Chapter 8
Captivated by Blood
Tara and Ronald woke up from the pain-addled bonanza within fifteen seconds of each other, lifting their heads weakly and noting that it was quite dark outside. Both coughed, spitting out remnants of blood from their throats, the feeling of iron persisting through on their tongues. Hoisting themselves up into the seated positions, they realised they were doused in a mixture of blood and sweat–and only then noticed a barely-visible frame of a man standing in front of them.
"Jesus!" both exclaimed almost at the exact same time, but were unable to stand up, feeling too weak still, their legs jello.
"No, it's Ethan," Ethan chuckled at the reaction before stepping forward and lighting up the surrounding area through the phone's flashlight. "How are you feeling?" he asked.
"Spewed-out garbage," Tara replied.
"Chewed out and spewed out," Ronald added.
"At least, now, magic is within your grasp," he said. "Look through your stats and abilities on the way back to the lodge. There's like three hours before dawn, and both of you need to be tear-clean before Layla wakes up."
With a bit of Ethan's help, the two stood up and slowly began to pace back toward the lodge, each step seemingly restoring a bit of strength back to their bodies. On their way back, they read through the stats and abilities as Ethan suggested, and though their disbelief still ran high, they had no choice but to accept this was how Ethan learned magic–and now how they learned it too. Neither questioned, at least out loud, how Ethan knew to do what he did to obtain magic in the first place and simply enjoyed the fact that they did obtain magic.
They had a slight variation in stats between them, but not by much–Ronald had more Vitality while Tara had slightly more Agility, with the rest of the stats being distributed equally. They had three abilities–two passives and one active.
[Blood Devotee] – base stats are doubled when fighting alongside your Sire, or when following their direct orders. Experience gain, both for abilities and levels, is increased by 35% when hunting alongside your Sire. However, if parted for longer than 72 hours, your base stats will be lowered by 20%, further lowered by 20% every 24 hours afterward.
[Initiate of Blood] – your natural wound regeneration is boosted by 50%. You naturally take longer to bleed out. You have an increased chance of causing 'Fixed Bleeding' on a target, dealing persistent damage over a period of time. You naturally learn Blood-related abilities faster. You cannot be healed by ordinary Holy Magic.
[Congeal] – congeal blood in a desired shape for 30 seconds. The shape cannot be destroyed through normal means; blood takes the basic properties of whatever shape it embodies. Damage dealt if it takes a weapon shape has a high chance of causing Profuse Bleeding. Can be applied on wounds to close them up immediately. Experiment with the ability to learn more.
After asking them, Ethan guided them in actually casting the active ability, which prompted both Ronald and Tara to stare at the tiny, palm-sized blade of blood they made with awe in their eyes. It took quite some time–fifteen seconds each, in fact–and it was clear that they'd have to level up the ability exponentially before it had any moment-to-moment combat uses, but it was still… amazing. Even if it paled in comparison to Ethan who could conjure a seven-foot-long whip, it was their own bind of magic. And that was good enough.
Tara was the first to clean up, followed by Ronald, and both went comatose on the couches right after, tired beyond description. Ethan welcomed the dawn alone with a cup of coffee, perched outside and facing the downward slope through which the first sun's rays of the day managed to pierce.
Things were shaping up differently than his initially outlined plans. In fairness, they weren't precisely in-depth plans, just vague notions of the things he was supposed to do, places he was supposed to go, and people he was supposed to save. Even when he became the Blood Inheritor, his plan was to stealthily level up the class until he could use some of the obnoxiously strong abilities Logan showcased, but it appeared as though there were quite a few directions the class could take. It wasn't as though it was particularly unique in that aspect–even his previous Class had evolutionary paths that began with a Rogue, but sprawled out into offensive, defensive, supportive, and a slew of other minor roles.
Tara and Ronald were still kids for all intents and purposes and he could grasp them by terror and keep them by awe, but as time progressed, 'capturing' people that way would become extremely difficult. He had something they desired, and that something will soon be within the grasp of anyone who wants it.
Finishing off the coffee, he went back inside the lodge and started preparing breakfast, expecting Layla to wake up soon. Some fifteen minutes later, just as he finished making scrambled eggs, Layla walked into the living room yawning and sniffing.
"Eggs?" she mumbled, still in the process of waking up.
"No good?" Ethan asked.
"No, it's okay. Can I have some juice first?"
"Of course," Ethan said. "You can go wake up those guys and sit."
"I can sit in the bedroom," she said, looking at him angrily. "You're so mean to them!"
"... sorry. I'll try to be less mean," Ethan smiled. "Here you go," he poured her a glass of orange juice and handed it over as the girl guzzled it down quickly. "Let's go eat in the bedroom, then."
The two ate on the bed, both occupied with their own pieces of technology–Layla on the phone, watching a cartoon, and Ethan on the laptop, watching a random episode of Friends as he didn't know what else to do, using it to decompress for at least twenty minutes.
Shortly after breakfast, Tian showed up and, as it became a habit of sorts in the last week, took Layla out for a walk. In the meantime, Ethan went back into the living room and deliberated for a moment whether to wake up both or just one. As he believed in equality, he woke up both.
Tara and Ronald grumbled outwardly and cursed inwardly as they were woken up from their sweet slumber. Their anger subsided slightly when they saw the breakfast waiting for them on the table–especially considering they both felt hunger the likes of which they'd never felt before. It burned through them almost like the fire during the Awakening, and while they gulped down one batch, Ethan was already bringing the second, and then the third, and eventually the last–the fifth batch of eggs, which finally managed to quell them. Slinking back onto the couch, they seemed tired, but somewhat excited as well.
"I'm guessing you also experienced that hunger," Tara said.
"Nope. I'm not a wuss."
"..."
"Man, you really can't take a joke, huh?"
"You can't just re-label insults as jokes," Tara said.
"Alright. Man, you really can't take an insult, huh?"
"Before you two set the entire cabin on fire," Ronald chimed in. "I want to say a few things."
"Make it one."
"Thank you," Ronald's words surprised Ethan for a moment. "You could have just as easily had us chasing the carrot for months but you didn't."
"I know this will come as a shock to you guys," Ethan said, his expression somewhat odd. "But while I'm many, many, many bad things, I very rarely actively lie. If I make a statement, usually, it's true. Or obviously sarcastic."
"Good to know," Tara said dismissively. "So, what are your plans now?"
"My plans?" Ethan probed.
"With us. With this. Everything." She said. "I don't believe for a second you intend to live here like a hermit for all eternity. You say you very rarely lie. So, go on. Don't lie."
"... call me out on my words immediately, huh?" Ethan chuckled for a moment as he put down the second cup of coffee he was drinking. "I'm waiting."
"Waiting for what?"
"For whatever things that will be giving us levels to come crawling out," Ethan said. "I've already killed a couple of people, but I didn't gain any experience, any items, any notifications. Which means this isn't an Earth-sized battle royale that pits us against each other. So, what is it?"
"... an invasion?" Ronald proposed.
"I imagine," Ethan nodded. He was telling them the truth, indeed–just the muted version. "The reason why I'm up here is because it is easier to temper nothing than it is to handle a city full of mindless, terrified people."
"But why didn't the invasion start as soon as the orb descended?" Tara questioned, frowning.
"Let me link up with my alien contacts and ask."
"Alright…"
"Or should I shove a probe up my butt and see if I pick up any chatter?"
"I get it…"
"Maybe–"
"I said I get it!" Tara exclaimed. "You don't know. You could have just said that. Nobody would hit you for it."
"Where's the fun in that?" Ethan grinned playfully. "So, I'm waiting. Anyway, you two should do a simple supply run tomorrow–get some cameras, more food, and whatever you think is important. Return before you get debuffed."
"Aren't you worried we'll just run away?" Ronald asked though he realised the stupidity of the question immediately after. Both Tara and Ethan simply glanced at him for a moment before the conversation resumed.
"If we meet resistance? It's not like Ronald and I are killers." Tara said.
"Either become killers or beat them down an inch away from death, it's entirely up to you. Just make sure you don't get followed, and try to not get tangled up with the military. Anyway, this is all moot unless one of you can drive."
"..." Tara and Ronald grew stiff and Ethan sighed. He feared this happening as it meant he'd have to go. There was no way he could leave Layla behind, which meant that everyone would have to go–and that wasn't feasible.
"Tara, you'll stay back with Layla," Ethan said. "Should anything happen to you, even if you die, I'll raise you from hell and kill you repeatedly. If you're worried about something happening, there's a cave about two miles north of here. It's pretty well hidden, but Layla knows where it is so let her guide you. Call me immediately if that happens and we'll rush back. We won't be gone for longer than fifteen hours, tops. There are some marts just at the city's entrance and we'll hit those, grab what we can, and buck back."
"Got it." Tara nodded, realising this was one of those tasks she could not, in any way, shape, or form mess up.
"Good," Ethan smiled faintly. "For today, just relax. Play around with your magic, cry yourself out, or wank for a bit. Whatever you kids do these days. Me? I'm gonna go take a nap."
"It's barely 8AM," Tara said. "You're not taking a nap, just going to sleep on an alcoholic's time."
"You bite more than you make it seem," Ethan glanced at her and chuckled while he stood up and began walking toward the bedroom. "Keep at it. It will serve you well in the future."