Jin's Growth (4)

"So he awakened an Aspect that grants him the ability of Telekinesis?" The Matriarch furrowed her brow as she looked at the aged butler who was slowly reporting the past month's events to her.

"Just so."

"Telekinesis, huh? It's rare to get that power in an Aspect, but it isn't all that amazing."

Just like every True Vampire that had trained for over a thousand years, Matriarch Innocence had learnt how to utilise Telekinesis through the usage of spells. Yes, it was extremely taxing on her magic power pool, but for someone who had a near-infinite reserve of magic, using Telekinesis was as easy as breathing.

"And you're saying that his Aspect wasn't recorded in the archives?"

"Yes," Variel nodded solemnly. "Just to be sure, I checked our records and even searched in the databases of the other Vampire Noble Houses. No one has awakened a Soul Armament like Jin's."

"Five rings with a chain that reaches his wrist…"

The ancient Vampire searched through her many years of experience, hoping to recollect one Soul Armament that resembled Jin's. The closest that she'd got was a True Vampire who lived fifteen hundred years ago and had five rings as well. However, that Vampire didn't possess Telekinesis and most certainly didn't have five unique abilities.

"Since he was a human turned Vampire, I think it might be the first of its kind."

"That's what I surmised as well."

"And so?" The Matriarch looked at her butler with a solemn expression. "What is so special about a mere telekinetic ability? I'm pretty sure you train your Blood Servants on how to resist magical control. How is he able to defeat all of them then?"

The Matriarch was puzzled. While powerful in combat, Telekinesis had been researched extensively by the True Vampires. That was how they learnt to use the ability, to begin with. However, just like any powerful ability, the Vampires found a method to counter its effects. After centuries of research and refinement, countering Telekinesis had become so simple that it became part of a Vampire's training regimen, regardless of whether they were True Vampires or Blood Servants.

So, for Variel's elite Blood Servants to lose to a mere playtoy…

"Jin, that boy, his Telekinesis ability is different."

"Hoh? How so?"

"Usually, when one is stuck in a True Vampire's Telekinesis, they would need to use an equal amount of magic power or physical strength to break free from their control."

"That's common knowledge."

That was the main weakness of using Telekinesis. Anyone with ample experience and training to deal with the ability would handle their opponent with ease.

"However, Jin's Telekinesis isn't as easy to break free from. I'd experienced his power first-hand, and I can say that it was quite possibly, one of the most bizarre experiences I'd ever had. Rather than using an equal amount of magic power, I estimate that…"

The butler recollected the time when he was caught in that mere 'playtoy' trap.

"If you want to break free from Jin's Telekinesis, you'll need to put in at least ten times more magic power."

"What..?"

If the Matriarch wasn't flabbergasted before, she was now. If Variel was correct, that meant that Jin could effectively defeat any opponent that didn't have a deep enough magic pool. After all, if his Telekinetic ability was over ten times stronger than anyone else's, the number of opponents that he could face would be drastically lowered.

"How's that possible? Even if it was an innate Aspect, there's no way for a Telekinetic ability to be that powerful! I'd never even heard of such a thing, even during the time when the Progenitor was still alive! Are you sure that his ability is just Telekinesis?!"

"You're right, my liege. I also had my doubts that Jin's ability wasn't just Telekinesis, so I'd thought I would research it myself. I looked through the oldest books we had and the newest theorems from both the Vampire and Human races. And if I may be so bold to give a theory… I don't think that Jin's first ability is Telekinesis."

Variel shivered as he recollected how potent Jin's power was. It felt like his surroundings were warped into place, and he'd been constricted back to his mother's womb. There was next to nothing that he could do against that suffocating power, and it took him a significant effort to even attempt to break free.

It was as if… The world itself was fighting back against him. The amount of power he needed to use… The helplessness he felt…

That ability wasn't Telekinesis.

That power was…

"I believe that Jin has the ability to…"

❖❖❖

"Again!" I shouted determinedly as I eyed down the many Blood Servants that stood in my path.

About fifteen Vampires, each one with their own unique shape and size, begrudgingly flashed an annoyed look at me. Although they weren't all that keen on following my orders, the image of Irina staring them down with a frosty look behind them forced their asses to move.

The Blood Servants could be split into three specific categories. The tanks with plenty of physical strength and could soak up as much damage as a pure-blooded Werewolf. The damage dealers that used an array of weapons with dexterous means to break through their enemy's defence. And finally, the specialists that used a variety of special Blood Arts to facilitate their allies and weaken their opponents.

When all of these Blood Servants worked together, they could defeat any True Vampire, particularly since they were elites trained by the Everwinter House.

However, that only applied to regular True Vampires…

The first wave of attackers were the tanks. They were all above two metres in height with a frame that even bodybuilders would dream of. Whilst showing off their bulging muscles, the veins beneath their skin began to show. I'd later come to understand that this phenomenon helped to harden their bodies so that they would be as tough as steel and as unbreakable as diamond.

The second wave contained the Blood Servants, who specialised in using weapons and martial arts. Their fighting prowess was equivalent to that of the world's top Hunters, so much so that my father loved to train with them just to hone his ageing body. Some of them held spears so sharp that one touch was enough to draw blood. Some held massive glaives that would hack an elephant into two. And some of them had mystical arrows, shot from the most powerful bows I'd ever seen.

As for the final line of my opponents, they were using Blood Arts in an array of methods. One of them had created a bloody mist to hinder my vision. One of them created armour made out of blood to protect their compatriots. And one of them even created a web of traps that made it near impossible for me to move anywhere without getting fatally wounded.

Surrounded by all sides, it was a situation that I could never get out of.

Well, it was a situation that I couldn't get out of in the past. Now, however…

I raised my hand, and my Soul Armament instantly appeared. The five rings covered all of my fingers on my right hand, and the chains softly covered the back of my hand. Four of the five rings were still dulled out, with barely any magic power being emitted from them. It was still a significant issue in my opinion, but they didn't need to be activated for now.

All I needed… was the ring on my middle finger.

"Stop."

My voice resonated within the training chambers. At that moment, magic power churned out from the ring on my middle finger. The empyrean blue glow got brighter and brighter within nanoseconds, and then…

The world stopped.

Or to be exact, all of the Blood Servants that attempted to draw my flesh seemingly turned to stone. Not just that, the projectiles and Blood Arts that they threw at me remained suspended in the air. It didn't matter if they were three metres tall, weighed a thousand kilograms or even had enough force to push a bull. Nothing was moving under my command.

"Hmmm, my limit has increased once more."

Contrary to the Blood Servants' opinion, I wasn't asking them to suffer the same fate over and over again just to throw a blow to their egos. I was testing the limits on how far my Telekinesis could go.

When I first awakened my Vampire Aspect, all I could do was move a few rocks. However, as time went by and my magic pool deepened considerably, I became capable of stopping a fully grown human being. And ever since then, through a combination of training and syncing with my Aspect, the number of objects that I could constrain increased drastically.

Eventually, I became capable of stopping experienced Blood Servants as well, rendering them incapable of movement and using their Blood Arts.

Clenching my fists, I crushed the arrows and numerous traps that were laid out before me. Evidently, the force of my Telekinesis far surpassed anything the Blood Servants could throw at me and almost instantly, my surroundings were cleared entirely.

Satisfied with my improvement, I released my control over the Blood Servants and gave them back their freedom.

"Alright, thank you for your help. Let's take a fifteen-minute break."

As I clapped my hands to signal the end of the training session, the Blood Servants shuffled to the side, allowing the white-haired torpedo to come running into my arms.

"Brother! That was amazing! To think that you can defeat fifteen Blood Servants so easily!"

Irina launched herself into my chest and adorably called out my name. Seeing her ecstatic face greatly soothed my soul, and much of my fighting instinct dulled down. I reached for her soft white hair and brushed it with tenderness and ease.

"I'm still nowhere as powerful as you," I replied with complete honesty. "I'm a bad matchup for them, so I was just lucky."

I was speaking the truth. The only reason why I could trounce my opponents, especially when some of them even had a few centuries of combat experience, was due to the fact that they couldn't use magic. By their very nature, Blood Servants were at a disadvantage against magical abilities. And seeing that I used magic to telekinetically control them, fighting them would be like an adult stealing candy from a defenceless baby.

"Still! You only turned into a True Vampire a month ago! If you continue growing at this pace, you'll easily surpass other True Vampires that have lived for hundreds of years."

"You're exaggerating…"

I took my younger sister's words with a pinch of salt. After all, I had seen what the peak of the Vampire world looked like. Yes, I could hold my own and even defeat weaker True Vampires if I trained hard enough, but that was hardly enough. They weren't the enemies I wanted to face.

Against someone like Matriarch Innocence…

Yeah, I still needed to train.

"The Young Miss is right, sire."

Just as I was about to call back the lazy Blood Servants, a firm voice beckoned to me. Turning around, I saw a brown-haired man strutting toward me with an amiable smile on his face. Don't get fooled by his youthful appearance. Even though he looked in his mid-thirties, the man was easily over a thousand years old.

And from what I'd heard, he was even the commander of Variel's Blood Servants and had been fighting all sorts of enemies. Be it Outer Demons, Werewolves, Humans… Every sort of creature imaginable had fallen under his blade. Even many of the Everwinter House's True Vampires respected this Blood Servant.

"Zuno, don't patronise me. You and I know very well that without my Telekinesis, I wouldn't be able to contest a second with you."

"That may be true, but there's no such thing as banning abilities in a real battle. If we were to fight to the death, I would have been killed in an instant."

"Hah… I guess so…"

During my rapid improvement phase, I did manage to defeat this thousand-year-old Vampire by restraining his movements. However, that was purely due to the fact that he wasn't able to retaliate with magic. The moment we fought using other methods, I was defeated before I could even get a thought out.

And while it was true that my Telekinesis was somehow stronger than most, I didn't want to grow complacent. Relying too heavily on one ability was a recipe for disaster.

"Still, thank you for helping me train. I know that you've been busy."

"Haha, no worries there! I should be thanking you, actually."

"Why's that?"

"Well, since the Winter Hunt is upcoming, my soldiers needed a nice place to train. While the servant's quarters are nice and all, it can't be compared to the Young Miss' abode."

"The Winter Hunt?"

I raised my brow after hearing this new term for the first time.

"Yes," the brown-haired Vampire smiled. "Since the Young Miss is participating, I'm guessing that you're going to join as well, sire. Don't worry about it! With your overpowered Telekinesis, I'm confident that you'll do just fine."

"I'm participating in this as well?"

"Hmmm? Are you not?"

With both of us confused, we could only turn to the one person who knew the answer. Irina, who had been listening in on our conversation this entire time, jolted like an adorable rabbit. If I looked a little closer, I would probably see the bead of sweat that escaped from the tip of her forehead.

"No, Brother will not participate in the Winter Hunt."

"Irina?"

"... It's too dangerous."

"A-Ah, I see…" Zuno took two steps back as he realised that he'd stepped on a bomb. Finding an excuse to escape, the man bowed and requested: "Please excuse me, Young Miss. I need to check up on those lazy brats."

Before even getting Irina's answer, Zuno walked off impatiently. Dropping a landmine and then walking off… Isn't that kind of irresponsible?

Still, I was in no mood to question his actions. Rather, I looked at the young girl who seemed afraid of my piercing gaze.

"Irina… Let's talk."