Chapter 136: The Dance of Underdog and Vampire, Part 1

{Jinma}

Once Ume gave the okay and one last peck of a kiss on my lips, she left the training ground's arena and joined the small group where Sue, Ren, and Mametama stood off from the rest of the audience. In the arena, there was only me and Noire with a content, gentle smirk stretched across her face.

"Allow me to give my congrats on your sparring match, Jinma," she said while clapping her hands, "A splendid show, and quite an entertaining one at that. It is the first that I have ever seen like it."

I scratched my head awkwardly and averted my gaze, "Well … I'm glad you had fun, at least." {Though I think I might have gone too far with Gabriella on that one.}

<Oh, relax. That Dullahan was obviously pent up with everything going on,> Nyra argued, reading my thoughts, <She made her choice when you offered it, so she must face the consequences. Still, though, I was surprised you used [Lubricate] to lube up those shadow tendrils. I honestly thought you would use [Contraception], and neither of us even heard of the [Lubricate] spell until now. How'd you pull that out of your ass?>

<Well, if I used [Contraception], then she would likely feel good from the tentacle play,> I explained, <I would like for that to happen with my harem and see how I can give that play to them, especially Erizora as she showed the most interest in it out of everyone. Gabriella, on the other hand, I wanted to give her a scare while delivering a hit to her pride as she suffers a humiliating defeat. You can't really have those kinds of feelings when you have [Contraception]'s lubricant slathered all of you, right? You might learn to enjoy the play, instead.>

<Okay, I can get behind that reason, and as for the [Lubricate] Null Spell?> Nyra asked.

<So … weird thing about that, I don't really know.>

<What do you mean you 'don't know'?> Nyra asked, sounding suspicious, <I know your capability to use any Null Spell after learning its name and its effects is pretty jank, but it's not like you're powerful enough to make up a totally new Null Spell out of thin air, right?>

"That aside, I have kept you in the dark of my capabilities for too long, so it is now my turn to show my stuff," Noire then said before gesturing a hand toward me, "Going by our talk over dinner last night, you seem to have a decent knowledge of us Vampires, but did you know we all possess a race-specific skill?"

<I'll explain more on that later, Nyra, gotta focus on this,> I reasoned.

<Fiiine,> Nyra whined, <But you better not forget, or I'll annoy you until you say something.>

To start answering Noire's question, I shrugged, "I figured everyone that isn't human would have something like that, and you wouldn't be an exception. Will you be demonstrating such a skill for me today?"

"Indeed," she said before reaching into her Magic Item Pouch and pulling out a jar of blood, it had to hold at least a pint's worth, "Our main racial skill, our specialty, you see, is called [Blood Manipulation]. With enough blood, no matter the species it came from, we can change it to take any shape we desire."

"So, it's like my [Darkness Manipulation], but using blood as its foundation instead of shadows," I reasoned.

Noire nodded while untwisting the metal lid and popped it open before setting the jar on the ground, "Very good, and once we are proficient enough with [Blood Manipulation], we focus on at least one weapon we want this blood to take a shape of to practice and master into a weapon mastery skill. To put a unique spin on how to use our weapons with [Blood Manipulation] is how we formulated our form of combat known as [Bloody Style], and my specialty …"

Like an interpretive dance, the Vampire gracefully motioned her hands, controlling the crimson liquid to defy gravity and flow out of the glass jar. Noire then focused on stretching the blood to be long with one end having a pointed head and half of a crescent moon jotting out from below it. The blood then filled out, becoming solid, making a long shaft, a spear head, and a curved, sharp blade. This new object was about as tall as her as she took the weapon's shaft and spun it with great speed, the curved blade cutting the air in the meantime.

With Noire's weapon complete, she got into a unique fighting stance, her violet eyes directed on me, "… Is using this scythe, fitting for a fighter who holds the Reaper class."

"The Reaper class …" I repeated.

"Is that not a Unique Class?" Kalline from the sidelines asked.

"Indeed, it is," Eugus answered with a nod, "It requires a proficiency level in [Spear Mastery] as a Spearman class before one even tries to hold a scythe. Once they learn and train [Scythe Mastery] to a high enough proficiency level, they can receive a promotion from Spearman to Reaper class. With the scythe's long reach and the skills that go along with the class and [Scythe Mastery], Reapers can ideally take out mobs of enemies in a field."

"So, it's a class that attacks in a wide range, probably as big as me and my reach with the kabodon," Erizora commented.

"I think Winny's twin brother can do that similarly as a Buster Swordsman … what was his name again?" Ren asked while looking to Ume, who last fought him as part of her adventurer rank exam.

My Dragon Wife looked down at my Werewolf Slave with a raised brow, "… What? You mean that insect with the large butterknife? I don't register names of loud, weak fighters. I just remember him being just as annoying as that fly. I only held back against said fly from the start of the match so I can showcase some of what I can do with my magic; otherwise, she'd be out within seconds after the spar started."

Just to confirm things, I used my [Size Up] skill to appraise Noire's status for the first time. As she said, the Reaper class was at the top of the list, followed by Sorceress, Fire Mage, and Thief as her secondary classes. Compared to Beelzebub, Noire has her beat in terms of stats, but not high enough to where I couldn't handle it in a fight. It's a wonder how this Vampire hasn't been appointed a position in the ministry if strength played a factor here, unless her father's more powerful than that.

As for her skillset, there were quite a bit that originated from her Reaper and Spearman classes, with some from the former that actually ignores my defenses to deal heavy damage. Basically, a Reaper in this world could play as one of my biggest threats for survival if I wasn't careful. She also has a good number of spells under her belt that would help her as a Sorceress and Fire Mage. There were even skills that I could see as being really helpful in her position as a Demon Noble, like [Perception], [Intuition], and [Deception]. All of them came from the Thief class, and it was surprising enough for her to possess such a class. Following her Thief class, she also had the [Dagger Mastery] skill at a decent level, which told me Noire may have a knife or two hidden somewhere on her person. Perhaps that was used as a last-ditch resort whenever she was cornered, or some other purpose. A few of her main racial skills, [Blood Manipulation] and [Bloody Style] weren't actually at max level in proficiency, but they were pretty high up there, as did most other skills and spells, which was surprising as she was over one-hundred-fifty years old. Maybe those with longer lifespans must take longer to master skills in exchange?

There was one out of this list that stood out to me the most, though, her [Magic Fangs] skill.

[[Magic Fangs: A skill exclusive to the Vampire race. The user's fangs are capable of piercing anything they bite into no matter what the target is made of or how high its defenses are.]]

If this incredible bite could even pierce through Chaos Metal like my tanto is made of, Vampires are a fearsome breed, indeed. It also seemed strong enough to pierce a Dragon's tough scales and especially my stupid-high defenses. The thought of Noire biting into my neck like I had seen in old horror movies, an experience that I wondered what would be like for the longest time, sent an unusual thrill down my spine. With those indescribable feelings, my gaze veered over to the Vampire's more personal information that my [Size Up] provided without shame.

{Hmm … even with her slim figure, she has a healthy body weight for her stature,} I analyzed, {Moreover, her bust size … it's close to Ume's, but with Noire's shorter height, her breasts give them a perception of bigger than normal size in proportions. They also looked to be supported well with the bra she has underneath, or would a noble like her be wearing something like a corset? Though, if her 'adventuring dress' magically contorts to her body and provides necessary support, would she be wearing a bra at all?}

<Ah, it makes me so happy to see a promising connoisseur of the female body blossom before my eyes,> Nyra commented, <And with breasts like hers, I'm sure they'll provide soothing comfort while she sates your bite fetish with her almighty fangs, creating a wondrous contrast of pain and pleasure that a masochist would die for.>

I would have made clear to Nyra that I wasn't a masochist, but the image of Noire biting me while we were in the nude had left me dumbstruck.

"You are staring at me quite hard, Jinma, is there something that catches your eye?" Noire asked before giving a knowing, teasing smirk.

{Goddammit … I'm falling for this Vampire hard, am I? I want to take her for myself, but would it even work between us?}

<I wouldn't count yourself out just yet,> Nyra intervened, reading my thoughts, <From what I'm reading, she's getting a kick out of your attention. Moreover, she was really excited to see you bullying Gabriella earlier. Add into the friction between her and Rowling, she may be ready to leave him for you if you show your interest in her as a partner. Maybe you should try to be honest in a cool way to get the point across?>

{Cool … what the hell sounds cool?} I thought quickly, "… I was just thinking for quite some time how there is more to you than meets the eye, and how much more I want to get to know you, Noire, underwear-out."

There was dead silence in the training grounds. I could feel everyone's eyes locked on me in shock.

{What the hell did I just say?! 'Underwear-out'?! What kind of message does that bring?!} I screamed in my head, feeling like I just changed the phrase 'inside-out' to something ridiculous.

<Yeaaah, you had me going there until the end, implying something totally lewd. Not that I would oppose to your advances, personally, and I give it points for creativity, but for a noble …> Nyra trailed off.

"Snrk!"

A choke broke the awkward silence and we all turned to the source. Noire stood on the other side of the battlefield, trembling, and hunched over with a hand over her mouth, desperately trying to hold back from something, but failed.

The Lady Vampire busted a gut laughing, her graceful, elegant air of a noble was shattered into pieces. Her laughter wasn't even like what I've seen from the noble character tropes in manga and anime where they were all 'Ooohohoho~'. If anything, were I close my eyes, I would think there was something like a Werehyena cackling in the area. Noire's face was beet red and was even breaking into tears.

{My attempt of being cool might be laughable, but I didn't think it was that funny,} I thought, my self-confidence taking some damage at the current development.

"Oh, my ribs, my poor ribs. I can't, I can't …" Noire wheezed between laughs, breaking out of formalities briefly, but finally calming down. Once she stopped, she turned her back to us and took a pocket mirror from her Magic Item Pouch to check herself. After the Lady Vampire straightened back up and cleaned her face with a handkerchief, she turned back to us and cleared her throat. "Goodness, I have not had a good laugh like that in ages … underwear-out, snrk. Are you trying to get to know me through what kind of panties I am wearing? Khkhkhkh," she snickered.

"Well … I'd be lying if I said I wasn't curious," I admitted. I already made a fool of myself enough already, so I thought I might as well come out with it.

Noire stifled more of her chuckles before clearing her throat again, "I thank you for your honesty, and for giving me such a good laugh as well as the show you gave in your last match, how about we make this sparring match interesting?"

Then, much to all our surprises, Noire hiked up her battle skirt, revealing the garters underneath that she unclipped from her stocking. This gave me a glimpse of her luscious, marble-white thighs, but not what panties she was wearing. The Lady Vampire was careful about keeping that hidden.

Finally, with all the garters between her fingers, she waved them next to her face with a teasing smirk, "The rules for this match will be different as we will be putting up stakes. If you manage to snatch the panties I am currently wearing, I will let you keep them."

<Holy shit! I'm loving where this is going!> Nyra yelled in my mind.

"But, as for your losing condition, let us see …" Noire trailed off, looking up in thought, but I had a feeling she was only pretending to think. She looked to have thought of something before turning back to me while tapping her own neck with her mischievous smile, "I know, how about if I get at least one scratch or wound on your body, I get a taste of your blood? Straight from your neck with my bite?"

{I see no downside to this set up,} I thought intensely.

"Lady Krauss!" Konjiro exclaimed, sounding surprisingly outraged, "Having you, a Vampire, getting a Human's blood like that would mean—!"

"I know what the underlying message implies, Konjiro," Noire interrupted while waving her hand dismissively, "I was not born yesterday, you know, and this is only between me and Jinma. Do not have your own panties in a knot over this."

<Wait, is there some deep cultural meaning for a Vampire to bite and draw blood from someone?> I asked Nyra.

<Don't ask me! I've literally been under a rock over a thousand years, and the knowledge I gained from my previously possessed memories knew jack-squat about this!>

I quickly turned to the people who know of my [Telepathy] skill to speak to them through it, <Ume, Mametama, Kenaka, do any of you know what Konjiro's talking about?>

<I've unfortunately not read much on Vampire culture, but I knew a few Dragons who have if that means anything,> Ume answered.

<I generally know Werebeast cultures, at best,> Kenaka added.

<I've only studied Humans,> Mametama said last.

I then turned to the last one who knows of my [Telepathy], Sue, who looks to be holding herself back from laughing with her hand, <… I'm afraid to ask, but do you know what Konjiro's talking about?>

<I do, buuuuut I think it's funner that you find that out on your own. All I can say is best of luck!> she exclaimed.

{I should've figured she'd say something like that,} I thought before sighing.

"As I was saying," Noire continued, bringing my attention back to her again just as she put the garters away in her Magic Item Pouch, "We will continue sparring until one of us achieves our objective first before reaping in our rewards after that. We can use whatever means necessary to accomplish it. Are these conditions acceptable to you, Jinma?"

"Well, it's definitely the most interesting bet I've ever heard. I'm fine with the stakes here," I answered.

Honestly, I was a tad more excited at the thought of being bitten than getting a pair of used panties; however, since there are such heavy implications behind that act, it may be best that I try to avoid it until I learn more. Moreover, after seeing Noire laughing like that, something that gives such a stark contrast to her noble persona, I was drawn to the idea of getting to know more about her. What other things about herself could she be trying to hold back for the sake of her position as a noble?

I want to know more about this Vampire, but if getting bitten means something heavy like, say, exchanging vows to marriage to set as an example, then I'd rather avoid jumping into such a commitment yet. I admit that my marriage with Ume was partially out of excitement without much thought to the future, but at least she was willing to wait until we're under stabler conditions to settle down and start a family. That is something I'm honestly afraid of jumping into for personal reasons. If I do end up getting hitched with Noire as my second wife, then I'd want that to happen without something forcing us into it. I want to stick to my own terms to these things if I can help it.

That said, to avoid getting bitten, I can't risk getting hit by one of Noire's attacks at any cost, which means I must win by snatching the panties she's wearing. I realized then just how difficult that sounded.

{Now that I think about it, I've never really taken the panties off any of my girls, have I? They've only taken them off for me before we had sex up to now. The only time I could think of taking off a girl's panties was Hyo-chan when we first met as kids, and I thought she was a boy from how she looked with boyish clothes at the time.}

<The hell even brought you to do that?> Nyra asked, reading my thoughts.

<Both of us were dirty after getting roughed up by her bullies,> I explained, <When Mom suggested we take a bath when I brought her home, I thought it wouldn't be weird for two guys having a bath together. Apparently, Mom knew Hyo-chan was a girl at first sight and thought we were close enough to bathe together. It was definitely awkward, but she and I made up and started calling each other 'Jin-chan' and 'Hyo-chan' since then.>

<Wooooow.>

"So, there you have it, Konjiro, take the role as a judge again and start the sparring match already," Noire said to the Kitsune, looking slightly eager to get started.

Konjiro furrowed his brow and growled a little at Noire's command, not looking pleased with the current development. {Maybe … could that bite serve as a huge obstacle for their plans?} I thought.

Once the Kitsune regained his cool, he dismissively raised his hand. "We will now have a sparring match between Jinma Kotori and Noire Scarletine Krauss. You already know the stakes and conditions to achieve victory, begin," he abruptly finished, raggedly dropping his hand down to start the battle.

{Boy, he is not in a good mood right—}

<Jinma! Watch out!> Nyra screamed, interrupting my thoughts.

Just as I directed my attention to the arena, I was suddenly met with the bloody red crescent of Noire's scythe, coming straight for me as if Death was trying to take my life again.