Chapter 115: Intense Training

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"Do not hesitate! I am watching your backs, so fight without fear!"

I gave out inspiring words, trying to cheer up the demons whose bodies were trembling in fear of the Blood Thralls.

"These beasts have terrorized you enough!" I roared, hitting the floor with Gram.

FLASH!

A blast of light burned the skin of the Blood Thralls, forcing the beasts to step back, but none of them had yet to escape. My Charm stat helped a lot in making them innately attracted to me; once a monster sets eyes on me, they usually will never let go of me until I kill them.

"I know they might have been townsfolk once, but they're no longer the people you know," I said, trying to inspire them to fight. "Everyone, these people need rest, and only you can bring them their much-deserved rest! Take responsibility for them! Fight, so you can protect those family members that are still alive with you!"

"T-That's…"

"But…"

"No, she's right!"

"Yeah! If we never do anything, then what will ever happen to us?!"

"I've got a daughter... I want to protect her! I've always thought I was a weakling, but if I can truly grow stronger, then I want to fight!"

"Me too! For my wife!"

"For my grandpa..."

"For our friends..."

The demons' eyes suddenly started glowing with a certain, tenacious light as I felt the powers of my privilege activating, imbuing their bodies with new strength.

[The effects of the [Angelic Eyes (D Rank Privilege)] and [Little Sister's Cheerful Rally (E Rank Privilege)] Privileges have taken effect!]

[You've inspired the hearts of the Demons! Thanks to your high Charm Stat, their buff has been strengthened greatly. All their Stats have increased by +100% for 1 Hour.]

"{Provoke}!"

I channeled the Charm Stat and fused it with a new arrangement of runes and mana, creating a very handy spell, [Provoke]!

[You've activated the [Provoke] Spell! All foes within the vicinity will be instantly drawn to attack you uncontrollably!]

Over fifty Blood Thralls lost their minds, rushing towards me at once. I smiled as I glanced at the Demons and then at Inferna.

"They'll try to kill me; fight them as I evade their blows! I've given you a pretty strong buff; don't waste it now!" I roared.

"A-Alright! Everyone! Today… Today, we'll change our ways! We'll show her, and we'll show Anna that we Demons are not cowards! We are tenacious, prideful, and warmongering!"

"RAAAAHHH!!!"

The Demons' eyes glowed bright red as the Blood Thralls rushed towards me, their spears immediately piercing a few of them that leaped towards me.

A few other Thralls tried to throw them away so they could get to me but were quickly stopped by Inferna, whose spear blows pierced the Blood Thrall's hands, and then with a strong kick, she sent the beast flying.

Their spears quickly started piercing the monsters constantly, dealing huge amounts of damage as I had enchanted them with Celestial Energy and Holy Light, making their weapons especially powerful against the Blood Thralls.

I evaded the beasts that leaped towards me and punched or kicked them occasionally, giving many openings for the demons to strike. Many of them were wounded and thrown away, with some dislocated arms or shoulders here and there, but no fatal wounds.

It took roughly an entire hour, the entire duration of their buff. But once things were done, the Demons seemed to have been reborn.

Amidst their screams and roars, amidst the splattering blood, amidst the shrieks of the monsters, they were baptized and awakened within them their true strength.

Their hands, shoulders, faces, or backs began to grow tattoos—demonic Demonic Stigmas.

I knew it: these Demons all had the potential; as long as they slew a beast, they would eventually Awaken their Abilities.

It is not as strong as doing it through sponsorship; their abilities at most will be E or D rank. But it is a much faster and cheaper method.

"Hahh… M-My body feels lighter?"

"My shoulder's healed?"

"What happened to my body? I feel stronger."

"Is this what some of the Warriors called {Awakening}?"

"Indeed." Inferna nodded. "Congratulations, everyone! You've awakened!"

"Ahhh…!"

"L-Let's go!"

"I did it!? I did it!"

"With this strength, I'll protect my daughter!"

"T-Thank you so much, Lady Anna!"

"Did we really kill these blood thralls? I thought they were much stronger!"

"Don't get too cocky." Inferna laughed. "Your weapons and armor were especially enchanted with Anna's powers so they could resist their attacks and deal more damage. However, still, good job."

"Indeed, that was an excellent job." I nodded with a smile, collecting the Blood Thrall corpses because of their true value, which they were going to soon discover.

"Let's go back for now. We're not done with your training, but as of now, some of you should have learned it, right? Inferna's Skill."

"I did!"

"I heard some sort of voice in my head, and I got something about the demonic spear thing?"

"I did then too!"

"Me too."

"I didn't… I need to train harder."

"I didn't either, but I bet it's not that far off!"

"Nice!" Inferna seemed happy. "It looks like my Skill is really working! Alright, let's go back!"

Like that, we moved back to the hideout as I looked into the System Notifications. Aside from things related to them learning new skills from Inferna, I had earned EXP.

[You have helped the Demons defeat [Blood Thralls (B+ Rank)] x52!]

[You earned a share of the EXP!]

[You earned 650.000 EXP!]

[Level Up!]

[Level Up!]

[Level Up!]

I ended up gaining three levels, and I didn't kill a single Blood Thrall myself! Of course, I could have killed them all myself and gotten even more EXP, but that would have defeated the purpose of this whole thing.

Once we made our way back home, things also changed down there. The non-combatants had all awakened, which made the fighters surprised.

"It's done, big sis, Anna!" Isaac said happily. "I helped them flow Demonic Energy, and everyone got interesting tattoos!"

"I can't believe we awakened; the child simply imbued some demonic energy into our bodies, and it worked?!"

"Oh my, I am so old, and I was able to awaken…"

"Mama, what's awakening?"

"I am an old grandpa, yet I got a skill—very strange indeed, haha."

"Dear! How were things out there? Did you awaken too?"

"Y-Yes, I did!"

The two groups meet up again, and many wives and children run towards the warriors who had gone outside to fight and learn skills. They were worried even though they were out for like two hours. They sure are worrywarts.

"It looks like most people have awakened support-type Demonic Stigmas," Inferna reported. "The majority had some in their hands, or one finger. They were either [Minor Healing Touch], [Antidote Touch], [Sewing Hand], [Crafting Hand], or [Cooking Hand]! But there were some interesting ones too. I saw a child with a tattoo around her eye, and her eye had new patterns; she said she acquired something called [Demon Eye of Appraisal]!"

"Amazing!" I was honestly surprised. "It seems like things worked even better than I expected! Alright! Let's move on to our next step. Everyone, make a line! All warriors first."

"Huh? What's going on?"

"Why? Is she distributing something?"

"Sure, why not?"

"Hm? W-What is she doing?"

As I said, the people began to make a line. Meanwhile, I took out all the Blood Thrall bodies and extracted their fangs, claws, eyes, and their [Lesser Blood Heart Cores], which ended up becoming B Rank thanks to my Gathering Skill.

"Alright, with this, we've got... around 60. It's pretty decent." I nodded. "Okay, one for each! Grab it, imbue your energy into it, and absorb it."

"A-Absorbing this?!" A demon wondered.

"Just do it!" I said.

"O-Okay…" The man looked at the core on his hands, still with fresh blood, gulped saliva, and closed his eyes.

FLUOSH!

The process was almost instantaneous; the Lesser Blood Heart Core was instantly absorbed, imbuing the demon man with a strong aura of power, enhancing his Stats, and strengthening his Skills.

"Huh!? W-Wha…?!"

"As you can see, you can grow stronger if you absorb the Demon Hearts of monsters. Did you never know this?" I sighed, crossing my arms. "Anyways, next! We're distributing these for each one! Inferna, Isaac, you'll absorb these instead."

I gave them two of the ones the Blood Knights gave to me. The two thought it was too much, but I told them that nothing of this would be possible without them and ended up reluctantly absorbing them.

After half an hour, over half the people ended up absorbing their Demonic Hearts, and growing at least twice as strong. I prioritized all warriors first, and whatever hearts were left were absorbed by the most talented non-combatants, including the Appraiser Girl named Lily. She'll be very useful to everyone in the future.

"I feel so strong!"

"No way, so this is how the other Demons became so strong?!"

"Amazing… Incredible, even!"

"This strength is the fruit of our hard work!"

"Now, now, let's concentrate," I said. "For now, everyone's going to have a meal and rest for two hours. And then we'll continue fighting until midnight, then you'll rest until the next day, and we'll repeat that process. As for the rest, Inferna is going to teach you one Skill that is your specialty, be it Gathering, Crafting, Alchemy, Cooking, or something else. Gotcha?"

"I-I see… It will be hard to do all of that for so long, but we don't have any other option, isn't it?"

"It doesn't matter if we miss a few days of sleeping; don't worry."

"We demons can stay up without sleeping for over a week, actually."

"Maybe it's different with you humans, but we are a bit more resilient at least, hahaha!"

"You guys are getting cocky…" Inferna was gritting her teeth angrily.

"Hahaha! It's fine; it's fine." I smiled. "I'm glad they've regained some of their spirits. Anyway, time to eat!"

Like that, we had a small meal of what we prepared beforehand, a rest, and then we departed outside again. Inferna accompanied us halfway through the trip, until everyone learned the Demonic Spear Technique, and then moved down to teach everyone crafting, alchemy, and cooking skills.

Meanwhile, Isaac accompanied us this time, using his Healing Touch Skill to heal most wounds that weren't lethal, making our hunting job much quicker. Thanks to my Provoke Spell, high Charm Stat, and buffs, things became much faster once everyone learned how to use their new skills.

Some even gained Blood Claws and Blood Aura Skills from absorbing the Blood Thralls Hearts, even if they weren't vampires themselves, they were potent Skills to use.

The day ended after we finished hunting another sixty Blood Thralls. There were some pack leaders mixed in between their hordes, but when all the warriors ganged on the beast, and with my buffs and provoke, they went down one after another.

[You have helped the Demons defeat [Blood Thralls (B+ Rank)] x61 [Blood Thrall Pack Leaders (A+ Rank)] x3!]

[You earned a share of the EXP!]

[You earned 912.500 EXP!]

[Level Up!]

[Level Up!]

[Level Up!]

Another three Levels, that feel good. It feels as if I am being rewarded for my efforts as I guide these people, even when I haven't done much myself!

And as for the Blood Thrall Population? Their numbers have gone down to a very low margin. Though I can sense them here and there, there must be less than thirty now.

They're currently hiding inside a cave nearby, which we'll ride once everyone rests for the next few hours.

"Phew, it was hard, but everyone learned at least one skill! We've got a squad of crafters, alchemists, and cooks ready for anything!" Inferna said, surrounded by many non-combatants.

"Even if we're already old men, these old fingers of ours can still make at least a piece of armor!"

"We want to follow the old apothecary's footsteps, so please leave the making of potions to us!"

"We'll cook the tastiest food you could ever imagine! Everyone's stats will skyrocket when they eat it!"

"You guys are sure inspired." I laughed. "Relax for now; you're dismissed. Rest, and make sure to rest well! You'll need every hour you use to rest because, after that, you'll be working non-stop."

"Alright…!"

"Let's hit the bed…"

"I'm not even sleepy, but my body does feel tired."

"Ugh, my back…"

After everyone went their own way, I decided to do a few things myself. Starting from moving around the rubble of the surface and utilizing it as a material to reconstruct a huge fortress through the large quantities of Mana that the Grimoire of Hel and Gram gave to me when I held them.

Of course, how could I ever make a fortress? Well, Synthesis and Crafting can be used in anything, so I simply crafted and synthesized the stones into shape, making a reinforced fortress below the underground's entrance.

I reinforced it with many Sealing Magical Arrays, Barriers, and other things that feed off the rich Miasma of the environment to keep themselves activated.

And then I remade the doors and everything else; it took me roughly an hour. The next hour, I decided to dedicate it to learning the last Privilege I have available and how to use it.

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