When Raphiel woke up, he noticed that the female vampire had already fallen asleep and let out a sigh of relief. He then tried out his newly acquired abilities, careful not to cause any damage to the surroundings. He was pleased that the skills he created didn't show any obvious flaws, though there was still a minor issue.
Since the ability cards were not physical objects, visualizing the card was enough to activate them, but they required mana to use. Raphiel wanted to use VP (Vip Points or mental energy) instead of mana, so the ability cards wouldn't conflict with the existing magic system.
Raphiel began working on this plan. Every now and then, he would slip into a trance and perform various experiments. About four hours later, he accidentally managed to convert VP into mana. When two marbles collided, both shattered and transformed into mana.
Raphiel's stomach growled, so he naturally had to go out and get some food. He went to the same baker's shop where he had bought bread before, believing that if he went to another shop, they might mistake him for a thief and chase him away.
He quietly approached the counter where a baker named Bob worked, and, without saying a word, showed him the bread he had bought before. After seeing the bread, Bob handed him another one.
Just as Raphiel turned to leave, he decided to get one more loaf. As he walked toward the hidden shelter with the bread, a guard suddenly pointed a spear at him.
"I got you," the guard said. Another guard lightly tapped him on the head, saying, "If every fair-skinned person were a vampire, humanity would be enslaved by them. And not all vampires have to be pale." The guard apologized and released Raphiel, who didn't understand what they were saying but simply felt a sense of danger.
Once the guards let him go, he slowly left the area. No thief dared to eye the bread in his hands. Raphiel remembered a news story from his previous life about someone stealing chocolate from a market, and felt a little sorrow for that world. People there were so desperate that they resorted to absurdities, and news of murder and assault was so frequent that no one felt anything anymore.
He didn't understand the senseless murders in his previous world, but he believed that in this fantasy world, no one would kill another without reason. Even capturing people to sell as slaves seemed like a child's tale compared to some of the horrors he'd heard about in his past life.
After leaving the market, Raphiel realized he had overlooked a small detail: he had no water. At the very least, he needed some water since he was extremely thirsty. He believed his vampire physiology was the reason he noticed this need so late.
Raphiel returned to the market area, where there was a well with a spiraling line of people waiting their turn. Nearby was a merchant selling leather water pouches. The merchant had a small promotion going on—the water pouches came filled, so buyers didn't need to wait in line at the well.
Raphiel waited on the side to learn the price of the water pouches and then purchased one. The merchant immediately came over to check if he had a second pouch on him. Raphiel felt a slight pang of hurt in his heart.
He slowly left the marketplace, and as he departed, a guard curiously watched him, realizing that he hadn't spoken at all. The guard continued his duties without giving it much further thought.
---
Alice woke up and, upon entering the living room, saw that Raphiel was still sleeping on the couch. However, there was now an empty water pouch and a loaf of bread on the table in the center of the room. Something was written on the table in breadcrumbs, but the message was in a language Alice didn't know.
The breadcrumbs on the table spelled out, "A gift from me to you." Alice's sixth sense was strong enough to understand that the bread was intended for her. The moment she took a bite, she began sobbing uncontrollably, tears soaking the bread.
Alice cried for about half an hour, recalling her life before becoming a vampire. She had been born into a noble family; her father was a famous soldier, and her mother came from a noble family skilled in magic.
Years ago, everything went wrong. A gang of demons who despised her father kidnapped Alice. Her father searched for her, and when he finally rescued her, she had already turned into a vampire. The process of transitioning from a half-vampire to a full vampire was sped up due to the demons' intervention.
One day, a demon came into her cell with a vampire's fang. Using that fang, the demon tortured Alice for hours, her wounds instantly healing, preventing her from dying.
On that day, she had transformed into a half-vampire, and still had hope of becoming human again since half-vampires hadn't entirely lost their humanity. The next day, the same demon returned with glass vials containing a red liquid. Alice knew these weren't health potions; she felt a strange craving for them. She tried to resist, but the demon forced her to drink all the vials. The following day, he came back and made her drink blood again.
Gradually, Alice became a pure vampire. On that day, the demon stopped giving her blood, only to return a week later. Desperate for blood, she begged him. The demon asked, "What can you give me in return?" Already an addict, she replied without thinking, "Anything you want." From that day, Alice was fully under his control.
A week later, her father learned of her whereabouts and set out with her mother to rescue her.
Alice's red eyes, the shattered glass bottles around her, her clothes, and the smell in the cell told the whole story. Alice looked at her mother with a weak voice, "Mother…" Her parents looked at her, tears in their eyes.
Her father, Hans, said, "I have no daughter like you," but tears were streaming down his face. He left without looking back, leaving Alice and her mother alone.
Once her husband left, Alice's mother no longer hid her feelings; she cried her heart out. She removed the chains binding Alice with wind magic, took off the ring from her neck, and gave it to her.
"This is a space-time ring, crafted generations ago by the founder of our family and passed down through the ages. It has infinite storage space and can even hold living beings. It's a bonded item, but unlike similar items, it destroys itself if the owner dies. Now, it's yours."
Alice tried to refuse, but her mother insisted, and reluctantly, Alice bonded with the ring. She was now its sole owner. Her mother then handed her a storage bag she carried and said, "Take everything inside. You never know when you might need it." She left soon after.
Alice collapsed onto the ground and began to cry. A moment later, a demonic voice echoed, "Did you really think I'd die that easily?" Alice shivered with fear at the sound. The demon was still here. He emerged from hiding, laughing as he approached Alice.
The demon held two glass bottles in his hand. Alice trembled in fear and tried to back away, but there was nowhere to run. She believed it was over and closed her eyes in terror, but what she expected never happened. After a while, she opened one eye cautiously.
Standing before her was someone else; the demon was nowhere to be seen.