Questioning

"Ryan, do you know this man…?" Rose asked hesitantly, pulling on his shirt.

Just in case anything happened, she didn't hide her knife, observing the man in front of her. Ryan was holding onto her waist to keep her behind him so she guessed the man was dangerous.

"He is one of my grandma's servants. He was the one that took Lisa away yesterday," Ryan explained without turning around which made Rose even more suspicious.

The man didn't seem to like it as he denied, looking offended, "Okay, hold up. I'm not just some servant. At most, I and my brother can be considered your grandma's guards. We are just like you, Pure Vampires, so we are not the same as those Half-Vampires."

They could easily hear the contempt in his voice when he talked about Half-Vampires.

"It doesn't change the fact that we still don't trust you," Ryan muttered before questioning, "Where is Lisa? What did you do with her?"

"Calm down, she is fine. The reason I came here is to pass a message from her," the man replied. "If you are willing to listen."

"We are listening."

Rose was expecting the man will just tell them directly but instead, he pulled out a modern phone and began playing with his phone. She noticed his slender hands were well-cared for, painted with blue color and neatly cut. It was a nice trick to later identify the man if there was a need for it.

"She recorded audio for you," the man stated. "I will play it."

Immediately as he did, they heard Lisa's voice, sounding calm and cheerful.

"Hey, Ryan~ I hope you are doing well and your head doesn't hurt like mine. I woke up with a horrible headache but I'm feeling much better now. If you worry about me, there is no need. Your grandma was really nice to me and everyone treats me well. Also, please don't feel guilty. I'm glad you kept me alive, no matter what would be the consequences. I have a lot of things I am still yet to do so I am not ready to die yet. Thank you for saving me too. Take care~"

Rose sighed in relief, also a bit worried about Lisa earlier. Vampires were really mysterious and scary so they wouldn't be really assured of Lisa's safety if it wasn't her own voice.

"Can we contact her?" Ryan asked curiously, acting more relaxed but the man shook his head, "Unfortunately not. Lisa is now busy settling her businesses before she will need to follow us outside the country. Don't worry, you two will see each other on the plane when we depart."

Just as Ryan said earlier, his grandma seemed to already plan to take them away.

"I also have a command coming from your grandma," the man continued as he gazed at Ryan, showing a pair of shiny blue orbs from under the hood. "She wants you two to stay together for the next four days and awaken your power. It would be best if you didn't go around and feed on other humans. I really don't want to clean the mess afterward."

Turning to Rose, he added, "You can feed on your girl for the time being. If you only feed on her once a day, she should be fine. Just don't drink too much like last time."

When Rose recalled the pleasure of having her blood sucked away, she couldn't help but shiver. Hoping Ryan doesn't notice, she distracted her mind with something else but her actions didn't escape the blue-eyed man.

"It seems like you two already did it. I guess your girl will be fine then. She is already used—" the man commented but Ryan cut him off, scolding lightly, "Please, stop calling her my girl. She has a name and that is Rose. She is equal to me so address her normally."

Rose felt warm on her heart when she heard him defend her. She also noticed the man seemed like he didn't care about her at all but she didn't really mind, ignoring it. She didn't expect Ryan would point that out.

Too bad, the man only smirked, replying casually, "Heh, even if she is a Queen, as long as she is a human, she doesn't deserve it. In our society, you will not get anything for free, especially respect. You have to earn it. Even if she is your grandma's future successor, she is just that, a future successor. Until she becomes one, I will call her whatever I want."

"It's okay Ryan, I don't mind," Rose calmed Ryan down, realizing the atmosphere would only get ruined if they continued like this and changed the topic, asking, "What are the powers that Sir mentioned earlier?"

The man looked back at her and replied after a pause, "Each Vampire Family has their own set of abilities within their genes that all descendants can awaken. A Vampire Gene is what differentiates a Half-Vampire from a Pure Vampire. There is a reason why Half-Vampires stay at the bottom of the ladder. It's because they cannot awaken an ability as they don't have a Vampire Gene within their bodies. On the other hand, each Pure Vampire has one."

"Oh, so a Pure Vampire can have multiple abilities?" Rose questioned curiously.

"Technically, yes, but practically, it's extremely hard. Awakening one ability is almost guaranteed but there are very few Pure Vampires with two or more abilities. Those with two are considered top elites and those with three are extremely scarce. Usually, they create their own Families and become Leaders. The more abilities a Vampire can awaken, the more powerful they are and the more respect they get within the family."

"So Ryan's Grandma has three abilities, right?" Rose guessed, wrapping Ryan's fingers with her own, standing next to him like equal.

It was clear now that the man wasn't there to hurt them so she put her knife away as well, focused on her research.

"Yes. She is one of the Family Leaders with three abilities. Not only that, but she also awakened the three most powerful abilities from the Morgan Family set. There are not many who can compete with her which is the main reason why Morgan Family is that successful," the man explained.

Naturally, Rose was eager to know more and continued to ask questions.

"How many abilities does a set have? I'm sure there are many."

"On average, most top families have around ten different abilities that their descendants can awaken. Naturally, there can be much more, just not discovered yet. The more abilities in the set, the bigger potential the family has. Aside from that, each family has its own ranking of abilities based on their strength and usefulness. Everyone aims to awaken the best one from their set."

"How can one awaken their ability?"

"There are no set rules. Usually, the first ability comes naturally, within the first few days after the transformation. One doesn't need to do much. They will know once their ability awakens as they will feel it. It's hard not to notice it."

"How about more abilities? Do they also come naturally?" Ryan asked, finally joining the conversation.

Rose was glad he didn't argue anymore so she squeezed his hand to show her satisfaction.

"No. You need a situational trigger," the man replied casually. "In theory, all abilities are inscribed within our Vampire Gene so we can technically awaken them all but the main problem lies within finding the right trigger. Each person is different so one thing doesn't work for two individuals. If that wasn't the case, every Pure Vampire would awaken all their abilities by now."

"Oh!" Rose exclaimed, already hooked with all those theories. "How about you Sir? How did you awaken your second ability? I'm sure you must be one of the top elites, right?"

It didn't seem like the right question to ask as the man quickly turned colder, muttering, "You are really curious, aren't you? Even though two triggers rarely work on two people, they sometimes do so this is still considered a Family Secret."

"So Sir isn't from Morgan Family?" Rose asked surprised.

"No. I am only here because I lost a bet. I still have around one hundred years' worth of serving. Ryan's grandma is too scheming. If she ever proposes you a bet, run away," the man confessed, clearly annoyed in his voice.

Rose found it easily believable based on Ryan's description of his grandma.

"Does it matter if we know then? It's not like we can awaken the same ability," Rose countered, using her logic. "We already saw Sir's ability to blend with the shadows so it's no longer a secret too. We just want to know more about the Vampire world so that it will be easier for Ryan later."

The man paused once again, staring into her sweet smile and answered vaguely, "Let's say that once we were kids, someone kidnapped me and my brother, locking us inside a dark room with just one window. They wanted to learn the secrets of our Family's ability to find its weaknesses but before they did, both of us awakened and we escaped. Being locked inside a dark room filled with shadows and a deep desire to escape was what probably triggered our awakening."

Rose could feel the pain in the man's voice and realized she touched a sensitive subject. She opened her mouth to apologize when the man spoke before her, "I can't stay here forever so I can only answer one last question. Anything else you two want to ask before I go?"

There were many things Rose wanted to ask but she couldn't decide what was the most important. She turned to Ryan, just in case he wanted to ask something and he didn't hesitate, bombarding his grandma's guard with questions.

"Are all Vampires born as humans? What determines who has the Vampire Gene and who doesn't? Can a normal human become a Pure Vampire without a Vampire Gene?"

"I think you have a problem with counting to one but since the questions are connected, I will answer them. If both parents are Pure Vampires, their child will be a Pure Vampire as well. If only one parent is a Pure Vampire, their child will be a human and the Vampire Gene will be passed down every second generation. Even with a Vampire Gene, you will stay human until you turn into a Vampire at the age of twenty-five."

The man's legs began to slowly sink into the shadow underneath him as he continued, "As for people without a Vampire Gene, they can at most become a Half-Vampire. If they become a Pure Vampire partner, their kid will always have a Vampire Gene, but it will be much weaker than normal. Because of that, most Pure Vampires either choose to pair with their kind or humans. They only need to wait for one generation for the Vampire Gene to recover its strength."

Half of the man's body was already melted into the ground when he finished and he waved, planning on leaving, "I'm off."

"Wait." Ryan stopped him. "What are my grandma's plans with Rose? She doesn't have the Vampire Gene so how can she become her successor then?"

The man only shrugged and lowered his hood, replying mysteriously as he completely sunk into the floor, "I'm sorry but anything regarding Rose is confidential. I was forbidden to talk about her by your grandma. You will find out when it happens. For now, focus on yourself. Discover your ability and enjoy your last four days of freedom."