Before I know it, I find my arms being held by my master. His grip is like iron as he holds on to me. I struggle to remove his hand, but it feels like a rock. Any more force and I think that my arm will be broken.

"I will stop holding you, if you do not suddenly jump at me like that." He speaks. "Deal?"

As I relent, the man loosens his grip on my arm.

"How thorough is your destruction this time?", I ask the man. It is not the first time he has pulled of something like this. The last time he pulled of something like this the destruction ended up with only three formations of mine left behind in then legion headquarters. That was when I had just come under my master.

"Well, I have destroyed most of the formations that you have provided to the legion. The ones in active use I have replaced with better quality formations.", he replies. "Right now the only piece of your work in the continent is your sword and the formation that you have built for the temporary fort."

"I am surprised you have not destroyed that as well.", I reply to the man, feeling a sense of anger deep in my heart. Years of work destroyed in a few days. He must have a reason, though he has never been able to explain it to me.

"Well, I was hoping to do that. The only thing is that the environment is too volatile there. Me doing anything there will end up sparking a conflict that we all are better off without. Both the snowwinders and the snow tribe have been pissed off with my entry this time.", he replies. "Anyways, knowing the track record of those forts, it will be gone by the end of the season."

"You bastard.", is all I am able to reply to this. "At least be a bit more regretful about it. You destroyed years and years of my work."

"Well, now that is over, I think it is time for the third thing. Frankly it is the most important thing right now.", he speaks, clearly choosing to ignore my last statement. "It is going to take you roughly a week to drive this airship to the hex mountain. In that period of time, I will be teaching you the fusion spell and the method of using it. I will need you to focus exclusively on this matter. It is very important. You will have to learn the basics of the spell by the time that we are at the hexmountain."

"Well, I do follow what you say. That is why I am still with you even after all the destruction that you have propagated. That is why I went to the north, without my sword at hand too.", I reply.

"Well, I guess that is true. Regardless, it is time for me to properly explain to you what using this spell is gonna mean for you.", he speaks. "I have already shown to you the end goal of this spell."

"Yeah, I remember that.", I reply, as I remember my master's presence. Whatever complains I have on that man, he is powerful.

"Well, the fusion spell is how you are going to be achieving that.", he continues. "The spell is actually pretty simple in it's core considering the task that it has to do. It is going to be fusing this sword of yours with your mana core."

Saying that the man throws the sword at me. Well, it must have been in his spatial storage, though he did move at a speed beyond my senses to remove that sword and throw it at me. It would have been a bit better with an intact mana sense though.

Catching it, I see it is my sword. My most important creation, the one that led me to my present discipleship. My master took me in after seeing that sword only.

It is a pretty basic longsword, one that is almost indistinguishable from a sword that you can find with the legion. The only thing that would differentiate it is the fact that it is made up of bone. A vampire grunt's bones to be precise. It is familiar to me in such a fundamental way, that I can feel myself relax. Just touching it is enough to send a bolt of alertness into me. Looks like it's magic is still working at least.

"Do you remember what I told you about this sword the day that I took you in.", he speaks.

"That this sword is the reason that you have taken me as a disciple.", I reply. "That what I have done with it is something that seasoned formation mages would not be able to do."

"Well, those were not my precise words. What you have done is something that most seasoned formation mages would not have dared to do.", he replies. "Well, I guess that I can open up about that at least. The ability of your formation magic is actually called as bloodline stimulation, kid."

I finally shut up and listen to him with my full focus. He rarely tends to speak about stuff like this. The man almost seems to be scared to share any knowledge with me, especially related to formations. Almost all of my knowledge after coming under my master has been essentially self taught.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

"Everytime that you are activating that formation of yours, what you are doing is activating the bloodline of the creature whose bones you have used as the core for this formation.", he speaks. "In my case, it is the heartstone of a stormwind wolf which gives me the ability of the stormwind wolf to cover themselves in the storm skin. In your case, it is the bone of the vampire, which allows you to use their infernal ability of creating blood mana."

"There is a fundamental problem with bloodline simulation magic. Simply put, our human bodies are not able to handle these abilities. That is true especially in your case.", he speaks on. "Blood mana has many benefits. It allows you to heal quicker, have more sensitive senses and drain the life force of your enemies. it has it's cost though. Every time that you use blood mana, it leaves behind changes in your body."

"Haven't we managed to deal with that. That is why you have taught me about cultivation haven't you. The passive regeneration of being at the foundation stage was meant to counter that wasn't it.", I reply, maybe with a bit too much venom in my voice. "You were not even willing to share that little with me otherwise."

"Once you make use of this spell, you will understand why I was this unwilling to talk about cultivation with you kid. Well, if what I want to do with you works out, then I think that I will be able to bring that particular aspect of your sword under control.", he replies, more to himself than to me. "I can maybe turn it into something that is actually positive for you."

As he speaks this, the man points toward a pile of notes that he has next to him.

"This is the notes that I have on the fusion spell and the method of applying it to your formation.", he speaks

"I know that it is a bit larger than the notes that I usually provide you with but you are going to be needing it in this case."

Well, that is a serious understatement as a class eight formation would have a tenth of those notes and my master's notes are more detailed than normal. Any other formation master would only need about half of the notes that he takes.

"It contains everything that you need to know about the fusion spell. Make sure to keep these as safe as possible. I am going to be quite busy once we return to the hexmountain this time. Replacing it is going to be a pain.", he speaks. "This mission of yours wasn't supposed to be this chaotic. Anyways, I guess that I should mention that the head office is not particularly happy with you mission performance this time. In their eyes, you did abandon your scholars in a volatile environment, putting their life at risk."

"Well, what exactly was I supposed to have done differently. It is not like I could have fought against cloak.", I reply, feeling the annoyance return to my voice. My master was the one that put me in that damn place.

"Well, the head office is out for blood this time. They were expecting one less problem to deal with when they agreed to the deal. Now not only do they still have to deal with the snowwinders, now the snow tribe has also been thrown into the mix.", he speaks. "Anyways, it is my fault. Things weren't supposed to be this chaotic. Once you return to the hexmountain, I am sure that these guys are going to throw you into a pretty annoying mission. I can already guess what it is going to be. That is why I am making all the preparations with you right now."

As he speaks, he sits down right on the ground. The man is so random sometimes.

"Firstly, I am going to be pretty busy from now on. I have to study this "tattoo" magic of the tattoo tribe. The less that you mention about it to the head office, the better though. If you are not careful, you will end up having to deal with the scholars and you don't want to deal with a bunch of curious scholars.", he speaks, seriousness in his voice. "Secondly, you are going to take over piloting this ship in a couple of days as I start my study. Do not disturb me during this time. If you have any doubt about the fusion spell, keep it with you until I come out of my room."

"Are you sure that you will be leaving that room of yours? I know how you get when you have something interesting in front of you.", I ask.

"I will make sure to come out once every couple days. How does that sound.", he replies. "I am not even sure if you will have any doubts. My notes do tend to be pretty clear."

That is quite the understatement.

"Well, what exactly am I supposed to do when pirates are going to come knocking?", I ask him. "It is not like this ship has any defenses."

Well what can I do, there is a serious pirate problem in the region surrounding the hex mountain. In some ways, it is even worse than the piracy near the snowwind empire.

"Oh right, I did forget about that.", he replies."I will give you two class seven cannons. That should be enough for you to manage anybody coming at you. You will have to install it yourself though. It will allow you to get used to the formation base of this ship."

"Wasn't I supposed to focus on learning the fusion spell?", I ask the man.

"Well, I know you kid. You will get distracted while you do that. This will ensure that you do not end up wasting too much time in the process.", he replies. "Before I leave though, I have to ask how exactly did you end up injuring yourself like this. What you have done is self inflicted."

"Well, it is kind of the case. What I went through is the death trance of the legion. I didn't expect it to be so painful though. It is supposed to be a mental technique. I didn't know that there was a physical component like this. Maybe it has something do with my bloodline.", I reply, pondering on it like have been the last couple of days. "After all, most of the orphans do not tend to take active combat roles like I do, so who can tell."

"Well, I would still caution you to be careful, brat. You will recover this time, but damage to the mana sense is no laughing matter. It can almost be considered to be damage on your soul.", my master speaks, clearly speaking more to himself than with me. "Maybe I should go and have a chat with the legion about this."