The first thing Kayla had the two of them do was demonstrate their skills so she could gain a strong idea of their capabilities. Andro went first by activating [Acceleration] and running literal circles around the two with impressive speed, but stopped at seeing the bored look of Kayla’s face. Getting a different idea, he asked for a dagger but had to insist it was needed when Kayla asked why. Reluctantly, she handed him a metal dagger and gave an amused look when two things happened.

  First, Andro activated his skill [Focused Wrath], the blade instantly coated in thin writhing black flame. The second skill, [Envious Leech] was activated which colored the flames with streaks of sickly green and deep purple. With all his preparations done, he gave his sister a nod, then slashed down at his own wrist.

  Kayla yelped in shock as the blade barely made contact with his skin, yep a deep gash was torn open and blood sprayed out to immediately start pooling in the grass below.

  “What in the Corruptor's ass are you doing!” Kayla yelled while reaching for his wrist, only for him to jerk it away.

  “Don’t touch it” Andro said calmly despite the blood that continued to gush from his wrist and onto the ground.

  “You need a healer!” Kayla demanded, but didn’t reach for him again.

  In response, Andro pointed down, drawing Kayla’s and Chen's gaze to look at the grass. The grass that was currently sizzling and shriveling up until only dirt remained, which also began to sizzle and become pockmarked. The two instantly took a step back, eyes wide at the obviously dangerous blood.

  “These are two of my skills at work right now, “Andro began as he too observed the damage being done to the ground with fascination, “The obvious one is my skill [Corrosive Blood] which makes my blood a rather strong acidic substance. The second, “He said before holding up his still bleeding wrist, “is [Sanguine Reserves] which vastly increases how much blood is in my body as well as how fast I can recover.”

  Kayla’s expression that originally held concern, shifted into one of interest and partial excitement. She eyed the blood coming out much more critically before giving him an annoyed look.

  “As interesting as this is, you could have warned me first” She grumbled

  “True, but this was a funnier way to show you.” Andro laughed, before stopping, then facepalmed with his non bleeding hand, “I completely forgot about that” He grumbled, then reached towards his chest.

  Placing his palm flat against his chest, he focused for a moment before slowly pulling his hand away, fingers curled as if grabbing something. Light spilled out from between his fingers as an orb the size of an apple was seemingly pulled from his body, glowing the same colors of his shard. Once the orb was completely free of his chest, he held it out then opened his fingers, the orb quickly expanding to create a circular window two feet across.

  The edges of the window still shone with his colors, but the center filled with text.

  [Name-Androlis Seavert Qwintholys Maxon. Race-Human. Rank- Zero star Novice.]

  Below his basic information was a sectioned list that gave a handful of options.

  [Skills. Titles. Class. Achievements. Notifications.]

  He focused on the option for skills, but instead of just pulling up his list of skills, he held his hand up to the window and focused. With a grunt of effort, as well as ignoring the bewildered looks he was getting from Chen and Kayla, he reached into the window and grabbed. When his hand withdrew, he held a stack of paper that appeared to be made of light. A flick of his hand and they flew out to form three neat columns of three that hovered directly in front of him.

  “There we go” He breathed out, almost forgetting how difficult doing that was. Normally if someone wanted to display their skills, they would have to do it one at a time using the soul window, but this little trick was something he learned during his time in the collage. That and other ways one’s soul window could be manipulated.

  “How in the creators' balls did you do that?” Kayla asked while eyeing the floating skill pages.

  “Our soul windows can do that?” Chen asked at the same time while glancing down at his own chest.

  “I saw someone else do it, and yes” Andro answered both, the first answer only a partial lie. He did in fact see someone do it before, as that was how the instructor at the college taught them.

  Kayla let out an annoyed huff but walked over to examine the floating pages, reading each one over carefully. Chen in the meantime kept placing his hand on his chest, only for nothing to happen. After a few moments of failing, Andro explained how to withdraw one’s soul window and helped him navigate through it.

  “Your skills are…interesting” Kayla muttered, half to herself and a half to him, before glancing back towards him and barking out, “Will you please stop bleeding!”

  With a small level of embarrassment as he had nearly entirely forgotten that blood was still leaking from his wrist, he held it up and touched right next to it with his other hand.

  “Haven’t got to use this yet” He said with obvious excitement, but grew more serious at the glare from Kayla. “Reverse your flow, retain your form,” he said calmly.

  Brilliant bronze light emitted from his fingers and surrounded the gash on his wrist. Nearly instantly, the blood stopped coming from the wound and after a short time passed, the light faded to reveal perfectly healthy skin.

  “Good as new” he stated proudly, holding up his still blood stained hand.

  Kayla only rolled his hands at him then gestured down, “What about the large puddle of acid you decided to destroy the lawn with?”

  He looked down as well and frowned, not sure what he could do with it at first. For one it was blood, and in an alarmingly large quantity, and second it was still actively eating away at the dirt and grass around them. He could solve one of those problems and held out both hands, before focusing on his skill [Blood manipulation].

  All the blood on the ground began to tremble and vibrated before slowly rising up into the air like some sort of reverse eldritch rain. Concentration even more from the effort, Andro willed all the blood to gather into a large orb before him. It was harder than he expected as while this was a skill he had in his previous life, he did not use it much.

  With a grunt of effort, and intense focus, he soon had a torso sized blob of blood hovering in front of him. His mastery of the skill wasn’t enough to give him perfect control, evident in the way it still trembled and undulated, but it was enough to keep it in place.

  “Good job, the lawn is spared” Kayla said sarcastically, “But what are you going to do with it?”

  “Still thinking,” He replied with a hint of annoyance in his voice, then glanced down where he had tucked the knife into his belt. Before Kayla could stop him, he grabbed it and gave a quick slash to his palm.

  “Why would you do that?” she protested, disbelief on her face.

  “I thought the point was to get rid of the blood, not add more?” Chen asked from where he tinkered around with his own soul window

  “Just watch” Andro replied, then focused on his skill as he placed the cut hand just into the blood. He did his best to ignore how warm it was or the fact it was his own blood he was messing around with. There was a long moment where nothing seemed to happen, and right as Kayle and Chen were about to speak up, the blob shuddered.

  Andro grinned in triumph as he felt the blood begin to move, only for that grin to shift into a look of horror when the entire thing came crashing down onto the ground. The crimson liquid splashed out in all directions earning startled cries from both Kayla and Chen as their legs were coated. Everyone stood in stunned silence for a moment, until the sound of sizzling brought them all to attention.

  “Andro!” Kayla yelled at the same time Chen exclaimed, “Crap!”

  Andro grit his teeth calling on every ounce of power he could in his skill [Blood manipulation] and willed every single drop he could see to move. In a small tide in the form of a sanguine wave, all the blood in the yard rolled away from his sister and friend before being collected back into a shifting blob.

  “Are you all right?!” Andro asked in a half panic while stepping over to them, his healing incantation ready on his lips. He couldn’t believe he lost control of his skill like that and put those around him at risk. He cursed himself for not thinking how this could have been a possible outcome when he chose the [Corrosive blood] skill.

  His panic was cut short and transformed into a combination of confusion and relief upon seeing both Kayla and Chen unharmed. They each barely had scraps of cloth left from about mid thigh down, but they showed no signs of acid burns. Based on the looks on each of their faces, they were just as surprised to find themselves unharmed.

  “What in the Corrupters forsaken balls Andro” Kayla said once she regained her composure and gestured down to her mostly bare legs.

  “I am so sorry” he apologized, some of his panic still present, but mostly at his lack of control over his own skill. “I thought I had it under control.”

  Kayla let out a long sigh as she rubbed the bridge of her nose before saying, “I understand your eagerness little brother, but it takes time to gain complete control over new skills, especially for someone who hasn’t had any until today.”

  There was a part of him that desperately wanted to explain how not only has he had more time with skills than she has been alive, but how he has had that exact skill. He didn’t of course, Grandmother's words echoing in the back of his mind, but he was still concerned over the fact it happened.

  “What matters is no one got hurt from it,” She continued, seemingly not noticing his internal conflict, but frowned as she looked down and wiggled her bare toes. “But the question is why? I read your skill, it says nothing about caring who or what your blood will melt.”

  Andro could only shrug while giving his best guess, “Perhaps I unconsciously used my manipulation skills to keep it from hurting you.”

  Kayla thought about it for a moment before nodding and saying, “I suppose that would make sense. Manipulation skills in the past have usually proved to be capable of unique functions. Chen, are you hurt at all?” She asked while turning to the young man.

  The aspiring martial artist in question was still looking down at his bare feet, completely dumbstruck before eventually letting out a half whispered, “My boots”

  Andro had apologized profusely to his friend about accidentally melting his, what turned out to be recently saved up for boots. To help make up for it, he had dipped into his own personal funds to acquire a brand-new pair that were not only made from the hide of the powerful Ironfur dire bears but were also given basic enchantments for self-cleaning and repair. Chen had tried to refuse the boots, claiming they were way too expensive, but Andro had insisted as well as reassured him it wasn’t a bribe but purely an apology.

  With the boot situation dealt with as well as Andro succeeding what he originally tried to do and absorbing all the blood back in through the cut he had made on his palms. With that done, the two spent well over a glass going through what could have been described as torture. Kayla put them through grueling exercise after exercise, pushing them both to their limits when it came to fighting. She made them face off in hand to hand, hand to weapon, and weapon to weapon. The last bit was the two of them facing her at the same time with everything they had.

  The skills Chen displayed during all this were fascinating as well as explained why it took the young man so long to select his skills. From what he could tell, it appeared as if Chen had chosen skills that would normally be either defensive or utility in nature and turned them into offensive power when delivered via fist or foot. His most common tactic was taking a lightning based movement skill to instantly close the distance to his target before striking out with a palm strike. He would then attempt to time that palm strike with a blast of concussive force to magnify the power of the attack.

  The combination of two defensive skills used that way would have been devastating if the young man wasn’t facing the infamous Iron Butcher that was Andros' sister. Chen’s every attempt to land the deadly combo was usually met with either a wooden blade to the gut, a kick to the chest, and even a backhand to the face at one point. That didn’t deter the aspiring martial artist from trying, and when his skills failed to get through her defense, he demonstrated his raw talent for hand to hand combat.

  Andro would have liked to say he fared better in his exchanges with his sister, but a few things got in his way. His first flaw was that while his overall skill with a long spear and shield was near mastery, his weak body failed to utilize any of that skill. Perfect thrusts turned into awkward stumbles as he lost his balance, and flawless deflections with his shield only resulted in him being thrown onto his ass when his strength failed him.

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  When they were tasked with taking her on together, it was even more disastrous. Andro had the coordination and combat awareness to fight around and alongside Chen, but Chen didn’t. He lost count how many times his own strikes would instead be directed into Chen, or had to be abandoned to avoid seriously hurting his friend. To top it all off, he was unfamiliar with his new skills and kept trying to instinctively use his old ones.

  Ultimately, the long session ended with the two laying on the ground, bruised and breathing hard. A short break later, along with buckets of water provided by Kayla in the form of dousing them, the two were up and waiting as she examined them both in a way only a combat instructor could. The two were still breathing hard and covered in sweat as she paced around them, her gaze showing confusion.

  “Did we do that bad?” Andro asked between breaths.

  “Have you been training in secret Andro?” She asked in return, coming to a stop in front of him, her arms crossed.

  Andro resisted the urge to swallow or even look away, instead he kept his gaze neutral while displaying his own confusion. He should have remembered to hold back his capabilities more. While he had still been tossed around by her due to how little exercise he was able to get before evolving, he still knew how to fight and wield his weapon.

  He considered just outright lying and saying that he had been, but she would see through it instantly.

  ‘Why did I have to be related to a bunch of seers?’ he asked himself mentally. However complaining about it wouldn't give Kayla a satisfying answer so he had to give one that held some truth to it.

  “Sort of I guess” He answered while scratching his head, “despite my illness, Father still spared with me occasionally so I could at least get some exercise and I have watched you two spar quite often. You can learn a lot by watching.” He knew the answer had some holes in it, but it was the only one he could think would work. After all, it's not like he could just confess and tell her he has spent the past three decades fighting and training.

  She continued to stare at him, but eventually shook her head and said, “It's odd, you move as if you spent your entire life on a battlefield. Your footwork is flawless and you maintain your balance perfectly”

  He internally winced as she analyzed his fighting skill and from how well she could read him. At the same time however he couldn't help but feel a sliver of pride at the praise she gave his capability.

  “Then why do you suck so much when actually fighting?” She added, her confusion clear as day and this time he winced for real at her cutting words.

  The annoying thing was he even had a good answer for her. He knew his overall skill with his weapon of choice was nothing short of excellent, but his body was too weak and unadjusted to actually fighting. That didn't mean her words stung less, if anything they hurt more at knowing what he was capable of, yet unable to show it.

  “Don't be discouraged” Kayla said shaking her head upon noticing the look on his face, “This doesn’t mean it's hopeless for you, you just need a different mindset and perhaps an adjustment to your style. I can tell you're trying to fight defensively, going to counter attacks, which is not a bad thing.”

  He looked at her, an obvious question on his face before glancing between his spear and shield.

  “Like I said, fighting defensively is not a bad thing. Most people don't like being hit after all, but after taking a look at your skills along with your current physicality, I think you need to be more aggressive.” She explained, as she started to pace back and forth again, “What you should do is take full advantage of that acceleration skill to not only attack faster, but move around faster. So far you are too predictable and easy to read, whether your spear is fast or not it wont matter if I know when and where you're targeting, I didn’t even need to use my skill [Foresight] to predict just about everything you threw at me.”

  Hearing that only made him wince again at the declaration, his pride taking a hit. He thought he had done an excellent job in his skill choices, but based on what Kayal was saying, his choices were not suited for his usual style. It especially didn’t help that when he took even a moment to go back over the fight himself, he saw she was completely right. He was focused too much on his muscle memory of fighting defensively and with his old skills, that trying to do the same with his new skills was more hindrance than anything else.

  “I believe what would suit you the best is fighting more like a skirmisher” Kayle stated with a nod as she came to a stop, turning to face him. “You don’t have to finish the fight with a single strike, take those skills of yours that make each hit hurt more, and just keep hitting while using that speed of yours.”

  He thought about her advice, and as much as his pride did not want to admit it, she was right. He needed to make some adjustments to how he fought. He doubted he would need to completely change everything, but he should do what she suggested and take advantage of his speed. Dance around his opponent, not just stand there and take every hit and just go for strikes that will hit, whether it's in a vital spot or not. He had picked his two skills, [Focused Wrath] and [Envious Leech] because he believed the extra damage they provided would make his already devastating attacks absolutely brutal to face.

  Andro hadn’t considered how they could make seemingly insignificant wounds a viable threat, but when he put real thought into it he could see the potential. Especially when taking [Envious Leech] into consideration as theoretically the more times he could hit, the more he would drain from his target to restore himself. The potential was almost terrifying when put into theory, all he had to do now was make it work.

  Seeing the excitement and drive light up in his eyes, Kayla grinned and clapped her hands together before saying, “Lets go again, but this time don't stop moving, keep me guessing and confused. Chen, take a breather and when Andro can’t go anymore you will be up.”

  She stepped back to create some distance as she spoke and brought her wooden blade up into a defensive stance. Chen, who unsurprisingly was shirtless, nodded and moved over to the side while dragging the water bucket with him. Andro meanwhile took an extra moment to center his mind and calculate his approach. On instinct, he lowered himself into his usual stance, but made some alterations.

  He kept his stance loose and his shield lower than usual while his spear was tilted off to the side instead of braced against his shield. He had modified his stance to allow himself to prepare for either a deflection or to dash to either side. With some mental activations, every skill he could use in this fight came to life.

  [Acceleration] flooded his body with energy and speed with [Temporal Perception] slowed everything down around him. [Focused Wrath] ignited his spear in thin black flames that curled and writhed around the blade. [Envious Leech] came last, sickly green and purple streaks dancing throughout the flames in their own twisted rhythm.

  Kayla watched him intently, granting him the time he needed to prepare himself while ensuring she was ready for whatever he had planned. Andro knew his sister’s skills, he knew what she could do on the battlefield. He knew this wouldn't be easy, but he was determined to land at least a single hit on her. With a final deep breath, Andro dug his feet into the dirt and grass, then shot towards his sister.

  He kept his approach simple at first, aiming a powerful thrust straight for her chest and just as he expected she brought her own blade across to knock it aside. He poured extra mana into [Temporal Perception], the world slowing more than ever as he focused on the movement of her blade. Right before it could make contact, he surged [Acceleration] with power and pulled back on his spear while also choking up on his grip.

  Her eyes grew wide when he blade passed right by where his spear should have been, only to see it coming straight for her faster than ever. Andro wanted to celebrate, to believe he had her, but his instincts told him something was wrong. The smirk Kayla gave him only proved him right when she used the momentum of her initial swing to twist her upper body out of the path of his spear.

  Despite the absurd speed he was moving for a freshly evolved Novice, he should have known it would still be nothing compared to someone in the middle ranks of Apprentice. His spear met nothing but air and he barely got his shield up in time to block the rising knee she aimed for his gut. It still wasn’t enough to stop the force from launching him backwards to land hard against the ground.

  Andro was still able to take advantage of the backwards momentum to roll back up into a kneeling position and raise his shield in time to deflect Kayla's blade. Once more he was nearly tossed back, but used the blow to move backwards while standing up. From there he attempted to dash around her and strike out anywhere he could, but Kayla saw through everything.

  That didn’t stop Andro from persisting in his goal as the two danced around each other on the battlefield. He took her advice and never stopped moving, but always keeping his shield between himself and Kayla. Thrusts rained down from all directions like a black storm, yet Kayla avoided them all. What was mostly annoying him however was the fact she barely attacked, nor did she move from where she originally stood.

  He dashed back in and attempted to feint with a thrust only to pull it back and go for a shield bash. His sister’s eyes tracked his every move and braced herself to take the blow, only to smirk at his confidence and step aside for him to sail past. As he moved past, her blade came up to slam into his side and toss him back once more. This time however, her smirk faded and was exchanged for surprise when he recklessly swung his spear out and caught her thigh with the blade.

  He crashed hard into the ground and lay there panting heavily and covered in sweat. He had put everything he had into that last attack, draining his mana in order to time his attack perfectly for when she countered his charge. He was bruised and exhausted, but he still held a wide grin on his face knowing he had succeeded in landing a hit on her.

  Chen was cheering on the sideline as Kayla walked over to where Andro lay. He understood that in a true battle, he would have little to no chance of actually beating her but the fact he was able to hit her at all made him proud. He was a freshly evolved novice while she was a two star apprentice with more skills than he had.

  Chen walked over and held his hand out in order to help Andro up while saying, “That was amazing, I didn’t think either of us would be able to hit her.”

  Andro accepted the helping hand and was pulled up to his feet, letting his spear and shield remain on the ground. Chen had brought over the water bucket, which he took and sipped from while he focused on his breathing.

  “Rest up for now” Kayla instructed as she clapped them both on the shoulder. “Once I take Chen through the same exercise, we will sit down for a proper evaluation and discuss the plan going forward.” She explained Chen's expression morphing into fear mixed with excitement.

  Andro chuckled as Chen was dragged away by his sister while Cecilia somehow appeared from behind him, offering a fresh cup of juice. He had no idea when she came outside, or how she got that close without him realizing, but he accepted the cup gratefully. As he rested, enjoying the fresh juice, he watched Chen take on Kayla with his full strength.

  He was both pleased and disappointed to see his friend last longer facing his sister, but he assumed it had to do with Chen's more careful approach. Unlike when Andro rushed his sister and attempted to drown her in a flurry of attacks, Chen was more measured in his approach, testing her defenses with more feints and probing strikes. Despite his skill and different strategy, the fight still ended with a similar result of Chen on the ground and Andro holding out his hand to help him up. However upon helping his friend up, he frowned upon noticing the blood coating them.

  “Let me see your hands” He demanded and Chen hesitated for a moment before holding up both his hands.

  The aspiring martial artist’s knuckles were split open and the backs of his hands were heavenly bruised and partially bleeding as well. Andor examined his friend more closely and noticed his chins were in a similar state while his forearms were more bruised than anything else. Thinking back on it, he had noticed how often Kayla had blocked a punch or a kick with her wooden blade, while Chen likewise tried to block her strikes with his arms.

  He frowned at the damage done to his friend and glanced over to see Kayla examining the practice blade, and the numerous cracks that ran along it. He felt a new level of respect for Chen at that, but also some concern as he wondered how much the young man put himself through in order to endure that level of punishment and pain. But instead of asking about it, he simply touched each arm and chanted his incantation.

  His healing skill took a hold, the two watching the bruises fade and the split skin seal shut. In just a handful of moments, Chen’s arms looked as good as new and Andro moved onto his legs getting those healed back up.

  “That feels weird,” Chen muttered as he examined his fists, opening and closing them a few times. “Its even like the memory of the pain is gone, like it was a dream.”

  That got a frown from Andro as that was not how he felt when using the skill on himself. He could still clearly remember the sting from slashing his own wrist and palm. Kayla in the meantime had put her cracked blade up and walked over to join them, accepting a cup of juice from Cecelia.

  As she drank she went over with them everything she had observed during their fights, starting with Chen. Her main advice for him was working harder on becoming more comfortable with his skills and using them more often. He had gained the Caster core class after all which provided an extra large mana pool to draw upon.

  It was obvious that Chen still wasn't entirely happy with the concepts he ended up with, but was also working hard to make them viable with his goal. Anyone could agree that his future of trying to continue his goal of being a marital artist would be difficult, but Kayla believed that with the right skills he could make it work. His biggest obstacle will be the fact the Caster class didn’t offer any bonuses to one's physical capabilities unlike the Martial and to a lesser degree, the Expert.

  When it came to Andro, Kayla’s advice was more limited as she was still a little confused about how he was both good and bad at fighting. It mostly was dumbed down to her saying he needed to maintain that focus on being more aggressive while taking advantage of the extra damage his skills could provide.

  “I have someone in mind in the league who might be able to help us,” She explained as they made their way inside for dinner, “He has been around for a while and is much more knowledgeable when it comes to training people. I will send him a message and see if he will be available for the next few days at least.”

  With that the three of them made their way to their respective rooms in order to wash up and change into clean clothes, something that Chen was not expecting to be provided. A tasty warm dinner was enjoyed by all, most of the conversation being questions about Chen. He was understandably nervous for the first bit, but took no time in warming up to everyone.

  Andro’s only real complaint for the day was the nightmares he had during the night. They were unfortunately severe enough he had garnered the attention of Bran and Cecelia, but the two were stopped by Grandmother at his door.

  “There is no need to bother him at this hour” She stated matter of fact to the two from where she stood defiantly before his door.

  “Pardon my rudeness Grandmother, but it is obvious he is in distress” Cecelia practically begged from where she could hear Andro’s cry of despair beyond his door.

  “And trust that it pains me more than you can imagine to hear him in such obvious pain,” Grandmother replied, her features twisting in pain as Andro cried out once more, “But also trust in my words when I say there are things best left unknown and unsaid when it comes to my grandson. You have been with this family for well over a decade now young Cecelia, you should know by now there are often consequences to meddling with the forces of power that we treat as daily chores.”

  Grandmother's tone was firm, leaving no room for arguments. Cecelia looked hesitant, as if she wanted to do exactly that, but a gentle hand on her shoulder caused her to turn. Bran softly shook his head towards the loyal servant, his own eyes showing how much restraint he held to stop from rushing into the room.

  “I understand what you are feeling Cecelia, but Grandmother is right about this. “He said, his own tone firm and full of resolve, “I have witnessed many of the horrors these wonderful people have endured in their duty to the city. If Grandmother insists young lord Andro shall endure, then we can only trust her word.”

  Cecelia still looked hesitant, something the two elderly individuals completely understood. She had practically watched the young man grow up just as much as his own mother had so she felt attached in a way that was more than just servant. After a long moment where she stared hard at the door, listening to Andro cry out in his sleep, she finally let out a shuddering breath and turned toward Grandmother with a nod.

  “We trust your word Grandmother.” She declared, her voice shaky but resolved as she blinked moisture away from her eyes. With that said, both Cecelia and Bran made their way back to their own rooms. Leaving Grandmother by Andro’s door, her gaze locked onto it.

  “I pray to the old ones, your life is much kinder this time” She whispered.