Chapter 101: The Most Important Decision So Far

POV Eliza

After the conversation, I was completely tired and mentally exhausted, more so than I had ever been in my life. No wonder, given what I had learned from Luna. I was a vampire? And that was a condition that could be removed? That contradicted what I knew about vampires from my world. But not only could the condition be removed, it could also be replaced by another. What did Luna call it? Race evolution? That sounded very fantastic and that meant something in a world full of magic. And I could choose what I wanted to become? I was totally overwhelmed.

I was completely lost in thought as I made my way back. I didn't pay any attention to my surroundings and it was only thanks to my luck that I arrived in my room unseen. It was thanks to my exhaustion that I fell asleep instantly. When I woke up in the morning, the first thing I did was check my status. I saw the first change straight away. I had a second class, acolyte of Luna. This resulted in a second level with a separate EXP display and significantly increased characteristics. As a result, my HP, SP and MP were suddenly significantly higher. Apart from that, I only see Darkness Resistance and Ritual Magic as new skills. Before I thought about anything else, I went for breakfast.

Tamina was sitting next to me and the other children were also at the table. Then we heard excited chatter outside. We looked at each other questioningly, but none of us knew what was going on. The two adults who were also in the room also left the dining room. Shortly afterwards, Brinna entered the room.

“We've had an intruder in for the night. Until further notice, no one is allowed outside until the situation is resolved.” <Brinna>

I immediately remembered that I hadn't closed the door to the shrine. I had inadvertently caused an incident, but then again, I didn't care. I had other things on my mind. So I didn't take part in the speculation that broke out among the children. Tamina looked at me sympathetically, but didn't say anything. She already knew that I wasn't feeling well at the moment. I was glad that she didn't ask me any more questions.

During the morning, we were all asked if we had noticed anything during the night. I managed to talk my way out of it by saying that I hadn't seen any strangers during the night. The only person I had seen was a member of the community. I didn't feel comfortable, but there was no way I could admit it. I had to keep my connection to Luna a secret, even if they were Luna's followers. Maybe one day I could talk to Master Freyna about it, now that we both shared the same second class. In the afternoon, I was called to Brinna again.

“Hello, Eliza, come here and sit down. We need to talk.” <Brinna>

I sat down after she asked me to. The beginning of the conversation didn't promise anything good.

“You've heard that we're having some internal problems right now. We want to keep you out of it. Freyna won't be here until tomorrow, but we'd like to have some initial results by then. You won't be able to help us in this matter, so we'd like to ask you if you can find somewhere else to stay. It's unpleasant, but if our suspicions are confirmed, we could be exposed. Then it would be better if you were no longer here, if only to feel safe.” <Brinna>

“There's nothing we can do. Then it will be better if I get ready to go straight away. Tamina will be unhappy when I leave, but she'll understand. I'll come back to visit next year. Is that all right?” <Eliza>

“No problem at all. We'll know what happened by then.” <Brinna>

That was the end of my short time in Lichtburg. I felt guilty because I was to blame for the situation. On the one hand, it was a shame, but on the other, I had done what I had come here to do. The only problem was that I couldn't talk to Luna again. She was waiting for my decision, but I hadn't made it yet. Maybe I'd had an intuition over the winter, but that sounded like divine influence again. I had to come to a decision myself.

I then returned to Tyros. I was able to pass the city gate of Lightburgh without any problems, apparently they had stopped looking for me. Or they no longer expected me to be in Lightburgh and had let their guard down. In Tyros itself, I lodged in the Red Deer again. I had enough time on the way here to come to a decision. In the end, the advantages outweighed the disadvantages and the biggest obstacle was my idea of vampires and the other alternatives. Giving up all the advantages was out of the question. I always had to keep in mind that I would face the four heroes at some point and I had to be prepared for that. I was alone and there were four of them, so I had to use all the advantages that were available to me.

That evening, I remembered the contact ritual and immediately tried out what I had learned from Luna. I had raised the skill to tier 1 for it, but it took a long time to perform. Time wasn't the problem at the moment. The connection built up very slowly until I received an answer in my mind.

“Oops, Eliza? Are you no longer at my shrine?” <Luna>

“No. I left the entrance to the shrine open when I returned from our last conversation and it was noticed. You mentioned so many things that overwhelmed my mind, so I didn't pay attention.” <Eliza>

“That's understandable, but it can't be helped. You would have needed the information at some point and we're lucky that nothing worse happened. It could have ended badly if you had lost control at the wrong time. Where are you right now?” <Luna>

“I'm back in Tyros in my room. I spent half the evening here trying to establish a connection with you.” <Eliza>

“That's normal. It goes faster as you level up. What I'm more interested in is, have you decided yet?” <Luna>

“But you're impatient. Don't you have any faith in me?” <Eliza>

“Of course I trust you, otherwise I wouldn't have chosen you. What do you think of me?” <Luna>

“I was only joking. And yes, I've made up my mind. I promised you that I would help you. That's why the complete loss is unacceptable. But I definitely don't want to become a werewolf either. Becoming a shapeshifter sounds like the most sensible and safest option, but I'm afraid that won't get me very far. I'm afraid I'll have to take some risks and make the bravest choice. That leaves the vampire, even if I'm a little scared of it. I can't just forget the stories of Earth, as well as the greater sensitivity to sunlight. I already have a weakness to sunlight and I don't know how bad it will be. It probably won't end with a sunburn. Can you explain in more detail how I can avoid the bloodthirst? I never want to lose control like that again. Preferably also how bad the sensitivity will get.” <Eliza>

“I'm pleased with your decision. I'm much more reassured and relaxed now. As for your question about the thirst for blood, there are various options. The easiest option is to simply drink blood. Eating bloody meat also works, but not everyone likes that. Stealing mana also works, whether with the ability or with the corresponding spell. As a dark elf, you have another option. Here you can also make do with fighting. It's not a complete solution, but you can use it to stretch out the time until the next blood. I confess, this is also why I reincarnated you as a dark elf, in the hope that you would choose this option.” <Luna>

“No problem at all. I can understand that you want to win the competition with Lumos and that you wanted to create the best possible conditions for me. It was a risk because you didn't know what I would choose, but I could have done a lot worse. I'd rather be an elf than a dwarf, no offense to dwarves. I've long realized that I have a bad standing in the Empire, but thanks to my transformation skill I can at least turn into a human and pretend to be one. So far, I've managed to fool everyone. But I have one more question. Can I also deactivate skills?” <Eliza>

“Why is that? Which skill do you want to deactivate?” <Luna>

“As grateful as I am for regeneration, I've had a few problems hiding the fact that I don't need healing. There will certainly be times when I have to do without it for the sake of my stealth, for example when I'm part of a party. I'm sure there are also other skills that need to be deactivated depending on the situation, at least temporarily.” <Eliza>

“Yes, you can, but it requires a lot of mental control. You have to remember to deactivate it, and with a lot of practice you can even lower a skill without turning it off completely. I think Clear Mind is the skill. Concealment doesn't help you with that, as it only helps to fool appraisal skills. But I haven't answered your second question from earlier. Your sensitivity to sunlight results in a burn on your skin, which drains your HP. It's about as strong as advanced regeneration, only as a loss. At this level, you won't see any signs apart from clearly reddened skin. So your skin is not smoking, as you probably fear. But it's painful, no question.” <Luna>

“That sounds unpleasant. That means I shouldn't turn off my regeneration during the day, as it absorbs my loss from the sun. Now I'm even happier that I've mastered this skill. And I've heard of the other skill before. I think the magic teacher mentioned it once. I'll find out in winter if I can learn it from him. Oh, my MP has dropped considerably, but I should have a lot more now.” <Eliza>

“That's because you have to maintain the connection entirely under your own power. At the shrine, the statue uses some of my power and you use less. Keep practising using your new abilities and surprise me with your progress next time. I'm looking forward to it. One more hint, with this connection I can only provide you with information. If you had opted for defense, you would have had to find a statue of me so that I could access your core. The same applies so that I can finally break the seal on the vampire. Sleep well, Eliza, you're doing very well.”<Luna>

I didn't get a chance to answer her before the connection broke. It didn't take me long before I fell into a deep sleep.