Lucy narrowed her eyes at first and then began laughing without any care. "Hahaha.. revenge on whom? Too bad for you.. I already finished everyone here. And the last guy is dead as well. I am sure you would have noticed that when you pulled that gun out of his skull." She smirked.
The elf girl shook her head calmly. "I am not after humans." Her dark green eyes shined dazzlingly under the moonlight. "I am after the guys who pushed me into this situation."
Her words made Lucy sit back up. "Hmm.. interesting... interesting... You can't be after your own people?" The elf girl didn't say anything in response. "Hohoho.. nice. I love chaos."
"Even so, how exactly can you get power from me? You can't be thinking of..." Lucy didn't complete her sentence. "Yes, I want you to turn me."
"Ohh... An elf asking to be turned into a vampire? What in the world happened to you?" Elves were one of the species that prioritized the purity of their bloodline over their lives. As such, Lucy believed it to be a great deal for an elf to voluntarily turn herself into a vampire. There can't be a worse treatment for an elf.
Since the elf was not much of a speaker, Lucy continued to mumble her thoughts. "You do know I am a pureblood, don't you? Leaving aside the possibility of you surviving the process, I don't even have the privileges to turn someone on my own accord."
"I know everything." "Still you want to help me? Knowing the chances of you living on to transform into a vampire is practically zero." If humans were the easiest to turn then elves were the hardest.
Considering that the forest dwellers survived on a strictly vegetarian diet, their elvish constitution was simply not made to sustain a life of a vampire. In the best case scenario, the elf will have her life expectancy cut in half. Also, death might actually be the second best option.
It's not uncommon to imagine her losing her mind and spend rest of her life in a crazed state that will neither be elf nor a vampire.
With how learned most elves were, there was a fair chace this girl knew what exactly she was signing up for here. Despite that, the elf nodded her head resolutely. This was once in a lifetime opportunity for her, she will not back down.
"Just promise me you will try your best. That is enough." She remarked causing Lucy to roll her eyes at her. "You shrewd weasel... you know how much we value our words as a noble race." She didn't say anything further, letting the night soak them up completely.
"Even more than your skills as a doctor, I am interested in knowing how your story unfolds. I have a hunch it shall be a delightful scene... with lots of blood and gore.. hehe.. hehe.. hahahaha.." Lucy licked her lips in anticipation.
The look in the elf's eyes was murderous. For sure she was going to reap a bunch of life as soon as she attains the power to do so. Lucy removed her gown and revealed her naked body.
Apart from the wound from the gunshot, she had pretty much healed up completely. With the moon shining brightly over their heads, she approached the elf and took hold of both her hands.
"It's decided then. Tell me your name, girl." The vampire stood with her chest touching the elf's. "Gratia. Gratia Magnolia." For a moment, Lucy was stunned, recognizing the family name.
Hearing that, her smile became even more splendid. "I, Lucy Crimson, promise in the name of my family, that I shall do everything in my power to turn Gratia Magnolia into a true vampire."
Ending her proclamation, Lucy brought her lips to the elf girl's and gently pressed them together. Their hands clasped together, both of them engaged in a drawn-out kiss. With every passing second, Lucy's mind flashed pictures to her.
A land marred by death and destruction. Dead bodies all over the place. Lifeless bodies of elves can be seen all over the place, some nailed onto the branches of the trees, some with their necks crushed, and others had their blood sucked out from their body, leaving nothing but a husk of their prior self. Standing under a similar moonlit night was Gratia, covered in the blood of her kin.
"How invigorating... Uhhm.." Even the bullet lodged inside her could not stop Lucy from floundering with ecstasy. The sight of death and destruction elated her. For sure, she had underestimated the conviction of the girl.
Lucy's fanatic laughter can be heard for miles, continuously for minutes. In the silent and gloomy night, her chortling presented a stark contrast compared to the serene background of the picturescape.
***
"Why are you so worried, brother? If you can pass it one time, you can certainly do it the next time as well." Returning from the dinner, Caleb consoled the downcast boy next to him.
"Damn fatty.. it's not like I have failed yet. Can't you speak positively?" Aron protested. "Haha.. well I was just quoting the worst-case scenario. Of course, I will be the happiest guy around, if you can pass." He rubbed his fat belly while explaining.
"Please don't say anything then." "Okay.. yeah, it's better if we just wait till tomorrow. I believe in you." Fatty had been flattering his friend quite a lot lately. The usual arguments between them had almost stopped entirely with Caleb ready to secede ground whenever required.
"Once you get in, can you get me a job at your place, just like Kyla?" For fatty, any shitty job at the students' hostel will be a hundred times better than his current circumstances.
Aron was taken by surprise by the revelation. "Huh..? Did you change your goal? Don't you want to become an actual student?" Caleb dropped his head, fidgeting his fingers. "I am not so sure about that. From what you told me.. I don't think I can succeed."
He refused to meet Aron's eye, but his actions clearly displayed his lack of confidence. "Don't think too much about it. When I get in, I will try to push my luck and help you out. But in return.. you must promise me to do your best in order to become a full-fledged student in the academy."
Caleb was not very enthusiastic at the offer, but aware of Aron's care for him, he nodded his head nonetheless. "I will do my best." "Haha.. nice. Now we just have to wait till tomorrow." Both guys put their arms over other's shoulders and made their way to the dorm room.
This might as well be Aron's last day here, as such both of them had a lot to talk to each other. Too bad their time together was going to be cut short.
They discovered a bunch of girls waiting for them outside their door. "Aron!!" One of them ran towards them and crashed into Aron's chest, clinging to him like a squid. Her soft breasts stuck to his chest creating a comfortable sensation that the boy didn't particularly dislike.
"Hope you are doing well, Kyla. Sorry, I wasn't able to come to meet you." Aron compassionately rubbed her back, coaxing a girl more than three years older than him. "I understand. You must have been busy."
Only after a minute, did she release him, and Aron could breathe properly. "Ahem.. hope you didn't forget me?" Caleb displayed a brilliant grin causing Kyla to give him a hug too. Although it was much short-lived than what his friend got, fatty could not complain. "I missed you too, Caleb."
"Oi.. we are here on some serious business. Open his damn door." Obviously, one particular blonde was not very used to being ignored for so long. Julia kicked the locked door to register her protest. "Hmph.. why are we the ones waiting for him?"
Besides her, Ava had no such grievances. Rather her smile was as wide as it could get. "Come in, Aron. We got news for you." Her happy demeanor instantly helped Aron to calm his distraught nerves. "Yes."
Once inside, Kyla reserved Aron's lap and Caleb sat next to them, hoping he is not sent outside, like the last time. Thankfully, Julia and Ava were too excited to even notice him.
"Welcome onboard.. slave boy." Aron had already anticipated the results from Ava's face. So he was not overly shocked at Julia's declaration. "I won't say I didn't have my doubts. Still, you did prove me wrong, congratulations on that."
Julia huffed as if she was still mad that she had to walk all the way here to share this news. Then again, she had to come, otherwise... 'Otherwise.. what?' She herself can't define this feeling and could only categorize it as her growing affection for the boy.
"Haha.. it was a done deal already. Although from what I heard, you messed up completely in the last test. The academy decided it to be counted as an anomaly." Ava remarked. It was still hard for her to come to terms with the development.
The boy who they found as a slave to experiment upon.. actually went on to join them. This was incredible as it sounded. "Is it really final?" More than anyone else in the room, this was a surreal experience for Aron.
"Yes. I have seen the names in the announcement hall. You were selected along with those two siblings brother and sister.. ahh.. I forgot their.." "Chris and Christina.." "Yeah.. both of them as well." Aron reminded Ava.
"Also, you can pick your stuff up and take residence in the boy's hostel. You don't need to stay in this shabby place any longer." She added.
"Wow.. Then can I move over to the boy's hostel as well? You can have me as your cook, can't you?" Aron was already overwhelmed by the situation. So it took him some time to register what Kyla was asking from him.
"Huh.. no. Julia was generous enough to get you the job. Even as a slave, they actually pay you handsomely. Why would you drop it?" Aron can't fathom her logic. "I don't need the pay." Kyla made a grumpy face, pulling his arms and wrapping them around him coyly.
"Well if it's like that. You should work hard and gather the mana tokens. With that, you can get yourself a personal chef and a.. sidekick.. bed buddy or whatever as well." Ava informed, her eyes glancing at the eager boy beside Aron.
"Mana tokens? Are they related to the academy-centric points you told me about earlier?" Ava pecked her head and crossed her arms to stand against the dressing table. "Yes. If your score is crazy high. Instead of a card like everyone else, the academy provides you with mana tokens. Each one of them is worth more than a hundred gold coins."
Aron's jaw dropped to the floor. A hundred gold coins? For someone who had never even held a gold coin in his hands all his life, the amount was astronomical. "So expensive?"
"Haha.. of course. They are just like their name sounded. Tokens made of highly compressed natural mana." Ava turned to her friend. "Well I am too poor to afford one, but Julia got a few with her. Hey.. why don't you show him?"
The blonde clicked her tongue and took out a deep purple coin-like token from her ring and casually flicked it over to the boy. Aron caught the token but the virtual weight of a hundred gold coins seemed to bear upon him, making his arms shiver.
"This is solid mana?" At first glance, the token didn't look much different than a regular coin, albeit a lot more marvelous and heavier than it. The bright purple color gave it a distinct look and holding it in his hand, he can feel the strong ripples it was generating.
"Yeah. Amazing isn't it?" Ava, as well as others, came closer to take a look as well. "Too bad you need to be among the best students for the academy to award it to you."
Aron nodded, captivated by the spectacular beauty of the token. To think the ephemeral mana can actually be cast into a solid token.. it was something out of this world.
"Earlier you told me I would need mana tokens to get myself a personal cook? Is that true?" To pay hundreds of gold coins for a cook seemed almost the limit of absurdity for Aron.
"Hehe.. you got to pay for the luxury." Ava laughed and Julia came forward to collect her token back. "Of course, there are much better ways to use them than to spend on getting yourself a maid or a chef."
"Credit points are not cheap in the Academy, slave boy. Be frugal with them. Don't go on a spending spree, lest you end up going broke. That will be my advice to you." Julia remarked, causing both Kyla and Caleb to make faces at her.
< Kudos!!>>