"It wasn't wrong, King Alex, but that only applied to vampires with low blood purity. There was a reason you were chosen. In the past, vampires existed on your planet, and you carry a trace of their genes. But as the progenitor, you don't need to drink blood—what you require is life force. There are small traces of it in blood, even in the food you eat, but meals alone won't provide enough. You need to absorb real life force from sentient beings. As for how much you need, you'll understand once you return, King."
"Good to know." Alex crossed his arms, then casually added, "By the way, I noticed Mingyue's amber eyes had a tinge of red in them. That's because of the transformation, isn't it?"
Vesa's ruby eyes gleamed. A mirror materialized in front of Alex. His reflection stared back at him—his familiar blue eyes, now carrying a faint red hue at their center .like embers slowly kindling into a flame. He leaned in slightly, studying the subtle change. "So, does that mean my eyes will turn completely red when I fully transform?"he asked, tilting his head.
"Yes, King. Your hair will also turn silver," Vesa confirmed. "But don't worry, you'll be able to use illusion runes later on to disguise it if you wish."
"Runes?" Alex frowned slightly, his curiosity piqued.
"An ancient magic exclusive to vampires," Vesa explained. "As you grow stronger, they will come to you naturally, like an instinct buried deep in your blood." Vesa suddenly paused, watching as Alex kept staring at the mirror. Then, it chuckled. "King, you really are something else, huh?"
A smirk tugged at the corner of Alex's lips, "I'll take that as a compliment. I was just imagining myself with silver hair and red eyes. I already know I'll look even more handsome like that." He struck a cool pose in the mirror. "Don't you think your King is handsome? And just so you know—I don't accept no as an answer."
Vesa burst into laughter. "I still don't understand how you can be this relaxed. Even the Queen was anxious about all this." At the mention of Mingyue, Alex's smirk widened. "She's going to look even more beautiful after the transformation, isn't she?" Then, his expression turned playful. "As for panicking—you should already know my abilities, right?"
Vesa bobbed its round body in a nod, chuckling. "Seems the King is quite smitten with the Queen. Well, given the situation, it's inevitable you two will end up together."
"Even if it weren't, she'd fall for me sooner or later." Alex admired his reflection one last time, nodding in satisfaction before turning serious. "Alright, send me back, Vesa. I know maintaining this space drains your energy."
Vesa gave a graceful bow with one of its small wings. "As you wish, King. The progenitor blood seems to have chosen the best candidate."
The moment Vesa finished speaking, Alex felt an invisible force pulling him. Darkness enveloped him. Then, in the blink of an eye, he was back. He found himself in the same room where he had undergone treatment.
A series of interfaces appeared before his eyes. From the knowledge Vesa had implanted in him, he already understood how to navigate them. He pulled up his status screen.
***
Name: Alex Campbell
Power Level: 5
Progenitor Transformation: 10/100%
Lifeforce: 324/200
***
Seeing the data, Alex immediately understood that the system had simplified their strength into a power level for easy comprehension. He could also use it to check abilities, information, and even analyze anything he wanted at any time. This realization made him feel exhilarated. 'The progenitor blood really upgraded the ERX chip to a whole new level.' The Lifeforce stat represented his hunger level.
Right now, he was overly full—still running on the excess life force from the progenitor blood he had absorbed. Once it dropped below 75%, he'd start feeling hungry. And if it ever fell below 10%... that was when things would get dangerous—pushing him into a berserk state. "You finally woke up. You almost gave me a heart attack." A familiar voice pulled him from his thoughts.
Turning his head, Alex saw Prof. Faerith sitting beside him, her sharp eyes scanning data on a tablet. Her slender fingers moved across the screen, scrolling through pages of information. "Your body has become much stronger than before. Based on your previous data, it should be at least twice as powerful now. What about your abilities?"
Alex studied her expression—her eyes, the way her lips pressed together in focus. A slow smile curved his lips. "It enhanced my abilities too, Prof. Faerith." He sat up, stretched, and then casually pulled the IV drip from his hand. "I should probably thank you. But wasn't what happened to me illegal? I'm pretty sure you used those ads as bait, looking for someone who could trigger the blood, right? I could sue you for that, Ms. Faerith."
Faerith frowned, letting out a sigh."Your abilities are such a pain. Cognitive Matrix, was it?" She glanced at him, then back at the tablet. "It lets you analyze every bit of information your senses pick up and run multiple scenarios at once. Before, using it gave you splitting headaches. But now, I'm guessing you can use it effortlessly, huh?" She sighed again, setting the tablet down. "So, what do you want? I already checked your background. Coming from a billionaire family, I doubt you're after money."
Alex leaned forward, resting his arms on his knees as he smirked. "Nope. What I need... is you, Prof. Faerith." As he spoke, information from the system streamed into his vision, overlaying reality and feeding directly into his Cognitive Matrix.
***
Name: Faerith Thalindra
Power Level: 1.3
Lifeforce: 76/100
[No bad intentions detected; target appears surprised and flustered by what the King said.]
***
"You what?" Faerith blinked. "Me?" Then she narrowed her eyes. "You do realize I'm far older than you, right?"
Alex laughed. "Not in that way, Prof. Faerith. I want to hire you—lifetime contract." He leaned against the doorframe, his smirk unwavering. "I also need you to keep everything that happened today a secret. With what I know, I'm pretty sure your investors have been breathing down your neck, right?" He watched as her expression stiffened slightly. "Since the blood didn't give you any results, they won't be suspicious of you suddenly stepping away. Just make sure to pick up a few new research projects so it doesn't look like I'm hiring you because you had a breakthrough in blood research."