She shrugged off Linburn's order and held her dagger, fixed in place. It had a barely visible transparent glow to it as wind mana oozed from the tip. She fixed her eyes on Seth's lithe figure, watching for the slightest micro-movements, waiting for his opening move. Seth recognized battle stance, and lips cracked an amused smile.
"I apologize for damaging the counter table. I was in a battle recently, and I was taking my frustration out on you. I will pay for all damages."
"Fight me, coward," she snarled.
"Don't you worry about the counter. You are practically family," Lisburn said and shot his daughter a cautionary glare. "All is forgiven."
He gave a curt bow and waited for Linburn to sell him the items he requested.
"Why won't you fight me?" Sera asked, with a confused glare.
"I have no need to. Even if I wanted to, there is simply not enough time," he smiled and turned back to Linburn, who was just as surprised as Sera was. Her taunts weren't clearly working, but she wasn't going to give up that easily. The inched closer, pressing her blade on the base of his neck, drawing blood.
A message popped up in the bloody window that disappeared after he left the tower.
[You have been injured, and you are losing blood, consume blood to heal yourself]
Seth arched his eyebrow, "Huh!"
Sera grinned, "I knew you were itching for a fight too, don't try to deny it? What do you say? Show me what they thought you, junior knights, at the border-"
Seth spaced out. A thousand thoughts went through his mind. 'Blood, Why blood?' Was it because he was part blood mage now? Do all blood mages need blood to heal their wounds? Were the records and legends all true? He was no blood mage, just a higher human. So why could he heal like the blood mages of old?
Questions he had about the system bubbled to the surface. Though he knew he had other important matters to attend to, he couldn't help but wonder what all this could mean?
'Why does blood heal me?' He directed his question at the system, half expecting no reply, but as soon as he asked, the screen that once contained his stats faded, and a long bloody text replaced it.
[Blood is a source of power and sustenance for blood mages. It is one of the abilities higher humans gain shortly after their awakening. In time, you will unlock and master skills like body refinement, blood spells, and energy manipulation.
Consuming and refining enough blood will heal a higher human of most wounds, and increase their overall strength, speed, and cognition, age, mana capacity, and reduce their casting time. Higher humans, however, have an upper threshold and will not grow until they evolve into complete blood mages.
It's important to note the refinement process will increase in difficulty as you grow in power and age. Only creatures that are superior or of the same strength will provide enough energy to cause a sizeable increase in strength and magic.]
Seth's eyes widened, "What is the meaning of this!" he spat out.
Sera's eyes lit up, "So you accept my challenge?" She cackled with pure delight, "It's been a while since I have had a real fight. I wonder if you have improved since the last time we fought. It would be so disappointing if you were still as weak as you were when I beat you all those years ago. I bet-"
Seth paid her no attention and allowed his mind to process. 'What does all this mean? I can gain power without having to meditate for years? I kill and absorb blood to grow?.' The thought of killing thousands weighed heavy on his heart. How many people of beasts will I have to hunt to gain the power I need?'
'Learning blood spells! I can't even use them in public. I will be hunted if I am ever discovered. I would be branded as a vampire or blood kin and be put to death. What use is all this power if I can't use it.'
"Fuuuuucck!" he screamed out. Sera took several steps back. She was mildly startled by his outburst. Seth chewed on his fingers and started to pace back and forth.
"Are you okay-" Linburn's voice faded into the background as his thoughts spiraled.
'But this isn't necessarily a bad thing. I am not a blood mage yet, and it's not like I plan to go from town to town viciously murdering people. Maybe if I stick to magic beasts and kill them alone… no, no, it won't ever be enough. I can't possibly hunt enough beasts and refine sufficient energy to somehow rival a mage who has been training all his life. He went easy on me. I can't forget that.'
He took a deep breath and slowed his pace. 'This changes nothing. I need a team, and I am going to get one with silver after I leave for the lower ring. I don't have the time to go around hunting animals and magic beasts. I just need a few capable mages, and we can overwhelm him. He is just one man.' He closed his eyes and turned to Sera, who was wide-eyed, staring at him.
"As I said before, I don't have time for a fight?" he said plainly. "I will fight you when I get back from my quest. And besides, I'm in no condition to fight. I was attacked recently, and I seem to have temporarily lost some of my mana."
He smirked, "you wouldn't want a shallow victory over an invalid now, would you?
Her lips formed a thin, closed-lip smile, "I'll admit you are not as stupid as you used to be." She sheathed her blade, and raised both her fists and lowered into a fighting stance, "You said your magic is gone for the time being, how about a simple, fair spar."
Sigh. Seth rolled his eyes, " I don't have time for one of our long, bothersome spars." He turned to Linburn, "Can't you stop her? We're in the middle of conducting business. If we fight in your store, it will be a disaster."
Linburn blue eyes shone, his face hardened, "Sera!" he called. Sere turned to him, meeting his intense gaze, with an equally immovable one.
Linburn opened his mouth, "Take it to the roof!"
Seth was slack-jawed. "What! I asked you to intervene because I hoped you understood the urgency of my mission. I don't have time for sparring matches," he fumed. "I've never been met with so much unprofessionalism." He marched past Sera on his way to the entrance. "I'm taking my business elsewhere."
The Old merchant's youthful athleticism resurfaced, "Wait," he dashed past his floating wears, around his stunned daughter, and grabbed the store door by the handle. "How about I sweeten the pot a bit. I will give you a Urum dagger and give you half price for all the goods you requested."
Seth stopped, his nose flared, "If you think I will be bought by some cheap bribe… wait, wait, did you say Urum?"
A Urum dagger absorbed whatever elemental magic you pumped into it. It cost only a few silver coins, but that was money that Seth couldn't to part with on the eve of a mission.
"Yes," Linburn chuckled, "My little flower is bored out of her mind just wasting away guarding the store. It's not every day you find a magic knight with enough free time to spar with her. A Urum dagger seems like a fair price."
"And…and the discounts," Seth quickly added. The old man belly laughed, "of course."
This was their plan from the get-go. His eyes studied Sera in her fighting stance and then turned back to Linburn. They needed him far much than he needed them, and he could exploit that, but that could make Linburn bitter towards him the next time into the store. Squeezing more out of them was simply not worth it.
Even though sparring with his childhood rival was bothersome, he had to admit he was curious to see what the limits of his new physique were. Sera would be the perfect test subject/ sparring partner.
He was still bothered, though. His magic had left him, and in a proper fight, he couldn't possibly win a fight against someone who diligently trained for the past five years. If she chose to use magic, he would last seconds.
He was in no shape to fight seriously, at least not yet. Not until he saw a healer and got her opinion on the state of his core. He grits his teeth. Accepting the fight would be begging for trouble. He couldn't win the fight unless he insisted that they both don't use magic? A crooked smile formed his pale face.
"I agree to fight Sera. But I have conditions."