A few days had passed, and Bruno kept a strict training routine: vitae control with Flávia, flame control with Selena, physical and weapon mastery, regeneration, and overall combat with Serapynhe, along with the basic powers of vampires and the transformation of the Vampire Count with Nerys.
Today, however, he was sitting in a vast forest, waiting to find out who would train him and what the focus would be. Suddenly, he began to hear light footsteps and a gentle voice.
— Bruno? Where are you? — asked the voice, and just by hearing it, he knew it was Valessia.
— I'm here, Lady Valessia, — Bruno replied, slowly standing up and waving, a gesture she returned with a gentle smile.
Valessia looked as beautiful and sweet as ever, but this time she wore a wide training outfit that hid her curvaceous body yet still reflected her ethereal beauty.
— Ready for training? — she asked brightly, hands on her waist.
Bruno looked surprised.
— You're going to train me? — he asked, and Valessia simply nodded in a cute way.
But what's her specialty? — Bruno thought, still knowing little about Valessia but curious to learn something new.
— Bruno, do you have any idea what I'm going to teach you here? — Valessia asked, now with a serious expression, so different from her usual gentle demeanor.
Bruno stared at her, thought for a few seconds, and replied:
— About spirit beasts?
He remembered Valessia's mastery over spirit beasts and assumed that would be the training focus. But he was mistaken.
— No, — Valessia said, still serious but keeping her natural sweetness. — I'm going to teach you two things: control over nature and over your innate gifts.
These words echoed like a drum inside Bruno's mind. He had long wanted to discover his innate gift, but without a specialist, he could only try on his own. Now, with someone to guide him, he felt naturally excited. Control over nature, including trees, plants, and the like, would be extremely useful — almost like his mastery over fire.
— Come on, Bruno, where shall we train? — Valessia called out brightly, grabbing his wrist and rushing swiftly toward the depths of the forest.
Her speed was impressive. In seconds, they arrived at a river in the middle of the woods, where a small island of about 400 to 500 square meters stood out. At its center, there was a large but relatively simple house.
Even at high speed, Valessia made them land lightly, and she immediately began pulling Bruno toward the house.
It was a wooden residence, elegant and carefully decorated. On the walls hung countless photos of Valessia, Selena, Nerys, Viena, and even Serapynhe smiling.
Looking closer, Bruno noticed there were pictures of all of them, except Valessia and Serapynhe, ranging from childhood to adulthood. Many of the childhood pictures were paintings.
As Bruno had imagined, Valessia was the heart of this family.
— Do you like it? — Valessia asked, reappearing with a strange sphere in hand, glancing both at Bruno and the images.
— They're beautiful, — Bruno replied, still impressed, turning his gaze back to her. Valessia only nodded, enjoying the light atmosphere.
— Come to me, — she said softly, sitting down. Bruno followed and sat in front of her.
She placed the sphere on a small table and began preparing something resembling a small telescope.
— What is that? — Bruno asked, curious.
— This is a gift detector. It reads your "genetic file" and reveals your unique, innate gift, — Valessia explained. — Normally this wouldn't be necessary, but since you're a former human, it means you possess two gifts. That's why we need to analyze them separately.
Excitement welled up in Bruno. Two gifts? Didn't that mean he would be stronger than average?
But a cold shower quickly dampened his hopes. Valessia explained that human gifts were, for the most part, nearly useless for vampires — photographic memory, keen eyesight, enhanced hearing, and similar abilities. Without evolution, they remained semi-useless.
Bruno realized that his human gift was probably enhanced hearing. He told this to Valessia, who only smiled gently, unsurprised.
— Don't worry, Bruno. Your vampire gift won't disappoint you, — she said, winking at him, trying to cheer him up.
— All set, — Valessia said a few seconds later, not giving Bruno time to answer. — Place your hand on the sphere.
Bruno trusted her completely and obeyed. The sphere began to glow slowly until it split into two colors: gray and blue.
— A sensory ability and an energy manipulation one, — Valessia noted as she watched the colors. Pressing a button at the bottom of the device, a sheet of paper with strange words came out.
She read it calmly and explained:
— Bruno, your gifts are advanced hearing (human) and light energy field (vampire).
As expected, hearing was one of his gifts. But the light energy field took him by surprise.
— What is a light energy field? — he asked, confused.
Valessia looked at him for a few seconds before appearing with a book in hand and beginning to explain:
— It's an energy field that works like a domain. It slightly enhances your proficiency, lets you perceive everything within it, and can also be used as a barrier. It's an excellent gift, considering you weren't born a vampire.
Bruno sighed, resigned:
— What a pity... two ordinary powers.