Blood and Qi: A Vampire Xianxia LitRPG

John thought being taken to wherever Betrayal had taken him must’ve affected his thinking. As soon as his mind had been returned to his body, he had a hard time holding on to the belief that he would or could win the contest of wills. As the days passed, his faith in his ability to win would oscillate. At the very least, he believed he should plan his life as if losing was a forgone conclusion.

John thought having a probable deadline on life would bother him more. Diamond was so far off that he hardly even gave a thought towards it. But he now had a time limit to destroy the Peerless. He could ask Betrayal to destroy them as the boon he’d be granted, but that felt unmanly.

John was hoping Amber would be safe and away from the Peerless long before he was close to Diamond. If she wasn’t, he’d have to use the boon for that, even though he thought using the boon to save her would be far more unmanly. Saving one person was not in the same league as toppling an empire.

And if Amber’s plan worked out, her ability to escape the Peerless would be an easy thing even without John’s help. And if things worked out with Nine, he’d be leaving Amber in very competent hands.

The shuttle John was in finally landed. Or crashed. He shook his head to clear it and checked for injuries. He was fine. He unstrapped from his seat, made his way to the door, and forced it open. Mini-mechs landed all around him, and he was told to raise his hands and get on his knees. He obeyed and was glad Betrayal had given him a means to hide his [Titles].

John heard the ikaikakūʻēns talk among themselves before a Diamond and two Platinums approached him. The two Platinums kept their arm-cannons trained on him as the Diamond said, “That’s a Peerless shuttle. You’re not Peerless. What the hell are you doing here? In that?”

John bowed his head and said, “Escaping from them, Diamond. I’ve heard you’re the strongest force fighting them. I hope that’s true. I’ve vowed to destroy their empire and will not rest until the Peerless are no more.”

The faceless helmet of the mini-mech was silent for a long moment. “What race are you?”

“Terran, Diamond. They conquered my planet as they’re trying to conquer yours now.”

As the Diamond turned to leave, he yelled out, “Remove all his gear. All of it. Check for trackers. Bind him and bring him to the Forward Observation Post.”

When out of the mini-mechs, the ikaikakūʻēns didn’t look all that different from humans or unmodified ganians.

The Peerless had some mini-mechs, but not many. The bolter peripheral could cut through most of the readily available metal in the sector suitable for mini-mech construction, and the few heavier metals available made for mini-mechs that were more of an impediment than assistance.

Though bio-suits weren’t as durable and protective, they were far less constrictive, provided a good amount of amplification to strength and speed, and were much more cost effective.

There was an Akeoli with a personally made mini-mech rumored to have cost a fortune. He bought it himself. The Peerless thought such individualism was gross but since he was an Akeoli, they couldn’t do much about it.

All the ikaikakūʻēn fighters John had seen wore mini-mechs. Even as a Silver, if he was wearing Talker’s old biosuit, he knew his bolter would be able to tear through most of them. But he wasn’t there to fight. He had just been subjected to an interrogation while under a compulsion ritual forcing him to tell the truth, very similar to the one Diamond Garioch put him under so long ago.

And like the old Second-Point Master’s ritual, this compulsion ritual had no effect on John. He still pretended he was under its effects, and sat there dazed, staring off into nothing.

The interrogator turned to the Diamond that had captured John and said, “He’s telling the truth. He escaped from Peerless captivity and hates them as much as we do. He knows a lot about our enemies. Their plans, how they deploy, how their units are structured and commanded. He said the ship that just arrived brought a high-ranking matriarch called a Nani. And more Exalteds too. As our mightiest warriors continue to fall, they bring more. The terran claims our enemies have many thousands of Exalteds in their forces.”

The Diamond cursed loudly and ran his hands through his hair nervously. “We’re screwed if that’s true. Are you sure he’s telling the truth.”

“Without a doubt.”

“Okay. Shit. I must contact Alakaʻi. Keep him under compulsion in case Alakaʻi has questions of his own.”

A short time later, a Transcendent arrived to collect John. He hoped the Exalted was bringing him to Alakaʻi, the leader of the world. And his wish came true as he was delivered, wearing just a blanket he was given, to a hidden base of the ikaikakūʻēns and brought before the man himself.

“So, terran, you want to fight by our side,” asked the ruler. “Against our mutual enemy, the Peerless?”

“Yes, Exalted Alaka’i, I do. I want nothing more than to see them ground to dust beneath my heel.”

Alakaʻi laughed and all the other men and women in the room did so as well. “Well, you’ve come to the right place, friend. First, we need to know everything you know about them. No detail is too small. Everything you can remember from your time in their captivity. Everything you…”

Alaka’I stopped talking to look up at the ceiling and yelled out, “Incoming! I can’t…”

The yell was cut short as the base was bombarded with a massive orbital strike, rocked with explosions, and turned into a giant crater, killing John and everyone else within.

After being sent back to the lobby of the Trainer, John watched the board to see what score he was given. Unlike the entrance exams, there was no scale for most scores given during academy. This test had a maximum possible score of 200.

Nine held the current top score of 89 points. Second and third place had 61 and 47 points. More than half the Li had timed out or had gotten everyone killed, netting zero points.

The mission allowed access to a kauwa of 147 Oli and three Mele. The Melua and Oliua were two-three-fives, along with about 20 other Transcendents of various tiers and ranks. The mission was to land in secret, scout, and find the hidden base of Alakaʻi, killing him by force or by orbital bombardment before he escaped.

John gambled on his strategy, a strategy he was glad Nine hadn’t thought of. As his score appeared on the board, he was filled with elation. His gamble paid off. He received a score of 199.

Only two points were lost. One for the destruction of the shuttle, the only piece of equipment John requisitioned for the mission though he had 50 points to buy whatever he deemed necessary, and one for his own death. Half of his two lost points were given back due to completing the mission so quickly.

John needed these points badly. He had scored the lowest by a significant margin on the last field problem where a very damaged ship had to be jury-rigged enough to ascend off a low-gee planet and survive eight hours in space. He needed more wins like this one. Big wins. He needed to lean into his strengths whenever possible.

Completing a mission alone and not using all the 50 points allowed for special equipment was an entirely alien thought to the Peerless. And Nine too, as the biosynth was raised in a hivemind culture where all beings were connected to and through an AI, and as much a part of the AI as the AI was a part of them.

Both Nine and the Li always thought, ‘How do we accomplish this mission?’ John’s first thought was, ‘How do I accomplish this mission?’ Being alone for so much of his life and seeing the rare friend as a thing he had to protect and not battle alongside of, had long ago shaped his mind and way of thinking. Changing how a mind thought was no easy task.

As the Li of his battlegroup congratulated him and clapped his back, Nine entered John’s lobby within the Trainer. “Congratulations, Four-four. Ingenious. Brilliant strategy. Now I know why you waited so long to start this field problem. You didn’t want me to copy your idea.”

John smiled and clasped Nine’s outstretched hand. “I have to take all the wins like this I can get.”

“If you want to overtake my First in Class spot, yes. I will not make it easy for you. Now I must always think, ‘what would Four-four do?’ I’d like to say the plan was simple and obvious, but since I failed to think of it, I must say it was ingenious instead.”

“Thanks, Six-five. I hope you don’t make it easy on me. I want to earn it. And if it wasn’t for all your help, I’d be failing. I count myself very lucky to have such a good friend as you.”

And Nine was a great friend. But unlike Talker and Hubaba, John and Nine didn’t have the bond that could only be forged through fighting and surviving many true battles together. He hoped everything worked out enough where that changed.

“I may be leading in total points, but not in credits earned,” said Nine. “Out of the four times credits could be won, you’ve taken them three times.”

Whenever credits were mentioned, John felt a little anxiety. To make what was happening less obvious, the old crone offered credits for an event John had no chance of winning, some ridiculous puzzle-game field problem. Also, her boys had instructed at four other academies, and she offered credits at all four.

There were two Koa or mixed-clan academies and three clan academies for each of the six clans. The old crone visited all the ones she was allowed to. But those other four academies only once each. John expected the old crone to make her fifth visit to his academy soon.

After the old crone entered the generator room and he heard the door seal, John said, “Congratulations on passing the bottleneck, Nani.”

Smiling in the strange way John believed was supposed to be seductive, the crone removed a new type of whip from her storage device. “Thanks, doll-face. I don’t know if I told you before, but my Meleua passed it months and months ago now. Still no Oli yet. Soon though. A couple are close. That was three credits today, and I expect a three-credit performance. Really sell it to me. And a giant nectar. Biggest yet. You know the drill. Take it off and turn around.”

John sighed and did as he was bidden to.

Nine looked over John’s work and said, “No. That’s for double integration. You just can’t start working the problem like that. First, visualize. Triple integrals need to be visualized. Set up the limits of the integration within your mind. Think it through, then put down bounds so you don’t get bogged down by the function inside.”

“Got it, Nine,” replied John, though he certainly didn’t get it. He pretended he did as he worked out just how he’d start a conversation with Nine about a more important topic.

John had looked closer at Nine than he had at most other friends. The man could’ve tattled on John for a million things and hadn’t once. Nine’s job at the Mele desk was to tattle. He had seen John break many rules and often wouldn’t even comment on it. He would sometimes challenge John when John scoffed at Peerless nonsense, but never ran to the Rector or a trainee.

To John, Nine seemed as a similar type of soul in a similar situation. A man lost, without a true home or people, trying to find a reason to continue existing, snatching at anything in the darkness to hold onto. Something. Anything.

John had found something to hold onto. He had found a powerful enemy to destroy – a good reason to continue existing. He hoped he would be able to help Nine find a similar reason to continue existing, and hoped the man didn’t actually want to be Peerless or believed their hogwash.

Bringing the biosynth into his Mind’s Eye was a risk. If Nine tattled on John, his one way to communicate with Amber in secret would be foiled. It was possible to communicate through the NCS, but that way seemed more like a system geared towards entities on much higher Trees.

John could barely afford to send a message through the NCS to Nine, and Nine was right beside him. The cost skyrocketed over distance. He had only received messages from Sunshine, discounting the strange message he received from the core and delivered through the basic avatar long ago.

A cost that was a drop in the bucket for a Divine was months and months of cultivation for someone in the Mortal Tree. He had sent one message through the NCS to Amber asking if it was safe for them to communicate that way, but she had never replied. He knew she probably couldn’t afford to send a reply, but there was a chance she didn’t because it wasn’t safe to.

After reasoning that if he couldn’t trust Nine to know he could pull him into his Mind’s Eye, he couldn’t trust Nine at all, John stood and put his hand on the shoulder of his friend. He felt for Nine’s mind and tugged on it. Once the tug was accepted, the struggle to pull the man into his mind was a little easier than the two times he performed the feat with Amber.

Though Nine had no form, John could tell where his presence was, and, from that area, heard Nine ask, “This is your Mind’s Eye? How did you pull me in here?”

As John went to reply, Nine continued. “This is not possible until the third Tree. Or peak-second when the Between can first be accessed. And how do you have a form? And why is it so large?”

It gladdened John that emotion infused the usually imperturbable biosynth’s voice. “A Bronze g’athu did it to me. It’s not easy, but if those bastards could do it, I knew I could. And this is my true height. Or will be. Did you know the Peerless collect brainwave data and read your thoughts? Or the Mele do?”

“My genetic and physiological makeup is very different from your own or that of the Peerless. I did know. I need not worry as you do. Or you did. I reviewed what I could of you through the party options. I wanted to warn you that your NCUs can be circumvented. Since you are so easily read, brainwaves shouldn’t be your primary concern if your intent is to hide your thoughts.”

Worried, John asked, “What are you saying? That they can read my mind? Or you can?”

“No. I can study and surmise. I conject that you want to talk to me about what happens in the generator room. It is possibly causing you a moral dilemma that’s weighing on your mind.”

John sighed. “Nothing happens in there. Nani Empire just wants to cultivate that energy as I do. It could possibly be a solution allowing Oli to pass the bottleneck. I wanted to talk to you about something else. Amber.”

There was a pause before Nine replied. “Yes, the woman you love.”

John scoffed. “I don’t love her. Where’d you get that? We’re just friends. When the Tree of Life was returned to Earth, I swore to protect her. She saved my life many times. I’ll never love again. Women only want to stomp on my heart and make me low.”

“If you say so.”

Hearing that made John think of something else. He worriedly asked, “You haven’t told the Peerless anything I’ve told you about Lilly, have you?”

“No. You told me that in confidence. I do not betray friends that place trust in me. If you haven’t provided our masters information on Lilly, I am certain Amber has. There’s info in the CSL on her and possible signs an Alia’s been possessed.”

John couldn’t check the CSL while in his Mind’s Eye and wouldn’t during a conversation anyway. He’d have to check later. “Okay. Hopefully she didn’t tell them the personal stuff involving me. That’s my business. You’re a good friend, but I wish I didn’t tell you any of that. It’s too shameful for others to know.

“It’s just…when you were telling me how your own people betrayed your faction so terribly, and all your troubles since escaping them, you seemed so sad, and I wanted to cheer you up by telling you of the many times and ways I had been betrayed. Please don’t ever tell anyone any of what I told you of her.”

“As I just said, I will not. What you tell me in confidence will stay confidential,” replied Nine.

John smiled and said, “Good. Because I want to ask your thoughts on something important to me. You saw Amber’s interview? Her idea for her kauwa? A small but powerful force that strikes fast and deadly?”

“I did.”

“I’m not going to be purchased by any Alii but her. I told her she can trust you. You’d be perfect as her Oliua. But there’s a few big negatives that come with this plan.”

Nine said, “Yes. For one, I would have to ascend to Diamond much sooner than would be optimal. When will she be granted Alii status?”

“She doesn’t know. Last we spoke, she said it would be after we graduate, and we still have about half a year to go.”

“And she won’t be granted a kauwa for a year after becoming Alii.”

There was good news there. John said, “She won’t have to be a trainee. They do that so the girls can have time to adjust to all the changes advancing from Alia to Alii make to their body. I’m guessing the biggest change is having their libido dialed up to 11.”

John thought Nine would laugh at that joke. His friend didn’t laugh or say anything, so John continued. “You could stay at six-five until she’s granted her kauwa. That means we’ll have to serve the Nani Heiau until then. And we’ll have to try to earn as many credits as possible to jack the cost of purchasing us up. That’s to keep the kauwa lean with only heavy hitters.”

There was a very long pause before Nine gave his reply. “John, you are my only friend. I very much like the idea of joining the same kauwa as you. And having a kauwa containing all the outsider Peerless in the empire also appeals to me. This conflicts with my own plans, but I will do this for you. We will join Amber’s kauwa together.”