Right after the sun rose, Tristan woke up from his restless sleep. He did not say anything, but he seemed to be in a foul mood, if his deep scowl was anything to go by.

Before today, Tristan did not even think to check because he was busy navigating the drama with the King and the all day riding he was subjected to, but now, he was beyond annoyed after he checked the system message.

[Blood essence :8290]

In a glance, that number seems to be enormous - in fact, considering the difficulty of acquiring blood essence, one could consider that it is. But, Tristan took notes of the total blood essence he received after the battle three days ago, and he realized that he was missing 30 blood essence.

This means without even casting any of his skill, he will still have to consume 10 points of blood essence daily.

What happened? Didn't he only need three per day before?

Reflecting on what happened in the past three days, and the only thing he could think of as the cause was his stage three monarch body upgrade. Though the upgrade did give him a more powerful body, it also seems it also comes with higher consumption of blood essence.

Thinking about the trouble it cost when he ran out of them, made him annoyed once again.

"Great. Just great." Tristan let out a long sigh.

10 blood essence a day means he has to extract blood from two fighters' corpses. Does that mean one kill for breakfast and another kill for dinner?

Thinking about this really giving him a headache, He was sure that the number would only increase even more when he upgraded the body to the next stage. Something that he absolutely must achieve if he ever wants to be completely free from that shitty king.

It appears if he can't find any other solution for this bloodsucking elf body of his, for the foreseeable future, he will know no peaceful life. All he would find is war and death.

Once more he can't help but let out a long sigh.

He walked out of the bedroom, took a shower, and mentally prepared himself. Today, he would have to meet the mayor and the envoy from the elf kingdom which was mentioned yesterday.

As the droplets of cool water caressed his skin, Tristan felt himself calm down a bit and his body started to feel more refreshed. But his relief did not last long, as his headache came back when he walked into the mayor's hall.

There was a saying, curiosity killed the cat, but perhaps in this case, it would be the elf. Tristan had pondered who the esteemed elf envoy he was supposed to meet before was, but now after he saw her, he wished to go back to his time of ignorance…

Truthfully, the woman was a feast for the eyes, as she was probably the most beautiful creature Tristan had ever seen in his life, in both worlds. She has long, flowing golden hair that looked like it was permanently combed, with the points of her ears peeking delicately under the gold strands. However, her emerald eyes came with a deathly gaze directed at Tristan, and if he didn't manage to control himself, Tristan was sure he would flinch right then and there.

The elf was a familiar face, for she was the elf woman Tristan tricked in that godforsaken place he woke up in.

"Sir Tristan, here is Lady Serene, Valkyrie of the Vanyar Kingdom" said captain Raika.

Tristan could clearly see the anger in her eyes. Though he walked as if he was not under an implied threat, he kept on racking his brain with each step, trying to find a way to deal with the situation.

After Tristan took his seat, Captain Raika continued speaking.

"Lady Serene, this is the elf that was requested by the queen of Vanyar."

The captain and her continue to discuss the detail of their next journey.

Although It appears for a person in her position, she somehow needs to keep her stature. But, every time Tristan took a glance at her, she still shows her irritation towards him. It was clear, the depth of her anger towards him was not simple at all.

"Captain Raika, we should quickly continue our journey so we can quickly finish our quest"

"Yes, lady Serene, we shall do so." Captain Raika nodded respectfully.

Captain Raika stood up and called for her Kingsblade squad to make some preparation, while the female elf approached Tristan.

She stood in front of him with an expression full of hate and said "you are a shameless lying pig! When the queen is done with you and sees what you really are, I will make sure you get punished accordingly!"

Surprisingly now that she was in front of him saying her words, Tristan's fears and worries melted away. To be honest, the sight of such a beautiful lady being angry was quite amusing. He quickly decided on a solution to this predicament.

"I am sorry lady, I think you… oh yes! You are the elf lady from that place aren't you?"

Tristan's response instantly made Serene startled. Taking advantage of her confusion, he quickly stood up, grabbed Serene's hand, and said."

"Yes!, it's you!.. you were a lifesaver, thank you, if it wasn't because of you I would have died in that godforsaken place"

"What... you…" The female elf turned even more confused.

"I apologize, my lady, it was a life or death situation, I was not proud of what I did, if I offended you I apologize"

Tristan decided to act this way. Considering her important status, the elf lady might be useful in the future. His current situation forced him to find as many friends as he could and make few enemies, or risk his death.

"Please Lady Serene, if there is anything I can do to repay my debt to you… "

"I… my pet tiger, Mina. You cast an evil spell on her, didn't you?!" She started to yell again.

Tristan realized the elf lady was about to get mad again, and he quickly interrupted before she could get another word in.

"I did my lady, and for that, I apologize. In fact, I can help you with that. But we should do it quickly before the spell ends up harming her permanently."

A balance of sweet words and fear, two things Tristan learned that would get him whatever he wanted both in prison and generally in life. He resisted the urge to smirk when he saw her behavior towards him made a complete 180.

"If all elves are this gullible, this could be interesting," Tristan said to himself