Assimilate All Talents

While a certain duo was repeatedly challenging the boss floor, far to the southeast of the Crestelia Kingdom, deep underground where an imposing castle stood, someone was waking from their rest.

Nisha's eyes shot open, and she immediately sat upright, scanning her surroundings. Her long black hair, usually tied in twin-tails, was loose and flung over her head, accidentally covering her face. Through the gaps in her hair, she could see enough to notice she wasn't in the prison anymore but back in her room in the castle.

'How did I get here?' The last thing she remembered was being bound by legendary shackles that suppressed her magic and strength, along with all the remaining vampires. As she pulled her hair back to clear her view, she realized she wasn't alone.

"Dad?! You're awake?!" she exclaimed, pleasantly surprised to see Absalom, the Primogen of vampires, awake once more. She thought he wouldn't awaken from his slumber for at least another 80 years. She was about to ask why he was awake but began piecing together what had happened. Her joy quickly turned to shame, and she averted her father's gaze.

"I—I can explain! See, I was trying to get revenge for you! It was them who—"

She floundered, trying to explain yesterday's events and her actions, but Absalom stopped her.

"No need. I know enough."

"You… do?"

"I don't care why you launched an attack on the human capital. What I care about is that you failed. If you're going to pull a stunt like that, you should be absolutely certain you'll succeed. I can't be there to protect you every time."

Though his tone was stern, Nisha knew it came from a place of love. She was used to him showing his care in this way and didn't mind, though she pouted as she thought back to all the effort she had put into planning for victory.

"But I really did everything I could! I made sure to take into account all their forces and planned ideal matchups. I even sto—I mean, borrowed a drop of god blood to fuel the Blood Reign."

"Wait, you stole a drop of god blood? When?" Absalom eyed his daughter, who averted his inquisitive gaze again. He was both amazed and confused at how she had managed such a feat without his knowledge. After all, he kept the only bottle of god blood securely within his spatial bracelet, which he never removed. He made a mental note to be more cautious, as even a single drop was immensely powerful and could make Nisha a target if anyone learned she could acquire it.

Nisha's eyes widened as she remembered the Blood Reign and checked her spatial ring, only to realize it wasn't on her.

"Oh no! They took the Blood Reign!"

When she was captured, all her belongings had been confiscated, meaning Crestelia now had both the Blood Reign and the drop of god blood inside it. She turned to Absalom and pleaded, "Please, Dad! Can you get it back?"

Absalom, trying to remain firm in reprimanding his daughter, nearly faltered at her pleading eyes. However, he steeled himself and said, "No. This is your mistake. If you want it back, you'll have to get it yourself."

"That's impossible!" she cried. She was confident she could win if the blood moon enhanced her abilities, but without it, she knew there was no chance she could even breach the palace walls. Not only were there barely any vampires left to mount another attack, but their insider, Itaya, had been caught, leaving them with no visibility inside the palace.

"Nothing is impossible." Absalom said firmly. "If you can't succeed now, then train to get stronger. What level is your law technique at?"

Nisha hesitated but eventually admitted, "Level four…"

"Four?!" His voice boomed, shaking the castle walls. "You're telling me that in the 87 years I've been asleep, you haven't improved your law technique at all?! Not even by one level?!"

"Y-yes…" Nisha admitted, her shame deep. She had slacked in training and practicing her law technique, relying instead on the Blood Reign to solve her problems. As one of the few A-rankers with a legendary weapon, she could easily defeat most opponents. Even without god blood powering the weapon, it massively enhanced her blood magic, making her complacent.

Absalom rubbed his forehead, struggling to put his frustration into words. He asked himself where did she go wrong and become so lazy and after a brief silence he came to a realization. It wasn't her fault, it was his. Realizing the part he played for being in hibernation for so long he said with a stern tone. "You're grounded."

"Grounded?!" Nisha exclaimed, wide eyed. Not once in her long life had she been grounded.

Absalom continued, "You're not taking a single step out of the castle until you either raise your law technique by two levels or comprehend a new one. And to make sure you don't slack off or leave, I will personally watch you until you do."

At first, Nisha was dismayed to hear she was grounded. But upon hearing the terms, she paused and asked, "So… you won't go back to sleep?"

He nodded. "I'm not letting you out of my sight until I see real progress. Is there a problem with that?"

Nisha shook her head vigorously. "N-no, not at all!"

What she initially thought was a punishment turned out to be exactly what she had always dreamed of. She thought back to when she was first turned into a vampire by Absalom, how he had spent her early years teaching, guiding, and supporting her when she was at her weakest. Those times had been cut short when she rather quickly became an A-ranker. He deemed her strong enough to survive on her own so he went into his cycle of almost centuries long slumbers.

She didn't care about being confined to the castle as long as he was there with her.

Absalom, unaware of her thoughts, patted her head. "Good. We'll begin tomorrow. Train hard, and you could accomplish your goal in 50 years."

"I want to do it in five." Nisha stated with sudden resolve.

"So soon? Why?" Absalom asked, puzzled. Vampires were immortal, there was no urgency.

Though Nisha wanted to savor her time with her father, an equally strong desire burned in her chest.

"Because I don't just want Blood Reign back, I want revenge! I don't want to wait for them to die of old age. If they're going to die, it's going to be by my hands."

Her conviction surprised Absalom, but seeing it motivated her to improve, he approved. "Then we'll do it in five. But I won't go easy on you. Can you handle it?"

With a determined nod, she said, "Yes!"

Seeing her resolve, Absalom decided to alter the plan slightly. "Since you're so full of energy, let's start today instead of tomorrow. Come."

Nisha jumped out of bed and followed Absalom into the hallway as they made their way to the courtyard.

On the way, Absalom asked, "By the way, who do you want revenge on? I recall seeing Caela's Chosen in the capital. Is it her?"

"No." Nisha shook her head. "It's one of the Royal Knights. His name is Sol. He's the reason we couldn't win. Not only did he save the Commander of the Royal Knights, but he also blocked the blood moon from Blood Reign with his own shadow moon. He's why so many of us died."

She wanted revenge not just for herself but for the vampires who had followed her and perished.

Absalom raised an eyebrow. 'Someone countered the blood moon? That shouldn't have been possible, especially with god blood maintaining it. He wondered if it had been a law technique like celestial, light, or dark that perfectly countered it. Interesting.'

Thinking about how it was interesting his daughter met such an unfortunate matchup, he recalled there was someone else who caught his attention recently. "Nisha, do you remember asking if you'd ever have a brother or sister?"

Her eyes sparkled as she stopped in her tracks. "Are you thinking of adopting someone?!"

For vampires, converting someone into a vampire was the same as adoption. The one who was turned into a vampire would become their child and be treated just like how one would treat a child they had since birth. Because of this, vampires were extremely selective about turning others into vampires which was why their numbers didn't expand rapidly.

He nodded. "I encountered someone interesting when I went to pick you up. I think he might be a good fit for our family."

"Please adopt him! I don't want to be an only child."

He had already been considering it, but given her enthusiasm, he decided to use it as a driving force for her to push herself even further. "If you raise your law technique by two levels or comprehend a new one within five years, I'll adopt him."

"Really? No take-backs!" she exclaimed, excited. "I'll do it in one year, just watch!"

Absalom chuckled softly at her proclamation, five years was a tough, but feasible goal given her aptitude and talents but even he would be shocked if she managed to accomplish it within one year.

With proper motivation, the two continued to the courtyard, where Absalom began teaching her the true way to wield blood magic.