The dust of our recent dungeon raid had barely settled, but two worries clung to my mind like shadows.
“First, there’s that guy who escaped the dungeon and came to us for help,” I mentioned, ncing at my squadmates. Most of them seemed indifferent to outsiders, but this man was different—he’d managed to break free from that dark ce. How? That answer would have to wait until he woke up in the ammunition battalion’s base.
“But there’s something else…” I took a breath, trying to shake off the feeling of unease. “What was that insane regeneration ability I had?”
It still felt surreal seeing my wound close—the gaping hole in my abdomen healing right before my eyes.
“Wait a minute. Are you telling me you turned me into a vampire?”
Arie chuckled, and herughter only deepened my confusion. “Look, this is all a bit rming for you, isn’t it?”
“I’m just trying to understand what’s happening to me.”
She waved her hand dismissively. “Is it the word ‘vampire’ that freaks you out? Should I call them ‘nobles of the night’ instead?”
“No, it’s not that!” I retorted, though I wasn’t all that reassured.Arie sighed and teasingly extended her fingernails. Instinctively, I tightened my grip on the knife in my hand, anticipating a strike. But her sharp nails stopped just short of my skin, halted by some invisible barrier.
“Rx, I can’t hurt you without your permission. It’s part of my oath as your vassal,” she said yfully.
“So, what’s up with this regeneration then?” I pressed, locking eyes with her.
“Hmm, I might have a theory,” Arie replied, tilting her head. “If I’m right, that regeneration might be a result of your own decision.”
“Decision? What do you mean?”
She raised an eyebrow, amusement glinting in her eyes. “Oh, you really don’t get it, do you? Do you know how I create a vassal?”
“From what you told mest time, you drain their blood and fill the void with yours. Right?”
“Exactly! So, think back to how you subdued me.”
“I—it’s a little fuzzy,” I admitted, the chaos of that moment crashing back. I vaguely remembered the overwhelming thirst that had driven me to drain her blood in a frenzy.
“Oh! You sucked my blood, and then I also drank yours, didn’t I?” I suddenly eximed.
“Ah…”
A light bulb went off in my head. “So, your human blood transferred to me, and my blood—infused with magic—filled you. It’s simr to creating a vassal, isn’t it?”
“Precisely!” she said with a triumphant smile.
I rubbed my forehead, trying to sort everything out. I remembered a system notification from when I drained her blood: *[Warning! Excessive blood sucking can cause bodily transformations.]*
“Are you telling me that you didn’t just take a little of my blood? You drained everything just before I was about to be a noble?”
“When I gave you my blood, nothing changed. Why would that happen now?”
Arie shrugged. “You can eat all the nutritious meals you want, but you won’t see results overnight, right? Maybe the changes are just starting to manifest.”
A throbbing ache began to stab at my temples. “So, does this mean I’m bing your vassal? What happens to our master-servant rtionship then?” @@novelbin@@
“Oh, I wish it were that simple. But it’s a bit different from creating a typical vassal.”
“Different how?”
“To create a servant, I infuse my magical energy into the absorbed blood. But all the blood you consumed was mine.”
“So even if I was influenced by your blood, I wouldn’t actually be one of your servants?”
“Right. It’s disappointing, isn’t it? It would have been wonderful if you became my servant!”
Her excitement was palpable, and I couldn’t help but feel a little uneasy. “Hold up—I’ve been a bit too lenient with youtely, and now you’re acting out again.”
I decided to set that aside for the moment. “I heard from your associates that there wasn’t any magic energy in this world originally?”
“That’s correct.”
“Even looking at other humans, they seem unusually low in magical resistance. Given that magic has mixed so thoroughly with powerful blood, it seems to enhance that sensitivity.”
With a smirk, she said, “You may be closer to a noble than just a mere human now. Want to test that?”
She pulled at her cor, revealing her neck teasingly. “If you just took a little more, you might change your very race. What do you think?”
“Absolutely not.” I cringed at the thought. Yes, gaining power through blood would be enticing, but I’d pay a heavy price—sunlight vulnerability and a need to feed regrly? No, thanks. I had no desire to abandon my humanity.
“Be a vampire? What a terrifying idea,” I muttered under my breath.
As I considered the profound boost I’d felt from her blood, I daydreamed about it again. Would it be worth trying againter to enhance my stats once she regained her strength?
“Almost slipped into a huge disaster…”
If I tried that again, it would lead me to erasing my human identity, recing it with Shin Young-joon, the noble.
“Isn’t it odd to say that drinking blood would change someone’s race?” I pondered aloud. “Especially if it’s the blood of a being tied to blood-rted traits?”
“As I mentioned, humans in this world have particrly weak resistance—”
“But based on that logic, I’ve eaten countless monster cuisines, right?” Most of my meals hade from monsters, and I surely would have transformed by now if that were the case.
“Ah…”
Something wasn’t adding up. Just as I searched for rity, Arie interjected, “Isn’t there a difference?”
“A difference?”
“You’ve cooked monster meat, but when you drank my blood, you guzzled it down without restraint.”
That made me think. We’d talked about arade of Chang-Su’s who had lost his humanity after consuming monsters and had begun consuming humans too.
“The devourer of the absurd…”
I felt a sudden insight. Humans are vulnerable to monster magic. If consumed recklessly, they risk their own transformation into something monstrous.
.
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<strong>Heyo readers,</strong>
<strong>Regr release will resume from tomorrow onwards and I’m happy to announce 20 more chapters are on the way.</strong>