CH28: Illusion Of Might

Bubbling in his guts an emptiness like a great black pit awoke, rage and hunger warred on equal footing as he felt his muscles bulge, nearly ripping his tunic. His tail lashed from side to side before he dashed forward in a full-on sprint. The red-eyed creature hesitated before thrusting his hands out, and three crimson bats flew out from under its sleeves. They dug their wings into his chest before biting chunks out of him. He wouldn't be stopped as he redoubled his speed and tore up the dirt under him with incredible strength. The monster hesitated, allowing Silas to get into arms reach.

The monster in human form finally moved to draw his blade too late. Silas's first blow smashed into the monster, and it screamed as a hole ripped through its chest. The monster was rank 1 like Silas and possibly a former human. Its black gum were covered in tears, hair still lined the monster's pale arms, and itz glowing red eyes had white edges. The blood bats, still biting, stabbing, and scratching Silas's chest, also pointed that way.

True vampires had real familiars.

"What kind of monster are you?" The possibly turned vampire asked.

Silas smiled. "A hungry one."

His tail flashed and pushed into the vampire's wound pouring in chemicals to increase the bleeding. The vampire struggled and flailed its arms before Silas caught them. He felt the blood fill him before twisting and pushing on the vampire's arms. They both broke at the elbow, and Silas pulled back, taking his prize. Blood poured out of the wounds while Silas continued to drink the vampire.

Mind control was a tag he was very familiar with, and he wouldn't hesitate to use the stallion and iron defense instances to bolster himself.

"I might have hesitated if you hadn't attacked my mind." He pulled his tail free of the dried-out corpse. Feeding came faster than it used to.

Elizabeth rushed over, wearing nothing but a towel. She looked at him and then at the dried-out husk of a vampire. "You should get some rest training continues in the morning, and good job vampires are dangerous even to those of a higher rank. They can inflict debuff instances rapidly even if their main attacks fail to take hold."

"Thank you," Silas said, numb to her words of thanks. He killed someone, and it wasn't like an animal. Killing the cows made him feel bad, but it had to be done. The vampire was an invader, and who knows what he was there to do.

He tried to harden his heart.

Slowly he made his way to one of the barns and leaped onto its roof. The vampire's body had been soft, but it could take a lot of punishment. He reasoned it had high health but a low constitution. Its mana wasn't bad, and the debuffs would have been hard to deal with if they had more time to stack. He opened his screen to a new skill.

New Skill

Super Rare

Glamour Strike: Beginner 0% - Imbue mana into fists at the point of impact, inflicted double damage if enemies inflicted with charm.

Fusion

New Skill Tree

Illusion Of Might: Beginner 0% - Gain instances unfathomable when enemies hit with charm.

Initiate Threshold: Gain 5 illusion-based skills at initiate rank.

"Can you hear me?" Silas asked.

"Master, what the hell? We haven't heard from you in a week."

"I was captured and forced to participate in a high stakes cock fight. They're giving me another week of training, then I have to fight some over-hyped goblins." Silas said.

"You might have had a better chance against the chickens."

"They pumped me full of growth hormones and helped me power level to 100. I'm standing at around 4ft tall."

He heard cursing on the other end of the connection. "That means you're too big to have sex with. We barely had you, and now you would split us in two." Stella went silent before continuing. "What do you think about summoning us in our real forms?" Stella asked.

"Tempting, but right now, I need you guys to help me power level. Massacre everything you can to get me to 100; what's the threshold for 40." Silas asked.

"Get the conjuration skill up to initiate. You should have it."

Silas checked his skill screen and found it.

Conjuration: Beginner 0% - Bring the user's imagination into reality for a short time. The more complicated the spell the object, the more mana intensive. Items conjured will dissolve into mana after a time limit has elapsed.

Initiate Threshold – Conjure 5 different items.

"That skill has a longer description than most. So what happens when I put it in a skills tree with mana manipulation?"

"It becomes the creationist skill tree. Strong but low on firepower unless you want to go full-time summoner instead of getting any offensive classes."

Silas had wanted a stealth class when he was small, but at 4ft, a warrior class was viable. All he needed to do was find something that raised mana by a ton, like a 5-to-1 class in favor of mana. He didn't know if class-gained stats also increased by 5 times thanks to his potential increase. If so, his fortified bones would shatter, and he would devolve into a puddle of goopy muscles.

"What about the skills like lust and gluttony? What happens when I make them into a tree?"

"You get the Apocalypse skill tree, but to rank it up, you must have all seven epic skills. I hope you raised your skills stat." Stella said.

He has, but he reasoned more would be better. There was a lot of training to do before they set out for Port Tar. There was a chance the vampire wasn't by himself.

"Alright, Stella, I'm turning in for the night. Don't forget to help me grind; I need levels. First, I'll get my conjuration skill to initiate and raise the cap. Then get another mage class. I need the mana more than anything else." Silas said.

"Sure, but if you're bigger, warrior would be better strength is very important. A frail wizard will be splattered if a barbarian gets close. Knight classes have lots of anti-magic skills and can merge with mage classes. Don't focus everything on mana because the body can only take so much of it." Stella said.

"Thank you, Stella; I'll see you when this mess is cleared up. Give the other my love." Silas said before cutting the connection.