A Vampire Among Wolves

Klaus is fascinated with cultivation as it allows people to become stronger and immortal. So, Irina wastes no time before starting to explain to him everything she knows about it.

She starts by saying that the word cultivation was brought to their continent by humans a long time ago; it encompasses every form and technique a being can use to gain more power.

The ancient people of the forest have techniques that involve nature and the elements to gain power and use powerful combat techniques. But the humans are very varied and have the most sinister and corrupt forms of cultivation, especially those necromancers.

In any case, people use cultivation to get more powerful and overcome the limits of their bodies. Every time someone manages to cross that line, they reach a new layer and gain a powerful boost in all capabilities.

Overcoming the body's limits like that takes a lot of time, effort, and magical resources, and after crossing ten layers, people reach a new realm, gaining an even more incredible power boost.

As cultivation is not easy and can be very expensive too, people spend their whole lives working on it and often die due to lack of potential. But of course, those who manage to keep growing stronger live longer and longer and may even become immortal one day.

But the path to immortality is very long, explains Irina. According to the ancient texts of her people, one must advance through seven realms to attain true immortality.

All realms are called the Martial Realms by humans and start with the Martial Novice, followed by the Martial Warrior, Lord, King, Emperor, Tyrant, and the legendary Martial Sovereign Realm.

To cross each realm, it is necessary to break ten internal layers, and each layer needs a growth of power several times greater than the previous one. Also, those realms have rank names for a very clear reason; in any society, the more powerful the person is, the more naturally they will have higher positions and influence.

Irina also explains to Klaus that their continent was called Esyna a long time ago, but at some point, humans appeared and started calling it Creocia. And currently, in their continent, the most powerful person is in the middle stage of the Martial King Realm.

"Fascinating!" Klaus comments while finding Irina very cute when giving historical explanations. "And can you recognize how powerful someone is by their cultivation?"

"Yes, we can usually feel when someone has much more powerful cultivation than us by their aura." She explains, and he understands.

But then he thinks of something about the Sect Master. "Which is the cultivation realm of that woman? I feel she is much more powerful than she looks..."

"Her?" Irina also makes a thoughtful expression. "I'm pretty sure she's in the Martial Lord Realm, but I'm not sure what stage it's; at first, I thought it was early stages, but after you attacked and she counterattacked, her aura seemed to be stronger than that, maybe middle stages."

"How powerful does that mean?" Klaus is not used to the cultivation power system, so he still needs references.

"Hmm..." Iria thinks of how to explain that. "All people are born with some amount of energy, even if it's minimal, so let's assume that a person is born with just a little power and normally grows without focusing on cultivating, remaining in the first layer of the Mortal Novice Realm..."

"Even three people like that couldn't defeat someone who reached the second layer of the same realm. And that difference gets bigger and bigger between the following layers and realms." She concludes.

Klaus figures he has a better understanding of that, but he still needs more details. "So, how many healthy adults with a basic power level can someone from the Martial Warrior Realm defeat?"

"About thirty, I guess," Irina responds. "But even in normal situations, a fight to the death is determined by several factors. Cultivation is the main thing, but people still have differences like some can be stronger, others faster... or the fact that some know combat techniques better than others."

"I see." Klaus again thinks of the Sect Master; she was the only person there who awakened his instincts, so he knew she was powerful from the start. But now that he's learned more about cultivation, he wonders how powerful she really is.

"What about you, Irina? What is your cultivation level?" He asks.

She looks away while a little embarrassed of that. "I confess that I was too proud to accept my family's help to cultivate... I tried to do everything myself, and I didn't have a good result in the last few years."

"I was almost reaching the Martial Warrior Realm before I ended up in this place..." She sighs before pointing to runes on the bars of her cage. "Now, these hateful necromancers are slowly draining my cultivation, and I don't even know how powerful I am anymore."

"So you were at the top of the Martial Novice Realm... that sounds great, but I still don't know how old you are." He comments.

Irina is happy for Klaus to praise her and also seems interested in learning more about her. "I'm turning nineteen this year; how about you?"

"2023, I guess." He speaks in a natural tone.

"Really??!?!" She is shocked.

"I thought immortal people are common in your world." He comments.

She nods as she stares into his face. "Yes, they certainly exist, but I doubt anyone reaches the cultivation peak before five thousand years, and no matter how many years we gain due to cultivation, our bodies usually visibly mature until at least the thirties."

Before Klaus can say anything, Irina approaches his cage to get a closer look at his face. "But you are over two thousand years old and still have such a young face... you don't look more than twenty."

A sad glint passes through Klaus's crimson eyes, and he sighs. "I was eighteen when the witches killed me the first time... since then, my body always goes back to how it was that time."

Irina can see in Klaus' eyes that he has been through a lot of pain and suffering, which makes her very sad. "That sucks... but now you can start over in a world where there are people like you."

"People like me?" He sarcastically comments. "I doubt it."

Irina agrees with him. "Well, not people exactly like you, but people who are also different and wouldn't judge you as some kind of freak or anything."

"Are you one of those people?" He teasingly smiles.

She can't help but blush a little and look away. "Are you going to keep flirting with me??? We're in the same boat and everything else, but I'm not looking for a husband from another world, let alone a boyfriend who wants to drink my blood!"

"Did I mention you're adorable when you're angry?" He can't resist teasing her even more.

"YOU BLOODY IDI-" She turns to yell at Klaus but then notices that he has also approached her cage and their faces end up very close.

Irina is speechless when she notices Klaus' lips so close to her mouth. She can smell his natural fragrance now, and it feels better and better.

She doesn't understand how a creature as frightening as he can be so attractive at the same time. Just as he is attracted to warm, living bodies, the living ones are also attracted to him. His body is like a trap for girls like Irina, a trap that seduces and kills the victims; but in her case, it's only the first part, of course.

"It..." She almost gets lost in his charming eyes, but Irina regains focus and tries to step away from Klaus.

"Wait!" But he takes her delicate arm again, always with a firm yet gentle touch.

She tries to get rid of him even though her body already likes his touch a lot, but then she notices something. "What is it??"

"Huh?" He is confused when she holds his hand.

"Be quiet, and don't move." She speaks in an authoritative tone as she uses her magical senses to analyze the energies within her body.

Klaus obeys Irina while enjoying the warm feel of her delicate, soft hands.

The fairy seems very focused as she feels his energies. A part of it seems to be his natural dark and bloody energy, another part reminds her of the Sect Master's aura, a third part seems even more mysterious, but another part seems similar to her energy.

"Actually, it's the same!" She exclaims before looking at him with an upset expression. "I thought you didn't have cultivation, but you're stealing mine!!!"

"What???" Klaus doesn't understand what's going on.

"I feel the cultivation growing inside you, its energy is still weak, but it's my energy!" Irina explains. "I knew I shouldn't have let you drink my blood..."

"Wait, do you feel weaker now?" He asks.

She stops to think. "Well, I feel these runes draining my energy... but how do you explain it growing inside you?"

He finally understands. "Oh, I think it has to do with my powers... I can absorb strength through blood, so I think I absorbed some of the power from your blood, but that shouldn't be harmful to you; after all, you will regenerate that blood."

Klaus' words make sense to Irina, and she feels like an idiot for having doubted his intentions. But now she is excited about the fact that he can cultivate, which makes his potential even greater.

"This is amazing!!" She smiles at him. "You already look so powerful without cultivation, so imagine what you'll be able to do when you reach some high realms... And your cultivation technique is... drinking blood?"

Klaus was more interested in helping Irina improve her cultivation so she could become immortal like him. Still, if he can also do it by drinking blood, which is basically the only way he feeds, that's indeed amazing.

He can also see how happy Irina is for him, which makes him even more sure that she is the perfect woman for him to start a new family with; whatever future waits for them, it will be bloody bright.