Laudis went to his room. After a short search he found the knife. Firstly, he cut off the second sleeve to make the shirt even. Then the boy sliced the material so it would resemble an eye patch. It wasn't as well done as the original one, but at least it matched in some way. The kid left the room and headed to learn.
'I have to read again. I need to understand the vampires better. I only know the basics, I have to expand my knowledge. After that I will leave the castle, I won't create any more problems esepcially to the staff. One last visit in the library. One lastbook...' Laudis thought walking to the library.
"Pardon my ignorance," he said after bumping into someone.
"No worries," replied Elisabeth.
"You are going out of the library?"
"Yeah, the king sent me a letter which I recently acquired. He asked me to come to the guild because of fairly priced books."
"Can I get the key to the library? I will close it up as soon as I leave it."
"I don't know if I'm allowed to share it..." she murmured.
"King ackowledges that I can use the library, so I can obtain it. If he would have any problem with that I will take the responsibility," he stated gently holding her hands.
"Oh. Okay, just give it to the Brin after you are all done."
"Who is that?"
"The captain of the guards. Haven't you met him?"
"Yeah... I met him."
"Great, so you know him," replied Elisabeth with a very subtle smile, handing the key.
"Thanks."
'I sold my dignity for the knowledge. I am doomed... Besides I will meet with the clown mask again. Only one more night. Only one. In the morning I will leave this place. I always opt for non-violent solutions. Sadly mankind is wicked and driven by emotions like kids. I act out my fake feelings, people act out their fake stoicism. We are not the same, not even in a bit...' thought Laudis walking to the library.
The kid inserted the key and rotated it in the lock. The door was pretty beat up, yet its mechanism was still in good condition. He opened the library and entered it. Now the books were placed correctly, so you could actually walk there with ease. The windows allowed light to enlighten the shelves filled with various texts. Despite the huge amount of them Laudis didn't feel overwhelmed by them even a bit. The boy wasn't a fan of reading, but he knew that the writings were more objective than people's words.
'There is only one certain thing in life. Even if people are incorrect they will lie just not to admit their fallacy. Humans are born as liars, only some choose not to lie everytime they open their mouths. I am no hero, I am a liar like the others. Unlike them I at least acknowledge my wickedness,' thought Laudis looking for the book.
The books mostly covered the normal animals rather the magical ones. Even in the magic aisle there wasn't any book talking about the vampires. He took the key with the skull keychain and opened the room with banned books. There were only two books on that topic - "The Immortal Delivs" by Jolie Daniau and "The Winged Night Creatures" by Longinus Li Fonti. After a closer inspection the boy decided to read the second book because it was more recent - twelve years old instead of seventy-three years old.
"The Basics:
Origin of the vampires is unknown to us. It is impossible to know something for sure. Theories say that they are divine hybrid or a cursed lineage, but that is not important. Now I will go straight to the most valuable notion, that is their weaknesses. Vampires transformed into many subspecies. Ghouls evolved in the dark swamps. They lost their wings completely, but gained greater physical strength and stamina. They also became smaller and lighter, yet they are probably the strongest subspecies. Sea Drowners evolved near the sea. They transformed their wings into some kind of fin. Their ability to fly was very reduced to shorter distances, but they are the most dangerous in water or during the rain. Mirage Wings evolved in the desert. They became taller and became faster at the cost of weaker element usage. Of course there are many more subspecies, but I do not have enough time to write about every one of them.
The Most Important Aspect:
Despite various changes all of them still have the same weakness - the sun. A prophecy says that the Vampire, who conquers the sun will wield the power to free or kill the mankind."
'Sun Conquerer? That's an interesting title,' thought Laudis with intrigue.
"Even half-vampires cannot withstand the sun for more than five minutes. Every vampire's subspecies is weak to one element only, but they can resist one or more better. Full Blood (normal ones) are weak to the Fire element and resist Shadow element (curses are less effective on them). Gouls are weak to the Light element and resist both Plant and Earth elements. Sea Drowners are weak to the Earth element and resist Water element. Mirage Wings are weak to the Water element and resist both Fire and Light elements (blessings are more effective on them). I am focused on the most common ones only.
The Vampire Rank Structure:
There is a vampire hierarchy, which goes like this (from the most to the least important): Vampire King, Vampire Prince/-s, Upper Hands, Vampire Officers, Vampire Aristocracy, Vampires and Half-Vampires. The human slaves can be placed in between the normal and Half-Vampires (current king despise the impure vampires to that extent, that even humans are more valuable to him). Most are probably understandable by name alone; perhaps only the Upper Hands are an odd one. They are chosen by the king alone, they serve as the terrain rulers under the supreme authority. There are 7 Upper Hands members enlisted below:
The seventh strongest: Sloth. He is known for his ability to curse people by making their moves slower with time. He prefers exhausting his foe rather than engaging in direct combat. He uses Ice semi-element and the Whip of Sands.
The sixth strongest: Lust.Her key ability allows her to control people's minds. She can be especially dangerous one due to the fact, that the weak minded and lustful men are more prone to her influence. She uses Magma synthetized element and the Spade of Impurity.
The fifth strongest: Gluttony. His special power grants him quick regeneration of stamina and mana whenever he eats any creature, however humans satisfy him the most. He is very hard to kill because of his quick reflexes. He uses Obsidian synthetized element and the Morning Star of Hades.
The fourth strongest: Greed. Her signature skill allows her to drain mana whenever she touches the target. She uses Steel synthetized element and the Falchion of Undead.
The third strongest: Envy. His ability grants him a possibility to cast strong curses on people and to copy opponent's techniques with ease. He uses Glass synthetized element and the Crossbow of Bloodthirst.
The second strongest: Wrath. No infromation besides his Mercury synthetized element.
The strongest one: Pride. No clear information about his person is known to anyone.
As you can see, the stronger they are, the less clear the information becomes. It is due to the fact that the only sources I used are direct encounters with them. They can use only the semi-element or synthesized element, because they are annoited and thus cannot use primary ones. After they are marked their strength becomes significantly greater at the cost of their memories and emotional stability. Now I will list their power in 6 catogories: attack, defence, intelligence, battle intelligence (experience), speed and magic usage. The scale is from 1 to 10, where 1 is the worst possible outcome and 10 the best one. For refrence a perfect human with the best conditioning would get 5 points out of 10 in each category."
'Is it some fantasy book or a board game perhaps? Why the hell does he use this werid scaling system? Couldn't he just write about their best feats?' thought Laudis with disoriented look.
"Sloth:
Attack - 5,3; Defence - 6,7; IQ - 4,3; BIQ - 6,3; Speed - 4,9; Magic Usage - 7,1
Lust:
Attack - 6,6; Defence - 7,4; IQ - 6,7; BIQ - 5,8; Speed - 5,9; Magic Usage - 7,2
Gluttony:
Attack - 6,9; Defence - 7,6; IQ - 7,2; BIQ - 6,7; Speed - 6,6; Magic Usage - 7,4
Greed:
Attack - 7,4; Defence - 7,1; IQ - 7,8; BIQ - 7,6; Speed - 8,2; Magic Usage - 8,1
Envy:
Attack - 8,6; Defence - 6,8; IQ - 8,4; BIQ - 8,8; Speed - 8,6; Magic Usage - 8,6
Wrath (estimated):
Attack - 9,2; Defence - 9,1; IQ - 8,2; BIQ - 9,4; Speed - 8,8; Magic Usage - 8,9
Pride (even more estimated):
Attack - 9,4; Defence - 9,3; IQ - 9,4; BIQ - 9,6; Speed - 9,2; Magic Usage - 9,3
At last I kept the strongest foes. Current ruler of the Vampires and his only son.
Vampire Prince: Umbrosus Tenbrenum. The only son of the Vampire Monarch. He destroys whole villages by himself, ruthless and does not play by the rules to his father's anger. The only one who can kill him is the King.
Vampire King: Sanguisius Tenbrenum. The fifth king of the Vampire Empire. He has a strict hierarchy of his people, full of honour and subjective justice. Hermits say, that when he activates his signature aura, he is capable of wielding every Element. The king is also known for his signature curse: Curse of The Vampire King. The Strongest Vampire.
Umbrosus Tenbrenum:
Attack - 9,6; Defence - 9,4; IQ - 9,3; BIQ - 9,5; Speed - 9,4; Magic Usage - 9,6
Sanguisius Tenbrenum:
Attack - 9,8; Defence - 9,8; IQ - 9,9; BIQ - 9,8; Speed - 9,9; Magic Usage - 9,9
But don't neglect the vampires, who are lower in hierarchy. The Vampire Officers and Aristocracy can be even as strong as Lust, but these groups vary much. Some are weak with no fighting capabilities and there are some like Moon — one of the most experienced generals, very dangerous, without the anoitment he is still one of the strongest foes and it is advised to avoid one on one combat with him.
The Light in the Darkness:
And now a great question remains, how can a human kill those monsters if a perfect one is below the weakest Upper Hands member? That is easy, use auras. I did not use them in my calculations to give you the light. The light which enlights the darkness. That's the only upper hand (ha, ha, do you see that phrase play?)"
'That guy was real pain in a ass to be around,' he thought with disappointment.
"we have against those creatures. Now ending the part about vampires I have only one advice. Do not hold back ever, especially when your opponent is one of them. Vampires are even more wicked than us humans, so do not listen to them even a bit. They do not know what is morality, empathy or honour. Kill them as soon as it is possible."
'They lack everything the human emotions and empathy. To be honest I resemble a vampire more than a human. Maybe I am really a vampire... Nah, I don't crave blood nor flesh... yet,' thought Laudis placing the book in its original place.
Laudis closed the room and the the library. The kid walked to the guards with the key. He really did not want to meet again the clown mask Brin, but he had no choice. The boy slowly opened the doors and everyone started looking at him. The captain sat in the middle with the bandaged leg.
"What do you want now?!" a guard shouted.
"I am here only to pass the key to the library. You all can calm down, today is the last day I spend in this castle. Tomorrow I leave it at as soon as the sun raises," Laudis tried do deescalate the situation.
"Come to me," said Brin with stoic face.
The kid went up to him, but he did not let his guard down. He knew that it was better to be secured, so he already started reaching into his pocket with the knife. The captain laid a hand on his shoulder.
"I apologize for this morning. My emotions took the best of me. I should just talk to you instead of trying to kill you."
"Yeah, not a big deal I guess. Here, I will go now," he replied handing the key.
"Wait! Here, I had it in my pocket. I think it belongs to you," the captain passed the eye patch.
"Thanks."
The boy left the room.
"Why did you slide him off so easy captain?!"
"He isn't a threat, he is actually an ally. A valuable ally. He doesn't look strong, but his battle expierience is remarkable," he replied drinking beer.
The sun began to hide behind the horizon. Laudis decided to go to the kitchen one last time and then to go asleep. He walked straight to the room without any problems besides a vase, which he knocked. The kid caught it mid air preventing the unpleasant consequence.
"Hey, are you there Leon?!"
"Yeah, coming! So what brings ya here?" asked Leon holding a steel spaddle.
"Do you have any leftovers for me?"
"Of course. Here ya go," he passed down a plate with a half loaf of bread, sausages and ham.
"Thank you a lot, I will repay you one day. I promise it to you."
"Nah, ya all good. So what's yar plans for tomorrow?"
"At the sunrise I leave the castle. Some people dislike my presence and I don't mind it. Also I probably have to start trainging for the second and third trial. To be honest I don't know much of them, king didn't specify anything about them."
"Second trial is physical training. You have to be able to achieve a set goal. The targets vary, some had to dig a specific amount of stone, else had to hunt down animals or even kill the bear with a knife only," the cook said looking down.
"How do you know so much about the second trial?" he wondered with disbelif.
"I tried to become a Crusader. I completed my second trial, I had to kill eighteen mammals in twelve hours. Yet I couldn't complete the third trial."
"What is the third trial?"
"I can't tell you."
"Why?"
"I am forbidden to tell anyone by the blessing I recived. I am still in its influence for three more years. You can try to become a Crusader once every ten years."
"That's quite a serious protocol if you ask me."
"Yeah, they are really strict on that matter. Now, did it taste good?"
"Yeah, thanks again. I will send the money for them as soon as I make some," he stated leaving the room.
"Don't worry too much about that. Just pass the exams!"
Laudis went to his room. He finally changed the primitve eye patch for a normal one. The kid again cut off the moonlight source. He took off his "custom" made shirt, boots and trousers and laid on the bed.
'In the morning I leave this place. I don't care wheter I have to go on foot or ride a carret. Now only one thing is left. What this page means exactly? I don't see any resemblence with any living creature. It kinda looks like an oversized gargoyle or a birdman. And that phrase "Vur Ceso Thamino Pi Tesing Remo". Maybe Will knows about it, he is the only one I can share the page with. The only one who can't share the information,' Laudis though holding the page.
After a while he hid the page in the shoe insole and went asleep. The kid was in the different place. Unlike the first one it was gray area with two charis and massive clock on the ceiling. The room's gravity and air were normal. As soon as he sat down at the chair the clock started to run and Will summoned on the second one.
"Greetings mortal."
"Greetings immortal."
"What brings you here?"
"The page, do you know anyting about it?"
"What page?"
"Damn. I don't have it with me," Laudis realized with frustation.
"You can imagine anything here. You can create its replica without any problems. Of course if you remember it."
"Imagine you say? Okay... Oh, here," he passed down the page.
"Hmm... A creature with abnormally huge wings, holding a sword and a book. The phrase "Vur Ceso Thamino Pi Tesing Remo" also is gibbrish. Hard to tell anything clear about it, it is for sure some sort of a living creature. The words don't ring a bell to me, it is some sort of coding. Judging by its position I can tell that only letters were shuffeled, but spacing and letter count is still the same. I advice you to try break the code in free time, it can be useful later. Also I don't think that anyone alive might be able to decode it. If you want I can do it for you, but you know what I request right?"
"Yeah, a sacrifice. What should it be for you to solve it?"
"Let me think... I want to take the control of your body for a week, I won't kill you or anyone else. Do you accept the deal?"
"Nah, I doubt it will come handy in the future. Besides I didn't even kill a Vampire Aristocrat yet so why bother with perhaps myths?"
"As you wish? Are you content now, Laudis?"
"Yes. I end the meeting."
The clock's hands began to move uncontrollably fast and hit the 12:00. The loud screech echoed in the room waking Laudis up. It was a sunrise.