Chapter 3: Chapter 3: Hello, Love
The notification pulsed in his vision like a second heartbeat.
╔═════════════════════════════════╗
║ ⚠ NOTIFICATION: Overuse of ability has triggered Star Palace resonance. ║
║ LIGHT PALACE — First Star Ignited! ║
║ [★☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆] 1/9 ║
║ NEW SPELL UNLOCKED: ║
║ ◀ LIGHT PULSE ▶ ║
║ Releases a blinding burst of light in all directions. Effective against dark-aligned creatures.║
║ Stuns for 2-5 seconds. ║
║ Mana Cost: 15% of total MP ║
║ Cast Time: Instant (No incantation) ║
║ Short Incantation: "Light Pulse" ║
║ Range: 30 meters ║
╚═════════════════════════════════╝
Lucian blinked at the notification, then grunted. "Could’ve told me that before I almost died."
The system, of course, said nothing.
Useful thing. Annoying as hell, but useful.
He filed the information away — Light Pulse, instant cast, stun effect, anti-dark creature bonus — and turned his attention back to the matter at hand.
The corpse.
The scarred hunter lay in a spreading pool of his own blood, chest caved in, eyes open and glassy. His name had been... something. Lucian didn’t remember. Didn’t care. The man had been F-rank. The only thing about him that mattered now was what was leaking out of his ruined body.
Lucian crouched beside the corpse, his shadow falling across the dead man’s face.
His fangs extended with a soft click — that sound still sent a thrill down his spine — and he lowered his mouth to the wound in the hunter’s chest.
The first taste hit his tongue and his eyes rolled back.
"Mmmmm..."
Rich. So much richer than the shadow hound. Human blood was different — warmer, sweeter, laced with mana that tingled as it slid down his throat. It was like comparing rotgut to aged wine.
He drank deeply. The blood filled his mouth in thick, hot gulps, and with each swallow, he could feel the changes. His ribs — still cracked from the boar’s tusk — knit together faster. The ache in his back where he’d hit the tree faded to nothing. His mana reserves, bone-dry from the overcharged Light Blade, began to refill as the blood energy converted.
╔═════════════════════════════════╗
║ BE: 72 → 85 → 91 → 97... ║
║ HP: ██████████ 100% ║
║ MP: ███░░░░░░░ 35% (Rising) ║
║ STATUS: Rapidly Regenerating ║
╚═════════════════════════════════╝
Lucian lost himself in it. The wet squelch of blood being drawn from the wound. The copper smell filling his nostrils. The warmth spreading through his cold body like sunlight he could never again feel.
And it was glorious.
Crunch.
He’d bitten into bone. He pulled back, licking a fragment of rib from his fang, and let out a soft breath.
"Good vintage," he murmured, echoing Dorian’s words from that night in Hollow Creek. A joke only he would ever understand.
He stood, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. The corpse was drained. What remained was a shriveled, grey thing that barely looked human anymore.
Lucian felt amazing. His body hummed with energy. His senses were razor-sharp — he could hear a beetle crawling on a tree fifty meters away, smell the fear-sweat of—
Theresa.
He turned.
She was still there. Standing frozen near the edge of the clearing, her cracked visor pushed up on her forehead, her wide eyes fixed on him. On the corpse. On the blood glistening on his chin and fangs.
She had been backing away like a rabbit trying to escape a wolf. But fear had locked her muscles, and now she stood there, trembling, her hands raised in a useless defensive gesture.
Late Neophyte Realm, Lucian assessed automatically. Her mana flow was visible to his enhanced senses — thin, weak, barely circulating. F-rank ability, probably something support-oriented. She was a non-combat hunter. A scout, maybe. Or a medic.
Lucian’s fangs throbbed.
"Hello, love," he said softly.
Theresa’s breath hitched. "S-stay back—"
"I’m still hungry."
She ran.
Or tried to. Her legs scrambled backward, boots slipping on the mossy ground, and she managed maybe two steps before Lucian moved.
One moment he was standing by the corpse, the next he was there, beside her, close enough that she could feel the cold radiating from his skin.
Theresa screamed.
"Ah—!"
Lucian’s hand clamped over her mouth, cutting off the sound. His grip was gentle — almost tender — but immovable. She might as well have been held in stone.
"Shhhh," he breathed, his lips brushing her ear. "Screaming will only attract more beasts. And I’ve already fought one tonight. I’m tired."
Theresa’s eyes were enormous. Tears leaked from the corners, streaking through the blood on her face. Her body shook against his — small, frail, fragrant.
"Please," she whimpered against his palm. "Please, I have a family—my daughter, she’s only four—"
"I had a sister," Lucian said. His voice was quiet and calm. "She was five when they took me from her. She’d be fifteen now."
His grip shifted — hand still over her mouth, but his other arm now wrapped around her waist, pulling her against him. She stiffened, a small, desperate sound escaping her throat.
"So you’ll forgive me if I don’t give a shit about your daughter."
He tilted her head to the side, exposing the long, pale column of her throat. Her pulse hammered beneath the skin — fast, frantic, delicious.
His fangs sank in.
"Nngh—!"
Theresa’s body jerked. Her hands flew up — not to push him away, but to grab his shoulders, fingers digging into the fabric of his shirt. Her back arched, pressing her closer to him.
And then...
The sound changed.
"Aaaahhhh..."
Not pain. Not a scream.
A moan.
Lucian felt it against his fangs — the vibration of her voice, the way her throat muscles contracted around the puncture wounds. He’d expected her to thrash, to cry, to fight.
He hadn’t expected this.
Theresa’s legs buckled. Lucian’s arm around her waist was the only thing keeping her upright. Her head lolled to the side, giving him better access, and a soft, breathy sound escaped her lips — "Haaahhh..." — that had nothing to do with fear.
Her body was responding.
Lucian could smell it — the sharp, musky scent of female arousal cutting through the copper smell of blood. He could feel the heat radiating from her core, the way her thighs pressed together, the subtle tremor in her muscles that wasn’t from terror.
Her panties were soaked.
Vampire venom, his mind supplied distantly. It contains a compound that stimulates the pleasure centers of the brain. Common knowledge in the clans. Louisa used it on—
He shut that thought down. Hard.
Instead, he drank.
The blood was intoxicating. Not just the taste — though that was divine, sweet and hot and laced with mana that made his emptied reserves sing — but the feeling. Theresa’s pleasure fed something in him, something primal and hungry that purred with satisfaction as she writhed in his arms.
"Hnnn... ahhh... ahhhh..."
Her fingers in his shirt had relaxed their grip — no longer desperate, but clinging. Pulling him closer. Her hips shifted against him, small, unconscious movements that she probably wasn’t even aware of.
"Mmm..."
Lucian’s eyes fluttered closed. The blood energy counter climbed — 97... 98... 99...
Full.
He pulled back.
His fangs slipped free with a small, wet pop, and the two puncture wounds on Theresa’s throat sealed almost instantly — another vampire trait he was beginning to appreciate.
Theresa swayed. Her eyes were half-lidded, unfocused, her pupils blown so wide that the iris was barely visible. Her lips were parted, her chest heaving, her skin flushed pink from her cheeks down to her collarbone.
She looked wrecked.
"Wh... what..." she breathed. Her voice was hoarse. Dreamy. "What did you... why did it... oh god..."
Her thighs pressed together again, and a small, embarrassed whimper escaped her.
Lucian wiped his mouth, watching her with cool, silver eyes. The hunger was gone — sated, for now — replaced by a lazy satisfaction that settled into his bones like warm honey.
"Vampire venom," he thought simply. "It makes the feeding... easier. For both parties."
Theresa stared at him. Her addled brain was clearly struggling to process what had just happened — the horror of watching him drain her teammate’s corpse, the terror of being hunted, and then this — the most intense pleasure she’d ever experienced in her life, delivered by the same creature that should have been her nightmare.
Her lips moved. No sound came out at first. Then, barely audible:
"Continue..."
Lucian’s eyebrows rose.
"What?"
Theresa’s face burned crimson. Her hands came up to cover her mouth, and she squeezed her eyes shut, shaking her head rapidly. "I— I didn’t— that wasn’t— I didn’t mean—"
But her body told a different story. The scent of arousal hadn’t faded. If anything, it had grown stronger.
Lucian smiled.
Amusement.
"Maybe later," he said, turning away from her. "I have what I need."
╔═════════════════════════════════╗
║ VITAL RESOURCES ║
║ ├─ HP: ██████████ 100% ║
║ ├─ MP: ████████░░ 85% ║
║ ├─ Stamina: ████████░░ 80% ║
║ └─ BE: ██████████ 100/100 ║
║ CULTIVATION BASE ║
║ └─ Neophyte Realm (Mid) ║
║ └─ BREAKTHROUGH DETECTED ║
║ Mana saturation from blood consumption has accelerated core formation. Estimated time to Late Neophyte: 3-5 days of continued cultivation. ║ ╚═════════════════════════════════╝
Late Neophyte in three to five days. Then Core Realm. Then Grand Core. Then—
One step at a time.
