“I-I think I might have misheard.” Sam purses his lips and crosses his arms. “Did you just say… wrestle a mountain lion?”

“That I did! Didn’t you say you wanted a drudge!?”

“Yeah, but…”

He pauses, so I complete his words for him. “But you aren’t getting one! So here’s a pet instead! A unique and powerful one at that!”

“How is wrestling this thing supposed to accomplish anything! Would you wrestle cats at animal shelters if you wanted it to be your pet!?”

I laugh. “Well, this is a bit different than a house cat. Big cats and house cats have similar behaviors; the issue here is that this is a large animal that might accidentally kill you on a whim.”

“Uhm, yeah! That’s part of the reason this seems like the worst idea I’ve ever heard! And I have heard a lot of bad ideas in my time!”

“Listen, let me run you through what you’re going to do.” I hop onto a nearby empty cage and kick my feet. Placing my scythe in my lap, I hold up one finger, “First! You’ll wrestle this thing with your improved vampiric Strength and Constitution!”

Sam stares off into space; I assume checking his own Status. “I’ve only leveled once! I’m almost to my second level, but that’s all!”

“Yeah, but you were already in decent shape before your transformation, and that means your base stats weren’t that bad, to begin with.” Noticing his indecisive gaze, I continue, “For example, a level two out of shape middle-aged woman wouldn’t have the same base stats as a level two male soldier like yourself. Unless they’ve managed to get many of their stat points into Strength, more than likely, the soldier would have a better strength stat. To put it even simpler, a woman would probably have better base Agility, but as I said earlier, a man would probably have better base Strength. Levels and Essence do not overwrite the base physique, just enhance what is already there.”

The gears in his head turn, and he eventually shakes his head. “Okay! But unfortunately, I’m not wrestling a ‘middle-aged woman!’”

‘That’s what he got out of my explanation? No questions, but that it isn’t a woman he’ll wrestle? The idiot.’

I sigh and throw my arms up exaggeratingly. “What are you talking about!? This is a cougar! This is pretty much the same thing! I thought a guy like you would love the opportunity to ‘wrestle’ with a cougar? I mean, why are you of all people being so picky?!”

“That’s hilarious and all, but this is obviously not what guys mean by that!” he shouts, utterly ignoring my not so subtle insults.

Picking up the scythe, I tap the side of Sam’s head. “Anyway! I’m not done. Second, after you defeat it and force it to accept that you are superior to it, you’ll put it back into the cage. After that, you will feed it, help it with any wounds it might have, and finally, the most important step, give it some of your blood to drink in place of water.”

“So let me get this straight, you want me to beat it up and nurse it back to health while also allowing it to drink my blood…!?”

“To sum it all up, I suppose I do.”

“Why!? Why would I do that!?”

“Because you’re building a bond with it. To be honest, it’s a lab animal, so it spends most of its time in that cage, meaning it’s probably fairly weak and docile, so you shouldn’t be so up in arms about this.”

“No! See, that’s where we disagree; it’s a mountain lion regardless of how weak it is! Also, why blood!?”

“Oh, yeah, that part was done in the past to do as I said, build a bond with the additional purpose of being symbolic while also allowing them to learn your scent. Yet, in this case, it will additionally serve to awaken this animal to Mana.”

“L-listen, I’m exhausted, and I don’t want to fight this thing! Are you sure it wouldn’t just turn into a friendly, obedient drudge and chick magnet?”

I shake my head dismissively. “Nah. I mean, sometimes it happens, but it’s rare. It’s more common with animals that have gained sapience, but when that happens, typically, they would prostrate themselves before the Goddess and pray to be made full-fledged members of the Blood Race. The Goddess has bestowed her gift upon sentient animals in the past; however, but those animals would act on instinct, regardless, so it was rare for her to do such a thing.”

“Oh. That’s interesting.” He gazes at the mountain lion. A low growl reverberates from the cage as it glares at Sam. “Can… Can I do this later?”

“Hmm, I guess, but you should feed it at the very least. You need to beat it at its strongest and most entertaining!” Sam stares at me suspiciously as I laugh and wave him toward the door. “Now, go to the cafeteria wherever that is and get something for this thing to eat.”

“Yeah, I never did get my steak. All those years ago… or days, it’s hard to remember anymore.” Just before he leaves, he stops. “Actually, you wanna come with me? I don’t actually know where it is.”

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“I don’t know where it is either. I just assumed they would have a cafeteria or something; otherwise, I have no idea where all these people get their food.”

“So is that a no to coming with me?”

“Hmm, I suppose I’ll go. It will be nice to mingle with the common folk,” I reply with a small smirk. “Still, if we are going together, we need to check on Eden and the cubs first.”

“Really! Okay! ...Wait, what happened to Eden?”

“Come on.” I jump down from the empty cage. “I’ll explain on the way.”

Since Sam is a wimpy baby about fighting the mountain lion right now, the two of us vacate the room and move toward the office where I left Eden and the cubs before the fight. On the way, I explain the circumstances to Sam. He didn’t have much to say, just a bit of worry on Eden’s behalf.

Anyhow, it isn’t long before we reach the office, and I unlock the door with the keys I acquired earlier.

‘I’m not sure how long it takes for a vampire to shake off the full effects of that blue serum, but either way, she probably needs to eat something. Whether that’s blood or food will depend on if she’s awake… actually, I’ll just give her both if she’s awake.’

Opening the door, what greets me is the sight of Eden sitting up from the pallet of sheets I left her. She stares at the wall with a look of embarrassment. Upon hearing us enter, she turns to gaze at me with a few strands of her hair stuck in her mouth.

She pulls the strands from her mouth and says in a small voice, “...Sorry.”

“It’s fine. Everything worked out, but I am a little disappointed that you let weak humans get the jump on you,” I reply.

My attention turns toward the corner of the room where the three bear cubs have curled up together. Their ears flinch from the noise of our discussion, but they seem to be in a deep sleep.

“They snuck up on me while I was firing the rifle. Also...” Eden murmurs, turning her head toward the floor, “...I don’t feel very good.”

“Probably because your body isn’t absorbing much Mana.” I enter the room and walk over to her. Moving in close, I lift Eden’s head and look into her red and blue eyes, checking the dilation of her pupils. “You’ll feel light-headed and maybe a little nauseous for a while till it wears off. Until then, you shouldn’t use any magic or anything, or you will pass out.”

I ignore Eden’s red cheeks as I pull away and roll my eyes. Abruptly, the sounds of cooing echo from the corner of the room. Turning my attention toward the noise, I see the three cubs lifting themselves frantically. The feistiest cub that I am most familiar with sprints toward me and hugs my leg. He then climbs up my leg quickly and swats at my arm.

‘Doofus.’

With a small laugh, I wrap my free arm around the cub, causing him to coo softly. The other two cubs follow suit, except one perches on my shoulder while the other jumps to Eden, finding its way into her shaky grasp.

Scratching the underside of the cub’s chin, I look at Eden. “Anyway, Sam and I are going to try to find this place's cafeteria. Do you want to join us...? Oh, and do you have any idea where it is?”

“Y-yeah, sure. What about Aponi, though? Is she okay?”

“She’s fine, just watching a room full of sleeping people. Well, they may not be sleeping anymore, but I need some food, and they aren’t going anywhere… I also need a shower.”

“They only have communal showers here.” Her eyes swing back and forth a bit shifty. “I-I could also use a shower.”

Propping the scythe against my body, I slowly raise my hand and point a single finger at her. “No. Shower on your own.”

She shakes her head. “I… I didn’t suggest anything. You just assumed.”

“Yeah, whatever!” I shout at her.

Undissuaded, she continues to stare at me with a blank expression. “But… What if I pass out while in the shower? What then?”

“H-hey. Can you two stop embedding images in my head, and instead, let us go get food!?” Sam shouts from the door behind us.

“Shut up!” I respond, glaring at him over my shoulder, “Don’t you dare picture anything! I forbid it!”

Sam coughs and rubs the back of his head. “To be honest, I didn’t mean to say that part out loud. It just kind of happened.”

“Moron!” I turn back toward Eden. “Do you know wherever this cafeteria is or not?”

“Yeah. I actually talked to some people without threatening them, so they told me this kind of stuff.”

‘What! No one tells me anything. I blame Carl! Carl should have mentioned this!”

I click my tongue, glancing at Eden’s shaky figure. “Can you walk there?”

“I’m not sure.” Her eyes turn to the bear cub that has snuggled up in my arms. “I might need someone to carry me.”

“Sam?” I ask.

Sam gazes at me with wide eyes realizing what I’m about to ask, “Yea—”

“I’ll walk,” Eden says, interrupting Sam.

“That hurts,” Sam places his hand on his chest, like an old woman clutching her pearls, “You guys are too young for me anyway! I’m not like that!”

“Then don’t look so excited,” Eden asserts, tossing the sheets from herself. “Follow me.”

“I was just excited to help!” Sam shouts.

Eden ignores him and instead releases a small sigh while looking at me, obviously to display her disappointment in my earlier responses.

‘Nope! Never! Find someone else to have your crush on!’ Grabbing my scythe, I give her a mocking grin and a shake of my head.

Still, I watch her closely to make sure her steps are steady. I notice her glance back to see if I’m watching her, but I don’t acknowledge it as we all leave together. Thus starts our journey going this way and that way up halls and down the same halls again until Eden spots what she’s looking for, a stairwell door.

“Staircase? Is this where the trash compactor is?” I ask.

“Yeah, but it’s also where the cafeteria, showers, and sleeping quarters are. At least that’s what I was told,” she responds in a shaky voice.

Opening the door, we are greeted by a well-lit stairwell with a staircase that only leads downward. Together we step down several sets of stairs until we reach another door. We open it, revealing a room full of tables, researchers, and the smell of baking food.

“So, this is where everyone has been hiding!” I shout, drawing the attention of the entire room. “I thought it was weird that there were so many vacant offices without enough bodies to fill them!”