Johnny sees Mary Rose laying on the couch, frowning. She was clearly upset.

Johnny went over to sit next to her. “Do you want me to leave?” He asks.

Mary Rose doesn’t even look at him and turns away. “Hmph!” She says.

Johnny lets out a sigh. “I would understand if you want to leave me.” He says.

Silence follows.

Johnny sighs once more. He nudges Mary Rose's shoulder. “Come on, talk to me.” He says.

Mary Rose turns back around and gives Johnny a stern stare. “Do you even care about me?” She asks, holding back her feelings.

Johnny caresses her arm. “Of course I do.” He says.

Mary Rose frowns. “You didn’t even say anything.” She says.

Johnny raises an eyebrow. “Say anything about what?” He asks.

Mary Rose turns once more. “My cultivation! I made it to the second stage and you didn’t even say anything! You clearly only care about Lucy! Leave with her then! See if I care!” She exclaims angrily before tears begin to stream down her face.

Johnny didn’t know what to do. He simply lay himself down next to her and hugs her close.

…

…

Johnny walks into the Wizard Association and looks around. Everything was glass, white, or platinum. Very modern. Johnny thinks, before leading his group to the front desk.

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

“How can I help you, sir?” The lady asks.

“Hi, yes. We called earlier, we’re here to visit Romulus.” Johnny says.

“Ah, he’s currently in a meeting with our higher ups. If you have a seat I’ll inform you when he’ll be available.” The lady says.

Johnny smiles. “Sure.” He says.

…

…

Romulus had an indignant look on his face but his head was lowered throughout the meeting. The head of the association Galzabar was here, in addition to a ninth stage vampire. He really didn’t have much right to speak.

“Look, Galzabar, what’s done is done. Romulus has killed one of our own, and if a life isn’t offered in return, an equivalent price must be paid, or the vampires of Movie Capital will have no choice but to go to war.” The ninth stage vampire says, looking somewhat tired. He eagerly wished to be done with this chore.

Galzabar was unfazed. “And what of Romulus’ disciple? That little bloodsucker killed one of ours, a child of immense potential! He rightly paid with his life!” He says, somewhat angry.

The ninth stage vampire lets out a sigh. “How can the worth of a third stage bitch compare to a vampire on the seventh stage? What potential? There are geniuses born every day, but how many of them make it to our level? Potential? They’re just roadside cabbages!” He says, his words harsh.

Galzabar frowns. “That’s where I make my stand, Ronin. I understand very well that child’s value. Now, say it. What kind of price do you expect?” He asks.

Ronin lets out a smile. “We demand the Sunburst Sword. We can’t have such a dangerous weapon in the hands of our enemies.” He says.

Galzabar doesn’t care and immediately laughs in the man’s face. “You’re dreaming.” He says, not taking it seriously.

“Fine.” Ronin says before taking a breath. “We don’t need much. We just need the Karma Tracing Crystal.” He says, letting out what he was really targeting.

Galzabar’s brows furrow. “What use could you have for that?” He asks. In truth, this was a price they could accept, but he was wary of giving anything to these despicable vampires.

Ronin frowns. “It would just be comforting to have such a tool. We have no great desire for it.” He says.

In truth, someone had recently massacred the Savale family, and even though they did what they could to investigate the issue, they couldn’t discover much. It was a huge loss to the vampires of Movie Capital; that was an eighth stage vampire and various seventh stage vampires. An enemy capable of wiping them out and hiding the traces so well that they couldn’t find a trail… Ronin had to discover as much as he could about the enemy to guard against any future attacks. If it was an enemy they could offend, they won’t hesitate to retaliate, but if it was someone they couldn’t afford to offend, they had to guard against all eventualities.

Galzabar lets out sigh. “Fine. You’ll have it by the end of the day.” He says before standing up. He had clearly had enough of these vampires.

Romulus lets out a sigh of relief. Thankfully the consequences weren’t too great. He thinks before also standing.

Ronin got up and bows his head slightly before leaving with his entourage.

Galazabar and the other wizards also leave.

Romulus begins to head for the entrance. He had received a message earlier that he had guests.

Ronin slowly makes his way out of the building. As he’s about to exit, he sees Romulus greet several people. Ronin’s eyes immediately constrict, focusing on the young man in the group. The young man was clearly on the third stage on the surface, but Ronin has experienced a great many things in his life, and he wouldn’t be fooled by such illusions. When Ronin looked at the young man, he clearly saw a dormant dragon, a great beast that was resting his eyes. Ronin begins to gauge the depths and his eyes widen. Is this kid above me? He asks himself, somewhat in doubt.