He needs real rest to be able to function. His boosting skill is keeping him together, but as soon as it is deactivated, he knows he will be falling unconscious.
Staying in a small gap Helo found between the wall that surrounds the town and the wall creating the kill box Helo watches the fight. Further along the wall he can see another barrier made from vines and roots. He doesn’t know who or what is inside, but he can hear the voices of the people that are hiding in there. Deciding that it is a better place to strike from Helo drops down off his perch and lands with a roll. Softening his landing, he is completely silent and his presence is almost impossible to find.
Keeping his aura retracted he is almost certain that Rogar can’t feel him. If Rogar had his aura longer then he might be able to, but as things are, he is wielding his aura like a fat man with a club. Just throwing his weight around. Although in his case it is a metaphysical presence that enhances his own abilities and lets him have a supernatural edge in a fight.
Shaking his head to clear his running thoughts, Helo keeps to the wall. It is covered in shade, using it he is able to make his way toward the barrier. It is connected to the town wall, it is right next to the gate. Helo wants to have quick access to the fight. So, he doesn’t enter the barrier, instead he goes on top of it.
Climbing the barrier is a simple affair, it is made from vines and root which make for great hand holds. Getting to the top he finds a nice dip in the barrier’s top and crouches down. Part of him is relieved with his new position. He is basically laying down, and it feels great for his strained body. But at the same time his tired mind is constantly trying to put him to sleep.
Thinking through a battle plan Helo finds one that he thinks will work. Saying the phrase again. “Just one stike.” Helo gets ready, now all he has to do is wait for the perfect moment. The fight is just as fierce as ever. All the fighters are accumulating wounds and even the people who are on the wall are starting to fall.
In the center of the wall, he can see as the people who are going to sacrifice themselves are getting ready. The ten minutes that Hinata mentioned is already over and now they want to put an end to the fighting.
The moment Helo was waiting for comes sooner than he expected, and with much better circumstances than he hoped for. But at the same time, a lot more risk to himself and someone he cares for.
The mass of men and women jump off the wall and into the killing box. At the same time a barrage of attacks is sent toward Rogar. He is able to dodge most of them, but Rain takes the opportunity to charge a much more electrified strike. As the vampire is dodging, Rain throws his weapon and hits him in the leg. With a paralyzed leg he is unable to dodge as Emi hits him in the chest with an arrow that is wrapped in a tiny tornado.
He creates a blood shield to block most of the damage, but he can’t stop the force. Blasting backward Rogar hits the wall on the other side of the gate from the barrier of vines Helo is on. Knowing that this might be the best opportunity he will get Helo uses the frame of the gate to sneak his way across to the other side. Jumping from the barrier to the gate’s frame, he carefully crosses.
By the time he gets to the other side the vampire is grabbing the wall and getting to his feet. Helo can see it in his eyes and feel it in his aura. He is hungry. For a vampire that means snacking on a person. Helo scans for nearby people and he freezes. Luna.
The closest person to the vampire is an unconscious Luna. Throwing out all ideas of strategy, Helo dives off the gate. The force of his jump is enough to leave small spider web crack on the gate. Having already conjured a ‘Dark Blade’ Helo sends it toward the Vampire in an extremely obvious attack.
This causes the vampire to instinctually dodge and turn his head to look at his attacker. As he makes eye contact with Helo, Helo hits Rogar’s aura with his own. Fighting aura to aura is a unique experience. It is like a mixture of phantom pain and sharing your secrets with another.
The dagger along with the aura strike freezes the vampire for only a second. But it is enough for Helo. Hitting the ground in front of Rogar, Helo doesn’t hesitate or slow down. Driving forward with his blade, Rogar can’t dodge. He was already in the process of moving to the side due to the thrown knife. Helo is too close for him to have a chance to correct the movement.
Only a foot away the vampire conjures a shield of blood but Helo’s darkness clad kukri isn’t fazed by the magical shield. It might have been stopped if Rogar knew how to use his aura. But Helo is putting everything he has into this one strike. Punching through Helo hits the vampire with his left blade. His right hand is pushed out of place by Rogar’s own weapon. As the blade bites into the vampire Helo uses ‘Defiled Wound’. Leveraging his blade that is planted in the vampire, and the vampires own surprise, Helo jumps up and drop kicks the vampire back into the center of the killing field.
He lands right at the feet of Rain. With three quick blows, one from Rain, Emi and Drahnel. The vampire finally lies still. At the same time Helo hits the wall with his back and slides down to his knees. He can see as the people start to cheer. The loudest are the men and women who were ready to sacrifice themselves. Everyone is raising their hands in joy and hugging one another.
Looking up Helo catches Alli’s eye. She is running right toward him and Luna, who Helo hit the wall next to. As Alli gets closer Helo closes his own eyes and falls asleep.
Waking up with a pounding headache Helo doesn’t even try to open his eyes. In stead he starts to spread his aura out, but that causes his entire being to somehow wince. Helo can understand having your body wince, or maybe even your mind. But everything, all at once. Owwweeee. He whines in his head.
Well, time to try something else. This time Helo focuses on his hearing. Breathing out a slow, a very slow sigh of relief, so he doesn’t hurt himself more. He is relieved to feel no pain from his sense of hearing.
The room he is in is beautifully quiet. The other living being in the room with him is breathing very softly, it is likely that they are asleep. Based on the few pounds of weight on Helo’s left thigh and heartbeat, he recognizes he knows it is Lelai. Other than her he is all alone.
A part of Helo might have been sad to wake up all alone. But too much of him is sore and in pain to feel concerned about that. It is actually kind of relieving for him to not have to deal with anyone right now. Focusing on what he can hear outside of the room he finds himself in, he recognizes the voices. The loudest are the two girls that Helo knows the best. One of the voices causes Helo’s cheeks to start blushing as he remembers the last time he spoke to her.
“I still just can’t believe you woke him up!” Alli doesn’t quite shout, but she is talking very loudly.
“It was either wake him up or wait for support. Based on the fact we have yet to actually get in contact with my father, we all would be dead.” Hinata says back with some bite in her tone.
In another part of the room outside his door Helo can hear a whisper, “How many times are they going to have this argument?” Gabi asks someone Helo has yet to identify.
In another whisper he finds out who that person is. “However, many times they would like to. They need to deal with their anger. Most of it will go away when Helo wakes up.” Arisah says in her usually calm and sweet voice.
“So, you just hopped him up on drugs and sent him to hurt himself more than he already was!” Alli’s voice is starting to rise now.
Hearing the door to the outside open Helo is surprised by the voice that calls out. Based on the sounds of shock everyone in the other room makes, they are too. “Now now girls, there is no need to fight. I went through the reports. Helo should be fine.”
“Father!” Hinata shouts and Helo can hear footsteps quickly approach the voice that just entered. “When did you get here?”
“Ahhhh hello my princess, I only have a few minutes. I cleared the monsters that were surrounding the town and stocked up your array with mana.” Akira steps further into the room and a female voice speaks up from behind him.
“I’m glad your well sweetie.” Yuki says and joins the hug. Helo can hear as Alli runs up and hugs them as well. They stay like that for a moment, but they separate and Yuki speaks up. “Things are not going well. Our allies are having their own problems and are not able to help. We have to get back, the strongest of the tier 3 rifts is being used as a base and it isn’t easy to keep it contained, let alone enter and clear it.”
“We just wanted to come check on you princesses.” Akira kisses Hinata and Alli on the head and steps into the center of the room. He speaks to everyone, and asks them about their condition. Helo can tell that Akira is trying his best to act like a wise and patient sage. He used to mock him for it during their morning training sessions.
But now, it just seems like a kind and fatherly thing to do. “Well, I’m glad that everyone here will recover, even if some of you will take a bit longer. Now let’s check on Helo.”
He steps forward but his daughter blocks him. “He is sleeping. You shouldn’t disturb him.” She holds her arms out in a ‘T’. Her actions catch the attention of her mother.
With a hand over her mouth, she lightly laughs. “Ohhh. So, something happened between you to MHHM.” She flutters her eyes at her daughter and laughs again as Hinata turns her head. Alli turns to Hinata in surprise.
“What is she talking about?” Alli asks in a heated tone.
Helo can practically hear the blush appear on Hinata’s cheeks because it is so red. “N… Nothing happened. I just helped him recover.”
Aiko and Arisah were there, they obviously know what happened. They both turn away and don’t look at anyone. They want nothing to do with this conversation. But in their heads, they are thinking. HA! Suuuure, stripping in front of a man is a great way to get what you want from him.
This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.
In the middle of the room Alli’s glare hardens. A few people around the room know what Hinata is referring to. They have seen Helo drain vitality. But they think that she just cut her hand or something. It is Alli, Luna, and Yuki that assume more happened.
Coughing into his hand Akira wisely decided he isn’t going to poke that conversation with a thirty-nine-and-a-half-foot pole. “Ahem. My lovely wife, daughters.” He calmly gets their attention. Gesturing to the room he says, “There is no need to worry. He is awake and listening to us now.”
Helo flinches at this and finally opens his eyes. He can hear a chuckle come from both Akira and Yuki. Looking around he has to slowly move his head from one side to the other. The room he is in isn’t one that he remembers. But that isn’t too surprising. He expected to either wake up on a battlefield, or in his room at the central compound. Instead, he is in a nicely furnished cabin styled room.
He has yet to use his aura but based on the massive tree that is visible through the window, he assumes he is in the mayor’s house. Looking down he is in a new pair of clothes, and his entire body appears to have been cleaned. Lelai is also sleeping on his leg. Her fur is now completely grey and looks just a little more silky than last time.
Using ‘Detect Weakness’ on her, he gets back a message that annoys him.
Mist Fox
Weakness: Endurance, Strength.
He forgot that his skill no longer shows levels and his aura hurts too much to get an accurate read on her. “Well, I am sure you made great gains for your race to have changed.” Helo mumbles in a tone below a whisper. He is about to check his own notifications but the door to his room opens.
Standing in the doorway is Akira, Yuki, Hinata and Alli. The rest of his party is in the background and looking in. “Well, it’s good to see you awake.” Akira says.
Hinata and Alli both charge forward. “Helo!” “Your awake!” They yell before they both have to stop themselves from jumping on him. Helo opens his mouth to answer and groans instead. Talking out loud is not in the card for him right now. He wants a few minutes to look over his status and to meditate to check his body. But he can tell that he won’t be getting that for a while.
Slowly moving his head Helo makes an upward nod in greeting. Akira steps forward and everyone looks at him. Helo can feel a pulse of aura spread out in a wave around him. Is that the way to say, ‘Hey look at me’ with an aura. It even worked on those without one. Like it drew attention toward him. Helo thinks about what he is feeling.
“We already mentioned but we don’t have time. We got reports about the vampires and it put a lot of pieces in place. Like who is funding the Bloodline Supremacy Group, where the rituals came from and who the extra fighters are. The situation for the tier 1 and 2 fighters has been stabilized. It is the tier 3 rifts that are still unresolved.” Akira pulls out his tablet and swipes up. This sends reports to everyone around them.
Yuki starts speaking now. “This is the plan to relocate everyone to the mountain city. But we really must go. We came to check up on you and give the town more mana.” Like that Yuki and Akira vanish at a speed much faster than any of them can track.
“They are such a considerate Lord and Lady to serve.” Carl says with his usual rhetoric. Bowing to the door with his sheathed sword over his heart he says some prayer.
With it only being the party left in the bedroom and what appears to be a sitting room. They set about telling Helo about what all has happened. It has been two days since Helo fell unconscious and it is the 17th now.
Most of the party gained a level or two on the 15th . The 16th was filled with clean up, mending gear, and making new supplies like potions. Now on the morning of the 17th, Helo is finally awake and the party has some time to actually relax.
“So, most of us have reached level 40. It is the level that they recommend for noble parties to have reached before entering the Academy of Awakening.” Hinata says with a smile. Her party has been working hard, and these last few days have been a tragedy. But they have also pushed past where they wanted to be at, level wise.
Level 40 is another milestone and is a level where you can acquire another skill. It is also the point where gaining levels turns into a crawl. The school wants their noble students to gain the last few levels to tier 2 during the first year. Hinata and Alli’s party is already quite a way into doing so.
The only members under level 40 are Aiko and Bibbin. As a healer it can take longer for her to gain the required experience. The same is true for Bibbin. He is a focused scout with very little actual combat abilities. The two of them have to gain experience through other ways. Which tend to be much slower than killing monsters.
Everyone else has already reached level 40 and they are now deciding on what skills to take. Gabi has already chosen her new skill, it is called ‘Weapon Bind’. It is similar to the rune that is on Helo’s bracer. It connects Gabi to a weapon and lets her retrieve it. It doesn’t teleport, but it does pull the weapon toward her. She is hoping that in the future she is able to enhance the weapon she is bound to.
Everyone else is still looking over their options. This skill choice is important; it can have a large effect on your next skill. The skill you choose before going from tier 1 to tier 2 is supposed to be a focal point of your class upgrade.
Everyone is under level 41 except Alli and Hinata. They both are at level 44, with Alli almost reaching 45. The party proceeds to tell Helo about all the different fights they encountered and all the close calls they had. Helo can’t really do anything to stop them without causing himself pain and making them feel bad so he just lets them talk. An hour later they are finally done and Helo can barely keep his eyes open. He actually has had them closed for the last ten minutes. He has been fighting to stay awake.
“Alright everyone he needs to rest!” Alli whisper shouts and starts pushing everyone out of the room. She even tried to push Hinata out but she holds her ground. “He doesn’t want you here. He hasn’t even looked at you since you entered the room.
Hinata just stares at Alli in shock. She is right, Helo has been avoiding looking at Hinata. Around the entire party wasn’t the right time to think about Hinata’s appealing figure and the delicious taste of her vitality. So, she might be right, but she is jumping to the wrong conclusions.
“You know why he hasn’t looked at me!” Hinata whisper shouts back at her. Now the two girls are having an argument about Helo, for Helo, in front of Helo. He wants to say something, but he doesn’t know what to do. Instead, he keeps his eyes closed and hopes for sleep to take him.
“Yeah, because your slutty. He doesn’t need that in his life.” Alli says while poking her friend in the cleavage. The kimono Hinata is wearing is comfortable and loose. This has the unfortunate and very fortunate effect of leaving a gap between her breasts.
I don’t know. Maybe I need more of that. Helo thinks but wisely doesn’t say anything.
“Ah! Don’t act like you’re not trying to get rid of me to do something similar. You don’t even know what I did. But we both know YOU’RE not wearing a bra right now.” Hinata flicks Alli’s breast and she pulls back covering herself.
Helo is now visibly squirming from how uncomfortable he is. Yes, the situation is very awkward, but Helo would suffer through it any day to experience what the conversation is alluding too. But his arousal is also causing him pain.
“You have no idea what I was planning.” Alli says contemptuously.
“Well, I’m not leaving.” Hinata says and sits back in the chair with crossed arms.
“HMPF” “HMPF” Both girls say and turn their heads. This causes them both to now be facing Helo. His eyes are wide open, and he isn’t turning his neck, but his eyes are flicking between the two girls. The girls see this and turn back to one another. As their eyes meet, they start to laugh.
Their laughter turns to tears, and soon both of them are crying. They are hugging one another and sitting on Helo’s bed. Lelai woke up and hearing what was going on started whining and crawled between them to comfort them.
Hinata is the first to pull away. “It has been a long few days. This is the first time either of us got a chance to rest.” Helo just nods his head in pain and understanding. “A lot of people died. Good people.”
“Yeah.” Sniffling she stops to blow her nose. “Being a heiress sounds great, until you have to make hard decisions.” Both girls were overwhelmed and finally get a chance to decompress.
Hinata stands up and bows to Helo. “I’m sorry for waking you up, causing you more pain, and increasing your injuries.” She stays in her bow until Helo quietly speaks.
“It’s fine.” He says below a whisper. “I’ll recover.”
Alli nods at this. “They said you need at least three months to let your systems recover. Healing your energy channels are different from healing a muscle. It takes longer and sometimes it never heals. Your lucky it is your own energy that is damaging you and not something else. Because it is your own energy you have some natural resistance. It even increases your resistance the more you expose yourself.”
“We will take care of you and make sure you’re healing well.” Hinata says and sits back beside him. I combined two of my skills.” She says with a smile. “My ‘Illusional Strike’ and ‘Fleeting Illusion’ skills combined into ‘Illusion of Reality’. It is a skill that helps me create free form illusions and at the same time helps make them physical. It doesn’t work the best in large areas. But it will make my attacks hit harder.” She says with a smile and conjures a cup. She hands it to Alli and Alli can hold it like it is real.
“So now you can make things that are not yourself or your sword. That is awesome.” Alli says while feeling genuinely happy. By this time Helo has sat himself up, even if it was a struggle. They spend some time checking out her new skill. It takes a lot of focus for her to make something she isn’t used to and to make things look real she has to put in a lot of effort. But the skill’s name shows its potential, creating her own reality. Not just visual, but also physical.
“I didn’t get a new skill. But my ‘Runic Construct’ took another step forward. I think it went from low rare to almost mid rare.” She shows off how she can move the constructs and make three of them now. She also shows off how she can make more complicated arrays. Using her skill, she makes a construct that folds Helo’s clothes. It isn’t an all-powerful display. But it shows a strong level of finesse.
Still talking quietly he says, “I haven’t checked my notifications yet.” Alli looks eager for Helo to do so, but Hinata stops them.
“First, lets go over your health Helo-Kun.” At that Hinata pulls out her tablet. “Like you know you will need about three months of recovery. But you also shouldn’t use your energy, skills, aura or bloodline for at least a week…” She proceeds to go over all of Helo’s medical data and reports.
“You should be able to move in a day or so. But the tiredness comes from how stressed and inflamed your energy channels are. The more your bloodline awakens the more magical you turn.” She starts going over the changes in his body and how his body is now slightly attuned. “It will cause some changes. Your weakness to light and death energy will increase. At the same time, you will have an easier time controlling dark and life energy.”
Helo isn’t sure why she is going over everything, but he lets her continue. Some of the things she is telling him, he never knew. Eventually she stops and turns to Alli. Who is dozing off. She pokes her with an illusional stick. “Hey wake up.”
Jolting from her position with her head on her arms and leaning on Helo’s bed. She looks around with bleary eyes. “WHAT! Wah? Huh?” Finally, she remembers where she was and blushes. “Are you done?” Getting a nod from Hinata she looks toward Helo. “So, your notifications?”
Normally this isn’t something you would share with anyone. But the three of them are close. Helo is also their personal bodyguard.
You have gone from level 38 to level 39. You have gained +2 to Will, Vit, and Agl. +1 to Dex and Per. +2 free points.
You have defeted a tier 2 vampire at tier 1. Your experience has increased.
You have gone from level 39 to level 40. You have gained +2 to Will, Vit, and Agl. +1 to Dex and Per. +2 free points.
Level: 40
Stats: 488
- Str: 28 (+5%)
- Agl: 82 (+15%)
- Dex:53 (+15%)
- Per: 60 (+30%)
- Vit: 104 (+50%)
- End: 29 (+15%)
- Int: 28 (+5%)
- Will: 104 (+50%)
The girls are stunned silent by Helo’s status. He has more stat points than they do, but he is four levels lower. At the same time his stat point percentage modifiers turns him into a powerhouse. His Will is 104 but it acts like 156. With all his stats having some kind of modifier Helo is truly pushing the limits of tier 1 strength.
“Stupid kid. Thinks he is better than us.” Alli says with crossed arms.
“Yeah, he isn’t special.” Hinata mutters. Helo just looks at them both with a raised eyebrow. But inside he is thinking, What did I do to deserve this!
“Yeah whatever. Continue.” Alli waves him on like a queen waving away an annoying maid.
Letting out a breath he looks through his next notifications.
Due to pushing your body past its limits and to the brink of death.
At those words Alli turns to Hinata and gives her a stink eye.
You have slightly cultivated your body and pushed your energy to the limits. You have gained +2 to endurance and int.
With your cultivation you are now able to combine your mental and physical energy. Be warned, you’re cultivating two different elements into your body and spirit. This could have horrific side effects if not managed properly.
Helo just stops and stares at that. Was that the silver color I saw for a brief moment. Helo thinks back to when he was trying to substitute his energies for one another. He remembers seeing an unexpected color within his core. Or the place he calls his core. That has to have been it. Helo thinks to himself, he is now excited to start trying to combine them into one.
“Mhm cultivation is a tricky subject.” Hinata says as Helo is lost in his thoughts. Her words bring him back to focus. “Some people refuse to be given experience by the system. They absorb energy instead. Usually from elementally attuned crystals. This can be great, if you have the wealth and a powerful attunement.”
“Yeah, I heard about the Sects. They only cultivate and have to have massive hierarchical systems to keep the energy funneling upward.” Alli adds.
Hinata nods her head. “I know what you’re talking about. The strongest people spend all their time absorbing energy that the weaker people bring back.”
Helo is surprised to hear this. Absorbing energy instead of leveling. How do you even do that he thinks. Alli seems to see the confusion on his face. “There is a way to reject the system experience. They claim it is a purer way to gain strength.” In a voice that is mimicking some kind of wise man she says. “This was the way from before the reign of tyranny.” Her voice goes back to normal. “He was talking about the system.” Her voice goes back to the wise man. “This is the way of the ancient beasts, and the way of our ancestors. It will be my way to immortality.”
Hinata laughs at her voices and they all fall into a comfortable silence.