Luna woke up, sweat covering her forehead and breathing hard, somehow managing to not wake Bennett, but he’d clearly noticed her distress, as he’d wrapped his arms around her and had her in a warm embrace.
Mildly embarrassed, she considered trying to shimmy out of his arms, but, after thinking about it for a moment, decided to not.
(Hmph. You’re really trying to take all you can get,) Cthulhu grumbled.
Why are you still awake? Go back to sleep, Luna snapped back, completely forgetting about the dream she’d just had momentarily.
(You think I haven’t tried? The Mana Levels are too high for that. It’s probably the reason we just had that dream.)
Luna let herself relax in Bennett’s arms as she pressed her face into his chest. Of course. I can’t make much sense of that, though.
(You think? I have no clue what half of that even meant? All I know is that it’s related to the Blood Element as a whole.)
Maybe you killed the God of Blood and they cursed you or something?
Cthulhu seemed to debate this for a moment. (Understandable. I’m sure I’d do it, but, from both Dreams, it depicted the Blood God as close to me and a child. However, I don’t remember ever having to deal with a child Goddess, so I’m sure they just preferred to represent themselves as a child, which isn’t too uncommon.)
Luna thought about it for a moment and came up blank. Huh. I don’t remember a Blood God period.
(Of course- Oh, your little boyfriend is waking up.)
As Cthulhu predicted, Luna heard Bennett’s yawn before he sat up, letting go of Luna, and rubbing his eyes. He looked down at her, mumbled a “good morning”, then patted her head before kicking his legs off the bed-
Wait, what did you just call him?
(Use two singular brain cells and you should remember.)
Luna felt her face heat up and she had to resist dumping a few gallons of water on her head to cool down, decided to not, after realizing it’d be a pain to dry the bed off later. She shook her head.
He is not my “little boyfriend”, whatever that means.
(Are you completely inept at understanding your emotions? You’re about as dense as he is, if what your memories of him show are true.)
Wha- you can look through my memories?
Cthulhu didn’t respond, instead deciding to settle down in Luna’s mind, seeming overly satisfied with herself. Luna, however, threw herself back into the bed so Bennett wouldn’t see her face and she heard him let out a short laugh.
“All right, you can sleep a little longer. I’m just going to make breakfast alone then-”
Luna, upon hearing this, jumped out of the bed against her better judgment, gave him an annoyed look, and dashed out of his room, to hers to get ready for the day, Bennett laughing as she did so.
~~~
Luna looked at Mia’s pensive expression, who was obviously thinking about the Dungeon while also eating. A surprising thing about Mia was that she, despite her outwards appearance of being rude to most people, she seemed to not be one to turn down any amount of food, of which she somehow ate more than Tyreese, though, to be fair, he was watching her eat in complete and utter bafflement.
Bennett, who had left earlier to get his sister, finally walked back into the dorms, carrying what looked like a sack of blankets that kept muttering about something to do with fried rice and brothers over his shoulder with an annoyed look on his face. This sack of blankets turned out to be Yelena, who was still dead asleep as he set her on the couch and she nearly immediately almost rolled off.
Tyreese looked at him in confusion. “How did you manage to get that girl out of her room looking like that?”
Bennett shrugged. “No clue. I was just surprised that Juli wasn’t there to stop me. Bastion gave me a funny look, though I can’t be sure how he was looking at me. Minotaurs aren’t exactly the easiest to understand expressions from.” Bennett suddenly looked as pensive as Mia, and there was a moment of silence as they both thought about separate things and the other three in the room who were awake looked between the two of them.
Tyreese nodded. “Who do you think is going to say the most out of pocket thing next?”
Luna looked at him in confusion before shoveling eggs and potatoes in her mouth, which was topped with a bit of bacon.
Maybe a bit basic, but I still like it.
(Don’t kid yourself; you absolutely adore it. Your face is probably the very definition of satisfied.)
Shut up.
Bennett then looked at his sister, who was still sleeping. He leaned down next to her and whispered something in her ear before taking a few steps back.
Clearly, it took her a moment to process what he’d said in her sleep, but a few moments later, she let out a sound Luna could only describe as a distressed squawk, falling off the couch and trying to wrestle the blanket off of her. A few seconds of her struggling later, she suddenly stopped moving in what seemed like confusion. She then stood up, still in her nightwear, glaring at her brother.
“I hate you so much,” she simply stated, looking away from him. However, she then realized he had a plate of food in his hand and immediately forgot about her hate for him as he pushed a spoonful of potatoes into her mouth. “Neber mid, I luv you,” she then said, which Luna assumed translated to “Nevermind, I love you”, before letting Bennett feed her the rest of the food after she sat on the couch.
After everyone finished up and Yelena had changed into some of Bennett’s clothes for some reason, Mia finally spoke.
“Is nobody concerned about the Dungeon that literally is on our footsteps?” she questioned, pushing away the plate in front of her. “I don’t get why you’re so unconcerned about something that could be so dangerous. Especially you three,” she added, looking at Bennett, Yelena, and Luna, each of whom were sitting on the couch in a different position, Luna on Bennett’s lap and Yelena sitting upside down, reading a book.
The twins and Luna looked at each other before Bennett shrugged. “I dunno what it is. I honestly don’t think I’ve really processed what a Dungeon means, especially for the school and our wellbeing. I mean, I think I should be worried, and I am, but I kinda can’t bring myself to have a mental breakdown over it.”
Mia shook her head. “That’s not what I’m saying. The System called you three out specifically, which I don’t understand. You don’t feel pressured?”
This time, Yelena responded. “You’d have to do more than that to make us feel pressured. I can’t be sure about Luna, but I can think of more stressful things.”
Tyreese snorted. “What could possibly be more stressful than a Dungeon to Hell?”
The twins said in unison, “Mom.”
These two would probably be more terrified of their mother simply existing than a Dungeon opening right under their feet, Luna thought, repositioning herself as Bennett kept the book he was reading balanced on her legs, since it was the most convenient place to put it.
Tyreese nodded to the twins’ words. “Fair enough. My mom’s a monster. Burnt me every day when I did something mildly wrong. I wonder who reminds me of her.”
Mia threw her spoon at him and he caught it as if he'd known she’d do something along those lines. However, he didn’t expect her to suddenly hit him over the head with her spear, which seemingly appeared out of nowhere.
Yelena snorted as Luna noticed Bennett looking back at his book, flipping the page before she finished reading it. She grabbed it and flipped the page back, giving him an annoyed look. Bennett rolled his eyes, but let her finish reading before she turned to the next page.
***
Bennett was tired, but he was slowly reaching the Level 10 threshold, along with his sister. He’d already reached Level 9 and was almost there, only 28% remaining. However, from what he could tell, his sister was closer than he was to the next Level, which pushed him slightly harder.
He could tell the frequency of Beasts that came out of the Dungeon’s entrance would increase more and more as the day wore on, which was interesting. There were various areas where other students from the various years were also grinding some of the Beasts, but, the higher Level students were eventually getting bored of blowing up the hole and one even decided to go in, just to come out after what seemed like seconds, looking like they were… decaying.
This is when everything basically went to hell, as Juli, noticing the boy who was screaming before letting out a curse and, using a portal, getting to him in seconds.
Bennett watched this, unsure of what to do, and wondering what had happened. Then, in front of him stood the red haired girl, Maya, the world frozen around them. She looked at the boy before sighing and looking at Bennett, allowing him to get a good look at her for the first time.
The first thing he noticed was that she was wearing the exact same thing as him, albeit a bit tight around… certain areas. One of her eyes was the exact same red as his new one was, but instead on the right side while the left eye… was his. Her hair was blood red, but she had a streak of white running through it, in the same place his was in. She was, as one would expect, shorter than him, but not by as much as one would expect. She had fair skin, though it was slightly tanned in some places, a bit like his. However, the most striking difference between her and him was the strange appendages that were connected to her back, six of them, to be exact. They were each slightly longer than her arms and a shiny red color. Additionally, on her skin, she had unintelligible patterns of… tattoos? He couldn’t make them out, but there were some that he could.
They read:
“Blood Manipulation.”
“Blood Spike.”
There were many layers, especially to Blood Manipulation, which was interesting to him, since they said-
“So? Do you like it?” She suddenly asked, turning around.
Huh? Taken aback, Bennett wasn’t sure how to respond.
She let out a sigh. “My current form. It took me a while to make, since I had next to no Mana. I took parts of you and made them ours. We are one, after all. I was only able to finish in this timeframe due to this Abyssal Dungeon opening.”
This is the most confusing experience of my life. Well, second most confusing.
“How is it confusing in the slightest? I just explained to you… Ah. I believe I see. I’m not what you expected out of a mere weapon, am I?” Maya responded to seemingly herself.
She then closed her eyes and before turning towards Juli and the boy. “Regardless, I can explain some things to you, namely the reason why nobody else can enter the Dungeon.
“First of all, Abyssal Corruption. Most beings can’t exist anywhere near Abyss, as it will warp their body and mind if exposed too long. Otherwise, it will just kill them, making them, as you aptly described, decay. However, some can resist it, like Abyssals, of course. But, any being with some sort of Divinity can also resist the effects, though you don’t become practically invincible like Abyssals, which is a bit sad.”
She walked over to him and, as if she was familiar with him, which, in a way, she was, practically laid herself against him. He couldn’t help but be surprised, but was strangely unembarrassed, especially when she pressed closer.
“Second thing to explain: I’m going to stress this immensely, but I quite literally need blood. All kinds of it. Certain beast blood works best, but your blood won’t cut it forever. I don’t mean I crave it like a sort of sustenance, though you could say it works like that. However, for me, it’s like a source of energy, though a catalyst is a more apt description. It allows my consciousness to be more adjacent with yours.”
Adjacent?
“Yes. I’ll be able to talk to you much more. Currently, the most I can do is probably alter your dreams so I can speak to you in them.” She then stood up on her toes. “And, if you really want, I can do… other things.”
Immediately, Bennett tried to keep his mind empty, but the intrusive thoughts slowly crept in and she let out a small laugh. “Of course, you’ll have to earn that, but firstly, there’s more pressing problems, such as this.”
She turned in place, her back now pressed against him so she could face the Dungeon entrance. I’m sure you know some information about the Dungeon itself, correct? Not just the monsters?”
Uh… I don’t think anyone knows anything.
“Really? Has an Abyssal Dungeon never opened before? You all should-”
Before she could finish her sentence, she momentarily flickered out of existence before she reappeared, scowling and nearly ten feet away. “Huh? What just… Did another Mana source interrupt mine? Wait…”
She then turned to him, looking slightly panicked. “Right. I-” she flickered. “-Gift-” Flicker. “Level 10-” she then flickered out of existence and the world resumed its normal speed.
Bennett blinked, still unsure of what just happened, staring into space.
“You know what?” he mumbled. “I’m just gonna pretend that the most beautiful girl I’ve ever seen didn’t just appear out of nowhere.”
He then cut in half a Level 6 monster that tried to attack him in his moment of distraction, not thinking much of it until-
___
Congratulations! You have reached Level 10! You can now choose a Class once you leave the combat area!
*Note : Due to certain variables, you can only choose one Class Skill from a list of four.
___
…I’m Level 10?
Bennett could hardly believe his eyes at the message in front of him. He wanted to cheer, but… it felt a bit stale.
This doesn’t feel right. I need to help Yelena get to the next Level for it to feel worth it.
He looked up towards his sister, who looked at him momentarily from her fight. She saw his expression and her face lit up with new determination before the monster in front of her exploded, burning to a crisp in front of her. Moments later, she was sliding towards him through the dirt, having trouble keeping her balance. Bennett stopped her by grabbing her shoulder, but she hopped in place, making his job slightly more difficult.
“Come on, how’d you get there before me?” she pouted, a bit of flame flickering in her hair from her excitement. “You know what, whatever, we need to go find Luna. I don’t wanna do this without her-”
Luna, who had sensed Bennett's emotions, suddenly appeared from seemingly nowhere, smacking a tentacle against his arm to get his attention. He looked down at the small girl for a moment before looking at the Dungeon for a moment. “Yeah, let's get away first.”
~~~
Once sufficiently away from the Dungeon, Bennett, Yelena, and Luna sat down, Luna on Bennett’s lap as he pulled out a tart and handed it to her. As Luna ate, he looked at his sister and, without a word, they both opened up their Statuses.
___
New Class options available!
Classes dictate your growth and are essential to growth. Class choices are based on how you have currently progressed and a prediction of how you will grow each class comes with different bonuses and Skills that are equipped to that Class specifically.
You have 3 different Class choices and an Inheritable Class:
Choice 1:
Warrior (Common I)
A basic Warrior’s kit, delving little into any forms of Magic, most suited for those who wish for a balanced Party, giving minimal bonuses. A Warrior focuses on front line combat, fighting with a variety of weapons.
+ 25% Physical Damage
Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.
+ Skill Choices : 3 (1)
+ 2 Strength, 2 Endurance, 5 Unaligned Points per Level
Choice 2:
Berserker (Rare I)
This Class thrives off of taking damage and dealing large amounts of damage in return, with weapons as an optional setting. High potential, both in terms of progression and dying. They specialize mostly in taking damage from outside sources and increasing their damage depending on how low their HP is, but lose a bit of sanity for every percentage of HP lost. Minimal Magic use.
+10% Damage taken
+45% Physical Damage
+Skill : Beserk - Level 1
+Skill Choices : 2 (1)
+4 Strength, 3 Endurance, 2 Vitality, 5 Unaligned Points per Level
Choice 3 :
Lesser Battlemage (Epic I)
Focuses on equal amounts of Melee and Magic Damage, if not a bit more Magic. They are front-line fighters and, even as a Lesser version of the real thing, very powerful when trained. They specialize in special battle techniques that weave together Magic and weapon styles in a powerful combination of explosive Magic and unavoidable Weapon Skills.
+55% All Elemental Damage Bonus
+55% Weapon Damage
+15% Skill Effectiveness
+Skill : Elemental Infusion - Level 1
+Skill Choices : 2 (1)
+3 All Stats Per Level
BONUS!
Maya has consented to allowing you to Inherit her Class!
Would you like to View this Class?
___
Before Bennett answered, he looked up at his sister, who was looking at her screen as well, looking a bit breathless. He scooted closer to her and she blinked, looking up at him with an expectant expression. He sighed.
“Pretty basic Classes like Berserker and Warrior. But, there’s also Lesser Battlemage-”
She grabbed his face and squished his cheeks. He blinked at his sister, who stared into his eyes for a few moments. “Why haven’t you chosen it already then?”
Bennett felt Luna poke his cheek before letting out a giggle and he huffed, grabbing his sister’s hands. “Cause there’s one more Class. But I wanted to ask what you got before I picked.”
She sighed. “Well, I got Mage and Lesser Battlemage. But… there’s another one… a Legendary Class: Hellfire Blade.”
A screen appeared in front of him and he blinked in utter bafflement as Luna sat up straight to look at the screen as well.
___
Choice 3 (Yelena Yasmine):
Hellfire Blade (Legendary I)
Unlocking the basics of Hellfire, this Class will help hone Hells Flame into a formidable weapon. Hellfire Blades are some of the rarest and most formidable foes in all of the Hells, possessing unprecedented control of Hellfire and Flame alike. They weave together both bladed weapon techniques and their innate Hellfire to create explosive displays of power, turning all of their enemies to ash. Choosing this Class will also minorly affect your Race
+70% Hellfire Damage
+70% Flame Damage
+35% Weapon Damage
+25% Flame/Hellfire Skill Effectiveness
+50% Self Damage Resistance
+Skill : Seven Circles of Hellfire - Level 1
+Skill Choices : 2
+5 Strength, 5 Dexterity, 3 Mind, 3 Intelligence, 5 Unaligned Points per Level
___
Bennett looked at his sister closely before sighing. “Lena, just because I could get a lower rarity Class than you doesn’t mean you have to feel obliged to choose the same as me.”
She shook her head. “But, I don’t want to get too far ahead of you, Benny. I don’t know what I’d do if I ended up so much stronger than you…”
Bennett shook his head. “I’d still be there, wouldn’t I? You’re still the younger twin here. I can’t just let my little sister get ahead of me that easily, can I?”
She punched his arm before looking curiously at him. “You said something about an extra Class? What do you mean?”
Bennett shrugged. “I’m not entirely sure; I haven’t seen it yet. I was waiting to see your Classes.”
“Then hurry up and let us see!” Yelena said, getting a nod of approval from Luna.
Bennett sighed before looking at the screen again.
“Yes.”
___
Inherited Class - Maya [No Surname] :
Blood Reaper (Unique I)
An ancient position from the age of Blood Aracne, the first step to becoming a Blood Matriarch, and the only one of its kind in the tribe until ascending to Blood Matriarch or dying. This Class Focuses on using your own and the blood of others to enhance combat ability. Ones with this class usually use a specialized Scythe, Scimitar, or combination of the two in battle, tailored to draw blood. Combining techniques that could only be used by Blood Aracne and their natural ability to use blood to grow more powerful during battle made them terrifying opponents to fight.
+75% Blood Damage
+75% Bleeding Damage
+10% Flat Bleeding Chance
+30% Blood Skill Effectiveness
+100% Blood Production Increase
+Skill : Blood Break - Level 1
+Skill Choices : 2 (1)
+ 4 Vitality, 4 Endurance, 3 Strength, 3, Dexterity, 6 Unaligned Stats Per Level
EXTRA BONUS
+1 Level to Maya
*Note: Do you like the little gift I got you? There’s more where that came from. -Maya
___
Very wisely, Bennett hid the little note Maya left from the other two, mildly annoyed. However, even if it was still there, Yelena would have probably never noticed it since she was shaking in excitement. Luna, however, had a blankish look on her face, but her hair was a bit light and pulsing weakly, which meant she was probably thinking. Before he could ask her about it, she practically jumped onto her knees in excitement.
Here we go. She has the same expression that she always had reading those books about the System and all the recorded Classes so far. Though, so did I, Bennett thought, a small smile cracking on his face.
“I don’t think I’ve ever seen either of our Classes in any of the ‘Recorded Classes and their Branches’ books. We may have completely undiscovered Classes! This is… huge! I never thought that we could ever get this far, but… we did it, Ben!”
His sister hopped in place, excited for everything. But Bennett… was strangely pensive about the situation. From what he knew, they both were completely normal-
Luna, annoyed at something, poked his cheek and glared at him. Her thoughts practically converged on two words. “Be Happy.”
He let out a short laugh. “Yeah, there’s no need to think about this so hard. Never got me anywhere before.”
Bennett stood up, but before he could do anything, his sister grabbed him, ecstatic. Without another thought, he swung her around, laughing with her.
~~~
A few minutes later, when the twins finally settled down, which took a bit of panicking from Luna, they finally sat down and accepted their classes. Bennett immediately felt Maya shuffling himself around before he suddenly nearly blacked out in pain.
___
Error! Body not suitable for Class Choice! Commencing Race Change…
Error! Cannot commence immediate Race Change due to conflicting internal structure. Delayed Race Change initiated. Race Change : Human (Godling - 2nd Generation) ---> Godling/Blood Aracne Hybrid. Pupation Commencing in 72 hours.
Congratulations! You have claimed the Class : Blood Reaper (Unique I)! You gain the following bonuses:
+75% Blood Damage
+75% Bleeding Damage
+10% Flat Bleeding Chance
+30% Blood Skill Effectiveness
+100% Blood Production Increase
+1 Level to Maya
Your Skill Level Cap has increased from 5 to 6.
From here on out, you gain + 4 Endurance, 4 Vitality, 3 Strength, 3, Dexterity, 6 Unaligned Stats Per Level.
You are now Level 10!
+ 4 Vitality, 4 Endurance, 3 Strength, 3, Dexterity, 6 Unaligned Stats
___
Bennett opened his eyes and found him floating around in nothingness.
What? Where am I? How…
“Hm? Wait… what happened to you?” A familiar voice asked, the world seeming to form around him.
After a few moments, he found himself in a familiar room, the same one he’d shared with Yelena for years, but, instead of Yelena sitting on the bed next to him, it was Maya, still in the same outfit from before. He, interestingly enough, was in his work clothes from back when he was in the Fishing Guild. The red eyed girl gave him a curious look before shrugging and leaning against his side.
“So? Care to explain why you came here before I could set up a scenario?”
Bennett gave her a suspicious stare. “What is that supposed to mean, first of all?”
Maya, clinging to him now, leaned back, swinging her legs. “I dunno. I was bored, so I was trying to think of a scenario that would cause you be the most utterly horrified, but any other boy would relish-”
“Stop talking, please.”
“-I was thinking I could roleplay as Luna-”
“I will throw you out the window if you say one more word,” Bennett snapped, completely serious.
Maya let out a sigh and laid her head on his lap. “Well, your friend here says otherwise-”
“Who’s fault is that? Now, weren’t you asking something?” he complained, trying to decide whether to move her head or not.
She seemed to grow slightly more comfortable as she thought for a moment, clearly content with the moment. Then she sat up and pulled herself onto his lap to face him and he blinked in confusion as the strange, shiny insect leg-like appendages wrapped around him from her back.
“Right. So, what exactly happened to get you here again?” she asked, her face only mere inches from his.
He tried his best to keep his cool, mildly succeeding. “Uh… I chose the Class you let me Inherit, which thanks for that, and neither the System nor my body liked that, so no thanks for that. Apparently, there’s some internal problem?”
Maya nodded, suddenly pressing closer. “Right, I was dealing with that when you came here.”
He frowned, unsure of why he wasn’t as uncomfortable as he felt he should be. Maya then let out a short laugh.
“Of course you’re not uncomfortable. I’m always within you. I think it’s your turn this time, though. I did promise you.”
Before he could make a single noise of complaint, he felt her press her lips against his and pressed him against the bed before everything became… well, that’s probably where he’d end it.
***
Yelena was in a situation far on the opposite end of Bennett, not that she knew what was happening. Currently, she was a child whose parents were obviously trying to burn her alive in a pit of Hellfire, but it hadn’t done anything but turn her clothing to ash. She stared up at the man and woman, who had horrified expressions on their faces, which told her that this was clearly not normal. She got a glimpse of their dark horns that curved back from the top of their heads before feeling her own, which instead, though they were much smaller, curved back then up, with serrated edges.
She then seemed to skip a few years and she was now around twelve, surrounded by other Demons bullying her for oversized horns and firey hair. However, she kept her cool, since she knew that if she didn’t she could accidentally turn them all into piles of ash… though, at the moment, she debated whether she could bear the consequences.
Another skip later and the sword in her hands was covered in Hellfire as she cut through an opposing Demon, who had been declared against the Demon Lord. As his Hellfire Blade, she couldn’t let that stand under any circumstances. He had been the only one to acknowledge her as a true Demon, not some sort of monster. How could she ever betray him?
Skip. She found herself in a dark cell, beyond emotion at the point she was at, knowing she’d die soon, but unable to care. They’d taken her first and only child, the last remaining descendant of the old Demon Lord, and locked her here for the rest of her life. She felt that she should want revenge, but couldn’t bring herself to care enough. She was the only one of her kind. Nobody cared for her. Her parents tried to kill her as a child, nobody could ever accept that she had innate abilities that made her stronger than all the rest.
She sighed before closing her eyes. Maybe demons were no better than Humans. In the end, neither could care for their own kind. She hoped… that if anyone were to ever be like her, they’d never turn out the way she did.
~~~
Yelena’s eyes snapped open and she let out a few deep breaths, unable to speak for a moment. Luna, who was panicking over Bennett’s unconscious body, suddenly looked at Yelena, but a screen blocked Yelena’s vision.
___
Congratulations! You have claimed the Class : Hellfire Blade (Legendary I)! You gain the following Bonuses:
+70% Hellfire Damage
+70% Flame Damage
+35% Weapon Damage
+25% Flame/Hellfire Skill Effectiveness
+50% Self Damage Resistance
Your Skill Level Cap has increased from 5 to 6.
From here on out, you gain +5 Strength, 5 Dexterity, 3 Mind, 3 Intelligence, 5 Unaligned Points per Level.
You are now Level 10!
+4 Strength, 4 Dexterity, 3 Mind, 3 Intelligence, 4 Unaligned Points
Racial Change has been completed! Human (Godling 2nd Generation) -> Human (Godling - 2nd Generation) / Hellborn
Hellborn Hybrid attribute : When Dealing Hellfire Damage, you will apply Hellborn Mark.
Hellborn Mark : Hellfire Char II is applied every 2 Hellfire Char Stacks, which acts like Hellfire Char, but has double the effect, along with giving you (Skill : Hellfire Level * 2) per Stack of Hellfire Char II, stacking 10 times. Hellfire Char II instead triggers damage every 3 instances of Hellfire Damage to the opponent.
___
Yelena, waving the screen away, rushed to her brother, who seemed to be mildly distressed.
“Bennett! Get up, now!” she snapped, voice cracking in her terror.
***
Bennett faintly heard a voice calling him as Maya slept on top of him.
Wait… what happened? I don’t remember-
“You’re awake already. Shame,” Maya muttered, sitting up and looking at him, not a single shred of clothing on her. She then rested her face on his chest, letting out a sigh. “Fine. At least we both got something out of this.”
Bennett blinked in confusion. “Uh… how?”
Maya frowned up at him. “Don’t you not already tell? I gave you some knowledge on how to better use my power. It should be quite clear.”
Bennett frowned and scanned his memories, trying to figure out if anything had changed.
“Nothing. I get the feeling you don’t even know how it works. Now get off of me,” Bennett grumbled. “I need to wake up.”
Maya rolled off of him as his clothes suddenly reappeared before huffing. “So you didn’t get any new ‘Skill’, or whatever it’s called?”
Bennett, now suddenly interested, opened his Status… or tried to. Nothing happened when he willed it into existence.
Wha- Status? System Status?
“Uh… What? Status?” Bennett muttered, panicking slightly now. “It’s not showing. I can’t check.”
Maya frowned at him. “What? Is the Array not on your back?” she inquired.
“Array?”
Bennett and Maya looked at one another for a long few moments before she blinked. “Wait… how long has it been? Is this System not an advanced way to view Arrays?”
“I… honestly have no clue what you’re talking about-”
He suddenly remembered something and looked at her closer, at the strange markings that were pulsing.
“Blood Manipulation… Blood Spike… and Blood Break?” He muttered.
She blinked before looking at her body. “Oh, you can see these? They’re my arrays. But… there’s more than that. Can you only read those three?”
Bennett frowned. “Yeah. But, Blood Break is new-”
Bennett then remembered his Class Description. “Actually, my Class said something about it, just that I would get it.”
Maya frowned. “Well, that’s the Array I just copied onto you. I wanted you to choose another one though, as well as talk about your own Arrays, but you should wake up soon.”
Bennett frowned. “Wait, how did you even copy that onto me?”
Maya leaned forward and let her head rest onto his chest. “Just earlier.”
“Wait, that’s how you do it? Is that the only way or something?”
“It’s the fastest way by far. If you have some sort of ink, I could instead do it a much more painful way, which could take up to three days-”
“You know what, I think this way is fine,” Bennett said reluctantly. He couldn’t say he hadn’t enjoyed it though…
Maya gave him a smug look before wrapping her arms around him. “I’ll give you another ‘Skill’ later. Now-”
She pressed her nose against his. “Wake up,” she whispered.
~~~
Bennett’s eyes snapped open to the panicked expression of Luna above him, who seemed to be trying to wake him up. When she saw him wake up, she wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling herself as close to him as possible. He then groaned as a screen flashed in front of his face.
___
Gained new Skill!
NEW! Blood Break - Level 1
Blood Break (Ultimate)
Breaking your physical bonds, enhance all your physical attributes by (Skill Level * 150)% at the cost of massive damage to your own body. Additionally, all Blood based Skills will gain a (Skill Level * 70)% increase in damage. Damage dealt to yourself by this Skill is decreased by 0.5% for every 10 Endurance you have. You will also gain (Skill Level * 100)% more Blood Production. This lasts until your HP goes below 5% or until canceled. Every 1% HP Healed in duration will increase your Universal Damage Bonus by (Skill Level * 1)%. Bleed Chance is additionally increased to 100% fixed chance in this duration. During Blood Break, you can expand Blood Claw into Blood Beast to cover your entire body for a massive cost of Blood, but decrease self Damage by 25% and increase Blood Damage by 100% by reinforcing your body.
(Additional Effect : Maya will deal an additional instance of Bleed Damage on hit, equivalent to 60% of damage dealt. Whenever this instance deals damage, the opponent will take (Skill Level * 0.5)% more Blood Damage until the duration of Blood Break ends, stacking 30 times. 1 extra instance of damage is added every 4 Levels.)
*Note : This Skill is not officially recognized by the System, so be wary of malfunctions during its use.
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Bennett could hardly bother reading the paragraph of text as he felt Luna whimper into his chest. “Wha- I couldn’t have been that long,” he muttered, patting her back.
Luna pulled away from him and held up three fingers, which took him a moment to understand. “Thirty minutes? Huh… honestly felt slightly longer.”
Luna poked his cheek, not happy with that information. He rubbed her head and she blinked in confusion.
“I’m fine, Luna. If anything, Lena is probably more worried about me-” Bennett looked to his side to see a completely different person than he expected right next to him. The girl vaguely looked like Yelena, but her hair was flaming… literally. Her face was smoother than Yelena’s, yet mostly everything was the same. It was basically… a Yelena if someone from the outside tried to fix her flaws. It was… wrong, but right at the same time. The only thing that hadn’t changed was the white strand that had always been there. However…
“Why do you look like you just lost every bit of life left in you as if I were on my deathbed?”
His sister, seemingly shocked from her stupor, looked at him in utter surprise, as if she hadn’t expected him to wake up. “You’re awake! What happened to you? Did you see something too? What’s-!?”
Bennett covered her mouth with his hand, silencing her. “I’m perfectly fine. Just a really annoying Skill that doesn’t like me,” Bennett lied, earning him narrowed eyes from Yelena, who clearly saw right through it. “Have you seen yourself? What happened to you?”
Yelena pulled his hand off her mouth letting out a huff. “We will have words about you lying to me, but I’ll let you off the hook for now.” Yelena’s hair seemed to burn a little brighter and Bennett felt a bit wary.
How am I going to explain Maya to Yelena, in any capacity?
“As you asked, I have no clue what happened. When I got my Class, I kinda just… blacked out, and it felt like I lived through someone’s life… I think it was someone who had the same Class as I just got. I don’t think my Class is meant for Humans…”
The two of them looked at one another for a long time before Bennett sighed.
“Or whatever the hell we are. ‘Godling… Second Generation,” Bennett muttered. “That means our Mom…”
Luna looked between the two of them in a mix of confusion and surprise as the twins pondered. After a second, Bennett unwittingly let off a Bloodbolt into the wall at the same time Yelena’s hair suddenly flared with Hellfire, nearly burning her clothes.
“I’m so pissed I can’t even bother choosing my extra Skills. Just how many things has Mom lied to us about?! For all I know, she’s probably been making up all the stories she’s told us over the years. This is obscene!”
As his sister ranted, Bennett sat there, refusing to let his feeling of betrayal boil over.
***
Luna watched Bennett and Yelena practically smash their heads against invisible walls, both having their own way to cope with their newest revelation. Luna, however, was in shock.
Godlings? But… how? I sensed no sort of Divinity in their mother, Luna thought, still clinging to Bennett. Did I miss something? Does she have some sort of Artifact-
(No.)
Luna flinched at Cthulhu’s voice. What do you mean?
(You keep assuming that you’re as strong as we once were. It’s just not true. We’re weakened to such a point, you’re barely strong enough to take on a lesser God, so it makes sense you can’t sense the composition of people nowadays.)
Luna frowned, looking closely at Bennett, ignoring his physical body. Immediately she was completely taken aback from how little information she gleaned from him. She could only really tell the majority of the Elements in his body, which was Lightning, Blood, and trace amounts of Ice, which made sense as his mother was an Ice… something. She wasn’t sure what Level their mother was.
After a few moments, Bennett stood up, lifting Luna with him. He had his eyes closed for a few moments before clearly forcing what Luna could only call a sad smile.
“How about we go back over to the Dungeon. I already can imagine the look on Reah’s face when she sees you.”
Yelena looked at Bennett for a few moments before giving Luna a strange expression that, even though Luna didn't have any sort of Bond with her, Luna could easily interpret it.
Please take care of him, She said.
Luna nodded.