[I tried to warn you this time sir, you didn't listen. Feeding on the innocent is impossible for your kind. You can hurt them and kill them in other ways but not by feeding on them. Their blood is too pure, therefore it'll have this kind of effect on you. And I know even though it knocks you out completely, now that you've had a taste I doubt you'll stay away.]
'Yeah? I don't have time to be laying around like this. I'm vulnerable, the sun could come up any time, that brat could alert people to take me out while I'm down.'
He contemplated his decision to let hunger drive him. It was chaotic, but a good kind of chaotic. Levi reminded himself to not get addicted to the feeling.
[I'm afraid that's too late, after feeding it's almost impossible to resist. That's why I urged you to resist before you did on something that wasn't a rodent.]
'Almost. All I hear are the possibilities. I'll just use this time to train within my Hub.'
[...]
'What was that thing I did? My body just turned into dark smoke?'
[That's a demonic technique called shadow travelling. But that's not even important, if I had feelings I'm sure I'd be very angry at you master. You're risking it all, for what, a high that'll never be satiated?]
Levi didn't want to get into it with Lilith so he went straight to the deeper parts of himself, where he was sure of complete alone time.
He needed a skill to walk in the sun, now that he had a weapon that can turn into anything, he wanted sword techniques too.
"Now then, will you allow me to the next floor?" As though it could understand him he asked the tower, taking a single step up the stairs.
There was no resistance this time, even so, he walked up like he was walking on egg shells—like the stairs that have been there probably since the conception of Ancieru were going to break under his footing if he wasn't delicate.
The second floor was vastly different. It was an entire library with a courtyard and a garden view. He was sure that this is the kind of place he wanted to make his home.
Unsure whether the garden was an illusion, he opened the glass door and large amounts of Gi hit him like a ton of bricks. It was so thick it took him a minute to breathe properly.
"I think this would even be better than that Venus terrain that's my Hub for training, so serene and peaceful." He went back inside to frantically look for the skill.
While downstairs had only foundations techniques, this one had offensive ones. There were too many to count and read all so Levi decided to focus on martial arts and swordsmanship.
While swordsmanship was on the priority list he went to the martial arts section first. He thought maybe if there was a sun walking skill, it'd be there.
There were a variety, Levi thought that they'd be sectioned according to grades but they all looked the same. Grey and tattered.
"Skills don't have levels? That's...very strange."
There were far too many to choose, he quickly realised that he could only learn one, as these weren't skills per se they were paths. He wasn't sure he wanted to make such a great decision in a hurry.
"Heaven Demonic Path? Chaotic Hell?" He read them as he went along the long row of books, afraid of touching them and be stuck with an unwanted path. "Trial and Error path? Who the hell would choose that."
His heart stopped when the skill started to glow faintly golden. The colour kept getting brighter and brighter until the book was in flames and disappeared.
"Phew! I thought I'd learned that by mist—" He'd jinxed it because the knowledge flowed into his mind like bad martian winds.
Levi knelt on one knee, holding his head convinced that if he let it go it would explode. Learning skills was supposed to be fun, not this, he almost lost consciousness because the information was a lot.
But every time he was close to an overload he evolved a little which caused bursts of sudden migraines.
When it was over he laid on the floor, on the verge of tears that he was robbed of an overpowered skill. Something called trial and error couldn't have been that great, it would lose him a lot of time.
"Dammit, I should have started with swords."
He was sourly disappointed when at the corner of his eye, around the sword techniques section a book burnt and the excruciating pain started all over again.
Accepting his horrible fate, Levi laid on the stone floor, not thinking, not complaining, just being.
He despaired for only but a second and he was back to his old self. If the paths prove useless he'd just stay in this vast forest forever never venturing outside of it.
His resolve was interrupt by extreme pain his real body felt, he jolted awake. The pain came from his now melted hand, there was only skeleton in its place, the two suns were scorching the entire area.
He leapt for the shade, he felt weakened and couldn't exactly move well but he managed to reach the darker parts of the forest.
"Th-that was so fucking close!" He couldn't hide his panic looking at his bony hand.
[Sorry master, I tried my best calling out to you but nothing went through. I'm not going to say I told you so, but pure innocent blood is dangerous.]
"You told me nothing, Lilith." He replied through gritted teeth.
Angry as he was, he decided to concentrated on things he was given. Safely out of the reach of sun rays, he looked at the technique that forced itself into him.
"Trial and Error? Whoever made this was an idiot and to make it a technique!" He cursed once again unable to help himself.
[I see you've been granted a path that's very impressive. While you're unhappy with it, I think it suits you better. With it, the possibilities are endless. You can create your own threads that are linked to the technique.]
"Huh? Really? What are threads?"