Chapter 869: One more trump card ’It looks like I’m finally strong enough to face the leaders...but I’m still a long way off from facing Arthur.’ Quinn thought. [Quest completed] [Instant level up reward received] [You are now level 41] Seeing his reward Quinn was actually a little upset. Because whenever he experienced an evolution reset, the first level was always the easiest to level up because of the low amount of exp points required. Since it got harder with every level, he would have prefered this kind of reward at a much higher level. Still he figured he shouldn’t complain about it. For now, he decided to put the stat point into his strength bringing it up to 65. From the fight, Quinn learned that as long as kept his beast gear on, he could pretty much keep up with a leader’s speed and their power. Of course, Bryce’s natural attacks might be a little bit stronger but Quinn had Qi to make up for that. He would just have to be careful to not allow his Qi to run out, fights between vampires could be long and tedious. The more strength he had going for him, the less he would have to compensate via Qi. Of course when he added his Qi to the mix, it would also result in a bigger bang, making for a huge impact. That wasn’t the only reward Quinn received for defeating a leader though. Unlike the previous one, he was very pleased with this one. [Blood control +30] [Total Blood control 44] It was a huge boost to his Bood control, which he had only been able to improve slightly with Fex’ help. Quinn had seen Bryce do some amazing things through Blood control, such as leaving the blood swipes in mid air or moving them all at once, and removing the fairy blood from his body. The usefulness of this stat was apparent. However, it wasn’t all good news, because at the end of the day, Quinn, after going through a tough battle like that, hadn’t discovered much. The only thing he could confirm was that Bryce most likely wasn’t the one behind the attacks, as he was also looking for the person who had manhandled his daughter Kazz. There were also no signs of Fex anyway. ’Those paintings were pretty creepy, and his blood weapon was really strong. If he had more human blood, or humans around to sacrifice, I wouldn’t want to fight him again.’ Quinn thought. ’Yes.’ Vincent agreed. ’The one thing you have been able to rely on so far, is that the others might understand some of your shadow abilities and skills, but not all of it. After having fought you once, it won’t be the case anymore. The next time the two of you fight, might have a different outcome.’ ’Well, let’s just hope I don’t have to fight him again.’ Although Quinn was afraid due to what had happened to Bryce in the past, it was unavoidable as he was a shadow user. ———— Bryce continued to lie there in pain. He could tell that whatever was affecting his body wasn’t enough to kill him, but it would prevent him from moving for a good while. However, he didn’t have to wait too long. Kazz eventually approached Bryce herself, and opened up the flask. As she opened the lid and tried to pour it into his mouth, Bryce placed his hand on the flask stopping it. He couldn’t move well, yet he had summoned the will to not receive help. "Where did you get that?" He asked. "Why do you ask, when we both know you won’t like the answer? It was from the man who just left. He gave it to me so my arm could heal quicker, but I didn’t use up all the blood. It was my own decision to give you the rest, so please." Kazz pleaded, as she tried to pour it in his mouth again. This time Bryce didn’t resist and accepted the blood. Looking at Kazz, he could see she was still healing from some of the wounds, the worst one being the one on her arm. ’I didn’t even realise I had hit her.’ Bryce reflected. As soon as his tongue tasted the red liquid, he could tell that it wasn’t enough to heal him. The fairy blood in his body was still affecting him. Still, it did provide him with an energy boost, allowing him to deal with the rest himself. Placing his hand over the wound in his stomach, he closed his eyes and focused on using his Blood control. He could feel the two different blood types and started to pull the fairy blood cells away from his own and eventually, it all formed into a small ping pong sized ball of blood. Letting go it dropped onto the floor, finally allowing the blood to start healing him properly. ’That kid... he was the tenth leader after all. Was he hiding his strength back then?’ Bryce started to think back to the last time he had seen Quinn fight. ’No, that’s impossible, Vadeen would have killed him if it wasn’t for Arthur... So how the hell did he get that strong so fast?’ ’I was unprepared, I thought if any of the leaders came, my blood weapon would be enough, but I didn’t expect him to come and be that skilled. Look at me lying here making excuses, no matter what a loss is a loss.’ Eventually Bryce had restored enough energy to move around. He knelt up and looked at the hallway they were in. There were scratches all over the castle. Huge slash marks in between doors and partly broken floors and ceilings. ’That kid, I can’t think of him as a fake leader anymore.’ "Bring me your arm, Kazz." Bryce told her, and when she came over with it, Bryce slashed the skin off where it had healed up, and placed the seared part against hers. Then using what blood left in the flask poured it on top. He placed both hands on the wound, and Kazz could feel that Bryce was doing something, moving parts of her blood inside to speed up the healing process and once he let go, her arm was all healed up again. She moved it a couple of times, and it worked just as if nothing had happened. Usually it would take a while but she felt like it was back to how it was before. "Thank you...er...father." She said bowing down, not really knowing what to say. "It looks like you forgot your manners along with your memories as well." Bryce stated. "In this castle you are my Vampire knight, and I am your leader. As such, you should always address me as your leader, in a respectful manner and comply with what I ask, do you understand?" He asked. "Yes, yes master." She quickly corrected herself and bowed down. She thought that maybe now that he was no longer fighting, this person who was meant to be her father would treat her like one, unfortunately, it appeared to her that the two of them didn’t have that kind of relationship. "When the two of you were alone... Did he speak to you? Ask you about anything in particular?" Bryce wondered. "Just like you, he wanted to know about what happened to me. Who it was that attacked me. However, since I can’t remember anything I was unable to answer him. Only... there was one thing that was different. He also asked about someone called Fex, it seems like he cared for that person, and was more worried about him, and... I recall he mentioned that I wasn’t the only one that lost my memories." Kazz answered. "I see, well I guess we are both looking for the same person in a way, so we shouldn’t have to clash with each other again." Bryce concluded, finally standing back up. "Wait, Sir, can I ask, he said I was with Fex at the time! Can you tell me why we were together? Maybe it will help me remember something." "I doubt you will, but fine." Bryce sighed. "You see you were assigned a certain task before you disappeared. I had asked you to bring the boy to me. According to my sources, he figured out how to create and control a blood weapon. I wanted to ask him personally, just how far he had developed the technique or if he had told anyone yet." "Can I ask why?" Kazz, pushed a little further. Bryce turned around and gave her glance, before turning away. "Because I wanted to know if it was similar to the blood weapon summoning technique I already know. Perhaps it was similar, or maybe even better." Bryce stated, holding his chest. If the fight was to continue, there was one last trick he had up his sleeve. ’You should always have some trump cards, and stay ahead of your opennents.’ Bryce thought. *******