Before I forget, I set my vampire side's class to Scout. That side isn't going to become a Mage and it seems more interesting than Warrior. Also, with the Effect Analysis option, I try using Item Analysis on the staff again.

Staff of Winter

+50 power to Ice elemental and Dark elemental spells.

20 Storage MP (Locked)

-This ability is locked-

-This ability is locked-

Huh, still locked, although at least I see what one of the locked effects is. Apparently I can unlock these effects just by using the staff a bunch; it takes time to attune itself to its user's mana, and it's currently more attuned to its previous user.

After switching back, I left the room and went downstairs.

"Hey, the head wants to see you once you're done." Yaten noted. I replied with a simple beep, · , and followed him into Xedne's office. And she was there waiting for me alongside Kala.

Xedne handed me a cup. "This is the blood of one of our adventurers who is particularly proficient with Barrier Magic. If this works, it'll be a quicker way of teaching you the skill." She's strangely okay with me drinking human blood. "Don't worry, I got the blood with consent and they got compensation. Blood is sometimes used for alchemical potions, so it's not too unusual for some people to sell their blood for those purposes."

I guess it's similar to blood donations? Well, whatever. I switch to my vampire side again to drink the blood.

Skill "Blood Absorb" results

Obtained skills: Barrier Magic.

Increased skills: Improved Mana Regeneration.

"Did you get it?" · . "Good. Kala and Yaten, it may be a good idea to take Yuri-Ann to the meadow. Get a good idea of her combat ability against monsters and train her magic to a respectable level."

Kala and Yaten both nodded and led me back to the main hall. "Well, I guess this will be your first outing as an adventurer. It's good that you have your healing sachet already. I have some potions with me in case we need it. We just need to grab some lunch and we can go." Kala stated. She went to the chef and ordered some food to go.

What she said reminded me that my outfit did come with a sachet. Apparently a healing sachet. Curious about it, I beeped to get Yaten's attention, · ,then I pointed at the sachet and long beeped to ask about it, − .

"Oh, you're not familiar with the healing sachet?" I nodded, · . "When you get hurt, you just need to send a bit of mana into it and it'll slowly heal you. It's not as quick or effective as a healing potion, but it's much cheaper and can help prevent things from getting really bad."

I nodded, · . It sounded useful, although more of a preventative thing than full-fledged healing. In my vampire form, I could heal quickly as long as I had blood, but my human form is more vulnerable, so hopefully this helps.

Kala came back with a basket with a cloth on top. "Okay, got lunch. Let's get going. …The koskette here are fine and all, but I do miss the ones back home."

"You said something about having cheese in it? I can't really imagine that being good."

"It's good, great! It's better than this brown stuff in these at least."

"Hey, the brown sauce is culinary genius. It tastes great on anything."

…I don't care about food arguments. I'll eat anything that fits into my mouth.

 I looked at my options for Improved Mana Regeneration as that happened.

Improved Mana Regeneration Lv2 Options:

Meditative Regeneration

As long as you don't move, you can focus on your mana to regenerate it quicker.

High-Use Regeneration

Your regeneration goes up a bit the more magic you've used recently.

Regenerative Power

The power of your magic goes up a bit depending on how much mana you've regenerated recently.

High-Use Regeneration please. With how much mana I have, I can use a lot.

The argument ended by the time we exited the town and we went onto the path I've been on before. We soon passed by where I found the body of Kala's friend, Latet.

"Latet was on her way to the meadow to train when…" Kala's voice trailed off before she started again. "We thought it was going to be just a routine trip, she's been fine before. If only we went with her…"

"It's not your fault. The Hidden Hand probably picked a time when they knew she would be alone." Yaten comforted.

I should probably ask about this Hidden Hand business at some point.

We continued to go on the path and at one point, deviated from it and went into the forest. After some walking through there, we reached the meadow.

"So, here's the deal with the meadow." Kala explained. "This is the territory of the khalia birds, which are little flying monsters. Once we go in there, they'll attack by diving. We need to dodge or block those attacks then attack back quickly in order to take them down, this will be training to do that efficiently. Also, since you use magic, this is a good place to practice your aim so that you can take them down while they're flying around. They have a weak point where their wings meet the torso. You can try to aim for that, but it's not really necessary. Hitting them at all should be your objective first. Got it?"

I nodded, · .

"Now that we have explanations out of the way, is everybody ready?" Yaten asked. Kala and I both nodded, myself adding a beep, · .

"Okay, let's go."