The cart rolled slowly through the empty nighttime streets as I counted down the minutes until I would be able to move again. I considered calling up my status window, because I could do that mentally, and assumed that it would be invisible to those around me, but I refrained, since my eyes would have to move to read the details.
With the angle I had been tossed into the cart, I couldn’t see the servant who was pushing me, but I could hear him angrily muttering under his breath. I didn’t hear every word he said, but the snippets I did hear did wonders to lower my mental image of him. Most of what he was talking about seemed to be related to the guards who had dumped the responsibility of my body into his hands.
One of the more coherent things I heard was “Damn bastards, making me do all the dirty work while they go off and play with the maids.”
He mentioned a few other things like “making me look bad” and “flirting with Ms. Anna.” He actually mentioned this mysterious “Ms. Anna” a few times. Oh great, an incel, I thought, fighting back the urge to laugh at him. If he was on corpse dumping duty in the dead of night, he probably already looked bad, regardless of what the guards made him do. This Ms. Anna probably did not reciprocate his interest, and I wouldn’t have been surprised to learn that she didn’t even know who this man was.
As I amused myself listening to the incel for a while, trying to ignore the pain in my shoulder. My arm was still bent at an odd angle from when they had haphazardly tossed me in, and the cobbled stone street was only making it worse.
Fortunately, after half an hour of travel, there was a shift in the ground. The sound of the wheels on the ground changed, and my ride became much smoother as we transitioned from rough stone to dirt. I assumed that was the edge of the city, both due to the change in the ground, and the change of the servant’s demeanor.
In the city, he had been quiet, and even with my enhanced senses, I couldn’t hear everything he said, but once outside of it, his voice rose to a normal volume.
“It’s so bloody far,” he said. “Those fucking bastard guards. Why did they treat you so badly? Why did you die?”
For a moment, I was touched. Maybe I had slightly misjudged this man. Maybe he wasn’t such a despicable person. Then he ruined it.
“You’re so pretty, even now that you’re dead,” he said. “If it were me, I would have treated you better. You would have had plenty to eat, and you wouldn’t have been down there in that lonely cell. I would have kept you somewhere cleaner, and warmer.”
He continued to croon over me for the rest of the journey, and I grew more and more disturbed with each sentence. I considered jumping out and hitting him, just to make him shut up, but restrained myself. Nothing good would come of that in the long run.
I was relieved when I finally heard the rushing of the river drawing nearer, and I tried to focus on that and ignore the creepy servant. When we finally stopped, I would have sighed with relief, if I still breathed and if I weren’t trying my best to show that I didn’t. I waited for the cart to tip and dump me in, or at least for him to pull me out and toss me in, but those things never happened. Instead, I felt his hands gently touch my arm, and had to suppress a shiver.
“It’s amazing,” he said, much more softly than his earlier rants. “You’re dead, but you’re still so soft.” He drew his finger up my arm to my shoulder. “It’s almost like you’re still alive. I wonder…”
Don’t move, I commanded myself. No matter what he says, or how creepy he is, you just have to endure it for a little while longer. However, I immediately ignored my own commands when I felt his hand begin to tug at the rags I was dressed in. I had had enough.
I immediately sprung up to a sitting position, startling him. With one arm, I grabbed the hand that had been trying to undress me, and with the other I grabbed his throat. He tried to back away, but I jumped out of the cart and followed him. He tripped and fell, with me landing on top of him. I dug my knee into his sternum while keeping a firm grip on his arm and throat. When he tried to fight back with his free arm, I put more weight on my knee and leaned in close to speak to him.
After inhaling for the first time since arriving in this body, I said “Stop struggling or I’ll kill you.”
His eyes were filled with terror, and he began struggling harder momentarily before my hand tightening around his throat made him stop. I was, of course, sorely tempted to kill him right there, but that might cause more problems than it solved. I needed to contemplate my next move carefully, because if I drew too much attention to myself, there was a good chance that the other incarnations would notice me.
As I knelt in that position, I began to wonder how I had overpowered the man so easily. He was a head taller than me and slightly obese. Even if he were out of shape and a terrible fighter, he should have been much stronger than me. Then I realized that I had still been applying Earth logic to my situation. Here, stats ruled, and as a vampire, I had a distinct advantage over humans in that category.
Still, Even with the multiplier, my strength wasn’t as high as my Charisma had been before the multiplier, so it should have been possible that this man had more strength than I. Though it was also possible that he had somehow neglected to increase his strength. That would explain why he was a servant instead of a guard, despite his size.
My thoughts on my stats and his made me remember something I had seen on my stat sheet that might help. I mentally called my status sheet back up, and focused in on the [Create Thrall] skill.
Create Thrall lvl 1
You have the ability to impose your will on those whose blood you consume. Degree of control dependent on the difference between your [Willpower] and your subject’s [Willpower]
Current Thralls: 0
Available Thrall slots: 1
I looked at the man trembling underneath me. He looked as if he were about to faint, with his lower jaw trembling, causing his double chin to jiggle. I caught a whiff of a sour scent, and looked back to see a rapidly expanding wet spot in between his legs. I shifted my leg out of my way and disgust as I looked back at his face. There was no way this man had enough willpower to put up any struggle against me, but to control him, I would have to bite him. I was already not thrilled about getting so close to him, but after he wet himself, it was completely off the table.
However, the skill only said that I needed to consume his blood, not that I needed to bite him. I reached back and pulled out his sword. He had been calming down slightly until then, but when I did this, he started panicking and struggling again, and I could feel his heart rate rising through the pulse in his neck.
“Hold still,” I hissed at him. “I don’t want to kill you right now, but if I slip, it might just happen anyways.”
He stopped struggling at my words, but his heart rate kept climbing.
A sword was not a very effective tool for what I was trying to do, but I didn’t really have another option. I lifted it, and gently slid the blade across his neck. Blood welled up from the cut instantly, running down the tip of the sword and soaking the earth beneath. Tears formed in his eyes at the pain, but he remained silent and still. I raised the sword up to my mouth and licked flat of the blade where the blood had run.
You have consumed the blood of [Human] Jacques. Would you like to add a Thrall?
[Yes]
[No]
Yes, I thought.
You have acquired [Thrall] Jacques
[See Details]
[Create Thrall] has leveled up! lvl1 -> lvl 2
“I am going to get off of you now. When I do, get up on your knees.”
I stood up, and the moment my weight was no longer on him, he sprang up to his knees, a blank expression on his face. The look of terror in his eyes had completely vanished, and was replaced by a vacant stare.
“What is your name?” I asked.
He did not respond.
“Stand up,” I ordered.
He did so.
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That level of control might have been useful on some occasions, but it was not what I wanted. If he returned to the city like this, it would be no better than killing him. In fact, it would be worse, because then they would know I had a mind control skill. I focused on the [See Details] option, hoping that I would be able to give back some autonomy.
Thrall: Jacques
A lowly servant with no special talents or skills
Control level: Total Domination [Change]
I focused on [Change]
Total Domination (current): Takes away Thrall’s free will, making them into a puppet for the User. Thrall cannot act independently without command and cannot think for itself.
Geas: User places geas on Thrall preventing them from doing certain things. Cannot be used to force Thrall to carry out commands.
[Select]
Lesser Hypnosis: User can put Thrall into trance-like state temporarily and give commands. Thrall will obey commands once released from trance. Only works with simple commands. [Select]
Greater Hypnosis (locked): Similar to Lesser Hypnosis, but can be used with more complex commands.
Unlocks at [Create Thrall] lvl 25
Perfect Hypnosis (locked): Similar to Greater Hypnosis, but command complexity has no limit. Unlocks at [Create Thrall] lvl 50
Perfect Control (locked): Thrall becomes completely and undyingly loyal to User. Commands no longer need to be given, because Thrall will act on requests.
Unlocks at [Create Thrall] lvl 75
After reading through all my options, I switched to geas. Immediately, his eyes refocused. He seemed confused for a moment, but as soon as I saw me, he began to panic again, and started to run away.
“Don’t move!” I said.
He stopped mid-turn, trembling in fear.
“Sit down,” I commanded, testing my skill. As expected, he remained standing. It appeared that I could only give negative commands.
“You are not to move more than 5 feet from your current position. I release you from your geas of not moving.”
He immediately collapsed to the ground and tried to crawl away, but he had barely moved when he was forced to stop, as if there were an invisible rope around his neck, holding him back.
“I have some questions to ask you,” I said. “You will not lie to me in your responses. If you answer satisfactorily, I will let you return alive and unharmed.”
He stared at me, eyes wild, not seeming to understand.
“Ughhhh,” I sighed. “The only reason I'm keeping a creep like you alive right now is because I think you might be useful, but if you do not speak, then you are not useful. Now, I am going to ask you a few questions, and you will answer them to the best of your ability. Nod if you understand.”
After a moment’s hesitation, he gave a shaky nod.
“Good. Finally, we’re getting somewhere. Now, what is your name?”
“I-i-i- it’s J-” his voice broke. “It’s Jacques, m-m’lady.”
“Excellent. I can’t say it’s good to meet you, but my name is Lucy. Now, Jacques, where are we currently?”
“We- we are in Baron Humphries’ territory? B-but m’lady shouldn’t you already-”
“I am not the original owner of this body. I have… taken over. The original owner of this body, Lucille, is dead.”
Somehow, he managed to look even more terrified. “B-but- How?”
“Call it divine intervention. It does not matter, though. You will not live long enough to worry about it if you do not answer my questions. Where is Baron Humphries’ territory? What country? What Continent? What Planet?”
“Uh- um- Baron Humphries territory is in the- uh- northeast of the country of- uh- Ravel and the continent is- uh Astraeus. I-I- Please f-forgive me m’lady, but I don’t know what a p-planet is.”
“That’s fine. And stop stuttering. It’s annoying.” Jacques gulped. “Now, what do you know about Vampires?”
“Vampires?” he asked. Then, his eyes widened in realization. “M’lady, are you-?”
“Yes,” I snapped, cutting him off. “Hurry up and answer the question.”
“Well, uh, Vampires are- well, I thought they were a myth.” He spoke slowly, so as not to stutter. “No one has ever seen one before. There are stories about them, though. In the stories, they are always powerful evil creatures who live forever and kill for fun and drink blood,” he said.
“And they turn to dust in the sun,” he added hastily.
“I see. Do most people share your belief that vampires don’t exist?”
“I think so?”
“So if I were to walk through a city acting normally, no one would suspect that I was a vampire?”
“Yes, m’lady. I think they would probably think you were some sort of beast person descendent, because of your fangs.”
“My fangs…” I said thoughtfully as I felt my teeth with my tongue.
“And are beast people common? Would anyone think oddly of me for it?”
“Well… maybe…” he said, uncertainly.
“What do you mean?”
“There are a lot of beast people, but not many in Ravel. And even less hybrids. The wars only ended 20 years ago.”
“Wars?” I inquired.
“Between Ravel and Vivaldi,”
“Vivaldi?” I asked, slightly amused.
“Yes, m’lady. The country of the beasts. We were at war with them, but they signed a peace treaty 20 years back. We still don’t see many beast people around, though, and I’ve never seen a hybrid before.”
“Hmmm… If I wore a mask to hide my teeth, would others find it strange?”
“No. I don’t think so. [Adventurers] wear masks all the time to hide scars and stuff.”
“I see. And how does one become an [Adventurer]?”
“You have to register with the Adventurer’s guild. They’ll run some basic tests, and check your class to make sure it’s not a criminal one, and if you pass, they’ll give you a badge, and your status will update to show that you are an [Adventurer].”
“How do they check if my class is a criminal one?”
“I’m not sure. I’ve never tried to register. I think they have a truth detecting device or something, and they just ask you.”
“Is there a way to change my class if I do have a criminal one?”
“Yes, anyone can change their class at any time if they go to the Temple of Change. You can only pick basic classes though.”
“What are these ‘basic classes’?”
“Well, the general one is the [Apprentice] class, which can evolve into almost anything, but there are a few others. I can’t remember them all though.”
“I see. Sounds simple enough. Does it cost money?”
“Yes. 3 silvers for the Temple in town, but I think the prices might be different in other places.”
“Is there another way to get rid of a criminal class?”
“I think so. I’ve heard stories about criminals accomplishing great deeds and being rewarded with a different class, but that’s pretty rare, I think.”
So this Temple of Change is my only option, then, I thought.
“How much money do you have on you right now?”
Jacques had been getting more comfortable, and speaking more certainly, but when I said this, he started to get nervous again.
“I-I have-” he seemed to be struggling to speak. “12 gold, 8 silver and 4 copper.”
“12 gold?” I asked, raising an eyebrow. “That sounds like a lot for someone in your position. How did you get so much?”
Jacque remained silent. Refusing to speak. I raised the sword again and pointed it at his neck.
“I-I stole it,” he confessed.
“Ah, so you’re a creep and a thief. You’re more despicable than I thought.”
He hung his head in shame.
“Get it out,” I commanded.
Though he was not under any direct obligation to obey me, he complied without complaint and, to my chagrin, he reached into the pocket of his urine-soaked pants and pulled out a heavy-looking leather sack. My face wrinkled in disgust.
“Before I let you go, you are going to wash all of those coins in the river thoroughly and then you will give them to me. If I smell even a hint of urine…” I left the rest of the threat unsaid.
He nodded in agreement, head still down.
“Now put that on the ground. I have a few more questions to ask you.”
He put the back down on the ground in front of him, and looked back up at me.
“The original owner of this body, Lucille. How well known was she? Will I be recognized on the streets? If I go to another city, will I be recognized there.”
“I’m not to familiar with your- I mean Lucille’s background, but I think she would be recognized in this town at least. She was a fairly well known thief and con-artist until she got cocky and conned the young master- I mean the baron’s son. I don’t think she would be known anywhere else though.”
“That’s good, that’s good…” I said, as I tried to think of more things to ask. When I couldn’t think of anything else, I said, “I have one final question for you. What do you know about the Seven Deadly Sins?”
“I’m not sure. It sounds familiar. I think I might have heard a story about them once. I don’t remember what it was though.”
That answer brought me great relief. Though Jacques might not be the most reliable source of information, he should at least be a good representation of what a commoner should know, and if the commoners didn’t know about the Seven Deadly Sins, then there would be very few people who could recognize me. Unless one of the other incarnations decided to publicize the details of the game… But those types of concerns would have to wait.
“Alright, now I need you to do a few things for me…”
A few minutes later, after placing a few geasa on Jacque, and extracting vows to carry out my demands, I released him from his 5 foot area. He washed both himself and the coins, gave me all but a few silvers, and went back to his post at the Baron’s manor. He had already been gone for a while, and his coworkers would be suspicious if he did not return quickly enough.
Later in the day, after the sun had risen and Jacque’s shift had ended, he returned to the same spot at the riverbank with a fresh set of clothes, a map, a mask and travel supplies for me. When he returned, he was nervous, but there was also some hope in his eyes. I believe he must have been hoping that I had turned to dust when the sun rose. I disappointed him by greeting him cheerfully as soon as he arrived. My gift from Pride was working perfectly, and even in the direct sunlight, I was feeling no worse for wear.
I double checked the geasa I had imposed on him to make sure that there was no chance of him talking about me to anyone, and then sent him on his way. After I was certain he had left, I was finally able to get out of my filthy clothes. I took off the rags I had been wearing and jumped into the slow river and scrubbed my skin vigorously, making sure to get every single spot of dirt and… other stuff… that had accumulated on Lucille’s body during her stay in Humphries’ dungeon. Then I donned the new clothes that Jacques had gotten for me. To my dismay, they fit perfectly, indicating that he was more familiar with women’s clothing sizes than he had any right to be. One of the geasa on him was a command not to be a creep anymore, but it did nothing for the creeping he had already done.
According to the map Jacques bought for me, the nearest city was one by the name of Bizet. It was larger than Humphries’ town, which I had forgotten to ask the official name of, and it even had a dungeon on it’s border, making it a popular spot for adventurers. I should be able to blend in easily there, and hopefully level up some. I shouldered my bag and set off down the road.