Chapter 10— Jellyfish

He reached the box quickly and struggled to open the triangular lid, grunts and heavy breaths echoed before he finally unlocked the can where cookies once resided. The metal lid created a pop, and the potions hidden under the face of Mary showed themselves, There are three small bottles— Filled with blue liquid, glowing in the dark, while visible flow is inside. In the box, are also his Thirty thousand dollars and the hunting knife that he bought before.

He carelessly took one, making the other things found inside be thrown out. They rolled but stopped later on, lied on his wooden floor. Valor opened the cork of the bottle before drinking the potion in one gulp, "Hah!... Ha!..." He breathed heavily while the potion brought relief in him, He felt the usual cooling effect coming down his throat before it spreaded all over his body.

He waited there with every breath emitting luminescent dust; they glow blue and light before quickly dissipating in the air, like fireflies roaming at night. Three minutes later, and Valor is now good; he feels like waking up in the morning with a satisfying sleep. But the feeling of thirst and hunger didn't reside, It worsened. He quickly stood up, But his lifeforce being sucked made him weak again. He stuttered with his muscles weakening before hardly walking to the door. He needs a living being to suck, Luckily his mom keeps chickens in their garden. They should suffice this hunger of his.

His excited vigor before completely vanished, now that he knows the consequence of his power. Great power comes with a great exchange; having a supply of lifeforce also means risking his own lifeforce.

He opened the door before quickly threading the hallway. Lights of electricity are seen illuminating it from above, red-carpeted, and paintings are hanging on the wall. Well painted and beautifully colored, though his mother bought them from the market by Bargaining against some famous painters. Valor kept walking beside the lightly designed wall, Leaning on the right side, Hardly even called walking.

But with him rushing, Valor, with bullets of sweat, suddenly heard a voice; in this very inconvenient time, she appeared. "Valor! Is that you?" The sweet voice resounded, toned by great musicians. 'Shit!...' He cursed in his mind, 'For the sake of me, Why did you suddenly appear Reina?' Rein, the daughter of aunt betty, He should have predicted that she would be strolling the hallway— Her adventurous spirit always moves her feet every time the place is not explored by her. She waited for him at the end of the hallway, waving her hand with a brilliant smile. But he stopped and thought of a way to get past her.

Her dark hair waves, mixed with taint oak brown tint. And Her ember eyes smiles with her warm lips. She's wearing a light dress that accompanies her beautifully, blue and pink, it extended to her knee.

He stopped walking and wrily smiled at her, But along with him seeing a lively girl, his thirst and hunger tingled. Like starving sharks that smelt blood, excited with the scene of Rein.

Valor quickly found this as a bad omen. So he reacted quickly and said to Rein, "Hey rein... Long time no see huh... but I have a crucial matter to do right now, I'll humor you at lunch." He said, pausing from to time so that he can emphasize his point, hoping it would make her go away.

Reina, with the same height as him, knotted her brows, "We barely saw each other in the past year, and now you're shooing me away?" She said slightly offended, but words are coated confident and brazen. This made him smile more wrily, He then warned with the most idiotic reason he just thought , "But I advice you not to come near, I'm in the middle of experiment of counting my every footstep, I am afraid I might forget the count." He replied, Itching with his very need for lifeforce.

Rein, at the end of the hallway, noticed his demeanor, pained and heaving. With his words and appearance; Still wearing his leather armor. She instantly became worried. "Are you okay Val?" She asked him real concerned, with that regard, Valor couln't help but curse again in his mind. 'Shit! Now you made her worried; She won't go away now dumbass.' So he stuttered saying again, "Yeah... Yeah, I'm fine... Brrrrr... I'm totally fine... I'm warning you though, please don't come near." He couldn't help but admit, his lifeforce is now starting to get weaken.

"Oh no, I won't go away seeing you suffer. Let's get you to your mother and get you healed." She said stubbornly and started walking to him. Her sandals cushioned by the carpet made muffed sounds. And by the time she got near, Her hand extended to his. Valor, who cannot take it any longer grabbed her hand, the feeling of getting sucked quickly went away. And Reina felt it quickly, She moaned lightly, "Hey, when did you learn drain? Ahh... This is making me weak... Ahh.." She moaned blushing, not knowing what to do.

Valor sucking her found a difference between what he's sucking now and the souls before, he isn't sucking lifeforce, He is sucking Vital energy. This is a significant discovery for him, 'So I suck Vital energy when alive, and lifeforce when I kill.' But he cannot get excited about it anymore when he saw Reina, Twitching with pleasure, 'maybe it gives off a drug so that it can suck better, talking about some pervert.' He said in his mind, and he then let go when he got the vital energy that can suffice him.

Vital energy is the energy of the flesh, This is what the fighters burn to exhibit explosive attacks. Unlike lifeforce, it can be refilled faster.

Valor, who can now think better analyzed, 'So it can be lifeforce and vital energy... then If I can have a small animal with large vital energy. Then Maybe I can solve this thirst problem.' Valor then thought while he looks at Rein, "I'm really sorry..." But he couldn't finish when she asked with heavy breaths, "So you really became a Magiclearner?" She asked heaving.

He answered quickly, "No... I didn't." With that answers, Valor found his target for the source of Vital energy. 'Right! Father has the collection of immortal jellyfish; They are said to be very rich in Vital energy.' His objective then turned to jellyfish from chickens.

"Then how can you use Drain?" She asked a bit exhausted, that feeling still tingles her skin with pleasure, "A high level of that to be added, Like those of what the perverts use." She said, looking at Valor with a playful gaze and weary eyes, "First of all, I'm not a pervert, and second, I chose the path between mages and swordsmen. The drain ability is just a spell I saw from a cave; It said It drains power. Great isn't it?" He answered, defending before explaining with a lie at the end. He added a question for diversion.

"So please let me go, I need to continue my experiment, or I'll forget it." He said, choosing to continue the idiotic trance and started to walk away, To the direction of his dad's office. But he couldn't take a step because Rein stopped him; she grabbed his hands again, luckily he can control his thirst this time. "Take me with you, You've got into trouble again didn't you? I want to help this time" She said with determination to help, partly with her adventurous spirit and the family bond she has with him.

"I don't have any problem Rein... Your adventurous spirit is leaking again. But I'll inform you if I bump into adventurous missions." He lied and accompanied it with another lie, But his main reason is not to let Her involve in what they're threading. He cannot let someone know about what they saw; responsibility like that makes many people crazy. He was about to run when she warned him.

"You telling the truth? If not, I'll tell everyone that you got a curse." Her voice echoed in the hallway again; Valor looked back and answered, "Sure, Curses are normal things to get. The cleric will just cast a spell and the matter is off." He said confidently, Sure that she would now backdown. But her stubbornness is also incomparable, she has a backup plan.

She smiled and said, "I'll tell them that you became a vampire; for sure, you will be tested by then. More trouble will come." But he smirked and answered, "No one will believe you, you know that? Vampires aren't real, If other civilizations are living out there, it would amphibians and tentacle lifeforms. The possibility of them being a bloodsucking human is almost near impossible."

"But you suck Vital energy, That alone would intrigue their attention... Are you willing to take the risk, Valor?" She said with a challenging voice, teasing and confident.

"It's just a normal drain spell, Nothing more." He said and started walking, a bit hurried. "But it is good seeing you again, Rein." He left with those words.

"Hayss, Alright then, see you at lunch." She said giving up, regaining her posture and walked in a separate direction.

Valor took a left and right before arriving in front of a door, It's his father's room. Valor sighed and said to himself, "I think I'm committing many sins in this day."

He reached the wood-painted door, Twisted the handle, and pushed it. The door didn't creaked, nor it made a sound, It opened very silently. The scene inside was then revealed. A neat office room, Wooden floor with a red mat at the middle-end, A desk stands on it. Next to it is the bookshelf. On the wall Are frames with medals hanging, Then next to them is the cabinet where his father keeps his collection of favorite things: Immortal jellyfish, coins, Telephones, and other things his father find interesting. Near this door is a sofa leaning on the wall, cushioned with bouncy cotton, and is covered with a fine sheath of leather. It is for visitors when his father is busy.

Valor sneaked in silently, cautiously looking for a hidden detection device. His father would for sure place one, But of course, he is confident that he is on the safe list.

The wooden floor didn't even creaked with his every footstep, because of Valor's skill in sneaking, and the wooden floor is crafted well. He arrived in front of the glass wall of the cabinet. "There you are." His breath moistened the mirror, speaking happily when he saw the cylinder glasses beyond the plain glass—they have about two inches of circumference, and all are five-inch tall. Filled with nutrient solution, with a mechanical life support system at their bottom— It is just composed of air holes and automated food supply. Inside floats dormant beings. Blue. Red. Purple. Green. They're beautiful, They don't do anything as long as they're supported with food, oxygen, and clean water.