Ryan gazed at Seraphina.
His vision was clearer than ever, each and every detail of her face clearly visible to him.
Ryan had always known his sister was beautiful, but all of a sudden, her beauty magnified in his senses. Her beauty was not delicate like Kaelith, it was not gentle—it was fierce, heavy, and disciplined. Her wild red hair framed a sharp jawline, and her silver eyes gleamed with a feral intensity, more like a tigress than anything soft or tame. Strength radiated from her, an unshakable presence that demanded attention. But even with all of that, she looked like a femme fatale.
"Oi, don't ogle me," she said. "And tell me what skill you got."
Even as he stared at her, Seraphina inserted a pinky into her own nose and dug like she was digging a hole in there.
Tsk.
Ruining her own perfect beauty!
"You have no noble dignity," he said with a disgusted expression. "Don't dig your nose."
"Will you dig it for me then?" She sneered.
"I wonder what your admirers would think if they saw you like this."
Seraphina shrugged. "Maybe I should show them this, those annoying pests. Anyway, what did you get?!"
Ryan looked at the whimpering cheetah in front of him. Then smirked. "It's the Enhanced Vision skill. My eyesight is now much sharper, almost supernaturally so."
Sera frowned. "Oh, that's… fine I guess."
"Why disappointed, big sis?" He frowned as well.
"I wanted you to absorb its Active Skill—Speed Burst. That would have given you something to rely on in case of danger."
He blinked.
She beckoned him to leave the mirror with her. He followed. Then, she turned back to look at the mirror again and cast a magic over it. She went right back into it. Ryan followed as usual.
This time, they appeared in a much larger room. A basement. A stinky place filled with… pigs and chickens.
Seraphina threw a scroll at Ryan. He clumsily caught it and began reading.
She explained: "From today, you will officially start your training under me. And I don't want you to go around absorbing random powers. I want you to become versatile and strong. Random powers won't help you do that."
He became attentive. "So how do you want me to go about it?"
"We will first create a complete arsenal for you, Ry." She smirked. "Movement, attack, defense, healing, senses, and support. We will fix one weakness at a time until you have no clear weaknesses."
"Oh!" He became incredibly excited.
"Don't get excited just yet." She glared at him. "That means you can't just go around absorbing random powers. Since you already have something to boost your senses now, our next target should be another department."
"It's not really up to me though, honestly…"
"That's fine. Since you couldn't get the cheetah's Speed Burst today, absorbing it again tomorrow should be enough. Anyway, slowly but surely, we will fill all of the six departments I told you."
Ryan then looked around at the pigs. "Then we are here for…" He had a guess.
"There will be three phases to your training," she continued. "In the First Phase, you will catch up with your peers. You are far behing them in a lot of areas, battle prowess, experiences, and even education. We will bridge those gaps and make you an equal to them."
He nodded.
Sera nodded. "Others wouldn't be able to bridge such years of being behind others, but as a Fiend, you can grow faster than a human. For example, even killing these pigs should help you grow stronger."
Ryan nodded. As he expected—he was here to exp farm.
"There is prince I want you to fight down the line. Prince of Fire or Flame or whatever. The day you can defeat him, your First Phase will be over."
"Then what about the second phase?"
Seraphina smirked, her silver eyes shining as she raised her chest proudly. "In the second phase, you will try and catch up with me, your big sis."
"Eh?" He chuckled.
Her face fell. "What? I am among the top tier talents of our age, so if you catch up with me, that means you are also one of us at the top."
"I know that, I was just thinking of something I want to do."
She became curious. "What do you want to do?"
"You will understand when I am stronger than you."
"Meh. Don't underestimate me just because you have a legendary class, I am not going to be very easy to defeat."
Nah, I will not be defeated at all, she thought inwardly. Legendary class? So what?
She had her own secrets.
Martial-mage Dual Class had a hidden feature that almost no one other than she herself and her mother knew. Even Ryan didn't know about it. Seraphina didn't plan to tell him either. She wanted to see him struggle to catch up with her, only to fail again and again.
She laughed evilly in her mind.
Seeing her smug look, Ryan only felt even more interest in breaking her confidence. One day, one day for sure. That smug face would have to bow under him.
"So, what about the third phase?"
Seraphina's expression became grim. "The second phase will come to an end the moment you can defeat me. Then, the third phase will begin. In that phase, you will be training to reach the level of people like the ministers and normal dukes."
Reaching the level of the true people with power in the capital!
People like ministers, Mage Lords, and similar. The High Noble Lords!
Once they reached that level, only the legendary figures of the human race could still tower over them. People like their own mother, the king, and Lady Eleanor.
When they could match people like Lysandra—the third phase will come to an end.
"You are quite ambitious," Ryan said with a wry smile. "I think my training is going to be quite brutal, right?"
She nodded. "Yes, but don't worry. It will start easy and will slowly become more complex as you get used to it. I won't overwhelm my cute little brother so easily."
He walked up to a pig close by. There was a butcher's knife nearby, he took it with a strong grip.
Seraphina watched him.
She herself also had a goal in her own training—she wanted to reach the King's level as soon as possible. If she could reach that level, not even the King could rival her in strength!
She was way more talented than the King.
With her mother, the Genetic Saintess behind her, she would become invincible among the human race. Then, she wouldn't have to be so worried about every scheme.
Now that Ryan's potential was just as high, if not higher than her own—she wanted him to aim for the same thing. That would be the fourth phase—surpass the King.
Ryan placed a hand over the pig's filthy head. It yonked. He used the most mana expensive skill he had on hand.
Luck Sucker!
[Mana: 11/15]
Something golden wafted out of the pig's body and into his own. Ryan didn't feel much different, so he did not wait and lifted the butcher's knife.
He dug it right into the creature's neck.
Once.
Twice.
Ten times.
Then it was dead.
Feeling the blood all over his hand, Ryan looked at the pink screen in front of him.
[Level 1: 0/100 exp]
The bar blurred.
[100/100 exp]
[Leveling Up]