Alesha nodded, steeling herself. The King had been so generous and kind towards her. After learning about her species and her skill, he had not been suspicious or hostile towards her as some comics and novels had led her to expect. Even though a vampire was probably classified as a kind of demon, he'd treated her well; not only had he continued to treat her like a Hero, but he'd also given her a flask of blood each day to help meet her needs and counteract her cursed title. Each flask she'd been given contained enough blood for her Plunder skill to activate, so she'd obtained four skills in total: Troll's Regeneration Lvl 10, Night Vision Lvl 3, Strong Bones Lvl 4, and Quick Dash Lvl 2. All of these skills would help her survive even though she couldn't level up. She wanted to thank him for that somehow.
If thanking her benefactor required gritting her teeth and plowing through her trauma, then she'd do so.
Taking a deep breath, she approached the chained-up, mostly dirty vampire once more, this time determined to focus on her goal. She latched onto his neck and began to suck his blood. The taste was amazing, and it almost distracted her from her purpose again, but she managed to keep her goal in mind by repeatedly thinking, "Plunder HP Drain, plunder HP Drain," to herself.
Rogork had been fairly quiet since the mysterious black-clad servant of the King retrieved her. When Alesha began repeating those three words to herself, however, it decided to join in, beatboxing to turn her mental chant into a song. Somehow, it was both distracting and helpful.
When she had drunk a pint of his blood, a golden notification window appeared, slightly different from the ones when she had Plundered from blood in flasks.
*****
Plunder conditions met! Skills available to plunder: HP Drain Lvl 2, Mana Drain Lvl 2, Minor Hypnotism Lvl 1
Skill description available after selection
*****
Delighted, she mentally selected HP Drain Lvl 2, then continued to drink until the window appeared again. It was exactly the same, save for the absence of HP Drain. She selected Mana Drain Lvl 2 and released her jaws, licking her lips and feeling reluctant. Her instincts craved more. In an instant, the vampire in front of her no longer looked like a dirty, pitiful prisoner who had been unfortunate enough to be chained up for a long time, but like a delicious sack of blood, one that she had left unfinished for some incomprehensible reason. Why hadn't she drained him dry? Why was she leaving such a delectable meal half-finished? The taste of his blood lingered in her mouth and was nearly driving her crazy.
Forcibly turning her eyes away from the food before her, she met the King's gaze with a smile. "I did it," she said, suppressing her desire to attack the prisoner again. "I can choose which skill to plunder if I'm actually biting the target."
"That's wonderful!" The King replied, smiling broadly. He pulled a handkerchief out of his rich tunic and offered it to her. "For your mouth," he added, tapping his lips to emphasize his words.
Alesha's jaw dropped slightly. Was the King giving her his own handkerchief to use?! Part of her knew she should deny him, at least for propriety's sake, but since he'd pointed it out, she noticed a faint trickling sensation on her lips and chin, and that uncomfortable feeling was making her crazy in another way. She absolutely hated feeling dirty. So, she accepted the handkerchief gratefully, wiping her face clean. Well, as clean as she could get without wetting it first.
After that, the King explained that the Hero who had been involved in a violent act possessed an evil skill called "Gluttony," which allowed him to steal the stats of those he killed. He worried that, based on his behavior, the Hero would go too far and start killing people without regard for their innocence. To prevent that, he wanted her to take the skill from him before it was too late. Alesha could understand where he was coming from. Someone who could instantly get stronger by killing others, and who showed a tendency towards violence already? That would be extremely worrisome.
"Alright," she said. "I'm ready."
A guard led them to a nearby cell, inside which was not the Hero she had expected. Based on his behavior over the past six days, she'd predicted the troublesome one would be Keenan, the dark elf Necromancer. He'd almost always gone overboard during the "killing training," after all. Instead, the shy, universally well-liked Han sat tied to a wooden chair, auburn hair braided behind him and little deer's horns poking up from his head. He wore an expression of disdain Alesha had never expected to see on his face. "Yo King, you here to do some more shitty preaching? And you brought a friend! Hey Alesha, nice to meet you for real. I'm Friedrich."
"Wh- what?" Alesha stammered, too surprised to properly respond. Friedrich? Huh?
The man in front of her smirked unpleasantly. "Confused, aren'tcha? Well, I don't blame ya. Han neeeever tells anyone about me. Likes to keep me as his trump card, I guess. So whatcha here for? I don't get why the King broughtcha."
The King sighed. "Friedrich, you and Han will be given clemency if you allow her to use her skill on you and promise never to attack any of my citizens again. Otherwise, you can feel free to remain here in this prison for the rest of your life, which will be very short since you are too dangerous to risk getting free. It is your choice."
Alesha felt her heart drop at the King's words. Wait, Han/Friedrich was going to be executed if he didn't agree to get his skill plundered? Did the King really need to go that far?
Friedrich barked a short laugh. "Ha! As if that's any kind of choice. You know full well I'm going to choose the option that lets me live. What kinda skill you got, kid?" His last remark was directed towards Alesha.
Glancing towards the King, who nodded, she explained, "My skill allows me to steal the skills of others, but it requires that I drink a pint of your blood."
Friedrich snorted, then laughed boisterously for quite a while. "Ha! Hahahaha!" He then shook his head, giving the King a sly look that seemed to carry some meaning that Alesha couldn't decipher. "Well, let's get on with it then. Steal my Gluttony!"