There were a couple of things that made it more apparent that this was becoming less and less of a game and more of a reality–the gnawing hunger was one.
Lukas stared about his apartment room and eventually spotted a small fridge.
A grin crossed his lips as he ventured over to check it and pulled open the door.
"Oh hot buttered corn." Lukas deflated at the near lack of anything edible in the fridge.
He saw some empty bottles that were clear–not a speck of blood in them, and then he noticed the empty bags of blood. It was a mixture of something that you'd see in a hospital and a juice bag.
"Gah, I guess the only downside of all this is the fact that I'm slurping up blood and giving up delicious cooked food." Lukas sighed.
He eventually picked up the empty blood bag and checked out the small sticker at the side–VitaBlood.
Here was the thing–being a Vampire sounded all cool on paper. The dark, the night, the bats and everything was awesome… but what about the food?
Lukas was someone who grew up practically alone, yes, but he was not above the deliciousness of good food. It was something that made days of being alone less lonely–nothing beat slurping hot ramen, eating fried chicken and other delights.
And yet here he was, a creature of the night. In exchange for good looks, strength and the chance for hot girls–was him giving up the food.
"Okay, now there's a smidge of regret with my new life–but I probably don't even have a stomach for normal food anymore." Lukas pointed out to himself. "I mean, maybe I can still drink liquids–the empty and clear bottle seems to indicate water or alcohol. Maybe I can still enjoy coffee?"
The daily dose of caffeine had helped him get through the days in the past when he was working, and the thought of drinking one now was tempting–except it didn't address the issue of his growling stomach.
Lukas glanced down at his bracer and triggered the map.
"I guess it's time for me to finally see how the economy works here in Lux City."
He had been so focused on getting a job that he didn't actually pay much attention to anything else except for getting from one place to another–but now was his chance to see the world for himself.
"Let's see, we've got a number of spots like the Blood Works, Sanguine Ecstasy Shop–doesn't that sound exciting, Nox Chambers, and there we go–VitaBlood. Yeah that seems like our destination, though the others seem like good spots to check out as well."
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In between his original conquest for getting a Vampire girlfriend–the adventure of becoming a creature of the night was just before him!
—
VitaBlood was a shop that resembled a cross between a hospital and a cafe, the blood red themes certainly fit in with the motif, but the huge blood bag on top of the establishment really made Lukas think of a hospital.
There were a couple of Vampires lingering outside and conversing, some of them were holding the juice packet-like container filled with blood and others were even carrying bags filled with lots of blood bags.
Lukas was certain that this was the place where he was supposed to get his blood supply and yet he sniffed the air and suddenly felt a bit troubled.
He wasn't exactly puking, but the blood here compared to the ones at the bar seemed less… fragrant? Potent?
Lukas gazed at the bags and though they were red in color, there was something lacking still. Innately, he could feel as if there was something missing and that struck him as odd.
All the other Vampires were drinking it all without any issues or batting an eye, so maybe it was just Lukas being extra weird.
"Let's just make the purchase, I'm hungry."
Lukas stepped inside and was welcomed with the sight of a cafe, but the first thing that struck him was the blood dispensers. There were several ones available, but unlike the bar where it was classified by blood type and other things, this was different.
The menu above the counter also indicated it.
[ Blood Water - 10 Credits for 250mL ]
[ Blood Juice - 20 Credits for 250 mL ]
[ Blood Concen - 100 Credits for 250 mL ]
"A-ah…" Lukas now understood the situation.
He almost thought that it was going to be a hidden conspiracy where the elite Vampires gave bad blood to lower-classed citizens, but that wasn't the case. It was just plain ol' economy at work.
It also meant that getting the source of blood was difficult. Lukas couldn't help but remember the dead body stored in the crate of the bar and nearly balked when a voice spoke.
"Welcome to VitaBlood, how may I serve you?"
If there was anything that Lukas couldn't imagine happening in a Vampire society–it would be the drone of the current Vampire clerk in front of him.
The clerk was a young Vampire woman with dark hair and red eyes–but there almost seemed like a lifelessness to her that spoke of serving too many customers in one day constantly.
"Um, yeah hi–Stacy?" Lukas raised a brow at the name tag.
"That's me." the woman intoned dully. "What can I get you?"
"Right, let me just compute…" Lukas wasn't a fan of mental math, but he had to do it while his stomach was growling. He quickly came to realize the situation–he really was poor.
"Blood Water it is." Stacy turned around and started to get the blood pouch before filling it up in the dispenser.
"Wait–and, ah. You're right, let's just go with that." Lukas sighed, although he couldn't help but slightly notice the way that Stacy's rear hugged her pants well. It was something that could bring the boys to the cafe.
And it probably really did.
Lukas noticed some of the younger Vampires outside gawking and pointed at it, while he himself tried to maintain a semblance of self-control.
"Would it only be one to go?" Stacy asked again.
"Uh… it doesn't exactly expire does it?" Lukas asked quietly.
Stacy looked over her shoulder and gave him a dull look that said the answer was a no brainer. However, with a sigh that seemed to say that this had also been asked several times before, she replied.
"It is important for all blood to be stored properly and refrigerated in order to keep its freshness and potency–we do not give a refund for expired or contaminated blood, sir. Would that be all?"
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