"Oh? You've met him?"
"Once for something. Anyways, he isn't very good at fighting and doesn't even have the most men in his army. He's just extremely smart. Like, really, really smart. I wouldn't be surprised if he's trying to overthrow the emperor… which is also why the old man constantly has to go back and forth since he trusts him the most."
"So we should stay wary of him?"
"Yes, please do. You'll underestimate him when you first see him, but please take my word for advice. Don't fuck with him any further… you do not want him to be going after you all the time… and I guess for now, you can sleep with me. I have tons of guards around my room, so no assassin will be able to get through."
"Thanks," I bluntly responded and packed up my stuff before moving over to Wu's bedroom, which was… well… pretty fucking big.
…
[Vampiric Creation]
The next morning, whilst nobody was around, I summoned four vampires that sucked tons of energy out of me, but at least I had Wu's lessons in the morning, giving me more than enough time to recover.
Once they had spawned from the pool of blood, finally done diffusing through my arms, they kneeled in front of me.
They were all in black cloaks as if they already knew my wishes, and their usually glowing red eyes were a bit dimmed into a dark pale red.
Two women and two men. They looked to be nimble at the joints but powerful enough to hold their own against any monster that could attack them.
"Your set time is one month," I muttered, causing all of them to snap their heads up towards me, their eyes practically bulging out of their sockets. "I trust you know what I want to do and what I want to accomplish…."
They all nodded silently before raising up, slowly towering over me the further they began to stand.
"Okay. Leave and don't come back unless you have my desired information or anything else important. If it's something else, I'll judge whether it suffices," I muttered coldly, and after all the cloaked vampires visibly shivered under my presence, they turned away from me and disappeared, sprinting towards the west.
I wasn't about to sit here idly, and even though this was a great sacrifice to my stamina… as long as I had this practically infinite pool of mana, pulling off something like this was no problem.
But the one main thing I was worried about, and that has always been in my calculuations when I summoned vampires, was their sentience.
I don't know where they come from, but it's clear they see me as their master. Although, there is the possibility that it is something fake and they hail from a place unbeknownst to me.
I have no clue where the source of vampires is, but as long as I have this skill, I'll make sure they follow me through fear. Nothing more, nothing less. Because as long as there is fear, I can control all of them in a breezy moment.
For them to gain more sentience than they already have will be like giving birth to a new life who wants to actually accomplish something. They don't want to just sacrifice themselves for this forced loyalty.
And the only reason why I've considered this is that if I was in that position, forced loyalty to somebody I just met, I would strive for more and attempt to break my bonds.
So, that is the reason for the time limit. It's to make sure none of them betray me and consider doing something other than the mission I have given them… but I guess I can only wait and see.
…
"Alright, now can you get me those leaves over there…" Wu ordered, and as I sluggishly walked over there, she snapped at me. "Quick! Come on! Before the materials meld together even more!"
I sprinted and retrieved the materials, handing them to her and slumping down on a chair just beside the table.
I was so exhausted from keeping up four summons at the same time that my stamina hovered around the thirty mark. That was exactly half of what my stamina is supposed to be.
"Are you even paying attention?" Wu snarled, slamming the table with her hand and snapping her eyes toward me. "What's wrong? Hm? Already tired of my teaching?"
"It's just… I'm feeling tired today. Do you think we can maybe rest up today… I'm not feeling my best."
"Oh… that's a shame. I was planning on teaching you a technique that will completely change everything about you… but okay. I guess we can take a break for today…." Wu rolled her eyes, but she had already made my ears perk up, so I swiftly straightened my back and softened my eyes.
"I-I was just kidding. Come on, sit back down, Master," I smiled, and as the woman blew out a long sigh, she pushed two empty wooden bowls in front of me and kicked her legs back.
"Now, make the two things I just made, and then I'll teach it. I'm not wasting materials on using this technique on something mid as fuck…, so go. Do it. Now!" She demanded, and as I stretched my limbs a bit, she slammed the table, waking me up to go gather all of the ingredients.
"Y'know, just because I looked lazy didn't mean I wasn't paying attention," I cheekily grinned, and as the woman rolled her eyes once more, I ground the first batch of materials up, splashing a few drops of cold liquid into it in order to finalize the entire thing.
I then mashed up the next batch of ingredients and dripped a few drops of boiling hot liquid into the mixture, causing an eruption of steam to finalize the entire thing.
"And… how is it?" I asked, pushing two bowls towards her, causing her to let out an angry grunt as she muttered under her breath, and soon she took her two wooden bowls and shoved it in front of her.
"Now, pay attention. I won't be doing this again."
