Chapter 23 - Interview with a vampire

"Where are you from?"

"Listen, you better not know"

"You saved my life, at least give me your name"

«Ratvert is my name and you must be this alchemist from Mancrisse»

"From where do you have this information, I have no notoriety on these lands or even on any land"

"Well, we've been traveling together for a while"

I understood then all these strange events that followed us: the fog in the day, the panic fear of creatures, ...

"You were hiding? But for what reason?"

I knew vampires were frowned upon and often hunted.

"Simply put, I am the son of Viro, the noble in green clothing, and the purpose of this escort was to take me to a village of black moon, a few kilometres from the mine."

And why this particular village? Is it a vampire gathering? Vampires of a solitary nature rarely allied and it took at least two enemies in common to hope for an alliance.

"There is none, this village was once enchanted to reverse the rays coming from the sun hence the black moon. This allows all its inhabitants to lead a staggered life and they are for the most part scholars in search of an answer, members of the holiness of the kingdom of Lamaliam and brigants in hiding.

«I understand then it is true that the sun kills vampires»

Not exactly, to put it simply, a vampire's mana is different from that of a human. It draws its strength in the extremely calm mirror that we master. The sun, on the other hand, agitates the mirics of our system and this causes a vampire to age prematurely."

What are we going to do with the two mercenaries now?

"Let's leave their bodies there, it's not like we're in town"

And so I was the acquaintance of Ratvert.

Before I came out of the mine, I was tearing the Goliath apart and extracting etheric waves from their bodies to increase my experience. We arrived in front of the wagon on which the two nobles were waiting for our return. The noble had a hiccup when he saw that Ratvert was accompanying me.

"What happened? Where are the other two mercenaries?"

"A Goliath. It was huge and terribly powerful. He killed them one by one and I was next when your son saved me in just two strokes.

"I hear, you have discovered our secret and I would like this information to remain sealed, what is the price of your silence?"

I did not want to take advantage of the situation however an idea came to me.

"I could be useful to you and especially to your son. I studied while I was resting a basic guide on the bestiary and its legends. There is a potion of which a drop suppresses the effects of the sun. If you help me improve this potion, I'll give it to you for some extra room for the escort.

The truth was that it was through my system that I discovered such a potion but I didn't want to reveal too much.

Ratvert was very attentive to his father's answer, so that he could live in peace in the sun.

"What do you think, son? You are the master of your way"

"I accept!" exclaimed Ratvert. I smile.

Ratvert was 22 years old and rather thin for his colossal strength. He was constantly surrounded by cold. A calm mirror at a certain level slowed the movement of atoms according to its capacity. This aura inspired shivers on my spine. He was not handsome or ugly. A smooth face, reddish eyes, short cut hair and a silver hue. I was curious about the adventures he had gone through, and there was no shortage of time.

I am currently level 4 in alchemy and I had to reach the 6th level to make this potion. The system showed me the potions available on some higher level probably to encourage progression.

"By the way, did you recover the wealth from the mine?"

We didn't have time to take care of it, and we were on the 4th of 15 floors, the monsters would have passed us."

"Then we'll settle for the minerals you mined, that'll be enough"

The day rose and we left after drinking ramibix tea. Ratvert hid in a wooden box shaped like a coffin.

The village of our path was only 30 km from the gap where I wanted to go. I could probably, as I had planned, increase levels with all the ingredients that were there.

Ratvert will have to accompany me in the breach and his help will not be refused.

Nothing abnormal was on the road. Then I let myself meditate quietly to the sound of the wheels of the wagons on the ground. A sound of *clac* echoed in the box a fog formed around us. Ratvert emerged from his box and came to meet me.

"For our trip, do you know where we're going?"

Indeed, we are going through a breach, it is a kind of portal leading to another planet, there are many ingredients as well as some unknown species

And you think you're strong enough for these animals?

"I have some offensive abilities but I doubt they will be effective against behemoth or tall creatures, I fear your help will be indispensable."

"I have to tell you that I don't like to fight, I'm rather fearful you know and I like to stay away from any conflict," Ratvert replied.

"Maybe you could teach me a skill? For example, this fog, I could learn to produce it."

"I'll have told you before we get to the village."