linda opened her tired eyes and took in Jack’s sleeping and peaceful face. His short white hair was carelessly covering his face as he breathed in and out at a steady rhythm. linda smiled at the sight; although she liked seeing Jack in his bloodthirsty state, his innocent and vulnerable side was also refreshing.
Her heart started beating faster as she leaned in to kiss him good morning but pulled back before she got too close. She knew that was a quick way to ruin everything she had been working for.
Initially, she feared Jack. She gave into his daily feeding sessions while silently planning her escape. While he slept during the day, she would sneak into the university library to research vampires. However, the more she researched, the more confused she beca. Why was Jack so different? He had never laid his hands upon her, only ever waking up to feed and then going back to sleep. So long as she fulfilled that duty, she suspected she would die of old age before ever being in love.
But things were different now. She dread of having a prince charming, but who could possibly compare to Jack’s handsoness? Not to ntion he was smart with magic, her favourite activity, and even agreed to teach her as a disciple. Just a few days ago, she had a few copper coins in her cloak and a sad hope for the future. But in just three days, she had gone from being a powerless baron’s daughter to the future wife or "blood queen" of a duke. She was currently sleeping on a bed inside a mansion floating within the Mage Tower surrounded by waterfalls...
"Maybe this is all a happy dream," linda mumbled to herself.
Jack’s eyes snapped open, startling linda. Thinking she woke Jack up with her mumbling, she quickly apologised, "Sorry, Master."
Jack’s arm escaped the bedsheets and slowly ca up to her face. With a gloved hand, he carefully brushed her long black hair behind her ear. He smiled, revealing his fangs. linda’s ears burned red from embarrassnt as she tilted her head to expose her neck. Jack wasted no ti and bit into the offered flesh.
After a few minutes, Jack separated his mouth from linda’s neck with a satisfied smile. "I swear your blood tastes better every day..." he said.
Jack was surprised how quickly his little blood queen was developing. She no longer fainted from a single feeding session, and her blood was becoming richer. Before it tasted like a roast dinner from a supermarket pre-made al, but now it was a restaurant-quality, full-course al.
’I wonder how long until it becos Michelin-star quality...’ Jack pondered.
Getting his tired body out of bed, he asked linda to use her Clean spell; for so reason, she refused to leave the bed and had a red face. Ignoring her, Jack skillfully used Psychokinesis to dress himself in his signature red wine suit. Looking in the mirror by the wardrobe, he brushed his ssy hair with his claws. Feeling content with his appearance, he walked toward the door.
"linda, don’t forget to co down for breakfast. We are leaving for Dalon’s blacksmith soon," he said while tapping on the little stone in his pocket three tis. "Walter will be here with the car."
Unknown to Jack, the mont he closed the bedroom door, linda’s body shuddered.
’Since when does my body react like this to his feeding?’ she asked herself in disbelief. Her body was burning up; she’d barely held herself together for the last few minutes.
After getting herself together and carefully removing the evidence with her cleaning magic, linda got dressed and walked downstairs.
Jack was lounging on a very comfortable-looking couch while fiddling with his pocket watch. A delectable sll wafted out of the kitchen, and linda’s belly rumbled in response. She was starving after that intense feeding session. With hurried steps, she followed the sll into the castle’s massive kitchen and saw a large man standing in front of a stove. He wore a chef’s hat and apron. There was also a weird owl-looking creature perched on his shoulder.
"Hello?" she asked politely.
The huge man turned, and a gray-skinned face with tusks greeted her. "Oh, it’s Miss linda! Would you like so eggs?" the surprisingly warm-mannered orc asked linda with a kind smile while presenting a plate of four freshly boiled eggs placed on pieces of white bread.
"Erm, thank you..." linda said absentmindedly, taking the plate.
"Hey! That’sss mine, Thar!" an oddly lizard-like voice said. linda turned to see a small kobold with purple scales and big yellow eyes glaring at her. linda just handed the kobold the plate. "Thank you, Misssss linda," he said with a grin and wandered off.
linda just stood there for a while, not really sure of what was happening. She rembered these people from yesterday, but why was the half-orc a chef now?
"I didn’t know you liked to cook," linda said while leaning against the counter.
Thar didn’t turn around from his cooking but responded with a chuckle, "It’s true that most orcs like to eat things raw, but after eating the human food here at the Mage Tower, I can never go back to such simple cuisine. Here’s your portion. Full of iron to help replenish your blood. You must have burned a lot of calories earlier..." Thar said with a smirk and pointed to the ceiling. "Darn thing was shaking."
linda took her plate with an embarrassed expression and ate her food quickly.
"All right, let’s go," Jack said after a while and brought the group outside. With skill that suggested he had used the Mage Tower’s artifact before, he wrapped the group in a bubble and descended to the lower realm.
The group had all changed into their respective robes. Jack wore his silver robe like a cape, while the rest covered their whole bodies in their blue robes. Like an emperor, Jack led his followers past the groups of Apprentice Mages down the marble pathways and toward the car.
A more refreshed and energetic Walter gave his greetings. "Morning, Young Master."
Jack gave the middle-aged man a nod and sat in the backseat. linda sat beside him. The back of the car had two sets of seats facing each other. Thar and Varn followed Jack and sat opposite him. The car had been designed to transport Princess Emilia and a few guards, so its interior was incredibly spacious. Despite Thar and Jack’s large fras, they had no issues with legroom or making things difficult for the other passengers.
Jack reached past Varn’s head and tapped Walter’s headrest. "To the sa blacksmith as last ti."
* * *
Dalon let out a gruff sigh as he put down his hamr and turned to his audience. He could hear linda talking to soone in the tavern, but in front of him were two very intimidating people that towered over him.
Jack was wearing his usual red wine suit but had a new robe on that Dalon recognised all too well. "Ya joined the Mage Tower, lad?" Dalon asked. "Or should I call ya Master Mage now?" he added with a chuckle.
"No. Just Jack is fine. Are these my weapons?" Jack asked while gesturing to a neat stack of tal cards.
"Aye, they are. Took all night to finish ’em," Dalon responded, rubbing the sleepiness out of his eyes and straightening out his oversize mustache.
Jack picked up one of the tal cards from the top of the pile and weighed it in his hand. "It’s very lightweight..." he comnted. Since he was incredibly strong, the cards felt like paper to him.
"Aye, I used magically treated titanium," Dalon said with a yawn.
The card in Jack’s hand was the sa size as a standard playing card. It was blank on both sides but had a razor-sharp edge. Jack casually ran his finger along the edge, but it failed to draw any blood.
’Tsk. Forgot I was a vampire.’
Seeing a piece of firewood in the corner, Jack picked up the card with Psychokinesis and threw it at high speed. The wood was cleanly cut through and split in half.
Inspecting the piece of wood, Thar remarked, "Very sharp, indeed. Are these your weapons, Master Wilson?"
Dalon froze up. The sleepiness vanished from his eyes. He dashed over to the corner and grabbed a silver dagger that sat on a pedestal. "Run, Orc! That man is a vampire royal!"
Thar just stood there confused as the dwarf charged toward Jack. Thar was about to step in, but Jack just waved him off. "Let him tire himself out."
Jack stood still with a calm expression and willed his control over the stack of tal cards. Although they hadn’t been enchanted yet, they still worked as a shield and formidable weapon.
"It’s hard being hated by everyone..." Jack said with a sigh as he casually blocked Dalon’s dagger. Sparks flew as the card dented from blocking the attack.
Honestly, he thought Dalon had caught on that he was a vampire by now, so this sudden ferocity was quite unexpected. He floated the damaged card over to Thar and said, "Use your C-grade tal Magic to fix the cards. It will be good practice for you, my disciple."
Dalon didn’t give up and continued wildly swinging the dagger with terrible technique. Jack’s gaze landed on the many weapons lining the walls and he debated just smashing the dwarf on the head.
After breaking twenty of the tal cards, Jack felt his little experint had been a success. Micromanaging so many cards at once was difficult, but because they were so light and also similar, it made moving them around easy.
Thar sat in the corner, carefully fixing the dents out of the tal cards. "Although they are made of magically treated titanium, they still stand no chance against an enchanted weapon like the dagger Dalon is using," Jack said to Thar. "What runes do you think we should apply to these cards? Strength enhancent? Or maybe so automatically fixing array..."
Thar inspected the tal card in his hand and rubbed his chin. "Master Wilson, you wish to use all these cards as a weapon, right?"
"Why are none of you fleeing!" Dalon shouted. "He’s going to kill us all!"
Jack nodded, and Thar continued while ignoring the screaming dwarf. "Well, enchanted weapons draw mana from their user. Usually, this isn’t a problem, but enchanting over a hundred ’weapons’ and using them all at once... no offense, but I don’t believe Master’s mana pool to be that large."
Jack grinned. This was exactly the knowledge he needed. In the ga, a player could equip items in their designated slots. It never occurred to him what would happen when these slots disappeared and he was able to use multiple enchanted weapons at once.
linda ca in and took one look at the situation, had a laugh, and quickly left the boys to their scuffle.
Dalon finally showed signs of exhaustion and collapsed while spouting nonsense. Jack debated moving him to the bed upstairs but couldn’t be bothered. Pushing the dwarf’s body to the side with his foot, Jack stood over a crafting table with Thar.
Thar and Jack then spent the next hour debating on how best to enchant the cards. Eventually even linda and Varn joined in on the discussion.
Dalon opened his eyes with confusion on his face, but then everything ca rushing back as he looked at Jack. Why was everyone being so casual with him? That was a noble vampire, for god’s sake!
"Good afternoon, sleepyhead," linda said and handed him a glass of water. "We already know Jack is a vampire. He’s different from the others. Take it slow and maybe get so proper rest upstairs."
Jack then shouted from across the room, "Get over here, you lazy dwarf! Do you think my disciple can enchant so many weapons by himself?"
Dalon just shook his head. The world had gone crazy today.
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