Chapter 28: Unexpected achievement and Learning more about Bloodlines
"WHAT!?!" Both Liz and Eva had shocked expressions at Johns revelation.
"Um is there something wrong without using runes?" Liz gave an immediate response.
"Yes there's something wrong! Runes are the literal foundation that all magic is built upon and magic should be impossible to use in any form other than the most basic actions and even that's on the rare side. Most who can use basic spells without runes either have lots of experience with magic or are extremely in tune with an element. Remember how I told you how it's strange how you can make the elements you have affinity's for react in your surroundings, well being able to cast a spell like that is a large step harder. Looking at the crater you made and the burn marks on your feet you definitely used lightning magic and not just that but it easily had the power of an earth stage spell. While the power isn't all that surprising considering the cultivation method you practice the fact it was for lightning is the real surprise. Lightning is your second weakest affinity!"
(Just how much air can you contain in that small frame Liz? Well back to the topic.)
"So what your getting at is I'm even more of an anomaly than you thought?"
Liz with a defeated look. "... In essence yes."
While John and Liz were talking Eva had been at the side trying to jump in to the conversation but was not having an easy time of it so when she saw her chance she took it.
"John that's amazing! You must be super talented!" John hearing this immediately gained a wry expression before he responded.
"Actually I'm pretty bad with magic. The first time I used it I knocked myself out. As for things besides magic yes I'm a bit on the talented side but most of that can be credited to Liz. She was the one who taught me what I know." Eva looked to Liz with a gaze of awe and new found respect.
"Really! Liz must be super smart!" She picked up Liz and began to jump around.
While Liz tried to get Eva to put her down John continued to heal his feet and think of what he could do to increase his combat abilities. Currently he could only use two spells. Lightning strike which will knock him out and lightning ball that will blow him into the sky.
(Why does it feel like I'm really good at doing myself in?)
Besides his lack of ability with magic his endeavors with Aura techniques had been successful with only his stone armor needing improvement for the time being. He also needed to do some practice with his mace to get better with his foot work. Over the last few fights he had had with ghouls he noticed that he had the habit of standing like a pillar when he instead needs to change his stance more.
This could be credited to his lack of dexterity. While dexterity shows it self most often in how well one can use their hands it also applies to many other aspects like with how he has a hard time with foot work. Well for his foot work the only thing he could do is try to train on it since he has average at 10.
While he was thinking suddenly a question popped into his head. Why does he have a bloodline like Hunter's walk if his dexterity is so low. Hunter's are known for a few things such as silently killing their prey and having lots of patience. Another thing their known for is that they often cover large amounts of distance to hunt and also to set up traps. All of these things would normally require that someone would need a lot of dexterity but he was average in his dexterity.
(It would be a good idea to ask Liz about this.)
John raised his head and found that Eva was getting a small lecture from Liz because of her little jumping adventure. Deciding to save Eva from anymore lecturing John gives a small cough to draw attention back to himself.
"Liz theirs something I'd like to ask you about bloodlines."
"Really? What do you want to know?"
"Well I was thinking about how despite me having a bloodline like Hunter's walk my dexterity was actually pretty low. Is their a reason for that?"
"Aw that. Well to but it simply bloodlines are one of the oddest parts of a persons strength. The reason for this is that bloodlines are unpredictable. What I mean is two people can have the same bloodline but it shows in two different ways. Take the super strength bloodline for example. It doesn't always apply to people in the same way. Some get really strong legs while others really strong arms. This unpredictability also shows up in how some people get bloodlines they aren't suited for like someone with a lot of dexterity having super strength. Their strength will be a lot higher then their affinity's show but they won't be as strong as someone with suitable amount of strength. Your case is a lot like the second part I mentioned. Your more suited to full frontal battle then hunting but you still have the Hunter's walk ability. This means that within the scope of your bloodline you effectively have a much higher dexterity than what you think."
"So I naturally have the ability to walk quietly but not as well if I had a higher dexterity?"
"Correct. Oh! Before I forget bloodlines also fall into two types. Passive ones like your Hunter's walk that you can't turn off and active ones that need certain condition to activate like the infamous Limit Break that needs the possessor to be under lots of stress to use. These are the two types of bloodlines with the first type being more common then the second."
"Hmm~ Now that I think about it are there negative bloodlines?"
"Of course. There are some bloodlines that have demerits like the Berserker bloodline. It gives a massive boost to all physical abilities, especially strength, but comes at the cost of mental clarity. More than a few possessors have been driven insane by it and become no different than beasts. Others like the Shadow bloodline make it so that you can only use a single element. Even if your affinity is super high you will always lack flexibility in combat and life. Lastly , although rare, are bloodlines that only have demerits like the Shifter bloodline. It makes it so that a person can't stay in one position for any length of time. They'll just randomly teleport to a new position without any control. People like them are often really unfortunate and tend to die young. Despite this they still appear from time to time."
"Damn, that last one. Good thing I was lucky enough to not end up with any bloodlines like that although this does make me more interested in what my unawakened bloodline is."
"It isn't easy to wake up a sleeping bloodline so you'll have to work hard."
(So bloodlines have so much variety. I guess I'll think of bloodlines like my Hunter's walk as a kind of hidden stat value. Looks like I need to figure out how far it's effects reach.)
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BookishHymn
BookishHymn Sorry that I haven't been uploading as of late I've been dealing with a nasty cold and some annoying school work. For the time being I'll upload one chapter a week no matter what and this will go till after May.
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