Chapter 11: True Emotions

After I collected the water at the river, I went straight to the cabin. I picked some of the fruit from the trees, still not knowing if they were edible.

The cabin was not the safest place to stay. It looked as if it could collapse at any second, but I had nowhere else to go, so I just had to hope it would remain steady.

"Is there nothing I could wear here?" I said aloud as I rummaged through the cloth lying next to the bed.

I finally found something... but they were women's clothes.

At first, I was hesitant to wear them, but I couldn't arrive at the Academy practically half-naked, so I decided to put them on.

These were a grown woman's clothes. They didn't fit me perfectly, but they did the job.

"Huh? What's this?" I asked, picking up a note that had fallen from a pocket.

I opened the note. It was very old—some words were legible, while others were not.

I didn't think it was that important, but I still decided to keep it with me.

Now that that's all done, I should probably see if these fruits are edible.

I took a bite of one of the three fruits I had picked.

The fruit looked similar to apples, but it was larger and a different color, which was why I was hesitant to eat it.

It tasted sweet—very sweet—but it was edible.

[500 Magion Gained]

"What!" I yelled as I spit out some of the fruit.

"This fruit contains magion!?" I said after cleaning my mouth.

"Does that mean every single one has magion inside? How is that even possible?" I said as I picked up a differently colored fruit.

I took a bite of this one.

[500 Magion Lost]

This time I lost magion. What about the last fruit? What does it do?

I picked up the last fruit and took a bite out of it.

[Magion Limit Increased +500]

The different colors represent the different effects the fruits have:

Purple increases magion,

White reduces magion, and

Gold increases your magion limit.

The gold was truly the best. If my magion limit increased, it would mean I could absorb more magion.

And if I hit 20,000, I would be able to become a Vampire Lord.

That reminds me—Theo Klein. Why didn't he evolve? Is it because he wants his limit to increase even more?

When a Vampire evolves to become a Vampire Lord, their magion limit doubles. That's why one could technically wait for their magion limit to increase, making them much more powerful than a normal Vampire Lord.

***

It's been two days since I discovered the effects of the fruit. During these two days, I found out that you can only eat five fruits a day, and if you eat more than that, you'll pass out from magion overload.

I also figured out the secret behind the text on the walls. It happened when I went through magion overload. My body discharged magion, sending it all around the cabin. Some of it seeped into the text, and a book appeared, falling to the ground.

It was a pure white book with a magion crystal embedded in the middle. I did try to open it, but it wouldn't even budge. I decided to put it aside for now.

There were only two days left until the test was finished.

The bracelet I received from the Academy showed the time and had a communication function. I did try to contact Emily, but it didn't go through.

I went back to the waterfall and decided to explore one of the other tunnels.

I chose the one next to the one I had already gone through.

"These writings... what do they mean?" I said as I walked through the tunnel.

The writings were the same as before, warning me not to go up stairs.

I proceeded until I exited the tunnel.

I saw a tree in the middle of the room I had just entered. It looked majestic, it's leaves had a golden glow. The top of the room was open, and light shone onto the tree adding to it's beauty. I walked toward it.

"Look, a human," a fairy said in a playful and childlike tone, flying toward me

"Wow! A real human," another said, excited, flying around me while inspecting me.

"Human, come play with us," a fairy said, pulling my finger.

For some reason, the fairies thought I was human.

"Quiet!" a deep and gravelly voice yelled.

The fairies instantly flew away, disappearing into the tree's leaves.

"Come closer, one who drinks blood," the voice said.

It sounded like an old man in his late seventies.

The voice came from the tree. Was it also a fairy?

I walked closer to the tree. It had a magion crystal embedded in its trunk.

The tree's branches suddenly moved toward me. I quickly summoned my Bloodless Weapon.

"Do not be afraid. I will not hurt you, young one," the voice said.

"How do I know that? First, show yourself," I said, scanning for the source of the voice.

"What was it called? Ah! [Ei], yes, use [Ei] on the tree," the voice said, livelier than before.

How? How could this person know of [Ei]? Only Vampires should know. Was it the spirit of a Vampire I was speaking to?

I listened and used [Ei]:

Race: Ancient Beast (Tree Sentinel)

Threat Level: None

Skills: [World's Eye], [Guardian], [Bloom], [Communication], [Godly Sense]

The tree—it's an Ancient Beast, just like the serpent from earlier. But it has no threat level, so it's harmless.

"Do you see now, young one? I will not harm you."

"Okay, so why did you call me?" I asked as I returned my Bloodless Weapon.

"I have a favor to ask, young Vampire. Please play with the children, if only for a short while," the tree said.

"Why should I?" I asked in a serious tone.

I sounded mean, but I couldn't just trust an Ancient Beast—not after one tried to kill me a few days ago.

"I do not have the ability to move freely. I can only move at most three of my branches. They always wanted someone to play with. I am not asking you to do it for free—I will answer any two questions," the tree said, almost pleading.

I still couldn't fully trust it, but I decided to help with its request.

The reason? I wanted to know more about Ancient Beasts and something else that had been weighing on my mind.

"Fine. Where are the children?" I asked, looking around.

"You met them earlier," the tree said as it moved its branches out of the way.

"Can we come out now?" a fairy asked.

"Why did we have to hide from the human?" another asked, flying out of the tree.

"Why do they call me a human?" I asked the tree.

"Because you are a human, right?" the tree replied.

But earlier, it mentioned that I was a Vampire.

"No... I'm actually a Vam—"

"Right!" the tree interrupted, cutting off what I was about to say, insisting that I was a human.

Why did it want to hide that I was a Vampire from the fairies? I decided to play along.

"Yes..." I said awkwardly.

"Children, the human will play with you," the tree said.

I could see the excitement on the fairies' faces. They instantly rushed toward me, circling me.

We spent a few hours playing with flowers and running around. I could feel the happiness in the air.

I was also quite enjoying it. When was the last time I played like this? When my mother was still alive.

After that, I stopped playing with kids my age and focused on studying. I didn't think I was allowed to have fun—not after failing to protect my mother.

Damn... If only I had been a little stronger—just a little.

I'm sorry, Mother, for playing without you. It's only for today... only...

Why did this remind me of my mother? My eyes started to tear up. I tried my hardest not to cry, but the tears just flowed.

"Are you okay, human?" a fairy asked with a sad expression.

"What's wrong? Are you hurt somewhere?" another asked.

"Don't cry," a fairy said as it hugged my cheek.

The fairies started embracing me, and I could also feel the tree's branches on my shoulders.

When was the last time I cried like this? I couldn't remember. All my bottled-up emotions came flooding out.

I hated myself. I hated that I felt this way. And I hated that I was having fun without mother.