Drake

After seeing Minya go through all of that yesterday, I had gained new insights into some of my daos. Life was a fragile thing. It could be ended on a whim and saved the same way. Life was like a thread. Weaving through the tapestry known as our existence until eventually being severed. No one lives forever. People could only put off death, never escape it. Life was such a fundamental part of our being. Even greater than our soul. Without life we were nothing.

Our life was constantly threatened and we had to fight for every day of our lives. Sure, in the modern world, which had disappeared now that I thought about it. Anyway, people didn’t have to fight very hard to live but they still had to fight. For instance you couldn’t just lie around all day and not start to starve, after a while you would die of hunger or thirst, there was no escaping it.

Life was also like a plant growing and maturing overtime until finally it shriveled up and died of old age or disease. Nothing lasts forever and life was no exception. Living forever was something that even gods couldn’t do. Time would go on forever, but eventually someone would come and usurp the gods and kill them.

Nothing was not existent. Even the void of space has things in it. I think. I had never really learned anything about space so I couldn’t be sure. Life was like a stream birthed from snow and traveling far before finally either going into the ocean or tapering out.

Life was a journey not a destination. It was the act of living to your fullest potential, or literally dying trying. I was not living up to my fullest potential. Even now when I was in the middle of this tutorial, I was still occasionally slacking off and relaxing. Time off was good, but I wasn’t really pushing myself to be my best.

People thought that life and death were polar opposite, but that was not the case. Life and death were like yin and yang, one couldn’t exist without the other. Life thrived off of death and life wasn’t possible without death to keep it in check, otherwise it would overrun the planet it existed on. Life and death were equal.

Higher Dao law found!

Dao of YinYang comprehended!

Dao Seed of YinYang: +10 END +10 INT +10 WILL +10 SOUL +10 WILL

Higher dao law? Did that mean that this dao was more powerful?

Higher dao laws have 50 stat points to the normal daos 30

The melodic voice of the system told me.

Well, I would happily accept more stat points if that was the case.

I opened my eyes and stretched, cracking my back and my neck.

It was time for phase two of getting ready for the big battle with the beetle overlord.

***

I stood far away from the others and faced off against a tree. I had found out that by using blood dao I could directly alter my physical form. I currently have 5 main forms. I had “Normal” me, who I was now. I had my “Rogue” form, which was perfectly aerodynamic and had added strength in my legs and less in my arms for optimal speed.

Then I had my “Brute” form. It had all of the strength pulled to the arms and some of the chest greatly accelerating my physical strength but also greatly diminishing my speed and agility by taking strength from my legs.

Next I had my “Blood mage” form. It was optimized to control and absorb blood by having extra bloodstreams that the human body didn’t have. It was also very physically weak but traded it for added power with my skills that used blood power, like blood slash.

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Last I had my “Ultimate” form. It was very strenuous to use but it was easily my most powerful form. It used all of my blood power to uphold. It used the blood state to make me even more powerful than the blood state was in my normal form. My circulatory system was enhanced and my muscles were connected to my bloodstream directly making me infinitely more powerful when I used blood state.

I had tested each of them individually but I wanted to learn how to switch between them rapidly. I also wanted to see if I could incorporate my new dao into my abilities.

I looked at the tree again, using my dao to shift into Brute mode. My upper body bulged while my legs weakened, barely supporting me. I tensed centering my balance and struggling to stay uptight. I quickly shifted back and breathed out deeply as my body rearranged, legs strengthening.

I would have to use Brute to make my attacks after falling or jumping so that I didn’t have to run on those weak legs. I could barely stand, let alone walk.

I shifted into rogue mode and felt my legs gain muscle and my body become more aerodynamic, my skull even shifted to look more like a helmet. I jogged away from the tree by about a hundred feet and turned, sprinting directly at the tree.

I went far faster than I have ever gone before slamming into the tree before I could stop myself. I actually dented the tree and left a good divot a couple inches deep into the wood.

I rubbed my bruised skull. That hurt. A lot. I had just crossed over a hundred feet in the blink of an eye, but it had drained me.

Upholding any of my forms was difficult for me but the more I pumped into that form the more of a toll it took on me.

I walked back but this time kept a closer eye on my speed reaching the tree in 3 seconds, before jumping and rapidly shifting forms. Right before I landed I launched my fist out slamming into the tree with all of my strength, obliterating it. The tree exploded in a shower of splinters and bark covering me. I hit the ground and collapsed, legs not strong enough to support me.

I spat out some wood that got into my mouth before attempting to stand up again, utterly failing as my weak noodles called legs gave out. I groaned and returned to my original form, sighing as strength returned to my legs. My blood reserves were getting low, I would have to refill them by going and killing a couple of monsters at some point today. Now though… Now I needed to sleep.

Drakes stat sheet

Drake O. Level: 24 (F-Grade) Race: Human-Vampire Bloodline: Human 9 pints, Vampire 1 pint Class: Bloodletter Stats: Body: 256

END: 78 VIT: 71 STR: 57 AGI: 50

Mind: 134

INT: 57 WIS: 28 CHA: 9 PER: 40

Spirit: 96

WILL: 20 SOUL: 58LUCK: 9 FOC:9

Traits: Evolution(Human), Bloody Strength(Vampire) Skills: Sword Mastery(Human+Vampire), Vampiric Touch(Vampire) Spells: Weak Blood Siphon, Weak Blood Slash, Weak Hemorrage Path: Path of Crimson Blood Dao: Dao Seed of Blood, Dao Seed of YinYang

Drakes forms for anyone who wants the more detailed versions.

Brute: A lot of added strength to the hands, forearms and biceps. A decent amount of strength added to pecs and abs. A lot of strength taken from the calves and thighs, with a little strength taken from the feet. It's harder to think clearly in this form. Very low energy consumption but you can hit harder by adding more energy to the arms, resulting in far harder hits..

Rogue: A lot of added strength to the feet, calves and thighs. A decent amount of strength added to the skull and eyes, enhancing reflexes and eyesight. A lot of strength taken from the hands and forearms, with a little strength taken from the biceps. The entire body becomes more aerodynamic but the body also becomes more brittle and bones are more likely to crack. the faster you go the faster energy is consumed.

Blood mage: A lot of added strength to the brain, bloodstream and eyes. A decent amount of strength to fingers and joints, enhancing flexibility. A lot of strength taken from the hands, feet, forearms, calves, biceps and thighs. A little strength taken from the pecs and abs, lowering durability. Spells and skills in relation to blood are 10x easier to cast and you recover far faster in this state. Body is all around weak. Slight strain on the body and requires more energy to cast spells and skills.

Ultimate. A ton of added strength to the upper body, lower body and skull. A decent amount of strength is added to the circulatory system and the skeletal system, enhancing recovery speed and durability. A small amount of speed taken from joints, reducing flexibility. Power is consumed at a very large rate but blood state is almost 20x more effective in this state. Induces massive strain on the body and will even shut down if held for too long.

Normal: all strength is evenly distributed with slightly more emphasis on the upper body. Blood flows quite easily slightly enhancing spells and skills. No energy consumption required.