Finishing everything, I gave the spear a few tentative thrusts. The weapon felt balanced but slightly awkward in my grip, its shaft vibrating faintly with each movement. The soft whistle of air cutting around the blade echoed faintly in the confined space. As I shifted my weight and tried a few quick spins, I could feel the rough texture of the makeshift material pressing against my palms—functional but far from polished.
Knowing the materials of my creation and being part of the process allowed me to quickly grasp how to wield it effectively. The sensation of familiarity came as if the spear itself was guiding me.
In this case, "effectively" meant being able to use it as a weapon without injuring myself. I noticed how each thrust sent a slight jolt up my arm, the imperfect materials forcing me to adjust my grip. Obviously, I wasn't at the level of a master or someone trained in these arts, but it was a start and just enough for my current situation.
I rested the spear against the ground, its tip tapping against the rocky floor with a faint metallic clink. Before I could fully set it aside, I heard Kyle's voice getting closer. I glanced up to see his glowing eyes heading straight for where I'd just laid it down.
"Rael, are you trained in stea—?!"
"Stop moving!" I shouted abruptly, cutting him off before he tripped over the spear.
"W-Why?" His voice wavered slightly, a mix of confusion and alarm. The noise caught Selene and Kyoko's attention, their glowing eyes now shifting toward us.
"Unless you want to trip over a sharpened weapon, I'd advise stopping for a moment. Let me move it first." I quickly picked up the spear and leaned it safely against the wall.
"Alright, you're good now." Kyle resumed his approach, while Selene and Kyoko followed, closing the distance between us. When Kyle was close enough, he leaned in and whispered, though his voice wasn't exactly subtle.
"Like I was saying, are you trained in stealth? Sis wants to know."
I didn't hesitate to answer. "No. I can do some basic self-defense, but I wasn't trained in combat arts. I do have a lot of theory drilled into me, though." I wasn't lying. Years of consuming martial arts videos, anime, and fantasy novels had given me a wealth of knowledge, but theory could only take me so far without real experience.
"What do you think, Sis?" Kyle turned toward Selene, who let out a long, audible sigh.
"This means we'll just have to be loud!" Selene said, her tone practically gleeful.
"Selene… that's way too risky!" Kyoko's concern was valid. Charging in recklessly would almost guarantee injuries, though I figured we might still have a chance of making it out alive. It wouldn't be pretty, but freedom was worth the risk.
"What stage are you all at in cultivation? I'm in the yellow stage," I asked, figuring it was time to gauge our collective strength.
"Phew~, that's a relief! Kyoko and I are in the yellow stage too. Kyle is still in the white stage, though. That said, he has the best chance of escaping out of all of us," Selene explained.
"Hm?" I glanced at Kyle, considering her words. One thought immediately came to mind.
His unique ability, huh.
I nodded to myself as an idea began to form. "Kyoko, Selene, how about this: the three of us act as a distraction to give Kyle a chance to escape. He's the youngest, and his priority should be keeping himself safe."
"I agree," Kyoko said without hesitation.
"I second that," Selene added.
"H-HUH? I can't just leave you three! What am I supposed to tell everyone if I run away?!" Kyle's protest was expected, but I left the convincing to his sister and Kyoko.
"Kyle," Selene said, her voice firm, "what did Dad tell you to do when we're not around?"
"L-Listen to you or Kyoko," he admitted quietly, though the resistance in his tone was obvious. He didn't want to abandon them, and it was clear he'd try something reckless if left to his own devices.
"Hah~" I sighed, stepping in before things escalated further. "Kyle, listen. It's better for us—especially for Selene and Kyoko—if you escape and stay safe. That way, we don't have to split our focus worrying about you. Simply put, you're not at a stage that's optimal for this kind of plan. I'm not saying you're weak, but right now, you'd slow them down. They'd end up protecting you instead of focusing on their own escape."
I spoke calmly but firmly, breaking it down logically. From the bond I'd observed between them, it was clear Selene and Kyoko would risk everything to protect Kyle. None of us were in a position to take that kind of gamble.
"Hey, Rael, question," Kyoko spoke more casually than before, which took me by surprise.
"What's up?" I matched her tone.
"You mentioned a weapon a second ago, right?"
"Yeah."
"Care to explain? There's no way our captors would let you keep a weapon unless they didn't care. If they don't care, then they're probably strong, so perhaps we should rethink our escape plan!" Her concerns were valid, but…
"I created it from the chains and cuffs I took from you three, along with my own."
"..." All three pairs of eyes bore into me. It actually felt uncomfortable, especially with the silence.
"What's wrong?" I asked. This was a world of magic, and given the hints I'd dropped about my abilities, this shouldn't be all that surprising.
"Are you serious? You made a weapon out of scraps without proper preparation?!" Kyoko sounded incredulous, like she couldn't handle the information. Her sudden reaction also made me realize this was her true self and how close she and Selene were as sworn sisters.
"I don't know if you'd call them scraps, but yes, I made a spear out of the materials from the chains and cuffs."
"Could you make us weapons?" Selene jumped into the conversation.
"No. One, I don't have any material left. Two, the quality would be extremely poor. My spear is slightly below average, so I doubt it could handle anything too intense. It's barely functional as it is."
"I don't care if it's a blunt sword! Anything will work!" Selene was insistent, but no materials meant no materials.
"Did you not hear me? I have no materials to work with, and even if I did, I'm not experienced at creating weapons. My spear was a fluke. It's unfortunate, but I doubt I could replicate the process for a sword," I explained clearly, hoping she understood.
"Fine, I get it. But do you have anything else you can share with us? Maybe about your abilities or what you specialize in? I don't need specifics, but I'd like to know what we're working with. Kyoko and I will share ours too."
I listened carefully, realizing she was right. They weren't enemies, and I doubted these three would turn on me unless I gave them a reason.
"I specialize in bringing my thoughts to life. I just need the right knowledge and understanding of those thoughts." I kept it vague, but saying it out loud made it sound like I was describing general magic, so I clarified further. "And when I say thoughts, I mean anything I can conceptualize."
"So, creation magic? And with your Unique being so high-rank, it's clear you're not a normal creation magic user." Selene's tone shifted, her intellect shining through her usually carefree demeanor.
It seems she's more like me than I thought. Beneath all that outgoing energy, she's quite sharp. It makes me even more confident in our chances of escape.
"Kyoko, have you heard of anyone with an S-rank Creation Unique?" Selene asked.
"No. Higher elements rarely manifest S-rank Uniques unless the person is deeply attuned to that element. That said, the world is vast, so there's likely someone else with a Creation Unique but obviously not like his," Kyoko responded.
"Yeah, he's the only person I've met besides myself with an S-rank higher element Unique."
"..." They were talking about me in front of me… This felt so strange.
"What about you two? What do you specialize in?" I asked, interrupting their private discussion.
"I specialize in space and strengthening magic," Selene said without hesitation. Kyoko followed up like it was second nature.
"I specialize in darkness and light magic."
"That's… unique," I said truthfully.
"Well, I am of the Progenitor Blood—the only vampire who could use both light and darkness in 2,000 years," Kyoko explained. Her words were both surprising and unimportant. I didn't care much for the details.
"Our lineup is quite powerful!" Selene remarked. I had to agree. This team had a strong chance of success. I turned to Kyle, and he seemed to catch on.
"Speed," he said simply. I immediately understood. His specialization was likely motion—perhaps tied to his Unique. It was a possibility worth overanalyzing rather than dismissing.
I should practice with [Construct] before we do anything. The thought struck me, recalling the earlier sensation. Even though nothing outwardly happened, my mana had moved, trying to match my intent. Either it couldn't, or my intent was wrong for the spell.
I raised my right hand and pictured a knife, a normal kitchen knife.
'[Construct].'
Once more, I felt my mana move, but nothing appeared. However, I recognized the energy movement. Or rather, it felt similar to when I burned my throat. Actually, that wasn't quite right. It's more accurate to say the intent fused with the mana, unlike [Dismantle], [Sculpt], or [Trace], which used intent to control the mana.
I really didn't know how to explain it, but I could feel this difference within me. I probably could only tell because of the sensation my burning throat had left behind.
'Wait a second?! My throat already healed! How the hell did I not realize that?' The realization set in, my throat had completely healed! I'd been so distracted and focused on other things, but this was a great discovery. My body's healing speed must be good, or enough time had passed for it to heal naturally, though I doubted that.
'What was I thinking when I burned my throat? I imagined the process of igniting CO2 to spit fire, but looking back, I'm surprised I didn't blow my own head off. Maybe, like with [Sculpt], the magic corrected parts of my image? That would make sense, considering how reckless that idea was.'
Learning from my mistake, I vowed to never do something so stupid again, but it also gave me a clue on how to use [Construct]. I pictured light forming at my hand and acting like a flashlight. Now, I knew this was different from last time, which had used an aspect of breathing as a generator, but with more mana now, I should be able to do it!
'[Construct]!' Instantly, my mana moved, and this time an effect actually manifested as intended. My right hand became filled with mana, and light mana focused within, making it shine in the direction wherever my palm was facing.
"What are you doing?" Kyoko asked. She spoke even before I activated my flashlight concept, which hinted that she was sensitive to this type of mana.
"I made a light source so we could see each other better. It's best to know each other's appearances before we try to escape so we don't accidentally mistake someone else for one of us in case there's a similar-looking person outside." I pulled that explanation out of my ass, but they didn't need to know that.
I pointed my palm towards myself, giving them a good look at me. Selene didn't say anything—she just stared—while the other two chimed in with their thoughts.
"I didn't think you'd look so handsome," Kyoko said.
"You look kinda cool!" Kyle added.
I appreciated the compliments, but I couldn't help being curious about why Selene hadn't commented. I turned my palm to face her—it wasn't hard to find her thanks to the vibrant glow of her eyes from her Unique.
What my light revealed left me speechless. She was gorgeous! I wasn't lusting after her, but I couldn't deny that her appearance was far beyond what I had expected.
Selene's black hair shimmered under the light, contrasting against her vibrant sky-blue eyes. Her olive-toned skin and athletic build reflected her confident demeanor, while her blue-and-gold gi gave her an air of composed elegance.
Her curves and well-proportioned frame added a natural elegance, though I quickly brushed aside that observation. What stood out most was her olive-toned skin, which was similar to my own, and her attire—a karate gi in a blueish-gold color—that suited her perfectly, accentuating her composed and confident demeanor.
"Wow. You're gorgeous, Selene," I said, the words slipping out before I could stop them.
Selene smiled faintly, her gaze shifting toward Kyoko, who had remained silent. Kyle, on the other hand, didn't hold back.
"What's wrong, Sis?" he asked, breaking the moment.
"N-Nothing! I just realized how dirty I am. We've been stuck here for a while," she stammered, her voice a mix of embarrassment and self-awareness. I understood her discomfort; first impressions often carried a weight of importance. Back in my previous life, many women had been meticulous about their appearances in public, though their relaxed selves at home often told a different story. A truth that, in fairness, applied to everyone!
Still, what struck me most about her wasn't just her appearance, but her age. She seemed close to mine or rather, the age of this body. While my mental age lingered around 21-22, this body was 15, and Selene appeared to be the same age.
I turned my flashlight toward Kyoko and Kyle, who stood nearby. The light illuminated Kyoko's ice-white hair, which reflected it brilliantly, contrasting sharply with Selene's obsidian-black strands that absorbed it. Her pale skin was almost luminescent under the glow, not unhealthy but ethereal, perfectly fitting the image of a high-ranking vampire.
Her figure, though similar to Selene's, leaned more toward "slightly fit," as suggested by her poised yet relaxed posture. Her loose clothing obscured finer details, making her figure harder to gauge! Her age if I had to guess seemed about a year younger than me and Selene.
Kyle, on the other hand, shared more visible similarities with Selene. His dark-blue eyes stood out against his obsidian-black hair, mirroring his sister's shade perfectly. His olive-toned skin had a youthful vibrancy that matched his young age, which I estimated to be around 11 or 12.