Chapter 3: The Variable of Mana
The damp chill of the cellar did little to cool the rising panic in the room. Two hours had passed. The paralysis from the Wyvern's Thorn was fading, replaced by the stinging return of sensation and the heavy rattle of chains.
Brance, the warrior, was the first to speak. He tugged at the iron manacles bolted to the stone wall, the muscles in his arms bulging. "Let us go, you crazy witch! Do you know who we are? The Guild will—"
" The Guild will assume you died in a goblin ambush or drank yourselves to death in a ditch," Seraphina interrupted calmly.
She stood by a makeshift wooden table, arranging a row of glass vials. She wasn't looking at them; she was holding a glass slide up to the light of a mana-lamp. "Besides, screaming increases your heart rate. It makes the blood pump faster, which is messy. Please remain calm."
Elara, the mage, was weeping silently. "Please," she whispered, her voice trembling. "My father is a merchant in the capital. He has gold. He can pay—"
"I have gold," Seraphina said, turning to face them. Her violet eyes were uncomfortably bright in the dim light. "What I do not have is data."
She walked over to Brance. The large man recoiled, pressing his back against the cold stone. Seraphina moved with a predatory grace that triggered primal alarms in his brain.
"Subject One: Warrior Class. Rank 2," she noted aloud.
She produced a small, silver scalpel. With surgical precision, she made a shallow cut on Brance's forearm. He grunted, thrashing, but she held his arm steady with a grip that felt like a steel vice.
She caught the welling crimson in a vial, then lifted a single drop to her tongue.
She closed her eyes, analyzing the sensation.
Taste: Metallic. Salty. Heavy with iron and adrenaline.
Texture: Thick.
"Crude," she murmured. "But potent."
She leaned in. Brance tried to headbutt her, but she caught his forehead with one hand, effortlessly pinning his skull against the wall. She lowered her mouth to the wound on his arm.
She didn't drain him dry—that would ruin the specimen. She took a controlled draft, perhaps a pint.
As the blood hit her stomach, heat exploded through her limbs. It wasn't magical; it was purely biological. The fatigue from carrying them here vanished instantly. Her muscles felt denser, her senses sharper. The nagging hunger that had plagued her since awakening this morning was silenced.
She pulled back, wiping her lip. Brance was pale and panting, but alive.
"Analysis," Seraphina said, walking back to her desk to scribble notes. "Warrior blood is... fuel. It acts as a high-efficiency caloric intake. It repairs tissue and restores physical stamina instantly. However..." She paused, checking her internal state. "No structural changes. No evolution."
She turned her gaze to Elara.
The mage let out a sob. "No... no, stay away!"
"Subject Two: Mage Class. Rank 2," Seraphina recited. "Hypothesis: The presence of a Mana Core alters the composition of the blood."
She approached Elara. The mage tried to channel mana, sparks of weak fire dancing on her fingertips, but Seraphina simply slapped her hand aside. The physical difference between them was too vast.
"Don't struggle. It wastes the flavor," Seraphina whispered.
She didn't use the scalpel this time. She brushed Elara's hair aside, exposing the jugular. She could hear the hum of the mage's blood—it sounded different. It didn't just rush; it sang.
Seraphina bit down.
The sensation was incomparable to the warrior's blood. If Brance was stale water, Elara was vintage wine mixed with liquid lightning.
The moment the blood touched her tongue, Seraphina's vision went white. A jolt of pleasure and power arched her spine. She could feel the mana dissolved in the blood cells rushing into her own system, but instead of just sitting there, her body began to absorb it greedily.
It felt like her bones were vibrating. The blood wasn't just filling her stomach; it was rewriting her DNA.
She pulled away, gasping. Her skin was flushed, and her violet eyes were glowing with a distinct, rhythmic pulse.
Elara had fainted from the shock, her head lolling forward.
Seraphina stumbled back, clutching the edge of her desk. She could feel something inside her unlocking. A barrier she hadn't known existed was thinning.
She grabbed her quill, her hand shaking slightly from the rush of power.
Experiment 18: Comparative Hematology & Consumption Effects.
Sample A (Warrior, Rank 2):
Effect: Rapid restoration of HP and Stamina. Satiates hunger effectively.
Side Effect: Slight increase in aggression.
Evolutionary Impact: 0%.
Conclusion: Warrior blood is sustenance. It keeps the engine running.
Sample B (Mage, Rank 2):
Effect: distinct "tingling" sensation. Mentally stimulating.
Side Effect: Intoxication/Euphoria.
Evolutionary Impact: Significant.
Internal Status Report:
Upon consuming Mage blood, I sensed a dormant part of my physiology react. The mana in her blood is being broken down and used to refine my own core.
Current Estimation:
Progenitor Evolution Progress: 20%
Hypothesis: My body requires processed mana to evolve. I cannot absorb ambient mana from the air like a human mage. I must consume it from a biological source.
Note: To reach the next stage of existence (Rank 2 Vampire?), I estimate I need either 4 more subjects of this level... or one of a higher rank.
Seraphina looked up from the diary. She looked at the unconscious mage with a newfound appreciation.
"You aren't just food," she whispered, a cold smile touching her lips. "You're raw material."
She extinguished the lamp and headed for the stairs, locking the heavy iron door behind her. The King's daughter had a long night of study ahead of her.