Seizing a single point of mana was the easy part. Directing it to emerge from the reservoir of power in his chest was harder. Forcing the mana to flow through a circuit in his arm was nearly impossible. Every time he finished pulling a single point into his arm, it would wind up breaking free from his control, running haywire through his veins before fizzling out.

Hour after hour passed, with Leon growing increasingly proficient at manipulating the energy in his blood, finally succeeding in forming a stable circuit. The increase in power was noticeable, his entire right arm felt stronger than ever, the System popup confirming his success.

"Mana Circuit Formed- Localised Power, +1 to effective power of right arm. Lasts until mana point has been exhausted."

Focusing on the mana point racing through his veins Leon felt it began to dim until it eventually guttered out over the course of the next few minutes.

"So, to keep the circuit active I would need to infuse it with more mana...tricky. If circuits are as big a part of combat as I expect, then I understand why the [Swordsman] Class is giving me points in my mana stats. If my regeneration rate isn't able to keep up with the mana decay rate, my ability to use circuits in battle will be limited. They'd function more like temporary buffs rather than truly passive boosts."

The decay rate of mana also raised an interesting implication- was it possible to be a spellsword or were spells and circuits too costly to use in conjunction? Not like Leon wanted to be some mage type, flinging around great balls of fire. The idea held no appeal to him personally but it was potentially worth looking into once he was back on Earth.

Turning back to his book Leon expected to see a chapter on mana aspecting, only to be met with disappointment.

"Now that you have gotten your first taste of a mana circuit's power- experiment! The following pages are provided for you to record your most useful circuits on! Ask your parents for help if you get stuck."

The book was lucky his swords were on the other side of the room. Flinging it away, Leon sighed in disappointment. Mana aspecting was just a bonus- the Shifting Tides Style would work fine without it.

Retrieving the sharkskin manual Leon began working on forming the Ebb and Flow circuit. It was noticeably more complex, covering both his legs, both his arms and his waist. Sending a single point to start with, Leon began tracing the circuit through his veins. Out from the chest, up into the right arm, down to the right leg, across the waist, up into the left arm and finally down into the left leg to complete the circuit.

The path the mana point followed twisted and curved, doubling back at certain points only to fork off and follow a different path to reach its goal. It was devilishly complex and for every second he wasted on plotting the best course the mana point grew harder to control. Leon had closed his eyed, entering a meditative state as he attempted to complete the circuit successfully.

"Moved on to circuits eh? What a pain in the ass they are. You're doing it wrong, by the way."

Cracking open an eyelid Leon glared at the devil, who'd helped himself to another plateful of steaks.

"Not like you're allowed to help though right?"

"You hit your head out there this time? I mean, maybe the stress is getting to you, maybe those fucking idiots who do the daily recaps of the best performers were right yesterday when they said you 'weren't capable of conquering the Blight Marsh's boss on Day 1'."

That was news to Leon. The Spinosaurus had been hard and had finally pushed him to the point of properly learning mana but he hadn't thought for a second that he'd lose to the big gecko. Zerasos' insistence that he charge right into the next dungeon made sense now- he'd bet on Leon to win.

"How much did you bet on me this time then?"

The devil flashed him a winning smile.

"More than most will make in a lifetime and still less than I wanted to. Back to the point kid, we signed a contract that voids most of the System's info restrictions on me remember, I put a clause in it for better info? Put more than one point into your circuit while you're forming it, tell me how you get on."

Following Zerasos' advice shocked Leon as he was able to easily force the circuit to form. Upping the amount used to only five points was enough to keep the mana stable long enough for the circuit to form.

"Mana Circuit Formed- Ebb and Flow, absorbs energy from the user's attacks and converts this energy into a stat multiplier. Caps out at a 2X boost. Compatible only with techniques from the [Shifting Tides Style] Skill."

Another item off the checklist. It felt like a lifetime ago, a completely different Leon had made that list. It reminded him of his only concern.

His bloodline. This powerful force that had hijacked his decision making. Every time he'd embraced it, it grew harder to reject. Only when he'd felt threatened due to a lack of power had his roiling blood cooled and allowed his rationality to re-assert itself. It made him decisive, sharp and quick to react yes but the costs were just as many. Arrogance, overconfidence and recklessness were the prices he paid.

He needed information about it. To qualify it, understand it, be given the opportunity to weigh the pros and cons. If it was warping his mind he'd cast it off, without hesitation. No power was worth giving up his sense of self.

Cutting the mana circuit off, he turned to face Zerasos, the steaks on the devil's plate nearly all gone by now.

"Thank you Zerasos, you probably saved me at least a day on getting the circuit up and running."

"Eh, think nothing of it kid. You'd've gotten there eventually. Now, while I could answer every other little question you have- I won't. There's a lot of stuff you gotta figure out on your own. Like that insight you got today. If I'd told you to focus on understanding water, the difficulty you'd have faced to comprehend a related insight would have risen. If I'd told you to focus on comprehending Water's Power, I don't think you would have been able to even get close to understanding it before the Tutorial ends. Don't tell anyone about your insights if they're weaker than you and don't go using them in a fight like some kinda info hazard. If word ever got out that you did, well that's a sure fire way to gain Infamy."

You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

The devil held a hand up forestalling Leon's question.

"I'm getting to it- Infamy and Fame. They don't help you fight and they aren't what they say on the tin. The big question most people ask is- who decides whether its worth Fame or Infamy? The answer is the System. You kill things weaker than you? Infamy. You kill things stronger than you? Fame. People have to see it as well, minimum to gain a point either way is 10 billion I think? Zerasos, I hear you ask, what do these points actually do for me? Think of Fame as how much the System is willing to bend the rules to help you. Like setting up a scenic landscape just the right way for you to gain an insight from for example, little things that you won't even notice. You need tens of points to make a real difference to your chances. Infamy is the exact opposite, it's how much the System's willing to fuck you over. It will act far more aggressively than it does for those with Fame. Everything goes wrong for you at every turn, trouble round every corner. One point is barely survivable, two is a death sentence and three is an immediate execution."

The devil paused, noting the blank look on Leon's face.

"What I lose you or something? Spit it out kid!"

"Uh, no see, I wanted to ask about bloodlines, but you looked pretty into your whole explanation so I held off."

"Give me specifics, specifically what do you wanna know? It's a big topic kid and I'm no expert on it."

Leon thought for a moment before posing his question.

"I need to know how they can affect a person- emotionally not physically. My judgement's been off since the first dungeon I ran. I've been writing it off so far, leaning into these new impulses. Then I took that hit in the Blight Marsh, felt the venom coursing through me and for just a second I recognised my own weakness. Still knew I'd win, but that realisation shook me out of my mental state. You've seen it right Zerasos? Anytime people get in the way of my fights I lash out, then go right back to normal. You know something don't you?"

The devil's usual grin and carefree attitude were gone, replaced with uncharacteristic seriousness as he answered.

"Didn't wanna freak you out too bad kid, my bad for letting this drag out. Alongside that sword style of yours I had my boys look into potential bloodlines you might have. Your skill is unnatural for a newly integrated human, the rate of improvement you show is absurd, so we started our search with that in mind. Our working theory was that your bloodline is boosting your talent for swordsmanship so that narrowed the search, then we looked at the secondary characteristics; you don't back down from a fight if you believe you can win but against someone more powerful you don't feel the same urge. Narrowed it again."

Zerasos summoned a comically large cigar as he spoke, the narcotic appearing in a puff of smoke, lit by a conjured flame from the devil's fingertip as he continued his explanation, sucking down the toxic fumes in between sentences.

"Constantly seeking greater challenges, a swift reversal of your attitude once your own weakness was recognised and an aversion to working with others. Narrower and narrower our criteria became, then the pieces started lining up as the list of candidate bloodlines shrunk. We figured it out just as a certain individual reached out to my company, said he recognised the type of your bloodline. You have a Sword Demon bloodline, a powerful but not unheard of bloodline. Now how you got it is another matter entirely, our best guess is some exiled bastard child of a big shot clan fled to uninitialized space, started a family and the end result was you. I've been assured the mental shifts are normal, a trade-off for your boosted talent. There are worse bloodlines to have, believe me."

It was a lot to take in. The idea that a foreign force was guiding his instincts, that his talent and skill were thanks to some magical bullshit lineage power? This was unacceptable to Leon. He wanted to succeed based on his own merit, not thanks to some boost he didn't ask for! It was a brief moment of blinding anger at towards the circumstances he'd had forced on him.

Then the moment passed, his head cooled. Had that reaction too been from his bloodline? Anything that challenged his swordsman's pride was met by his bloodline with aggression, indignation- even he wasn't exempt from this.

"Can I remove my bloodline?"

The devil laughed, as though Leon had told the greatest joke of all time.

"Not unless you wanna die! No, your bloodline is you. Deep down, at the centre of your being, it's you at your most raw, tender and gooey. Maybe if you knew how to manipulate your own soul you could fuck around with it, but that's a branch of magic that gets very ugly, very fast. For now, you're stuck with it. Way I see it? You lean into these new impulses of yours just like before, trust your bloodline to make all of your thin slice judgements in a fight but keep it on a tight leash outside of combat. It still let's you interact with people somewhat normally, so long as they don't push your buttons right? Another challenge for you to beat down, eh kid!"

The devil had returned to his relaxed attitude, his words ringing true to Leon. He couldn't do anything about it right now, just like how he couldn't do anything to check on his family. He couldn't break out of the Tutorial with his own power. All these problems were nothing before sufficient strength. If the bloodline's price for power was his cool-headedness he'd agree to that trade. His hang-up was that he hadn't been given a chance to agree, but the assurance that so long as he remained true to himself he could mitigate his bloodline's influence did plenty to ease his concerns.

"Thanks Zerasos. For a devil you're a good guy."

"Good guy? I'm a great guy! I'm, at the very least, in the top 10% of all guys and don't you forget it kid! Now, if you're done with your little bloodline worries, get back to work on your circuits. That one you formed was good, but it took you too long to form to be usable in a real battle- keep working at it until forming it's second nature."

Time passed as Leon continued forming and collapsing the Ebb and Flow circuit, his progress slow but steady. Each repetition was easier than the last, though Leon's focus was stretched thin between the mana circuit and his breathing, attempting to keep his mana pool at capacity even while spending five points per circuit formed.

The popup of the daily ranking board came as a surprise- Leon had forgotten it entirely in the hustle and bustle of the day.

"Day 1 Complete! Congratulations to the 74.5% of you who survived! Now displaying the ranking for your instance!

1. Leon Knox

2. Selena Cole

3. Mike Hamilton

4. Francis O'Hara

5. Timmy Gallia

6. Elizabeth Gallia

Your ranking is in direct correlation to your personal growth, please strive to grow during this Tutorial! The top ranker for your instance has received a reward for their excellence!"

A bronze ring materialised in front of Leon's face, suspended in the air momentarily before it fell into the hot tub, Leon fumbling to retrieve it. Held up to his eye, he failed to notice anything particularly distinctive about. Simple, unadorned. A common band of metal. Slipping it on his finger anyway, Leon thought about the ordering of the rankings.

Selena had pulled ahead of the pack- likely by virtue of cunning. She'd been there when he'd encountered them at the first dungeon, though had betrayed the group and not entered the second. She'd likely gone solo once she felt comfortable hunting velociraptors by herself. They wouldn't have gained her much per kill but she wouldn't have had to split any experience by going alone

The rest were still ticking along, though Leon didn't really care about them. If they stayed out of his fights when he ran into them, he was happy to point them towards dungeons- that kept them out of his hair for a few hours at least.

Zerasos noticed the reward, remarking on Leon's new trinket.

"A storage ring? Good reward, you cracked it open yet?"