SWNOVELXO Chapter 21: Common vampire
"You are finally up. That took a while," Zane said. He stood up from one of the audience seats, stretched his hands, and leaped into the arena.
Grey slowly sat up. His head buzzed, a tear ran down his cheek. He used his finger to touch the tear and looked at it. He closed his eyes and flicked it away before getting on his feet.
The moment he stood up, he lost balance and fell, but Zane caught him.
"Whoa, easy there. You just woke up," Zane said, helping him stand properly.
"My body... it feels... different," Grey said. He took a few steps back and stretched out his hands, looking at the pale, perfect skin that he now had—black nails that extended with just a thought.
He could hear the insects moving about and smell everything around him.
"So this is what being a vampire is like. If I had this body before, I would have been able to protect my family," he said.
Zane allowed him time to reminisce and get used to the current body he had. He, on the other hand, now had a total of 430 stats, adding the ones he had before and the ones he had just gotten, and it was time to finally assign them.
But before he could, Lucy walked through the door, her head down in shame. She walked toward Zane and knelt down.
"Master, I let them get away," she said, nothing more.
'Someone was able to escape Lucy? Then that person must be very strong. Who could possibly be out for me already when the game only just began?' Zane thought, but he couldn't think of a single person.
"Sigh, it's fine, Lucy. I'm sure they'll try again, and when they do next time, we will be ready," Zane said and stretched his hand to help her up. She looked up, took the hand, and got on her feet.
She looked up and then saw Grey standing there. Immediately, she could sense that he was a vampire. She looked at Zane, eyes wide.
"Master, did you turn him?" she asked.
"Yes, I did," he said, a smug smile on his face.
Her face turned into a mix of all good and bad expressions, like she was trying to find what to say in this situation. Zane got a little bit panicked when he saw her face—had he done something wrong?
"Is something wrong with it?" he asked.
"No, master. The thing is, turning a human into a vampire is a probability game, and you might get many different types of vampire variants.
From the looks of things, he looks like a common vampire," Lucy said.
"Huh? So there are other variants?" Zane asked. After all, this was the first time he had heard of something like this.
"Indeed, master. Of all the variants, the most common are the vampire ghoul and the common vampire, each with its own downside," she said.
At this point, Zane was intrigued, so he wanted to know more.
"What's the difference between the two?" he asked.
"A common vampire possesses basically every trait vampires have and also has the potential to awaken a vampire art—either blood art, shadow art, mind arts, and more.
A common vampire at the beginning can only awaken one. He possesses the natural immense strength and physical prowess of the race but only one vampire art.
Still, there is a possibility of awakening two, and that means the vampire has a high amount of pure blood in him. Most times, it depends on who turns him.
As for the vampire ghoul, they are semi-mindless creatures that only follow your orders, master, with immense physical strength, healing that rivals mine, and extremely hard to kill.
They do not possess any art, but their strength can grow infinitely," Lucy explained in detail.
This was the longest Lucy had ever spoken about vampires, but even as she spoke, she didn't give off any valuable information that could tell him about his past here.
Seems that information is seriously sealed. She can't even slip up if she wanted to.
Zane turned to look at Grey.
"You heard everything she said, right? You are now a vampire. You'll live longer, be an outcast, but there is one thing that's for sure—you'll have the power you want," Zane said. He looked Grey in his eyes, which were now blood red.
Grey took a deep breath.
"I wouldn't have it any other way," he said. Zane smiled when he heard that and stretched again.
"I can't believe I'm actually tired. I need to sit down. Let's leave this place before it begins to reek," he said and started walking away.
"I suggest we burn the bodies, master," Lucy said. A black flame formed on her finger. Zane looked at the flame and smiled,
"What would I do without you, Lucy? You are one of a kind," he said while showing her two thumbs up. Her pale cheeks got slightly rosy, but she looked away immediately.
She allowed the fire to drop and hit the ground. It immediately started to spread, consuming the bodies.
"It will stop the moment all the bodies turn to ashes, so there is no risk of this place burning down," she explained.
Zane nodded and proceeded to leave, followed by Grey and then Lucy. They walked through the tunnel that would lead them back to the manor.
"Master, how come no one knows about vampires?" Grey suddenly asked.
"Uhhhmmm, I don't really know. I was put in a coma-like state since I was a child, no memories of my past.
All I know is that vampires have been cursed and have also vanished. Lucy and I might be the last true vampires remaining," Zane said.
"Oh, I see. But if you two remained, then there might be more, and they might know what happened," Grey said.
"It's possible, and I want to find out. Because if I do, then I'll know the truth."
'And maybe it will help me know why we were sent here and what the real aim is. Maybe a way to go home too.'