CHAPTER 23: WHAT THE HELL IS THIS?! A BATTLE SHOUNEN?!

I’m starting to think that bastard John Hawkley is obsessed with me because he wants my dick—just the thought makes me sick.

It sounds ridiculous, but I can’t come up with any other explanation.

Otherwise, why would he invite me to his massive mansion in the most remote and rundown part of New York’s outskirts?

Of course, he couldn’t just come out and say it, so he used an absurd excuse:

«Now that the Monster Reapers are sweeping the worst alleys of New York, searching for the mysterious vampire who decapitates his victims, your time is running out, Ren—unless something changes. You have potential, kid—my sixth sense never fails—and it would be a shame if someone with your talent got killed like a common thug. I’m not a vampire, but during my much longer life than it seems, I’ve met hundreds of them and studied their magic. Right now, this knowledge is useless to me, but for you, Ren Lazar, it’s a goldmine. Practicing vampire spells in the streets of New York isn’t exactly discreet, but luckily, my estate has all the space we need.»

Isn’t that basically a fancy and subtle way of saying, «I don’t want anyone seeing us do dirty things in public, but at my place, away from prying eyes, we can do whatever we want.»

It’s basically the same sentence...

...so why the hell did I accept his invitation? Probably because I hoped even a fraction of what he promised might be true.

Learning to master powerful vampire spells would be insane—I could crush the Monster Reapers hunting me down, and maybe even John Hawkley himself!

No... that guy’s a snake, but he’s not dumb.

He’d never shoot himself in the foot by making me strong enough to kill him, especially without getting something in return.

Exactly, no strings attached—that’s what surprises me the most. I expected the usual blackmail, like: «I’ll teach you everything I know, but in return, you’ll work for me» or some crap like that.

But nope.

He hasn’t even brought it up.

And John is definitely not the kind of guy who does things out of the kindness of his heart.

So if he didn’t try to blackmail me into being his lackey... do you get now why I think he wants my dick?

And yet... plot twist!

I was speechless the moment we passed through the tall gates of his massive three-story mansion and stood in the middle of the enormous garden—he actually started giving me a legit lesson about the basics of vampire magic.

Apparently, it’s called Sanguis, and he explained how to use it.

«The energy flowing through a vampire’s veins is called Sanguis. To put it simply, vampires draw power from their own blood and can manipulate it however they want, like when you create that big scythe. A skilled vampire can obviously do much more than summon a farmer’s tool—I’ve personally met vampires in N’Raeth powerful enough to level areas the size of the United States with a single blast of energy. It’ll be a long and difficult road, but I’m sure that with a promising student like you, it’ll pay off.» John explains with his arms crossed and a serious look—God, he almost looks like my science teacher right now.

And I hate my science teacher.

Wait... did I hear that right?! Vampires who can wipe out the entire US with a single shot?!

What the hell is this?! A Battle Shounen?!

He’s gotta be messing with me. It all sounds way too absurd to be real—but damn it, he’s so serious and confident when he talks that I can’t help but believe him.

He looks pretty disappointed when I admit the only thing I can do with my powers is summon my usual scythe.

I mean, how was I supposed to know there was a whole world of other possibilities?

Without anyone to teach me how vampire magic works, it’s honestly a miracle I managed even that.

And after a long, painfully boring string of theoretical explanations, we finally get to the interesting part: the Blood Words.

That’s what vampire spells are called.

Basically, Blood Words are divided into levels, from 1 to 5 depending on power and how much magic they use.

That’s my goal: within a month, I should be able to cast the most basic Blood Word, called Burst, which lets you channel your magic into a powerful energy beam.

Yup, John Hawkley is literally turning me into a damn Battle Shounen protagonist... and it’s freaking awesome!

The idea that one day I’ll be able to shoot freaking energy beams from my hands like a superhero pumps me up like crazy.

That’s why I’m not wasting a single second—I dive straight into the Sanguis manipulation exercises, under John’s sharp, watchful eyes.

Yeah, but... I still don’t get why he’s doing all this.

He wants to turn me into a vampire strong enough to take on, or even surpass, the Monster Reapers—and then what?

I can’t figure out what he stands to gain.

I’ve asked him several times, but his answers are always vague and all over the place.

«We’re both beings from another world. If we don’t help each other, who else will?»

Honestly, I doubt a guy like him is capable of real altruism—it’s obvious that, sooner or later, he’ll try to blackmail me.

And there’s only one way he could pull that off: by targeting the people I care about.

If he ever so much as mentions the names Isabelle or Elaine just to force me to join him...

...that’ll be the moment I put his teachings to good use.

Anyway... manipulating this damn Sanguis magic is way more complicated than that bastard made it sound.

It’s almost dawn—I’ve been in John’s garden for at least five hours—and the best I’ve managed so far is generating a tiny energy orb in my palm, no bigger than a marble.

According to him, it’s still solid progress.

Yeah, super useful... in case I ever go to the beach with a Monster Reaper and we feel like playing marbles in the sand.

Maybe he’s just saying that to encourage me, to make sure I keep coming back for this training—not that I wouldn’t come back even if he told me I’m the most useless vampire in the history of vampires.

«Oh, almost forgot: using Sanguis magic... makes a vampire really hungry,» John adds at the end of our first training session.

And now that he mentions it, my craving for human blood has shot through the roof, though I was too focused on training to notice.

Yeah, he totally "forgot" to tell me something so important, that bastard.

But I don’t even have time to worry about how I’m supposed to find food now that it’s almost dawn, because John orders one of his men to bring me something.

A man—he’s in bad shape, but still alive.

He stares at me, terrified—his eyes are those of someone who’s seen way more than a human mind can handle.

«This man is... let’s say, a competitor of mine. My people captured him just a couple hours ago. I was going to have him killed, but since I have a guest, it would’ve been rude not to offer something to eat. Don’t be shy, Ren. Help yourself.»

First the magic lesson, now fresh human blood...

This bastard really knows how to win me over.

And I’m not the kind of guy who turns down such fine hospitality.

—SLASH!