Chapter 471: The Valkyrie’s Choice

As he walked, Luke reviewed the two skills Angie had gained. At level three of her class, she had received a skill that felt familiar, one Charlie already possessed.

[Battle Roar (Uncommon)]: Let out a powerful shout that temporarily boosts physical strength, amplifying melee attack damage and enhancing actions that require brute force.

At level one of her race, she had unlocked another skill he recognized immediately.

[Demonic Servant Perception (Uncommon)]: Your senses have been enhanced by demonic influence, allowing you to detect subtle movements, hidden presences, and environmental shifts. Ambushes become less effective, and you may react to threats before they strike. At higher levels, your perception expands even further, capable of identifying magical disturbances and invisible entities with precision.

Charlie had unlocked the same skill at level one. Something shaped by her bond with Luke.

***

“Looking for something I do not even understand inside that dimensional rift is like searching for a needle in a haystack. At least in that example, you know you are supposed to be looking for a needle,” Luke said.

“I can help you search for whatever you need,” Angie replied.

They were talking about Azazel’s task.

“As much as I would love to finish this as fast as possible, this is something I need to do myself. That guy loves riddles and games. I am not going to cheat.”

Luke thought back on the few times he had interacted with Azazel, directly or otherwise. In the temple dungeon, he had been forced into a deadly game of chess wrapped in riddles. When Samael appeared, Luke had been made to choose the correct profession from hundreds of options. The demon had always seemed to enjoy elaborate puzzles. This task was no different. Find something without having the faintest idea what that something even was.

After walking for a while, they stopped in front of a tree.

“I am activating the skill now, Master Luke,” Charlie said.

[Blood Core: 43/100]

[Vampiric Leap activated]
[-5 Blood Energy]

[Blood Core: 38/100]

Suddenly, Charlie leapt into the air. It was absurdly high. Higher than the Pugilist’s Leap. Beside her, Angie beat her wings to keep up, but Charlie shot past her in an instant. In terms of speed, the leap was frighteningly fast. It was better to test the vampiric skills now, while they still had time to recover Blood Core, before reaching the city.

Charlie kept ascending, now bounding from branch to branch on her own. Angie continued flapping after her until both disappeared into the canopy. After a while, they reemerged.

Charlie was high above the ground. She jumped.

[Vampiric Softfall I activated]
[-5 Blood Energy]

[Blood Core: 33/100]

She plummeted at high speed, but the moment the skill activated, her descent slowed sharply. She drifted down like a feather, almost giving the impression she was flying. She reached the ground and landed without any trouble.

Angie descended right after her, touching down smoothly.

“I can see the edge of the forest,” Angie said. “That means we are getting close to the city.”

From what they knew, the city lay just beyond the forest.

“If we had a wagon I could drive, Lord Luke. I don’t sleep. We’d be moving nonstop.”

“I thought about it,” Luke replied, “but teaching all three of us to drive would take too long. Besides, I’m faster than a horse. And a horse definitely can’t leap between trees or jump off cliffs to cut corners.”

“The lizards we saw in Camlann are faster than horses,” Charlie said.

“If learning to handle a horse already takes time, I don’t even want to imagine how long it would take with lizard-horses.”

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Charlie glanced at the system screen hovering before her.

“Should I test Vampiric Strength, Master Luke?”

“Better not. We’ve already burned through too much Blood Energy.”

That kind of thing was best saved for a real emergency, preferably in the middle of a fight.

“All the jumping and fall-related powers are temporary,” she said thoughtfully. “I’m guessing the Strength one is too.”

They kept moving along the path while Luke downed a potion, restoring a thousand HP in one go.

***

Luke let Angie handle the weaker creatures. He already had an absurd amount of attribute points. She didn’t. With Charlie’s help, they tracked down more targets until they came across wolves with unusually dark fur.