Eric stared with a mix of extreme disgust and worry all over his face:

“… what the fuck is this …”

“I know you’re extremely stupid, but can’t you tell?” Phisola said.

“I know, but … what the fuck … why the fuck do you need it in the first place?”

“Why do I need the most powerful magical reagent of all? Yeah, I do wonder what a mage would do with such a powerful reagent.”

“You need it for magic?”

“What? Do you think I simply enjoy collecting blood?”

“Do you intend to fill the entire cauldron with it?”

“Yes, I do. Maybe I’ll need two or three of them.”

“For what?”

“To get out of here. I told you I have a plan, didn’t I?”

“Yes …”

“And this is the most important part of it. A mage is only as good as the tools she has at her disposal.”

“You need … blood? To do magic?”

“You can do magic without blood, but blood is the most efficient way of doing it. And it’s not like I have any alternatives here.”

“So … what do you intend to do with it?”

“I’ll create a portal and get us out of here.”

“So, it’s feasible?” A hint of hope showed on Eric’s face, “I understand the answer is obvious, but it just sounds too good to be true.”

“Yes, it is, but I’ll need much more blood than this. And it doesn’t help that most of the blood in this cauldron came from lowly animals.”

“Is … is this why you told me I could be much more useful to you dead than alive?”

“Well, of course! Draining your blood would save me at least several moons! Maybe even a year!”

“I don’t have that much blood in me, so it has something to do with blood itself, right?”

“Oh my god …” she shook her head in frustration, “I appreciate that you’re willing to learn, but going through the basics is so bothersome! Yes, not all blood is the same! Intelligent or magical creatures have much more potent blood. But considering your performance so far, I guess your blood wouldn’t be as potent as I’d hope.”

“So … wait, wait! Is that why you’re using a club instead of that fancy knife?”

Phisola started clapping with an exaggerated smile on her face: “Yes, bravo! You’ve figured it out! That was so smart!”

“For someone who’s constantly complaining about sarcasm, you’re certainly using it a lot.”

“I hate it when others are using it because it’s so damn effective. But yes. If you stab or slice something, the blood spills out. But if you smash a skull with the club, the blood remains inside the body.”

“I was wondering what these animals were doing up there, but now I get it,” Eric said while pointing up, at the animals nailed to the wall.

“That’s the best way to do it. You club them to death, nail them up here, slice their throats, and let the blood dribble into the cauldron. And once they’re drained, you can eat them too.”

“That’s all we need to do? Catch animals and drain their blood into the cauldron?”

“Pretty much. But of course, it’s never that simple. Sometimes, you run into adventurers or some more powerful beasts. Then you get to have some fun, too.”

“Riiight … speaking of which, how is it going? It doesn’t look … please don’t get me wrong, I’m not trying to say you’re doing a bad job, but it doesn’t look like you’ve gathered much. Have you started collecting it recently? As I understand, you started thinking about leaving this place only recently.”

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

“I’ve been at it for a few years now, I think.”

“A few years?”

“Yes. And I can read your next question on your face. No, this isn’t everything I’ve collected. I got much more of it. It’s just that the cauldron needs to be under the spell so the blood doesn’t go bad. It needs to stay fresh, so I’ve placed an enchantment on the cauldron, and it feeds from the blood inside of it.”

“When you say it, you mean the enchantment?”

“What else?”

“So … please correct me if I’m wrong because I’m new to this magic stuff, but you’ve put a spell on the cauldron, which needs the energy to stay active, and it’s using the blood inside of the cauldron as the energy source?”

“That’s exactly what I’ve said.”

“Blood … as an energy source?”

“Well, what do you think? How does your body work?”

“Blood is used to transport the energy through the body. It’s not energy itself.”

“I never said it is, dumbass! Blood is blood, but you can convert it into energy when needed!”

“Oh. I think I see your predicament. You’re trying to collect the blood to create a teleport to get out of here, but you must also spend it to maintain this enchantment. Am I right?”

“Your skill of repeating what I’ve said is on point.”

“What happens if you run out of the blood in the cauldron? Is that possible?”

“If that ever happens, I’ll kill you, and there will be blood once again. But yes, it can happen. It’s not like that would be a problem though, because the whole point of the spell is to keep the blood fresh. There’s no point to it if there’s no blood.”

“And this spell, do you need to feed it blood somehow or …”

“It’s just taking blood from the cauldron at a steady pace. The only thing I need to do is pour blood in the cauldron.”

“So … we need to catch as many animals as possible, as soon as possible.”

“Yeah, but it’s not just the animals. Adventurers are much more useful for that, their blood is far richer than that of a lowly animal. Diviners and clerics especially. Mages are better than regular adventurers, but those with divine blessings have the best blood.”

“By the best, you mean that you get the most magic out of it?”

“Yes.”

“What about your own blood? Have you ever added some of your blood in?”

Phisola stared him in the eyes with her mouth open. His diplomatic experience quickly told him that he had said something that shouldn’t be mentioned under any circumstances, that his words were some kind of extreme taboo in his companion’s tradition.

He raised his hands in defense as fast as possible: “Sorry if it’s … a touchy subject, or if it’s something that I shouldn’t have asked. I was just thinking about what I would do in your situation, but that doesn’t make it right. I wasn’t trying to be offensive or anything.”

She stared at him for a while before smiling slightly: “I forgot just how ignorant you are for a moment. Is that really something you’d do? You’d use your own blood to fuel a spell?”

“I would. It’s not an ideal solution, but it’s not like I’d lose something in the process. Our bodies are constantly regenerating blood. That’s why we can recover from bleeding, if it’s stopped. But I can see that your opinion on this matter is completely different from mine. Can I know why? Yes, I am ignorant, and I can only stop being so if you educate me on the matters I’m ignorant about. So, can you please explain why you’re so shocked to hear me say that?”

“It’s …” she started fiddling with a lock of her hair, “it’s like … blood is the most important thing about us. It’s what defines us, it’s what gives us power. Why would you spill something so important just to speed up the process a little bit?”

“Because blood can be regenerated, and we’re racing against time. Our chances of getting killed in this place increase with each new day. And on a long enough timeline, the survival rate for everyone drops to zero. So why wouldn’t I sacrifice some of my blood if it would help me escape? It’s not like I’m sacrificing my arm or a leg. Blood will regenerate itself.”

After hearing that, Phisola blinked a few times: “That’s … that’s a surprisingly logical argument …”

“But if there’s something wrong with it, please let me know. I understand that I’m not the smartest person in the world.”

“No, it’s … it’s hard to argue against such an argument. Especially when it’s coming from someone as weak as you. Yes, you’d have a hard time surviving here on your own, so it would make sense for you to make such a sacrifice. Sacrificing some of your blood is certainly preferable to losing all of it. It’s just that, since coming here, not once have I felt that my life is in danger, so I have never even considered that could be a possibility.”

“Didn’t you fight the adventurers?”

“Yes. So?”

“Aren’t they dangerous?”

“They’re annoying at best. Sure, they can hurt you, but it’s not like they can actually kill you or anything. Well, they can kill you, but they aren’t a threat to me. An annoying wound here and there is the best they can manage.”

“They’ve wounded you? I don’t see any scars on your naked body. Besides the one on your neck.”

“I know a healing spell or two. You can’t be a lord’s daughter without knowing a few such spells.”

“Ah yes, you’re a mage. Wait, can healing spells cure headaches? Can you heal all these lumps you’ve given me?” Eric said while pointing at the top of his head.

“It’s doable, but it takes time and would require energy we need for the teleport. It would set us back, and I’m certain you want to get out of this dungeon as soon as possible.”

“That’s true.”

“Besides, I’ve been gentle with you. I wasn’t clubbing you with full strength.”

“Uh-huh. But I thought you were in a rush to get out of here, too. I understood that you don’t like it here.”

“I want to get out of here, but I’m not really in a rush. I’ve calculated how much time I’ll need to fill the cauldron at the current pace, and I’m ok with waiting that much.”

“Oh! Well, how much time do you need before we can finally get out of here?”

“It will take some ... two hundred and thirty years.”

“…”

“What? Why such a drastic change in the mood?”