A Wolf's Howl, A Fairy's Wing

Now Seraphina looked confused, "Aren't you a shapeshifter yourself?"

At the same time, Emma was surprised, as this was the first time she had heard of Erik being anything but human. Yet, she soon settled down, as she didn't think it mattered.

Erik shook his head, "Remember what I said? Consider me to have lived under a rock for the last seven years. Sure, I know how I personally grow stronger, but how would I know if it works the same for other supernaturals?"

That was something Elora and Erik had both wondered about back on Söl.

After all, a single specimen hardly makes for proper research. Elora, and Söl in general, had plenty of knowledge on the standard power system for most races outside of Earth, but Erik had so far been the only person they knew whose body worked differently.

Was Erik unique among his kind, or did they all advance in the same way? And what about vampires? Did they use the same system as shapeshifters?

While these questions had never been particularly important before, now that they were on Earth, they might as well investigate, as they wondered why Earth and the races living on it were so different.

They had already noticed one difference, which was that the supernaturals on Earth appeared to have affinities in the same way as humans, while Erik didn't have any when he first met Elora.

Still a little confused by his request but seeing no problem with answering, Seraphina began explaining what she knew.

Humans, and unbeknownst to Seraphina, most other races known to Elora and Erik, initiated their journey to power with a single mystic glyph tied to their affinities.

This glyph would instinctively appear the moment they absorbed aetherium for the first time and then be imprinted on their magic core, residing in the heart. At this stage, they held the title of a first rank, often referred to as an initiate.

The imprinted glyphs on their core were accessible for both study and casting. From then on, advancing in power required careful examination and study of these glyphs, where each of them contained a specific spell, varying even within the same affinity.

For instance, individuals with a fire affinity might manipulate flames or heat or infuse a weapon with fire. As one delved deeper into studying a single glyph, the associated spell would become more flexible and powerful.

Advancement in this system involved the discovery of a second glyph, marking the transition to a second rank, also known as an adept. This advancement resulted in a substantial increase in power.

From there, power and rank increase as more and more glyphs are discovered.

Apart from glyph understanding and formation, internal aetherium storage played a crucial role. This aspect was simpler than glyphs and involved absorbing aetherium from the air to fill the storage.

The stored power could be used for spells, simple cantrips, or powering a sigil, like the aetherium infusion sigil that Emily had created. The storage itself could be expanded by gradually seeping more power into it when filled to capacity.

The power of a person's spells generally depended on a combination of glyph understanding and aetherium storage size.

On Söl and across the universe, this system was simply referred to as 'the path.' But on Earth, there needed to be a distinction. Therefore, the human path was called Arcanism, and the supernatural path was Runebound.

Runebound differed from Arcanism in several ways. Arcane glyphs typically resembled concentric circles with symbols, while Runebound runes looked more like ancient symbols and were melded into the skin rather than inscribed on a core they did not even have.

These runes would come out into view when a Runebound used their power.

A Runebound also didn't actively absorb aetherium like Arcanists but instead had it permeate through their skin, enhancing their bodies and turning it into a self-sustaining power source.

This difference could be compared to the difference between mana and energy, with an Arcanist's mana being a large pool of power that can be slowly refilled with aetherium from the environment, and a Runebound's energy being a smaller pool that is constantly refilled by the body itself, which is tiring.

Unlike Arcanists, Runebound enhanced physical properties to extreme levels, achieved through this aetherium permeation.

This process didn't exactly happen automatically, though. A Runebound needed to exercise their body in order for the permeation to happen and their internal power generation to grow stronger.

The final distinction was in the nature of spells. Arcanists leaned towards efficient ranged combat abilities, while Runebound abilities were more focused on close range or even direct manipulation of the body.

While not an absolute rule, it generally defined the differences between the two paths. Meanwhile, Erik has had a currently unique opportunity to follow both paths from the moment he met Elora.

The supernatural species did not have aetherial storage or a core to have glyphs imprinted on, but Erik had a little companion, who not only acted as his aetherial storage but from the moment he gained the Raijū bloodline all those years ago, he also gained a core.

Naturally, this gave him both runes and glyphs, doubling the abilities he had access to while allowing him to fight efficiently at both long and close range.

However, it wasn't all roses, as there was currently no kind of feedback loop between the two systems, meaning he had to do twice the amount of work to be equally as fast as anyone else.

Luckily, Elora's presence also helped him with this, but he was still significantly slower in his advancement than most others.

He had once tried to just focus on a single path while letting the other just passively improve, but this quickly proved undoable as pain had wracked his body from the moment the two systems lost their balance.

At the time, he had screamed in agony for two days while Elora worked frantically to help restore the balance between the two systems. Incidentally, this event had actually been a great catalyst in advancing Elora's love for Erik as she realised she didn't want to see him in pain.

At the time, this made Erik wonder what would have happened if he had gained Elora as a companion at a point where he already had made progress along the Runebound path.

Regardless, despite the fact that his circumstances caused a reduction in growth speed, he realised that his situation was more beneficial than not, as he held much greater power than others at the second rank.

Having listened to everything Seraphina had told them, they now realised that, yes, both vampires and shapeshifters followed the Runebound path, and, inherently, Erik's system worked no different from other Runebound, with the only difference being his lack of an affinity.

After getting to this point, they spent a few more hours talking as Elora had some more questions for Erik to ask Seraphina, mostly about the various factions that now ruled Europe and were associated with the council.

When they were finally done, Seraphina released a sigh of relief. She couldn't remember the last time she had to talk this much in a row.

Erik looked at her with amusement, "Don't worry, you're off the hook for now. How about you get reacquainted with Emma while I go prepare some food for us."

Seraphina looked a little surprised at his offer but quickly nodded as she wanted to talk to Emma with Erik out of the room, "Alright! No need to make food for me, though."

She gained a slightly dreamy look as she thought about Erik's blood, "That… meal you gave me earlier was very filling."

Quickly shaking herself free from her thoughts about that, she then looked at Emily, "Will you, Uhm, take Emily with you?"

Erik couldn't help but smirk at her failed attempt to make it seem like a casual question, "You could just ask me to give you two some privacy, you know?"

Unfortunately, despite his hope for seeing a little embarrassment on Seraphina's face, she just sent an angry gaze his way for a few moments before she asked, "Well? Will you?"

Feeling an almost instinctual desire to tease this woman, Erik said with a grin, "If you ask nicely, sure."

Her gaze only became more hostile, but Erik only grinned wider in response until she finally asked through gritted teeth, "Will you please give us some privacy?"

Erik laughed softly and turned to Emma, "Are you okay with that, Emma?"

Seeing her smile lightly and nod, Erik winked at Seraphina and then turned around to go to the kitchen while Elora ordered Emily to go stand in the hallway.

Once there, he took some beneficial food from his armour storage and began to prepare a meal for himself and Emma, together with Elora, who had decided to come out of his soul and join him for this strangely normal couple activity.

That said, she really wasn't very helpful as she either just lounged on his shoulder in small form or hugged him from behind in her larger form while they talked about everything and nothing.

Regardless of her usefulness, however, Erik still appreciated her presence as he continued to make food with a smile.

When he returned to the living room, Seraphina and Emma were sitting on the same couch while the vampire hugged the smaller girl with a sad look in her eyes.