NOVEL WEB Chapter 13: Elder Ravenkin
[… Life essence extracted. You have broken through to level 9 of the Greater Vampire Count Realm!]
[One ability extracted. Ink Generation. The ability to generate and squirt or spray ink to blind opponents on land or obscure your exit underwater. Would you like to assimilate Ink Generation?]
'Yes, please.'
[So polite. Ink Generation assimilated. Would you like to view your list of abilities?]
'Not right now. Later, definitely.'
[Understood]
Huh. Maybe I just needed to be nicer to the system and it would be nicer to me. Amazing how kindness brings kindness.
Victoria came over to me and kneeled down next to me. "Hey. What's going on?"
"I'm tired," I said.
"I can see that," she said.
"I may be going about this whole assassin thing the wrong way. Maybe if I just talk to the families of the bullies, we can sort this out," I said.
"It's possible. It's also possible pigs could fly and a solid gold egg could come out of my ass," she said with a sarcastic smile.
"Right. Well, taking the fight to them, figuratively or literally, is better than nothing. What would you suggest?" I said.
"I think you should ask Elder Ravenkin yourself for help. He might be more willing to get directly involved if he meets you," Victoria said.
"That's not a bad idea. Can you introduce me to him?" I said.
"Yes, but you need to get cleaned up first," she said.
I looked at my squid gut covered self. "I do. Join me?"
"Sure," she said.
-
After showering, I got dressed in clean clothes, and we headed to Elder Ravenkin's place. On the way, I remembered the lifeblood pills I got from the Outer Sect Disciple exam. I emptied the small pill bottle into my mouth and swallowed the pills with some water.
[… Life essence absorbed. You have broken through to level 9 of the Major Vampire Marquis Realm!]
Nice. Another two realms down. I was getting so close to the Vi Condensation Realm I could almost taste it.
We arrived at a huge palace. I didn't even think a place this big would exist down here, but there it was. A gothic masterpiece of obsidian and silver, its towering spires nearly scraped the artificial sky. The entrance was a massive archway, framed by stone carvings of bats and wolves. Blood-red rubies studded the door.
"Nice place," I said.
"You should see the inside!" Victoria said.
"Well, I am going to see the inside, aren't I? Isn't that why we're here? To go inside?" I said, mildly confused by the way she said that.
"Well, yeah, obviously. Silly me," she said.
Huh. I don't know if I'd ever seen Victoria admit a mistake before. It was probably a sign I was growing on her. That or she was tired from our 'shower.'
We knocked on the door, and almost immediately it was opened by man with long white hair, wearing a red cloak with black raven feathers on the collar. A raven was perched on his shoulder.
"Come in. Come in," he said. "My name is Elder Ravenkin. You are Dylan I presume?" He put a hand out.
I shook it. "Yes. It's a pleasure to meet you, sir."
"Don't call me sir. My underlings call me sir, and it drives me crazy. Call me Aldous," he said with a devilish grin.
"Aldous. We've come to seek your aid in the matter of the assassins that keep attacking me on academy grounds," I said.
"Yes, Victoria informed me of that. I sent guards with her. What happened?" He said.
"They, umm, died. Assassins killed them," I said.
"That's terrible news. What would you like me to do about it?" He said.
"Can you talk to the families and get them to back off? I would do it myself, but I'd probably end up having to kill some of them, and then I would be even worse off than I was before," I said.
"We apply a sink or swim method here at Sanguis Vampire Academy. I could intervene further, but there would have to be an equivalent exchange. Giving things out for free breeds entitlement and weakness," Aldous said, steepling his fingers.
"Ok. What can I do for you that you would consider equivalent?" I said.
"First, you must become my direct disciple. How long have you been a vampire? A week, and you're already a vampire marquis? I want to nurture that talent. I think you could do great things here with the right guidance," he said.
"Second, I want to send you on a diplomatic mission to another sect as my direct disciple to try to engender better relations with them. And retrieve some things they stole from me a long time ago."
"That sounds like it will take a long time. A lot longer than I have to get these assassins handled," I said, concerned.
"Oh, don't worry, I'll go to the families right away. I just need you to promise me you'll do these things for me. Also, your train leaves in an hour," he said, smiling.
"Ok, I'll be your disciple, and I'll go on the trip," I said. "Oh and it hasn't been a week. It's been about twenty-four hours that I've been a vampire."
"Twenty-four hours? That's inconceivable!" Aldous said. "I've never heard of such rapid progress. You must be blessed by the goddess."
"Oh, I am," I said. "The goddess Shikasa literally blessed with a system to guide me on my path."
"What?" Aldous said.
"What?" Victoria said.
"What?" The raven on Aldous's shoulder said.
"Yes. I don't know if the system gave me these powers or if it's simply guiding me on how to use them, but it helps provide me with information when I need it to progress. And it says the goddess gave me the system," I said.
"Huh." Aldous said.
"Huh." Victoria said.
"Huh." The raven said.