Laying on his bed, Stefan went over the stunt he just pulled.

'The only reason I managed to so effortlessly overpower Will was that I caught him off guard, and acted before he could exert his full strength. It would have been a lot harder if I had let him act. But thinking about how little general vampires are aware of their strength, I still should have been able to wipe the floor with him', thought Stefan.

Although Stefan is powerful in his own right, he is nowhere near strong enough to take on a Vampire twice his age in a frontal confrontation. The only reason he came out on top was that he has honed his skills to the limit.

Stefan wasn't exactly sitting idle in the 5 years that have passed since his arrival in this universe. He has been pushing himself to master his vampiric speed, strength and agility. Add to that the Kung-Fu he picked up in China, and there's hardly a fighter he can't take out in seconds. He still regrets not being able to learn from the legendary Yip man though. Bruce Lee was a legend himself, but Yip man was on a different level when it came to Wing Chun. Magic was something he was progressing quite well on, considering the hundreds of grimoires he has memorized and mastered by now. In the five years, he came across multiple witches, from whom he borrowed, read 'tactically misappropriated', the grimoires that currently fill the living room of the Salvatore boarding house. Magic also helped him in improving his abilities further.

Although it seems that a Vampire's growth in bodily aspects is stopped when they are converted, it is just a misconception, as nobody is willing to work hard enough. Stamina and endurance can still be improved if pushed far enough, and that's what he did. Stefan's stamina has seen a remarkable improvement, with about a 40% increase in the past 5 years. He also improved his endurance and pain threshold through harsh training.

The easiest way though, to be a strong Vampire is being strong in the first place before turning. An impossible task for most. But Stefan knew just the spell to temporarily lift his immortality, letting him work on his actual physical body just before he was turned. All thanks to the omnipotent being. Magic can be awesome at times! So after five years of hard work, the strength and speed of our resident transmigrator have gone up leaps and bounds.

'If I want to bulldoze through older vampires though, I'll need to get a lot stronger. And I know just the ritual to grant me such abilities', said a grinning Stefan.

Scene break - Somewhere East of NYC


Stefan was standing in the clearing of a forest, preparing for a ritual. The site was being prepared thoroughly. The scene wouldn't be out of fashion in a supernatural world even if it tried. With fire lit in four corners, forming a square, a circle drawn with salt encompassing the fire. A strange symbol could also be seen at the center of the main circle. It resembled three spirals drawn at equal angles from each other, with their roots meeting in the center, but not fully. The symbol for Strength in ancient Greece. The ends met another circle, which was part of a pentagram. At the center of which stood Stefan.

The day was chosen due to a celestial event scheduled, as celestial events are an easy boost to anything related to magic. Today was the day of a Penumbral Lunar Eclipse, and Stefan planned to milk the cosmic event for all its worth. The ritual was fairly simple. Stefan wanted to convert his human form into a hunter, thus augmenting his already massive strength to the next levels. He has been siphoning and storing magic for this exact purpose, and the boost from the expression locket was enough to finally go through with the ritual.

Lifting his immortality while channeling the magic needed for the hunter spell would need tremendous control and power, and would take a toll on Stefan even in this state, so he prepared a stock of blood beforehand. After everything was prepared correctly, Stefan waited patiently for the moment of the eclipse.

And he didn't need to wait long, the Eclipse started shortly after, saturating the air with Magic. Stefan had a look of pure concentration when he started chanting in Latin. This was a tweaked version of the hunter's spell, removing the compulsion to kill vampires and the tattoos.

"O magna luna"

"da mihi fortitudinem, celeritas da mihi, da mihi velocitatem"

"vincere inimicos"

"da mihi fortitudinem, celeritas da mihi, da mihi velocitatem"

"vincere inimicos"

Stefan chanted while channeling all his magic around himself. His muscles could be seen swelling slightly, getting more definition, gaining more strength by the second. He was desiccating along with the process but at a manageable rate. He could feel it, the enhanced strength, the enhanced speed and agility, but it was not time to relish in the feeling, he was currently the most vulnerable he has ever been since coming to this universe. After the end of the eclipse, the ritual concluded, with the fire dying out.

Stefan had to go through his entire stock of blood, which would have otherwise lasted him an entire month, in minutes. The result? An extremely powerful vampire was born. After necessary cleanup of the site, making sure to leave nothing behind, Stefan decided to retire for the day, leaving the tests for some other day.

Scene break - an empty Gym in NYC


Through the next couple of months, Stefan assimilated to his current powers. The strength increase hadn't caught up fully at the start. It took nearly 5 weeks to get to the peak of his expected levels of strength, during which he had to consume more than quadruple the amount of his daily blood intake, something totally worth it if you ask him. After finally reaching his peak, he spent time ensuring he could use those abilities to their fullest. Doing practice drills on his own, Stefan contemplated the extent of his abilities.

"Will wouldn't have known what hit him if I had this level of strength back then"

"Now that I have reached a formidable strength level, I guess it's time I move on to phase 2"

"What's phase 2? And why do you always keep talking to yourself?", a melodic sounding voice asked.

"It's a secret Lisa, and for the umpteenth time, stop trying to sneak up on me", replied an amused Stefan.

"Oh come on! I'll keep my mouth shut, you can trust me", Lisa pleaded.

"I don't think so. Need I remind you of the day you got drunk…"

"That was just one time! How long are you planning to hold it over my head?", asked an exasperated Lisa.

"Forever", replied an equally amused Stefan.

"Ugh, you are insufferable!", sighed Lisa, zipping out of the gym, while Stefan followed closely behind. She slowed down to human speeds while walking out of an alleyway, heading towards a Cafe.

"Are you just going to follow me or are you planning to buy me some coffee?", questioned Lisa

"Sure", said Stefan rolling his eyes.

They both went inside, Lisa settling down on a well secluded table while Stefan went in to place an order. After ordering a cappuccino and a cold chocolate, he sat next to Lisa, staring at her with a raised eyebrow.

"What? You never said I couldn't visit, why are you looking at me like that?"

"Yeah right. I asked you to explore New Orleans, which last I checked, was 1300 miles South-West"

"I did explore the place, it was just, so, boring! The empire built by Marcel, as you informed me, is weirdly functional. There are Human and Witch factions, with Werewolves in the Bayou. Everything seems balanced, for now, whether it stays that way is anyone's guess at this point. There are witches who are not bitches though, and are open to work with Vampires for a price", informed Lisa.

"Hmm, I'll have to make a personal visit then. Good work though, I'll get you a daylight ring this week". That had her grinning and in Stefan's arms.

'Vampires. Heightened emotions. Thankfully she is easy on the eyes. I am not sure turning her was the right choice though', contemplated Stefan.

"When are we leaving for New Orleans then?", enquired Lisa.

"Early next week. I have some preparations to do before we can start. Where are you staying btw?"

"In your room, duh!"

"..."


AN: Sorry for the extreme delay in this chapter's release. Had to travel for work and didn't get much time to write. I think I should keep a chapter or two pre-written to keep up with the upload schedule, something to work upon for me I guess.

Thank you for all the positive reviews, they just make my day!

PS: Below are stats for Stefan after going through the ritual. Assuming a 40% increase across the board through the hunter ritual. It also includes the 5 year training binge he underwent.

Base strength - 1150 psi

Vampiric strength - 1150*4*(1+0.005*119) = 7340 psi (an average vampire would need to be 2700 years old to match this level of strength, but from the show, every turned person seems to have above average build so, about 410 years old)

Base speed - 37.8 mph

Vampiric speed - 37.8*4*(1+0.005*119) = 241 mph (an average vampire would need to be 470 years old to match this level of speed)