I closed my stats page and lifted Nia from the couch and took her to an empty guest room, I tucked her in and closed the door behind me on my way out. She had been through quite a lot on her first day as a thrall and needed her rest. Though her ability to teleport had caught me off guard it was a very impressive sight.
Kirene and Collin walked back into the penthouse, she must have shown him his new apartment because he seemed very satisfied.
I asked them to come and sit so we could chat about Collins ability and how it works. The talk wasn't very long, each week Collin would be able to clone himself four clones. Two of his clones had been killed this past week but at midnight it would reset and he would be able to summon two more.
Though that plan changed quickly, the two clones that were still alive would be sacrificed for their blood tonight and at midnight he would summon four new ones to help donate blood until he could summon them again in a week.
Kirene left Nia a note that we would be back soon before we went out for a stroll, we didn't go far, there was an alley nearby that was a bit hard to spot and not very well lit, we killed the clones and drained them of their remaining blood. Collin collected the clothes and we dumped the bodies into the sewers.
Though when we got back to the penthouse Kirene took Collins measurements, I presumed for a change in uniform, before she went to bed. She had an important meeting in the morning that might just save my stats. I didn't want to know what would happen if I failed the quickening or went into negative stats.
Collin stayed with me however and seemed full of energy, "Anything I can do for you master?"
I looked at my new thrall, luckily he wasn't like Kirene or Nia. It would be very awkward if he lusted after my touch or acted like a small cat to gain my affection. No, he seemed to lean more towards being a loyal soldier than possible concubine.
"Collin, lets go hunting. The night is young and I don't want to leave things to chance." I ordered my thrall and we quietly left the penthouse. While hunting with Collin I rode the speeder while Collin followed in the rover.
I tracked down three non-ability using criminals with AB+ blood and drained them dry with the blood collector.I only drank a small mouthful from each and received a few system messages.
+20 exp from new source x3 = +60 exp
+5 exp feed on defeated enemy x3 = +15 xp
+2 FSP Consumed AB+ blood x3 = +6 FSP
EXP 185/200
I didn't receive exp from killing these criminals, it had only taken a single blow to kill them and I believe the system did not register them as true opponents. Though I was only 15 exp away from another level I still decided to wait till the last hour to finish my daily mission. Collin and I got back to the penthouse just after 3 am, Colling saw me to my door and waited till I was inside before leaving for his own apartment.
Collin may not be very powerful, but he was highly useful, and one day his ability may grow strong enough to be very useful in combat. However it still had its uses and it may keep me from failing the quickening. I added 5 of my stat points I had gained from my kills into my stamina bringing it up to 20 before lying on my bed and falling into a deep sleep.
When I woke up I briefly remembered throwing something earlier this morning, I looked over to see my clock no longer resided on my bedside table. It had been thrown across the room and now lay in a broken mess near the wall.
Taking my eyes away from my old enemy I walked into the bathroom for a quick shower, I was excited to say I now had short black hair all over my head. While I bathed I thought of all the crazy things I might do with it once it was longer.
Today's outfit was black pants and a white shirt, though I was thinking it might be nice to get a pair of the combat pants in red as well and would mention it to Kirene when she got back.
After I was dressed I ate a nutrient ration, with non AB blood, the kitchen clock showed it was just a few minutes before noon. Kirene and Nia would have gone back to the academy today, I hadn't spoken with Nia after last night's events and couldn't help but wonder how she was handling her identity as a member of our family.
'Would she be moving into the penthouse?' I asked myself, Collin seemed to enjoy his new living arrangements.
Shrugging off the thoughts I turned on the news and looked through possible targets. Maybe collin could infiltrate one of the three groups I was targeting, I still haven't given up on that blood supply stored in the police station.
While looking through the criminal database another news alert came on, a fleet of cargo vessels that had been reported missing for two weeks had been found. The ships had been attacked, presumably by pirates, who had left no survivors. I tried looking into it with the Smiths access but all I received was a heavily redacted document that basically said the cargo had not been touched.
Without much else to go on I continued to munch on my breakfast, while I ate and watched the current events and weather forecasts I played with my blood manipulation ability.
I made small claws at first before making them larger and into different kinds and sizes, some would be better for slashing, piercing, or shredding. I even gave them serrated edges though that took quite a bit of concentration.
I moved on from my claws and onto the thin glove that wrapped around my hands, I retracted the claws and focussed on the gloves. I thought about extending it up my arm and slowly I gained an inch more of the glove going towards my elbow. Sure it was only on one arm for now but I would get there.
I pressed on until I made it to my elbow, once I reached my destination I felt slightly empty, like I could eat another nutrient ration. There was a flashing light and I saw the system message.
-5hp: Blood armor active.
I watched as my hp ticked back up slowly as I healed from the minor blood loss. I continued with my other arm until it also reached my other elbow, another 5 hp drained and slowly recovered, my arms looked rather odd with the thin coat of red that went up to the elbow. Almost like a long pair of red silk gloves.
I willed my claws out and my gloves remained, though with the added weapons to my fingertips I was very pleased. I let the blood soak back into my skin as I deactivated the ability, I then spent the next few hours practicing bringing out the entire glove.
I had only gotten halfway to my elbows in one go when I received a message from Kirene. The academy would partner with us and would be able to five us the AB+ blood in advance, though we would owe them double in O- when we got up and running.
There was bad news that accompanied the good, we would have a competitor for the blood donations. Another student with similar status to Kirene had heard of our plans to open a clinic and had pulled strings to get her own soon to be clinic approved as well.
Another foe had risen to confront my family, though we wouldn't be able to use my kill tactics on an heiress. We would have to use a more subtle approach, with the academy being involved if we went at them head on we could easily lose our contracts and blood.
With that in mind I turned away from my practice and looked into Nia's family businesses, other than real estate and construction there wasn't much to work with. I didn't have access to their financial records but the company Nia would inherit was still quite wealthy.
With that in mind I looked at what properties were owned by her company, most of which was in the wealthier parts of the city, but luckily there was a building nearby that they did own. There was actually a building in between Kirene's and Nia's, the building in between our two properties was owned by a third party real estate agency and was listed on the market.
I called Kirene on the system and told her of the three buildings, she had a thoughtful look on her face before she linked Nia into the call. The next ten minutes were a flurry of conversations about a merger for the clinics.
The two girls' enthusiasm built off of one another and it wasn't long before I was outclassed in their business jargon. I wished them luck before leaving the call, though with their budding alliance I was sure they could best this new rival of theirs.