C62-Sparring Sessions

〔 Aizel Kadashi 〕Level: 47Age: 19TitlePlatinum-rank Hunter (SU)Health Power570/570Soul Energy0KinCrimson Were-Dragon

「 Morning, of his 45th day on Geas. 」

The group of hunters walked to the other wing, the northeast one on the lower floor. It was a large empty space, probably only used for training and sparring.

Aizel could see some mana vapor coming from the walls, like the one present in their bed frame and the old Hunter Master's desk. So probably warded against damage.

"All right, son. Show these Hunters how it's done."

Aizel assumed a low stance and began to use (Infuse) all over the area. He knew that Pops was fast, and probably much faster after the flight lessons, so he would not let the man get the jump on him. Carefully watching for any changes in the surrounding aura.

"Holy gremlin!" One of Pop's sons said, a tall hunter with platinum tags like his.

"What?" Aizel asked.

"Some of them inherited my eyes, Aizel. They can see your aura just like you can see theirs… well, maybe not like you, but well enough. Vira! Call it." Pops said and took out his sword of resonance after he waved to one of the Hunters.

"Family. This is a friendly spar, so no killing blows like piercing hearts, decapitations, or charging of mana crystals. Blessings, skills, spells, and all racial traits are permitted. But no boosters, this is not a fight, so you can talk and ask for pause, it will end when you decide it, one of you can't continue, or when anyone yells 'stop,' are we in agreement!?"

"Yes." "We are."

"Hunters, Begin!!" Pops' son raised his arm and gave the signal.

Pops immediately went for the offensive.

Aizel could not see (Teleport) without an overcharged (Focus) and (Infuse), but he remembered the weird feeling from the Oni, given how many times they did it. So sent a pulse of (Finalize) even before the old angel took a step.

As he had predicted, Pops took a step and tried to rush him with his skill, but the wave of Magikas Finalis stopped him a few steps before Aizel, making the old angel stumble as if he had hit a wall by cutting his (Teleport) short, just before reaching him.

"Why am I not surprised?" Pops bantered a bit, but used (Teleport) again before Aizel could repeat the trick.

He appeared on top of Aizel, already slashing at his head with his sword. Aizel took out some of his daggers and moved them with (Doppelgänger) and (Telekinesis), meeting the sword of resonance with his wiggly daggers, parrying Pops' attack. He managed to deflect his attack, but his daggers were ruined and became shrapnel that flew in all directions.

'When two resonating metals meet… The better one survives. His fucking sword does not even have a scratch.'

Pops fell behind Aizel and sent a barrage of wind cutters at his back even before he could turn to face him. Aizel pushed (Barrier) to stop the attack, followed by his own barrage of undercharged (Shōmetsu), assaulting the old angel from all sides with red tracers that bent around Aizel's red barrier and crashed against Pops iridescent one.

Aizel felt Pops' (Teleport) as soon as he was turning; he used (Fire Howl) and (Mist Stream) together to create a thick fog around him, sending his remaining daggers through it without making them wiggle.

The old angel fell for it and tried to use (Teleport) to get into Aizel's guard. Aizel overcharged (Focus) and (Infuse), making the world slow to a crawl and gain a shade of purple instead of edgy red.

He saw how (Teleport) worked; it was not as he previously thought, where there was a tear in space or even some kind of portal that moved faster than the eyes could see.

Pops' aura resonated with the world's own; it was as if his presence was in two places at once, as if two old angels were emitting the same signal that distorted his aura.

He could see how the void on the mirage aura copied the stance of the old angel and slowly slashed at him, just as his body started to vanish at the same time and began to reappear in the new pose.

Aizel did as Aizel does, and was happy Lisa was not here to pout at him. He extended his own aura with (Infuse) and created a vacuum that was parrying the new place pops was attacking; it was just a step further than him, but it was perfect for a simple 2:1 poly-rhythm from Wing Chun.

He visualized himself in the new position, parrying the arm that had the sword of resonance on with one arm, and striking at his chest with the palm of another; he visualized how (Push), (Pull) and (Twist) would move his body a fraction of a second after arriving in the new position, and allow his body to be moved by the void of his own mirage aura.

System:_〔 Basic Active Skill (Blink) acquired. 〕

'I'm not even going to question how these idiots sort the skills anymore; maybe teleporting is advanced, and there is a superior version?'

Aizel used (Discharge) as his strike finish, connecting with Pops after using (Blink), like he had visualized his vacuum move, creating a path of red lightning that stunned Pops' muscles.

He used (Doppelgänger), (Telekinesis), (Anchor), (Pull) under pops, and (Push) on top. Restraining the old angel on the floor.

Gokira was released. He used (Harden) on his hammer and he (Blink) into a striking position, applying (Shatter) on the floor just as his weapon struck beside the angel's head, breaking the floor and sending shards of stone and dust in all directions in a large shock wave.

Thump!!

"STOP!!" The referee hunter yelled after the impact.

Aizel stopped and stepped back; he had not even hit Pops more than two times, and the floor.

"Holy goblin…" "What!?" "I didn't see anything; it was over so fast!"

"HA—Ha-haha!!" Pops started to laugh on the floor like the maniac he was. "What did I tell you!? I was real lucky he wasn't this strong when I tried to kill him!!"

"Holy… You said spar, Bitch! Then you start slashing at my head, you- crazy angel."

"Sorry, I could not help myself. Besides, I was expecting you to move, not to parry my slash with shitty daggers."

"Wiggly." Aizel corrected, and was ignored.

Aizel helped the old man stand up; it was not needed, but a nice gesture nonetheless. Pops used (Restore) on his face and ear as he rose. Then the old angel gave Aizel a couple of slaps on the back.

"Did you just learn teleport?"

"No, I got a basic one called (Blink)."

"Hmm. The predecessor skill." Pops nodded. "The main difference is that (Blink) requires line of sight… Makes sense; you would not be able to just copy (Teleport). It comes with practice; it has more range, uses less mana… blood-mana, and can be used without line of sight… Dragon eyes are no joke, huh."

'Not this one too… Is not the eyes!'

"Dad!!" One of the pretty Huntresses asked; it was as if he was seeing a younger Blonde Lisa, and his dick didn't know the difference, waking up the moment she stood up and her breasts jiggled in a familiar yet novel way.

'Down, boy! She's family now… Fucking rotten brain.'

"What?" Pops asked.

"Are we not going to address that!?" She pointed around Aizel.

"What about it?" Pops asked.

"His aura turned purple!! He's a Soul-Mage!!"

"Soul-Mage?" Aizel asked.

"No, he's not. Not yet, at least, Aizel, son. Manifest your scales." Pops said.

Aizel manifested his forearm scales, since he was not feeling like showing his growing erection to the fuckable younger Lisa by stripping.

"See, they are still red. He might be one day, and he can use soul magic to an extent, but if he was, his lightning would be purple all the time, not red; like his shitty dagger's edges, or his crazy (Focus) aura." Pops said.

"What's a soul mage?" Aizel asked.

"Just how a mage uses mind power; and a blood-mage uses health power with it. A soul mage uses soul energy with the last two." Pops explained.

"But my soul energy is zero at the moment. I could not have used that… I did use the world's own… mana? energy? I don't know what it's called. And why is this the first time I'm hearing about it? Lisa never mentioned it."

"Same thing, your soul energy is within your health power and mind power; it's what allows you to regenerate them in the first place, from the world's soul. It's also what allows you to pull the energy from the world. I have no Idea how to do it myself.

– Only my father can, and he's over two thousand years old… I think. And he's still not a soul mage, by the way. Is something I've only mentioned in passing, so Lisa probably never heard it."

"Huh. So… I will turn sexy purple once I become one?"

"Yeah… I mean, the purple part, not the sexy one." Pops said.

"He already is! Is Lis into sharing!?" "He's got three other wives, Zen."

Lisa's sisters were already including Neine in that list, and he was not going to deny that and give the male population any Ideas.

'I am a jealous man… But she's not even mine— Val?… Breathe in—'

"The only other Were-Dragon that I have even heard about was Zarnandier. He was a soul mage, and my father met him. He said that the healer had purple scales." Pops said, not addressing the matter that younger Lisa posed.

"Where's Gramps? He coming? Lis has never even mentioned him."

"No, he's not, and almost none of my current family has ever met him. He left civilization after my mother passed away of old age; I was just 40 at the time. But the heartbreak of losing a wife is too much for most of us of the immortal races. I did it once, so I envy you in that regard. You will still lose friends to time, but not your three wives, nor your children with them. The were-cheetah, however…"

"How did you even find Mistress Vanessa and Mistress Valerie? I have never even heard of their races before, brother." A male hunter asked.

"It's a blood evolution that happened after the (Bind), I think… Something about our vows helped them, but It's not something we understand; they were human before that. But, before you ask me to (Bind) you… Know that we really do not know how it works, and it's a deeper bond than marriage. Hell, they even got my last name, and we have not heard of that shit outside of erotic tales."

The group of hunters got to think about his words. Pops didn't say true or anything really, and just got deep in thought. He had not lied, but it probably felt like a 'weird truth,' like Lisa sometimes says, to Pops truth thingy.

"Can I see the words you used? You don't need to share them with us, as much as we want to create more immortals of our kin. There is a reason that we can't do so with ease. The balance of Geas has always proven to be something that is not to be messed with. We could even accidentally give way to Immortal races on the monsters' side… Well, more of them."

"Sure, might even help us understand how it works. Got a quill?"

Pops reached into his ring and gave Aizel an arcane quill that was most definitely of Earth origin. It was like the stupidly expensive one, but it had colored buttons on the top that you could push to change the ink's color.

'Yeah, this is too much. Maybe this was the useless merchant the Nerd mentioned, if the normal one was like five royals… Don't you dare fucking break on me, you overengineered quill.'

Aizel wrote the words of the last (Bind) they did with Valerie, using the ink that could be returned to the quill. Pops Hunters did not come to spy on him, and he really appreciated it. If what Pops said about balance was a thing, then they could be fucked if that secret got out.

"Hmm. I see. It's an interesting spell; it's a modified (Bind) that acts as a marriage (Vow), but it requires all parties involved to mean the words, unlike the normal (Bind) that can be forced to be spoken, like with slaves." Pops said in a pensive tone.

"…It is a dangerous one, son. So I will learn it and burn the page; I will try it on my wives… It would only work on them, well, two of them; the other will have a harder time agreeing to it. She has accepted her mortality and has lost all of her children already, so she wants to join them once the time comes. Unfortunately, it would never work on my children."

"You know a lot about (Bind) Pops?" Aizel asked, trying to get his mind out of the place Pops was bringing it. That kind of loss was nothing new to him, and he would rather forget it, even if he was destined to feel it again.

"Yes, I've worked with the temple for a long time, never joined them like Lis. But I've seen people try this before and go horribly wrong; it's more of an art form… spellcraft. And it requires a really capable mind to achieve."

"Sons, Daughters. Stand." Pops ordered, and the Hunters complied.

"I demand of you an unbreakable (Vow). What's been said is too dangerous to be shared out of kind. If you ever fall in true love with a worthy immortal one, this secret, to you I will pass; otherwise forever unshared, the secret, be bound."

"I Uberk, clear of min…" "I Rena, clear of…" "I Samial…" "I Rin…"

All the hunters stood up and recited the unbreakable vow. It almost brought a tear to Aizel's eye, the loyalty they showed, to do that without question; how Pops had created the vow in less time than it takes Kira to get wet, and even made it airtight by calling it 'share,' instead of spoken, so not even under torture could it be passed on to others. And how they would be given the chance to join the immortal race's ranks, like his wives.

It also confirmed to him that the vow with his woman was made out of love and free will, and not a twisted slavery spell, even if it still had that part about the (Command) skill, that he hated and would remove if he knew how, but the skill itself did not require (Bind) in the first place to be used, so it did not sting as much as it once did with Lisa.

'Hmm. I think I can remove that part… (Command) should not be required; the skill was attached by a lazy semi-god in the first place and is not needed…'

Aizel had a good idea of why previous attempts to make similar vows had failed before his. He blamed the shitty system implementation that the Nerd and his crew had going on. It worked now that they were patching up their buggy mess.

"Pops, give." Aizel extended his hand to the old angel, and he gave him back the book.

Aizel wrote down what he thought the new spell should say, and gave it back.

"Hmm. Like I said, an art form. It should work, emphasis on should… I will wait for you to bind with the cheetah woman, and see if you don't explode, haha."

Pops did as he said, and burned the page after reading both versions a few times.

"It sounds simple, and as I said, many have tried before, but there is a reason us of the immortal races do not go around sharing our power like that; maybe it's because you are a soul-mage in the making. So be careful, son."

"Yes, daddy."

—Slap!! - "Buffoon!"

〔 Grand Lord Salmizael 〕Level: 387Age: 476TitleAdamant-rank Hunter (M+)Health Power265/275Mind Power8,795/10,440Soul Energy90KinSeraphim Angel

He felt the rush before the fight… second spar began. His son-in-law had just acquired the legendary basic skill (Blink). And now Salmizael finally had something he could teach the dragon newt he had the honor of calling son.

"Alright, Pops. So…"

"The first thing you need to know about spatial skills is: The closer you are to your opponent, the easier it is for them to predict… or, in your case - see - where they will move—"

"Why the fuck are you smiling like an idiot for? … Don't answer that. You will try to kill me a third time. Aren't you?"

The good thing about being at his home is that he did not even need to take the time to visualize his destination; he could remember the training room without much effort.

Salmizael's reply came in the form of a planned (Teleport) faint, projecting his destination in two places at once, and letting the skill take him towards one of the places he visualized that had better chances of landing his attack.

Thump!

The air displaced around him as soon as he was slashing at Aizel's thigh. A red barrier, tougher than any other he had ever slashed, greeted his sword of resonance, and… stopped it?

"How— What!?" Salmizael glanced at his weapon. It was simply impossible to prevent it from slashing something. "Oh. You clever basta—" He had not finished speaking or even analyzing what Aizel did when a red mana construct tied his neck and pulled his head to the side.

Aizel had already (Blink) to his side and was throwing a knee at his face.

Thump!

Salmizael used (Teleport) and (Finalize) to get out of the red restraints while moving to a safe distance.

"Huh… I see what you mean. That time your aura was indeed fainter. So… the closer you are to your opponent, the clearer the… void, or mirage? Of their destiny becomes. And you also tried to fake the place where you would appear… Nice."

"Yes… That skill you used to stop my sword… Its… (Anchor), right?"

"Yup." Aizel nodded. "I won't even try to block that shit again. It's easier to hold the sword in place. I could also hold your arm. But I used (Discharge) to guide my mana, and it took hold of the sword first."

"What? Pause - pause." Salmizael waved at Aizel, and he raised his hands in acknowledgment.

"First of all… That barrier was a faint?"

Aizel nodded.

"Secondly. What? How?"

"I need more information than that to answer, Pops. What what? How what? The barrier? It's a simple—"

"No, you buffoon. I know how what a f—" He held his tongue; he did not like to speak like that in front of his offspring. Weirdly enough, he loved how Aizel stopped caring about his own foul vocabulary after he was given permission. "The guiding your skill through (Discharge) technique." He was not the only one who had that question in mind; many of his hunters were already discussing it.

Aizel shrugged. "I don't know how to explain it, Pops. Do you have Discha— … Yes, my chest just remembered you do have that skill."

"Ha-ha." Salmizael chuckled as Aizel grimaced and touched his chest where he impaled him with his lance construct with (Discharge) layered on it.

"Cast that shit while using (Focus) and your angel-eyes; you should be able to see your aura with them, and feel it with (Infuse). Then you don't release (Discharge) and use that feeling to cast whatever you want? From that extended awareness the skill combo gives you."

The training hall fell silent. Some were deep in thought while others tried to make sense of what Aizel had said.

"They are called aura-eyes, not angel-eyes." Salmizael teased. Aizel rolled his eyes.

Salmizael used (Focus) and (Discharge). Double silent casting was not easy; he had a lot of experience, but none of his hunters could probably do it with the ease that Aizel showed at his age. After his lightning loop was formed, he had to actually hold it back. He layered (Infuse) on it, and he could indeed feel the aura around the loop his lightning would take, and now that he was sensing it, his eyes had an easier time seeing the aura on the spot where the skill moved.

He released the skills and was already sweating from the mental strain; it was something he had almost forgotten. After his first century, there were only a few new things to learn without his father or other ancient master guiding him.

'This newt… His strength is not yet that of an Aetherite rank. I'm low Adamant, so he's mid Adamant at best, but his knowledge…'

"Oh! Pops! By the way, do you know what the fuck ' Paragon ' tier skills are?"

Those words stunned Salmizael. 'There is no way… Right?'

"Where did you hear that name?"

Aizel shrugged. "I got a skill called (Shatter), and it said: Ultimate something, something, Parag—" Salmizael sent an overcharged (Mana Bolt) to Aizel's face out of spite before he could think.

Thump!

"Rude… And then I got one called (Shōmetsu) that also—"

Cough!!… Cough!!… Cough!!… Before Salmizael could think about sending another (Mana Bolt), his spit went into his lungs. Uhum!… He managed to clear his throat; no one was running to help him, and Aizel was grinning like the buffoons he was.

"That reminds me, Pops. Why do you use (Mana Bolt) instead of (Mana Bullet)?"

Salmizael glared at Aizel. He took a deep breath to calm himself down and reply to him. "I don't know what Paragon skills are beyond their name. Sorry. And I use (Mana Bolt) because it's better at grinding down all forms of (Barrier), and easier to cast at speed with less mana. I only use (Mana Bullet) when my opponent does not have one to finish them quickly."

"Wait, you have both? I thought you could only have one of each skill family?"

"You can even have two of the same skill, son. It all depends on how you use it. I thought you would have five to ten versions of (Discharge) from that explanation you gave us."

"Huh. No? Though, I can simulate their pre-evolution."

"Then that's it." Salmizael shrugged. "There is no way for you to have multiple skills because you already use them in a variety of ways; it's different for each person. I'm more of a technical person; you are more creative. I find it tedious to alter my skills as I fight. From the way you fight. Having different skills that do similar things would be constraining for you."

"Yup. Fuck that, it sounds annoying. But useful in other ways…" Aizel was deep in thought after that sentence. So he took the chance to ambush the newt, failing miserably.

—

Salmizael left Aizel with the hunters and went to finish his affairs; they were happy to have someone new and powerful to train with them. Salmizael shared the feeling; his even went beyond theirs, having someone capable around made him feel safer for his kin, and he wanted to make that clear to the rest of the house and staff. Some of his daughters shared his feelings, judging from the one that came jogging after him.

"Dad. Can we speak for a moment?" Zen said as soon as they were outside of the training hall, and their words would not reach the were-dragon. 'It's always better to double-check.'

"~Aizel, if you are hearing me, please come here and don't make much sound, I need to show you something." Salmizael whispered.

The newt did not hear him, so they were in the clear. Even so, he nodded towards Zen for her to follow him even further. From what Lisa had told him the last time they were together in Redvelia, Aizel's realm was monogamous in general. He needed a lot of convincing before accepting more women, even for mating outside of marriage—despite flying around with five women lusting after him—Salmizael would do whatever he could to make his stay comfortable.

"What is it, my love?"

"I… I know Aizel is new to us. But I remember how you told us that we could… with Kezial. And you seem to hold Lisa's man in similar light… So…" Zen said with shyness as she played with her hair.

"He has proven himself to be a worthy immortal. There is almost nothing that would make me happier. However, I don't think he will be easy to conquer, especially because you look so much like Lis."

"I thought that would make it… easier? Not that I'm saying that… you know…"

"I know his kind. He will think that he's betraying her love. He's not unlike my father in that regard. My aunt tried to seduce him once. And he ran away to tell my mom, who had already approved. Talk with Lisa; she will know best. You have my blessing. In fact, I'm about to go tell the same to the maids."

"It feels a little weird that he is already part of the family as Lisa's husband, since there was no ceremony or party. You told us once how hard it was for you to allow the Grand Priest full access to your toys, and even more to tell your family at the time that it was fine to…you know… And he's your oldest friend."

"Looking back, I realize that I trusted Aizel the moment I saw Lisa after our fight. Have you noticed?"

"She looks so happy! I've never seen her like that."

Salmizael nodded. In the short time since he left Redvelia, their love seems to have only grown. Now Lisa had not only recovered her smile, but gained a new one. And it was much brighter than before.

〔 Aizel Kadashi 〕Level: 47Age: 19TitlePlatinum-rank Hunter (SU)Health Power325/570Soul Energy0KinCrimson Were-Dragon

「 Night, of his 45th day on Geas. 」

The girls had been doing their thing all day; they never even came to ask for the ring. But he had seen them flying around from time to time with (Monitor).

They had not gone to the city, so he had no Idea what they were up to. His best guess was that the psychos were having fun and resting from the constant training. Even if they all loved it, Pops' mansion was a nice place to rest once in a while.

Pops and he had been training with the Hunters the rest of the morning. They also had lunch with them. And in the afternoon, they went to the mansion's library, where Aizel fell asleep on a comfortable chair.

Pops and Aizel were sharing a drink on the terrace of the third floor; it overlooked the entire city of… It overlooked the entire city. Pretty lights from torch fire and crystals filled the entire cobbled roads; at this hour, it felt more like a proper city. Where Redvelia and Ledvira would start to go to sleep, in here people enjoyed the night for a little longer.

"So what do you think?" Pops asked.

"Bout the city or the house?" Aizel asked back.

"Both."

"The house is beautiful, Pops. This is the kind of luxury I would like for my wives and me one day, in the middle of nature and with comfortable furniture."

– The city is the same shitty place as all that I have seen so far. I'm pretty sure it's the smell more than anything; if that place down there has proper sewers, like I assume your property has since it smells really good, then it will be nice to visit from time to time."

"I'm glad you like it, and you want that for my little angel, and yes, under the house there are proper sewers. Even other wards for smells and sound on every surface… except the floor you broke, ha-ha… crazy dragon."

Pops took a deep breath. "But having a lot of female maids helps. You don't need to be breeding all of them. They don't even need to be pretty; it's in our nature as immortal-kin; we love their smell. And if I can't tolerate the city—that has sewers, by the way—I can only imagine how disgusting it is for your senses."

"…The alcohol is nice too; so far this is the only drink that I've had that has managed to even give me a buzz in a single cup," Aizel said as he played with the liquid in his glass cup.

"It's pretty intense this one, its design for immortal-kin. It's not cheap for a commoner, but for us, it's a welcome luxury."

Aizel turned his head a second before Pops. He could feel warm and happy already from the melody of the steps heading their way.

"Hi, Dad, love. We have chosen our room; Mom says that we can stay as long as we want—if it were up to her—I would never even leave her side again." Lisa gave a kiss to Aizel on top of his head as she arrived behind him.

"If it were up to both of us, Lis. But you can fly now, and your family is stronger than mine, so my heart is at peace. But please don't engage the Monster Kings, and be smart." Pops said.

"You at last found something that gets you drunk, love?" She pulled her white hair behind her ears and hugged him, kissing his neck.

"Yes. But I'm not the kind that likes more than a small buzz. So, a couple of these cups are enough."

"Ha! One of those cups is enough to put dad to sleep. Why do you think he's sipping it?"

"Yeah… One of the few cons of being part Dragon."

"What are the others?" Pops asked.

"For one, I can't get too excited, or my body starts affecting my mind, not in the sexual way, mind you, but in the way that… Oh! That's right, Pops! We have another kin secret to share with you." Aizel said.

"Hmm. How lucky I am. That I chose not to kill you…"

"Pf…See, he's already drunk."

"Oh well… Remember to ask us tomorrow about (Focus), Pops."

"Really?" He asked. Clearly drunk.

'How had I not noticed?'

"Yeah, he's a goner. See you tomorrow, Pops. Sleep well."

"Activate the fucking wards, Aizel! They are there for a reason. If I hear a moan coming out of your room, I'm killing you in your sleep!" Pops said in a drunken papa tone.

"Sure, Pops. haha."

"Night, Dad!"