Scarlet

After an hour of Viper just describing each and every skill on the list – skills that are apparently commonplace for new Guardians and aren’t magic locked – she eventually moves onto a much more interesting topics.

Skill etching.

“Skill etching is doable only when a Guardian or contracted demon accomplishes an achievement so great in the eyes of the System that it deserves a skill etching slot, allowing the Guardian or demon to etch a skill into their very genes. Their DNA.” Viper says, describing one of the many reasons why demons are so much stronger than humans on average. Because they’ve had access to the System for a lot longer than us, and are both much higher leveled on average, mostly all contracted even if it’s just to much lower ranked fae than most human Guardians, and have had a much longer amount of time to etch skills into their DNA, making the various species what they are to this day. “Very few people actually get the ability to etch a skill though. In fact, most of the time it’s only the Class V Guardians and demons who end up etching a skill or two, and then those etched skills continue down their bloodline until someone else ends up etching another skill, adding to it.” Viper pauses to frown. “Or at least, that’s how it is with demons, since the humans on Earth haven’t been given the time to do that yet.”

A round of whispers run through the lecture hall for a bit before going quiet again when Viper narrows her eyes.

“Most demons don’t have any etched skills though, or they only have a single etched skill,” she continues. “Generally it’s only the descendants of a noble demon – a Class V demon – who are gifted with an etched skill. Which is also one of the many reasons why the seven demon clans still reign supreme over Tartarus, even with other demons reaching level 1000 and becoming Noble Demons themselves through that. Because each species in the clans have several etched skills, and since it’s impossible to breed outside of your own species, they often have some rather… suspect relationships.”

I grimace at the thought.

The noble clan demons sound like the old, old world – I think it was called medieval world? – nobility that would have two cousins marry each other just for pointless bloodline garbage that doesn’t actually do anything besides hurt them from incest. Although in the demons case, it does actually lead to improvements through the new etched skills always being spread through their ranks.

“You may think of it as disgusting, but it’s a normal thing for demons to breed amongst vaguely close family,” Tar says, sounding almost like a teacher himself. “Demons don’t think of it as disgusting, and they’re often breeding amongst cousins, with a few species – not including blood lycans – breeding between siblings. Although most don’t know any better since a large majority of the various demon species don’t have sapience.”

Yeah, I can see that stopping any reservations they’d have.

“It’s generally only done for the etched skills though, since if they don’t have any of those, then there’s no point,” Tar says, and I can’t help but nod my head in agreement with that.

Right.

I can’t help but envy the people like Michael and Emily who do have very powerful Guardian parents that may have had an etched skill though.

Tar coughs in my mind, making me frown before he says, “You do realize that you have a lot of etched skills too, right?”

I blink at that.

Wait, really?

“Of course,” Tar says, sounding slightly exasperated with my response. “You’re part of one of the seven demon clans. So even if some of them are sealed by your genetics being messed up, you have them.”

Huh.

“Could you give us an example of an accomplishment that would reward a skill etching slot?” one of the students that I remember ripping the throat out of early on in the second round of the tournament – I think his name was Caleb or something – asks while raising his hand. But I ignore him to focus on Tar.

If that’s the case, then why don’t I have them on my skills list?

“Because etching a skill into your DNA turns it into a biological part of your body, making it no longer a skill for any descendants you pass it onto,” Tar answers, making my eyes widen slightly as my hands almost instinctively reach for my ears. “The skill will just be a part of their body that many people assume has always been there. Like the incredible hearing blood lycans have.”

One of my ears twitch at that.

“Blood lycans have always had great hearing, but they didn’t have hearing anywhere near as good as they do now in the beginning, when the System first arrived,” Tar says before pausing as Viper answers the student’s question, “I personally have only ever etched one skill, and that was for surviving against Satan on the front lines of the war while being backed up by over a dozen other Class IV Guardians. So the requirements are pretty harsh.”

Oh. Wow. To both of those bits of information.

The professor suddenly glances at the clock at the back of the room before saying, “That will be all for today’s class.” Then she begins tapping away at her terminal as the students quickly begin to get up.

“I don’t know the exact etched skills blood lycans should have, but I do know that you have their hearing and their regeneration, and will likely get their eyes at Class II,” Tar continues as I begin disconnecting my terminal from the device in front of me.

My regeneration? Isn’t that an achievement locked skill?

“Yeah,” Tar agrees quickly before adding, “but a lot of those achievement locked skills are etched skills that were just too powerful for the System to allow to be passed down simply by bloodline alone, so the System initially gives the descendant a lower rarity version of it as simply part of their body while making the higher rarity versions of it up to the one the original skill holder had achievement locked skills instead. Higher rarity versions meaning Legendary and Mythic rarity skills.”

Oh. So it’s not entirely based on bloodline then.

“Right,” Tar says, once again agreeing.

As I get up from my seat, I notice my terminal buzzing. So I glance at it to find an email from… Viper? What?

I raise my head to look at her, just to find her staring at me with her arms crossed before she vanishes in a plume of violet fog.

What does she want?

I look down at the email and begin reading it, my eyes widening almost right away.

Huh.