"She… she sucked you dry!"
Natalie was wheezing, having spent the last few minutes laughing uncontrollably.
Mark was once again in the medical ward and this time he had a needle stabbed into his right arm with a tube connecting it to a blood bag. He was unable to move, forced to stare at the ceiling as his body slowly regained its vitality.
The one responsible for putting him into that state was right beside his bed. Lara could only keep her head lowered, shame causing her cheeks to be flushed red.
The thirst was getting unbearable so when the chance to satiate it presented itself, she didn't hesitate to take it. Turns out she underestimated her desires, and because of that Mark caught a glimpse of the pearly gates.
"I can't believe this!" The muscular woman continued to laugh. "You knew and still let it happen! Were you so turned on that you couldn't tell her no?"
Mark, unable to move his head, shifted his eyes in her direction.
"I'm sorry…" Lara said in a small voice. "I… I did not know how to hold back…"
"Well, good thing you stopped when you did." Another woman said as she walked past the Head General while looking at a clipboard. "You drank almost two liters. Since Mr. White is still recovering, that could've been fatal."
Mark was relieved to see a normal woman for once. She was of an average height and on the chubbier side, with skin as dark as it could get, and a mature face that wasn't too beautiful but wasn't ugly as well.
The light blue scrubs and the white lab coat she wore over them painted her as some kind of doctor.
"Hey there! This is the first time we meet while you're awake." She said when she noticed his gaze on her. "I'm Rebecca Goodman. Nice to meet you, Mr. White."
Mark was about to ask what she meant by that when Natalie took it upon herself to explain.
"Rebecca here is both an experienced doctor and an exceptional healer. She was the one who put you back together after everything that happened in Stonegate."
The more thorough introduction shed light on something important. Mark had let his distrust of the Peace Keepers cloud his judgment, so much so that he ignored the fact that they saved his life entirely. He had yet to offer them a single word of gratitude.
"Seriously though, I never expected to see you again so fast," Rebecca spoke with a slight frown.
"I'm sorry…" Lara apologized again.
"Blame your master for giving you that vessel." Natalie cackled. "What's the point of making her a vampire!? You literally had no reason to do that!"
"Dhampir." Mark pushed himself up with a grunt. "She is a dhampir."
Natalie turned to Rebecca as if asking what he meant. The black woman sighed then gazed at the silver-haired girl from the corner of her eye.
"Half human, half vampire."
"Is there a difference?"
"They have the powers of vampires but almost none of the weaknesses."
"Heeh…"
It was another fact that had escaped Mark's mind entirely. Her being real was already bizarre enough, and with everything that happened he never had the chance to give it much consideration.
"My point still stands," Natalie said while rubbing her chin. "Was there a point in making her this way?"
"Why are you talking as if I had a choice?" Mark shot her a glare.
"He is a Level 05, remember?" Said Rebecca.
"Oh, right." Natalie gave him a serious look for a moment, but then her expression twisted and she burst into laughter again. "Right! I just remembered! Your System is based on that game!"
"Another one?" The doctor asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Nah, this is worse, Rebecca! This is way worse!" The muscular woman took her phone out and approached her dark-skinned friend. "Take a look for yourself!"
Hearing the music that started playing, Mark wanted to lunge at them and snatch the phone away. Nevertheless, all he could do was cover his face and try to hide his embarrassment.
"Interesting…" The doctor's expression grew serious as she took hold of the phone.
"What's up with this reaction? No need to be shy, you can laugh all you want!"
Even without looking, Mark could tell the video the video they were watching was the launch trailer for Maids VS Apocalypse.
He wasn't surprised that the so-called Peace Keepers knew about his game; they were spying on him for nineteen years, after all. He just wished they would never discuss the matter in front of him.
There is a reason he avoided telling the people he knew in real life about his game development hobby.
"This is the first time I've heard about this one." Rebecca held her chin in thought. "When did it come out?"
There was a moment of silence which alerted Mark that the question was directed at him.
"A… couple of months ago..."
"I don't see the young miss anywhere… hm?" The doctor furrowed her brows in confusion. "Don't tell me…"
Her eyes widened a little as she turned to look at the youth, and seeing him covering his face, she understood the embarrassment he was feeling.
"Yeah, this guy actually made the game his System is based on." Natalie seemed on the verge of another fit of laughter. "He actually developed a dating sim where all the heroines are maids! And most of them aren't even human! Talk about the author's barely disguised fetish!"
"That's… that's actually pretty impressive." As if ignoring the General, Rebecca rushed to the nearby computer and quickly opened a browser. "Developing an entire game solo isn't an easy feat. Did you really do it alone?"
Mark sensed the clear interest in her voice, which gave him a bit of courage to look up. "Well, I partnered with someone who did the art and-" His face went from beet red to ghastly white the instant he caught sight of what was on the woman's screen. "Wait! Did you just download it!!?
"Of course." Rebecca turned to him with a smile. "I was sold the moment I saw it. Not to mention-" She glanced at Lara and smiled. "It wouldn't hurt to learn about your girls before you summon them, right?"
"Please kill me," Mark replied. "Kill me right now."
"If you are that embarrassed, why didn't you release it under a fake name?"
"I thought it would be fun to see if anyone would notice." Mark replied, the stupidity of the statement causing him to cringe "I mean, who would think there is someone named WhiteMark out there?"
Just then he seemed to notice something very important.
"Wait…" He squinted his eyes, unsure if they were playing tricks on him. The site opened on the doctor's computer was without a doubt Dream, the digital distribution site he used to release his game. That could only mean one thing. "You still have internet?"