142 Unnamed

The Yufai were a race that focused heavily on larger weapons. From a young age they were trained in the arts of the greatsword, the Lance, and their specialty the spear. This was in large part because of the great strength they recieved from their orcish ancestors.

This did not mean that they were lacking in their gifts from their elven ancestors. The gifts they had recieved from this parent race had developed in a unique direction. The tattoos that covered their bodies were magical in nature. They were scribed with a special magical ink, that put a constant drain on their mana. If not for the rich magical energy of the elves they would be unable to sustain such a drain.

Because of these tattoos they could not use magic. When their mana pool had reached a certain stage the magical ink in their bodies would form a new tattoo. These tattoos were similiar to Yuri's arcane body in nature, except they were constantly active.

The individual tattoos each raised the a specific stat by 5% Strength, Agility, Dexterity, Constitution, and vitality. When a Yufai youth accumulated 5 tattoos they would combine into a single heart tattoo. The heart tattoo raised those 5 stats by a total of 10%. This amount may not seem like a lot, but 10% was double the effect of Yuri's non augmented Arcane body.

The heart tattoo signified a mature Yufai warrior. No matter the age of the Yufai they would be considered an adult once they had obtained the heart tattoo. This is because once a youth had gained their heart tattoo they would ascend to being an elite.

The heart tattoo had an additional special effect. This effect is what allowed them to tame the vultures. They heart tattoo would combine with the soul of a newborn vulture, making the two entities into one being. The yufai would gain the element of the vulture, while the vulture would enjoy the benefits of the 10% increase to physical stats.

This is where the Yufai got their nickname, The elemental Knights. The most common of these elemental knights were those of the fire element. The vultures who lived in this barren land were mostly of the fire element. Rarely a vulture of another element would be born, but currently this village only had fire element vultures.

The vulture eggs would only be lain once every year. To gain an egg, a Yufai warrior who had ascended since the last laying would need to gain the acknowledgement of one of the brooding females. This could be done in a number of ways, but mostly it was done by bribing the mother with treasure.

What each vulture regarded as treasure varied, but regardless of what treasure was accepted, it would always be traded for a single egg. Each vulture would only give out a single egg, which made the process much more difficult.

Luckily the Yufai elders monitored the event, and would place a marking on the nest of a vulture that had already given away an egg. The entire process was streamlined, as to make it easier for their youth to advance.

Further, the entire process had become a large gathering through the years. The Yufai only gathered rarely, but when they did it would be a cause for celebration. A 3 day festival would proceed the laying of eggs, with the egg gathering being the main event, and the signal for the closure of the festival.

Valentine calmly explained all of this to Yuri, who listened intently. The Egg Laying festival would not be for another 6 months. But it was an event that all of the Yufai attended. As a student to the Yufai, Yuri was expected to attend.

She would not be looked down on for not being a Yufai, rather it was the opposite. Those who were Not Yufai, but managed to gain the attention of an elder were rare, but not unheard of. They all had one thing in common, they were extremely powerful.

Yuri was beginning to get a big head as she listened to Valentine speak, but Valentine quickly dropped a bucket of cold water on her inflated ego.

"You are the exception. The elder took pity on you. You are a mess, your talents and abilities are a mess. Your only redeaming feature is you seem made to be a great sword warrior. The elder has done you a great boon by accepting you as a disciple, and he has only done this because of your actions with the sacred tortoise."

Valentine ignored the ashen look on Yuri's face as she continued to speak. "You have six months. In those six months you will need to become strong. Your magic will not be of use to you here. The Yufai will only look down on you if you use your magic to enhance yourself, and they could even turn hostile if they found you using it as a weapon."

Valentine sighed, as she took out a pair of bracelets. In Yuri's eyes the bracelets appeared as a cuff that was used to bind a prisoner, the only thing that was missing was the chain. Valentine could only look at the floor with extreme discomfort as she explained the function of the bracelet to Yuri.

"This is a magic sealing cuff. They are used to seal the magic of the most violent of offenders of the Yufai. During your stay here you will be required to always wear these. It is a condition that must be followed. Only the elder has the key, and when your two year apprenticeship is over he will unlock the cuffs. If you cannot accept the condition you will be asked to leave the village."

Yuri looked at the cuffs as she slowly weighed her options. If she was a magician as she had been in the past these cuffs would be fatal. All of her abilities had relied on magic. As it stood they would still be incredibly restricting. She would be unable to use her arcane body, arcane sword, or arcane bullet. All of her active skills would become useless.

To make matters worse even her magical items would become useless. She would be left with only her body, and the abilities branded into her souls. Masochism. Insanity. Defiance. She would also be left with her racial abilities, Insatiable, blessed by mana, and Draconic Heritage.

Her highest stat would become useless to her. She would be left with only C ranked stats. The weakest an Elite could be. If the Yufai became hostile towards her she could only helplessly become a victim. The cuffs would stay on her indefinitely.

Her eyes seemed to wander for a moment as she thought. No, she would not be a victim. Even without her magic she still had Lucifer. Even without Lucifer she still had an incredibly sturdy body. She had damage resitance and Masochism. She could survive in a fight. Even without weapons she was trained in unarmed combat. This trial could only make her stronger. Even if it ended up being some kind of trap.

She looked at Valentine. The Yufai were not hostile towards her. She had done nothing to offend them, she had actually done them a favor. They had no reason to trap her.

A moment later she nodded and placed out her wrists. She did not say anything, nor did she need to. The look of determination in her eyes said it all.