Chapter 204: First Stage.
The refinement continued throughout the following hours. Rakshasa remained behind Victor at first, guiding the flow whenever it strayed, but little by little she removed her hands from his back and began merely observing. Her blood still circulated inside him, yet Victor was already able to guide it on his own through the heart, lungs, liver, blood vessels, and bones. With every cycle, the pressure diminished slightly, not because the technique was becoming weaker, but because his body was learning to endure it.
Rakshasa said nothing for a long time. She walked around him, stopped in different positions, and examined the circulation with her perception. At times, she pressed two fingers against Victor’s neck or touched his back to check the stability of his vessels. She barely needed to correct anything. His blood recognized the flaws left by the previous cycle and began reinforcing them before she could even point out the problem.
That was not normal.
The first stage of the method usually required weeks for someone talented. Ordinary vampires could take months merely to learn how to guide the essence without causing internal hemorrhaging. Victor had begun that morning and, only a few hours later, was already completing the cycles without assistance.
Rakshasa crouched in front of him and watched the dark veins across his neck slowly recede. The blood that had previously pressed against his skin began withdrawing inward, spreading evenly through every vessel. The redness in his arms disappeared, his breathing stabilized, and his heartbeat became stronger but also slower.
Victor completed another cycle.
The energy passed through his organs, crossed his bones, and reached his skin. Instead of immediately returning to the heart, it remained spread throughout his body for several seconds, forming a thin resistance around him. There was no glow, color, or visible change. Even so, Rakshasa noticed the exact moment that layer stabilized.
Victor’s heart beat nine times in succession.
Each beat was deeper than the last.
Then everything became still.
Rakshasa gave a faint smile.
"You did it."
Victor did not open his eyes immediately. He remained seated, breathing slowly while examining his own body. The pressure that had accompanied him throughout the training had vanished, but something had remained in its place. It was not merely strength. It felt like an additional layer between his skin and the environment, although he could not identify where it began or ended.
Rakshasa waited until he opened his eyes.
"How do you feel?"
Victor raised one hand and studied his fingers. He closed his fist several times, then pressed his thumb against his palm. The movement felt normal, but the resistance of his skin was different. When he applied more force, he felt the internal energy react on its own and concentrate at the point under pressure.
"Strange."
Rakshasa nodded.
"That is how it feels at first."
Victor ran one hand over his forearm, trying to understand the sensation better.
"It does not feel as though my skin became harder."
"Because it was not only your skin." Rakshasa sat in front of him and touched his wrist. "The first stage distributes the strength of the blood throughout the entire body. When something strikes you, the pressure does not remain trapped at that single point. It spreads through the vessels, muscles, and bones before reaching the organs."
"Like armor."
"Invisible armor," she confirmed. "At first, you will notice that layer constantly. It will feel as though something exists between your skin and everything you touch. You may have difficulty controlling your strength when holding smaller objects."
Victor looked down at the floor and placed his palm against the stone. He applied a little pressure.
A crack appeared beneath his fingers.
He removed his hand.
"That is going to be irritating."
"For a few days." Rakshasa took his hand and opened his fingers. "The more stages you reach, the more natural the technique will become. After some time, you will not even think about the protection. Your blood will respond before you notice the attack."
Victor moved his arm again. The difference still seemed small, but it was present in every motion. His muscles had not grown, and there was no obvious increase in his physical strength. What had changed was the way his entire body participated in a simple action. When he closed his fist, the vessels, tendons, and bones adjusted together without waste.
"How many stages are there?"
"Nine."
Victor raised his eyes.
"And how do I know when I reach the next one?"
Rakshasa released his hand and pointed toward the center of his chest.
"Each stage forms a ring of essence around the heart. It is not physical, so no one will find it by opening your chest. It is a structure created by the refined blood."
Victor focused his perception on his heart. At first, he sensed only the beating and normal circulation. After several seconds, he noticed a thin line of energy surrounding the outer part of the organ. It followed each pulse and distributed strength throughout the rest of his body.
"I can feel it."
"That is the first ring," Rakshasa said. "As long as it remains incomplete, energy will escape during the cycles, and you will feel pressure in different parts of your body. When the stage is complete, the ring closes. Your heart beats nine times, the circulation stabilizes, and the change becomes permanent."
"Do all stages end that way?"
"Yes. Nine beats and a new ring. The difference is that each stage works on a deeper part of the body."
Victor kept his perception focused.
"The first created this armor."
"The first organizes the blood and distributes resistance. The second fully strengthens the vessels and allows you to accelerate circulation without tearing them. The third refines the organs. The fourth works on the bones and marrow. The fifth transforms the muscles, tendons, and joints."
Rakshasa placed one hand on his shoulder and pressed carefully, feeling the automatic response of the energy.
"From the sixth stage onward, the technique begins unifying everything. The nerves adapt to the body’s speed, regeneration becomes more efficient, and the refined parts stop functioning separately. At the eighth stage, your body begins learning from the damage it receives."
Victor shifted his attention away from his chest.
"Learning how?"
"If someone burns you and causes enough damage, your body will rebuild the area with greater resistance to heat. The same applies to cold, poison, pressure, and energy. It does not mean you will become immune after a single attack, but every recovery prepares you better for the next one."
"And the ninth?"
Rakshasa smiled.
"At the ninth, there is no longer any difference between your body and a weapon."
Victor waited for her to continue.
"Your blood, organs, bones, muscles, and energy function as a single structure. You do not need to concentrate your defense before receiving a blow or prepare your muscles before attacking. The entire body responds at once."
"You reached the ninth?"
"A long time ago."
Victor looked at her skin, remembering her claim that she had not bled in battle for thousands of years.
"So every ring makes the technique more difficult."
"Much more difficult." Rakshasa stood and extended one hand toward him. "The first stage requires your body to accept the method. The next stages require enough energy to truly change it. Your adaptation helped greatly today, but it does not eliminate the need to strengthen each part."
Victor accepted her hand and stood. For an instant, he misjudged his own strength and pulled Rakshasa slightly harder than intended. She stepped forward and stopped against his chest, seemingly unbothered.
"You reached the first stage in a few hours," she said. "That is fast even for someone with your blood."
"How long did you expect?"
"A few weeks."
Victor looked at his own hand again.
"Then I can begin the second stage now."
"No."
He looked back at her.
"My body still feels fine."
"Your body was just rebuilt from the inside." Rakshasa touched the center of his chest. "The ring is closed, but it needs time to stabilize. If you begin the second stage immediately, your blood will try to adapt everything at once and may weaken the structure it just formed."
"How long?"
"Two or three days."
"That is too long."
"For someone who should have taken weeks to complete the first stage, it is not."
Victor seemed to consider the answer, although he was clearly dissatisfied.
Rakshasa brought her face closer to his.
"Do not confuse rapid adaptation with the absence of limits. You learn quickly because your blood steals what it understands, but your body still needs to transform that knowledge into something of its own."
Victor felt the thin ring around his heart again. The energy circulated effortlessly, spreading toward the extremities and returning without the flaws that had existed only hours earlier.
"So when I feel nine heartbeats, a new ring, and the circulation stabilizing, I have reached another stage."
"Exactly."
"Sounds simple."
Rakshasa held his chin.
"You said the same thing before I began destroying your organs."
Victor gave a faint smile.
"And I still succeeded."
"You completed the first."
She released his face and began walking toward where she had left her sword.
"When we reach the fifth, you can begin acting arrogant."
Victor followed her.
"When we reach it?"
Rakshasa looked at him over her shoulder.
"I said I would be your master. I am not going to hand you the manual and leave you to cultivate alone until you blow up another limb."
"My leg grew back."
"That does not change the fact that it exploded."
Victor remained silent for several steps, feeling the new layer follow every movement.
"When do we begin the Demonic Sword Dance?"
Rakshasa picked up the sword and threw it toward him.
"Now."