157 Rapid Development IV : Class Advancement, The First Targe

The ether felt a little foreign to me at first, especially since it seemed to clash a lot with my soul energy. The Ether was erratic and intoxicating to command, it was like taking an energy drink with the intense effect of a burning sun, while using soul energy was like breathing or moving your hand. It was a fundamental part of me that I couldn't do without, and so it was easy for me to use.

I swung the sword in my hand, twirling in constant motion as I raised the shield to block and defend at imaginary opponents. Power thrummed and hummed beneath my skin as I released a wave of purples colored energy from the tip of my sword. The wave carved a furrow on the ground covered by a soft carpet of grass, but that was not enough for me. I needed more, I needed to move stronger, go faster, and smoother.

I shifted from a passive defense stance to a very aggressive one as even my shield became a weapon. I swung both sword and shield through the air, pushing my self to go faster and faster. I felt energy crawl up from my heart spreading and reinforcing every inch of my body, tightening my muscles and massaging them as I pushed them to the limit.

This was the big difference between soul energy and ether. The Ether could augment my physical attributes to insane levels, soul energy even though it had physical capabilities could not do something like this. They both had their perks.

I willed the ether to moved around my body in circulation with my blood and breathing, making it seem like I was super car cruising down an unfettered lane. I could hear the wind whistling as my sword cut through it, I felt the earth buckle as my shield slammed on into a pillar close to me, smashing it to pieces. Faster! Faster!

I couldn't stop, I could slow down. I felt a heat building up from the bottom of my heart, increasing and riding as if following the crescendo of masterful composition of a musical piece. There was a hum every time I swung my sword, the metal badly holding up as I lashed out at the world.

Then it was as if I felt the heat spring forth from inside me and it burst out with my breath. The lake in front of me shook as a massive tidal wave rose up from the ground, carrying most of the lakes water and depositing on the other side.

I was so shocked I had to sit back. The lake could now be consider a halt lake as my breath had actually carved a half moon crater on the lake bed, deeper enough that when the receding waters came back, they could not cover their previous surface area, now nestled slowly in the ditch my simplebreathing had just created. The sword in my hand felt connected to me now, it was not as if it was special or anything, but there was awareness that wasn't there before.

I was a part of it, and it was a part of me. I felt the sword and my body vibrate at the same frequency, and at the same time there was a resonance with the shield. Then a system message came up.

[Congratulations on mastering the fundamental sword skill one with the sword, and even more so for mastering it together with the shield.You can now advance to a higher class. Please choose your advancement class.]

[Gladiator,Spartan Swordsman, Master Swordsman,Defender, Legionnaire, Essence Blade Master]

It was hard to make a choice, especially since I didn't know exactly what each class really entailed. Though from their names alone, their description would have been quite obvious to me after a bit of speculation. But if I would go with my gut, then I would choose the essence blade master, there was just somethingabout it that called to me.

[Are you sure you want to advance your class to Essence Blade Master. If you do so, there's no turning back...…. Choice affirmed. Your swordsman class has been advanced to Essence blade master. You have gained the skill Essence Slash, Sword Phantom, Essence Bastion (Shield), Essence Effect (Shield/Sword)]

Essence Blade Master: [a class that seeks the mastery of all bladed weapons by imbuing them with the power of any essence under the control of the swordsman. It could be elemental essences, soul, mind, spirit, and ether essences. As long as it's energy it can be used to attack.]

Essence Slash: level 1 basic:[ Coat you blade with essence and attack. Range and intensity depends on mastery of the skill, and how much essence energy is provided for it's execution.]

Sword Phantom: level 1 basic: [use the essence of the sword to great a ghost companion to your sword. Every time this attack is used, two swords attack rather than one. Range, effect, and number of phantom swords will increase with skill level.]

Essence Bastion(Shield): level 1 basic:[ coat your shield with any essence of choice, making a phantom essence energy shield 2x2 meter in diameter to protect you. Diameter, and strength of energy Shield will increase along with skill level.]

Essence Effect (Shield/Sword): level 1 basic: [this is a passive skill that is always active whenever the skills of the essence blade master is used. Every time you attack and make contact with your opponent, status effects dependent on the essence you're using at that moment will be afflicted on them. Fire essence would cause burn, Earth petrification,and lightening, paralysis. Intensity and the amount of status effects capable of being bestowed is dependent on skill level, and proficiency of master in combining more than one essence together.]

[Congratulations on completing your mission.]

[MISSION: in two months, master the way of the swordsman and advance to the next swordsman class. / REWARDS: New Swordsman Skill, New Soul rune,New vampire rank battle skill/spell,1000 essence points]

[You have been awarded the Sword skill Perception Cutting Gleam, the soul rune Dream, the BloodChild battle skill Sanguina's Crystal,and 1000 essence points]

A growth of strength was needed at this point, and while most of the new skills I have wouldn't be as powerful due to how low leveled they were, they gave me a lot of options not afforded to other people in a fight, especially when I don't have to hide any of my abilities when battling.Now though it was time to assign all of the essence points I had gained previously.

• NAME:KAEL COR

• AGE: 19

• RACE: VAMPIRE

• RANK: BLOODCHILD: LEVEL: 3/10

• CLASS:WEAVER/ESSENCE BLADE MASTER +/DUNGEON OWNER+

• REALM: WEAVER(9th CIRCLE)/MIND(3rd CIRCLE)/SWORDSMAN (3RDCIRCLE) /DUNGEON OWNER(9TH LEVEL)

• ESSENCE POINTS: 3

• STRENGTH: TIER 22

• AGILITY: TIER 22.50

• PHYSIQUE: TIER 22.50

• MIND: TIER 8

• SOUL: TIER 10

• ETHER: TIER 7

SKILLS: PASSIVE

• [ETHER MANIPULATION: LEVEL 4] BASIC

• [SOUL ENERGY MANIPULATION: LEVEL 1] MASTER

• [MENTAL ENERGY MANIPULATION: LEVEL 8] BASIC

• [MARTIAL ARTS: LEVEL 9] ADVANCED

• [SWORD MASTERY: LEVEL 8] ADVANCED

• [SHIELD ARTS: LEVEL 4] ADVANCED

• [FIREARMS MASTERY: LEVEL 6] BASIC

• [ILUSSION RESISTANCE: LEVEL 1] ADVANCED

• [GRAVITY WALKER: LEVEL 1] ADVANCED

• [BEAST TONGUE: LEVEL N/A] MASTERED

• [ESSENCE EFFECT: LEVEL 1] BASIC

SKILLS: ACTIVE

• [WEAVE: LEVEL 2] ADVANCED

• [NINE GATES OF THE ETHER'S SWORD: LEVEL 1] BASIC (FORGOTTEN)

• [MINING: LEVEL 3] BASIC

• [READ: LEVEL 6] BASIC

• [HYPER SENSE: LEVEL 3] ADVANCED

• [DUNGEON BUILDER: LEVEL 9] BASIC

• [LION'S ROAR: LEVEL 5] BASIC

• [LION'S SPRINT: LEVEL 5] BASIC

• [IRON MANE: LEVEL 3] BASIC

• [SUMMON MONSTER: LEVEL 7] BASIC

• [ESSENCE SLASH: LEVEL 1] BASIC

• [PHANTOM SWORD: LEVEL 1] BASIC

• [ESSENCE BASTION: LEVEL 1] BASIC

• [SANGUINA'S CRYSTAL: LEVEL 1] BASIC

• [PERCEPTION CUTTING GLEAM: LEVEL 1] BASIC

SOUL SKILLS:

• [SOUL CONVERSION: LEVEL 1] ADVANCED

• [SOUL INFUSION: LEVEL 5] BASIC

• [SOUL WALKER: LEVEL 7] ADVANCED

• [SOUL SIGHT: LEVEL 8] BASIC

• [SOUL DOUBLE: LEVEL 2] ADVANCED

BLOODLINE SKILLS:

• SOUL GUARDIAN: (1/1)

• SOUL RUNES:[BREAK/SHIELD/PUSH/PULL/HEAL/DREAM]

• POWER CREST(II):[COMMUNICATION/SENSING/MINOR TELEPORTATION]

• MISSIONS: 5

My stat page was a complete mess. I had so many skills in my arsenal that I've hardly put into practice, and to be honest it was pissing me off.

At this point in time it's very obvious that I had to take an active approach with the subjugation of the pit. I had just a few short weeks before the Coven conference, but before that, the blue district had it's own fair share of gangs, and covens that were not answering to me.

I did not have the luxury of being kind or merciful anymore, not when the danger to the vampires and my family as a whole was getting more and more dangerous. Tomorrow I will be officially launching my campaign to subjugate the entire pit, and I had to start with a district that was only mine in name only.....the blue district.

If I can't get it under control, then there's no way I can get the other districts to listen to me. Development should be progressing steadily, and at this point I didn't need to be around all the time. I guess it's start to start this war ahead of schedule, at the very least, I would be doing it on my own terms.

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THE GREEN DISTRICT

MARKET AREA

THE NEXUS BAR AND HOTEL

GUS TERSOLON

Bob's voice rang through my mind as I served the pretty looking woman sitting at the edge of the room.

"Intention can sometimes be gleamed from other things rather than reading a mind of having a person act out. As a spy you must developed an ability to read people without having to rely on your telepathy, because let's be honest, there would always be enemies who your telepathy won't affect. As such you must learn to understand actions, quirks, personalities, speech tone, rate of speech, how often a person looks the other in the eye, body language,and most importantly facial expressions to name a few."

That was a lot to take in and pay attention to, but I think I've gotten most of that down. The woman though was a lamia.

Though their race was also imprisoned they were not as prosecuted like the vampires. And that's because the Naga, Lamia and gorgon races had a very close relationship with the council of light. Just like the werewolves, they were the councils attack dogs.

But this was no ordinary Lamia. Recent whispers have been going around that she was married to an important dignitary of the council of light, and elf to be exact. And the white district was quite a fun place to have a vacation home.

It wouldn't have raised so many questions if not for the fact that she came here every Fridays, sat at a table at the extreme edge of the room and drank simple coffee for an hour. And after that she pays for her drink and leaves. To others it might just be that she likes the atmosphere of the Nexus and just comes here to relax and drink coffee.

But in a place like the pit nothing is ever as it seems, she was too suspicious, especially with her eyes wandered from one edge of the room to the other, searching for something or someone. Or to be bold, listening.

Either way, as I gave her a smile and dropped her coffee on the table, making sure to make a mistake as I spilled it over luscious pink coils. There was a hiss, and not one of pain, but of anger. A sudden spike of emotions that released an eerie feeling in the air.

If I was not unsealed I wouldn't have noticed, but that was the sign that a spell had backfired or gone wrong. I apologized and acted as clumsy as possible as I cleaned her green dress, wary of snake like lower half. It wouldn't be comfortable if she crushed me to death.

I turned away and moved away, even more suspicious than before. But no matter, this was a part of the training so I had permission to investigate some more. After all, she was my first target.