Closing the final book, having completely lost track of the days he had spent in the study room. The only way Norbert could tell the passage of time was from Obsius and Lily going to sleep and when staff would come in, seeing if they were still there, only to leave again when they saw Norbert staring down at the book as he tried to cram as much of it inside.
Nudging Lily awake, Norbert turned to her, seeing the groggy eyes slowly come into focus. Slowly lifting her head, she gazed around Norbert, eyes still not focusing. As she continued to stare, her face half fixed in a yawn, hood falling her as he hair stood up on ends.
Rubbing her eyes, her posture slowly stood straight as Norbert saw the woman fully wake up. Looking down at the books, the backs showing as they were spread out around the table, I looked back up at Norbert. "So, you finished all of them?" She asked him.
Norbert nodded in response, watching as she stood up with a stretch, picking up the books before heading out. Norbert stood up to follow her, only to be waved back down. Resting back in his chair, Norbert sighed in relief, still hearing the words of the magics in his head.
Closing his tired eyes to rest them, Norbert reviewed the information that he went through and placed it on the fights he had been through, reviewing back to the first one with the wolves. Thinking of how he would now do it differently, he wouldn't have stopped running, knowing he could outpace them, and if he didn't, then the sword would give him an increased range and to charge in, not getting swarmed by them.
Skipping over several more, the magic needed to be applied as he recalled his fight with Count von Count. Now, knowing why the vampire had just sat there at the end, allowing himself to get beaten to a pulp. Reminding himself of what he saw next, the utter blood bath the vampire inflicted on the attackers of the village to never let a spell build up, to find a way to disrupt it whenever possible.
Opening his eyes, Norbert looked at the vampire, Count von Count feeling a gaze on him, opening one eye a smidge as he continued to rock backwards and forwards. "You let me win." Norbert told the vampire.
A grin came over his mouth, one side rolling up as the vampire flashed a fang. Leaning forward, the chair slamming on the ground, no longer rocking, the vampire spoke, "I wondered how long it would take for you to realise it."
Norbert, now awake, mind started brimming with possibilities, none coming to anything or seeming stupid enough. "Why?" Norbert asked the vampire.
"At first, you were going to win. The others in the camp wouldn't sleep well, and not even the hero, Norbert, couldn't defeat the vampire. They would want me out of there immediately with nobody able to control me." The vampire said, stopping as he looked at Obsius; the noise had woken up the bird as she bustled around the table, heading to the plate of food on the far side and munching on a biscuit.
Count von Count continued his explanation, looking back to Norbert, "Well, that was until you had ripped my heart out and squeezed on my head. Unbeknownst to most, but if you cut a vampire enough, you can kill using normal means as the sheer damage does make it hard to heal." He said to Norbert.
Nodding his head, he opened his mouth to ask a question before Count von Count interrupted him, "But you did have me going in the end. Somehow, your blood was interacting with mine, giving too much of a boost in the healing, making it uncontrollable, like a cancer." Count von Count said.
Norbert, now bemused at what he was saying, "So, you're saying you tried to heal using my blood, which caused you to heal so much it was damaging you. Meaning you had to control it, limiting the healing effects?" Norbert asked him.
Count von Count nodded in response. Norbert rocked back in his chair, waving his hand in the air. "You nearly made me pass out!" Norbert shouted to the vampire.
Count von Count laughed, "And you nearly killed me!" replying with even greater volume, their voices echoing out of the room and down the hall. The two instantly shut their mouths as they stared at the door, looking to see if anyone had come to investigate the commotion.
Tense moments drew on as nothing did appear before the entrance. Together, they released the breath they had been holding, slightly chuckling at each other.
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"Guess we both made assumptions leading to mistakes in that fight," Norbert said.
Count von Count nodded in response. "Yes", the vampire replied before becoming steely cold. "And that is the danger of it. A lesson that will be taught multiple times, but hopefully, when it matters, you will remember this fight." Count von Count explained to the human before him.
Norbert swallowed the saliva as he nodded, feeling the tense moment around him. Lily returned with an even greater pile of books before setting them down again. Norbert quickly counted and saw twelve books now. Lily slid the first one over as Norbert quickly skimmed it. The children's pictures were no longer there, looking more like a manual someone would use.
Lily left as Norbert opened the first book, reading the first chapter aloud, "What not to do? Well, that seems like a good start." He began reading, slightly chuckling as he read the first sentence to himself: "Stop reading the book."
Norbert closes the book, showing it to Count von Count. "Is this book serious?" He asked the vampire.
The vampire looked up at the book Norbert was holding, having taken one for himself and started to peruse the pages before he began reading. "Never read it." The vampire responded before putting his nose back in own book.
Half-reading the pages, Norbert asked the vampire, "So, you normally read?"
Receiving a shake of his head in the negative to the question, Norbert nodded in approval, getting down and reading through the book like he was asked to do.
***
Opening his eyes, Norbert pulled himself off the book, having fallen asleep with his face in the book. Not being the first time to wake up like this, Norbert looked down at the page he was reading, happy to see no smear or drool on the page. Not knowing what would happen if he damaged one of the books.
Looking around the room, the vampire is in the same position as last time; Obsius is no longer in the room, and Lily is nowhere to be seen. Wondering where the woman could be off to, Norbert started to stand up, feeling his joints ache after sitting in the chair for so long. Stretching his arms as high as they could go, feeling his joints pop as they were finally moved. Windmilling his arms around several times, the tingling in his fingers stopping after several spins, his arms and upper body have warmed up.
Stretching his back out, leaning backwards, hearing it crack, the last to stretch his legs, lunging out to either side. Feeling a little bit nimbler, Norbert sat down again, his butt feeling the soreness of sitting for so long.
He stood straight away, picked up the book, and began walking around the table in the room. Nose down as he paced around the table, like a hunter stalking a beast, waiting for the best place to attack it.
Circling Norbert, he continued this motion until he finally completed the last book, closing it with a satisfying smack.
Count von Count looked up from his book; Norbert did not know what number the vampire was up to. Looking at the empty seat, Norbert asked, "What has she been doing out for so long?" Norbert asked the room, not expecting a response.
"It is strange, taking us here and not returning for nearly two weeks." The vampire said, primarily to himself.
Norbert stopped pacing, spinning on his heels to look at the vampire. Placing the book on the table, leaning forward, Norbert asked in a raised voice, not believing what he had been hearing, "What?"
Count von Count closing his book, "Two weeks as I said."
Norbert just looked around, not believing what the vampire was saying. "But how, how am I not hungry, or dead from no water and sleep? I only went to sleep twice in that period, and you’re also completely fine?" Norbert asked the vampire.
"To answer the last question, I am a vampire doing nothing for two weeks. And to answer the first two in one statement, something you had has given you a boost without you even realising it." Count von Count said to Norbert.
Norbert opened his mouth to ask before closing it and did not want any random passer-by to know his connection with gods yet. He did not know the implications of what it could cause if others overheard it.
Count von Count shouted as he looked out the room, "The imbecile finally realised what was happening; you two can come back!"
Instantly, both Obsius and Lily entered the room. Obsius flew to Norbert and repeatedly pecked him on his head without stopping for several moments. He looked down at Norbert, having flown on his head, chirping incessantly.
Nodding his head in confirmation, Lily stopped by the door, waiting for the tirade to stop before butting in. The bird flew off, landing on Lily's shoulder before turning around, not even facing Norbert.
"Sally wanted to see how long you would last now, with the extra kick you have been given," Lily said to Norbert.
Norbert stared at her. "So this entire thing was to test my endurance?" Norbert asked her.
"Oh no, you needed to understand the multiple spells and some of the intricacies of magic. In our last fight, I could have had you locked up, unable to move instantly, with a blade heading for your throat." Lily said.
Norbert gulped, running his hand over his neck like a dagger had visibly appeared there momentarily.
Lily walked out of the room. "And collect the books." Her voice echoed from outside. Count von Count got smoothly like he hadn't stayed for two weeks. At a loss of words, Norbert followed the command, placing the books on a pile together. Doing a count, Norbert saw the pile go past the original ten, stopping at thirty-seven books; Norbert could not see where he was going with the books covering his vision.
With shaky steps, Norbert left the room, following Obsius's chirps to direct him in the correct direction.