6 Chapter 5 Cousin

Appearing in a forest at night Zero look around and found that they were no people or even animals around. This made him sigh with relief since it'd affect his plan if he was seen appearing out of nowhere. He knew his mom had taken some consideration to choose this location but he was still a bit worried because he'd felt that she was a bit ditzy. Having taken time to calm down and let the earlier unpleasant feeling fade he was now ready to begin his quest to increase his soul rank.

'System where am I and where is Soma Cruz? ' asked Zero

THE CURRENT LOCATION IS HALF A MILE EAST OF HAKUBA SHRINE IN HIROSAKI JAPAN

SOMA CRUZ IS SET TO TRANSFER INTO A SCHOOL NEAR THIS SHRINE IN TWO WEEKS

THE ONLY SCHOOL IN THIS AREA IS HIROSAKI HIGH SCHOOL

Zero was shocked he had imagined the system would be unable to answer the question but could direct him to a place where he could find out. 'How do you know when he is due to transfer to the school?' asked Zero as he was curious about how the system knew something even he wasn't aware of.

THROUGH DEDUCTIVE REASONING YOUR MEMORY STATES THAT SOMA CRUZ WENT TO A SCHOOL FOR A YEAR IN JAPAN

IT ALSO STATES THAT HIS LOVE INTEREST IS A GIRL NAMED MINA HAKUBA AND THAT THEY WENT TO THE SAME SCHOOL

THE ONLY SCHOOL IN THIS AREA IS HIROSAKI HIGH SCHOOL THEREFORE THEY WILL BE THERE AND FURTHERMORE ALL SCHOOLS IN JAPAN START AT THE SAME DATE SO IT IS SIMPLE TO DEDUCE WHERE AND WHEN HE WILL APPEAR AT SCHOOL

Zero's shock only grew as the system explained the process it used to answer his question. He began to wonder how intelligent his mom was to have created something like this so quickly.

'Well umm… do you know what I should do next?' asked Zero unsure of what to do next in the current situation.

IT IS RECOMMENDED THAT THE HOST APPLY FOR THE SCHOOL AND FIND A WAY TO LIVE AT THE HAKUBA SHRINE

SINCE HOST DOESN'T EXIST IN THIS WORLD IT WILL BE DIFFICULT TO CARRY OUT THESE ACTIONS CURRENTLY

THAT IS WHY IT IS RECOMMENDED THAT HOST TRY TO GAIN THE ABILITY TO MANIPULATE MINDS

FIRSTLY SYSTEM RECOMMEND SEARCHING FOR A LESSER VAMPIRE FIRST AND ASSIMILATE THEIR HYPNOTIC GAZE SKILL

HOST IS RECOMMENDED TO USE SYSTEM SEARCH FUNCTION TO FIND LESSER VAMPIRE

SHOULD SYSTEM BEGIN SEARCH YES/NO

'Yes. Also what's the search function?' asked Zero

CONFIRMATION ACKNOWLEDGED BEGINNING SEARCH

THE SEARCH FUNCTION ALLOWS THE SYSTEM TO SEARCH AND FIND ANYTHING THAT THE USE HAS KNOWLEDGE OF IN A 1000 KM AREA

SEARCH COMPLETE

LESSER VAMPIRE DISCOVERED 5 MILES SOUTH OF CURRENTLY LOCATION

MARKER PLACED PLEASE FOLLOW MARKER TO FIND TARGET

As the system finished relaying its message a green arrow appeared in his line of sight ad pointed in a certain direction. Know that this was the marker he began to walk in the direction it pointed. He walked for about 20 minutes before a reached the city. Knowing that he still had a long way to go he continued walking for another 30 minutes before he found himself at an alleyway. As soon as he arrives at the alley the arrow vanished and he could see a faint green glow up ahead in the darkness. Getting closer slowly he could make out a silhouette of a man holding a woman.

'System appraise the man.' thought Zero in his mind while keeping as still as possible and controlling his breathing so as to hide from the vampire

NAME: ZACK INÉS

RACE: LESSER VAMPIRE

SOUL: LESSER VAMPIRE

SOUL RANK: E+

LEVEL: 10

ATTRIBUTES: DARK

STRENGTH: 72

SPEED: 68

MAGIC ENERGY: 800

VITALITY: 1,000

SKILLS: VAMPIRE PHYSIOLOGY, SHAPESHIFTING, HYPNOTIC GAZE

VAMPIRE PHYSIOLOGY: VAMPIRES ARE KNOWN TO HAVE HEIGHTENED SENSES, AUGMENTED HEALING, PARTICULARLY SMELL, BEING ABLE TO DETERMINE ONE'S CLAN ORIGIN SIMPLY BY THE SCENT OF THEIR BLOOD. FEEL AN INSATIABLE DESIRE TO CONSTANTLY CONSUME BLOOD. CAN CONSUME BLOOD TO STRENGTHEN ABILITIES AND SPEED UP REGENERATION. WEAK TO SUNLIGHT, HOLY MAGIC, HOLY WATER, AND FIRE.

SHAPESHIFTING: CAN SHAPESHIFT INTO ANY CREATURE OF THE NIGHT SUCH AS A WOLF AND BAT.

HYPNOTIC GAZE: CAN HYPNOTIZE MORTALS WEAKER THAN YOU. ABLE TO CHANGE MEMORIES FREELY AND CONTROL INDIVIDUALS. REQUIRE 300 MAGIC ENERGY TO USE.

'System is it possible to copy the skill from here?' asked Zero

YES HOST MUST MAINTAIN A DISTANCE OF 36 FEET FROM THE INDIVIDUAL YOU WISH TO COPY THE ABILITY FROM

HOST WISHES TO COPY ABILITY "HYPNOTIC GAZE"

TIME NEEDED 00:03:00

PLEASE STAY WITHIN RANGE OF TARGET OR PROCESS WITH BE PAUSED UNTIL HOST IS ABLE TO RENTER RANGE OF TARGET

As the vampire named Zach was enjoying draining the blood out of some poor woman Zero stood perfectly still at the corner of the alley not making a sound. As three minutes passed by Zero received a notification.

SKILL HYPNOTIC GAZE GAINED

HYPNOTIC GAZE: CAN HYPNOTIZE ANY INDIVIDUAL WITH A WEAKER SOUL RANK THAN YOU. ABLE TO CHANGE MEMORIES FREELY AND CONTROL INDIVIDUALS. REQUIRE 500 MAGIC ENERGY TO USE.

Gaining the ability that he needed Zero quickly and quietly walked back towards the direction of the shrine. After walking 20 minutes and reaching the edge of the city he decided to ask what was on his mind. 'System why was the ability I received a bit different for what that vampire had?' wondered Zero

HOST USED ABILITY POWER ASSIMILATION WHICH CHANGES POWER TO PERFECTLY FIT HOST

THE ORIGINAL ABILITY COULD ONLY AFFECT THOSE WEAKER THAN YOU HOWEVER HOST'S VERIZON IS ABLE TO AFFECT ANYONE REGARDLESS OF STRENGTH SO LONG AS THE HOST HAS A HIGH SOUL RANK

MOST HUMANS HOLD A SOUL STRENGTH OF EITHER G- OR G SO ABILITY WILL AFFECT THEM SINCE THE HOST CURRENTLY HAS A SOUL RANK OF G+

As the system was answering his question Zero noticed 2 young men harassing and young lady. Zero instantly disliked what he saw. Then he realized he would need some practice to be able to use the ability perfectly so he decided to use it to save that young woman.

'System how do I use the ability I just gained?' asked Zero as he walked closer to the 2 men harassing the woman.

SKILL TUTORIAL ENGAGED

HOST NOW HAS MAGIC ENERGY SO THE SYSTEM WILL NOW TEACH YOU HOW TO ACCESS IT

MAGIC ENERGY CAN BE CONSIDER WHAT HAPPENS WHEN MANA OR MAGICAL ENERGY IS DRAWN THROUGH ONE'S SOUL

A HIGHER-QUALITY A SOUL IS ABLE TO CONTAIN MORE MANA AND MANA AUTOMATICALLY GATHERS IN THE SOUL SLOWLY

TO USE A SKILL SIMPLY TRY TO FEEL THE FOREIGN ENERGY THAT IS DIFFERENT FROM YOUR SOUL AND USE THAT TO FUEL THE SKILL

TO USE ANY SKILL SIMPLY FOCUS THE MANA TOWARDS THE BODY PART NEEDED FOR THE SKILL

IN THE CASE OF "HYPNOTIC GAZE" FOCUS MANA IN YOUR EYES TO USE

Zero finally reaches where the 2 men were. As he did he reached into his soul and was able to quickly figure out where the mana in his soul pooled and how to manipulate it with ease. He was unaware that most people would need years of study to be able to attempt what he just did in seconds. He was able to quickly grasp the concept mainly because he had spent a majority of his current life as a soul so manipulating his soul came easily to him.

Focusing the mana that he manipulated into his eyes with began to glow with a purple glow he looked towards the 2 men and said "Why don't you two go beat each other up until you pass out and when you wake up you'll feel the desire to become better people."

The 2 men walked a few steps away from the woman with a dead look in their eyes and when they got far enough away they awoke from the hypnotized state and began to attack each other. Zero then proceeded to look at the woman with his eyes still glowing with a purple hue and said "It's getting late now why don't you head home and forget about ever meet those young men and me." As he finished saying those words she walked past him and continued walk until she could no longer be seen.

As she disappeared the purple hue in Zero's eyes began to fade and he felt a bit dizzy. 'System what wrong with me?' asked Zero

ALL OF THE MANA IN THE HOST'S BODY WAS USED TO AUGMENT EYES WHICH TEMPORARILY CHANGE HOW YOUR EYES FUNCTIONED AND WHEN THE EFFECT FADED YOU FELT FATIGUED PLUS A SMALL SIDE EFFECT OF YOUR VISION SWITCHING BACK.

HOST SIMPLY NEEDS TO CLOSE EYE FOR TEN SECONDS TO RECOVER

'How long until I'm able to use the hypnotic gaze again?' asked Zero as he closed his eyes to stop the world from shaking.

MANA IS ALREADY BUILDING UP IN THE HOST'S SOUL PLEASE WAIT 10 MINUTES TO USE THE ABILITY AGAIN

'That quicker than I imagined. Does everyone's mana recover as quickly as this?' asked Zero

NO HOST RECOVERS MANA QUICKLY BECAUSE OF THE CHAOS ATTRIBUTE

ANY FURTHER INFORMATION ON IT IS LOCKED UNTIL THE HOST IS ABLE TO UNLOCK THE ATTRIBUTE

Heading back in the direction he came from he returned to his initial location when he first arrived and proceeded to head east toward the shrine. As he arrived at Hakuba Shrine and walked up the flight of stairs he came across and young lady sweeping the ground along with an older man who should be her father that was never mentioned in the game.

Zero proceeded to collapse and ask for help in a weak voice. The two shrine caretakers rushed over to help him and ask if he was okay. Zero then proceeded to guide his mana toward his eyes giving them a purple hue and said "Hello I'm Zero Hakuba, Mina's cousin and I'll be staying with you for the next year. My parents want me to enroll in Hirosaki High School. They are away on a business trip out of the country so they left me here in your care so there is no need to attempt to contact them."

Having finished his manipulation he closed his eyes and released the minuscule mana that remained. After 10 seconds he opened his eyes and saw the young lady named Mina looked at him with love and concern. She proceeded to ask him "Are you okay cousin Zero?"

Zero smiled at her and said, "Of course Mina I simply tripped can you help me up and show me to my room."

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