The Legendary Fool

By the time the final Abyss Demon collapsed onto itself in a crumpled heap, Tom’s new [Lifeblood] card had, unsurprisingly, reached [Level 5].

In the heat of battle he had ignored the phantom itchiness he had felt in the periphery of his vision, a phenomenon that he had come to associate with unread notifications.

[Congratulations, Uncommon Ranked Card [Lifeblood] has reached Level 5 (5025/50,000)!]

[Uncommon Ranked Card [Lifeblood] has unlocked Ability: [Blood Scion, Level 1]. You have received one Skill Upgrade Point.

[Card Name: Lifeblood

Rank: Uncommon

Level: 5 [5,025/50,000]

Skill Upgrade Point(s): 4

Description:

Ability:

1. Augmentation, Level 1: The wielder can manipulate the blood within his body, allowing for the augmentation of the composition and flow of blood to allow for enhanced oxygen delivery, freely modulating heart rate and greatly reducing blood loss from open wounds.

Augmentation allows the wielder to move at preternatural speeds beyond the limitations of their body and stem blood loss from open wounds via vasoconstriction.

SP Cost is Variable.

2. Blood Scion, Level 1: The wielder can manipulate the blood of recently slain enemies within twenty four hours of their demise to forge blood weapons. The size and composition of the blood weapons is capped by the wielder’s Blood Scion Ability Rank and his Mental Stat.

Successfully landing strikes that make direct contact with an opponent’s blood siphons a small portion of their stamina and vitality to replenish the user’s own. May treat minor wounds and greatly ease exhaustion.]

Tom sucked in a cold breath of air.

“You were right,” he grumbled, though his voice was tinged with gratitude.

“Of course I was right,” Aleph retorted casually as she swept past him, headed towards the podium nestled in the center of the Theatre of Stone’s third auditorium. “Sure, your little heart modulation trick is effective for now, but that’s only because of your monstrous stat improvement. Becoming a little faster is hardly deserving of an Uncommon,” She explained, blinking a crystal into existence with a snap of her fingers for emphasis.

“Do all Uncommon Cards have two abilities?” Tom asked, used to Aleph’s gently sarcastic nature by now.

“All? Dunno,” Aleph replied with a shrug, letting a little slang slip into her words. “Most though, probably.”

“I see,” Tom answered, though his gaze was already drifting to one of the Abyss Demon’s carcasses.

“So?” She raised an eyebrow at his drifting attention. “What is it?” The silver and amethyst haired girl asked, unable to keep the curiosity out of tone.

“I…uh,” Tom slowly walked towards the Abyss Demon carcass closest to him. “I think it’d be better if I just show you.”

His Uncommon Deck Card firmly locked in the grip of his Revenant Claw, Tom willed his right hand forward, until it was hovering directly above the Abyss Demon’s crumpled chest, albeit separated by two or three feet.

“Blood Scion,” he whispered under his breath, immediately feeling the pull on his SP. He flinched when the Abyss Demon’s abdomen began to writhe and twist, settling into a simmering bubbling before he instinctively tugged.

“What is that?” Aleph hissed under her breath, clearly startled by the development.

“What?” Tom’s reply echoed his confusion, the last few seconds a jumbled blur in his mind’s eye. He vividly remembered the desire to tug welling up in his mind and he had, only for the sensation to completely vanish moments after into a wispy nothingness.

And then Tom completely stilled.

“Oh. Thaaaat,” He muttered dumbfoundedly, as his gaze refocused before him. The reason why he hadn’t outright noticed the changes was because even now, he could barely feel the weight of the deep violet staff he was gripping.

A staff that was actually too long and unwieldy to qualify as one, in all honesty— a realization that prompted Tom to trace the weapon construct to its tip. He gaped as he finally encountered the wickedly curving blade extending from the top end of the staff, it’s eerie configuration arching inwards at a crooked angle; so much so that one half of the blade hovered above Tom’s back.

A Blood Scythe.

Tom knew that he had likely been the one to visualize it and he could see why he had subconsciously made that connection.

“External blood manipulation,” Aleph’s voice rang out from ahead of him, snapping him out of his reverie. “It seems like a pretty useful ability. Though I’ve got to say, I’ve never seen a weapon as intimidating, if grossly impractical, as that.”

Tom wanted to retort, but an instinct welled up within him— as if he wanted to challenge that notion.

“Right,” Tom muttered and for a moment ignored the queasiness he felt despite his high Mental Stat. He knew that he wasn’t actually all that affected by using the blood of an otherworldly creature that knew and understood nothing but killing, but a part of him still felt slightly wrong about it. Earth’s morality was clashing against Artezia’s he supposed.

Though those worries were for later.

Tom had seen Aleph control crystals with a graceful elegance that made it seem effortless. While his own card couldn’t conjure blood out of nothing and neither was it capable of multiplying the volume of blood he maintained within his dominion, there was one thing he could definitely do.

With a flicker of motion, the scythe in Tom’s hands blurred into a more viscous, coagulated form and then, in a matter of mere seconds, shifted into two distinct forms.

A whistle in appreciation sounded out from Aleph’s direction as Tom took in the pair of blood swords, their dimensions mirrored in each hand.

“Wouldn’t want to be cut with that,” Aleph replied with gusto.

Tom couldn’t help but flash a grin in response.

“I concur.”

“Well, now that all that is dealt with, you can allocate your points after we get out of this dingy cavern. Oh and what about this?” Aleph asked as she stood in the middle of a raised podium, an effulgent golden chest radiating waves of warm, refreshing light, beckoning for their attention.

“You can have it,” Tom replied with a shrug as he let his blood blades melt away onto the floor. “This was already beyond my expectations,” he added gratefully.

The presence of the golden chest— namely the additional reward for clearing the Dungeon was normally placed within the final room. To the Phantasmal Creatures, it trapped them within the confines of the Boss Room, ensuring that they couldn’t create havoc in the lower floors.

To dungeoneers, the chest represented the culmination of their efforts— a reward directly from the Divine System for meritorious service to the realm of Artezia.

Which was why the Abyssal Lurker’s domain was such an odd and challenging sector, with the boss being allowed to roam free within the Dungeon and even retreat to other rooms if the situation called for it.

A loud groaning sound echoed out as Aleph opened the heavy-set chest and in the next moment, light flooded Tom’s vision.