A few days had passed since my sudden collapse, accompanied by Ignis. Today was supposed to be Wednesday or Thursday... I could no longer remember for sure.
At that moment, I was in the training field with Flávia, Nerys, and Selena. They were trying to teach me how to partially transform into a Vampire Count. But as expected, it wasn't just hard — it was extremely difficult.
Besides requiring immense proficiency, the transformation demanded tremendous control and absurd strength. In a way, I met the strength requirements, even though Serapynhe, for some reason, hadn't allowed me to condense the ten drops of true blood to expand my Blood Star.
"Try again," said Flávia in her trainer mode — which, by the way, had already become one of my favorites.
Alright. I started trying again. My vitae began to flow through every corner of my body. Vitae, Nox, Nex, and Mutatio — the four fundamental powers of vampires — were channeled in unison as I tried to keep them balanced.
Wings began tearing through my back in softly violet flames. A deep red aura tried to form around me. On my forehead, three drops of blood attempted to form a fixed triangle.
But everything started becoming unstable. After a few minutes, the formation broke. The aura vanished. Any sign of transformation disappeared.
"What's going on? Why can't I enter the Count form?" I asked, frustrated for always failing at the final step.
"Your strength is far too great for your level," answered Nerys with her usual mastery. "Your body is struggling to assimilate low-tier abilities with such high power. Your vitae is already at the limit of the first level of the Blood Star."
"So what should I do?" I asked, lightly frustrated. "How can I train to improve my proficiency individually while keeping all powers balanced?"
"Well," she began, "you can condense your final drop of pure blood and enhance your Star... or keep trying until your proficiency reaches the level of your strength."
"Damn... Serapynhe took that first option away from me. So I'm left with the second."
Flávia crossed her arms and looked me straight in the eye before speaking:
"You must train each power individually, but without favoring one more than the others. Balance between them is vital."
She paused.
"This will require patience and discipline. But if you focus like you did when training with your spear and flames, it won't be truly difficult."
I nodded silently, letting her words sink in. She was right. When I trained with the spear, I didn't use force — just dedication and will. My mind simply wanted to learn how to wield it. The same went for fire. I had always wanted to control fire since childhood. And when I finally had the chance, I gave it everything.
The flame still danced in my hands, unstable and lacking proficiency... but fueled by the strength of a genuine desire.
Remembering that feeling, I stepped away from them and began channeling vitae slowly through my body, trying to feel its movements as clearly as possible.
In deep concentration, I lost myself in the flow of vitae. It coursed through my body. Some particles were absorbed, but since my body was already at its limit, it filtered out part of the essence and expelled the rest to circulate again.
"What if I change my approach?"
The vitae continued flowing calmly. Instead of Nex, I tried starting with Mutatio. After all, since vitae is already in contact with the body, transformation should be easier right after it.
And as expected, it was. The transformations began. My skin changed, claws grew, my body shrank, and, unconsciously, I became a small bat — more easily than ever before.
Following this logic, what should come next? Nex or Nox?
The answer was obvious: Nox, the mist expanded through vitae. I returned to human form. The vitae, now dense in my body, began to thin out, expanding at an alarming rate, forming a slow-turning mist around me.
I noticed the mist expanded through my pores, unlike Nex and Vitae, which moved beneath the skin. That meant Nox could be used alongside the others more easily. However, it clashed slightly with Mutatio — just as Nex clashed with Vitae.
To finish, I channeled Nex into a finger slash — like the intent of a spear.
I thought to myself: if I want to improve my overall proficiency, there's a proper order: Vitae → Mutatio → Nox → Nex. But to activate the Count form, none of them can clash. That means I must start with Vitae, follow with either Mutatio or Nox, then Nex, and end with whichever remains between Mutatio or Nox.
If we follow this logic, Mutatio should come last — to trigger the transformation. This way, the four powers would merge into one body.
Flávia, overhearing my thoughts out loud, signaled for me to go to the center of the field to put it into practice.
So I went. I paused for a few seconds, took a deep breath, and began.
Vitae surged through my body violently, but I began finding balance. Next, I channeled Nox — the mist seeped through my pores, swirling around me. Then came Nex, with its natural aggression, forming a powerful intent and shaping the mist into armor around my body.
Finally came Mutatio. The transformation began.
My wings spread open. Three drops of blood began aligning on my forehead — forming my personal signature for the Count form. The four powers stabilized, concentrating within me.
A spinning cocoon of mist enveloped me. Seconds passed slowly... until the cocoon shattered.
From within emerged...
Bruno — in his partial Count form.
His once-white hair now had crimson hues. His wings were black as a starless night. A deep red aura enveloped his body. On his forehead, instead of a triangle, the three blood drops were arranged diagonally, forming a strange circular contrast.
His transformation was both elegant and brutal.
His spear materialized in his hand. He raised it... and launched a thrust toward a cluster of trees.
BOOM.
The attack tore through the air, obliterating the trees and slamming into the rune barrier, which trembled for several seconds. And it didn't end there — a high-grade flame, bluish in tone with fine violet edges and a clear core in the shape of three blood drops, erupted in an even stronger strike.
BOOM.
Space itself seemed to tear. A gust of wind swept across the battlefield as the flame tried to burn and corrode the runes and the barrier.
Bruno's voice echoed from afar:
"I did it...!" he shouted, victorious.