Chapter 248: Questions and Answers IV
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Then the screen updated.
[Ding! SYSTEM Notification: Vampire Creation Lv2 acquired.
Shared slot structure restrictions removed.
Blood Puppet slots unchanged: 1/3
Vampire Creation slots updated: 2/3
New effect: The host may convert stronger eligible female targets into true vampires.
Strength limit expanded: targets up to 2x host strength threshold.
Current host Chaos Rank: 2
Maximum direct conversion threshold: Chaos Rank 4. Conversion effect scales by target rank.
Same rank or lower: up to 3-rank growth push possible.
Higher rank targets: diminished growth benefit.
Chaos Rank 4 targets: maximum immediate push = 1 rank.]
Sekhmet stared at the new text. Separate slots. Two out of three.
That meant only one current vampire slot remained open, if he counted the existing structure properly.
He sat very still for a moment, thinking.
At Chaos Rank 2, he could now convert Chaos Rank 4 females into true vampires. They will become Rank 5 just by turning.
The phrase itself had dangerous weight.
The updated status window appears in front of his eyes.
[Status Window
Host: Sekhmet Dawn
Race: Human
Location: Slik City (Null Territory)
Overall Battle Power: 22000
System Note: Host has removed training suppression. The host’s combat power is active.
Chaos Energy: 11000
Chaos Body: 11000
Chaos Energy Purity: 13%
Blood Awakening: 5%
Blood Proficiency: 0/100
Skills-
Blood Control Lv2
Blood Sword Lv1 (Can transform blood into a sword for now)
Blood Eye Lv2 (Appraise items and beings. Can now see more detailed information and low-rank god status)
Blood Summon Lv2 (Summon blood minions using blood. Stronger blood = stronger summon. Minimum summon battle power: 1000. Rare summons can evolve into Harpies)
Blood Puppet Lv2 (Slots 1/3. Cannot betray master. Forced conversion if target battle power is not more than 2x host. Stronger targets require willing acceptance)
Vampire Creation Lv2 (Slots 2/3. Eligible Targets: Female only. Loyalty: Absolute. Growth: Blood feeding. Can now turn any female into a true vampire if they are not more than 2x stronger than the host. Same and lower rank targets can gain up to 3-rank push. Rank 4 targets gain up to 1-rank push)
Blood Eye Upgrade Effect: Active
Vampire Creation Shared Slot Restriction: Removed]
He let the system screen fade but kept the information in mind. Blood Puppet and Vampire Creation no longer cannibalized each other’s space. That alone changed his tactical future dramatically.
More importantly, creation has become cleaner and stronger. And that meant choices.
He leaned back in the chair again, fingers tapping lightly once against the armrest.
"Who should I turn into a true vampire?"
The question had never been abstract before. The earlier structure of the skill had kept it more theoretical, more constrained, something to be aware of but not yet move on too aggressively. Now that one free slot sat in his mind like a red-lit door.
"Mira? No. She needs to prove her loyalty more."
"Elena? Already bound differently. She is much stronger. Doesn’t fit the requirements yet."
"One of the maids? Too dangerous. Too close to the household balance. Not now. Maybe later. When I got more slots."
His mind touched the possibility and then moved away at once. Complicated. Too visible. Too much emotional weight and too many future consequences.
"Maybe Lil.."
The thought arrived and vanished before he could do it. His mind went very still. Because a knock interrupted him before the thought could finish devouring itself.
He looked up. "Come in."
The door opened, and Lily stepped back inside.
She had clearly eaten quickly or only pretended to. There was still a trace of afternoon brightness on her, but now curiosity had returned full force. She shut the door behind her and studied him at once.
"What are you thinking about?" she asked.
Sekhmet looked at her. Then at the table. Then back at her. He did not answer.
Lily’s eyes narrowed at once. "That means it is either dangerous, embarrassing, or both."
"Both," he said before he could stop himself.
That made her blink. Then she smiled slightly and came farther into the room.
"Now I am even more interested."
Sekhmet shook his head. "That is not how self-preservation works."
"It is for me."
He remained quiet.
Lily came to the table and rested one hand on it, watching him with open curiosity.
"You look better." She said to him.
"I am." He answered.
"See? Telling the truth did not burden you."
"It still feels rude."
"Good. Stay emotionally alive."
He almost smiled again.
Lily’s gaze moved over his face, then sharpened unexpectedly.
"You are hungry?"
Sekhmet blinked.
She tilted her head. "A little. Not wild. But I can tell."
His expression shifted very slightly. "Can you?"
"Yes." She shrugged. "Your eyes change a little. Your focus changes. It is subtle, but it is there now that I know what I am looking at."
That was... useful information. And dangerous at the same time.
Before he could respond, Lily did something that robbed him of the next three thoughts in a row.
She held out her wrist toward him.
"Eat," she said simply. "You must be hungry."
Sekhmet stared at her hand. Then at her face. Then back at her hand. His mind did not fail often. But It failed now.
"What????"
Lily kept her wrist where it was. She was calm and steady. Entirely too serious for the sentence she had just delivered.
"You heard me."
Sekhmet stood so quickly the chair scraped lightly behind him.
"No."
Lily blinked. "That was fast."
"No," he repeated, more sharply.
Her hand lowered a little, but not all the way. "Why?"
He looked at her like she had just suggested solving a headache by setting the curtains on fire.
"Because if I feed on you, you will be infected. I can turn you..."
Lily’s gaze held his. "Yes."
The room went silent again.
Sekhmet’s voice dropped. "I told you this earlier."
"You did."
"You listened."
"I did."
"And you are still offering."
"Yes."
He stared at her, waiting for the joke that would explain the insanity.
None came.
"Lily," he said carefully, "that is exactly why I am refusing."
She looked almost surprised by his surprise.
"That is the point."
Sekhmet stopped moving altogether. For one long second, his mind simply refused to process that sentence.
Then it did.
And the result was somehow worse.
"The point," he repeated.
Lily nodded once.
She lowered her hand now, but only because she no longer needed the gesture.
"I want to get infected by you."
The words landed with terrifying calm.
Sekhmet felt as if someone had quietly kicked a hole through the floor under him.
"What?"
Her expression did not change.
"I want to be like you," she said.
Every coherent thought in his head collapsed into stunned silence.
For the first time in a very long while, Sekhmet Dawn had absolutely nothing to say...