"So what is this about, Master?", I asked. Curiosity killed the cat, as one would say.
"I'm interested too, Grandmother. What do you plan to give Naoto?", Emma asked with interest. The three of us were huddled off to the side of the beach with a row of spectators who started to pass time with idle chatter.
"Oh nothing super important. Just a little bit of my blood is all. I believe in the concept of equivalent exchange. You take something, and you give it back. I'm paying Naoto what is properly due, since you allowed me some from back then.", Roselia said, looking back at me. Emma's mind started to fizzle hearing that.
"You're going to...what?", Emma tried to ask, unsure if what she heard was correct or not. Roselia disregarded Emma's comment, and looked at me instead.
"Offer some of my blood to Naoto, like I said. What surprises me more is that you haven't done so yet in those dank caves. I figure you would have by now.", Roselia said, showing a look of surprise in her eyes.
"Well, I created some Blood Spheres while we were inside there, yeah. And I was able to make use of them. But as far as drinking someone's blood, you really think I'd fall that low to drink from one of those bastards? You know how rotten to the core they are, Master.", I said, sighing. But as I said that, Emma still had a shocked look in her eyes.
"W-Why are you speaking of this so casually, Naoto!?", Emma asked.
"Umu.", Roselia nodded, acknowledging my words. Roselia turned to look toward Emma. She now had a serious look in her eyes. It wasn't often you'd see Roselia like this, so more surprise entered Emma's eyes seeing this.
"Listen well, Emma. After this exchange today, this responsibility might fall onto you in the future. Isola hasn't told you much about me, has she?", Roselia suddenly asked.
"About you, Grandmother?", Emma asked, letting her regain some composure. She pondered for a moment, only to shake her head. "Now that I think about it, Mother has not."
"Then we shall start from there. You may not realize it, but these fangs of mine...", Roselia said, only to raise one of her hands toward her mouth, and lift one of her lips upward. She bared her fangs at Emma, just like she once did at me. "These aren't for show."
"...!", Emma tried to say, only to feel shocked hearing Roselia say this. "...Then, that comment about drinking blood...You really do that, Grandmother?"
"Umu. It helps replenish my Mana most considerably. Naoto acted as my battery before, so like I said, it's time I pay what's due. Being the Progenitor of my clan, let alone the last one of it, you should not let this opportunity go to waste. I say that, but thanks to that ability of yours, I am no longer alone.", Roselia said, grinning at me.
Hearing that, I turned quiet.
So that's why True Dhampir's Occupation was created...
Roselia really is a vampire. Red Moon Rose wasn't just for show and tell. She really did experience all of that...!
As I was equally shocked at the revelation, Emma also still had shock in her eyes, trying to contemplate what Roselia spoke to us. Of course, the rest couldn't hear this. We were being quiet while conversing.
"...T-Then what do you mean this might become my responsibility in the future?", Emma asked, still hesitant.
"It might be best just to show you, Emma dearest. After all, Naoto is like me.", Roselia said, smiling this time.
"???", Emma tried to ask, just to remain confused on the matter.
"Haha. I did not think you would propose such a thing, Master. I am not against it. You know what I gave. So it is very possible I could grow stronger by doing this. I say that, but are we fine doing that in a place like this? We've got...spectators and all.", I said, knowing there were quite a bit of people around us. Still, I saw Roselia nod her head.
"I do not see a problem. It's their own fault if they don't understand what is about to happen here. You want to make sure you don't get your ass beat by that Jaeger brat, right? Then drink the blood I am offering you. Even I don't know what will happen, but with what you got and all, you may very well benefit from it, like you said.", Roselia said, explaining her side.
"Well, if I end up going berserk from this, it'll be your fault. You might want to look away, Emma.", I said, looking at Emma with a worried look. To my surprise, I saw Emma calm down again, and saw a resolute look appear in her eyes.
"No. I want to see this. You vanished so suddenly, Naoto. We're friends, and I want to be there for you. Don't run off like that again, alright?", Emma asked me. Hearing that, I smiled.
"Very well.", I responded, not wanting to persuade Emma any longer. If she wanted to witness this, then so be it. Instead, I shifted my thoughts to my Gamer System. It didn't take long to activate my Occupation.
[Ding! Gamer Naoto has changed Occupation to True Dhampir.]
If this really is going to be related to my Occupation, then I wanted to see what it was going to do. Emma became surprised once again to see my eyes turn into two vertical slits. Very similar to Roselia's eyes. On top of that, the tips of my violet-colored hair singed a deep crimson red. Like someone dying their hair. Thankfully it isn't permanent, haha!
It wasn't just that, either. My canine teeth began to change. They extended outward, slowly, but surely. Seeing my fangs, Emma turned silent.
"Don't blame me, alright?", I asked. I saw Emma nod her head, and kept silent. She knew she couldn't interrupt this. Seeing this, Roselia revealed a playful smile.
"Umu. Then let us begin.", Roselia said. She parted away some of her hair, which revealed her neck. I approached her. And chomped down. CHOMP. Kushaa!
A faint sound of flesh being pierced echoed around us, and I felt something warm start to enter my throat. It was...strange. It didn't feel cold. I could still taste that iron-y taste when you taste blood. From nearby, Vita just watched on, shocked to her core.
"This...", Vita tried, unable to find words for what I was now doing. She saw my throat moving back and forth. She knew well what was happening. Gulp. Even Lechter watched on with surprise.
"...Is the Young Master really drinking blood right now? And what's up with that strange hair?"
"This is indeed unexpected. Let us just watch for now.", Rufus said, showing interest in his eyes.
"We know what Big Brother can do, but he didn't go to this extent. Said something about those bastards being too rotten. Guess we now know why.", Sherryl uttered. It was as if something clicked inside her head.
"I found this interesting back then, but never pressed on the matter.", Tio said, nodding her head.
"It don't matter what it is goin' to be. A change is comin'. That much is for sure. Reminds me of the Middle Ages, if anythin'.", Rutger said, musing at what he was now seeing before him.
"This just means the duel is going to be more interesting, right?", Fie asked, wanting to know what is going to happen from here.
"Haha, that's one way to put it.", Rutger answered.
As for Emma, she just observed the new scene before her. She was the closest to me out of everyone. '...Just what are you, Naoto? Is this really going to be my responsibility in the future...?', Emma wondered to herself, trying to stay silent in an attempt not to disturb me.
It didn't take long at all for me to get a satisfied feeling. Shortly after, the Gamer Notifications started rolling on through. I suddenly felt lightheaded. It wasn't a bad feeling, though. My teeth popped back out, and left behind a wound on Roselia's neck. It rapidly healed itself before my eyes.
"Ugh...", I groaned a bit, feeling a little tipsy.
"N-Naoto? Are you alright?", Emma tried to ask, quickly catching me from falling down. I couldn't thank her in time before I saw the Gamer Notifications come through one after another.
[Ding! Gamer Naoto has successfully drunk blood for the first time. All Stats has increased by 15%.]
[Ding! Due to Gamer Naoto drinking the blood of the Progenitor, the effect has doubled. All Stats have been increased by 30%.]
[Ding! Gamer Naoto's Occupation has been upgraded from True Dhampir into Child of the Progenitor.]
[Ding! New Skills are now available for Gamer Naoto.]
[Ding! Blood Boost I, Limit Break, Flight and Danger Sense Skills have been awarded to Gamer Naoto.]
[Ding! Darkness Magic is now available for Gamer Naoto.]
[Blood Boost I]
Effect 1: Attack Damage inflicted by Blood Spells is increased by 100%.
[Limit Break]
Effect 1: Consumes 1000 EP per second to temporarily boost all stats by 200%.
Effect 2: Attacks always land as a critical hit.
Effect 3: Critical hit modifier adjusted to 300%.
[Flight]
Effect 1: Consumes 100 EP per second to create jet-black wings on Gamer Naoto's back.
[Danger Sense]
Effect 1: Detects stronger foes and labels them purple color on Minimap.
Effect 2: Detects extremely strong foes and labels them black color on Minimap.
[Ding! Gamer Naoto's Stat Preview has been adjusted and is now available for viewing.]
This first flurry of Gamer Notifications came swiftly. I felt tipsy at the beginning but I could feel newfound energy swelling inside of me. Unbeknownst to me, everyone became shocked once they started a blood-red aura leak from my body. Seeing this, Roselia smiled.
"Umu. It looks like you are benefiting from this well, boy.", Roselia said, pleased to see this newfound aura sweep around me.
"Oioioi, the kid ain't developing battle qi right before us now, is he?", Killing Bear questioned with a frown. He felt his own muscles start screaming seeing the aura. It was beginning to make his blood boil.
"Now this is unexpected, I don't think this is battle qi though...", Firebird uttered, also shocked.
"Now there's a pressure I wasn't expectin' to feel from you, Your Highness. I'm gettin' an itch to fight already.", Rutger said, and proceeded to stand back up. Hearing that, I let out a big laugh. I never felt better! Power surges sure are something, aren't they? My stats suddenly increased by 30% thanks to drinking Roselia's blood. And these new Skills. Limit Break in particular...
"Hahaha! Now this is power. I can feel it.", I uttered, smiling back at Roselia.
"Naoto...", Emma also uttered. It was clear she was worried about my current appearance. I simply smiled back at her, and assured her I was fine.
"I'm fine, Emma. I've never felt better. I almost feel like I can win now.", I said.
"Oh? Well, best of luck to you, Naoto. It looks like this battle won't last terribly long, so I might stick around.", Roselia said to me. Still, Vita remained shocked seeing this play out before her.
"G-Grandmother! What did you do to Naoto!?", Vita asked. She appeared even more worried than Emma. Roselia just glanced her eyes at her, still having a calm look in her eyes.
"Me? I did nothing. I told you, didn't I? 'Tis but a small boon Naoto is currently experiencing. Can't you feel it?", Roselia asked, only to make Vita more confused.
"Feel it...?", Vita asked, and calmed down a bit. Sure enough, the blood-like aura grew steadier and steadier as she continued to observe me. It was clear to her I was experiencing a change.
"Naoto's Mana is rising...", Emma stated.
"You're right Emma, but how...?", Vita tried to ask. As for the Jaegers, they just watched on, sharing a mixture of emotion. Rutger's eyes grew in anticipation with each passing moment. It was then I heard a final round of Gamer Notifications, which even I found surprising.
[Ding! Gamer Naoto has finished consuming the Progenitor's blood.]
[Ding! Due to Gamer Naoto not wasting a drop, the initial Stat boost of 30% has doubled, increasing All Stats by 60%.]
[Ding! Gamer Naoto's EP has increased by 100%.]
[Ding! New Spells have been created for Gamer Naoto and are available for viewing.]
[Ding! Due to drinking Roselia's blood, Roselia's favorability has reached its limit. 100% Favorability has been achieved.]
[Ding! Roselia's Blessing has been granted to Gamer Naoto.]
[Roselia's Blessing]
Effect 1: +500 ATS, +5000 EP.
Effect 2: Grants Title: Nighttouched.
Effect 3: Grants Custom Quartz - Mind V x1.
[Nighttouched]
Effect 1: Attack Damage of Darkness Magic is increased by 100%.
Effect 2: Doubles Spell Range of Darkness Magic.
Effect 3: If the Spell hits all targets, trigger the Spell twice.
Effect 4: If under direct moonlight, Effect 1-3 are doubled.