In the evening I was in the mess hall with my friends and we talked about our day.

"I have applied to become a spellblade." Skadi announced.

"Cool." Helena replied. "Do you think your blood will help with the runes?"

We had to be careful, since we were in public. We did not want anyone to know about our circulation technique. Not that it had a real name or was anything that someone would recognize. Still, we tried to be vague.

"I had a long conversation with my blood magic teacher about how the runes impact the body. I think my blood will actually help with the flow of mana. I did not tell her about my case, I just asked some general questions. But I am confident. She thought I was asking about Hatsumi." She replied.

"It does sound a bit experimental…" I cautioned.

"She is going to be fine!" Cassie replied.

"You are not really the cautious one. I thought Skadi was the voice of reason between you two." I pointed out.

Cassie replied by sticking out her tongue.

"I think she will be fine." Hatsumi replied. She was in her uniform and sitting at the table with us. Instead of food she had a mug filled with… blood?

"Where did you get that drink from?" I asked. I had not paid any attention to that.

"I made it for her!" Cassie announced, proudly.

"Yes. Cassie used pig's blood and added some fireroot?" She looked at Cassie, who nodded.

"It's a simple potion. It makes sure the blood stays smooth and liquid. Also helps with the smell and keeps it fresh for a while. I would not drink it as a living person though." Cassie cautioned.

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"What does it do?" I asked.

"Gives you cramps and a stomach ache." She replied.

"Ah. Ok, back to the topic, why do you think she will be fine, Hatsumi?" I had gotten a bit sidetracked.

"Hypothetically, a vampire could become a spellblade. It has never been done though, to my knowledge." Hatsumi replied.

"Really? Do you want to become one?" I wondered.

"The kingdom is not going to offer that service to a vampire. We are just talking hypothetically. But the runes are based on what monsters do naturally. They simply force the mana to enhance specific aspects. Spellblade runes are a marvel. Somehow people have figured out how they can force the mana to change specific parts of your body." Hatsumi said.

I nodded. "Speed, durability and strength."

"Those are the variable parts. Spellblade runes enhance your body permanently. But they allow you to boost any of those three categories further by distributing your mana differently. A good spellblade can switch during a battle, as needed. But some base enhancements are always there. Those base enhancements should combine with the natural enhancements of a monster. Further, it is theorised that the body of a monster is more accustomed to mana flow and would allow a spellblade to change configurations faster." Hatsumi explained.

"How do you know all this?" Helena wondered.

"Monsters and Spellblades. A book here in the school library. A rather fascinating read." Hatsumi replied.

"See, it will be fine." Skadi assured us. "I am going to take the test next week. Maybe I can get my runes the week after."

"I hope they will let me help with the ink! I have been pestering Horas all week." Cassie said.

"You are not going to mess with the recipe, right?" I asked.

"What? Of course not! That would be reckless." Cassie replied with a straight face. Hopefully she was serious about that. The thing was experimental enough already.

"Isn't the ink sort of a secret?" Helena wondered.

"Not really." Cassie replied. "The thing is, the base recipe is well known. But there are variations. Ilestria has slightly different spellblades, they try to enhance them against death magic, from what I have heard. A lot depends on the alchemist as well. And the mage who inscribes the runes. It's a complicated process."

Skadi nodded. "The skill of the alchemist, just like the skill of the inscriber, can change the effectiveness. Also, there are slight variations of the runes, depending on the spellblade. As a blood mage I will get different ones than someone with air affinity."

"What about your blood armour spell? Will you have enough mana left for that?" I wondered.

"I have been training it a lot and I am getting more efficient. If I waste less mana it should be doable. Also, the increased toughness makes it easier, because my enhanced body can deal with blood loss. Blood magic is ideal for spellblades because the body improvements help you when you use your own blood, and you can siphon some strength from enemies." Skadi explained.

"Very similar to vampires." Hatsumi noted.

Skadi nodded. "Just without the biting."

The whole conversation made me think. Hatsumi had sounded interested when she talked about spellblades. If Cassie actually learned to make the ink herself and we had Skadi's runes as a blueprint… No. We did not have an inscriber. I didn't even know what sort of skills that needed. The idea to create a spellblade vampire was probably mad.

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