Born in Blood

Revel gathered his books to give Liam as homework. It totalled to twenty-three, and each book was about 4 inches thick.

That fact didn't annoy Liam in the least. He always loved reading books in his first life, even on topics that might have seemed mundane or boring.

"Come whenever you're ready, just let me know beforehand. I'll be here most of the time."

Liam nodded.

"Oh, and what's the name of the inscription method?" Liam asked. Calling it the 'inscription method' wasn't convenient.

Revel pursed his pale lips, then grinned.

"Blood Weaving."

Liam hummed in approval, stored the books into his ring, then headed back home.

Of course, he attempted to ask for the spells Revel had made, but the man chuckled and didn't say anything.

'Being shameless doesn't work on this maniac, I guess.' Liam realized.

The next two weeks passed quickly.

Liam's lessons with Rogan had been going well, and the former had gotten past the first few stages of forging – thanks to his new mental prowess.

It wouldn't be long until he started using the forging technique.

The biggest problem for him was keeping the blades stable – since, if he didn't perfect the foundations, the whole thing would fall apart.

An excessive usage of 'Ora' was required in those steps – which was used to purify the metals – but since Liam didn't have a core, his usage of it was obviously limited.

In addition, Liam had started to learn the vampiric tongue. Its alphabet and writings were quite similar to the Japanese language, even its pronunciation was alike with minor differences.

Revel had taught him the concept of inscriptions and the most basic of its knowledge. The man was beyond impatient – and his tongue was vile – but his methods of teaching made up for that.

In essence, inscriptions consisted of three crucial parts. The 'meaning', 'link', and 'ink'.

To invent an explosive spell, for example, the inscriber had to take into account the amount of 'Ora' that went into the user's core, the strength of the explosion, its size, when it could detonate, and other factors that might affect the spell's performance. These were called 'meanings'.

The inscriber would then create a series of 'links' between these meanings, using special writings and diagrams to express them.

Such writings were made from a special 'ink' that contained the meanings themselves.

Blood weaving, like the name suggests, used refined blood as its ink.

These links would create a circuit between the writings, which allowed the spell to function – If made correctly, of course.

The complexity of the inscriptions would vary depending on the desired effect, with more complex spells requiring more intricate circuits and a deeper understanding of the topic.

This was partly the reason why Rank-1 spells and martial arts were so simple – and similarly weak. They didn't require much to make, and they served relatively simple functions.

Obviously, these three elements were endlessly deep – not to mention there were many more aspects – and learning them would take multiple lifetimes.

Thankfully, cultivators had long lives.

Besides that, Liam had spent all his money on buying pills during that two week period – both for himself and Rogan.

They swallowed his savings up by heaps, but calming his paranoia was worth every penny.

He didn't use them, though, and saved the pills for when he attained the Rank-2 Psionic Rune. 𝘣𝑒𝑑𝘯𝘰𝘷𝑒𝘭．𝑜𝘳𝘨

All the while, his body was steadily approaching the peak of the middle-stage – his healing properties growing slightly stronger.

It came to a point that Lloyd had to use most of his strength to keep up during their duels.

Alternating between the trio was strange, but Liam had something important to learn from each one of his teachers.

Besides that, there was the addition of the three space rings Liam stole from his pursuers – containing a total of 300 'Ora' Stones.

Each one contained a Rank-2 martial art attuned with their specific elements – Whip was a fire elemental, Hammer used wind, and Broadsword used earth.

Unfortunately, the martial arts were useless to him. He didn't have his element yet, and didn't use any of their specific weapons.

The space itself was much more useful, since he got a total of 15 square meters to store more items.

'I'll save the martial arts for now. Maybe I'll be able to sell it somewhere else.'

Eventually, the time came for Liam to reveal his awakening.

He entered the underground guild and entered the armory.

Ava gave him a warm nod as usual.

Liam spared the pleasantries and cut to the point.

"I'd like the second Psionic Rune please. I'm sure I have enough merits for it."

Ava stared at him for a few seconds in silence, before raising a brow.

"Why? You won't need it for another two years at least."

Liam nearly clicked his tongue in annoyance.

"I've already completed the first rune."

Ava's eyes widened in disbelief.

Before she could pressure him, he took out his Psionic Rune and pushed it against his forehead – expressing no discomfort or pain.

Ava was stunned. Liam stretched out his token, which she slowly grabbed – her shocked eyes still stuck on him.

She fumbled around with her desk momentarily, before taking out the second Rune.

The rock was hexagon-shaped, glowing faintly blue. It was slightly bigger than its predecessor, and on one of the sides, an ancient number rested – which Liam presumed as two.

Liam's mental energy melted around it and couldn't get close to the Rune all.

'I wonder how long it'll take me to reach Rank-2.'

Liam suppressed a smile.

He hastily grabbed the rock and token, then stored them.

His merits had gone back considerably, from 525 to 35, but it was worth it in his eyes.

As Liam left, Ava instantly took out a Jade and called David.