Born in Blood



Jordan took a moment to reel back his shock, growing pensively silent.

"I've spent my entire life forging with magical beasts… but I've never come across a forging method like yours. Even mine only goes as far as taking the toughness and strength of a magical beast's, never the innate ability."

Liam hummed noncommittally. 

"It wouldn't be shameless for a professor to ask his student for his forging method, would it?" Jordan asked with hopeful eyes and a wry smile, but Liam shook his head.

"I would… but I can't. This forging method was the inheritance of my father. He made me swear an oath never to give it to anybody."

Jordan slowly hummed in understanding, a bit of regret in his eyes.

"...Even if I pay you 200K Stones?" he offered with a pleading look.

Liam lingered for a split second, but eventually shook his head.

"I see… well, fair enough. What do you need my help with?"

Liam proceeded to give Jordan a list of the things he required assistance with – mainly how to imbue a blade with a complete will, strengthen his blades' endurance, and ways to decrease the drawback on his mental sphere without decreasing the beast will potency.

Jordan nodded and dismissed him after a few questions, tending to Rin who stayed behind.

///

Liam had a short break before heading to his next class – Basic Inscriptions by Richard Nesht. 

He chose that time to cultivate and enter the Academic Lounge – an area consisting of pleasantries for students to partake in. 

There were sleek and large restaurants near there, containing an almost endless menu and meals of a royal quality.

Most of the time, students gathered there to socialize, which meant the air was almost always rowdy.

Liam moved past the hordes of young men and women, flashing his token to gather himself a large serving of delicacies from the lunch-lady, before finding a secluded place in the corner to dine in.

Sveinn was there too, charmingly chatting up a group of girls – Nessa was presumably in the Alchemic Labs, and Nord was most definitely in the Battle Halls.

Still, Liam couldn't help but feel various gazes on his figure, but he was too fixed on his musings to pay them any attention.

'I don't think I'll learn how to inscribe completely through learning the basics. Blood Weaving is just too unique and different.'

He didn't get ten bites in before a beautiful noble – scarlet hair and plump lips – a few years older than him walked to his table.

"Are you… Lawrence?" she asked inquisitively, her alluring, ruby-like eyes locked to his golden.

"No," he answered indifferently, taking another bite of his meal.

"Liar! You're Lawrence, the 'Golden-Eyed Vagrant', are you not?"

Liam almost winced. 

"I just said no. Are you daft?"

"Rude! I just wanted to say hi!" 

Liam shrugged nonchalantly, then continued eating his food.

The girl stomped her foot in anger and walked back to her group, which shot gazes of scorn and vindication at Liam.

'Golden-Eyed Vagrant…? What kind of retarded nickname is that?'

A long sigh escaped Liam's lips.

'Can't catch a break.'

A few minutes passed after such an interaction, and this time… Rin, of all people, came to his table. 

Liam had already noticed her lingering around the cafeteria, eyeing him for a good minute and eventually making her way to his table with a large serving of food.

She looked at him solemnly and gestured if it was okay to sit opposite him.

Liam heaved another tired sigh and casually shrugged, hasting to finish his remaining plate. 

Making conversation with a deaf girl was bound to be a bitter treat…

Rin made a series of gestures that looked like 'your forging method, what is it?', which she painfully repeated over and over until Liam eventually understood.

By the end of it… Liam shrugged with a smug chuckle.

Rin's thin purple brows momentarily furrowed in slight annoyance. With a defeated sigh, she chose to dig into her meal.

A sharp, serene chime of a bell rang in everyone's mental spheres – marking the end of their break.

Liam stuffed the rest of his food and headed straight to the basic inscription class, along with the scattering youths who went their own ways.

He was quick to realize, though, that the inscription's class was jam-packed with more students than any other class, even the mandatory ones. 

There were faces Liam didn't recognize, which he attributed to other cohorts joining their lecture.

Even those Liam knew were there, including Nord the delinquent battle maniac, and Sveinn the womanizer (their respective nicknames given by classmates).

'Inscriptions are too important to let up, I guess,' Liam realized, finding an empty seat at the back. 

After a short respite, a teacher teleported at the front like usual. 

Out of all of Liam's professors, this one looked the most posh – smooth blonde hair, azure eyes and a square-shaped face that paired well with his solid white suit.

"I am Richard," he introduced briefly, his drooping eyes scouring the students.

After a short introduction, he instantly began.

"I'll revise the topic from scratch for our newer students. Inscriptions consist of three aspects. Ink, meaning, and link."

"These aspects must work together as one united front to create any technique, spell, or wonder imaginable to the human mind… that should tell you about their endless depth and comprehension requirements."

Richard paced around the lecture hall, his sharp leather boots tapping against the wooden platform.

"Inscriptions have their own strengths and weaknesses, especially what they focus on."

"Creating unique spells, enhancements, inventing techniques and generally building an inscribed construct, are all different types of specializations."

Abruptly, Richard's hair turned white, glowing brightly. 

He took out a simple longsword made from steel from his ring, then stretched it forward.

Each thread of his hair extended and flowed around the blade, weaving in with lithe motions and leaving behind an etched mark with every hair.

By the end of it, the longsword looked much more ornate with incredibly precise white lines on its glowing surface, forming an intricate pattern. 

Shocking of all, Liam noticed how none of the lines intersected with each other.