Vampire Reincarnation

Chapter 184: A Letter



I will not tolerate…

Kai led the way toward Onyx with the others following close behind. He would have gone even if they didn't, and Onyx headed toward them at the same time. He wasn't able to outrun the gobelins, strangely enough, as they used spells that slowed him down and sped them up. He managed to keep a steady distance; however, he wasn't sure who would run out of energy first.

That gave Kai an idea, though. He found an area in the forest where the trees were further apart and instantly created a large hole. At the bottom of it, he raised the earth into sharp spikes, then created a thin layer of support above, onto which he placed leaves.

He told Onyx where to go and from where to jump, then ran into a bush that was in the direction of where the Obborik would come from. Swapping the earth crystals for air crystals, he waited patiently and soon heard dozens of footsteps heading toward him. Staying calm, he hid his presence to the best of his abilities.

Onyx soon dashed past him, jumping over the trap, while the gobelins walked right into it. The earth collapsed, and they fell into the deep hole, immediately getting impaled by the spikes. Those who had the insight to stop after seeing so many of their companions fall to their deaths were pushed by Kai's wind spell, and those who didn't fall at all were quickly killed by Yasa, Lutha, and Jinchevs.

In a matter of seconds, two dozen or so gobelins met their end, with neither of them transforming or exploding. They threw the corpses into the hole, then Kai covered it with earth once again, suffocating any gobelin unlucky enough to still be alive.

After all that was done, and their heart rate had settled, Yasa and her group looked at Kai with complex expressions.

"What?" He asked after sensing the uncomfortable glances.

"You like holes, don't you?" Yasa asked jokingly, looking at the place he had dug out.

"Yeah, I figured it would be easier to create traps than to fight them head-on."

"Still… Fire, Earth, Wind, Light…" Lutha said, listing Kai's elements. "Four Elements… you are a natural born mage and yet… use a sword?"

"Erm…" Kai scratched the back of his head as blood flowed to his cheeks. "I'm a victim of circumstances, I guess…"

"Circumstances, huh." Lutha murmured, a soft smile creasing his lips. He didn't question Kai anymore, and he also glanced at the markings of the hole. "I can't imagine suffocating while being buried alive."

"Those bastards deserve worse!" Jinchevs said, cleaning the blood off his sword. "They aren't even worth adding to my Monster Slayer."

The group remained silent for a brief moment, each lost in their thoughts. "What if we didn't fight them head-on?" Yasa suggested, inspecting Kai's simple trap. "None of them transformed or exploded, right? Maybe there's some kind of condition that needs to be fulfilled for that to happen."

"Now that you mention it…" Kai trailed off, recalling the brief sequence of events. "They didn't change even when they were killed by you all, so maybe… they need to prepare? Or maybe not all of them can do that?"

Yasa stared off into the distance, but in the end, shook her head. "No, we won't risk it. I have a better plan. We're going to stay in the nearby town, Limmin, and explore this area every so often to make sure that the gobelins don't attack the civilians. I'll send a distress signal to the Office and wait for reinforcements."

Lutha and Jinchevs nodded, while Kai could only agree silently. He had got half of what he came for. His memory has been claimed, and he'll need time to process it, but he still needs to search for the sword techniques. Of course, he didn't expect them to be anywhere out in the open and easy to find, but the fact that he didn't have the smallest clue of where they may be gave him a bitter taste.

"We're going to Limmin then?" He asked, and quickly swallowed his words as Jinchevs shot him a glare.

"We are going, you can do whatever you want. My hands are clean." Yasa said in a cold voice, sheathing her sword. "My promise to Natasha has been ffulfilled"

Kai's expression when hearing that, but he couldn't refute her words. He guessed that the fact he'd helped them come out alive from that situation only slightly bettered their image of him. Kai knew that Jinchevs wanted nothing more than to get rid of Kai, while Yasa was probably conflicted, given all that had happened.

Only Lutha could be said to be on good terms with the boy, but even then, Kai wasn't so sure.

"A-Alright." He stuttered momentarily, his old fox mask appearing in his right hand. "ThenI'dI better go, there's somewhere I need to be."

Yasa nodded, while Jinchevs gave him a low grunt. Only Lutha looked reluctant to part, but didn't say anything. "I may see you in Limmin," Kai said, strapping the mask to his face and propping a hood over it to cover his hair.

He then left, disappearing into the shadows with Onyx following close by.

Kai made his way through the destroyed and abandoned buildings of Lustra, his mana covering the area in a feeble attempt at assuring that no gobelins were lurking. Onyx sniffed the air and did his best to assure Kai that there were no threats, all the while each of them searched for something. Damn it, Léandro! Couldn't you tell me what I'm looking for? He grumbled inwardly, guessing that what he was looking for was most likely in one of the buildings. Civilian homes and shops were out of the equation, of course, and the only place that made any sense was the training grounds. However, Kai had no map or guide to tell him anything, and he could only guess based on the architecture. However, a brief image passed his mind, and he shuddered. The training ground, could it be… that place? Shit… Kai cursed and almost kicked air.

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There's no way I can go there in that case, fuck me… I guess I'll need to wait for Yasa and the 'Office', whatever that is, to clean the place.

He didn't like the idea of waiting, but at the same time, he had no other choice. A light sigh escaped his lips, and he decided that it was better to head over to Limmin town.

Having made up his mind, he bolted through the forest, wanting to escape Lustra's perimeters as soon as possible. The farther away he was from the gobelins, the better. Kai also wanted to take some time to rest and process what he had learned about his life.

Speaking of Old Friends, maybe I can go see Julie too, she lived outside Limmin town, but I bet she's moved back in by now. I'll check her old place, and if she isn't there, I'll ask around.

With his mind made up, Kai focused on getting out of the forest first. Unsure if there were still gobelins lurking around, he took all the precautions necessary to avoid an ambush. Jumping through the trees and following Onyx's sharp instincts, the two began to see a clearer sky, unhidden by large crowns.

A faint smell of charred wood still lingered in the air as they passed next to the place they had entered from, but Kai didn't give it a second thought. The density of the forest gradually lessened until there were only a few odd trees within sight.

The sun shone as strongly as before, and the vibrant green world brought some sense of peace to Kai's clouded mind. Without any trees to jump from and without any sense of urgency, Kai walked toward a lone, tall tree and stood under its shade. Glancing toward the forest that now belonged to the gobelins, or what remained of them, Kai felt a strange sense of uneasiness. Unsure of its source, he placed it in the back of his mind and took out the map.

Unflurrying revealed some new information, or rather,a lack of. The dot that shone above Lustra vanished, replaced by a desolate emptiness. Smiling to himself, Kai located himself on the map to the best of his abilities.

Looks like Limmin town is just above Lustra, and Julie's place is… around there. It's not that far, I can get there pretty fast with wind magic.

He closed it and placed it back within his ring, then leaned against the tree and stared at the sky. A few months ago,o he wouldn't have had the right to see its blue again, nor the sun's blinding light. He was used to travelling during the night and avoiding the sun at all costs, yet at that current time, he could freely sit under it. All because I drank blood…

Biting his lower lip, Kai nudged Onyx to come closer, and the Obborik placed his head within the boy's lap. He caressed his companion's fur with as much tenderness as one would a baby, and thought how close they were to the place they once called home. Maybe I should go see Gramps as well…

Kai stared into the distance and could almost see the man who had helped him through one of the most difficult periods of his life. Hunched over a campfire, smiling with the other, relatively healthy adults, watching over the children.

I'm sure grandpa wants to help them to the best of his abilities, too bad I don't think he can just go around and ask people to donate blood without the inquisitors finding out about it.

He made up his mind to visit both Julie and his grandpa, then jumped to his feet. "Alright, let's get moving."

"Arf!"

By the time they neared Limmin town, the sun had long since vanished, replaced by a crescent moon. Used to the darkness, Kai activated a night vision spell and did his best to remember the way toward Julie's house. It wasn't hard, but the environment had changed a fair bit since he left.

After thirty or so minutes of wandering through the dark forest, Kai finally found the remains of a small, wooden house. He recognized the place, despite the darkness, and Onyx seemed to have as well, as his tail wagged rapidly.

The place seemed to have been abandoned, though, and any sign of human presence had long since vanished. Although he only spent an insignificant amount of time with Julie and her mother, Kai felt that they had gotten somewhat close. Not far away from the main house, he saw the logs and what used to be a campfire - the place where they roasted and ate the bear Kai had killed. A small drool line formed at the corner of Kai's mouth upon remembering its taste, impressed still by how well such a young girl cooked it.

Closing his eyes, he still saw the image of the dirty, scrawny girl with big black eyes and long dark hair. Despite her appearance, she did everything she could to help her mother bear through the pain. A soft smile creased his lips, and he headed toward the main house.

Parting the curtains to what was once the entrance to Julie's home, Kai felt an icy, lonely air mixed with a pungent smell that invaded his nostrils. Looking around, most of the house had been emptied, save for the bed and the sheets.

Taking a step inside, Kai accidentally hit his head on the ceiling and had to lean down to be able to reach the bed. The whole house was a glorified room, repurposed to be a bedroom, kitchen, and dining room. Anger flared up inside him at the thought of the residents throwing out such a young girl and a sickly woman and sending them here.

Glancing at the bed and remembering the woman's appearance, his heart ached at the thought of Julie losing her mother as well. I hope she managed to recover with the healing potion I gave her…

He walked closer to the bed, glancing over its disheveled appearance. It looked well-made and somewhat clean despite it being obvious that nobody had touched it in a long while. Kai raised an eyebrow, though, as he noticed what looked like a piece of paper.

Picking it up, his heart skipped a beat upon seeing that it was a letter sealed with candle wax. Flipping it, he noticed that his name was written on the back, so he guessed that it was meant for him.

Opening it without any hesitation, he read the contents of the piece of paper hidden inside.

«Kai, this is Julie. I've never written a letter before, and mMomtaMomt me how to read and write, so I hope this makes sense to you.

I wanted to thank you for what you've done for me. Not only did you give me a precious potion, but you also gave me the key to changing my life. I'm not sure you understand how rare core-forming techniques are amongst us. In Limmin town, not even one in ten people has the chance to become mages.

As it turns out, I had what the sheet of paper called 'Mana Veins' this whole time, so all I needed was the proper way to form a core. At first, it was all very new to me, but after a few weeks, I felt ready to attempt the process.

It went smoothly, and I became a Mage. It felt surreal. I would have never expected that I would be able to join such a prestigious ranking.

After a while, two nice people, a man and a woman, sent word that they were looking for people apt with magic to join them at the Magic Academy in the capital. Of course, I went, and they immediately accepted me.

In a couple of months, I became the talk of the town, and the villagers accepted me and my mom back inside. Though we wouldn't stay long.

I am writing this letter just to tell you that my mom and I will leave with the people from the Magic Academy.

Thank you for everything, I will never forget you.»


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