Chương 29: (29) B1 C29: MY EYES!!!

I turned back to Ismena, who had begun to whisper to herself in a desperate prayer. I stepped forward, just until I was just in front of the barrier, and began to listen. I couldn't understand what language she was using—but not because the words themselves were unfamiliar. She was speaking English, yet the way she was speaking it didn't make any sense to me. Then the mage's mana finally disappeared.

The barrier vanished not with an explosion, but with a quiet whimper, and the mage responsible for its creation froze completely. Ismena looked up at me, her body shivering in terror as tears fell from her eyes. I waited silently, just so I could react to any sort of surprise attack if she sent one in my direction. To my surprise, however, she simply began to back away from me, the terror on her face growing more dreadful by the second. So this wasn't a trap? I smiled, then fell upon my prey.

The mage cried and struggled against me as I sank my fangs into her neck, but her complete lack of mana meant that her pitiful resistance amounted to nothing more than a push and a shove. Only when the notification appeared in my vision did I finally pull away from her. +1, 260 BP (Level 25 Human Mage) After my meal, I let Ismena's cold carcass fall to the ground. Then I slowly turned to Lucia, who had been staring at me with an empty expression.

I stepped forward, a frown growing upon my face as she finally regained her focus. I turned to Hamund, then to Ismena, and then finally back to Lucia, "Are you alright?"

"Yes," Lucia nodded, her expression becoming pale as her eyes briefly flickered to my jaw, "I saw what happened to the Paladin, so I guess I shouldn't be surprised. It was just surprising to see. Sorry."

"Well," I sighed as I turned my gaze to Roley's body, "I'm not done yet. If you want me to eat in private, just say so. I'll go ahead and move somewhere else if it makes you uncomfortable." Lucia nodded as she turned her gaze away from me, her face paling as an expression of discomfort formed on her face. Then she took a few steps, instead moving over to Hamund to loot him of anything of value. I doubted that she'd be able to wear the armor, but maybe she'd be able to see more value in it than I could.

While she did that, I turned to Roley. He'd already lost a lot of blood, but after remembering how Blood quality was determined by the blood's age, rather than its amount, I figured I'd be okay drinking what I could. After dragging him into the bushes, I got to work. To my surprise, the BP I was able to pull from his body was just about as much as I'd received from Drew—that being exactly 210 BP—though I was nowhere near as satisfied as I'd expected to be from the feast.

After I wiped my mouth clean, I returned to Lucia, who had organized Hamund's armor on the ground in separate piles in front of her. As she watched me approach, she pointed a finger to the helmet and sighed, "This is the only piece that can moderately fit me. Everything else is too big."

"How valuable is it?" I asked, "Because if we can sell it to somebody willing to buy, maybe we can get you a replacement set."

"We're in the right country for that, at least," She sighed.

"Everybody's willing to buy anything, whether it's illegally sourced or not, but we're still nowhere near civilization. Not only will we have to drag this around, but we'll have to worry about shelter the entire time we're doing it." I felt myself let out a sigh as I turned toward the horizon. If what Lucia said was true, then our time here in the forest was drawing to a close. One part of me wanted to stay, as this place was the perfect playground for me.

There were still things to do here, people to kill, and slavers to drain, but another part of myself recognized that staying for too long obviously wasn't a good idea.

"You've had your fun, Evelyn. It's time to leave," I heard Lucia say. I looked back at my companion, my eyebrows lifting in amusement. Had she known what I was thinking that easily?

"Maybe it's time we prioritize trying to find a city," I nodded, "Mercentoria's a month away, though Hearthmill is a lot closer."

"I've heard of Mercentoria, but where is Hearthmill?"

"To the south. It's a small harbor town, but there aren't many shops there," I told her, "You might've seen it on your way into the country, back when you were still enslaved."

"I know it," Lucia sighed with a nod.

"The other slaves and I spent a night at an inn there, so I don't think it's best we go to Hearthmill. Somebody might recognize me."

"To Mercentoria, then?" I suggested, "Then we should figure out how best to travel. The distance is too large to rely on shelters to hide from the sun, so we'll need some form of official transport—specifically one that can hide me during the day."

"For your religious reasons, right?" Lucia asked, her eyes squinted in suspicion.

"Right. Yeah, religious reasons," I nodded back. When Lucia squinted her eyes even more, I sighed. Was it a good idea to reveal one of my most severe weaknesses? Obviously not, but something about Lucia made me feel closer to any other friend I'd had in my life. I took a deep breath, then finally admitted defeat, "Ah fuck, fine. I said I'd be honest with you, so I will be. I can't go out during the day because the sunlight will physically harm me. If I try it, I'll die within moments."

Lucia tore her eyes back to the ground, her face quickly turning pale as she closed her eyes to think. After another moment, she managed to gather what composure she could find before looking back up at me.

"Thank you for being honest, though I suspected as much," Lucia nodded, "Now, how about this idea: You're an undead, right? You have no heartbeat? What if we just pretend you're literally dead and I just transport your body in a coffin?" Lucia shrugged, "I could pretend to be a family member bringing your body home. Nobody would ask questions."

"Is that common here?"

"In Veilarus it is," She nodded, "When my grandmother died in the Arcane Ascendancy, my family spent five months transporting her body across the Strait of Eldion. It may not be a popular practice here, but it won't raise any eyebrows." It could work. It was a more reliable method than trying to find a wagon secure enough to prevent light leakage, but it required me to trust Lucia wholeheartedly.

She'd easily be able to betray me and lift the coffin lid during the middle of the day, when the sun was high in the sky and shelter was nowhere in sight. I wouldn't be able to do a damn thing to stop it, and I'd be at her mercy for however long I was stuck in there. Did I trust her? Yes. Did I trust her that much? Hell no. By principle, I knew that I shouldn't be involving myself in a situation as dangerous as that, regardless of how much trust I had.

"Is that our only option?" I asked as a fearful chill ran down my spine, "Where would we even find a coffin? They don't exactly grow on trees."

"Good question," Lucia nodded, her fingers lifted to her chin as her eyes squinted in thought, "I didn't think of that."

"Maybe we should try to find a traveling merchant," I muttered, "But how are we supposed to find them after the sun goes down? Are night merchants a thing here?"

"Not generally. The night is dark and dangerous. It's easy to get lost if you don't know where you're going," Lucia shook her head, "Though if they existed anywhere, it would be the Consortium. This nation thrives on trade."

"Maybe we should take a few days to think on it," I sighed.

"I agree," Lucia replied. … I spent the next few minutes exploring the campsite while Lucia gathered the loot from our fallen enemies. My attention was primarily dedicated to exploring the shack, which seemed to have been used as a smithy a few decades ago. After I made my way through the stubborn front door, I was faced with three large tables, each decorated with dozens of rusted tools. On the other end of the smithy was an ashy furnace and an anvil covered in a thin layer of dust.

What remained of the blacksmith's work must've gone with him, as I found nothing more than the discarded tools that he left behind even after I spent several minutes searching through what I could find. Much of the furniture was overrun with weeds and vines that had intruded through the floorboards, and I used some of the rusty tools to get through the bushes and foliage next to them. After about five minutes, I finally found something that hadn't seemed discarded and unwanted.

Underneath the largest table, directly to the right of the furnace, were three wooden drawers that were almost hidden behind the weeds. Opening two of them resulted in small dust clouds spreading through the air, which brought a heavy feeling of discomfort if I was foolish enough to breathe them in, but as I opened the third drawer my eyes were blinded by the bright light of a car's highbeams.

Or it felt that way, at least, as the single metal ring hiding underneath a small canopy of dust replicated the effect almost perfectly. Staring at the metal band, regardless of how my head was turned, nearly blinded me. When I attempted to pick it up, a burning pain quickly tore into my hand as soon as the ring made contact with my skin. I winced in pain and dropped the ring almost immediately, then backed away as I held my wounded fingers in shock.

"What the hell?" I couldn't help but stammer in surprise. Only once I backed away, specifically far enough to hide the ring behind the drawer's front side, did the blinding light finally cease. I took a deep breath, then thought back to my Banes as a realization struck me. Right. Silver. The ring must've been made out of pure silver.

"What was that?" I heard a voice call out. I turned around, then saw Lucia's face pop into the smithy from outside. She looked around inquisitively, an eyebrow raised as she gazed at me with an obviously confused expression.

"It's nothing," I told her. Lucia stepped inside, then brought her eyes around the smithy. When she found the desk, she stepped forward, yet didn't react in pain or frustration. Instead, she let out a loud gasp of surprise.

"Wow! Look at this beauty!" She chuckled as she dipped her hands into the drawer. When she pulled out the miniature star, I winced with an annoyed groan and held up a hand to block the light from reaching my eyeballs.

"What's wrong?" She asked as she turned back to me.

"Can you get rid of that, please," I pleaded.

"Why? The quality is extremely nice! I don't think I've ever seen silver this pure," Lucia chuckled, "This might honestly be worth more than everything else we've found today."

"Fuck. Okay, fine," I sighed, "Keep it, but can you put it in a pocket or something?" I asked with an annoyed sigh. Lucia slowly nodded, then did as I requested. Once the ring disappeared into one of her side pockets, the light vanished with it.

"What was that about?" She asked, "Not a fan of precious metals?"

"Silver," I replied as I hastily shook the light's burn from my corneas.

"It doesn't play well with my eyes. Do me a favor and keep it out of my sight from now on, yeah?" Lucia nodded, then turned back to the drawer. A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

"There's something else, too," She said as she picked up a small piece of parchment. She held it up, unfolded the edges, then began to read aloud, "' Winston: Regarding your tribute for last month, our mutual friend finally paid their dues, and I've included your share of it here. You'll find a single ring of fine silver, as you requested, that should be enough to cover the outstanding debts. I'm not sure what sort of masterpiece you'll forge with it, but I'm sure it won't disappoint.

I hope this letter finds you well and in good spirits, friend. Should you ever find yourself in Highmarket, come find me, and we'll share a bottle of Vincenni together. Until our next meeting, yours truly, Quin—.'" Lucia suddenly looked at me, her eyes wide with disbelief.

"This was signed by Quinton Lytton!"

"Who?" I asked.

"Even I know who he is, and I wasn't born here. He used to be the Head of the Consortium High Council!" She explained, "His grandson's in charge now, and has been for awhile, but Quinton was quite the influence back in his time."

"So he was like a King?"

"Essentially, yes," She nodded, "He didn't have the land or military power that a real king would have, but I'd argue he had more political and economic influence than the current King of Eldion. Wow. This was actually… this ring must be worth quite a lot."

"Pack it up, then," I nodded, "And let's keep looking around. Maybe we'll find something else." … Looting the other corpses took some time, and though we had to leave a few things behind simply because we had no room for them, such as the staff Ismena was using, we easily managed to get back to the cave before the sun rose up. Once I made myself comfortable, I took the opportunity to spend my Blood Points to increase my level.

With a staggering 5, 772 BP, I was able to level up all the way to level 15 and still have a good chunk remaining to keep my complexion at a decent level. With Lucia now firmly on board the team, it was quickly becoming one of my priorities to always have a decent complexion so that I didn't frighten her. At least, not too much. With 150 points to spend, I went ahead and prioritized Thirst and Undeath, as usual.

I didn't have any spells that required any of my magical attributes to be high, so those three were left untouched. On level fifteen, though, I went ahead and prioritized a good chunk of my available points to Malice so that it didn't fall too far behind. Specifically, I increased my Malice by 25, Undeath by 40, and Thirst by 85.

The jump from level 12 to level 15 didn't involve any skill points, unfortunately, so by the time I was done, my new status screen looked like this: Evelyn Moore Untitled Vampire Fledgling - Level 15 VP: 2. 7K / 2.

7K (+140 /Min) BP: 1, 667 (+3, 350/Bite) BB: 200 / 200 (+20 /Min) CE: 550 / 550 (+40 /Min) 1, 690 Blood Points Required to Reach Level 16 Attributes Menu MALICE: 70 178 (+) Devour Damage 140 /Minute VP Regen HERESY: 10 25 Hex Damage 20 /Minute BB Regen UNDEATH: 270 2, 700 Vitae Points (VP) --520 BP Cost for Devour Abilities AUTHORITY: 20 200 Blood Barrier (BB) 40 /Minute MP Regen THIRST: 335 3, 350 Bite Capacity 2, 640 (+) Critical Devour Damage PROFANITY: 55 550 Curse Energy (CE) 413 Critical Hex Damage Equipment Slaver's Iron Shortsword - (Worthless Prototype) DMG: 3 CRIT DMG: 128 No Equipped Amulet No Equipped Left Ring No Equipped Right Ring Light Armor Slaver Leather Jerkin - (Worthless Revision): +10% Fortitude, +10% Resilience Slaver Leather Trousers - (Worthless Revision): +7.

5% Fortitude, +7. 5% Resilience Slaver Leather Bracers - (Worthless Revision): +2. 5% Fortitude, +2. 5% Resilience Slaver Leather Boots - (Worthless Revision): +2. 5% Fortitude, +2. 5% Resilience Total Defense: 33% Fortitude, 13% Resilience"Fuck!" I shouted once my eyes drew down to the top of my status page. Are you fucking kidding me? I was only a single kill from leveling up—hells, even a rabbit would be able to tip me over the edge!

"Everything alright?" Lucia asked from across the cave. I turned to her, then sighed in regret once I realized that my frustration had woken her up. She looked at me, her eyes glazed over with exhaustion as a yawn escaped her lips.

"It's nothing," I sighed, "Just go back to sleep." Lucia nodded, then turned back around to face the wall. She was using Dave's pack as a pillow and the few sets of mage robes we'd collected as blankets, yet she couldn't do anything about the roughness of the ground below. We absolutely needed to get to a city. I leaned my head back against the cave wall as I closed the status window hovering in front of me.

The loot we'd collected, that which hadn't been dedicated to keeping Lucia as comfortable as possible, was sitting in a pile to my right. The silver ring was hidden in Lucia's pockets—thank fuck for that—yet I still found myself with simply too much to carry comfortably, which was both amazing and incredibly disappointing. I turned my eyes to the cave entrance, then back to Lucia. Daylight was almost here—the first day which Lucia spent knowing what I was.

If she truly did intend to betray me, today would be the day to do so, so as I tucked in for the night, I made sure to keep myself as alert as possible so that I'd be able to defend myself if the unspeakable happened. It was a good thing that my body didn't seem to require sleep, even if my mind begged for it.