Zalpa's statement inevitably made the couple excited. Khan stood up without letting go of Liiza, and the girl had to wrap her legs around his waist to cling to him.
"[I'm already regretting this]," Zalpa snorted when she saw the two young faces br.i.m.m.i.n.g with grat.i.tude.
"[She would be far easier to like if she weren't so grumpy]," Khan commented as Liiza put strength in the arms around his neck to make her legs reach the floor slowly.
"[It's part of her charm]," Liiza giggled while fixing her intense gaze on him.
Liiza partially let go of Khan's neck to move a hand on his right shoulder. Her fingers carefully reached the tattoo and traced its edges when she confirmed that Khan wasn't hurting.
"[Can you stop l.u.s.ting after each other for a bit]?" Zalpa scolded before turning to walk toward the bear-like monster with the open belly. "[I'm trying to teach you something important, you d.a.m.ned h.o.r.n.y kids]."
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Liiza would have normally called Zalpa's name to complain about her words, but she only voiced a happy laugh now. Khan also smiled while nodding at his girlfriend. It was hard to contain their emotions after the test, but they did their best to focus on the old Niqols since her teachings had the priority.
"[It can be dangerous to reach the superior checkpoint of the Blood Shield when your body isn't ready to endure its drawbacks]," Zalpa explained while gesturing to the couple to follow her. "[Still, I bet that you don't care about the risks]."
"[Everything should be fine]," Khan said in a confident tone.
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Khan had been able to use the [Blood Shield] before becoming a first-level warrior. His body had improved, so the next checkpoint of the technique shouldn't cause any problem.
"[You shouldn't underestimate its power]," Zalpa continued as she proceeded to cut a thumb-sized lump of flesh from the monster with her bare fingers. "[The old ways always carry risks, but their requirements protect you. You would normally have to wait for your manipulation ability to reach the right level before approaching the next checkpoint, which would give you time to improve your body. Your situation is different, so you can't realize how much power you are ingesting]."
Zalpa knew that Yeza had unlocked the [Blood Shield] for Khan, and she was about to do the same with the next checkpoint. That would give an immense boost to his defensive power, but it would also leave him clueless about the actual cost and requirements of the technique.
"[Make sure to watch carefully]," Zalpa announced. "[The procedure never changes. You only have to apply more power and find better materials to reach higher checkpoints]."
Zalpa used her bare foot to clean a spot on the floor from the dust before placing the lump of flesh there. Then, she sat and stretched her hands to let her palms hover right above the gory item.
Mana acc.u.mulated on her palms and created an azure radiance that illuminated the lump of flesh. The blood still flowing out of the material reversed its course and started gathering in its center.
"[You must be gentle]," Zalpa described. "[Use your mana to teach the blood how to clot without breaking the flesh. Part of your energy will naturally become part of the material and empower its structure, but you need to make sure that nothing breaks during the procedure. You might ingest a flawed version of the Blood Sheld otherwise]."
The flesh's edges eventually dried up, and Zalpa reached for the maimed corpse of the monster and squeezed some of its insides to make blood flow out of them. She gathered that dark liquid with her hands before slowly pouring it on the material.
"[Yeza has probably used the flesh from a Tainted animal to unlock the Blood Shield inside you]," Zalpa explained. "[Yet, the second checkpoint requires more energy, and only a stronger material would be able to contain it. I used a monster's flesh now for that exact reason, but I still need to refill it with blood and repeat the procedure until enough mana fuses with its structure]."
Zalpa did exactly as she explained. She poured blood on the chunk of flesh before gently clotting it in its center. She repeated that process methodically, without ever falling prey to hurry or impatience. Her movements were slow but firm. Liiza and Khan couldn't help but remain in a daze when they inspected her.
"[It's ready]," Zalpa eventually exclaimed. "[Come to inspect it. I don't want you to be completely clueless about its current power]."
Khan nodded before crouching in front of Zalpa. He carefully stretched his arm forward and let his sensitivity to mana gather as much information as possible while he hovered his palm above the flesh.
The chunk of flesh felt strong. Khan guessed that it was slightly above his first-grade knife in terms of mana acc.u.mulated in its insides. Zalpa had created an organic magical item in a matter of minutes, and he had been lucky enough to inspect the whole process.
"[Don't limit yourself to sense it]," Zalpa snorted. "[Touch it, savor its texture, smell, and noises. You have mixed your life with mana, so all of your senses can help you study it. Abandon your human bias]."
Khan gulped before nodding again. He began to lower his hand, but Zalpa voiced a simple reminder before he could touch the flesh. "[Be gentle, gentler than you are when you touch Lii]."
Khan mustered the entirety of his self-restraint to keep a straight face, but Liiza needed to divert her eyes to avoid showing something. Both of them had been everything but gentle during their last pa.s.sionate intercourses.
The flesh's wet surface released a squelching noise when Khan's forefinger touched it. He only needed a few seconds to get used to the material's texture and gain enough confidence to place the rest of his hand there.
No blood came out of the flesh even when Khan applied some pressure. He could sense a solid core at the center of the material, and he made sure to commit its features to memory. Then, he bent forward to smell it, and the intense scent of blood filled his nostrils. Something felt different compared to the typical odor that raw meat usually had, but Khan couldn't find the exact reason behind that sensation.
Zalpa nodded in approval when she saw how serious Khan was. He even licked the chunk of flesh near the end of his inspection to add more data to his mind.
"[So, do I only need to replicate the same effects next time]?" Khan asked when he straightened his back.
"[You'll need a better core material and far more power]," Zalpa explained, "[But yes, you'll be fine as long as you create something similar to this. It doesn't matter if you fall short in terms of power and fail to reach the next checkpoint in one go. You can still stack up weaker items until you hit your goal]."
"[Though I bet you don't advise that since it would mean that my manipulation ability has yet to reach the right level]," Khan guessed.
"[That's correct]," Zalpa replied. "[Remember, you should prioritize the perfection of the clotted blood over its power. It's pointless to make a stronger material that doesn't express the Blood Shield properly. You might end up ruining everything you have built inside you with a single reckless mistake]."
Khan took those teaching to heart as he picked the lump of flesh and brought it close to his mouth. He glanced at Zalpa to check whether he could proceed, and he didn't hesitate to gulp it after she nodded.
His chest immediately felt heavy. Khan could sense the chuck of flesh reaching his belly and dispersing its nutrients in no time before the [Blood Shield] activated on its own.
The blood vessels at the center of Khan's chest clotted to create a head-sized red array. The effect expanded until it almost covered the entirety of his torso and made him sweat.
Khan felt as if his body was about to halt its functions. He couldn't force himself to remain without so much blood for too long, so he focused on his mana to suppress the technique.
The intricate array of blood vessels slowly waned as they went back to their normal functions. Khan's back arched as he took a deep breath, but he eventually bent forward to crouch on the floor. Drops of sweat fell from his forehead as his body dealt with the aftermath of [Blood Shield], but his mind soon went on the lump of foreign materials inside his chest.
Khan moved those materials across his body and confirmed that the technique didn't become harder to use after improving. Moreover, he now had enough of them to activate the [Blood Shield] in two different spots. He didn't even need to use all of them at the same time, so the drawbacks wouldn't be a problem as long as he was careful.
"[Get out of here now]," Zalpa ordered in her hoa.r.s.e voice. "[I've been too long with you already. I have things to prepare]."
"[Will you join the attack then]?" Liiza asked before bending toward Khan to help him stand up.
"[I will come, but I won't join the battle]," Zalpa announced. "[I still can't force myself to kill Niqols who share my beliefs]."
"[I think that will be enough for my mother]," Liiza declared. "[Thank you, Zaza, for the battle and us]."
Liiza wore a bright smile that made Zalpa heave a helpless sigh. Khan had an arm wrapped around her waist and pulled her closer when he saw that happy face. The couple exchanged a meaningful gaze, and Zalpa felt the need to smile at that scene.
"[Zaza, can I ask you one last thing]?" Liiza said while diverting her gaze from Khan to look at the old Niqols.
"[What is it]?" Zalpa asked.
Liiza lowered her head and tightened her embrace before speaking with a timid voice. "[Can you give us one more day? I don't want to give up on this peace just yet]."
Khan chuckled and began to caress Liiza's hair. The girl moved her attention back on him, but Zalpa angry curses soon resounded in the bas.e.m.e.nt. "[As if I would lie to Yeza just to let her h.o.r.n.y daughter f.u.c.k a human for one more day]!"
Khan and Liiza began to laugh as they hurried toward the staircase that led to the upper floors, and their voice grew louder when another course reached their ears. "[Yes, run away before I make you spit the Blood Shield! d.a.m.ned brats! I'm the best shaman of my generation. I won't let two kids use me like this]!"
Zalpa continued to curse, but her voice stopped reaching Khan and Liiza when the wall that divided the two bas.e.m.e.nts closed. The two exchanged a glance before exploding into another laugh and hurrying toward the first floor.
The morning was about to arrive, but the humans had adapted to the Niqols schedule in those days. The castle would be empty until a few hours before lunchtime, so the couple could run and have fun freely while hurrying back to Khan's room.
Liiza and Khan held hands as they crossed halls, corridors, and staircases. They ended up stopping many times to exchange intense kisses that led to giggles or intense gazes. Every corner of the palace felt cozy enough for an intimate break, but they grew shorter once they risked removing each other's clothes in the open.
It felt hard to keep track of what happened when they reached the room. Khan and Liiza's minds were full of fierce feelings that neither of them could suppress. The sight of the tattoo even rekindled that pa.s.sion whenever the couple was about to stop.
Liiza and Khan ended up skipping a meeting for the first time that day. They didn't even eat, but neither of them cared about that. Their mad pa.s.sion calmed down in the middle of the afternoon when the Niqols started preparing the usual parties, but a message reached everyone's rooms and cubes before that.
Khan and Liiza couldn't help but explode into a loud laugh when they read the message on the room's walls. Yeza had sent a general update throughout the palace where she stated that the attack would start in two days. Zalpa had listened to Liiza's request.
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