3 Training and First Assignment

Sanguinius stood stationary in a gleaming marble courtyard, the light of the perpetual dawn making the feathers of his wings glow a glorious orange-pink color. Illana had just left him after succeeding to teach him the resurrection spell that angels are famous for. Since he has plenty of time due to the peacefulness of the world he decided to get his skills to a passable level before venturing out at all, even if an opportunity became available to him.

First of all, he decided to practice his flying skills due to their ability to save him when he finds himself in a pinch. One shouldn't underestimate the ability to fly, at least in Sanguinius's opinion, especially since most regular demons don't gain wings until they promote to become a high-rank demon, if at all. His wings and flying skills by extension would prove to be critical during the beginning stages of this growth at least. If he could gain a good grasp of both flying and holy light manipulation then he could stand far away from his enemies while bombarding them from a distance.

Even if that would be a viable strategy in the short term Sanguinius in no way wanted to limit his future growth. He knew that he would need to gain a weapon mastery skill or two, most likely swordsmanship. It's common, but it must be for a reason that most angels and demons choose a sword as their weapon of choice. There are exceptions of course, but the mast majority wield a sword. The other option he could see himself going with was a spear, but those were decisions for a future version of himself to decide. For now, he would just stick to flying and holy light manipulation.

With no small feeling of trepidation, Sanguinius unfurled the wings he had been keeping tucked flush against his body up until now. It felt nice to actually stretch them and feel the soft breeze of the purgatory space blow through his feathers. Looking to either side he estimated that he had a wingspan around the same height as he was himself. It made his already imposing figure even more so. Even his natural stoic expression faded slightly as he began to flap his wings.

The feeling of using his wings was a natural enough motion due to his system skill, but the feeling of weightlessness admittedly took some getting used to. Sanguinius remained hovering for a while before he moved on the trying more dangerous activities, like actually flying in the sky. He wouldn't say he had a fear of heights at all, but something definitely worried him when he rose high into the sky on his own wings.

Eventually, he rose well above the outpost and his breath was taken away not by fear or panic, but by amazement. Sanguinius looked out over the glittering outpost that shone in the early morning sun. The entire outpost seemed to be emitting a soft, welcoming glow that promised safety and relief from all troubles. He hovered there, his wings beating in time with his slow steady heartbeat. The soft wind caressed his wings and seemed to support his weight, holding him in its welcoming embrace.

A system notification alerted him to a level increase in his flying skill, breaking him out of his trance. It was then that Sanguinius realized how high he was, but instead of panicking, he smiled. He flapped his wings hard and then tucked them behind his back and dove back down toward the outpost. He wanted to open his wings last second, but he still was a beginner flyer so he gave himself plenty of time when he spread his wings out majestically. His wings caught the air currents and slowed his descent drastically, allowing him to land on the smooth marble courtyard as lightly as a feather would.

Next, he practiced fighting in confined spaces using his partially open wings to give a small speed boost when he ran forward. He also practiced jumping to the side with a wing-enhanced jump as well. Twisting his body in the air as he imagined swords and spears seeking to sink deep inside his flesh. He ducked, dodged, and dipped through the air as he tried to avoid the imaginary weapons. He was actually doing well until he slipped on a particularly well-polished section of the marble floor, ending in him faceplanting.

Golden blood dripped from Sanguinius's nose as he rose back to his feet, more embarrassed than harmed. He quickly raised a hand to his face and conjured something between holy light and resurrection. His nose quickly righted its position and his golden blood ceased to flow from his nose. Wiping the blood off with the inside of his toga he pulled up his system screen and was shocked to find two new skills as well as some skill increases. He whistled appreciatively, it seemed that [Fast Learner] was already carrying him, but the first few levels were always going to be the easiest.

[Status:

Name: Sanguinius

Race: Angel

Rank: Two winged - Angel

Perks: [Fast Learner], [Double XP], [Mental Immunity]

Skills: Flying lv. 6, Holy Light Manipulation lv. 2, Ressurection lv. 1, Acrobatics lv. 3, Touch of Healing lv. 1

XP: 0]

Sanguinius nodded as he inspected his status. The skills he had gained were mundane but useful. He was honestly surprised he didn't gain a healing skill right off the bat or at least when he had been practicing resurrection, but after spending a little while thinking on the subject he thought he had an answer to his own query. Holy light does have healing capabilities, but that wasn't necessarily its purpose, it was meant to be the antithesis and destroyer of darkness. Darkness dealt in curses and corruption, so it was only natural that holy light can heal, but its main purpose is still to destroy darkness, healing is just a byproduct of them being opposites.

While Sanguinius sat on a marble step deep in thought, Illana stood partially concealed behind the arched dome of a nearby building, watching him. The only reason she didn't make her presence known was due to the fact that she saw how dedicated he was to his training, but she still felt responsible for him. After all, even if he is an angel he is still just a newborn chick in Illana's ancient eyes. She was amazed by his rate of progress with flying, he had gone from never flying before to being a mostly competent flyer. Most angels didn't have to go through this at all due to inherited memories, but Sanguinius had learned so fast in spite of his disadvantage. Illana found herself impressed by his dedication and improvement.

She knew full well the near-infinite potential of true angels, she herself was once after all. She also knew how training can only take you so far, real skills are forged in the heat of battle. Normally, even if she did feel responsible for him she would have let him do whatever to improve without her intervention, but now seeing his excellent growth even among true angels she felt differently. She decided that she would give Sanguinius a bit of advice and training while also testing him in the human world as well. Now that she thought about it she had the perfect first job in mind for the young angel.

Sanguinius was just about to resume his training once more when Illana and another angel approached. Illana beckoned him over so he strode to meet the two, while he did he inspected the other angel with her. The man was a tall four-winged angel, one of the two stationed in this outpost. He stood just a head or two shorter than Sanguinius and wore his white hair cropped short. His toga failed to hide the man's well-defined muscles that seemed to be filled with power. That and his stern face screamed of a battle-hardened warrior. As he approached Illana called out.

"Sanguinius, a call has come from the pope of the human world for aid. He claims that some people are falling victim to vampires and they have been unable to deal with the threat themselves. Normally, this would be beneath us due to vampires being well below the level of even the lowest of demons, but due to your recent birth, I have decided this will be a good chance for you the experience the human world without too much danger.

I will be sending Rex with you in case anything goes wrong, after all the vampires had to be created by a demon after all. Remember he is only there as an observer, he will only intervene if there is a threat way above your level, or if your soul is in danger. Do you accept?"

Sanguinius's heart leapt when he heard Illana speak. This would be his first opportunity to interact with the human world and gain xp. His excitement was tinged with a bit of nervousness, but Rex's presence completely relieved that nervousness. In fact, it was probably extreme overkill to send Rex with himself on the mission, but angels are protective of their own.

"I do accept, and I thank you Rex for agreeing to accompany me."

He spoke while giving a slight bow to the other angel. Rex's stern face morphed into a wide grin as he clapped Sanguinius on the shoulder.

"Don't worry about it brother, I've been wanting to stretch my wings in the human world for good while now. Your mission has given me a perfect excuse to do so, I should be the one thanking you."

Sanguinius grinned, finding that he liked Rex. Illana grinned too, pleased that the two got along so well. Most angels do get along together, but it's more like two surgeons working at the same hospital getting along together. They are polite and respectful to each other, but they may not even like each other or at least remain indifferent toward each other. However, they both still are proud to work at the same hospital, so an insult against one of them is seen as an insult to both. Angel relations could be complicated, just like human relationships, but more often than not they are friendly.

"We'll need to get Sanguinius here equipped, do you have any extra equipment Rex?"

"Of course I do. Sanguinius do you have a weapon preference?"

"I'll take a sword if it's not too much trouble."

Rex opened the pocket of his toga and took out a miniature set of golden armor as well as a white sword. As he handed the bundle to Sanguinius they grew in size to fit him. The armor looked rather plain which was to be expected from lent equipment. Eventually, he would use the system to make his own equipment as Roy did, but it would suffice for now. lastly, he grasped the sword, it was much more impressive than the armor. It was a 2-meter-long pure white slightly curved blade with no crossguard and had a golden cross embossed on the metal just above the handle.

Sanguinius stepped back and gave the sword a swing. Immediately a screen popped up, telling him he had gained a new skill, but he ignored it. After a few more test swings he looked up to find Rex chuckling slightly. Seeing his confusion Rex enlightened him.

"You'll definitely need some work with the blade, but against vampires, your sloppy technique will work just fine as long as there is enough strength behind it,"

Singunius blushed slightly, but he knew that it wouldn't be long before he was a passable swordsman. Now that they were both equipped the trio made their way to the center temple and stood before the gate of heaven. Illana placed her hand upon the portal and soon it opened. The portal was a vortex of liquid gold. Illana wished him luck as both he and Rex hopped into the portal.