Vampire Reborn

As soon as those, dark, distant words were uttered, it was as if something consumed him and his world turned bleak. There was a certain feeling in the air that was unexplainable, like the end was near. If he had a heart, it would have been beating to the moon, and had he had proper sweat glands he would have been sweating buckets. All he could do now was wait for his fate to be decided or think of a way of escape despite it all.

"You don't need to answer because I know you did… You know… I actually suffered from the same problem as you…"

"Huh?" Abruptly all the tension surrounding Alucard had instantly snuffed away as though blowing out a candle, and all that was left of him was shock.

"Yeah, I don't blame you for that, but I'm not sure others would be so lenient. But, as a tip, it's good practice to always tell the truth when it comes to that. You have to just put up with it, don't worry, I know how it feels," He nodded to himself before his voice became awfully quiet, turning into a whisper. "My dad thought it was funny if he named me something stupid, and I was stuck with that name for the longest time… Neither I nor you need to know what that name is… I haven't told many people about this… You will take this information with you to the grave… Understood?"

"Understood," Alucard responded, his surprise only increasing as Raven spoke.

"Good! But, you know it's not the end of the world, right? You could always save up for a name-change crystal like I did, but those things are stupidly expensive and hard to find," He whispered back.

"Wait… THOSE EXIST!?" Alucard shouted in a whispering voice, his eyes shot out wide beneath his mask.

He had long given up on the hope of ever-changing his name. After all, that was impossible in Rebirth. However, this rekindled that fire once extinguished in his heart and confirmed one more thing that he had hoped to be answered with his visit to the library. In this new world, things were not the exact same as the videogame world he once knew.

"Mhm, they're real alright." He nodded, smirking from behind his book, "They're not that well known about or sought after, just really rare. They're mostly used by spoiled nobles who denounce their family and want to mess around, and by the royalty to bestow permanent titles onto people's names. It's usually pretty disrespectful to your parents if you want to change the name bestowed upon you. But, in our case, I'm sure it's more than justified."

"I see… Thanks for the info… Thanks for everything actually!" Alucard whispered, now finally turning around to enter the house of knowledge.

"Wow wow! Slow down there! What exactly are you going to do now!" However, just like before, he was once again called, this time not in a whisper, which made him turn his back once again.

"I'm going to read and educate myself," Alucard responded.

"And, how exactly are you gonna do that without being able to read?" He put down his book once again and looked him dead through the dark sockets of his mask.

"I'm not sure, I thought I'd just explore and try to teach myself," He answered honestly.

"That's quite bold for someone who's never learned something like this before,"

"Well, it's the only choice I really got. I'll do whatever it takes, I'm confident in my abilities." Although it was not possible to see through Alucard's mask, his confidence was more than evident.

"I like your tenacity, I really do, but, you have to be realistic. How would you like it if someone were to teach you how to read and write? We usually give discounts for tutoring adventurers but for you my friend, I'd make that free!"

"Really? You're willing to tutor me?" There was a slight twinkle in Alucard's eyes. If he was tutored, it would greatly speed up the learning process.

"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!! Me? Teach you? Don't be ridiculous! Of course not!" He laughed hysterically almost as though it was the funniest thing he had heard in years, tightly clenching his stomach and attracting the attention of many people in the area before he slowly calmed himself down.

"HAVEL! Come here!" Raven called out, and not too long after did a boy show up in haste, sweat running down his forehead.

"Y-yes boss?" He panted, his hands firmly grasping his knees as he tried to catch his breath.

His robe was of a similar style to Raven, however, there were certain design differences that stood out. The most notable of which was how it was coloured brown instead of Raven's navy blue. His face was round and seemed fairly young, his hazel hair was rather short and glistened in the light from up above, and his emerald green eyes were shaky, staring at the ground, fatigue was written all over them.

"You hear that kid? Boss is another name I'm known by around here," He winked and whispered towards the blankly staring masked man.

"B-boss, did you say something?"

"Indeed, are you done setting up the books?

"Yes boss! Three hundred and forty-three books all sorted and organized in the right order." His voice was shaky yet firm in many other aspects, like a sense of pride.

"Excellent! I'll be checking that later today, but in the meantime, I have another task for you," He released another puff of smoke from his pipe as he casually flipped to the next page of his book.

"Yes of course! I'm ready! Will it be some training if I am so bold to ask?" His voice bore excitement.

"Indeed…" Raven lightly chuckled confidently as he responded, making the panting man look up with star-like eyes and renewed vigour, almost as though his fatigue was no more.

"Really? What is it? I'm prepared to do anything!"

"Mhm, I see… Very well… So… For your task, I'd like you to teach this guy over here how to read and write,"

And as soon as those words were uttered from Raven's mouth, the vitality and enthusiasm from the brown-haired boy's expression disappeared, instead replaced with a deep disappointment and a raincloud of depression hovering over his head.