Bastard Homunculus: Reborn in the Corpse Pit

"Alright, you'll be sparring against me first, hope you're ready," Grinned Colt, cracking his knuckles as he and Raven stepped out into the open.

"Uh, yeah, I think I am," Nodded Raven, a slightly tensed, nervous look on his face.

It was the following day, sometime in the evening, and Raven was about to begin his training with The Irregulars in earnest.

"Relax, there's no reason to be so on edge. I'll be mostly on the defensive and slowly start attacking more and more the longer the fight goes on, I'm going to try to sharpen up your battle instincts and iron out any glaring weaknesses. After we're done with that, we'll start working on your Spellcasting...my Irregular Magic Class is Blood Magic, and to use it, I need to create a wound for the blood to come out of. While I can stop the bleeding, I can't actually heal myself, so my palms are usually permanently cut open. You'll be healing those cuts to improve your mastery over your Heal Spell. Unfortunately, until we get our hands on some Recovery Magic Grimmoires, there's not much else you can do to improve your Spellcasting," Explained Colt, as he began stretching and warming up.

"Your palms are always cut? Doesn't that hurt?" Raven asked him with a look of concern.

"Oh, don't worry about that, I'm used to it at this point. And besides, I, uh...I kinda like the pain," He replied with a sheepish smile.

"Huh? What's that supposed to mean?" Wondered Raven in bemusement.

"By the way, is Heal the only Spell you can use? Or are you able to use any of the other Level 1 Recovery Magic Spells?" Colt inquired curiously.

"Yeah, I can all of them, though it's been a while since I used the other two," Nodded Raven in response.

There were only three Level 1 Recovery Magic Spells; Heal, Stamina Transfer and Mana Transfer. Recovery Magic was somewhat rare, so finding even a Level 1 Grimmoire in a small settlement like Ruby Village was something of a miracle.

"I see...alright, then, after we're done sparring, I'll have you use the other two Spells too. Stamina Transfer might be tough depending on how worn out your are afterwards, but given how much Magic Power you possess, Mana Transfer shouldn't be a problem. Now, then, let's get started...unleash your Aura and come at me," Instructed Colt, as he extended out tendrils of blood from his palms.

"Wait, why unleash my Aura?"

"Two reasons...the first being that it'll drain your stamina faster, and being able to fight effectively even when you're worn out is important. And second, it'll let me see whether your Homunculus abilities, particularly your flames, lightning and eye beams, consume Mana or not. Since Tacitus's Magic didn't work on you when we attacked you, they probably don't, but we might as well conform it. Alright, whenever you're ready, attack me," Remarked Colt, as he took a defensive stance.

"Okay, then...here I come!" Exclaimed Raven, unleashing his Aura and fully transforming, before he shot towards Colt and unleashed a blast of flames towards him.

A burst of red erupted in front of Colt as he formed a wide wall of blood in front of himself, a loud sizzle ringing out as Raven's flames crashed against the blood, a crimson mist bursting out upon impact as the flames evaporated the blood.

Raven then began to fly up, before a blood tendril came shooting out towards him and grabbed his left leg, pulling him across the air as he let out a sharp yell, before the tendril let go of him and sent him hurtling towards a tree.

He quickly spread out his wings powerfully to cancel out the momentum and halt himself, before zipping across as several narrow, sharp blood projectiles came shooting towards him.

"I thought you said you'd start off on the defensive!?" Exclaimed Raven, swerving across to evade the projectiles, grimacing as one struck his knee and pierced in.

He had fewer scales around his joints, making those areas more vulnerable than the rest of his body.

"Oh, right, I did say that...well, whatever, no point in easing up now!" Responded Colt, letting out a slight, sadistic chuckle, a smirk on his face.

"Damn it...[Heal]," Muttered Raven, as he pulled out the blood needle from his knee and healed himself, before his eyes began glowing as he locked his gaze onto Colt and fired out rapid, piercing beams towards him.

Colt raced across to evade the beams, before Raven swung open his jaws and unleashed a massive, blazing wave of purple flames towards him.

"You've got some serious firepower there...[Blood Wall]!" Exclaimed Colt, a massive amount of blood bursting out of his palms and forming a tall, wide wall in front of himself, before he chanted as a slight dizziness hit him, "[Blood Recovery]."

The wall of blood extinguished the flames as they collided with a deafening sizzle, a massive cloud of red mist bursting out as the stench of blood filled the air.

"Where did he go? The smell of blood is keeping me from tracking his scent, and I can sense his Mana all over the place...oh, right, these blood attacks are Spells, which means that they're infused with Mana. Focus, his position should have the highest concentration of Mana, I just need to discern-...," Raven thought to himself as he looked around warily, before his train of thought was cut off as something whipped against his back with immense force, sending him stumbling forward as trickles of blood ran down his back.

"Did you forget that my Combat Template is Assassin? Stealth is kinda my thing, my guy," Colt's voice echoed out smugly, before Raven sensed a stronger concentration of Mana a few meters to his right and fired his eye beams in that direction, cutting through the mist and shooting towards the concentrated Mana signature.

His eyes widened in surprise as his beams collided against something...a large blob of blood, which burst and splattered across the grass, before a sharp pain burst out across Raven's heels and he collapsed onto his knees.

He glanced up with a grimace as a blade of blood got pressed against the side of his neck, Colt standing beside him with a smirk.

"I see, you created that mass of blood to use my ability to sense Mana against me," Frowned Raven, the blood mist starting to fade.

"Mhm, that's right! To be fair, it only worked because you're still getting used to that ability...if you hone it and learn to use it with more precision, sneak attacks will be all but impossible against you," Colt informed him, before adding with a smirk, "Heh, that frustrated look on your face, it's priceless..."

"Your expression is kinda creepy."

"Heh, thanks. Ahem, anyway...before we get back to it, about those plasma-based attacks of yours. I was right, they don't consume Mana, they're more like physical abilities, just like with Monsters. Which means, they probably consume stamina, your physical energy. Your breathing is already a bit labored, unleashing your Aura alone shouldn't be enough to wear your out this much in such a short amount of time.

It's pretty lucky that you possess Recovery Magic...there's a Level 2 Spell called Stamina Recovery, which converts your Mana into physical energy. And since you have so much Mana, if you learn and master that Spell, you'll be able to offset the stamina consumption of your Homunculus abilities," Surmised Colt, as Raven got back onto his feet and dusted himself off.

"Yeah, I do feel a bit tired, now that you mention it," Nodded Raven, as he took a deep breath and slowly exhaled.

"Anyway, now that that's out of the way, let's get back to it, shall we? And this time, see if you can put up a better fight," Smirked Colt tauntingly, as he backed away a few paced before raising his index finger towards Raven and chanting, "[Blood Bullet]."

A small but rapid blood projectile shot out of his fingertip with immense speed, Raven quickly raised his right arm defensively, grimacing as it struck his forearm with a stinging impact, drawing out a thin trickle of blood before Raven spread out his wings and launched himself forward with a powerful flap, chasing after Colt.

As he closed in on Colt, Raven drove his right fist towards his chest, grimacing as Colt easily deflected his attempted punch by forming an angled slate of blood across the trajectory of Raven's fist, before he swiftly formed a dagger of blood and plunged it into Raven's right elbow joint, piercing through his skin and plunging slightly into his flesh.

"Wow, your flesh is pretty tough, even though I broke through your skin, I can't stab in all that deeply," Noted Colt thoughtfully, before swiftly raising his right index finger and firing out a spray of blood, splattering across Raven's eyes and blinding him.

Raven quickly coated his body in intense, crackling lightning, a slight cry of pain ringing out from Colt as he got zapped, before Raven quickly flew up to get some distance as he swiped the back of his left hand across his eyes to wipe the blood off.

"Crap, I kinda panicked and surrounded myself with more lightning that I should have, I hope I didn't hurt him too badly," Raven thought to himself, before calling down as he opened his eyes, "Sorry about that, are you ok-...huh?"

He stared down in bewilderment at the sight below him...Colt's right fist was badly burnt, his arm trembling in pain as his skin sizzled with a couple of thin wisps of smoke billowing out. But that wasn't what caught Raven's attention...no, it was the flushed expression on Colt's face, a wide, aroused smile on his face as he breathed heavily.

"Y-yeah, I'm just fine...mm, it hurts so good!" He responded as beads of sweat poured down his face.

"Ah, I think I get it now...this guy's a pervert," Surmised Raven, his impression of Colt souring somewhat...

...

...

"You, uh...you sure you're up for this? No offense, but you don't really look all that motivated to me," Remarked Raven, as his next sparring partner let out a weary yawn.

"Hm? Well, yeah, this seems like a lot of effort, I'm getting tired just thinking about it, and we haven't even started yet. Alright, get warmed up...and while you're doing that, tell me what you covered with Colt yesterday, it'd be a waste of effort if I ended up repeating the exact same kind of training he gave you," Grumbled Tacitus, as he began stretching.

"Uh, okay...I sparred against him for about four hours, with a few short breaks in between. During those breaks, he'd point out any weaknesses and areas for improvement he noticed, and I'd try to correct those weaknesses once the break was over. And after the sparring, he made me use the Spells I know over and over for about an hour," Recalled Raven, as he started to warm up as well.

He'd been completely and utterly exhausted by the time his training session with the sadomasochistic Colt came to an end, and his sparring partner's depraved personality proved to be almost as exhausting as the sparring itself.

"Okay, I see. Anything else?"

"Yeah, he told me that my flames were more intense than when you guys attacked me. He said that while my purple plasma-based attacks are a physical ability, it seems like the refinement of my Aura has a positive effect on those attacks. The more I refine my Aura, the stronger and more intense those plasma attacks become," Replied Raven, before thinking to himself, "Weird, I'm sure Colt would've told the others about how my training with him went...well, it wouldn't surprise me if this guy just didn't bother to pay attention. I have serious doubts whether he'll actually train me properly, all signs are pointing to him half-assing this."

"Those plasma attacks are physical abilities, huh? I see, so that's why my Magic didn't affect you...my Irregular Magic Class is Nullification Magic, the name's self-explanatory, I can nullify the Magic of others. That said, it doesn't work on Monsters, since their attacks are physical abilities, and it would seem your Homunculus abilities fall under that category too. In other words while I can stop you from using your Recovery Magic, I can't stop you from using those purple attacks.

Okay, here's what we'll do...the training I'll be providing won't be anything complex, and I'm not going to bother giving you advice or whatever, I'll let the others handle the more intricate details. I'll attack you, and you'll evade, defend, and try to counter, if you can. Fair warning, I've never been good at holding back or pulling my punches, so you'll be in real danger, lose focus for even a moment and it won't be pretty...this should help hone and sharpen your battle instincts. Now, [Nullification Zone]...here I come," Remarked Tacitus, the ring on his finger glowing before a large hammer appeared in his right hand and he shot forward, Raven's eyes widening in alarm as he closed in on him with a single leap.

"Huh? No way...how the hell did he kick off the ground with so much force!?" Raven thought to himself, before ducking right in the nick of time as Tacitus swung his hammer across with immense force, generating a powerful gust of wind, Raven's hair whooshing across to the right as an intense shockwave burst out.

Before he could process what just happened, Tacitus drove his left knee up with immense force, slamming onto the middle of Raven's face and breaking his nose, his head snapping back as he stumbled shakily, blood dripping out of his nostrils before he quickly flew up as Tacitus swung the hammer down towards him, a deafening crash erupting as the hammer slammed onto the ground, chunks of dirt and grass flying out upon impact as the ground broke apart.

Suddenly, he flung the hammer at Raven with a rapid spin, the large heavy weapon whooshing through the air with immense force as Raven narrowly evaded it by flying up, before Tacticus leapt straight up towards him and grabbed his ankle before he could fly out of reach.

He swiftly tightened his grip and flung Raven down with all his strength, sending the young man hurtling down towards the ground, his back slamming against the dirt with a jarring impact, his vision blurring slightly as he let out a sharp gasp, his bones rattled and the wind knocked out of him.

Tacitus's ring began glowing again, before a large, rocky club formed in his hand, which he then gripped with both hands as he came plummeting down towards Raven, raising the weapon up high.

Raven hurriedly scrambled and rolled away in alarm, narrowing avoiding getting his chest caved in as the club slammed onto the ground where he'd been laying with a crushing impact, a shockwave bursting out and knocking Raven away, before he quickly and shakily got back onto his feet, stumbling slightly.

"H-he's...he's so strong. If my concentration falters and I don't react fast enough, he could end up killing me!" Raven thought to himself in alarm, a chill running down his spine as Tacitus turned his gaze towards him and narrowed his eyes...