Miles was dumbfounded by Zhan Shen’s very visceral reaction.
Struggling to respond under the crushing weight of existential pressure, he barely managed to sputter out, “O-Old Zhan– What are you on about? It’s me!”
Miles felt the pressure upon him lessen, just barely, still holding him firmly in place.
The old butler stood unmoving, staring in silence.
Finally, he spoke, his eyes wavering, “No, it’s not possible! Your aura, it is vile, inhuman, barely, just barely alive. The child I raised— his aura… it used to be, I saw it had changed, but, and now I, I never should’ve let you– him–”
‘......I see. Old Zhan can sense the change. Quite vividly as well. But is it really that terrible? To the extent that my ‘aura’ has become ‘inhuman’? When I don’t even feel all that different? Either way, I’m going to have to come clean, aren’t I?’
Beginning to feel the weight of guilt Miles sputtered out an explanation, “Well, it’s like this. Remember when I said that I had no intention of becoming a Vampire? So, I… might have… kind of… lied…”
The moment the words left his mouth, the pressure bearing down on him intensified several-fold, so much so that he could no longer open his mouth to speak.
Whoosh!
A gust of wind swept through the room, and it was only when the old butler was right before his eyes that Miles realized.
Zhan Shen had rushed forward, extremely fast.
‘He doesn’t believe me?!’
Even though it was too late to take action, the current Miles had somehow managed to perceive Zhan Shen’s incredible speed! A feat he had never been capable of before!
Not that it helped much.
Miles observed a flash of motion, barely registering the old butler’s right hand had vanished from sight.
Before he could comprehend its significance, that same hand descended upon his head, causing a throbbing pain to rumble through his skull.
‘Argh! That fucking hurts!
…Wait, that's it?’
And just like that, the overbearing pressure vanished.
The sudden disappearance of the force that had been pushing him down disoriented him, but before Miles could attempt to gather his bearings, something grabbed him from the back of his neck, dragging him away. Not unlike an unruly cat that had displeased its master.
“Ow! Ow! Ow!”
The calloused hand poked into the nape, rather painfully Miles might add, completely justifying his most definitely not undignified shouts.
“Oh, be silent Master Miles! Aren’t you a Vampire now? What’s a little pain to the undead?” came the annoyed answer.
“Vampires still feel pain! And I’m perfectly capable of walking, you know!? Where are we even going?” was Miles’s indignant retort.
But his question went unanswered as Zhan Shen’s reply was to speed up instead.
‘Shit, he’s mad, really mad.’
Miles heaved an annoyed sigh and, in the end, with eyes gazing down, he apologized, “I’m– sorry,” his demeanor a perfect reflection of the regret and dejection he should have felt.
Zhan Shen didn’t seem to care, the heartless old bastard.
All he did was walk out of the room, as the unseelie door opened by itself, the infernal metal creaking of terror and carnage, yet seemingly familiar with who it should allow passage. He continued to drag Miles with him, out of the sparse medical room and into a long, narrow hallway.
They passed multiple closed doors spaced alternatively along the hallway, empty for the most part, devoid of decor or color with only bare trow-touched concrete exposed to the air.
Miles had not thought much to the crassness of the former room, but this was outright hideous.
His absolutely genuine regret vanished, “Wait is this one of the shit houses we have along the edges of Outer City? Why are we here?!”
Zhan Shen merely grunted and tightened his grip causing Miles to let out a perfectly timed yowl of pain.
‘Heh, how was that? Old Zhan is being a tougher nut to crack than usual, but that should have done the trick.’
Miles’ judgment turned out to be correct, because seemingly satisfied with his ‘reaction’, the old butler deigned to answer, “Whatever you did, by drinking my blood, it has changed you. Down to the very essence, you are different. We have to see what exactly has changed, what it involves, and whether there will be any side-effects.”
Miles contemplated, as he continued to be carried along.
‘That… is perfectly reasonable. The annoyance of being forced into it aside, I myself would have done a thorough examination into my Vampiric changes eventually, so getting it out of the way earlier is no skin off my back.’
Zhan Shen went on, his tone monotone as he averted his gaze, “You were reckless Master Miles, unbecoming of a Lykaon. Where you should have shown patience and caution, you acted with impatience and impulsiveness. You dived headfirst, blinded by easy power, into… an abyss. An abyss of death. You– you didn’t have to do this you know. I would have—”
The old butler never finished, “Never mind, we’re here.”
Miles was indifferent to their arrival at whatever destination.
He was accustomed to arguments with old Zhan, but this– those words, those words, they wounded him far deeper than any punishment the old butler could have given. They were a barrage of unseelie iron needles slapped onto his face.
Even as Zhan Shen threw him into the room, equally bleak and bare as the rest of the safe house but filled with training equipment that he currently cared little to focus on, Miles found his body instinctively regaining its balance. With one fluid motion, he swept around, pivoting to meet Zhan Shen.
His words came out a lot more defensive than expected, even a hint of anger aced in, “I dived headfirst, yes, blind as well, but you do not know what I have experienced, nor of what I’ve witnessed.
Patience, caution, they are all well and nice, but have you forgotten old Zhan?! Sometimes what is needed is impulsiveness! A leap of faith!
I leapt into the abyss, yes, but it was an abyss that I was already in! I had little choice! All I did was make the best of it. But I also feel, no, I know, that it will be worth it! So do not doubt that which you know nothing of!”
Zhan Shen’s piercing gaze collided with Miles’, the air thick with tension. Neither willing to take a step back, both steadfast in their opinion.
In the end, as usual, it was the elderly butler that broke the silence first, the corner of his lips rising, “You are more honest to your emotions. A silver lining to Vampirism perhaps.”
But before Miles could respond, he went on, “Very well then, prove it. Prove that Vampirism is worth your life. Show what you can do as undead that you couldn’t while alive. Convince me of the value of your death.”
Miles flinched at the mention, his ‘death’, not having come to terms with the concept entirely, but he was still quick to recover.
He relaxed out of the instinctive combat stance, as he adjusted his attire, smoothing out invisible wrinkles.
Miles had never been one to regret a decision. Not after he had come to learn the futility of such regret firsthand.
A choice made, seldom came with a second chance. All you could do was make the best of it, learn from it and move on, regardless of whether it had been correct or wrong in the first place.
So, with a quickly growing smirk of confidence, he faced Zhan Shen’s challenge head on, “Oh I will.”
***
Miles’ muscles burned, pumping adrenaline through his undead body as he let loose like an enraged orc upon the figure before him.
The power of his strikes was nothing to scoff at, encapsulating all his martial art skill and technique into simple but profound strikes, culminating in a showing significantly above his usual.
The figure before him didn’t seem to care though, defending with ease.
Each fist and each foot in this flurry of blows faced against a single, perfectly placed, yet unassuming palm.
Every punch that hit this palm faced an unnatural force, a strange, jarring knockback that rippled through to the very bone, threatening to break Miles’ form.
Every kick was flicked away like an annoying fly, further ruining his momentum, making the simple task of remaining standing a monumental feat in and of its own.
This was expected.
After all this phenomenal feat of relaxed defense was achieved by Zhan Shen’s enhanced attributes, the untethered agility and strength of an Epsilon Faehuman, though to what extent exactly Miles was unsure.
It turned out that the elderly butler had dragged him to this training room for a mere spar, all of the intriguing fae training equipment left at the wayside with a single “You are not ready yet,” and a “I need to see for myself, firsthand. So let your fists do the talking.”
Why even come here then?
But Miles had not backed down from the challenge. He was no stranger to sparring with the old butler.
And fueled by his desire to prove himself, even with the knockback that had to be endured as the price for every punch and kick, Miles pushed himself beyond his limits.
He knew from experience that trying to move around and be unpredictable was entirely useless against the significantly faster and experienced Zhan Shen. It would only serve to tire himself out faster.
Besides, right now, even a single small mistake could have the knockback force sending him crashing into the floor. Using a complicated movement art while barely holding on, would be quite unwise.
So, all he could really do was wail down on the old butler like his life depended on it.
And so, for over an hour, Miles managed to hold his own, maintaining proper form despite the constant knockback.
Well, it also helped that Zhan Shen was restraining himself, considerably so, seemingly more interested in understanding and analyzing the changes his young master had undergone rather than the actual spar itself.
But eventually Miles’ muscles gave out reaching total failure, his limbs refusing to even move to his will.
Heaving heavy breaths, hands hanging limp by the sides and legs trembling, skin dripping sweat, but his heart unbeating, Miles turned his eyes to Zhan Shen.
The old butler lowered his raised palm, a pensive look on his face.
“Physically there seems to be no problem. In fact, your physical attributes seem to have improved marginally. My accurate estimate would be…”
Catching a deep breath, Miles answered in his stead, “17 Strength, 19 Endurance and 18 Agility exactly.”
Zhan Shen paused, “...I was going to be more generous in my guess but yes, if we ignore the effects of your willpower, that is a good estimate. How did you know Master Miles? Does Vampirism include innate knowledge of your attributes?”
“Hmm, I suppose it could be called that. It’s like a ‘System Status’ from old age video games, more or less a status screen that can be summoned at will, clearly mentioning my current attributes.”
Zhan Shen frowned, “Vampires making a game out of reality, how fitting.”
The old butler continued nevertheless, “So to sum it up, we have minor increases in physical attributes and a mental gimmick that displays said attributes. While useful, I’m not seeing enough advantages gained, with the price being your life.
What if you are unable to walk in the sunlight from here on out? What if you change to the point that the Lykaon insignia ring refuses to acknowledge you? I believe we should prioritize finding a cure.”
‘The Lykaon Ring. I forgot about that.’
Miles cast a fleeting glance at the ring upon his right index finger, his exhausted muscle still unable to fully lift the hand.
‘Would it refuse me, were I to become a Vampire? We know so little of the ring's origin and true nature that I can’t rule out the possibility entirely, but… I somehow don’t see it happening. Not to mention that, so far the ring has behaved the same as usual. I wouldn’t even be standing here if the ring had decided that I no longer met the parameters of ‘potential heir’ and had chosen to enact defensive protocols.
Besides, most importantly, the last thing I need is to waste precious time becoming weaker than I already am!’
Thus, with a dismissive wave of his hand, Miles attempted to pacify the worrywart of a Butler, “Do not worry old Zhan, I can change back if I wish. The System said so,” referring to the mention of forms and how he would be able to switch between them.
Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there.
Personally, Miles was not in the habit of believing people at their word, let alone an inexplicable hologram-like screen that seemed to be capable of altering him and perhaps even reality on a molecular and metaphysical level, but Zhan Shen had no need to know that.
Fortunately, his words seemed to ease the elderly butler’s concerns, his agitation visibly simmering down.
“Very well Master Miles, I cannot force you so I shall… humor you. Perhaps there is some potential in the way of the Vampire and this ‘System’. However, if it is overshadowed by the path, I had planned for you, I shall have to take it upon myself to change your mind.”
Miles paused for a moment, finally nodding.
That was probably the best he could hope for. Although curious of old Zhan’s ‘path’ for him, he was mostly content knowing that the old butler was on board.
With that taken care of, Miles finally let himself go, allowing the exhaustion to drag him down, collapsing onto the ground as gracefully as he could manage, his legs naturally bending into the lotus position.
Perhaps it was out of habit or instinct, perhaps it was an attempt to further pacify old Zhan, but Miles had entered a perfect meditation posture.
His eyes did not close, however.
Speaking of the system status had reminded him. Miles had allowed the events with old Zhan to become a distraction, entirely forgetting to examine his status after the completion of that quest. Not that drinking a drop of blood was much of a quest, but still.
It was not common for him to simply forget. He must’ve been distracted by the unusual nature of what he had been through.
With a Ding! the new and updated status was willed into existence.
[User: Miles Lykaon]
[Current Form: Vawul]
[Vawulan Class: Newborn Lvl. 0 (Partial Activation) || (0/10) Varying Blood Sources Consumed]
[Disciplines: |Haemomancy Lvl. 0| - Untrained]
[Vawulan Generation: Too sparse to detect. Please evolve first.]
[HP: 10/10] | [Conditional Undeath] | [BP: 10/110]
{Blood Points (BP) in detail: (Personal) 10/10 + (Ripae Sanguine) BP: 0/100}
[Strength: 17]
[Endurance: 19]
[Agility: 18]
[Intelligence: 59 +5]
[Wisdom: 37]
[Influence: (1000) +5]
[Skills: Haemomancy - {Ripae Sanguine - Inferior}, {Hereditas Sanguinis - Unique}]
[Titles: Discredited Heir of Lykaon Industries (+1000 to Influence)
Newborn Vawul (+5 to all stats but Wisdom, Vawulan Senses.)
Cursed {First: Minor Thirst}, {Second: The Beast Within}, {Third: Sol’s Hatred}
Conditionally Undead (Granted by the Ankh, the Key of Life. As long as the user is not burnt to ashes or decapitated, any injury will heal given time. It is still possible to become comatose due to total blood loss.)
Balanced
Vessel of The Beast Within (Sealed)
Last Son of Lykaon (Inactive)]
There had been a multitude of changes, and the first to grab Miles’s attention was naturally the [Vawulan Class]. Formerly riddled with questions marks and instructions, the entry had now cleared up considerably.
Though he had to admit, the mention of ‘Level 0’ was rather unusual.
‘Do they not start with Level 1 ordinarily? Is it just a matter of semantics?’
But the mention of (Partial Activation) seemed to disagree.
It appeared that there was more to the Vawulan Class. The condition for leveling up wasn’t explicitly mentioned either, but he did have a few ideas…
Fully intending to experiment the first chance he got, Miles moved on to the skills, the first he had ever unlocked.
{Ripae Sanguine - Inferior Grade}, rather strangely named in a language ignored by the masses for several millennia.
Latin, once the language of the ancient Romans, hailed from a region that would later be known as the nation of Italy, spread far and wide in its heyday, even encompassing the entirety of the Western Hemisphere.
Unfortunately, the language had been long dead, even centuries before the Fae-Human war began.
There were surely less than a handful of individuals of the present world who could be considered proficient in the language, but coincidentally Miles happened to be one of them.
His father Etan Lykaon was an avid historian and had made sure to cultivate in him the importance of historical knowledge. Of course, the greater focus had been on ancient philosophy, mythology, the politics of kings and emperors, how the world was affected, and most importantly how Miles could use that knowledge when required.
But his father had also had a special fondness for the Roman Empire and had been focused on often in their lessons. Consequently, Miles had been taught Latin.
And he wasn’t half-bad either.
Reminded of the past, Miles gingerly reached for the yin-yang talisman tucked safely inside his shirt. He observed the old wooden talisman, every crevice in the wood and peel in the paint familiar to the eye. One of the few things that could make him feel closer to his parents regardless of where they may be.
But out of the corner of his eye he glimpsed the Lykaon ring, gleaming in the uncomfortably bright light of the nat-tech lights of the training room.
Miles was roused out of his thoughts with a start.
He did not have time to reminisce on the past. Only the future had significance. He had to forge ahead and fulfill his responsibility, so that they would have nothing to worry about, if… no, when they returned.
Focusing on his breathing Miles began to rack his brain for old and buried knowledge, finally concluding, ‘...Blood Bank? I suppose that makes sense since this is under Haemomancy.’
The moment he thought so, the status changed as if twisting to reflect his new understanding.
The phrase Ripae Sanguine - Inferior Grade remained but should he focus for a moment, it would be replaced by Blood Bank - Inferior Grade.
‘Hoh? Did it change to fit my translation? So, this System… is not only capable of reading thoughts but even to change and evolve based on comprehension? But would it have worked had my translation been wrong?’
Intrigued by the thought, Miles shifted his attention to the second skill, {Hereditas Sanguinis - Unique}.
Somehow holding back from translating the Latin, Miles attempted to associate random phrases with the skill name.
None caused changes in the status.
‘Ah so while it does reflect my thoughts and understanding, it only does so should they be correct? Interesting, and good to know.’
With that confirmed, Miles was free to translate the Latin, coming up with, ‘Blood Inheritance? The same skill that was supposedly created by modification of the ability ‘Inheritance’, which in turn was received due to old Zhan’s blood?’
Once again, as if to reflect his correct translation, the skill phrase shifted into Blood Inheritance - Unique.
While that was all well and good, what the hell did the Blood Inheritance skill entail?
At least Blood Bank was self-explanatory. With the mention of the same skill name in the Blood Points attribute (whatever that was), giving a base value of 100 in addition to the personal 10 it was obvious that Blood Bank was a sort of enhancement to the Blood Point attribute. A literal bank for Blood Points.
But Blood Inheritance was not so easily discerned or understood. Why was it unique, while Blood Bank was inferior? What was it even supposed to ‘inherit’?
Not to mention the matter of the skill names! Why were they given in Latin in the first place? A choice in design? Or simply how it had always been? And what were you even supposed to do, if you knew no Latin?
A multitude of questions, but unfortunately, few answers.
Hoping that answers would eventually come, be they from the System itself or from his own personal conclusions, Miles decided to move on, arriving at the Cursed title.
With a new phrase, a third curse had been added.
Sol’s Hatred.
More Latin, but at least compared to Minor Thirst and Beast Within, he could make some sense of this.
Sol, simply put, referred to the Sun. It also happened to be the personification of the sun, the Sun God. Or at least a god of the sun considering how many existed in mythology but…
This did not bode well for him. Not at all.
If he had gained Sol’s Hatred, the hatred of the Sun, did that mean he really was unable to walk in the sun? As a Vampire, or Vawul, was he to be ostracized from the Day? Could old Zhan have had a point?
Miles glanced through a small square of a window, overlooking an empty street and apparently deserted neighborhood, noting the darkness of the night and the rare flicker from neon light. It was obviously the middle of the night, and any tests with regards to the sun would have to wait.
Nevertheless, he kept the matter to himself. After having calmed Zhan Shen down with much difficulty, the last thing he wanted was to have to do it all over again.
Thankfully Miles was distracted from worrying about the sun by what came next.
In fact, he was shocked beyond belief.
Him becoming a Vampire was a given. Being weakened by sunlight or daylight was a distinct possibility. Even the inexplicable +5 to his attributes could be accepted.
Haemomancy, Ripae Sanguine and Hereditas Sanguinis, new skills originating from a video game like status had been of some surprise.
But… the hell was that!?
Conditionally Undead (Granted by the Ankh, the Key of Life. As long as the user is not burnt to ashes or decapitated, any injury will heal given time. It is still possible to become comatose due to total blood loss.)
As if sensing Miles’s shock, Zhan Shen interrupted with a frown, “I suppose you have taken a look at this ‘system status’ of yours? Well, anything new Master Miles?”
Miles pushed himself up off the floor, the pain in his overexerted arms ignored out of excitement, “Anything new? ANYTHING NEW?! OLD ZHAN, I CAN’T DIE ANYMORE!”
The elderly butler’s frown deepened in disbelief, “Nonsense. Death is the mirror to life. No living creature, not the strongest Alpha fae human, not the long-lived elves or the timeless faerie of the hidden fae courts can refuse. And just like them, even a vampire cannot be unkillable.”
Miles dead-panned, “Don’t ruin the moment old Zhan! You’re stating the obvious. While I can die under certain conditions by and large, I should regenerate from most injuries. Conditional Undeath is the name after all.”
Zhan Shen’s frown vanished, replaced with what could be summarized as a cheeky grin, “Oh-ho? The innate nature of being an Undead, is it? Shall we put it to the test Master Miles? Shall I strike with a death blow so we can see what happens?”
Miles was sure that was a joke, but just in case the battle-crazy old man were to strike with a surprise blow he made sure to refuse clearly, “No! Why experience the pain of death for no reason? Just to put Undeath to the test? Hell no!
Besides, experiments of this nature should have some logic to their scaling. It is wise to start small, so lend me your knife, old Zhan.”
As always Zhan Shen’s compliance was instantaneous.
A flash of white that Miles could barely see and the next thing he knew, his guardian had handed over the knife.
A standard, combat issue cold steel knife. It would be simple but effective.
With a deep breath to focus and free his mind of distraction, Miles slashed his palm open, cutting through the skin to make a small but deep wound.
It was slightly painful but compared to… what he had gone through in the mansion, this was literal heaven. In short, nothing he couldn’t handle.
Scarlet blood pooled in his palm, covering the small wound. It was ordinary as could be but to Miles’s surprise a small message manifested before him.
[External Bleeding Detected. 0.01 Blood Points (BP) lost. (Negligible. Not considered.)]
‘Huh? I lost blood and it was considered as one-hundredth of a blood point? Then does that mean the blood point attribute refers to the amount of blood in my body? Which would mean…’
Some minor mental calculation followed.
‘If the volume of blood I just lost is say, 5 ml? Then one blood point should be about 500 ml or half a liter? Heh, funny enough that is roughly the volume of a pint. A pint of blood is a point of blood. Catchy.’
[Conditional Undeath activated. All wounds healed. HP: 10/10]
A second message replaced the first bringing Miles to the realization that the pain from the cut had all but disappeared.
Curious, he meticulously wiped away the blood and to his amazement found the palm to be completely unscathed, no visible traces of injury remaining!
Zhan Shen, who had been observing from the side, was… relieved.
Despite his strong reaction to the young master’s announcement of becoming a Vampire, despite the apparent transformation in Miles’ aura, Zhan Shen had had strong doubts to the truth of those claims, on the existence of Vampires. He had humored the young master, holding back thoughts that the mass of vile aura within his body was not entirely of his own making. Perhaps something or someone else…
But the sight of the wound closing before his very eyes resolved most of the lingering doubts he may have had. It was a relief to know that the young master had been speaking the truth and not out of some delusion or hallucination on his part.
Miles had indeed undergone a transformation into a Vampire or something reasonably similar.
Though Zhan Shen’s instincts said this transformation would be a double-edged sword with inherent flaws to match any advantage, time would determine its worth, the worth of Miles’ decision.
Personally, he was doubtful, and he would try his level best to change the young master’s mind, but that did not matter. Whatever happened, he was here, and he would continue to be here, to take care of it all.
Concealing his thoughts behind an apparently impressed whistle, Zhan Shen exclaimed, “So you were speaking the truth after all Master Miles! That was a pretty decent showing of regeneration, especially considering that I could not detect the use of any Fae energy.”
The old butler pondered, “While it could be that the energy comes from something intrinsic that I am unable to sense, theoretically speaking, this seems to suggest… limitless regeneration," and finally, smiled, “So, not too shabby Master Miles, not too shabby. While you may not have become truly immortal or invincible, I must admit, this does make you quite hard to kill. I’m sure you could give any cockroach a run for their money?”
Miles’ eyes twitched, unsure of whether he should be pleased or angered by this ‘praise’.
It was all well and good that old Zhan was warming up to it, but that in no way meant he would take this sitting down.
Despite the short rest, Miles felt fully rested, enough to push himself off the floor, “Is this seriously coming from the epsilon faehuman known only for his agility and running all over the place like an old fart in the wind?”
It was now the old Butler’s turn to freeze, but with a discrete cough, he continued, “As I was about to say, the fact that the nature of your regeneration is a mystery to even me is rather worrying. While I have my own thoughts on your current state, it is always best to be sure.
And lucky for us, I believe one of our Faesycian contacts happens to be in the outer city right now. She’s in Sword Lake and has agreed to our visit.”
“Sword Lake?! And she wants us to go to her? All the way from Yumekuro? Who the hell does she think she is?” Miles' eyes narrowed, “It’s Argante, isn’t it?”
Zhan Shen sighed, seemingly aware of where this was going, “Yes, it is indeed her, but–”
Miles crossed his arms in defiance, “We are not going to run halfway through the city to get help from that prideful woman. Besides, why do we have to limit ourselves to the Outer City? Surely, we can find someone with a better attitude back home, or in the inner city?”
The elderly butler pursed his lips, “It is entirely unnecessary to rush through the dome for this. Besides, Sword Lake is not that far away. I’m sure we could use one of your transporters to get us there–”
“Nope, absolutely not, not going,” Miles interrupted with a stubborn, almost petulant refusal, but his eyes were sharp, strangely focused on Zhan Shen.
“Master Miles! This is not the time to be willful! We must have the best eyes to analyze your condition!”
‘Hoh? Was that the case then? For a second there, I almost thought Zhan Shen didn’t want me going to the inner city, for some reason.’
Miles’ lips curled into a smile, “Argante may be one of the most skilled healers I've ever seen, but she is not particularly known for her talents in diagnosis," he lifted up his right hand, showing off the Wolven ring, "And with Cadmus here's help, any decent analysis machine, even if it were to belong to some cheap ripper doc in some random hut, could do the job just as well...”
Zhan Shen paused, eventually nodding, “Very well then. I do remember noting one of these 'ripper-doc's nearby.”
Miles frowned, “What? Old Zhan, I was just proving a point. Why not go to the Inner City?!”
"In the middle of a war with an orc tribe? How long do you think it will take us to get access through the shielding dome, even with your name on the line? It is important that we understand the changes you have undergone as soon as possible. I considered Argante more for being in the outer city rather than her quality work, so it’s even better that we’re going to a ripper-doc nearby. Saves time," the old butler nodded, “So, prepare yourself Master Miles, we're going to see a ripper-doc!”
"...You're joking right?" Miles glanced out of the window and the dark streets outside in disbelief, “It’s the middle of the night!”
Zhan Shen’s smirk returned as if it had never left, “And you’re a Vampire, are you not?”