Chapter 43 - Blood Powers Showcase

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Noting where Inorra and Kipset were sitting, soon Vlad, after waiting for a bit together with Robert, arrived in front of a staff member who looked dully at them.

"Same procedures Zagreus."

Hearing the staff member say that he instantly awakened from his stupor and looked at the staff member's familiar face, he said.

"The same as usual for me and also the same for the kid next to me, Aslak."

"Sorry, can't do it so fast. I need to follow the procedures."

"But no one even bothers with the procedures. Oh yeah, the kid is new. Go on, Robert, show this uncle your badge. Now he will gladly give you the usual."

"Wanting to say something, the staff member took Robert's badge, skimped around for a bit before giving it back.

"Damn, yet another devil came inside the camp. It's hard to believe it looking at your innocent face, but sure, the same food as Zagreus."

"Tsk, you really shouldn't even bother asking for the boy's badge, now look at the line. That's what you get Aslak for following "procedures" I would move faster if I was in your boots."

With two plates of food containing some rice and a fish and brushing off the small commotion behind him, he started walking toward where Kipset and Inorra got seated, followed by Robert in the back.

Still remembering what he asked Vlad before asking for the food, he reiterated the question.

"So what's going on with the food? Why are those slavers giving us this kind of treatment?"

"Good question brat. First, I also wondered when I got here why the food is warm and still tastes decently? If you asked a dumbfuck like those arguing about their food and being bothered by the smallest insult, they would just say that it is to build up their strength for another day. Otherwise, the bosses would run on deficit. But does it really matter to that pig the losses of the slaves?"

"No, that Mayer guy only knows to flaunt his money. Probably he wouldn't give a shit even if the entire mine was out of slaves." This time Robert interjected, saying a bit angry.

"Exactly, but not a complete truth. That pig isn't really so stupid as we initially thought. Mayer is shrewd enough to stay on the top of his game, even if he has good assistants. That's also an asset to use for his good.

But here comes the problem, what if an army of angry slaves decided at one point to rally themselves up against this fatty guard or mercenary army? Chaos would commence. Maybe the slave side would even win. And here comes the important question. Where would this angry mob of people target next for revenge?

Thinking for a brief moment, with a severe face, Robert said.

"That would be Mayer. I see, so they feed those slaves with good food to not have them revolt in large amounts."

"That's right, there are only 180 or so guards for 2000 or more slaves. That's one cheap method of keeping people in check without having to spend money on additional guards."

"Though this camp still stands after all these years, there's been many people trying to escape the camp or take revenge. And it is known around that not many succeed because of one single person, that one being head guard Belpel." added Kipset, who was eating slowly hit food.

"It's like Kip said that the Belpel guy rose in ranks because of his efficient way of dealing with the revolts made by the slaves. Damn, and he was quite young at that time, but look at him, now he's at the peak of his powers." added Inorra to what Kipset said

Vlad chuckled and replied to Inorra's comment with a smile.

"You guys are overthinking, I've never fought the guy, but knowing that the old man is capable of crushing that guy, and the fact that I managed to face the old man in a decent manner gives me the confidence to face him."

"That's for other times to discuss, let's get down and finish this food. Go on little Robert, start eating before it's getting cold, and regrets start to build up." chuckled Vlad while staring at the food in front of him before beginning engrossing himself with food.

His powers also seemed to react as Vlad got the nutrients necessary to fuel the blood power's entire mechanism.

Sensing a euphoric sensation from his body, he leaned back on the chair and only smiled, delighted with himself. Kipset and Inorra were confused for a bit at Vlad smiling for no reason.

They initially thought that maybe he was content with the food, but it was less than probable because it's been four years since they knew each other. They rarely saw Vlad smile like this, with a satisfied expression on his face, only when he came back from prostitutes he would hold such a smile.

After a short while, the sound of a burp came from Robert. He was pleased with the food, but after hearing Vlad and the others say the reason, it was like this. He started calming down from all that satisfaction.

"Kid, if you want to smile, do it. So what if there's a deeper meaning to this? Kids should smile more and laugh. Laugh at whatever misfortune fate might give you."

"It seems we need to go. Right, little Robert, you'll come with me today. We have unresolved business with those 3 big sisters. Heh, I'll teach you some tricks." said Vlad after feeling that the food digested a bit.

"Fuck me, he's doing that again. Leave the brat alone you monster." commented Inorra while looking weirdly at Vlad.

"Sush you two. Still shy about getting your cock touched for a bit? By my standards you are already adults. You better don't argue with me."

Inorra gulped his saliva, while Kipset only shook his head, defeated by Vlad's comments, while Robert's face turned slightly rosy when remembering about those almost naked girls.

After that, while Kipset and Inorra walked back to the shack, Vlad took Robert by the arm, and even though he didn't want to follow Vlad, his force was so tiny that it felt like an ant struggling against a chariot.

Walking along the dark alleys in the cover of the dark sky, he arrived without any incidents at the three sisters' shack. Like in his first experience, he pushed the door open and walked inside while bringing Robert inside.

(R18 Parts on Chapter 45.5)

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Vlad felt refreshed and still energized after exiting the shacks of the prostitutes. Walking back to his shack, the people of the chaotic district could see his sweating bare chest and deep scars on his back. But what struck the most the people's attention was how he carried an unconscious boy in his hand like a bag of something.

Getting inside, Vlad was met by Aerius, who stood quietly in his bed, without moving, when he entered the shack.

Looking around the shack, he found that nothing was missing, yet the little guy was behaving weirdly.

"Hey Aerius, how was your day so far? Somethings is wrong? Do you not feel well? Want me to check you? "Asked Vlad with a worried expression, while Aerius, who was sitting with his belly down on Vlad's bed, only looked down as if he tried to fake sleeping.

As Vlad approached Aerius, the little gryphon sensed Vlad's approaching hand and thought.

'I fucked up big time. Why didn't I listen to him and made my way inside his food storage. Let's plan an escape plan, I'll search for the old man to stay with him.'

In only some centimeters away, the little gryphon rose to his feet, showing off his bulging belly, and started running away.

Vlad sneered at the little thief's attempt at escape and only said to Kipset and Inorra, who were resting in their beds.

"Guys, to think you would leave him to eat the food. Tsk, you make me work even harder to get the food, unappreciative brats.

"I tried to stop him, but he's more powerful than me. Kipset also didn't want to try his luck seeing how I got knocked out." replied Inorra while pointing hatefully at Aerius.

"Little shit, don't you point fingers at me or I will kick you again. But, not this night since I will be busy escaping this monster."

Vlad only snorted when he heard Aerius call him a monster and when the little guy tried to escape using the open windows, he appeared in front of him while a flicker entered the gryphon's vision.

"ABORT!"

Screamed Aerius while dropping on the ground and moving again around the shack, like he was dribbling with a football ball.

"Heh, your reactions are fast little guy. But you better don't make serious since I come quite relaxed from those three sisters."

*Snif*  *Snif* "The smell of womens. Damn and you didn't take me?" asked Aerius while stopping for a bit from evading Vlad's movements.

"What can a birl-feline like you do to a human woman? Can you insert your small thing inside a woman."

"You bastard! Don't say that to me! Argh, I will hit you hard for humiliating me like this."

Aerius's eyes seemed a bit red from anger when receiving Vlad's comments, but then as he tried to attack Vlad with a slam, a hand swiftly grabbed him and cut all his momentum.

"Heh, are you planning something big little boy? Calm down, I will not skin you alive or any of those dumb things. But still, let's go to the food storage and see what's the damage."

"No, no. I didn't eat anything from there."

Recovering a bit from his impulse, he began denying the accusations. Yet when he heard Vlad, who was constantly clicking his tongue while staring at a half-full storage, said to him.

"Little guy, did you really had to taste all 11 cured meats? It took me 5 months to get those 11 cured meats from the canteen raid. Yet you eat four of them. What have I told you before I left?"

"Don't touch the food from the storage." said Aerius in a quiet manner.

"And what did you do?" asked Vlad again.

"Touched the food. Argh, fine. I get it I took some food because I got hungry and bored while waiting. What do you want from me, I'm not a human, I need more food to grow."

"Don't worry Aerius, as a pay for that food, you'll have to work for me even more. I'll teach you plenty of things, from spying to interrogating people.  I wish I could've taught my dog back home such things."

"You, you. You compare me with a dog? How dare you! I'm a gryphon for Lady Sea name."

"Yes you are a gryphon, but can you fly?"

"Not yet."

"Can you attack using powerful attacks such as wind attacks, sonic waves? No. In this sense as you are right now, you can't be of much help. I can only hope you recover to your adult form or you grow up."

Noticing that Aerius' face turned a bit sad, he said to him when looking at his golden eyes. "Don't worry, little guy, I'll not do anything to you, just that you'll be my little guinea pig when I train my blood abilities."

"NOOOO!" screamed Aerius when looking at Vlad's eyes and his crooked smile. Dropping Aerius on the ground, he then placed down Robert who was still unconscious and later changed his clothes before going out to train himself.

Kipset only said to Vlad who was exiting while on his shoulder was Aerius, who seemed agonizing.

"We'll join you later, once we rest a bit."

"Bring that kid too once he wakes up. Or slap him when you exit."

"Why didn't you do it yourself?"

"Nah, I'm not that insensitive. The kid tasted a totally new experience, so let him still dream a bit."

Taking Aerius with him out, he started doing some easy movements before going for the hard ones that required all his body to happen.

Time passed, and Robert seemed to be going out of the shack by himself.

"How is it kid? Have you learned something today?"

"That ability of yours shouldn't exist. It doesn't make sense for someone to have that."

"Yet I have it. But enough of that, let me ask you Robert. Do you know how to wield a sword or any weapons?"

"Not much, once when I was home I played around with my family heirloom, it was a black sword that was really sharp. But when I was found by my father, he forbade me from training in swords until I reached 13 years old. His reasoning is that I'm too small for real swords." explained Robert while scratching his head while thinking of that moment in time.

He still remembered the moment vividly when he snuck in his father's library and found that sword held on display in plain sight.

When he touched that sword, he felt a jolt in his arm, like the sword was alive and greeted him or some short. He played a bit with that sword but was found fast by his father. And so came his punishment of not being allowed to wield a sword until a certain age.

"I see, he said 13 years old? Your old man seems to have some screws loose. Learning swords starts from a young age. To become a master of swords, you need an entire lifespan to reach the perfection, something that even myself haven't reached. But don't worry, I will teach you some basics, and as we go forward, you'll soon reach a decent level of mastery."

"Then let me ask you. What do you think the sword is?

"A weapon used to fight against your foe?" answered confused Robert, not knowing how to respond to Vlad's question.

'What's with this question? Isn't that obviously already? Ehhh, why did he start laughing?'

Vlad started laughing when hearing Robert but still didn't let the boy get in suspense and said. "Sure, the sword is a weapon to fight. But it has two roles, at least for me.

One is to protect others and his master, and the other role is to kill to its master's will. You can think of it as a noble weapon that can be pure like iron and cold like its material.

That's all in how you should think of the sword if you want to protect someone, while at the same time it can kill as easily as slicing a piece of meat."

"I'll also show you what a sword can do once you reach a certain level of balance in your swordsmanship and physical abilities. Watch closely around you."

Saying that while holding a wooden sword in his hand, he used his blood powers to strengthen his body. After some seconds passed and feeling his tensing up, with a sensation of boiling that empowered them, he unleashed a sword slash in Robert's direction.

Robert could see that as Vlad cut the air, something similar to a gust of wind got sent in his direction.

The sound the sword made when slashing through the air was similar to a strong wind passing by one's ear. Robert heard that sound from a distance. Slowly he started to feel something moving towards him that he could see accurately. All of a sudden, he got pushed back when the wind passed by. His hair also rose a bit, regardless if it was medium size.

Robert initially heard the sound of winds passing by in his ears, but as soon they passed, he regained his clarity. Later he heard Vlad saying.

"So how did that strike of mine feel? Pretty nice, right?"

"Damn right, was it really you who made that wind? With only your sword?" asked Robert with an excited face and continued hurriedly.

"Can you teach me that? I will be so strong being able to do that."

"I'm still far from my peak kid. I'm far from what I look forward to in the future." said Vlad with a laugh before continuing in a more serious tone.

"Once I grow older and train more, I will eventually be able to summon storms with only a strike of mine, engulf my enemies in a chaotic space. "

Come let me teach you the basics of the sword since I'm not a piece of shit to leave you out. I can also teach you spears or other weapons, but my mastery of them is lacking. I always scoff when people say that the spear is the king of weapons. I trained in spearplay too, but it's not for me. It's a boring manner of fighting."

Ended Vlad a bit angry, quickly remembering a fragment of his past on the battlefield, leading a cavalry charge having to use a spear in hand.

"For starters, you should exercise your body, and later I'll teach you how to use the sword." Vlad didn't even let Robert say something.

"You'll do as many push-ups as you can until you feel your body can't push anymore. After that, you'll do some squats, same as with the push-ups, until you drop down. Following that, do some stretching and call me, I'll also train for a bit in the meantime. If I feel you are tired, you're done for today, no sword for you to play." finished Vlad assigning the training for Robert in a casual tone.

Like this, he also started training using this time combined swordplay with his devil fruits.

At one point in his training, he started covering his wooden sword in the blood to train his [Blood Manipulation] the general ability of the powers.

Staring at the slowly covered bloody wooden sword, as if it had a small layer of blood covering it without any drop of blood dropping on the ground. With a thought of his mind, Vlad willed for the blood to solidify, turning the wooden sword into a genuine red sword.

Still, the general look the sword gave to the outside was that it was fragile. Vlad knew the reason and tried to add more layers to the wooden sword. With time, he added two more layers of blood. While looking at the bloody sword in his hand with a serious face, he tried adding another layer of blood to the sword.

Blood started flowing from his hand, spreading along with the sword's handle. In no time, it covered the entire bloody sword making the sword shine with a brighter red compared to the solidified crimson color.

'Harden'

When Vlad thought that, the fresh layer of blood started to solidify, following the example of the first three layers.

Vlad frowned when he noticed that this layer took so much to solidify. The layer became unstable as if it was close to shattering. Yet, Vlad's eyes grew a bit colder, and the layer stabilized, reinforcing the other layers upon the wooden sword.

"Hah, that was exhausting. The process of coagulation takes to much time for me to complete in real fight time. I need more training to make this process as quick as possible."

"Hey Aerius, how long did it took me to complete all those layers? I didn't count how much time I spent."

"Maybe one minute or two? I wasn't really focused on what you were doing, I was mostly focused on the little guy." said Aerius while being seated lazily on the ground.

"Good enough." nodded Vlad, his head with a calm face while having some sweat on his forehead.

"So if it takes me 1 to 2 minutes to enforce my weapons with blood as I'm right now. If I train my control and mastery it would be possible to reach about 20-30 seconds to turn my blood into a weapon or even less. Sigh, ancestor you really had good intentions when saying to have patience with this power."

He started his swordplay practice with his blood sword, training all his attacks while having his sword enhanced by his blood powers.

Time passed in the camp, and Vlad continues to train his blood powers without a break. It felt like he was possessed by someone, to be more exact. The time it usually took him to activate his Blood Powers also shortened by some good seconds.

It was getting close to the escape attempt period, and Inorra and Kipset soon joined on the backside of the shack, doing some sword drills taught by Vlad.

Little Robert started his spartan training with a left foot. At first, Robert wanted to give up, but as he was pushing himself to finish an exercise, he remembered the faces of his parents and little sister.

With these impulses, he pushed his body to his limits, with the hope of one day reuniting with them. Slowly he started to get used to the pain of having his muscles tear and later repair using Nius's fish ointment. It affected his working days at the mine that were at the deepest point those following days, but he couldn't complain. Vlad said to him to take it as a training of his willpower and body. Robert could agree that his changes were noticeable in those six days of hellish training.

Meanwhile, Kipset and Inorra, after doing their sword drills, would tag in and spar with Vlad. When sparring with Inorra and Kipset, Vlad only used his basic swordplay without using a gram of his blood powers.

As for his Blood powers, he trained in them whenever he could and wasn't disturbed by others. He would do it inside the mine using the blood powers on his body. He would train when getting to his shack using the [Blood Manipulation] ability to enhance various objects such as branches, his outside body, and so on. Truly as if he was a maniac, he would even train in his bed and dropping from sleeping. His strong heartbeats would make Aerius scratch him trying to turn him to normal for once when sleeping.

Yet Vlad didn't care and continued working on his heart and blood circulation technique.

As much as Vlad wanted this training to be a major difference in the overall abilities of his devil powers, the changes could only be said to be in just some seconds. His mastery improved a bit, even his understanding of what certain abilities of his Blood Powers could achieve for him.

With an improved speed on his [Blood Summoning] and [Blood Manipulation], he was sure that his abilities would be enough to deal with Belpel and the rest of the guards guarding the exit.

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A new day arises at the camp. It was, to be exact, the last days of the boys inside this hellish hole that gave Vlad all short of memories. The sixth day looked the same as the rest of the days, at least for the other slaves. For Vlad, this was a moment full of silence, the silence of waiting for the chaos to start when anyone would look in the other direction. Inorra and Kipset were also worrying over the possible future and worse case scenario. Simultaneously, Robert could also feel the room's tension, feeling his guess about what those three were trying to do in this day.

But he was bound to find out soon enough if his guess turned out to be truths.

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