The following morning, as he awoke, he immediately revealed the items from his inventory. He had his crystal, that was covered in blood, and the rotting forearm with blood that was going to dry out quite soon.
Luckily, things didn't rot while being stored in the inventory. It stated that the beast that was the target required many of its crystals, but he just hoped that one crystal would do.
He assumed that more crystals could give him better skills, but he wasn't hoping for anything crazy just yet.
To be honest, he just wanted to see how this thing would even work.
[Would you like to extract the DNA of the mutated zombie goblin?]
'Yes!'
Suddenly, light was being given off from his hands. The blood from the forearm almost was sucked out, and he could feel the hand getting tougher and harder as he held it.
Fwoosh!
Wind was released out from the centre of this light, that blew off his blanket from his bed. The light above him swayed wildly, and even he was surprised by how much energy this procedure was emitting.
Seconds later, the light dimmed, and the gusts of wind slowed and calmed to a stop. The skill was now complete
With 25MP and 10HP gone, the items in his hand were mostly gone. The crystal had vanished, but what was left was a dry, shrivelled up grey arm that he just threw into his bedroom bin. He was going to worry about disposing of that later, but then a new system panel appeared ahead of him.
[New Skill!]
[Necrotic Agility]
[The user's speed stat increases by 75% for 20 seconds. During this time, the user can take the HP of enemies, being given HP and MP.]
[COST: 16MP]
The cost of this skill was quite surprising, but that didn't seem to be a problem based on the parameters of the skill. It allowed him to take from the HP of others, not just giving him HP back but MP also.
Hopefully, if he activated the skill and made back the 16MP he had lost along with HP, it would make him a much better warrior.
[STATS]
[Level: 4]
[User: Rhys Arkwrighte]
[Titles: Fledgling, Lv.2 Blood Mage]
[Strength (STR): 5]
[Speed (SPD): 7]
[Durability (DUR): 5]
[Endurance (END): 5]
[Species: Vampire]
[HP: 17/17]
[XP: 90/400]
[MP: 24/24]
[Stat Upgrades: 0]
[Skills] [expand]
'Expand skills.'
[Necrotic Agility]
[Chimeric Transformation]
[Sanguinis Shield]
[Blood Mana Bolt]
[Blooded Blow]
[Overdrive]
[Fledgling Blitz]
[Lv. 2 Mana Control]
From just the level 1 mana control skill he had just recently, he was proud of his progress. With these skills that he now had; he would easily demolish the fighter that he once was.
This system certainly was SS-Rank, and it wouldn't be long before he would let the world know of his power.
****
For the following day, Rhys and his friends were going through some light spars together. In this lesson, Marcus Hale had given them special techniques for them to utilise, and only few were taking heed of his advice.
Rhys was really starting to feel his technique was going miles. Along with his enhanced speed and strength, he found that it was much easier for him to land his attacks properly.
Swiftly heading to the training area, though, he wanted to try out the new skills that he acquired. He had a large bank of blood, that calmed his mind for the time being, and he was just going to use the skills that he wanted to see the most. These were the Blood Mana Bolt and the Necrotic Agility skills.
Nevertheless, he wouldn't be able to see the full capabilities of necrotic agility unless he were to fight an actual opponent. He remained patient for that time to come, because he knew it was soon. He was hoping to use it on someone like Carson, who had humiliated him once before.
The thought of triumphing over those that had previously looked down on him made him excited and motivated, and with that he began his training.
Beginning with a large punching bag that was meant for people even stronger than him, he wanted to test out this Blood Mana Bolt of his.
Taking just 3MP, he activated the skill.
[-3ml human blood]
[Blood Container: 307/400ml]
VOOM!
A bolt of liquid, red-like energy shot out of his hand at lightning quick pace and slammed into the punching bag that was just ahead of him.
This attack caused it to rattle violently, and even though it weighed several tonnes, it swayed from side to side.
The large metal chains keeping it in place rattled wildly and there was a large dent left in its exterior. Lucky for him, these punching bags weren't just heavy but also very durable. They were made of durable material found dungeons and were made to take attacks just like the one that he had used.
Switching to his next skill, he began to use his Super Blood Skill.
[-40ml human blood]
[Blood Container: 267/400ml]
He had decided to use this skill as a base, so that he could use more mana.
[MP: 18/21] [+21]
He could feel a warm, soothing substance now rushing through his veins, and his body temperature steadily rose. He could see the veins across his skin getting more visible and larger, surprising even himself.
He used his Necrotic Agility skill on top of this and could feel his muscles being filled with power and vigour. He could feel them enlarge slightly, and he felt like his body had been filled to the brim with power.
Charging at the punching bag, he unloaded with numerous blows, and continued to shake the punching bag apart. It wasn't moving as much as it did with his blood mana bolt skill, but it was moving much more than it usually would be.
He continued to punch at it with all his fury and power, feeling like the energy he had been handed was bottomless. He continued to punch at the bag for much longer than he had expected and had an intense but controlled breathing rate.
After his skills had faded, but he continued punching and after a few minutes work, he gave himself a rest to then begin his usual workout. It was gruelling, just as it usually was, but he wasn't willing to give in.
His workout was now starting to gain a few spectators, who were in disbelief in how strong he was. Those that had known him more personally also felt puzzled about the colour of his attacks. His mana was of a yellow colour, just like his dyed hair, and everybody knew that.
However, the attacks that he was using looked mysterious, and they couldn't quite place a finger on what it was. It seemed like red mana, but also a physical substance as well.
Sweaty and at his apartment now, he had a nice warm shower to clean and calm himself, then received a ring from his new phone.
He stood still in his chair then rushed over to read the text that he had received.
"Welcome to the Eternals. Your first mission starts now, and I need to see you at the attached location in 60 minutes at the maximum. You're entering a dungeon of ours and scavenging for any left crystals. You'll be getting a share of the revenue we get from what you find so be observant."
The feeling was surreal for him, as he had plunged himself into this world of crime. Seeing things on TVs about these mob bosses and crime syndicates, he never thought that he would end up being thrown in this situation.
'What am I kidding. No parents, no job, it was bound to happen at some point.' He thought to himself, with a forced chuckle.
His situation dawned on him, just as it always did, but he shook his head upon thinking about the new life that he had. He wasn't just a nobody anymore, he was growing stronger, and he was doing so extremely fast.
Wearing his grey uniform, he could see the small emblem across his left chest. It was the sword within a ring, and he began to follow the directions given by his ancient phone.
The place wasn't too far from his own home, and he could tell that this firm did a lot of business in his area. His area was renowned for being crime-infested and what was viewed as the dark side of Osegan by outsiders.
To him, that was just how his life was but as he thought about it, there were numerous murders a week in the place, with massive gangs that smuggled and sold high-level, highly addictive drugs to its residents.
It certainly was a dangerous place.