Christoph instinctively gazed at his knee when he heard Vincent say, ‘You Lose.’, but his knees were not touching the floor. This momentary distraction was all that Vincent needed to break away from his grip, and then the butler decisively landed a kick to the back of the young man’s head.
With a sudden burst of darkness, Christoph fell on his face, and his forehead was planted on the marble. The young man groaned. The collision shook the insides of his skull, making him dizzy.
Vincent said, “Did you think it would be a fair fight?”
His tone indicated that he looked down on Christoph. The young man was dizzy, and taking advantage of this dizziness, Vincent stepped on the back of his knee.
Christoph sensed his knees touch the ground, and he clenched his fists. He wanted to protest and fight, but the butler said, “I will give you a chance to defeat me daily. However, till you can defeat me, do not think about protesting or preaching. It will be worthless.”
The young man was confused when Ambrosia opened her obsidian-like deep eyes and said, “You have the same worth as a rough diamond. You will get the help you need to refine your rough edges. However, once you are good enough, you must return the favor.”
Christoph was stunned. Now only did he realize that all this was a test. He wanted to understand how he was assessed but thought he would look like a clown, so he did not ask. Holding his head, the young man stood up, and Ambrosia said, “Evelyn.”
Her voice was akin to a whisper, but a person appeared beside her. This person shocked Christoph. He did not notice her walking over or anything. It was as if this newcomer materialized out of the air.
Evelyn was dressed in a gray uniform with a knee-length skirt, a waistcoat, and a crisp white shirt tucked underneath it. The dress's shoulders were puffed up, and a wavy trim adorned them. Her hair tied in a bun, and calm eyes, she seemed to be the definition of patience.
Christoph rubbed his forehead while he looked at her. Evelyn bowed and asked, “At your command, My Lady.”
Ambrosia took a breath before she said, “You are tasked to teach Christoph all he should know about the kin. He is new, so be patient with him.”
Evelyn did not look at Christoph and replied, “Yes, My Lady.”
Ambrosia nodded and said, “Christoph, you will be following her. She is Evelyn, my second in command. She will teach you everything you need to know about the kin.”
Christoph nodded and said, “Thank you, Miss Silvermoon.”
Evelyn finally cast the young man a gaze and then looked back at Ambrosia before saying, “My lady, is there anything else?”
Ambrosia shook her head and said, “Today is his first day. I will leave the rest to you.”
Evelyn nodded and turned to look at Christoph as she said, “Follow me.”
Christoph nodded and thanked Ambrosia once before he left the pavilion with Evelyn. Vincent watched the scene with a frown and asked, “My Lady, why did you assign Evelyn to teach him? I do not think he will survive.”
Ambrosia closed her eyes as she leaned back in her chair. Though she did not reply to the butler, she did think, ‘Someone who can escape death because of his willpower, this phase should not be tough enough to defeat him.’
…
Christoph followed Evelyn back inside the manor silently. The lady said nothing, and they stood in front of a room. Evelyn waved her hand, and the door opened. The young man behind her realized that this door had no knobs.
This door looked similar to an arch created by some wooden panels for decorative purposes. This entire corridor was decorated with similar arches. Evelyn pushed the door gently and entered the room.
Christoph found the silence awkward, but he realized this lady was not a talker, so he followed her inside. He was astounded when he entered the place. He could not help but word his thoughts, “How is this possible?”
The room he had just entered had eleven floors. Evelyn did not turn her head to react. She was used to this reaction. Even some age-old vampires would feel the same way when they step inside for the first time, let alone this newbie.
Christoph asked, “Miss Evelyn, ummm, is it alright if I address you like that?”
Evelyn nodded as she led him deeper inside the library, and Christoph asked, with his eyes wandering all over the place, “How is this place so big? Are we still inside the Silvermoon Manor?”
Evelyn nodded and said, “It is the Silvermoon Manor. This place is magically enchanted.”
As she finished speaking, she found the footsteps behind her had stopped. She knew that the young man behind her had frozen from shock. Christoph had indeed frozen from surprise. He never thought that the word like would be used to justify something like this.
“Come along.” A calm voice woke him up, and Christoph jogged over to Evelyn, standing a few steps away in a hurry.
The lady pointed at a chair beside a small table and said, “Sit.”
Christoph sat down, and the lady turned around to pull a book from one of the many shelves in the library. She placed the book gently on the table and said, “Read.”
The young man wanted to ask her a few things, but she had passed the decree already. Christoph focused on himself and opened the book. The book’s title said, ‘All you need to know about vampires.’
The young man raised his eyes and looked for the author’s name but came up with nothing. He turned the page and, skipping the index, directly opened the first chapter, ‘Types of vampires.’
The chapter stated the types of vampires. The division was rooted back to their origins, and even the chain of hierarchy command was mentioned in an easy-to-understand manner.
There were three types of vampires: the originals, the half-breeds, and the bred.
The originals were the vampires from the line of the first vampires to walk the earth. The reproduction rate was almost negligible, and the mortality rate of an infant was as high as ninety-nine percent. These originals were the only ones who could reproduce naturally. The other two categories needed this ability.
A half-breed was born with the union of a vampire. These people had some variant characteristics. For example, human genetics allow them to bypass some vampire weaknesses. They do not have any reproductive ability.
The bred are the vampires who used to be humans but were turned into vampires. These were the working class people, used by their masters for menial tasks. These vampires could reproduce for the first week of their transformation. After a week of transformation, the semen dies.
Christoph was shocked, but he gathered his thoughts quickly. He was young and did not think about having children. Thinking about it, he raised his head and asked, “Miss Evelyn, according to the classification here, I am a bred vampire, right?”
Evelyn nodded calmly while Christoph asked, “Then may I ask, what category are you?”
The lady cast him a bland gaze and said, “Half breed.”
Christoph was surprised and asked, “Can you bypass the vampire weaknesses? What kind?”
Evelyn’s eyes flashed with a cold glint, and she said, “That has nothing to do with you.”
The young man shivered and gulped down a mouthful of saliva. He realized that he had overstepped his boundaries. Suddenly, he fell into contemplation. He was never this goofy. All his life, he was sincere and a man of a few words. Why was he being so naive and talkative today? He thought it was all due to the change in his DNA structure.
Putting all this rubbish aside, he read the classifications in detail. In the end, he discovered that the strength difference and the skills of the three categories also differed.
For Example, an original could charm or hypnotize a person with their voice, and the half-breeds have talents like super strength or heightened intelligence. The most miserable in this world of Vampires were bred. They had no skills other than a higher metabolism that allowed them to consume higher quantities of alcohol.
A few things were common in all the categories. They were severely allergic to garlic and silver. Sun was manageable, but they should remember to apply a good layer of sunscreen.
The symptoms of these allergies could be treated, but if neglected, the person might die. Another thing he found was the mention of pawns. These people were not vampires, but humans, who served vampire houses and helped them use their positions’ power.
Every pawn was carefully selected and groomed before being placed on the board. Then the young man turned the page and found himself dwelling on the ranking system of the Vampires. At the lower part of the page, they mentioned punishments, making Christoph shiver.
He was so engrossed in the book that he overlooked the time. Suddenly, the sense of blood thirst was rekindled inside him. This time it was even more evident than before. His body shivered, and his stomach hurt. He raised his blood-red eyes and focused on Evelyn, who was reading a book at the side, and he charged at her.
