Scarlet

After a few seconds of silence, I open my status and allocate my free points. Then I focus on my skills, trying to decide which ones I should level while I’m stuck healing.

While I’m staring at the skills, my eyes are drawn to blood retribution. This skill could absolutely come in handy on this floor, but at the same time, it’s rather costly to use. So I’ll have to keep it as a trump card.

On that subject, it wouldn’t be useful to level it up right now. Not if I’ll only be using it as a trump card.

I need to level something that-

[Skill ‘Blood Regeneration’ has leveled up to level 5.]

-will help me.

Like that.

Very nice timing there. Guess it leveled from my current healing.

Without any hesitation, I bring up the skill’s description to find a very welcome change to it.

{Blood Regeneration – The second most powerful regeneration skill of the species known by many as the Alphas of Pride. This skill significantly increases the natural regeneration of the user, both in terms of life energy and mana. It also allows the user to regenerate lost limbs over a long period of time.}

A smile blooms on my face as I hear the words of the System.

Yes! Some good news!

The description changed to add the word ‘significantly’ before increases, not to mention the part about regenerating lost limbs. Which is extremely good, since the healers who are actually able to regrow or reattach lost limbs number very few and are hella expensive to hire.

Although the thought that this is an achievement locked skill for blood lycans, meaning a large number of them have this is slightly terrifying. Since this is only the level five version of the skill, and there’s apparently a mythical rarity regeneration skill that they have as well.

Just how many of the blood lycans have that? And just how powerful is that mythical skill if the legendary one is this good?

“You don’t have to worry about that,” Tar suddenly says, interrupting my thoughts. “From my understanding, the mythical skill was originally etched by the current Demon King himself. Meaning only those in his direct family has it, and the royal family doesn’t number many.”

Wait, royal family? Don’t the demons work on a simple ‘demon king, demon lord, and noble demons’ basis?

“Technically they do, but anyone that is part of the Demon King’s direct family is also considered royalty amongst the demons,” Tar says before floating around in the air a bit looking rather comical doing so. “And unlike the other blood lycans who are perfectly happy with spreading their genes – and more importantly, etched skills – around, the king and his family have to be more careful, since the Demon King and the Demon Lords’ etched skills are much more powerful than any other demons’.”

Huh. That’s interesting.

How many members are in the royal family anyways?

Tar stops flying around directly above me, briefly glancing at my wound that is healing at a faster pace than before thanks to the level-up to level 5, before answering, “There is the Demon King himself and his son, one of the Demon Lords.”

He goes silent after that, leaving me staring at him for a few seconds until I realize he’s done.

I blink in surprise.

That’s it? Also, one of the Demon Lords is his son? That’s news to me.

“Yes, he is his son. And as far as the public is aware, the Demon King has no other children, and neither does his son.” Tar says while flying over to look at my wound now. “The Demon King also isn’t likely to keep secrets, since all he has to do is order the demons to keep quiet and they won’t have a choice. So it isn’t likely that he would hide a member of the royal family’s existence from the public.”

You have a point there… but…

I narrow my eyes on the tanuki.

He looks up at me with a blank expression on his face.

Why do I get the feeling you aren’t telling me the full truth?

Tar doesn’t answer.

Guess this is something he’s not allowed to say then. It’s good that I’ve learned to read him better now and can actually tell when he’s holding back though.

Probably some sort of hidden child of the Demon King or Demon Lord or something like that. Not my problem, though. Because the Demon King is the one who hates the humans the most out of anyone. And he can’t even get to Earth in the first place. Not to mention that generally contractors can only even possibly have kids with someone within a hundred or so levels of themselves. And the Demon King is several hundred levels above the second strongest mortal in existence.

So there isn’t a human alive that could have a child with him.

Anyways, I turn my attention back to my skills again, the distraction over with now as I focus on which one to level up.

All of them are useful in their own ways, but I honestly think the best one in this situation… would be blood sacrifice. Because it’ll be the only one that can give me a boost strong enough to get close to matching these low level Class II demons.

So I pour all of my current SP – except one – into leveling the skill straight to level ten. Then I look at its description.

{Blood Sacrifice – A sacrificial skill that allows the user to burn their own blood in order to get a temporary boost in their physical capabilities. This boost will last for fifteen seconds after the blood was burned. The more blood burned, the stronger the boost will be.}

My eyes widen with pleasant surprise.

Yes! Freaking yes!!!

So instead of the process of burning my blood being an active thing, having to constantly be doing it for the effect, now the effect will last for an entire fifteen seconds afterwards!

Although… it’s not exactly what I was looking for, since what I was hoping to get was a direct boost in the effectiveness of blood sacrifice.

“You probably got that too just from the other four levels you raised it,” Tar offhandedly mutters without taking his eyes off of my wound that is actually close to sealing itself by now. With good timing too, since I can hear the approaching fomorian getting closer. So I stand up while pulling down my shirt and fixing my jacket, not bothering to finish letting the wound heal since by now it’s mostly just a scratch that’s scabbing over and will heal just fine with blood regeneration.

If that’s the case, then I should be able to put up a better fight against these fomorians now.

Let’s see if I can’t clear this floor and make a bit of a safe zone for myself here.

There are only two more fomorians on the floor after all, and with my new skills, I should fare better against them than the other one. Especially since I’ll actually be able to prepare this time.

Kind of wish I didn’t have to risk it against them right now, but these demons’ senses are far better than the Class I demons’ senses. Meaning that all they have to do is pass by in the hallway and they’d be able to smell me. So I can’t exactly hide.

With that in mind, it’d be best to clear the floor while I can fight them one on one.