City of Sin (Yanyu Jiangnan)

Demi had both looks and talent, was gifted yet diligent, and possessed the courage to take risks as well. If nothing went wrong in the future, she would grow up to be comparable to one of Gaton’s knights. A young lady like her was worthy of respect and admiration.

“My ability is Eruption,” Richard stated in response.

All of the youths had actually focused their attention on Richard and Demi. Many of them looked envious on hearing that he’d unleashed his ability as well, but Wennington and Venica didn’t have much of a reaction. Even though the two of them didn’t have their own abilities unlocked yet, they were quite close. Besides, as fire-related classes their abilities were quite likely to fall under the category of fire-based damage. Any such ability would exceed Richard’s Eruption in level.

On the other hand, Warren’s face was full of jealousy and disdain. He even grunted under his breath, “Bah, just Eruption!” Although the rest might not have noticed it, Richard clearly heard the boy. Still, he pretended not to have heard anything. While Eruption was a common and average ability, Warren himself hadn’t unlocked his own. As for the hatred and jealousy Warren had towards him, Richard didn’t take that to heart either. Not every Archeron was a hard-working genius that could work together with the rest. That schism was in fact something that governed the family.

“Eruption?” Demi was stumped for a moment, with her brows slightly creased, “That isn’t really compatible with your class. That’s really unlucky, but it’s not too much of a concern. What’s most important is that you are a runemaster, so it doesn’t matter if your ability is wasted. You were unlucky this time, but good luck for the future!”

“Thank you!” Richard raised his glass in toast, taking a small sip.

One normally unlocked their ability after they chose their class. If it matched their class well it would strengthen their powers, with Sharon and Demi being perfect examples. A lot of families took care of this— if the family’s inherited abilities were all melee or related to warriors, the younger generation would mostly choose corresponding classes.

However, that wasn’t viable with more powerful bloodlines, with abilities encompassing both melee and magic or even divinity. Although they may be inclined towards a certain domain, the children of the family needed some luck when choosing their class at a young age.

In the case of the Archerons, it was widely known that half the abilities were magical and the other half melee, with nothing related to divinity at all. Thus, when a child of the Archerons was choosing their class, it was like they were flipping a coin for their ability.

There were many cases in history of people changing classes after unlocking an exceptionally powerful ability. Generally speaking, one would contemplate their future direction if they unlocked something past level 3, and it became absolutely worth it at level 4.

Richard was an example of failed luck, at least for now. Demi’s wish of good luck hinted at the possibility of him unleashing a second ability, a wish with good intentions behind it. As charming as she already was, this only served to leave Richard with an even better impression of her.

Wennington walked over as well, glass in hand. He smiled, “Eruption? I want this marvellous skill as well! I already took the leap of faith in choosing my class, but without my ability unleashed yet I don’t know whether it’s compatible as I hope. If I get something like a level 2 magic ability it’ll be a real headache.

“Also, Demi, Eruption isn’t as useless as you think for Richard. On the battlefield, it’ll serve a great purpose.”

“You have a point,” Demi nodded in agreement after a moment’s consideration. One of the most difficult things for a mage was to preserve their life on the battlefield. Unquestionably, Eruption would be able to allow one to escape death much faster in times of danger. As for runemasters, their importance far outstripped that of mages. Runemasters of a higher level had the right to retreat from the battlefield at any time at their own discretion.

“Alright then Richard, since you’re already a runemaster can you make any magic-related runes?” Demi asked. She knew that most elementary runemasters were only able to craft a few of the standard runes.

Richard went silent for a moment, before speaking again, “I actually can make one that boosts mana, but it’s weaker than a second grade rune. Are you interested?”

Demi’s eyes lit up, “A mana boost? Is it a custom rune? How much is the effect?”

“Mm, and the effect is between 13 and 15%. I’ll only know the standard after the rune is complete.”

Demi’s eyes lit up even further as she cried out, “An enhancement rate this high with a fluctuation range this small?” She clearly had an ample amount of understanding on mana boost runes. Standard second grade runes fluctuated between 15% and 22%, which meant this custom elementary rune was comparable to one of the poorer second grade runes. Yet, this rune required far less capacity to carry.

A mana boost was identical to an increase in mana conservation. An enhancement of 15% would allow Demi, with about 400 points of mana, to cast an extra fourth grade curse. This increase in battle capacity would be similar to what a magic effectiveness rune would grant her. At the same time, this enhancement was relative to her own strength, only increasing as she grew in power.

Richard nodded his head in acknowledgement.

Demi took a deep breath, and stuck her impressive chest out before saying, “I want this rune! But I don’t want it to be a rune slot, I want it tattooed directly on my body. I can already withstand any elementary rune.”

Her words sounded like she was hinting at something in particular, which made Richard feel somewhat strange. He cast a casual detection spell on her body, a basic diagnostic test runemasters used to learn where to attach their runes. He actually didn’t need the spell to gauge the location, but used it to confirm his suspicions, because the location was simply inconceivable.

The detection spell flashed past Demi, and in Richard’s perception the entire area from her chest to her lower abdomen lit up in response. That was the only region where she could have runes tattooed.

Richard suddenly felt Demi’s fervent gaze on him, which made him rather reluctant to look her in the eye. This was now another sort of invitation altogether.

“Venica, don’t you need a rune too?” Demi turned around and beckoned Venica over. Venica strode forward and looked at Richard before saying, “I want a direct tattoo as well. As for the rune, an elementary agility will be enough. I’ll change it in the future.”

Yet another detection spell was cast, this time on Venica’s body. In response, the magic waves covered her back all the way to her thighs. Richard could sense a headache coming his way.

Wennington chuckled before saying, “Even I’m getting a little jealous of you now, Richard! How about this, help me with a rune as well and I won’t resent you any further. I’ll give you the materials, so you can charge me a lower price for labour. However, I want a slot. Don’t get me wrong on this, but I’m different from the girls.”

Wennington’s words, particularly his emphasis on the invitation from the two girls, were practically adding fuel to the flames. This caused Richard’s headache to worsen.

Thankfully, the youths began to discuss planar wars shortly after, the discussion growing so heated Richard could barely get a word into the conversation. Although Demi was the only one who had truly participated in battles, Wennington and Venica had a lot of related knowledge too. Their zeal for combat was simply startling as well. In some sense, Richard felt like these people in front of him were battle-crazed lunatics.

Warren did not join in on the conversation. It was evident that he hated Richard even more now, perhaps even abhorred him. Demi who’d been beside him had gone over to Richard on her own, and then even took Venica away as well. At the moment, the both of them were seducing him ever so blatantly, while that damned Richard actually barely even responded! To make things worse, Venica and Demi had no intention of giving up! Any straight man would surrender in the end to their persistent ways of seduction.

Warren downed the wine, glass after glass, but the scarlet liquid tasted more acrid than ever. A young lady beside him was trying to talk to him, but he was not paying attention to any of it. The fiery rage burning in his heart had already blinded him to anything other than Richard, Demi, and Venica.