Chapter 617: My Vampire Wife Is Jealous |
[Penalty Applied: Phase 2 duration reduced to 1 week!]
That notification had appeared on the final day.
It’ll be like Phase 2 never had a pause at all.
Luke stood in the middle of the Citadel, watching people run in every direction. The place was far more frantic now.
“Damn Chosen. They must’ve voted for this shit to happen,” someone grumbled, spitting on the ground. “We’re leaving, men. Grab your things, trade for whatever you need, buy what you can. We’ve got until nightfall to get out of here.”
The group started gathering itself around its leader while Luke watched. Rumors were already spreading that the people who had received the system summons were the ones who made everything worse. What had been decided in that vote had clearly leaked to everyone.
A similar vote must’ve happened among the Kings of the World when they decided the Event of the 51 would include everyone on Earth.
Luke passed by an area being used as a military outpost by his government. There was even a flag someone had sewn together.
“Judith?” he asked one of the guards.
“That’s me.”
“Damn. Tough luck, huh? You got trapped in that place for a while, then only a few months later you ended up here.” She gave him a tired smile. “You here to enlist? Lucky for us, we’ve got Hero Serena with us.”
“I came to see someone, but it looks like she’s still in there.”
Over the next few hours, Luke moved between different factions. More accurately, he was keeping an eye on certain important people. First, he wanted to learn more about the vampire hunters.
Charlie had explained that she had never given them a reason to come after her. During those months, she had stayed with Erza and Angie, and whenever possible, she kept her full black armor on. She only fed once every ten days or so, which she had managed to hide well from both Erza and Anne. There had been beasts on the island where she stayed, but one thing the vampire hunters had made very clear was that there were others far more dangerous.
Luke searched the city for the two Rhiannons he had seen during the vote. Eventually, he gave up. Then, as he crossed through an alley, someone moved in behind him. A knife touched his throat.
“We want to know why Lady Anne is with you and not with us,” a woman’s voice said from behind him.
“Ask your leader.”
“Lady Erza vanished.”
“Lady Anne was left in my care.”
“And you think you’ll be the one to protect our Princess Anne?”
“I made a deal with Erza. So yes.”
A way to find Elizabeth Moon.
“If you didn’t even notice me coming up behind you, how are you supposed to protect Princess Anne?”
“The color of your hair is dark black. It’s tied back with a ribbon. You’re five foot four. Around one hundred twenty-eight pounds. The dagger is in your left hand. There’s a ring blade on your right. You’ve had people following me since yesterday, rotating out in shifts with two others before that. There are five of you in this alley. One camouflaged to the right. Two hanging off the rooftop above us. The other two are at the far end. There are also four more of your people watching my friends. Should I keep going, or are you convinced?”
The dagger left Luke’s throat.
“We reject what Lady Erza said. Lady Anne will remain with us, under our protection.”
“You should be asking yourselves why she gave me that responsibility instead of one of you. And I made a very good deal. I fully intend to collect my reward when I fulfill it. I’m not giving up Anne Grimhart.”
The woman went silent, studying him. “You’d better honor your side of the bargain and keep Lady Anne safe.”
Then her body faded into the wall, vanishing into it completely. “We’ll be watching.”
Luke was left alone in the alley.
Sariel’s Eye really does have its advantages.
***
“Didn’t forget anything? Not one little thing?” Evangeline asked Jack and Layla.
“Nothing. We’ve got everything,” Layla replied.
“So you really are coming with us, Eleanor?” Evangeline asked. “You’re not staying with the heroine?”
“Serena isn’t staying in the Citadel. She’s going after a few dangerous criminals.”
Luke looked out the window at the Citadel. “The challenge may have gotten harder, but now people know which direction the mainland is. While I was crossing the ocean, I ran into a few who were desperate to get out of the sea.”
Eleanor handed each of them a backpack. They stored them in their storage items.
“There are basic survival supplies in these. No one wants their storage item breaking and everything spilling out of their pocket space, so it’s always better to keep a real pack too.”
“Go on ahead. I’ll catch up in two hours,” Luke said.
“And what are you doing, Cinderella?” Evangeline asked.
“Finding two important people.”
And he definitely was not going to wander around the Citadel with Charlie at his side while Vampire Hunters and a Hero were still nearby.
“And... me, Lord Luke?” the doll girl asked. “My... sister... said that... now... I belong to you.”
“What?!” Layla blurted.
“Temporarily, you’ll stay with me until she finishes her mission or the event ends.”
Layla seemed to understand.
“Go with them. I’ll meet up with you soon.”
Luke walked with them through the building.
“I heard there are thieves and other dangerous groups setting up ambushes on the roads outside the Citadel,” Eleanor said. “Not exactly civilized factions. The moment we leave this place, things are going to get worse than anything we dealt with getting here.”
The group left the building, and only Luke and Charlie remained.
“There’s no one near us, Master Luke,” Charlie said after a moment, using her heightened hearing and sense of smell to check.
“Then we can talk freely now. No code.”
Charlie threw her arms around him in a tight embrace.
“Master Luke, I missed you so much these past months.”
“I missed you too, Charlie.”
“I missed you too, Charlie. Me too. Hug me like that as well,” Artemis said.
Luke grabbed the necklace.
“Hey, wait!” Artemis protested, but he had already shoved it into his pocket.
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Charlie kissed him.
“Charlie, there are a few things I need to tell you about everything that happened while we were apart, with no filters this time,” he said. “The maids are probably following Anne right now. We have about two hours.”
The two of them caught each other up properly, with no coded language this time. He explained in more detail what it had been like discovering his mother was alive. He also told her more about the battle royale and about his worries regarding the Vampire Hunters.
“I don’t know if those guys walk around carrying some kind of portable vampire detector. None of the usual cliché tests work on you. You have a reflection, garlic doesn’t kill you, and you can walk in sunlight. With limits, but still.”
He knew how vampires could function because he knew Charlie’s skills. A well-fed vampire could go ten days before the Vampiric Hunger started making them waste away. But he knew absolutely nothing about the Vampire Hunters.
“Asking around is risky too, isn’t it, Master Luke?”
“I tried spying on them, but that draws too much attention. Either way, they’ll stay focused on their own business, and the heroine Serena will be busy dealing with the Reaper Court criminal.”
While they talked, Charlie explained in more detail how she had ended up with Erza and Anne.
“There were dangerous people there, but we dealt with them quickly. Me, Anne, and Erza.”
“Did Erza examine you too closely or ask a lot of questions?”
“No. The whole time, she seemed focused on Julian Grimhart.”
That was the name of her older brother.
“I was wearing armor because of the sun, but Anne told me I was very pretty when she saw me, and she was happy I had managed to get a flesh body,” Charlie said.
Anne was one of the few people who knew Charlie had once been a skeleton.
“She recognized me because of my armor. That’s how we found each other,” Charlie said.
Charlie opened her interface. Luke had already seen her new skills, but now they could finally talk through her new powers properly.
Name: Charlotte Vespertilio
Level: 79
Race: Vampire
Rank: E
Class: [Blood Death Knight (Lvl 88)]
2nd Class: [Black Ash Fighter (Lvl 83]
Title: [Servant of the Dark Lord]
Bloodline: [Bloodline of Vespertilio]
Health Points (HP): 11180/11180
Mana Points (MP): 6090/6090
Stamina: 9493/9580
Blood Core: 62/100
Stats:
Strength: 1919
Lethality: 516
Agility: 645
Dexterity: 258
Endurance: 958
Vitality: 1118
Toughness: 629
Perception: 575
Wisdom: 609
Intelligence: 656
Willpower: 540
Free Points: 0
Class Skills: [Basic Weapon Handling (Common)], [Heavy Strike (Common)], [Basic Spectral Charge (Rare)], [Crescent Slash (Uncommon)], [Whirlwind Strike (Uncommon)], [Spectral Barrier (Rare)], [Doomblade (Rare)], [Mark of Doom (Rare)], [Force Infusion (Rare)], [Doom Explosion (Rare)], [Spectral Soldier (Ultra-Rare)], [Blood Bat I (Epic)], [Vampire Drain (Ancient)], [Blood Teleport (Epic)], [Sword Vampire Drain (Epic)],[Blood Frenzy (Epic)], [Familiar Blood Bond I (Epic)]
Second Class Skills: [Advanced Hand-to-Hand (Uncommon)], [Steel Fist (Rare)], [Stunning Punch (Uncommon)], [Battle Roar (Uncommon)], [Concentrated Kick (Uncommon)], [Power Punch (Uncommon)], [Fire Leap (Rare)], [Muscle Reading (Uncommon)], [Movement Echo (Uncommon)], [Flame (Common)], [Flame Fist (Rare)], [Flame Aura (Rare)], [Basic Levitation (Ultra-Rare], [Berserker Ashen Flames I (Ultra-Rare)], [Twin Meteor Fists (Epic)], [Body Flame Regulation (Uncommon)], [Wave of Ash (Rare)], [Ignite (Uncommon)]
Race Skills: [Demonic Servant Perception (Uncommon)], [Basic Bone Regeneration (Rare)], [Bone Endurance (Rare)], [Iron Bones (Ultra-Rare)], [Night Eyes (Uncommon)], [Blood Sensitivity (Uncommon)], [Enhanced Senses (Uncommon)], [Disease Immunity (Ancient)], [Poison Immunity (Ancient)], [Vampiric Reflexes I (Ancient)], [Vampiric Aura I (Ancient)], [Weak Vampiric Charm I (Ancient)], [Vampiric Leap I (Ancient)], [Vampiric Softfall I (Ancient)], [Vampiric Strength I (Ancient)], [Vampiric Regeneration I (Ancient)], [Vampiric Bite I (Ancient)], [Vampiric Beast Devour (Ancient)], [Blood Orb (Ancient)], [Vampiric Beast Senses (Ancient)], [Vampiric Will (Ancient)],[Vampiric Claws I (Ancient)]
Bloodline Skill: [Path of the Vampiric Beast (Ancient)]
“I had to keep Lulie active, but I never used Blood Orb in front of them.”
“Lulie helps with your teleportation.”
The little bat was incredibly useful to Charlie.
“I deactivated her when we reached the city.”
“That was smart. I don’t know whether vampires from other bloodlines can have a Blood Familiar, but something like that would attract attention. Especially since Familiars are disabled for this event.”
At least, physical Familiars and rune-based ones were. Familiars created through skills counted as abilities, so those were still allowed.
Over the months she had spent away from Luke, Charlie had gained six new skills. In her Vampire race skills, she had unlocked one at level 70 and another at level 75.
[Vampiric Will (Ancient)]: The Vampire possesses a mind more resilient than that of most humanoid races, making it harder to destabilize with psychic attacks, panic, hypnosis, or even charm. A true predator cannot allow fear to dominate them, especially when battle demands composure in the middle of chaos.
[Vampiric Claws I (Ancient)]: The vampire forces blood to surge intensely through the hands, strengthening the bones while the nails sharpen and harden. The claws gain the force and precision of blades, strong enough to tear through flesh and bone with ease. When combined with [Vampiric Strength], the claws also receive a small bonus from increased Lethality.
“Claws?”
Charlie held up her hands. Her nails extended slightly, the tips sharpening into something visibly dangerous.
“They also help me grab beasts and hold them better,” she said, showing him one of the claws.
Then the nails shrank back to normal.
Something tied to hunting.
“When you chose those skills, was there any mention of the Path of the Vampiric Beast?”
“No. Just standard vampire ones,” she replied.
As a Black Ash Fighter, she had gained two more abilities, chosen from the options that appeared at levels 75 and 80.
[Fire Leap (Rare)]: The Black Ash Fighter gathers [Flame] power into the legs and launches upward in an explosive jump, leaving trails of fire in the air. The burst allows the user to reach great heights and serves both as mobility and as a way to break through encirclement or cut through crowds to reach an enemy.
[Ignite (Uncommon)]: Adds a passive effect to [Flame Fist]. Attacks made with the power of the fist now set enemies on fire, spreading flames that continue burning for a short time.
“Pugilist’s Leap changed into Fire Leap when I chose the skill,” Charlie said.
She was becoming much stronger, but what surprised Luke most were the two new Blood Death Knight skills she had chosen at levels 80 and 85.
[Blood Frenzy (Epic)]: The Blood Death Knight charges into the front line, but never without a price. When the body reaches 50% damage and carries deep wounds, this skill may be activated. The knight enters a temporary Frenzy state: all cuts begin causing bleeding, Blood-type abilities gain a 25% power increase, and the mana cost of all magic is reduced by 50%. However, the longer the knight remains in this state, the more their mind is consumed by rage, gradually reducing Perception and sanity.
A hidden card. And a double-edged knife.
“Have you tested that one, Charlie?”
“No.”
Charlie explained that she had avoided using too much of her knight-class power. That would have revealed too much to Erza, and the woman was sharp enough to figure out Charlie was a vampire.
[Familiar Blood Bond I (Epic)]: The bond between the Knight and their Blood Familiar deepens, making the creature an even more loyal and powerful extension of its master. The familiar gains greater physical strength and improved efficiency in coordinated attacks and blood drain. The maximum connection range increases to 20 meters, and both begin sharing emotions and intentions, allowing near-instinctive communication even in the middle of battle. In addition, the familiar awakens a special slot that allows the knight to share one Blood Death Knight class ability, turning the bond into a true living weapon forged from blood and loyalty.
After he finished getting a better sense of Charlie’s new powers, Luke walked to the window and looked out over the area with the Eye of Sariel. Even from that distance, he could still make out the Citadel and spy on the surrounding space.
“No sign of Angie...”
If the angel woman had cleared a Beacon and was trying to track him, she might simply be far away and still taking time to reach him.
“Or maybe she’s in another region of Sunken Realms.”
Which would mean there was no way for them to reunite.
“Master Luke,” Charlie said as she came up behind him.
When Luke turned, her eyes were half-lidded.
“Can you tell me exactly... what your story is with this ‘Zoe’?”
Oops.
“Ooops,” Artemis’s voice echoed from Luke’s pocket.
“Well... I told you, you know, she was someone I helped... and who helped me too,” he started to explain, but Charlie had already stepped closer. She began sniffing the air around him, then leaned in and smelled him more carefully.
"You are in trouble, Luke. You never should have hugged that Zoe. Very irresponsible." Artemis said out loud.
You little traitor, when you found out, you even complained that I didn’t do anything.
"I have no idea what you’re talking about..."
“What are you doing, Charlie?” he asked after a moment.
“Checking whether my man smells like another woman,” she said. Her eyes glowed red. She was in hunting mode.
“I... I’m sorry I hugged Zoe, but... in my defense, it was survival,” he said.
“Don’t forget you were both naked. Important detail,” Artemis added.
Ah, you son of a—
Charlie narrowed her eyes at him. Her fangs looked sharper than usual, and she was giving off [Vampiric Aura]. She put both hands on his shoulders and pulled him closer.
“Master Luke, you didn’t betray me with another woman, did you?” she asked seriously.
“No. Of course not.”
She stepped closer to Luke and pulled him into a hug. His head was pressed against her breasts.
“Good boy.”
Good boy?
She patted his back lightly and, with her other hand, stroked his hair.
Did that work? Crisis avoided
“Who knows. Maybe you just started a war,” Artemis said.
“You’re mine, Master Luke. Don’t fall for another woman’s tricks.”
“Never.”
Then Charlie scooped him up into her arms.
“What are you doing, Charlie?”
“The plan is to put me into your soul and get me out of the city, right, Master Luke? After you speak with those two people from your island?”
“Yes... but why are you carrying me?”
“Because before that, I want a little time with my man,” she said, still in hunting mode, utterly determined, as she carried Luke toward the room.
I don’t think this is how it usually works. Isn’t the man supposed to carry the woman?
"She’s in hunting mode. Right now, you’re the prey, Luke."
Luke pulled the necklace from his pocket.
“Wait. Don’t do that,” Artemis shouted.
And he threw the necklace to the other side of the room while Charlie led him into another bedroom and shut the door.
“Damn you, Luke! I wanted to see,” Artemis yelled from the other side.
“Master Luke, I want to make up for all the time we spent apart.”
From this point on, their moment is reserved for chapter 617.5, which obviously can’t be posted here, so it will be available exclusively on Patreon.