' The lad has lost it '. Drax murmured in Max's mind as Max continued to observe the vampire's antics.
It took Severus a whole 20 minutes to regain his composure, but even then the stupid grin on his face would just not go away.
" You know, I was very very close to landing myself in trouble with the family elders for using the primordial essence without their prior approval.
I would have lost my head if you had died ". Severus explained to Max who started to grin now, the silliness displayed by Severus being a bit infectious.
" Well well well, there's a lot we need to see but before everything else let's perform some basic tests and help you hone your senses a bit.
Although you have survived the experience, I'm not sure you understand the new instincts and predatory nature of your body, however, fret not because I, Severus Saint Maximus will guide you ". Severus led Max from one floor to another inside the laboratory, making their way up through a literal maze of corridors.
Along the way, Max saw various lab assistants of Severus look at Max as if he was the ninth wonder of the world or something, while Asiva sulked in a corner sharpening her weapons.
She threw Max a glance, and their eyes met for a split second but instantly both of them looked away not wanting to maintain eye contact any longer.
Eventually, Max was led into a room full of human captives, where Severus finally stopped walking.
The humans inside were all extremely fat and plumpy, with a distinct red tint on their skins showing that they had a healthy hemoglobin content.
" We only have the best quality of human foods, only the juiciest plumpest humans are chosen!
Go on then!
Have a bite! " Severus signaled to Max
Max looked at the blindfolded and tied-up humans as he could discern the growing horror on their faces after hearing Severus's voice.
They squirmed and struggled, some peed themselves, overall it was a sad scenario to look at, but oddly Max did not feel uncomfortable at all.
He had no urge to bite into humans, somehow psychologically it still felt wrong to view them as food, however, while the older Max's heart would ache to see the deplorable state they were in, the vampire Max felt no sympathy for them at all.
Nonetheless, Max shook his head and said " No … I will eat and drink like a normal human. I don't want to feed on blood ".
Severus studied Max for a second and then grinned, his fangs shining under his wide smile as he slowly walked up to a human and slit his arm to leak blood.
Max looked at Severus with his eyebrows raised and said "As I said, I …. ".
The scent of fresh blood wasped into Max's nose, the aroma making his mind go blank as his salivary glands started to salivate like a rabid dog
" I - I - ". Max stuttered to form speech, and before he knew it his primal instincts took over as he dug his fangs deep into the human's bleeding body part as he began to suck the blood out of his body.
The human screamed and howled in pain, however, Max could no longer hear him, his body was in pure euphoria as he drank blood, the warm liquid feeling extremely satisfying sloshing down his throat.
Max continued to drink and drink and drink the blood, as if he had been starving for months now and saw food for the first time ever, only stopping when he heard a system notification interrupt him.
[ System Notification ] - You have killed an unnamed tier 0 human from excessive blood loss.
You have gained +25 exp for killing a human in a Battle Zone.
[ System Notification] - You have tasted blood and now your body can never go back to enjoying regular food again.
You have unlocked the blood satiety index.
[ Blood Satiety Index ]
Satiety > 80% ( No bloodlust, +15% overall strength)
Satiety between 60-80% ( Mood becomes irritable, there is a slight bloodlust )
Satiety between 40-60% ( The ability to perform rational reasoning reduces, and a very high bloodlust is observed )
Satiety between 20-40% ( Uncontrollable bloodlust, strength reduces by 30% )
Satiety below 20% ( You turn into a mindless beast, all stats reduced by 50% )
Current Satiety at 92%
[ System Remark ] - Once a blood-feeder always a blood-feeder.
Max was horrified when he realized what he had done, he looked at the shriveled human corpse that he had fed on just moments ago and then at Severus who seemed to be noting down his behavior on some paper.
Max licked his lips, the taste of iron and metal lingering in his mouth as he smacked his tongue and asked " What happened to me? "
Severus looked up from his notes and said " See Max, us vampires need to feed blood from time to time. I was shocked when I checked your stats and did not see a Satiety index inside, but I suppose you need to drink your first blood to unlock it.
Don't worry, we don't feed on humans all the time, we have blood banks, just carry some in your inventory and drink whenever you feel like it.
But yes, never let it drop below 60%, it's a bad bad place to be in, trust me ".
Max shook his head and said " No, I was around blood when I woke up, but it did not make me lose my sense of self like it did when you cut open a human, why did that happen?
Will I ever learn to control this urge? ".
Severus smiled as he answered" The reason is simple Max, imagine stale 100-day-old pizza with fungal infections, will you feel the urge to still eat it? Or will you not even touch it? "
Max thought for a while and then nodded, he would not touch the pizza if it was old and stale.
" The same goes for blood, while to the naked eye it looks the same red color, we vampires know which blood to drink and which blood to not drink.
When we see fresh blood, we feel like having a feast, when we see stale blood it's 50-50.
And you my friend are a primordial vampire so your reaction to both sorts of blood is exaggerated.
You have much more basic instincts than the modern vampire. While it can be a blessing in battle, it will undoubtedly make your social life difficult lest you learn how to control it.
Because this will pretty much be your reaction whenever you are around fresh blood ".
Max frowned, he did not want to be this bloodsucking maniac, however, it seemed to be his new reality.
Looking at his ashen face, Severus replied " Don't worry, we all learn to control it with time. Right now you are like a newborn baby whose only instinct is to suck milk from their mother's tits, but with time we all grow out of it no? ".
Severus's reasoning did not assure Max one bit, but he had no choice but to roll with it for now.
" Different types of blood satiate us differently Max, humans are high-quality food, and elven blood is even higher. However, the blood of monsters and other creatures will have a very minimal effect on our Satiety.
One human has enough blood to satiate us, but if we feed on cows it would take us 3 to have the same result.
Also, we don't have infinite blood-sucking capacity so drinking one cow is difficult enough, not to mention three.
So it's best to always drink high-quality blood to be satiated while drinking lower quantity".
Max frowned but took note of every word coming out of Severus's mouth. This was his vampire 101 crash course after all.
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/// A/N - A new stat panel and updated bonus goals for this week are posted in the author notes, check it out ///