Job Scientist Level 1 Description Arcane- Tier II Active Skill [Measure] gauge distance, mass and elapsed time (accuracy of measurements scale with level)
Exill lay on his back as he examined the Card. It had been an eventful day, and he was tired yet eager to try out this new skill. He hung up the poster of ‘My Vampire Master’ on the wall and measured its dimensions.
> 50 x 30 cm
He could intuit the size of any object, and with some practice, convert it to any unit of measurement. Plucking a strand of his brown hair, he examined it with the skill.
> <1 x 14 cm
‘Ah, so that’s the limitation of the skill’s accuracy. It cannot go down to the millimetre scale at my current level.’
The potential that [Measure] held was incalculable. Used correctly, it would not only allow him to engineer modern equipment without precision instruments, but it could also empower him to peer into the inner workings of the mysterious System.
Some might argue that the ability to measure the incremental gain in weapon swing speed, or effectiveness of certain skills was more valuable than any of the skills he had obtained so far. It would allow him to optimise his growth path through efficient allocation of resources.
He was caught up in methods to calculate the margin of error, as well as measuring time and weight, when a noise interrupted him.
*squeak*
Exill looked up to see Envy framing the dimly lit doorway. The surreptitious use of [Measure] revealed her to be 1.7m (5.6ft) tall. He moved backwards to make room for her on the narrow bed and adjusted the towel under his arm. Surprisingly, she sat down on the edge of the bed, but otherwise didn't attempt to feed.
“Is there something wrong?” Exill asked nervously. He couldn’t see her face but tensed his body in case she launched a pre-emptive strike. Her uncharacteristic reaction after the play had confounded him. The only way he could describe her these past few days was the word ‘subdued’.
“Just… thank you.” she whispered back.
“About what?” Exill had never been more confused in his life.
Envy was supposed to die a wretched death in her cage until the Witchdoctor had rescued her. Up till now, she had lashed out at him, thinking he was another captor seeking to exploit her. Finding out that they were similarly forsaken by the World had changed her perspective on everything. Most importantly, his acceptance of Sir Eumol’s challenge had moved her to the point where she caught herself thinking, ‘just maybe… I can trust him.’
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But she didn’t answer.
How could she explain all this without revealing she stalked him sometimes? Instead, she slowly lay down on his arm and gently wrapped her lips around his forearm. Exill was again caught off guard by her unusual tenderness and forgot all about their bet in the morning, which granted him the ability to pat her head with the intention of humiliating her.
On the contrary, he fell asleep enjoying her quiet warmth.
***
The next morning he was surprised to find Envy still lying on his arm, her heavy thigh pressed on top of him. He panicked, checking if the towel was still in place. She had a nasty habit of biting him while sleeping. They had strictly slept on opposing sides of the bed back at the Inn because of this.
Relieved to find no stray drops of blood, he checked his Card to confirm vitality was at 100%.
‘Good, she didn’t overfeed. But why didn’t she go to her bed?’
He tried to lift her leg while pulling his arm that felt like leaden weight from the lack of circulation. Envy grimaced at all this movement but otherwise remained fast asleep.
“Hey Envy, it’s morning, wake up!” he whispered.
“Mn.” She expressed her sleepy refusal by clinging tighter and burying her face into his armpits. Exill’s heart skipped a beat at this display that was so unlike her. Letting her sleep a bit longer, he secretly enjoyed the feeling of being embraced.
*knock knock*
“Exill? Breakfast is ready… are you okay?”
“Yes, I’ll c-come out in a second!”
Luna stood by the door, her woman’s intuition telling her to open it. His voice sounded a pitch too high, a hint of panic evident from his stuttered speech. She trusted her gut and opened the door.
Her blue eyes turned cold as glaciers as she absorbed the sight of them entangled together, a mess of limbs. She suspected the Slave had crept into his room late at night and overstayed her welcome like the lewd leech that she was. Luna closed the door firmly without another word.
Exill came out a minute later, flushed and dishevelled, he sat at the table.
“Look, I’m sorry I fell asle-”
“I don’t want to hear your excuses Witchdoctor sir, as long as you stay under my roof you will keep your lustful slave under control and under no circumstances are you to sleep together!” Luna’s voice steadily grew louder until it culminated in a shout.
‘Did she just call me “Witchdoctor sir” and Envy my “lustful slave”?’ Exill realised just how furious she was, and he was confused by this rare display of resentment. It was not as if anything could happen between the Vampire and him.
“Look Luna, I think you’re misunderstanding someth-”
“There is nothing to misunderstand!” Luna abruptly cut him off and continued, “If you stay in this house, you will follow my rules. I know you are here to help me, but we follow common decency around here!”
Exill’s jaws tightened at this wrongful treatment. He had only recently escaped from under the thumb of his malicious slave, only to be unfairly controlled by someone whom he considered a close friend. However the alternatives were worse. Luna was obviously not in the right state of mind, and he didn’t want to storm out and find a new place to stay.
Eventually, his stingy side prevailed.
“Fine, I will send her back after feeding.”
“You will send her back after feeding and come to my room to report that fact. You will also lock the door on your return to ensure no unwelcome visitors during the night.”
Heaving a reluctant sigh, Exill agreed, “Yes… I’ll find you tonight to report this fact.”
Luna merely nodded, not trusting her voice, the hand holding her spoon was visibly trembling from the adrenaline high. She had never been this assertive before, and it felt… quite good. Nana had always warned her to reign in this ‘man-whore’ that was Exill - that he needed a firm guiding hand. She felt the wisdom of her words now.
Exill shivered as he felt Luna’s normally kind gaze shift into something… familiar yet different. He could sense a hint of Old Savta simply from her poise and her face was utterly inscrutable.
He wolfed down breakfast and left the Clinic in a hurry, grabbing his bedraggled Vampire and equipment in the process.