When faced with buying blood provisions, I asked her what her favorite drink was.
Her response was expected. “Whatever is convenient, my lord.”
To my surprise, the shop she’d led me to had a variety of beast-feeder-friendly beverages. One in particular caught my eye. Smith’s Dregs… It really did come in cases—well crates to be more precise.
I decided then and there that I’d help her improve her strength while she was in my care. Approaching the shopkeeper, I took out a Master Dark Orb and set it on his ugly stone counter.
“Close your shop, please,” I said with a commanding tone. “I’m purchasing your stock.”
The man that stood there was a human that only had a single red sash on his sleeve. He stared at me gaping but nodded his head unceasingly as I listed my requests.
“Separate the beast-feeder beverages from the rest. After you’re finished, open every container that hasn’t been added to the pile. Do you have someone to help you?”
He’d already run out from behind the counter and rushed every other customer out of the store. As he was locking the front door, he replied, “I do, my lord. I’ll return shortly.”
He ran into the backroom and then I heard footsteps rushing up some stairs. Half a minute later, a creepily smiling vampire guy ran down the stairs with him. He had a red sleeve and wasn’t quite a quarter-blood.
“I thank my lord for gracing my shop,” the man said. “As you requested, we will open every container that isn’t separated into the pile.” He snapped his fingers and the human clerk started separating the store’s product at a frantic pace, but with impressive precision.
I saw the red-sleeve pat his coat pocket. Even without Mana Sight turned up, I could see the dense Dark Magic from the Master Orb through his clothing. While the clerk separated the beast-feeder product from the rest, the store owner opened the containers that were lining the wall. They were displayed standing up, so there was no spillage. Not that it would matter if there was.
Even though neither of the two helping me were over level 10,000, they still had stats far beyond normal humans, so they worked at a remarkable pace.
As we waited, I paid extra attention to the dark elf vampire. Her eyes never left the floor and she stood listless as if her will had been crushed.
“Jasmine,” I said softly.
“My lord?” she replied.
“I’m sorry I wasn’t able to save your husband.”
She didn’t even flinch in response but just kept staring at the floor.
I continued, “Nothing I can do will make up for your loss, but I will take you away from here and deliver you to a place where you’ll have freedom and peace. Is there anyone here, family or friend, that you would like to take with you?”
She shook her head slowly.
I wasn’t sure if she believed a word I said. She had to at least have a few friends here… Was she trying to protect them from me?
Ten minutes later, the duo finished my requests and stood shoulder to shoulder before me with their heads bowed.
I thanked them, then turned to Jasmine. “Drain the room.”
Her neck straightened like a frightened cat. “I mustn’t, my lord. It’s forbidden…”
“What was forbidden for you is no longer forbidden. Look at me, Jasmine.”
She turned to face me, but only glanced up before averting her eyes. When she did, I just kept standing there until she looked up at me again.
Holding her gaze, I gave her an empathetic grin. “You are no longer a slave, but my friend. I need you strong while you’re traveling with me. Doing this will be helpful to me. Please.”
As soon as I finished speaking, she could only bear to look at me for another moment before turning away. She gave no verbal response and not even a twinge of emotion, but after a few seconds she nodded.
Holding out her hand, she cast it.
The blood in the open containers began to pool in the center of the room. It grew until it almost touched the ceiling and floor. Only then did it speed toward her and almost drown her with its power.
Giving her a look, it was as I suspected. Her diet had been so bad throughout her life here, this little amount of Draining almost doubled her stats.
Jasmine
Level: 4,863
Attributes
Strength: 2,131
Dexterity: 4,347
Constitution: 2,081
Intelligence: 2,071
Wisdom: 2,024
Unspent Stats: 34,009
“Why do you have so many unspent stats?” I said, afraid I already knew the answer.
“It’s forbidden…”
I glanced at the shopkeeper and his clerk who didn’t dare look up at me and their nervous energy was clear. After observing their stats, I sighed.
It seemed they limited all the slaves to around 1,000 in every stat. That way they’d be helpful but not terribly dangerous. “What are your natural talents?”
“Nature, Water, and Earth, my lord,” she replied.
“I recommend getting your Wisdom and Intelligence to 10,000 for the bonuses then focusing on Wisdom for the rest. I’m not familiar enough with dark elves to know if there would be any intrinsic benefits to getting your Dexterity to 10,000 as well besides the normal bonus. Even if there isn’t, getting the 10,000 Dexterity or Constitution bonus wouldn’t be a bad choice either. The decision is yours, but I’d like you to place your stats before we leave the city. If you haven’t had much chance to test yourself, leaving some unspent until you better understand what you are capable of isn’t a bad choice either. As a caster, the Intelligence and Wisdom bonuses will greatly benefit you though. It would probably be wise to at least get both of them to 10,000.”
The more I spoke the more her mouth parted. Finally a response…
“This is for you,” I said, holding out my hand to hand her something.
She looked up at my hand and held out her own. A storage ring fell into her palm. It wasn’t a cheap one either, but of the highest quality I’d found in Hallow.
Her lower lip trembled.
“Go ahead and place it on your finger,” I directed. Once she did, I also took out a magic bag and handed it to her.
“Place half the remaining stock in this bag and put it in your inventory. I’ll carry the other half. Also feel free to put any of your items in the magic bag as well. It is now yours.” The bag lessened the weight of any object it held by 30%.
I was originally just going to carry everything in my own inventory, but if I didn’t give her a job to do then she’d probably feel even more weirded out about all the forbidden things I was asking her to do.
Walking past the clerk and shopkeeper, I saw them stealing glances at Jasmine and trying to figure out why a Trueblood was giving her so much favor.
I ignored them and began loading up my own magic bag with the crates of beverages that I remembered enjoying the taste of first. Smith’s Dregs was top on the list of things I inventoried, of course.
Jasmine hurried over after she saw what I was doing and began loading her own magic bag quickly. Before we were done, she’d loaded more than I’d asked her to and deposited it all without a word.
The shopkeeper already had the door open after we’d finished. Jasmine followed behind me with her head bowed. I was thanked profusely before I left the shop. I’d paid more than ten times the price of what the goods were worth.
The next place we went was a shop for female products. I had no idea if dark elves or vampires had the same kinds of needs as normal women, but I wasn’t going to make any assumptions. Handing her an Intermediate Dark Orb, I asked her to get anything she’d need for a long trip and waited for her outside. I insisted that she spend it in its entirety.
There was a clothing store we headed to after she rejoined me. I was surprised to see that the majority of this shop’s display area was filled with gowns and suits that were similar to the garb worn in Hallow instead of the grey uniforms that everyone wo
re throughout the city. I then spotted a corner of the room that had a few shelves with the uniforms folded in stacks and piled up. It was where all of the shop’s current customers were shopping. Not one person was browsing the nicer clothing.
“Jasmine, pick out whatever you like,” I said. “And change into something else before we leave. Whenever you’re finished, bring your old clothes to me. You’ll not be needing them anymore.”
“I…” She started to say but stopped.
“It’s no longer forbidden,” I replied gently.
“My lord, even—even if I belong to you, it is the law that no one under Full-blood is allowed in public without the appropriate attire. I fear even my lord will be fined.”
I hadn’t thought I’d be able to hate this place any more than I already did, but it seemed I was wrong. “Don’t worry. A small fine would be worth the convenience of having you change now. So please, pick out a few things you like. If you can’t decide, how about something you think your husband would’ve liked.”
I regretted saying it as soon as it left my mouth. She trembled like I had struck her. But then, a few moments later, she looked up and scanned the room while trying to hold back her tears. Within seconds she found exactly what she was looking for and hurried over to the rack next to a dark blue sleeveless dress. Pulling out her size, she hugged it to her chest, then turned to face me with her eyes on the floor.
“Go change,” I said with as encouraging a tone as I could.
“Yes.” She hurried to the back of the store to the single changing room.
Looking around the room and seeing such a variety of clothing, I came to a decision. Walking up to the clerk who’d already been watching me attentively, I spoke before he could greet me. “I want you to pack up everything you have in stock except for the slave garments. I’m buying it all.” With a flick of my wrist, I tossed him a Master Dark Orb. “Make it quick.”
He bowed so low he almost hit his face on the counter before running off to do as I asked. There were already three clerks packaging the clothing before Jasmine returned.
It wasn’t just her I was thinking of. I was the leader of Sanctuary even if the Head Mistress had temporarily stripped me of the title. This clothing offered no protection or buffs of any kind, but even though it was of vampire design, it could give my friends more options for how to dress, and with that, more joy. It’s not like it really cost me much either to bring it back for them.
I walked over to a display of a knee-high silver dress that was sleeveless with a v-cut neck. It shimmered like silk and was seamless. I ran my fingers over it and couldn’t help but to think of Aeris.
“My lord,” Jasmine’s subdued voice came from behind me.
Glancing back, I was stunned at how much a simple change of clothes transformed her. She was a petite little thing with bluish-grey skin that was a few shades lighter than her dress. With her arms, neck, and legs showing she no longer looked so confined. It was hard for me to correctly guess her age, but she was at the most as old as I was if not a few years younger. I could have been completely off because of her race and vampirism…
“That’s much better.” I grinned freely. “What do you think of this one?” I stepped back so that she could see the silver dress.
“If my lord likes it better, I will change into it immediately,” she replied without even looking up at it.
“No. No. You can certainly have one if you like it, but I haven’t seen my fiancée for quite some time and would like to surprise her with a gift. Can you give me your honest opinion?”
Like a mouse hearing something unexpected, she twisted her head ever so slightly. A few seconds later, she braved a look. Her eyes shot to the ground a moment later, but she gave a sharp nod before adding, “It’s lovely.”
“Thank you. Please pick one out in your size then I’m going to store the rest of them.”
She quickly did as I asked, then looked around the room to see that the clerks were busy packing everything away. “My lord?”
“Yes. I purchased everything. Gifts for my family as well.”
“Shall I store them for you?”
“Only what you can comfortably carry. I don’t want you growing exhausted while we travel because you’re carrying too much. Understood?”
She said that she understood, then, just like with the beast blood, we split the room’s goods between us and left.
When we were once again out in the street, I asked, “Are there any personal items you need to retrieve before we leave?”
“No, my lord.” She seemed resolute.
“Very good. I’ll ask you one more time. Is there anyone here that you want to take with you? I promise to treat them kindly and take them to a place that’s much safer than here.”
“I have no one, my lord.”
“Then follow me.”
The merchants’ street we were on was about a half mile’s walk into the city from the main road. I was leading her toward the side entrance I’d originally taken so we had to skirt down a few side streets. We were almost to the last stretch when I heard someone yell, “Halt.”
Glancing back, I immediately cast Creature Observation on the two guards chasing after us. They wore pitch breastplates, tarn-style helmets and carried spears with a sword on their hip. Both were vampires and about level 20,000.
Jasmine spun to face them with terror in her eyes. She moved to fall to her knees but I caught her wrist and held her in place. “You’ll never kneel again.”
Her entire person was shaking, but she looked up at me and nodded before shrinking back to hide close behind me. I let go of her wrist.
As the soldiers neared, one immediately bowed to me to offer the appropriate respect. The other flanked me to hold Jasmine at spearpoint.
My hand flashed toward the spear with Magma Fist already active and grabbed ahold of it just below the spear’s head. Like a windblown coal, my hand turned yellow-orange. In half a second, the dark wood-like shaft turned to ash beneath my grasp. As the soldier’s spearhead fell, I caught it before flicking it to stab into the ground right between his legs.
“Apologize to the lady, immediately,” I demanded.
“Yes,” the man cried before falling to his knees and bowing his face to the ground. “I sincerely apologize, my lady. Please forgive this vulgar fool.”
“That’s enough. What is this about?”
The one on the ground didn’t speak another word. The soldier that had originally bowed kept his eyes lowered as he responded. “Forgive the intrusion, my lord, but it is the law of the city that low-bloods must stick to a strict dress code. If my lord is new to our glorious city, I will happily provide the appropriate clothing for her to wear.”
“That’s not necessary. We are leaving the city now and I’ll not have the lady here changing in the open for all to see just to please some silly rule. Your lord will understand.”
There was a heavy plop as an Advanced Dark Orb landed on the ground before each soldier. Their eyes nearly popped out of their heads.
“Please thank them for their understanding,” I said, awaiting their response.
They both dived on the orbs and deposited them in their inventories like two crazed zombies to a free meal.
“Yes, yes. My lord…”
“Yes, my lord.”
“Now escort us out of town, if you would be so kind, so that we’ll have no other such incidents,” I commanded.
I took Jasmine’s hand once again and pulled her forward as I started to walk in the direction we’d originally been heading. It left both guards behind us, but they scurried past us a moment later and walked in front of us to escort us as I had asked.
Seeing that they were doing as they were told, Jasmine suddenly wrapped her arms around my forearm and hung on as if her life depended on it. Magma Fist had already disappeared so there was no danger to her.
“Eyes up,” I said cheerfully. “This is the last time you’ll have to see this place.”
; ***
Soon the guards parted and bowed to us as we left the city. There were no other problems. It was a short walk to find the gap between boulders that was off the main path where Shamash was waiting. If one stood on top of either boulder they would have a great view looking down on the city.
I got her settled and had Shamash promise to hide her before I returned.
“I’ll be back soon,” I said. “Shamash can be frightening, but he won’t harm you. When I return, we’ll leave immediately, so rest now.”
She didn’t thank me but agreed and wasn’t acting as cold as before.
“Use a different entrance,” Shamash said. “Hundreds of people saw you leave with the girl. If they see you return without her, they may come looking.”
I agreed even though it would mean it would take longer. I started walking across the rocky terrain to stay out of sight until I’d traversed a quarter mile, then took off my suit jacket and carefully summoned my Crimson Incubus wings so that they’d cut through the back of my shirt without destroying it entirely.
Flying low, I skirted across the cavern floor until I reached the road heading into the main entrance. I saw some people in the distance who were leaving, but no one that was coming. Touching down, my wings disappeared, and my suit jacket went back on.
Let’s try this again.
Chapter 37 – Space
I wasn’t exactly a fan of being overbearing like I’d been with the soldiers that had stopped us. But I’d seen too many acts of arrogance in Hallow not to know how to put on the same kind of front. It was an aggressive haughtiness that I’d used to drive the two vampires to their knees. The mana orb helped, but it was really just a tool I’d used to prove my superiority.
Of course, it was all hogwash. How could a level 16,000 vampire forcefully make two level 20,000 trained soldiers do anything? Even a Trueblood would have difficulty facing them in a life or death struggle. There were exceptions. Manu Shah would have made easy work of the two and so would Jale. I guess I could even add myself to the list of vampires who really wouldn’t have any trouble dealing with them. But how could they know that? It was my identity as a Trueblood and the powerful family they imagined was behind me that really caused them to submit. The irony was that it was all turned around backwards. I had no powerful family but dealing with them would be smooth as a gentle breeze.
Underworld - Scorching Sun: A LitRPG Series Page 35