Chapter 316: The Vampires

Vampires followed a similar magic system to humans, forming rings around their heart to become a mage, or forming a mana heart beside the real one to become a knight. What differentiated them from humans was that their talent wasn’t fixed at birth.

They could actually evolve their talent to some extent by drinking blood of higher quality. Since they could only have one bloodbound in life, they chose someone of high talent who could help them evolve their talent.

Just like meridians and cores, a person’s DNA also evolved after each breakthrough.

In simple words, a Four Star Knight possessed superior blood to a Three Star Knight.

Naturally, the quality of blood also depended on the species itself. Beastkins generally had the lowest blood quality. Humans were considered average at best. Only superhumans above five rings or Four Stars were considered worthy of a chance to become a Vampire’s bloodbound. Still, Vampires generally avoided making a human their bloodbound due to their short lifespan.

Royal Vampires were different. They needed neither rings nor a mana heart to manipulate mana. Their blood itself carried mana, with their true heart serving as the pump, much like dragons.

Seraphina usually cast spells with mana alone, using her blood only as a conduit. But when she used Sanguine Flame Art, her literal blood became the spell’s fuel.

The Royal Vampires didn’t need to absorb a core either. They were born with a Primordial Core, but they still wouldn’t begin practicing magic until they turned fifteen, the ideal age at which the core became capable of storing mana.

Unlike humans or regular vampires, who could go through eight stages of evolution, from One Ring to Eight Ring, or from One Star to Eight Star, the Royal Vampires underwent only four stages of evolution.

Blood Lord→ Blood Monarch → Vampire Sovereign → Primordial Vampire

After drinking Vlad’s blood when he returned from the Dark Continent, Seraphina reached the peak of the Blood Lord Stage, someone as strong as an early Stage Five Ring Mage.

The power of a Blood Monarch ranged from Middle Stage Five Ring Mage to Late Stage Seven Ring Mage.

Vampire Sovereigns were as strong as an Eight Ring Archmage, a level that Carmilla Vesper, the previous Vampire Queen, had reached.

The Primordial Vampire possessed the power so far beyond mortal limits that it bordered on the divine. No human had ever reached it with the sole exception of the Legendary Knight, of course.

"Woahh!!" Vlad gasped as Seraphina completed her lesson on Vampires. "Royal Vampires are just born different."

"Of course," Seraphina said, flipping her hair smugly. "Address me as My Queen, commoner."

"So we are back to noble and commoner, huh?" Vlad asked, giving her a narrow-eyed stare.

The duo were sitting on the edge of the bed, their feet resting on the floor.

"Aren’t you?" Seraphina asked, pinching his cheeks with both hands. "My cute commoner."

Vlad just turned his gaze sideways, neither accepting nor rejecting her statement. He removed her playful hands from his face and asked, "Didn’t you feel furious when you realised that a D-Rank had become your Bloodbound?"

They weren’t close back then. Since she had the high ambition of defeating her father in a magic duel, drinking Vlad’s blood could have permanently limited her to the Blood Lord Stage. Yet she never showed any sign of frustration or anger, even though the blood of the bloodbound was what vampires needed to ascend to the next stage.

"Why would I be angry at someone who saved my life?" Seraphina scoffed as if stating a fact. "If you hadn’t given me your blood back then, I would have either drunk the blood of that fiend or become a fallen vampire."

"Fallen Vampire?" Vlad asked, tilting his head.

"Vampires who fail to receive blood in time turn into fallen vampires," Seraphina explained in the tutoring tone she used whenever teaching Vlad. "Fallen Vampires are basically demons who have lost their sanity. They kill anyone who possesses blood."

Her brows furrowed in annoyance at Vlad as she muttered, "Never insult my Vlad again by saying he is low-ranked!"

She grabbed the collar of his t-shirt and declared, her pink eyes fixed on his crimson ones, "If I were given the choice again, I would still choose you as my Bloodbound. Even the thought of drinking the filthy blood of any other person turns my stomach."

Vlad’s eyes slowly lowered, trying to hide the guilt filling them. Seraphina had laid every secret bare before him without a flicker of hesitation. And here he was...not only keeping secrets about himself but also about her mother from her. Did he truly deserve the trust of such an incredible girl? he wondered.

"Vlad, is everything alright?" Seraphina’s soft voice pulled him out of his daze. As his eyes rose to meet her enchanting face, small nose, naturally red-tinted lips, and those warm pink eyes that carried nothing but adoration for him, his heart skipped a beat.

She was precious to him. Too precious for him to bear the sight of betrayal on her face. But even more precious to allow anyone to cause her harm.

When she finally found out the truth, Vlad would accept any punishment she gave him. Until then, he would keep her as far away as possible from the matter of Excidus.

"Sera..." he finally spoke, placing his large bandaged hand on her soft cheek. "I love you."

The unforeseen confession took her completely off guard. A blush surged to her cheeks, a gasp escaping her lips. She felt butterflies dancing all over her stomach.

"Wh-what’s with the sudden confession?" she murmured, her voice dropping low with shyness.

"I just felt like I should say it," Vlad replied, his bandaged fingers brushing against her cheek, his eyes never leaving her face.

Seraphina gently lowered his hand from her face. "Don’t move your hands. Your wounds will hurt."

She rose from the bed and moved towards the window, where the moonlight and the cold breeze were drifting in. She closed the glass window and drew the curtains.

"Noah isn’t coming back, right?" she asked, standing facing the curtains.

"No, he is in the infirmary," Vlad replied.

"Good. I will be staying the night," Seraphina declared, looking back over her shoulder, her pink eyes carrying something more than just affection this time. "You don’t mind, right?"