Chapter 310: Blood and Dirt
Seeing Aria pick up the potion, Penny eagerly picked up hers and drank it first.
She then immediately retched. The liquid was bitter and sticky like medicinal tree sap mixed with dirt...and she knew a lot about that subject.
Her stomach turned, and her mind spiraled back to a memory from when she was seven, not long after Adam had come to live with her. He was only eight then, quiet and tense, always tugging his sleeves down to hide the bruises his older siblings had left behind. He never talked about it, but Penny noticed. She noticed everything.
She had wanted to make him laugh. Or at least blink.
So one afternoon, she’d grabbed three plastic cups from the kitchen, filled them with dirt from different parts of the yard, and tracked him down behind the old shed.
"I’m a dirt aficionado," she had announced with a dramatic bow. "Nay! A dirt sommelier."
Adam had blinked at her like she had grown antlers, but she continued anyway.
"This one is driveway dirt. A bit sharp. Smells like confidence."
He didn’t say anything, so she shoved the second cup toward him.
"This is garden dirt. Very soft. Friendly. A little lonely."
Adam tilted his head but said nothing.
"And this," she said, holding up the last one, "is premium sandbox dirt. Complex and mysterious. I ate some once. It’s an acquired taste."
Adam finally spoke, voice flat.
"I’m not eating dirt."
Penny had pouted and taken a big pinch of it for herself to prove her point. He didn’t laugh, but the corner of his mouth twitched. That had been enough.
Now, gagging from the potion’s awful aftertaste, Penny coughed and spat into the mossy floor.
"Still better than driveway dirt," she muttered.
Seryn was giving her an odd look from a distance but Penny chose to ignore it. Instead focusing on the skillbook and the piece of equipment she was given.
What remained on the pedestal for her was a small silver ring with a pink crystal embedded in place. Even in the dim light, Penny could make out its shine and quality as somethinh truly amazing.
Blood Diamond Ring
Accessory- Ring
Grade: Epic
Level Requirement: N/A
Class Restriction: Crafter
+5 Charisma
+10 Def
+10% Movement Speed
Description: A Blood Diamond was embedded in a ring forged from metal blessed by the Heartwood Tree. In times of need, the Blood Diamond Ring has been known to defend its user from harm.
Skill: Blood Shield
Penny reached for the skillbook next, still wiping the last of the potion from the corner of her mouth. It was smaller than she expected, bound in deep red leather with a faint shimmer to the cover. As her fingers brushed over the title, glowing letters formed across the surface.
[Skill Acquired: Bloodcraft]
Bloodcraft (F)
Growth type Skill
Effect: Blood Magic Proficiency activated
Current Mastery: 0%
Description: Bloodcraft is a skill that is innate to most vampires and is considered to be the signature ability of their race. It is recorded that one who has reached the Pinnacle of Bloodcraft was able to stop an attack of thousands alone.
Her eyes widened.
"Bloodcraft?" she whispered, already grinning. "Now that sounds metal."
She could barely contain her excitement. The word alone made her feel ten times cooler. Bloodcraft. That was something a mysterious villainess would say before blowing up a castle. She stood up straighter, already imagining herself surrounded by swirling crimson energy and casting dramatic incantations in the middle of a battlefield.
Then the system pinged.
[Notice: Due to your current characteristics and alignment, all offensive Bloodcraft abilities have been disabled.]
Penny froze.
"...Excuse me?" she said flatly.
Another ping.
[Compensation granted: All defensive Bloodcraft abilities will receive 200% effectiveness.]
Her jaw dropped. "I get the skill. I get the name. I even get the aesthetic. But no blood spikes? No cursed bleeding chains? What am I supposed to do, hug someone aggressively?"
She threw her hands in the air. "So I’m a walking juice box with armor. Great."
Still, as she cooled off, her gaze drifted back to the ring on her finger and the soft glow of the skillbook. Twice the power on all defenses. That wasn’t nothing.
Penny huffed and crossed her arms. "Fine. I’ll be the indestructible blood princess."
A soft chime echoed above her head.
[Passive Skill Activated: Dramatic Pose]
Suddenly, a spotlight beamed down from nowhere, casting her in a radiant glow. Glitter drifted from above like falling stardust, sparkling around her as if the world had decided she was the main character for the next thirty seconds.
Penny didn’t move any differently. She didn’t strike a pose. She didn’t puff out her chest or throw out her arms. She just stood there, radiating pure, unfiltered frustration with all the grace and fire of a girl who had been wronged by the universe one too many times.
Great. No blood weapons. No spikes. Just sparkles and shields. I’m a magical girl with trauma. Is it too much to ask for a girl to be able to say ’I am not in danger, I am the danger!’"
Adam, watching from the corner of his eye, let out the faintest chuckle.
I can’t even brood in peace. This is injustice."
From the side, Adam watched her through the corner of his eye. He didn’t say anything, but a quiet breath of laughter slipped out of him anyway. It was soft, barely there, but it made the moment feel warmer.
She hadn’t changed.
Still weird. Still dramatic. Still dragging light into places that had none.
He looked away from her and down at his own pedestal. The item resting atop it pulsed faintly, veins of violet crawled along its surface like something alive.
Adam stepped forward.
The ring and skillbook were gone from his mind now.
Something was waiting for him. Something that felt far too familiar.
He could feel the energy of Arachne from the book. It was almost as if she had left this here for him....as if she knew this was going to happen.