The skills that were provided looked amazing. Usually, the first tier for any skill tree was quite basic and just an introduction to what was to offer, but these skills looked great.
He had already been given his first proper skill for free on top of that. However, he was quite bothered by the other skills, that were behind quite large paywalls for him. 50 Emporium shards were what he would use to feed himself for an entire week.
Throwing it into a skill would mean no week of food for him.
There just weren't many ways for him to acquire the funds for these skills. With the government constantly failing to give him his basic monthly payments, it made it much more unlikely that he would be buying these anytime soon.
[Level: 2]
[User: Rhys Arkwrighte]
[Titles: Fledgling]
[Strength (STR): 4]
[Speed (SPD): 6]
[Durability (DUR): 4]
[Endurance (END): 5]
[Species: Vampire]
[HP: 12/12]
[XP: 0/200]
[MP: 12/12]
[Stat Upgrades: 1]
[Skills] [expand]
With one stat upgrade, these were items that could be used to boost a physical stat. He decided to place it right into his strength, as he thought that was one of the main stats that would help him in fights.
His speed was great, but if he couldn't damage his opponent it wouldn't amount to much.
[+1 Strength]
[Level: 2]
[User: Rhys Arkwrighte]
[Titles: Fledgling]
[Strength (STR): 5]
[Speed (SPD): 6]
[Durability (DUR): 4]
[Endurance (END): 5]
[Species: Vampire]
[HP: 12/12]
[XP: 0/200]
[MP: 12/12]
[Stat Upgrades: 0]
[Skills] [expand]
The following day, the first period consisted of a usual lecture. However, in the afternoon, they were scheduled to meet Master Sergeant Hale once again for another session of combat training.
In their eyes, their lives were better spent on the battlefield, fighting against their nation and humanity as a whole.
As Rhys walked in the hall, he talked with his two close friends and they were all happy to be free due to their lunch break. Heading to the cafeteria, he overheard an odd statement by Carson as he walked past him.
Even though the crowd of students were masking the noise that he wasn't supposed to have heard, he could hear his voice clearly. There was a certain tension as he brushed past him, while Carson felt no pressure whatsoever.
He simply cracked a smile upon watching the slightly taller Rhys brush by him.
Emmerich couldn't quite make out what he was saying, but he could hear Rhys' name, next to him being beat up. He looked back to Rhys, and just continued to think about what he had just heard.
"Rhys, did anything happen yesterday?" Emmerich asked him.
Rhys felt quite surprised that Emmerich had also heard what had happened. He didn't want to reveal information about his system just yet. If his system really was SS-Rank, he would literally be adopted by the military to help grow in strength.
They would try their best to hold him down in contracts and indoctrinate him to become a loyal warrior to Grelcis, but he did not want that. He desired to fight his nation, but he always had a feeling of anger upon imaging the general, Rohan Johannesson, in his mind.
He was certainly not a man that he wanted to fight for.
"I just got attacked by Carson and Leandro. I got Leandro down a bit but they overpowered me in the end." Rhys replied, trying his best to put on a tone of sadness.
After taking Leandro's blood, he felt that he got his get-back. All that remained was for him to truly subdue him in the heart of battle after growing stronger.
Now that he had become a vampire, he also felt like a piece of his soul had left him. The emotions of guilt he felt around taking a life were nullified quite significantly by this point.
This was not going to put him down.
"Why did you not tell us?" Lewis asked, surprised.
"What was that going to do. We've all had our fair share of beatings. I just need to move on from it." He replied.
His comments were understandable, but Emmerich looked far more concerned about what had happened.
'How could he go behind his back after losing?! Using one of his friends to get a one-up on Rhys?' He thought to himself, with a clenching fist.
The mental weakness that Leandro had made him even angrier. The fact that he was able to stoop so low as to use one of his stronger friends to face Rhys was revolting to him.
Emmerich didn't say anything in response right now, and Rhys looked a little perplexed by the vibrating fist that he now had.
As they turned into a quieter hall, his surprise only intensified once he heard an intensifying heart beat. It wasn't his heartbeat, it was Emmerich's.
He couldn't hear it clearly through the various conversations taking place in the same hall that they walked through.
They had lunch as usual, and Emmerich kept giving out glances to a specific area in this hanger-like cafeteria. He was looking at Carson and Leandro, and they both looked happier than ever.
'I'll show you what you get for hurting one of my friends.' Emmerich declared to himself, staring at him.
Following their meal, Emmerich decided to say to his friends that he was heading to the toilet. Rhys immediately thought that what he was doing was fishy, and he even looked back to Lewis as he heard him say this.
"Do you think he can take on Carson and Leandro together?" Lewis asked back.
Emmerich was significantly stronger than the two of them, but facing two people of that calibre surely couldn't be easy for him.
"I just hope he thinks things through. He might end up getting seriously hurt if he starts taking battles like this." Rhys replied.
He said he had gone to the toilet but both of them knew exactly where he was headed. He had charged off at a pace, and there was no mistaking his intentions. He was going to take vengeance.
Emmerich tracked down the two students through the tower they were currently in. Their year group had just finished their lunch at the cafeteria, and he couldn't be far away.
Turning a corner, he saw a close friend of Leandro and knew that he was in the right place. Taking another turn, he could see Carson and Leandro walking right toward him. Emmerich suddenly came to a stop, which caused the other two to do the same.
"Can I help you?" Carson asked in an arrogant manner.
Leandro felt much less desire to act arrogantly in front of this man. They were the same height, but Emmerich looked twice his size. Carson was more muscular than Emmerich but that didn't mean much.
The black-haired warrior was known for being quite athletic in terms of his system rank.
"I'm gonna crush you two. I never would've thought you would get one of your stronger friends to ambush Rhys because you were too weak to do so yourself." Emmerich stated, glaring at Leandro.
He just gulped and didn't reply, since what he had said was the truth. Carson just chuckled and stepped forward confidently.
"Alright then. What are you going to do about it anyway?" Carson asked, as his green mana aura took form.
Other students walking near them in this wide hall couldn't help but slow to watch the commotion. Someone randomly activating their mana cloak in a place always meant that a fight was about to go down.
Emmerich responded with his own dark blue aura of mana. They both stared at each other, then raced forward at each other.
Carson formed one of his signature rock boulders, and overheard chucked it forward to try and hit Emmerich.
"Intense Impact!"
Slamming his palm right on the boulder, it fragmented into numerous tiny, sharp pieces.
The pieces of rock had cut Carson and Leandro from the high speed that it was projected out at.
Leandro decided to enter the fight after receiving such injury, and Emmerich wiggled his fingers upon watching their advance. He grunted in anger to fuel himself, washing away the fear that was bubbling up inside.
A spear of rock was hurled toward his face, but he just about evaded it and threw a punch to Carson's face in the process.
His strike knocked him back, with a stunned expression. Leandro raced past him though, and released a fireball at close range.
He chucked forward two at once, using one hand for each fireball
FWOOSH!
The fireballs raged upon colliding with Emmerich's body, and caused him to slide back. Upon taking the attack, he just chuckled at the fighter.
"You really are weak." He stated, before zooming forward.