Verc and the others slowly made their way toward the human village, their progress hindered by the need for frequent stops. They were forced to rest quite often because the others were still in terrible physical condition, their bodies weakened by weeks of confinement and abuse.
Barbara and the rest of the group kept apologizing to him for the slow pace, their voices filled with guilt as they looked at the road ahead. However, Verc consistently reassured them that it was perfectly fine and that there was no need to rush.
He was considerate and human enough to realize that the survivors wanted to reach the safety of the village much more than he did. He also understood exactly how dire their physical state was, seeing the way they struggled with even the simplest movements. Because of that, he would never dream of blaming them for needing to stop and catch their breath.
And so, they continued traveling for several hours as the night slowly bled away.
And eventually... The sun began to rise over the horizon, casting its first light on them as they moved toward their destination.
*****
(Verc’s POV)
The sun is now high in the sky and blazing down on us, and to be honest, it is incredibly hot out there. I never felt this kind of intense, dry sensation while I was trapped in the darkness of the cave.
The carriage we managed to find has a thick cloth draped over the frame acting as a makeshift roof, and along with me, the kids, Clarissa, and Kyla are tucked away inside. Because of the cover, the sun hasn’t actually touched my skin directly yet.
’Will I actually start burning if I step out into the open now?’
I asked myself in my head, my eyes squinting as I looked at the bright gaps in the fabric.
"Are you okay, big brother?"
Then Molly suddenly asked me that, her small voice breaking through my thoughts.
"Ah, yeah. I was just thinking about something."
I turned toward her and answered with a smile on my face. The two kids started calling me "Big Brother" almost immediately after we escaped the village, by the way.
"You two doing okay out there?"
Anyway, I exclaimed that afterward, asking Barbara and Hans who were sitting up front.
"We’re fine! This is nothing compared to what happened to us in the past two weeks."
Then Barbara answered with a surprising amount of energy. They were indeed trapped as prisoners for two weeks or more; they had spent their time underground counting the days in their heads while they were stuck.
Moving on—
"Don’t hesitate to tell if any of you start feeling unwell, we can always stop to rest for a bit, and then continue afterwards."
I followed up with that, this time speaking to everyone in the group. They all nodded their heads toward me with smiles on their faces.
"Got it!"
Then Hans answered from the outside.
My smile deepened the moment I sensed their excitement, I felt proud at myself for saving them. The faces they have when I first saw them are way opposite than the ones they’re showing me now.
Satisfied, I planned to rest for a bit more as I wanted to test something later, but just as I was about to do so—
"Big brother, are you a knight?"
Noah, who barely speaks, opened his mouth and asked me that. I was caught completely off guard by his question, and I started racking my brain immediately, thinking of a suitable answer.
The others inside the carriage also looked at me, their eyes filled with curiosity and anticipation.
’I need a background, and also a reason to not want to talk about my past.’
I thought to myself. Then, after a short pause, and using Noah’s question as an opportunity—
"That’s right, I’m a knight."
I declared that, answering the question. I saw everyone’s eyes shine after hearing my words.
"To be exact, I’m a wandering knight that serves no lord. The family I serve had already fallen."
I quickly added that. The look on their faces changed fast into a shocked one, and they didn’t seem to know how to react. I mean, even I wouldn’t know what to say if someone suddenly trauma dumped on me out of nowhere.
The carriage went silent, and the others looked at me with sympathizing eyes. It was uncomfortable as fuck, but whatever.
... ... ...
After that, no one asked me a single question about my past again, which was exactly what I wanted.
We continued traveling for a few more hours, but later on— Barbara and Hans said that we should pull over to the side of the road to rest. We all needed to eat to have energy for the rest of the trip, after all.
’Though, I’m not in the tiniest bit hungry.’
I thought. I had drank a lot of blood when I wiped out the goblin village, and I also have the skill [Hunger Suppression]. As I am right now, I could probably not eat for weeks and still be perfectly fine.
But I know that’s not the case for the others, so I didn’t argue about it. I’m perfectly fine with their pace.
So, anyway— we stopped our journey for now and settled under a tree on the side of a dirt road. The others went out to eat together with Barbara and Hans, but I remained inside the carriage. I did told them that I would follow not long after.
They didn’t say anything about it and just nodded at me. And so right now— I’m all alone.
Sitting in the carriage, I stared in front of me...
"..."
I could see the outside through the small opening, the sunlight pouring in and stinging my eyes. It was bright— too bright compared to the darkness I’d grown used to— and I instinctively turned my gaze away, letting my eyes adjust.
And once I finally got use to it—
"It’s now time to see if the sun is actually harmful to me."
I mumbled that under my breath as I activated [Danger Sense]. I stayed perfectly still for a while. Waiting for something to happen...
"...?"
But nothing came back to me; the skill wasn’t warning me or anything.
"Does that mean...?"
I got closer to the curtain that was serving as blinds inside of the carriage, then with my brows furrowed in hesitation— FWIP!
I quickly brought out my hand, exposing it to the sun.
And to my surprise, nothing happened. I feel fine, and it doesn’t burn or hurt at all!
"Haha..."
Looks like the sun being the weakness of vampires is a complete bogus. I felt instant relief. I thought I would be stuck avoiding the sun forever now that I became one of them.
Anyway, immediately after I discovered this—
’I should probably join the others. Now, I don’t need to worry about anything.’
I said that in my head, then without hesitation; I stepped out of the carriage.
Tap-
But as soon as I did so, a heavy feeling washed all over my body!
"...?!"
I was caught off guard, and my eyes widened. My body was still fine and nothing was physically wrong with me. I wasn’t hurt.
But for some reason...
"I feel much weaker."
I mumbled as I looked down at my hands.
I closed and opened them, and I tried tensing my body. I feel restricted; it’s like I can’t even gather half of my real strength.