Vampire Nightlife

"I-I am… apologies for having you undergo that." Serena Weisse cleared her throat and awkwardly bowed her head. "You have abated my concerns."

"Had abated your concerns?" Lukas raised a brow.

"I… I had a lingering suspicion that for one reason or another, that humans may have infiltrated the ranks of Vampires. Disguised themselves as one of us and are the one actually spreading havoc across Lux."

"Doesn't that sound a little…"

"Too much?"

"I was going to say paranoid, but too much also works." Lukas laughed lightly. "Wouldn't we be more than capable of sniffing out if there's an imposter among our midst?"

"You say that almost as if we are our lycan counterparts–we are not. Our sense of smell is mostly average and cannot be compared to them." Serena said.

"Um, make them drink blood?"

"Everyone can drink blood if they so please. It's not that strange of a thing to do when put in the spot." Serena shook her head. "But this does not concern you at all, Lukas."

"Right…"

"Your main priority is finding the blood gourd for Lily Tenebris."

"That's right."

"W-well, I'll be off. Apologies for disturbing your last night with–well, it's not your last night with Miss Atticus." Serena shook her head and started walking away.

Lukas would have noticed that she was being extremely apologetic and prone to error, but the young man simply let out a sigh of relief.

He glanced towards the following screens in the corner of his vision.

—

[ Choose Your First Vampire Skill ]

Physical Manipulation

Charm

—

[ You Have Chosen Physical Manipulation ]

[ You Have Started Your Path On The 'Overlord' Archetype! ]

—

Physical Manipulation (Basic)

You have gained the ability to change your form as you will and change appearance.

Increase your mastery to further enhance your ability and utilize physical manipulation to strengthen your body

—

"T-that was a little too close for comfort," Lukas muttered underneath his breath and was ready to turn back to the apartment when thundering footsteps sounded again.

Lukas looked behind him to see Serena making her way back to him. There was a serious look on her face again–that it became clear that she wasn't running back for a kiss or anything stupid.

Crap.

Did Serena hear him? Did she think that he gained the Physical Manipulation Skill in secret too–

"I–I would like to make it up to you." Serena Weisse said.

"Make it up to me?" Lukas raised a brow and crossed his arms over his chest. He was a little surprised, but who'd refuse a gift when it was granted to you by chance. "What did you have in mind?"

"D-do you remember that agreement we had? That you wish to obtain something from Blood Works?" Serena said. "While I cannot guarantee you that I'll be able to provide the relics that Miss Cadis guards so jealously–we can still get weapons that you'll be able to use."

"Oh," Lukas said.

That wasn't actually a bad deal at all. He had originally planned to coerce Theodore into giving up a weapon or two for him to use alongside Chaerin and Stacy's side. He didn't know if Chaerin had anything, but he doubted someone like Stacy had a weapon too.

Serena looked up at his face.

"What… what do you think?" she asked.

"I'll take the offer."

"Then let's go."

"Huh? Right now? Isn't it a bit late–"

"There is no such thing as a late time for Viktoria Cadis and may I remind you that we are in the city of Lux. There is no night or day for us. Surely, it's things like these that make you a bit odd." Serena shook her head. "It's a wonder how you exactly managed to be in a relationship with two women considering your past."

"There's a third slot open if you're interested." Lukas chuckled as he stepped closer towards her.

"P-preposterous!" Serena Weisse looked away from him. "You are quite a greedy individual. How many women will it take for you to be satisfied?"

"Satisfied… it's not really about satisfaction." Lukas commented. "It's… well, truth be told–it started out like that. I really did have a goal of just uh, getting women–but that's not really a way to live, is it?"

"Hardly!" Serena snorted as she started walking down the street.

Lukas glanced back at the apartment once before he started following after her. He was sure that Chaerin wouldn't notice that he was gone long enough for him to get the weapons and so once he matched Serena's pace, he continued.

"You're right. I–I initially started out like an idiot… thinking that I could live the world all by myself and simply saw other people as well, people that I have transactions with, that's simply all there is to it," Lukas said.

"That…" Serena looked at his face, but then sighed softly. "I am familiar with the mindset. And it's a suffocating way to live through, Lukas. And yet from the way that you phrased things, it almost seems like women are a thing for you to obtain. More of an object than a transaction."

"I… I guess you're right." Lukas laughed and scratched his head. "Maybe I saw you guys as a reward for my effort and the dedication that I've put in–that if I do x then I'll get y like some kind of game or algorithm."

"Mhmm…" Serena frowned at him. "I suppose it's easy to get into that way of thinking. You're an odd case, Lukas."

Lukas wanted to chuckle, because he wasn't even talking about the 'orphaned Lukas' but simply his own self. How he acted when he was still a human, it just happened that it bore great resemblance to how the 'orphaned Vampire Lukas' was.

Which actually led to more questions than answers, now that he thought about it. Had he actually replaced the original Vampire who had the same name as him? There had to be an original one since there was no birthmark on himself.

"Lukas?"