After the bat fight was over I had Ibuki kill them all before I started draining their blood dry.
Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding!
<[ You gained 6 EXP for killing a Vampire Bat ]>
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<[ You gained 18 EXP for killings of Vampire Bats per party member ]>
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<[ Your skill leveled up [ Jump: 4 > 5 ] ]>
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<[ You have acquired the following skills:
• [ Sonic scream: 1 ]
• [ Body Enhancement (Fangs): 1 ] ]>
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<[ You have acquired the bloodline [ Vampire Bat: 11% ] ]>
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<[ Your bloodline has become stronger and purer [ Vampire Bat: 11% > 100% ] ]>
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<[ Your skill has evolved [ Leech: 10 ] > [ Vampirism: 1 ] ]>
"(With that I completed the second requirement, only the light resistance skill is missing now.)" (I)
I'm happy with the notifications I see, knowing I'm one step closer to my muscular body.
"Érica, how are you?" (I)
I turn to Érica and see her meditating to recover from her Mana faster, with my question she interrupts the meditation and opens her eyes.
"I've already regained some Mana, Master." (Érica)
"Then continue with your meditation, I will wait until you have recovered before leaving." (I)
While Érica went back to meditating, Ibuki and I started to store the bats' bodies in the storage items.
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After an hour and a half or so, Érica had fully recovered, so we resumed our way back to the camp which took almost two hours as we had to dodge several monsters along the way.
When we arrived we all went to remove the armor and weapons, we changed into more comfortable clothes.
Each one also had their gun close by, after the spiders attack the other day I always have my daggers in my waist, the girls also started carrying their guns.
As soon as we were in more comfortable clothes we went to roast some Kobold meat for us to eat.
After eating I took a whole bone and started chewing it using my skill [ Leech Bite: 5 ].
I'm doing this to raise the level of this skill, I hope I can evolve it too.
I will start training my martial arts lighter every day to have more time to do other things, like level up some skills.
I left everything behind while training to get the skills I needed, now that I have the skills I wanted it's time to focus my attention on other things.
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I spent hours grinding bones with my teeth, in the end, my whole jaw hurts, but it was worth it to see my skills progress.
Ding! Ding!
<[ Your skill leveled up [ Low Leech Bite: 5 > 8 ] ]>
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<[ Your skill leveled up [ Body Enhancement (Fangs): 1 > 2 ] ]>
After that, I stopped this training because of the pain I was feeling and went to check the leather I had left drying for the past few days.
I removed all that was stretched out and checked to see how they are, the result is that none of them show any signs of decomposition or bad smell, so it seems I did some things right, the problem is that it's too stiff, this way it won't serve as a cover, but I can use it as a rug or put them on the bed to sleep on.
Both are good choices, so I do both, the wolves' fur was softer so I put four of them on the bed and the rest I put like rugs around the cabin.
Finishing that, I spend the rest of the afternoon sculpting, until nightfall I made two more wooden dolls with a humanoid shape without features.
Ding!
<[ Your skill leveled up [ Carpentry: 3 > 4 ] ]>
At nightfall, we go in and I decide to teach Ibuki how to write her and the other girls' names, after I taught her she was practicing in the same blank practice book Érica gave her.
While Ibuki continues to practice her writing of hers I go talk to Érica who is sitting against a wall thinking about something.
"What are Érica thinking about?" (I)
"I was thinking about how to improve the spell I used today." (Érica)
"Seeing how to increase the number of fireballs coming out of the first target from two to five like you said it should be?" (I)
"Not only that, but I also need to cut down on Mana consumption, I wasted a lot of Mana in casting the spell." (Érica)
"I should be able to use the same magic with half the Mana I spent, if my magic teacher saw me now he would be furious yelling at me how I wasted so much magic power on a spell of this level." (Érica)
Sigh
Looks like she wasn't happy with her performance today.
"Now that you mention it I remember Diana told me you were an ex-nobleman, you even mentioned your story in a nutshell when I made everyone tell a little about themselves after Kira joined us." (I)
"Yes, it's been almost half a year since I stopped being a noblewoman." (Érica)
"I imagine your magic teacher was one of several teachers you've had." (I)
"I had five professors, one in economics, one in politics, one in magic, one in history, and a professor of manners who taught me how a noblewoman should behave, how to dance and how to eat." (Érica)
"Do you miss them?" (I)
"I don't miss any of them, they all just taught me on my father's orders and were paid very well for it, none of them cared about me." (Érica)
"I wasn't talking about your teachers, I was asking if you miss your family?" (I)
She is silent for a few seconds with unfocused eyes staring at nothing as if she is remembering something.
Sigh
"Not that I missed both my parents and my older brother, I and my other sister were just political tools." (Érica)
"My father never cared about what I wanted or whether I was happy, he just wanted to increase his influence among the nobles." (Érica)
"My mother and sister just wanted to know about money and live comfortably, neither of them minded marrying rich men even if they didn't love them just to maintain their lifestyle." (Érica)
"The care and concern the master shows me and the others, like today he asked Ibuki to protect me when my Mana ran out or how he waited for me to regain my Mana before we returned, my family would never do those things." (Érica)
"My friend who helped me lose my virginity to get thrown out of the family was the first to care about me, then I met Diana who taught and guided me without caring where I came from or what I might offer in return." (Érica)
"Diana was not only a friend to me, but she was more of a sister to me than my blood sister ever was." (Érica)
"The situation in which I met the master may have been the worst that has ever happened to me, but since I met the master every day is fun, for the first time in my life I feel at home." (Érica)
"The food I ate with the most expensive ingredients every day as the daughter of a nobleman seemed tasteless when I was surrounded by people like my family, compared to this simple, unseasoned roast meat we eat every day is the most delicious I ever had. I already ate." (Érica)
She looked sad at the beginning of her story, but throughout the story, her face has given away its emotions completely, the way her face contorted in anger when talking about her father, the expression of disappointment when talking about her mother and siblings, the way she smiled lightly when talking about Diana and finally the way she opened a big smile when talking about how the food tastes better now than when she was noble.
This mix of emotions proves that she grew up in a place without love, I don't think Diana has realized how much Érica cares for her, I should tell her when I get back.
"Since you were Nobility, could you explain to me how Nobility Qualifies?" (I)
"Of course I can master." (Érica)
She pulls out a used book and goes to the last sheets that are still blank, she rips off a sheet and takes some ink and a pen from her storage item, then she writes a pyramid-shaped diagram and hands it to me.
When reading I see that the nobles are divided like this.
Nobility Rank:
1. King / Queen
2. Prince / Princess
3. Archduke / Archduchess
4. Duke / Duchess
5. Marquis / Marquise
6. Count / Countess
7. Viscount / Viscountess
8. Baron / Baroness
9. Knight / Knight
"Usually the small villages with dozens of people are commanded by Chefs da Vila who are chosen by the Barons responsible for the lands of the village." (Érica)
"The Barons are chosen to take care of villages with hundreds of people." (Érica)
"Counts are responsible for small towns with 1,000 to 5,000 people." (Érica)
"Big cities like the city of Valen which has tens of thousands of inhabitants have a Duke in charge." (Érica)
"And then comes the capital with a population of hundreds of thousands that are directly ruled by the King." (Érica)
"The Viscounts are responsible for supervising the Barons on the orders of the Counts, the Marqueses supervise the Earls on the orders of the Dukes, and the Archdukes supervise the Dukes on the orders of the King." (Érica)
"This is the form of the political hierarchy of the Nobles." (Érica)
"You forgot the Knights." (I)
"Knights live in lands of other nobles, usually become vassals of nobles of higher rank or of the crown itself." (Érica)
"I think I understand, thanks for always teaching me Érica." (me)
"I thank you, master, thank you for everything, I am more than happy to help you." (Érica)
After talking for a while with Érica it was already late and we all went to sleep.