牛奶色隔壁有夫之妇

The number of vampires in the training area was astonishing. Arthur was among the low-ranked soldiers, and their number kept increasing as the night went on, and it was evident that the Von Stein family was increasing the size of its army to conquer the demon continent.

All the low-ranked soldiers ranged from the first to the fourth circle, while Arthur was already at the fifth circle, meaning the upcoming training would be a stroll in the park for him.

"Listen, everyone! We will start with a circuit. Remember, a strong body makes us vampires different from the rest, which can give us many advantages when fighting mages!" the captain said.

Leonard Von Stein, someone under the duke\'s command, was a rank-one vampire. One of the many captains of the vampire army, he was responsible for taking care of these recruits — no way someone as important as the duke would go there to train weak vampires — but it was still someone under its command, so if Arthur excelled in his training, the duke would know.

And that was what he planned. So when all the vampires started the circuit, which consisted of running, jumping, and dodging attacks, he was the person in the front, faster than all the others. So it quickly got Leonard\'s attention, who could not understand how a vampire could be better than the rest.

"Isn\'t he also a fourth-circle mage? How can he be so fast?" he thought, not knowing that Arthur was already a fifth-circle mage!

Arthur had many things under his sleeves, and a spell capable of hiding his level was one of them. Not only that, but he was way better than the average vampire, who did not have access to the legendary techniques from the Blood Monarch.

He was doing so well in the circuit that the second-fastest vampire tried to attack him. A strain of blood quickly moved close to the ground, and it tried to tie up Arthur\'s legs, thus making him fall while running. It did not work, as Arthur quickly reacted, side-stepping the attack and sending a smirk to the other vampire.

"Are you this weak?"

Leonard stopped it when everyone was tired and had no energy to continue the circuit, and Arthur was the only one standing.

"Good job, everyone," Leonard said, then he looked toward Arthur, ", especially you. What is your name?"

"Arthur, sir."

Respect was one of the things these officers loved, the other one was to keep praising them.

"If you continue like this, you will climb the rankings quickly. Nice work you did there in the circuit."

Then a vampire, the same one who was the second during the circuit and also the one who tried to attack Arthur, said, "so what? It was just a stupid circuit. If he and I went to a one-on-one match, I would end his pathetic life!"

Leonard was not happy with it. He fiercely looked toward the vampire and said, "first of all, you will only speak when I tell you to. Second, the circuit is not stupid. You are stupid. Now you want a match? Shut up and train first."

He then moved toward the vampire instantly and punched his face. Blood came from the mouth of that vampire, and the only reason he did not fall unconscious was that Leonard did not use much of his strength.

"Now, let\'s start our sword practice."

~~~~

"Man, Leonard is not joking. I am dying after this much training, jeez," Arthur thought as he returned to his room after the night practice and wanted to meditate a little before going to bed.

Arthur walked through the castle halls, gazing at the servants who passed by him from time to time. Then, a voice came from behind, one he knew.

"Captain Leonard! Is something wrong?" Arthur asked, treating the man with respect.

"Haha, no, everything is fine. Look, Arthur, I want to talk with you for a second."

It was strange for him to approach him out of a sudden, but Arthur did not mind and said, "sure."

They went to the same bench Arthur had talked with Tessa before. It was a public area, but there were not many people around.

"Arthur, you impressed me today, and there is something I wish to tell you. You see, there\'s an empty spot for a vice-captain that I need to fill. I have one month to do so, and I wish you can take that position."

"Really? What do I need to do?"

"Well, keep working hard as you are doing, and reach the eighth circle in one month. That is my concern. Can you reach it in this short time?"

Leonard needed to find a vice-captain, but no one caught his attention. The other vampires, stronger than the recruits, were all stuck in their levels, and Leonard did not see them as genius or people with prominent talent.

Arthur was the only one that caught his attention, and he saw him as someone who could reach greater heights and even turn into someone important to the vampire army.

"One month to get to the eighth circle? Yes, I can do that. Will I become the vice-captain then?"

The plan was to get higher positions, but Arthur did not think he would get promoted so soon. So what will the other vampires feel about it? Especially that one who hated Arthur to the bones.

"Uh, yes. If you reach that level, then the position is yours. Anyway, that was what I came to talk with you about. I will let you rest now. Bye."

Leonard left after that, and Arthur could not hold his smile after he entered his room.

"I am freaking awesome! I am already getting the vice-captain position on the first training day!"

He was not concerned about reaching the eighth circle, as that would be easy for him, who had an extraordinary talent and access to the strongest techniques in the world. On the contrary, Arthur believed he would surpass the eighth circle in one month and perhaps reach the tenth!

With the excitement of getting a new position, Arthur did not go to bed soon and spent hours meditating, slowly increasing his power. He only stopped around 3 am when his belly was noisy.

"I should get something to eat."

Arthur left his room and went toward where one could get free flasks of blood. But, along the way, something inside of him told him to get something fresher and not blood from a flask.

"Should I…"

The members of the Von Stein family had access to a dungeon where humans were used as cattle. Before, Arthur would probably want to find a way to save them, but now? He could not care less about their fate, and his hunger wanted to drink directly from the vein.

So, instead of going to the flask\'s place, Arthur changed his route and went to the dungeon. A guard there would see everyone coming in and ensure they all came out.

Also, there were rules.

"Are you here to feed? Remember the rules: don\'t kill the humans, and don\'t feed to the point of getting them too weak."

Arthur nodded and went inside, walking through a small stone corridor. It was dark and wet, and the atmosphere was not great either. One could see vampires coming out of the dungeon with happy faces and the screams of the humans down there, begging to leave.

It was not the best of places, but Arthur kept going until he reached the room where the humans were tied and mind-controlled to act as cattle, unable to leave.

They wore ragged clothes, and even after Arthur opened their cage door, no one left. The mind control was too strong, thus making it impossible for any of them to go against it.

Arthur chose the healthiest human and plunged his fangs into its neck, drinking the blood directly from the vein. It felt good, and he wished to drink it until the human died but controlled himself to stop.

"Killing a human cattle will give me a lot of trouble!"

He was more worried about the problems that would follow, not caring about human life.

~~~~

"He left his room and went to the dungeon. Should we attack him there?"

"No way. The guard in front is a rank one mage, and he will feel the disturbance down there and end our lives. We should wait for a better opportunity."

Two vampires were spying on Arthur\'s room and talked to each other the moment he left. One of them was someone Arthur knew, the vampire who tried to attack him during training.

"Our chance will come, don\'t worry. Arthur will not leave unharmed after what he did to me!"

~~~~

Arthur felt refreshed after feeding, and now he wanted a nap. But things kept happening in the vampire\'s castle, and everywhere he looked, something was odd.

It was Tessa again, walking through the halls, looking behind her back and at every corner. Arthur could tell she would meet with someone in secret just by looking at how she acted; just like before, he followed.

Why should he be afraid? Only a rank-three vampire could spot him after using his stealth spells, and Arthur did not think the duke would be in all the secret meetings, as that would be too suspicious.

So, he followed Tessa hoping no rank-three mage would be there. She made the same path as the other time, but then she changed course and walked toward a library.

Almost no one used that library, especially at that time of the night. It was empty, and the only person there was the vampire responsible for the library.

"If there\'s a secret passage here, how will Tessa use it without that vampire knowing?" Arthur thought, but then he understood how she would do it.

It turned out the vampire responsible for the library was also someone Tessa knew, just like the guard from the tower.

"They are inside already. Go in; I will close the library in ten minutes."