Looking down at my next meal, I was wondering what a female tastes like. I could smell her blood from her cracked lip. The smell was lighter than the men I had fed upon, like a light perfume, I took a deep breath of the sweet scent.
It was like breathing in a cold winter breeze while the blood of males was more like a hot summer's day filled with vitality.
Her grey eyes looked up at me with fear and worry, I could use some company and a few answers on all these abilities. I gently took out her gag so we could have a proper discussion.
Of course, when I took out the gag she drooled all over my hand, I raised an eyebrow at her and she blushed and swallowed the rest of her saliva. I cut her hands free but left her legs tied up.
She massaged her jaw for a moment while I dried my hands on my dirty clothes, "Thank you for saving me." Her voice was not as cold or imperious like it was when she was talking to the boss of those thugs. Though I couldn't help but chuckle at the thank you, she sounded more like a young miss from a well off family.
I tossed the clothes back into the corner before replying with a friendly smile, "Anytime, now I do have a few questions that I was hoping you could answer for me, what do you say?"
She nodded.
"That's great! Now my first question, how many people have abilities?" her head kind of quirked to the side before she answered like I might have been hit on the head.
"Roughly 1 out of 8 people should have abilities, but that only been the last decade or so, before that it was 1 out of 100. With advances in technology, the GRBs have been able to unlock the deepest secrets of a person's genetics and grant them abilities. this is pretty basic knowledge so how come you don't know about it?"
Well, that wasn't what I was expecting. I thought it would be some kind of magic or deal with the devil, but I guess science has its own charm. I decided that the truth would be easier than making up a wild story, "I have amnesia, anything before I woke up is gone. No family, planet, name, or home. Heck common sense and technical knowledge are probably gone as well."
My answer got me a blank stare and slightly admiring look from the girl, "So you beat those thugs without even knowing how to fight or having an ability?" The puppy dog eyes made it slightly difficult to eat her but I think I could get past the guilt.
I was getting sidetracked and returned us to the conversation, "Yes, and what is a GRB?"
She raised her wrist and showed me a purple tattoo on her wrist, an intricate snowflake decorated the middle, it was quite interesting but I was confused, "Where is the tech? Nice ink though."
She coughed and suppressed a laugh before explaining, "The band is the tattoo, when you get the band and let it analyze your blood it becomes a part of you. Then it extracts and refines part of your genes which gives you your ability. That is the basic answer, the science behind it is well beyond my understanding." She fell silent for a moment and peered out of the window before continuing her explanation.
"A GRB stands for the Genetic Refining Band. I should have mentioned this before, but not everyone has access to the new GRBs.They are expensive, so you either need to have connections, money or join an organization with access to the technology.
It may seem like a lot of people have abilities, but they may have washed out of an academy or been fired after getting one, or that their parents bankrupted themselves to avail one."
Well, this was interesting! On one hand, feeding on more powerful opponents seemed to make me stronger, and on the other hand, I wasn't the apex predator on the planet. Well not yet.
"So compared to everyone else, how powerful were those guys I took care of?" I asked, hoping they weren't too far from the top of the Terran peak. Unfortunately, that turned out to be an unrealistic reality.
This time the girl laughed uncontrollably while I flatly stared at her. She laughed with tears as she explained, "Are you kidding? Those punks are the dregs of society! They were disqualified during training, or their genetics limited them to train as low level combatants. if they went into the military, they will only be used as scouts and 90% of private corporations wouldn't look their way. The remaining 10% that would employ them, will only pay them with low wages and send them out on similar scouting missions. They would likely die on a frontier planet."
"The leader would have probably scored a level 1 on the power exam. All of his lackeys probably received a GRB from an academy. Their levels would fall within the range between 0-1, if they had become a level 2 they would be able to lord over level 1s. The lowest level you can score is 0 but only people with little to no potential will score that low. Even if they are at a peak with their physical fitness, it is unlikely for them to reach a level 1." I handed her a bottle of water as her voice sounded a bit strained. The girl drank half the bottle before she continued.
"Abilities can grow over time, that is as long as you train your ability and your body can handle the change to your genetics." She finished off the water before going off topic, "There is a rumor going around that the military has a serum that helps refine your genetics even further.No one I know is sure it is real before you ask level 5 is currently the furthest a Terran has reached."
Hearing the tail end of her explanation caught my attention, this didn't bode well for my existence. I am most likely at level 1 and that was only because I had gained my bloody claws by chance. Otherwise, he probably would have turned me into meat paste. This means I am going to have to start feeding on these hyperactive Terrans on a daily basis if I want to survive this planet.
During my inner dialogue, the girl kept talking. It was something about an update to a system to help users adapt or something along those lines. However, all I could think about was the sweet aroma of blood and my need to satisfy my thirst.
I moved toward the girl without saying a word. She started to stutter a bit when I sniffed her neck, the aroma of my next meal flooded my senses. I couldn't wait to get a taste. She gasped as my lips brushed her soft skin before I pierced into the nape of her neck with my fangs. I heard a moan as I drank in the crisp winter chill that made my neck tingle as her blood nourished my parched throat.
While I was enjoying the light and refreshing taste her blood had to offer, I heard another moan which broke my concentration. I opened my eyes only to see her nearly panting. One of her hands was fondling her breast, while the other was lightly caressing my manhood. I pulled back from my meal, "What do you think you're doing?" I asked, slightly offended at being molested while I was eating.
The look in her eyes had changed from a proud aristocratic daughter to one of depravity. With a lust filled voice she stuttered, "A-Anything you want to master, whatever you de-desire, all you have to do is ask and I will be of S-service." She did her best to be close to me and started rubbing her body against mine, "Enough. Behave yourself." I said firmly, she halted her actions and bowed her head.
"I am sorry master! Kirene will behave herself, I promise." she was quiet and pouted but she did stop trying to unbuckle my pants. This was a highly unexpected event. How in the world did she end up like this? It was immediately after I had bitten her so it could possibly be the bite? But how? I checked the wound I had made. At first, there was nothing strange and it looked like a normal puncture wound.
After a few moments of probing it, I observed a clear substance that was nearly unnoticeable. It does not look like saliva, it is not nearly as thick, but it is in the wound and not around it. So, had I injected her with a venom of some sort? 'I could work with this. I thought.