Milas was just casually walking around the compound. He wasn't even scanning his surroundings since all the students would be resting in the safety of the dorms after resistance training. The only students outside were the subclasses that were immune to sunlight. He strolled into the forest like he was walking into his own room.
Milas finally became alert once inside the dark shade created by the thick canopy. He was only pretending to be careless since anyone following him could play it off by pretending to be heading somewhere else. If anyone entered the forest as soon as he did it just meant that they were following him. Even if they weren't, he wouldn't care if someone thought that he was a little crazy.
The only thing he heard were the usual sounds of birds and insects. He could also hear a rodent foraging in the undergrowth. He kept walking deeper into the forest as he hoped to bump into Miss Priscilla. Milas actually liked the wild environment around him. He preferred the earthy scent and calming sounds of nature when compared to the neutral scent and silence that enveloped the school. The sharp senses of a vampire make them naturally silent clean freaks. Milas had noticed that he could go for days without bathing as a human but was always washing his body as a vampire.
Milas had started to compare the change in behavior he had undergone after turning when a feminine voice came from behind a tree. "You took so long that I thought you had backed out of our deal. It's good to see that you're a man of your word."
Miss Priscilla said as she appeared from behind a tree. She was wearing clothes that were similar in design and material to the uniforms the students wore. The only difference was that her's had two diagonal white lines crossing in the middle. The clothes themselves gripped her body a little too tightly. It caused her assets to look even larger than they were.
"Close your eyes! She's trying to charm you!" The beastly voice came so suddenly and loudly that Milas didn't even think as he shut his eyes. "I want you to follow the instructions I give you or she will basically enslave you with her charm skill. Just repeat the words I tell you to say without changing a thing."
Miss Priscilla was actually startled when Milas shut his eyes so quickly. She had focused so much on charming him by maintaining eye contact that the sudden move was unexpected. Even the timing was so accurate that she didn't believe it to be a coincidence. "Why are you closing your eyes Milas? Don't you trust me?"
"I don't trust you since you charmed me into this deal and you just tried it again. I'm calling off this deal and I won't teach you anything even if you charm me." Milas didn't know what Van was up to but it was already messing with the deal he made. ' What are you doing Van? I need her to teach me blood skills.'
' Calm down kid, I'm not breaking the deal, I'm just getting equal pay for teaching her. And I can teach you those blood skills better than any vampire in the Darklands.' The mental discussion was short and Miss Priscilla was actually starting to speak.
"May I ask why you wish to ruin a good thing all of a sudden?" Miss Priscilla knew that the charm skill was severely weakened without eye contact but she was still confident. As a charmer class vampire she could use more than just eye contact to charm someone. Her voice could also do the same but she would have to talk for a while before it worked.
"Two reasons. One, you have trust issues and only trust those you can control. If I didn't want to help you I wouldn't be here but the fact that you tried to charm me as soon as we met just shows how untrusting you are. Two, I also researched on blood mist and I know that only you benefit in this deal. I would have learned the blood skills later anyway so I have nothing to gain. I hate losing and being tricked counts as losing so this is where the trickery ends." Milas turned around and started to walk away. He didn't want to do it but Van told him that it was the best way to earn maximum benefit.
"Don't be hasty, we can talk about this. I'm sure that we can come to an agreement that benefits both of us." Milas paused as soon as those words were spoken. Miss Priscilla knew that her charm skill was starting to work and all she needed was a few more words before she digs her hooks into him.
"I'll stay and talk once you stop trying to charm me with your voice." The sentence shattered any hopes that Miss Priscilla had about charming him. She already knew that using the charm skill on someone who was aware of its usage required even more effort. The only way she could hope to charm Milas was to pry his eyes open. In the end, she gave up and agreed to get him whatever he wanted if he taught her.
"I don't really need much. I just have a slight obsession with mana crystals and if you can provide me with a constant supply I'll be happy to teach you." Milas didn't really think about what he was repeating till it hit him. The phoenix had taken advantage of the situation to secure a supply of crystals. Miss Priscilla was not actually buying the whole obsession excuse but she didn't care as long as she learned blood mist.
"Are there any requirements that the crystals should meet?" Miss Priscilla had stopped infusing traces of blood energy into her voice which ended the charm skill she had been attempting.
"I don't care about the quality, I just want as many crystals as you can gather. The more crystals you provide the more I'll tell you about blood mist." The words didn't come from Van but from Milas. He said the opposite of what Van had told him to say.
"Okay, I'll be bringing as many crystals as I can to our little meetings but you'd better keep your end of the deal." Miss Priscilla was glad that he hadn't asked for anything expensive or rare. Mana crystals didn't really cost much since the settlement was basically built above a mine. The fact that he didn't care about quality meant that it was actually easier to do this than teach him blood skills. Milas was currently dealing with the headache of a lifetime.
' How dare you do that! I specifically told you to pick quality over quantity! How stupid are you? This has to be the stupidest thing you've ever done! I would kill you if I wasn't stuck in your body!' Van had been yelling ever since Milas decided to take low quality mana crystals. The voice had gone silent for a few seconds before a laugh echoed in his skull. ' Hahaha your decision will ultimately affect you and your future so all I have to do is sit back and enjoy the show.'
Milas knew that he hadn't thought things through when trying to pay Van back for getting him in trouble. He now had to teach Miss Priscilla about blood mist when he didn't even know how it worked. He could see the look of anticipation on her face and he knew that she was in for the disappointment of her life.
' I may have said that I would watch you suffer but that was referring to the mana crystals. I was the one who promised to teach her for the crystals and my honor as a phoenix means that I can't go back on my promise.' Van's beastly voice said and Milas breathed a sigh of relief. He didn't care about honor but he did appreciate the fact that Van wasn't as petty as him.
The next hour was spent with Milas saying exactly what Van told him. He did it for so long that it became second nature and he didn't even listen to what Van was saying. It felt weird that he was like a middleman but he wasn't even paying attention to the discussion. The only thing he was sure of was that Van was purposefully teaching Miss Priscilla in a roundabout way so as to gain the most benefit.
Milas finally left the forest and the last thing he heard from Van was the reminder to get more crystals. It was still a few hours to sunset so Milas spent the time in his room cultivating his blood energy and strengthening his bones till classes began after the sun set.