For the past week, Alex had undergone rigorous training, daily sprints that stretched for miles and enduring the bone-wrecking waterfall he discovered during one of his hunts near a cave. Through it all, he found himself becoming more flexible and comfortable with his newfound strength. He adapted better to his own body, feeling a growing sense of control. This training regime was recommended by the wolf he had encountered, Arthur, as he had chosen to call himself.
Here in the crossroads, the prejudices between different supernatural races weren't as apparent as in other realms. The crossroads was a vast network of information and business, and over time, the people here learned to look past their racial differences. Most conflicts that arose were usually due to personal feuds or failed business deals. But Alex knew that despite the apparent understanding, the crossroads was still a dangerous place. He had only scratched the surface of what it had to offer.
To explore the crossroads and tap into its potential, he needed strength. While his training had yielded flexibility and adaptability, he still lacked true power. Energy crystals were his ticket to achieving that power, and Alex knew it.
Through his experiences, Alex realized that the information he had about vampires was woefully limited. For instance, the popular myth about vampires' vulnerability to sunlight had been brought with him from his previous world. Yet, in Netherndel's unique climate—a world without a sun but filled with its own source of light—he had discovered that the sunlight myth was partially wrong for while the sun makes vampires uncomfortable and a tiny bit weaker it doesn't burn them. So his preconceived notions were debunked on his first day in this realm.
Still plagued by questions and thoughts scattered like puzzle pieces, Alex suddenly felt a warm sensation at the side of his head. A voice, sounding eerily like Lysandra's, echoed in his mind.
"Alex? Can you hear me clearly?"
Startled, Alex jolted up and scanned his surroundings, searching for the source of the voice that felt as if Lysandra was whispering directly into his ear.
"Lysandra?" Alex blurted out, his confusion evident in his voice as he questioned the authenticity of what he had just heard.
"Yes, Alex, it's me," the voice responded again, its clarity leaving him stunned.
His mind raced, grappling with the possibility that Lysandra could be communicating with him telepathically and also excited of the possibility of him talking in his head.
"Not exactly telepathy," Lysandra clarified. "Remember that I mentioned leaving something within you? Well, this is a fragment of my consciousness. It took time for it to connect properly since your spiritual energy needed to adapt."
"Spiritual energy?" Alex questioned, intrigued by the new term yet aware it was only one piece of a complex puzzle.
"Yes, but we can delve into that later. Right now, tell me, what have you been up to? I provided you with limited information, but I trust you've managed to navigate your way."
Alex shared everything that had transpired over the past week—the vampire-wolf gang altercation, the display of shadow-like powers, his meeting with Arthur the wolf, and the intense training he had undertaken.
Lysandra's voice conveyed admiration. "Impressive progress for a start. Now that I'm here, in a manner of speaking, rest assured that we're in this journey together. I'm also eager to see the powers you'll manifest, Alex. After all, you're unique, not a typical bloodfiend."
"What's a bloodfiend?" Alex pondered aloud, his curiosity sparked by the unfamiliar term.
Lysandra anticipated his question and explained, "When I referred to you as a bloodfiend, it's because you exhibit the top traits of one. The primary trait being the ability to drink vampire blood. Normally, vampires cannot survive on each other's blood, nor do they find it palatable. However, bloodfiends defy this rule. Not only can they sustain themselves on vampire blood, but they also grow stronger with each feed."
Alex realized that he hadn't felt the urge to drink blood since his initial feed. As a vampire, feeding was the cornerstone of their existence, providing strength and vitality. Yet, the familiar bloodlust hadn't resurfaced. The only comparable sensation was during the gang fight, but that had been more of a desire to unleash power than a need for sustenance.
"I haven't really felt the need to feed again. In fact, it feels like I don't have to, which I assume isn't normal," Alex acknowledged, intrigued by this new revelation.
Lysandra confirmed, "You're correct. And it's linked to the fact that you're not just an ordinary vampire, neither are you a regular bloodfiend and Azaroth probably did not realize that. Though my interference should have alerted him that something doesn't check out. Alex, your existence is one that affected the wheels of fate and cosmic strings, just being a regular bloodfiend would not have caused that"
"Does the mean I don't ever have to feed?" Alex inquired.
"Definitely not, you are still a vampire in the end of the day and like I said, you aren't a regular bloodfiend for if you were then your bloodlust would have been even higher than regular vampires every single time you came across something with life-force, but thanks to your abnormal body and soul composition, Something is different about you. Also I can already sense energy that should not even exist in a vampire but all these are thoughts for a different day. I need to tell you how the scale of power works "
"Scale of power?" Alex always wondered how ones strengths are measured in this world and being occupied with things at hand he hadn't really tried to get informations on this.
" Well its more of the vampire scale of power, and you Alex can be considered a Fledgling. Just a Newly turned vampire who is still learning control over your innate powers and all."
"And after that?" Alex asked.
"There's the Blooded vampires, these just speaks of a vampire who has finally mastered control over the basic vampire powers as opposed to a fledgling, then from there you get to the vampire Nobles. These vampires have mastered great control over their elemental affinity and some other vamprific powers like mind control"
"Uhh mind control? That feels kind of overpowered"
"It could be, but its not always the case as it depends on the mental power of the user and the receiver, if a vampire noble tries using mind control on a being with a higher mental power, the only thing he would be receiving is a terrible backlash that leaves his own mind weaker. So its a two way street. Well for now this scale of power is what you need to know and if you crave for more information, when we get to where I'm going to lead you to, you can read all about it" Lysandra said.
"Seems like you have a plan in mind already" Alex said as he thought about the new Information he he just received.
"I always did, but first we need you to feed, in the end you are a vampire and since the old days the biggest power ups for vampires has been blood and time."
"So do I have to go look for humans to feed on?" Alex felt very uncomfortable with that thought, a part of him was grateful for the fact that he did get consumed by bloodlust for the past week. As surprising as it may seem, humans were present in the cross-roads. Earth was not the only place with humans, just one of many realms.
"That wouldn't really do much, besides there are better alternatives. Humans don't really give the boosts that needed, at least not ordinary human blood."
"What makes a vampire stronger with each feed isn't really the blood, but the life force and energy within the blood. For fledgings it may be alright to just feed on regular humans, but to get stronger you would need the blood of more powerful beings" Lysandra explained.