[You’ve suffered broken ribs and a cracked sternum] No sooner had Ace penetrated his sword through the crevices of the beast’s neck scales than it struck him with its claw in the chest. The sheer force of the attack shattered a few of his ribs and broke his sternum, leaving him in considerable pain. The attack, however, had a positive effect by increasing his durability stat, but that wasn’t important to him at the moment. [Emergency Healing: Activated] [Energy: 810/810 >>> 770/810] While his body healed, Ace liquefied his sword into a metallic bracer while latching onto the beast’s claw. Like a piece of gum stuck on a shoe, Ace remained attached to the beast’s foot until it launched him high in the air, approximately ten feet above the beast’s head. Looking down, he saw Skyler getting back on her feet while wrapping her long, snake-like body around the Emberwyrm’s neck. Her strength wasn’t enough to choke it instantly but was considerable enough to slow it down... partially. [Creativity Aspect: Activated] [Select Skills you would like to combine.] Quickly, Ace perused his list of skills, looking for the most powerful ones he could use at the moment. Once he found the ones he desired, he combined them quickly and felt his body readjusting painfully to accommodate the new combined skill. [Skills Combined: {Blood Fire}; {Blood Sucker}; {Mana Extraction}] [New Combo Aspect: Flaming Kiss of Death] [Description: Upon activation, the user emits an aura that ignites any blood spilled in the vicinity, creating a fierce and uncontrollable blaze. Each target affected by the flames has their life force and mana gradually drained and transferred to the user. The skill has a cooldown period and requires a significant amount of initial mana to activate, but its regenerative properties can offset this cost if used effectively.] [Energy: 770/810 >>> 620/810] [Blood Mana: 39,089/40,832 >>> 38,089/40,832] Upon activation, Ace’s body became painfully drowsy for a split second before returning to normal as he felt his energy and mana leave his body. That didn’t matter for now; his target was in sight, and nothing was hindering him. The skill’s activation began with blood forming from thin air, most likely from his Blood Bank. A large volume, enough to fill an Olympic pool, floated above his head before dispersing into droplets. With his hands raised high, Ace slashed them in a slanted line, sending all the blood at the Emberwyrm. The blood drops ignited with a blood-red flame, consuming them. The Blood Bishop issued a warning to Skyler, who, as she was about to escape, was caught by the beast’s claws and held in place. ’Damn it. I have no idea what this attack will do to her.’ [Blood Control Level 3 Skill: Activated] It was almost as if the beast was conscious. Seeing the dilemma on Ace’s face brought an eerie smirk to its long, scaly face. The Blood Bishop noticed it, but then he too wore an eerie smirk as his hands glowed the same color as his Blood Aura. All the blood that would have landed on Skyler was concentrated into larger, streamlined arrows aimed at the beast’s head, neck, back, and feet. The beast’s expression turned to increased aggression, and just as it was about to escape, Skyler wrapped her body around its safe spots and switched from her dragon-like form to her hog form, adding more weight to her body. *SHLING* *SHLING* *SHLING* [+50 Liters of Blood. Your Blood Bank is now full.] [Overall Total Blood Mana: 40,832 >>> 43,832] [Your Wounds have been healed] [Your health points have been refilled] [Your Energy has been restored] [Blood Control Level 3 >>> Blood Control Level 4] ’All of this? From one Combined Skill?’ [As mentioned before, your Blood Abilities depend solely on your imagination and creativity.] [The stronger your imagination and creativity, the stronger your skills become.] [The stronger your skills, the stronger you become.] Ace landed and quickly leaped back, with Skyler joining him. The two watched as the Emberwyrm screamed and roared in pain. To make matters more interesting, his Blood Mana had not reduced once his attacks landed on the beast. Even at that moment, with all of its blood flowing from its body like a waterfall, his Blood Mana didn’t diminish, well not from his attacks at least. "What do you call that move?" Skyler, reverting from her beast forms, stood opposite Ace and watched the creature roar in pain. "Flaming Kiss of Death?" he shrugged and cringed at the name but was pleased with the effects it had on him and the beast. "My mana’s not reducing at all. I feared that every attack would just take mana from me and heal it, but it turns out I was wrong. Its legs are down, so let’s give it one final hit." Skyler turned into her hog form, concentrating more energy on her arms, legs, and back for more strength. With an extra layer of thick skin, her durability had increased threefold with an extra buffering of protection from Eneraflux. Ace melted the metallic brace on his hand and turned it into a long, single-edged sword with a blade as wide as his body. His body was still in a bit of shock from the Flaming Kiss of Death, so there was no need for him to use it again. However, he was going to rely on his strength and speed to kill the beast for the second time, and hopefully, it would be the last time he had to do so. The situation still made no sense to him, but it needed to come to an end. [Blood Sprint Level 2 Skill: Activated] Together, Skyler and Ace rammed their bodies into the beast, toppling it onto its side. Skyler’s superior size and strength pinned the creature while Ace swung his sword using every muscle in his body. As it came down, he bit his own tongue and spread his blood on the sword’s blade, igniting it with pink flames and slicing through the beast’s neck. The Blood Bishop particularly targeted the crucial veins carrying blood to its body. In a few short seconds, the Blood Bishop and Gifted Human had slain the Emberwyrm. Still, there was no explanation from the system other than a series of notifications congratulating him for completing the quest and earning a new skill. [Quest Complete] The source of this content ɪs 𝓷𝓸𝓿𝓮𝓵⟡𝓯𝓲𝓻𝓮⟡𝓷𝓮𝓽 [Level 135: 372/2020 >>> Level 138: 372/2050] [All Stats have been increased by three points] [Reward: 10 Blood Points] [You are no longer eligible to increase your Blood Class with Blood Points.] [Your stats can be permanently altered with Blood Points.] [You can increase the ranks of other Blood Mutants using Blood Points.] [You can only become a Blood King with enough subjects.] [You have ZERO subjects under your rule.]