Chapter 45: Chapter 45: Toll (III)
Two chapters in one day? o.o
Slight gore in this chapter. It's not much, but I'm still giving a warning for it (:
Don't forget to drop those power stones!
*
"...I had a feeling it would eventually come down to this.", I couldn't help but utter.
Looking at her fangs, her saying that she requires a resupply of Mana wasn't an exaggeration. Unknown to many in the Trailsverse, Roselia is indeed not a human. Despite being a contracted holy beast to Aidios, Roselia is none other than a vampire, and the last one of her kind. Well, to be more specific, she is a second iteration of this holy beast due to some unfortunate circumstances. And back in the middle ages where vampires ran amuck, she ended slaying every single one of her kin, to the point that no other vampire exists now.
And now, Roselia probably thinks I am a very good battery for her to recharge, seeing that I am a future Awakener. She had spent a long time trying to recover her strength, but for her to undergo this ritual, she will no doubt consume a lot of Mana. I wondered if she revealed this part of her to others who were her past Awakeners?
Either way, I had already resolved myself should this situation occur. Seeing this, Roselia nodded her head at me.
"If you are ready, then get back on the bed and show your neck to me.", Roselia said.
"Understood.", I said, getting back up. My body was still pretty small for being a kid, so the moment I reached the bed again, my neck was now in line with her head. again. As for Roselia, she looked toward Aurelia and Prince Olivert again before speaking.
"I don't care what you two do right now, but you may want to look away. It may get a bit bloody.", Roselia suggested, causing the two to blink.
"Bloody? What do you mean by bloo--!?", Aurelia tried to ask, only to get interrupted by Roselia's next action. All of a sudden, she opened her mouth and swiftly moved her head in my direction. Or more specifically, my neck. Chomppp!
A low pitched sound of the side of my neck being bit into quickly spread through the room. A couple of droplets of blood escaped Roselia's grasp, only to splatter onto Aurelia's face. It was bright red.
"Ah...', Aurelia tried to reply, only for shock to return her face. She couldn't help but lift her finger to wipe off the blood, only to stare at it. "I mean seeing blood is not foreign to me, since I've fought many battles, even if they were just duels. But I wasn't expecting to see such a thing tonight...", Aurelia uttered to herself.
"Blood-sucking...You really a vampire? I thought they were wiped out...", Prince Olivert also mused to himself, seeing Roselia continue.
As for me, I winced my eyes, expecting pain to arrive. But surprisingly, after initial puncture, I felt no pain. Perhaps Roselia's fangs numbed it? I could only feel something foreign buried into my neck now, It felt pretty weird, but it wasn't unpleasant? It was at this time I heard Roselia try to click her tongue, which revealed her fangs and a rather bloody mouth. It wasn't super visible, but Aurelia and Prince Olivert were still able to see this for a split moment, and they shuddered seeing it.
"Tch, to think I would let a few drops go to waste. I really am rusty at this.", Roselia complained as she continued to drink. Most of this was muffled since her mouth was occupied. I couldn't help but chuckle hearing that.
"Heh, isn't it impolite to speak with your mouth full?", I tried to retort Roselia. However, unexpected, I actually heard my system ding inside my head, which caused Roselia to let out another low annoyed groan. As much I wanted to laugh at that, I decided not to. Instead. I closed my eyes a bit to see what this notification
[Ding! A True Ancestor rank vampire has sunk their teeth into you for the first time. Due to being a human, a new hidden Job has become available to you.
True Dhampir - Lv1
*Player currently has Job: Noble equipped. Player can only equip one Job at a time. Player has now been granted free access to switch between Jobs. Due to unlocking two or more Jobs, a Level function has been added] (A/N: I'm thinking of Jobs behaving like Master Quartz in regards to stats/abilities, what do you guys think?)
[Ding! Available Jobs: Noble-Lv1, True Dhampir-Lv1]
"Nani?", I couldn't help but retort seeing this sudden notification appear in my mind. As much as I wanted to move back a bit, I had to remain still until Roselia was done. Thankfully only a couple more moments passed before I heard Roselia do one last gulp. She slowly shifted her fangs away, revealing a bite mark on my neck. One would expect more blood to spew out from there, but thankfully it didn't. Sure enough, her fangs had healing properties. My wound began to close at a visible speed, leaving behind almost no blood at all. She used her finger to wipe away the remaining bit of it.
"Now that did the trick.", Roselia smiled, closing her mouth.
"Y-You could have at least warned us beforehand that you were going to do that!", Aurelia retorted, regaining her composure.
"How do you feel, Naoto?", Prince Olivert also asked, worried.
"...I did warn you two?", Roselia retorted back at Aurelia. As for me, I reassured Prince Olivert that I was okay.
"I feel fine. I don't even feel a bit woozy.", I also spoke out.
"All is well then. That Mana was quite exquisite If I do say so myself.", Roselia said with a grin.
"You're welcome?", I replied. "What's the next step now that you've reached enough Mana?", I decided to ask.
"Well that part is easy. I can attain my true form again, albeit only for a little while.", Roselia explained, only to immediately look at me before continuing to speak. "And no, it is not that true form you might be thinking of. This one I can show off tonight.", Roselia continued to say.
"Right. Then the floor is yours, Rose.", I responded.
In the next moment, Roselia made a swift gesture of her staff, twisting it horizontally. All of a sudden, a rather complex blueish magic circle appeared beneath her, which caught Aurelia and Prince Olivert off guard. They could only blink at something which they have likely never seen before. Hell, it seemed Roselia didn't even need an incantation for this one. She was just able to cast her transformation right off the bat.
After a moment of watching her spell, we saw white smoke puff into existence, hiding Roselia's figure, very similar to how clones appeared in Naruto. The first thing was that her limbs began to stretch, making her taller. She no longer appeared like a little girl, but rather an adult now. (A/N: pro tip on fanfics, you don't need to censor other shows).
Once the smoke vanished, a new Roselia stood before us. Much taller, and much more beautiful. Her hair now flew more closer to her legs instead of well onto the floor. But the most important thing is, she was no longer flat-chested. What replaced that were two perky mounds. She only showed this form off once or twice to Rean in the games, and I'm surprised she didn't do this more often.
But according to Roselia, she requires a lot of Mana to be in this form, but this will let her cast more effectively. And of course, this was not her Burning Sphinx form. If she entered that form, part of Valflame Palace would come crumbling down, haha!
"Looks like it was a success.", I said, giving a smile at Roselia seeing her in her true form.
"Umu, I've still got it. If I hadn't planned to cast three insignias tonight, I may very well would have a good long while in this form of mine. But alas, I am already preoccupied with tonight.".
"It's not like this will be the only time this happens, right?", I asked her.
"You are right about that. It is well into the night now, so let us begin. Naoto, Aurelia, are you ready?", Roselia asked us.
"I am.", I replied in confidence.
"As am I.", Aurelia replied with a nod.
"Good. To have me start casting my insignias, we mustn't have any interference. Since that is the case, Aurelia, please go sit on the bed. And as for both of you, you will need to remove your clothing. Make sure your backs are turned my way.", Roselia said, causing both of us to blink for a moment.
""Eh?"", Both Aurelia and I exclaimed together after hearing that.