Blake was stupefied when he felt that he was drawn to the woman's blood.
It was akin to the woman's blood calling out to him, sending him whispers that beckon him like a powerful siren directly in his ears. The scent of her blood sent shockwaves of thirst throughout his body, and his throat tightened like a vice.
Just like a promise of salvation, the blood keeps on becoming more alluring by the second.
Like an oasis in the desert, the sight of her blood evokes something primal within him that he has never felt before. It was not a stretch to say that this temptation is even stronger than when he wanted to drink blood inside the game.
'No, this can't be right... what's happening to me?
Albeit he was confused, he dared enough to have a guess in his mind.
Blake doesn't want to believe this is actually happening, his vampiric thirst somehow shadowed him in the real world. Even Salana saw that his body suddenly turns stiff, and his eyes were glued onto the blood that drizzles down the woman's palm.
Upon seeing this, a frown appeared on her face. She was concerned.
"Blake, are you okay?"
Despite her question, Blake didn't reply as his mind is somewhere else. Gazing at the blood, he was forced to swallow his saliva again to moist his dry throat when a droplet of blood landed on the grass with a light ticking sound.
Just this reaction alone makes Salana realize what is really happening.
'It seems like my suspicion is current, the integration of both worlds happens to him faster, and race should be the last one to be integrated. But it seems EX-grade race is something else' She thought in amazement.
Although she doesn't want to, she obviously jinxed the situation.
Salana wanted him to believe her desperately about the Lunaris game earlier, and now it seems Blake would believe her soon enough. If he's really going through the integration, then he would have no choice but to be a believer.
"Okay, take deep breaths. Remember, you are in the real world now" Salana warned.
While Blake was undergoing an internal crisis, trying desperately to restrain himself from doing something bad, the woman glanced at Blake and finds him doing nothing. Blake didn't even touch his food and was only sitting there unmoving with his eyes glued onto her hand.
"Is there something wrong?" the woman asked, tilting her head in confusion.
Blake regain back his senses when he heard this and realized that the woman is talking to him, "O- Oh, it's nothing. I'm just thinking since you helped me treat my wound earlier, I should also do the same in return, right?"
Under the pressure, he thought of an excuse on the spot.
Despite managing to think of an excuse on the spot, he cursed himself afterward.
If he was going to treat her wound, then he would be near her blood.
The primal urge inside of him would become worse if he get close to the blood, he couldn't imagine what the feeling becomes if he possibly touched her blood, that would be disastrous.
Not having any other choice, he grabbed the ointment with trembling hands.
"I- It's going to sting a little, don't move okay?" Blake said, trying to sound calm when in truth he was far from calm. Nevertheless, he squeezes a couple of drops of the ointment on the woman's wound.
Feeling the sting, the woman bit her plump lower lip.
Blake then quickly wraps the wound, not wanting to waste more time in this situation.
"Hmmph... your hand is cold" the woman commented.
Glancing at her, he then smiled, "Really? I'm sorry then, maybe because it's a cold night"
It was nothing short of a miracle when Blake managed to cover the wound, he could finally breathe easily, and now the urge started to fade away again. It seems his thirst was only ignited when there was exposed blood in his surroundings.
Despite managing to do that, he was sweating profusely.
Any more than that he would've completely lost it, even his vision now is already hazy.
With that, he went back to eating in silence.
Contrary to what was inside Blake's mind right now, the woman smiled a little as she didn't expect him to be this bold when he was timid earlier. "We're even now, thank you" she said before she also went back to eating again.
Glancing to the side, he locked eyes with Salana.
Since he felt the vampiric thirst from the woman's blood, he slowly believed that Salana is actually telling the truth, as crazy as that sounds. It's a lot to wrap one's head around that unbelievable fact.
A game coming to life is something out of pure fantasy, and yet it was happening to him.
'If it's true, then will I become an actual Spectral Vampire?'
Now that he started to believe the truth of the game, his mind started to wander to the incident earlier. During the brief time he had outside, he started to realize the weirdness of his body.
Obvious cues started from him walking out of the hospital earlier.
Blake remembered that the night air felt more refreshing than ever, he has also got faster when he tried saving the boy earlier which is impossible even with adrenaline coursing inside his body, and he was able to see perfectly in the dark almost as if he has night vision.
Even now, he could still feel the effects of the Spectral Vampire.
Lastly, the couple from earlier and the woman confirm that the coldness comes from him.
'If the Spectral Vampire is a combination of a Vampire and a Specter, the blood urge earlier should come from the Vampire side while the coldness from my body should come from the Specter side' Blake ponders, he was currently in deep thought.
But then again, everyone would react the same as him if they are in his position.
It was then Blake snapped out of his daze when the woman stands up as she finishes her food. She tided the mess before turning to face Blake, "Well, it's been nice to meet and eat with you Mr. Boyfriend"
"Don't stay for too long or you'll get cold" she added sweetly.
Upon hearing what the woman said, Blake was shocked for a moment, 'M-Mr. Boyfriend...?'
Realizing that he might not gain another chance like this, he quickly stands up when he saw the woman was about to leave. He was now the one calling out to her, "I'm sorry, I was lost in thoughts and forgot that you're here with me" he said, scratching the back of his head.
"But I do have a question if you don't mind of course" He added nervously.
Seeing that the woman doesn't seem to mind, Blake then finally asked, "Do you play the Lunaris game?" Noticing that she was interested, he then quickly added, "I was only wondering, I thought we could play together since I don't have anyone to play it with"
Stealing a couple of glances at the woman, inspecting her reaction, she suddenly chuckled.
Blake was about to brace himself for rejection before suddenly, out of his expectation, the woman replied, "Sure, why don't I give you my number so we can contact each other when we are going to play the game?" she winked teasingly.
As if he was in a dream, her voice echoed inside his ears for a couple of seconds.
Not even hesitating for one second, he grabbed his phone out of his pocket and gave it to the woman. Seeing how excited Blake was, the woman smiled and puts in her phone number, and saved it before handing the phone back.
Under Blake's intent gaze, the woman for the first time blushed.
"I was about to say earlier, but I've never seen anyone with purple eyes before" the woman commented shyly. Blake's eyes were very unique, she has never seen violet color before, and her face was burning up because of his gaze.
Turning her body around, she then said, "I'll see you later then, Blake..."
Grabbing his phone back, Blake looks at the woman's back as she walks away in silence.
The moment her silhouette disappears at the entrance of the park, he looks at his phone and finds her contact number there. "Well, I'll be damned. Angel..." Blake mutters while shaking his head in disbelief.
It turns out the woman's name is actually Angel, perfectly matching her demeanor.
Just as he was trying to pinch himself to see whether this is a dream or not, his head suddenly got hit from the back, forcing him to look back in annoyance and have both hands on his head.
"Really? Back to this again?" Blake complained, obviously it was Salana.
Crossing her arms in front of her, Salana tilts her head away grumpily, "I can't believe you can actually still make a move even after realizing that the truth is actually real, and you are slowly turning into a Spectral Vampire"
"As a wise man says, love does not know the place and time" He replied sagely.
Blake even has a dreaming smile on his face as he tries to remember Angel's face, her sweet and melodic voice alongside her kind-hearted demeanor is the complete opposite of Salana who likes to smack him all the time.
Upon hearing this, Salana can only roll her eyes, cringing hard.
"What's so good about her anyway, she's a generic girl and not that great"
"How dare you say that! Take that back you fox witch!"
"Come on, there's no way you would fall for that. I mean, she's shady, how could a woman of her caliber would get close to a bum like you? Think logically. When you're stronger than maybe, but now? Not a chance"
"Damn, is she really that out of my league?"
Not intending to gain more heartache from this uncensored fox witch, Blake tidied up the mess and also heads back to his apartment. He ignored Salana all the way as she was being too honest.
Arriving near the apartment, Blake then opens his mouth.
"Isn't this the thing that you said would make me a believer?" He asked.
Salana glanced over at him while walking into the apartment lobby, "Yeah, the integration of your world and the game would start. When that happened, there's no way that you're not going to believe me"
"If that's so, why are you look surprised earlier?" Blake asked again.
Assuming that Salana knew that this would happen, then there's no reason she was surprised that he was feeling the vampiric urge earlier, "Well, the integration should be in a month after the game launched. It will also only make the players increasingly stronger"
"Race should be the last integration, that is why I'm surprised" She explained.
Upon hearing this Blake nodded his head, it makes sense.
If changing the race happened first, people would freak out and there will also be many problems that would arise such as if he jumped at Angel earlier or many people developed inhuman limbs.
Blake reaches his room and opens his apartment door nonchalantly.
Just then, he was surprised when he heard beeping sounds, "What is that sound?"
Scanning the room, his eyes then landed on the Limited PK VR Helmet that is making light beeping sounds, and this plastered a frown on his face. On the contrary, Salana was shocked when she saw this.
"Blake, quickly log into the game! I think your avatar is in trouble!"