Brimstone Blow!

Wind battered the metal-lined dummies that enshroud the training grounds, tranquility pervading the area as if none could disturb the scenery.

Standing squarely at the center of the cobblestone courtyard, Irwin calmed himself and felt the magical energy invigorating his form.

After the defeating the baby ghost, he had felt a sudden change in his energy; a quantitative change brought forth by the sheer exhaustive progress with which he used the Flaming Whip.

Irwin activated his system.

[ Character(!) | Skill(!) | Supernatural Record(!) | Status | Quest | Trade Shop ]

A child-like wonderment appeared in Irwin's face as his smile now reached his ears. He already had an inkling about Character's notification.

■■

Name: Irwin Bellios / Richard Greythorne IV

Age: 23

Race: Baneblood (Human)

Blood Type: O Negative

---

Level: 02 (!)

Job: Wiccan Apprentice

Last Hunt: Mutant Tuyul

■■

He nearly screamed at the sight, pumping his hands in excitement. He had finally advanced to level 2. He clicked on the level.

■■

Congratulations! You have advanced to Level 2.

---

The following skills have been upgraded: 

▪︎ Human Magic (Lvl 02 -> 03)

▪︎ Arcane Resistance (Lvl 04 -> 05) (New Attribute)

---

You can now learn one (1) spell from these three (3) choices:

▪︎ Jiǎo Mind Technique (Human)

▪︎ Age Transfiguration (Pagan)

▪︎ Kiss Of Death (Purgatory)

■■

"This must be what heaven feels like."

Though his words were light, he had been racking up which spell to choose.

Fortunately, the system was generous enough to provide a basic introduction to the spells.

Jiǎo Mind Technique is an illusion-based spell that makes the target hallucinate manual strangulation. They won't breathe because they think they can't breathe.

'Potent enough for the weak-willed but if someone has enough experience with magik, powerful enough to destroy the illusion, or sees through my enchantment, then... Nada. Probably not. I could find something like that in the Lady Anna's tomes."

He dove next to Age Transfiguration. He was a bit curious about this spell. For one, it was one of his few Pagan-based spells. According to Lady Anna, most of them were transcribed after multiple offerings to certain gods or supernatural creature. Although few in number, their spells are potent enough to be desired by many witches and warlocks. Losing only to Celestial and Infernal magic.

Second, he remembered much about the spell, for Hansel had used it to transform Dean and a few other vagrants and runaways and capture them for dinner. It was so powerful that it removed the Mark Of Cain in Dean's arm.

'A spell that could affect time is one heck of a spell,' His thoughts lingered on the Spells possible uses. 'If I could explore the possibility of using time spells... too soon. The angels will arrive in a year or two, maybe sooner if my actions prevent something integral to their plans. I still need to lay low for awhile.'

His thoughts then moved to the Kiss of Death. He remembered this spell. 'God, I had such a crush on Emily Swallow.' His cheeks grew red, shaking his head on what's important. "Focus. Alright, I need to kiss someone to activate this. Wait, do I need to enslave my own monster? Fuck, that's too hard. But maybe If I kiss a powerful enemy and then run away? No, any enemy I ran away from would be too powerful for a Qareen."

Since one was too weak and the other too complicated, Irwin choosed...

■■

Congratulations! You have learned [ Age Transfiguration (Pagan) ]

■■

▪︎Age Transfiguration▪︎

Level: 01

Type: Automatic

Classification: Utilitarian; Transmutation; Pagan

Chant: Ta frem gamle dager  forynge kroppen min

Range: Self; Touch

Components: Yarrow powder, stillborn femur bone, sand, white stargazer, fluid of Aurelia aurita, century-old cured deer leather, antler moss

Steps for creation:

(1) Crush stillborn femur bone and white stargazer in a large pot.

(2) Add Fluid of Auerilia aurita and stir until thick and gooey.

(3) Add sand and Yarrow powder while chanting invocation until it turns into a slimy paste

(4) Place in a 100-year-old cured dear leather and tied with any twine rubbed with antler moss

(5) Inscribe with a basic 6-sided Hellenic pentagram

■■ 

Irwin was surprised by the remarkably detailed information regarding the spell. Most of the time, he would have to either experiment with it or, mostly, inquire Lady Anastasia's notes and advice.

Since the Character sheet had no more information for him, he went towards his Skill sheet.

■■

|Skills|

[ Personal Skill/s: Marksman (Lvl 02); Minor Alcohol Tolerance; Natural Order (Lvl MAX); Unarmed Combat (Lvl 01 -> 02); Swordsmanship (Lvl 01); Krousurgy (Lvl 01) ]

[ Job Skill/s: Human Magic (Lvl 02 -> 03); Arcane Resistance (Lvl 04 -> 05) (New Effect!) ]

[ System Skill/s: Natural Immunity (Lvl MAX); Enhanced Physique (Lvl 02) ]

---

|Magik|

[ Personal Magik ]

▪︎ Mind Guardian (Lvl 02) (Human)

▪︎ Flame Whip (Lvl 04 -> 05) (Human) (New Effect!)

▪︎ Blood Scry (Lvl 05) (Fairy)

▪︎ Blight Hex (Lvl 01) (Human)

[ System Magik]

▪︎ Ward Of Obviation (Lvl 01) (Pagan)

▪︎ Age Transfiguration (Lvl 01) (Pagan)

■■

"HOT DAMN!" He roared, feeling pretty proud of himself. Without further ado, he clicked on the Flame Whip spell.

■■

▪︎Flame Whip▪︎

Level: 05

Type: Manual

Classification: Offense; Human

Chant: Flagello execrabilem cauda flammarum

Range: 4 meters | One (1) meter per level

Components: Bat droppings, Oil, Twine

Effect #1: Releases a whip of pure flame that attacks the target at will.

Effect #2: Flame enveloped the caster's arm, thereby increasing strength, flexibility and allowing fire-enhanced attacks.

▪︎ Brimstone Blow (Sub-effect #2): Naming the attack will magnify the efficacy of Effect #2 and have a slight chance of causing the flames to expand up to five (5) meters in a cone

■■

"Oh, god!" He ran his hands over his face, abashed at the sub-effect of the spell. 'It was just a spur-of-the-moment decision. I didn't think it'll make me live with it. Argh, I'm screwed! Thankfully, naming my attacks will quickly exhaust my magik power.'

"Still, it's powerful enough to punch through reinforced metal. It ought to be my last resort, my ultimate attack." He muttered, gaining a new appreciation for the sub-effect. "Maybe I should test it out. No, before I run out of magik, let's see the new and improved Arcane Resistance."

■■

▪︎Arcane Resistance▪︎

Type: Job Skill

Classification: Defense; System Granted

Activation: Passive

Range: Self

Effect #1: User has a [Lesser] Resistance to magical effects that affect their body, including, but not limited to, spells, curses, and negative Marks.

Effect #2: Spell Purge - Active - Allows the user to dispel any magical effects on their body at will. Stamina consumption depends on the spell's power and user's magic power.

■■

"Fuck, that's good. Better than the goddamn sub-effect of the Whip." Irwin was extremely happy about the skills second effect. He would not have to worry about illusions or enchantments during fights with Pagans and witches.

"Alright, time to destroy some dummies."

Beelining towards the nearest dummy, Irwin stretched his muscles. Normally, he wouldn't be as cavalier with his body and magic power, but the prospect of quickly familiarizing himself with his newfound power took more precedent.

He took a deep breath, before forgetting he didn't have any hex bag with him. "Fuck." He muttered, quickly retrieving one from the study and returning. "I wonder if I should use the Indestructible Hex Bag for Flaming Whip."

He had thought to use the job-given item for a more powerful spell, but quickly thought of his personal protection. What if he have ran out of hex bag mid-fight? That would be disastrous,but then again, it might also mean that he would soon run out of magik power too.

"I'll leave it to future me." He muttered as he took a deep breath. He gripped the hex bag with his right arm like he was the last batter in a World Series. "It's the ninth inning, one more strike and we'll win. I don't think that's how it works, but, Irwin, just imagine thousands screaming your name."

He went into batting stance and whispered, "Flagello!"

With a fiery WHOOSH!, Irwin enveloped the azure whip around his dominant arm. He reared his arm further inwards and yelled, "Brimstone Blow!"

As if responding to his words, the flames formed concentric circles in his arms, fully covering it and forming a sharp azure edge. He launched forward, arms extending past his body and hitting the dummy.

With a sickening BOOM!, flame extended past the dummy and caused an explosion of azure flames. Smoke billowed around the training grounds as the force of the blast forced Irwin to take a few steps back, his right hand singed by the extreme heat.

The smoke soon dissipated into nothingness, revealing the ravaged form of a melted dummy. The dummy now had a large hole leading down to its neck and forming a U-shaped edge. Its head was now scrap metal blasted and scattered across the fairgrounds.

Heaving his exhausted chest up and down, a content smile appeared on Irwin's chest. The attack was as powerful as the day he had conceived it. He can now confidently state that he could deal with demons as easily as any other lesser monsters.

Irwin rested for an hour, meditating to recover what magik power he can, before returning to training his magical abilities. He did so for another two hours.

At exactly 10:00 a.m., he left the training grounds in a desolate state. Only a few dummies remained standing, with most now turned into scrap metal. Fortunately, a group of hired workers would replace that dummy after lunch and, by tomorrow, it would be as new as the day it would have first appeared.

By 10:45 a.m., Irwin left the shower, refreshed by the hot water and wore athletic wear. A loose grey shirt and a dark athletic pants paired with a newly bought sneaker. He remembered how Ella had teased him when he first wore the attire and the way he worded his yoga pants.

He arrived at the Santa Monica Pier at 11:30 a.m. beating out traffic by speeding and running red lights, a perk for the rich.

The House Of Blades stood in front if him. As usual, its student's roars echoed across their part of the pier. A few students smoking by the side of the establishment nodded at his approach.

"Hey, Dick!" One woman winked at him.

"Where you been, man?" Another asked, waving a finger in greeting. "Master's been beating our ass since you're not here!"

Other plethora of greetings went towards him as he had been quite persuasive in his coming and going in the past two weeks. He had befriended almost every non-egotistic student in the House Of Blades.

In fact, most nights, the students of the House would attend their favourite bar and he would use that to pay for a couple of rounds for the entire bar. A trick he pulled to great success in Harvelle's Roadhouse.

"Just had to handle some business." He reasoned out.

As he entered the establishment, his enhanced hearing picked up quite a few rumors.

"You know, I told my mom about him." One whispered. "She told me his family is the inspiration for Jackal and Hyde. Did you know that?"

"Man, did you hear about that flight that got hijacked?" Another gossiped.

There were those who responded. "I thought it'd be another..."

Of course, there were others who merely regarded such rumors as hogwash. "And you believe it? Read newspapers, man. Don't just watch. Are you stupid?"

Hearing other people gossip about him, directly or otherwise, felt weird and proud at the same time. He felt like a kid overhearing their parents praising him in another room. A guilty pleasure, one that Irwin couldn't help but feel like hearing again and again.

Nevertheless, he walked inside the dojo and smelt the sweat and blood dropping off the obsessive martial artists of the House of Blades.

Before he could ask for his master's presence, the man's deep, oscillating voice resounded within the training grounds, "Halt!"

As if programmed machines, the entire host of students retreated from their various poses and turned towards Joaquin with a bow.

"Continue!"

The students straightened their backs and resumed their training.

"Welcome back, Richard!" Joaquin nodded, arms in a cross.

Irwin inhaled, lining his arms to his side and bowed slightly in reverence. "Master!"