‘Crap, I got a bit worked up there… what would I have done if things had escalated further?’

Annoying those who annoyed me was fine and all, but I didn’t have the power to put my threats into action. I also don’t need to make enemies left and right. Before I can talk big, I needed real power and not make enemies like that when they were just morons. I felt like sighing since I decided a long time ago to never let other people get on my nerves.

I never broke my nose before, but fixing it had been pretty easy. It hurt like a bitch, though. Once I stopped the bleeding as well, I took some time to rest because I was mentally tired. The next day, Jacques will definitely want to rearrange my face too. He was a good kid, but we were on the opposite side thanks to fate. I didn’t choose to be a dhampir and his life goal was to hunt unholy creatures, demons, and those who work for them. It was nothing personal. I didn't have anything against the others too... kids will be kids, after all.

While I was thinking that getting angry at kids was a waste of time, I had some new ideas, so I began to draw some blueprints. Just like before, they needed parts and knowledge that I didn’t have, but saving ideas for later was never a waste of time.

‘It is starting to look like crafting classes are a lot more fun for someone like me. However, it is a fact that I need to get stronger inside dungeons and their materials will come in handy too.’

After drawing some blueprints, I had another idea… one that wasn’t related to building stuff. Since that wasn’t something that I was planning to use to make money, I didn’t hesitate to head to the warehouse of the mansion. The place was filled with boxes with supplies, sets of armor, and other types of gear. I ignored them all and just grabbed another wooden sword for myself, and then another.

Nothing says that I couldn’t do that. In practical terms, my attacks would lose some power. At least by half, but I would gain the unpredictability factor. I would need to train for a bit, though. It wasn’t like dual-wielding was something I wanted to learn for the future, but only to make things a bit less annoying for the rest of the month. With my high Dexterity, perhaps I should put more thought into that.

When the next morning came, my nose was still hurting a bit, but I still headed to the garden to train with the others. All the brothers reunited there after a while, but this time they warmed up properly and then began to spar with each other instead. I thought that they would want to play with me from the get-go, but maybe I underestimated their maturity a bit. Rowan raised an eyebrow while looking at my training.

“Why do you have two wooden swords?"

“No reason, I just felt like it."

I could say that I wasn’t planning on becoming a minion like him or a cog in someone else’s army. I could also say that nothing could stop me from doing so, it wasn’t like all the classes were related to swords, after all. Still, saying all that was a massive waste of time. There was no point in trying to make others understand my point of view when they saw me as a lesser being from the get-go.

I realized that I was becoming a bit cranky, so I couldn’t help but let out a sigh. In any case, I decided to train while using the two swords to mimic the fighting style with a single sword. After a few swings, I noticed that neither of my arms was doing poorly compared to the other. In my previous life, I was right-handed, but I was ambidextrous now.

‘I was fine in favoring one hand when using these, but I guess… lucky me.’

I tested a bunch of stances for dual-wielding. I didn’t know shit about that kind of fighting style, but I read a few things in the library at home. There was one which was called high guard, where both swords were held high, with the main sword of the dominant hand, raised above or near the head, ready to deliver a powerful downward strike. The off-hand sword is either parallel or slightly angled for defense. This stance is offensive, and ideal for strong, quick downward strikes. The height of the swords creates intimidation and maximizes reach.

There was the low guard where both swords were held low, with the blades angled downward. The dominant sword is kept near the waist or thigh, while the off-hand sword is positioned slightly behind or near the hip. This stance focuses on defense and counterattacks. The low position makes it easy to parry strikes and quickly respond with upward slashes or thrusts.

There was the dual thrust stance, where both swords were positioned forward, with the tips of the blades pointing at the opponent. The arms are extended slightly to give both swords range for simultaneous or alternating thrusts. This offensive stance focuses on speed and precision, with both swords ready to deliver quick thrusts to the opponent's weak points. This seemed like the best option for me… but I found one that felt comfortable and it was pretty cool too.

This book's true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.

In the end, the best stance for me was the reverse grip. It was pretty good for those who are skilled, but it is even better for those who have the strength parameter unlocked. It started a bit awkward, but soon I began to slash the swords with more confidence and sharpness. Downward strikes, vertical, diagonal ones… they were pretty sharp with the reverse grip style and keeping the dominant hand at my shoulder height and in front of me, the other hand stayed on my left side and slightly below my hip.

I could tell was Rowan squinting his eyes while looking at me. I wasn’t training using the things he taught me, so I thought that it would make him feel good, but he was more annoyed than anything. It was like I dismissed his teachings.

‘Thrusts with this stance are a bit awkward, but they can be sharp if I have some time to charge them… that will make them obvious, though.’

I probably could do something about that with enough experience, but my body soon got tired of using the muscles and movements that I wasn’t used to. Fortunately, breakfast time eventually came and I had two hours of a break. When I returned, the obvious happened.

“Spar with Jacques.”

I could tell why I was getting cranky pretty often. The only person I was forced to talk to was Rowan and whenever he talked, he only gave orders while also refusing to use my name.

“Sure.”

I said that while juggling my swords, I could almost hear Rowan gritting his teeth. I was getting quite petty and I didn’t like that… I didn’t like wasting time with pointless things, after all. Matching energy sometimes was more draining than anything... there was the saying, an eye for an eye makes the whole world go blind.

I had to be smarter than that… I was an anomaly in that world and I didn’t have a single real ally and I didn’t have power either. Until I had either of those, I had to play my cards right. Still, that was a matter for another time. Jacques got ready in front of me with a serious expression. The kid looked calm enough, but he hated my existence without hating me as a person, so it was hard to say if he would go as far as hurting me too much.

All of a sudden, he stepped in like the wind and swung his sword insanely fast. He wasn’t supposed to have unlocked the attack speed or the dexterity parameters, but by swinging his sword in the shortest direction, his attack felt a lot faster.

I moved my right sword to the left side to block the attack… the weapons collided, but my sword was easily was broken apart. If I hadn’t gotten that sword myself, I would have thought that someone gave me damaged goods… Still, the sword stopped a centimeter away from my face.

Jacques glared at me with calm fury in his eyes… he was pissed because my other sword was almost touching his neck too. Just like I said, an eye for an eye makes the whole world blind. The attack could have hurt my skull, but mine also could have injured him seriously. A damaged artery was no joke.

The others opened their eyes widely while we kept staring at each other for a moment. I kind of already knew that Jacques hated what I represented and what gave my origin to me as a person, but that didn’t make his killing intent even a bit more justifiable.

Eventually, he moved away and then lowered his sword. Kids like him who had improved their strength had no use for wooden swords. They were essentially discardable weapons.

“Train alone for the rest of the day.”

Rowan left the garden and then headed to the mansion. That rarely happens, so I could tell that he was going to talk with Rayner. Still, despite not being there, the kids decided to train without doing anything to pick a fight with me, even though no one would defend me if they decided to gang up on me.

‘Man, I can’t wait to turn ten and leave this place… I guess I will decrease my sleeping time to think seriously about my business plans.’’

The bullying could be worse… they could put stuff in my food, they could call me and prank me around the house when Rayner wasn’t around, but they just decided to treat me like air. That was why I didn’t truly hold much against them. That was the world we lived in… vampires were hated by most people, and a half-vampire was hated two times more.

After spending the morning training, I had lunch and then slowed down on the precision training to think of my future businesses. Since I was out of ideas, I decided to reread my notes and if they could give me some ideas. Soon, I had one… it wouldn’t be that hard to make and the parts would be cheap as well. It also would be useful for classes like mine ranged attackers and those who worked with scouting.

‘This will be a bit useful in the military too… still, with those ideas and my age, I will end up drawing a lot of attraction. While I am here, I will be safe, but I will have to change my identity once I leave.’

I began to write down a few things in my notes, but soon I stopped when I heard a knock on my door. It was a bit too early for dinner, so I opened it and found the family’s head buttler in front of the door.

"Master Rayner wants to speak with you immediately."

I closed the door and then hid my notes… Rayner had been at home for three days already, so he should leave tomorrow. The talk should be about what happened today.

After heading to Rayner’s office, I knocked on the door and then I waited for a bit before receiving an answer. I heard some voices inside and soon I saw Ulric leaving. He seemed to be in a good mood, even though he probably thought that he had been called to be scolded.

“Enter and sit.”

It has been exactly one year since I talked with Rayner. He seemed more angry than before. Still, I kept my poker face since I was sure that I wasn’t the reason for his bad mood. I was wrong.

“Rowan came and asked me to be reallocated to the field. Do you understand what that means?”

That he had a frail ego? I wanted to say that, but I decided to keep quiet. I had no reason to respect someone who refused to say my name, after all. Still, it wasn't a name of my own choosing, so perhaps I could care less.

“It means that you will need another instructor, someone as skilled and patient as him isn’t easily found. If you think that he hates you a lot, you will soon learn that you are wrong.”