Note to the reader: *.......* means he's saying that in his head.

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This chapter has a lot of information, but I need to get it out.

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Chapter 7

In order to increase my balance and maneuverability in this body I decided to start walking on my tippy toes which made me feel like a ballerina. Aria and I visited the same market as before and found a slight decrease in the options. Small booths were set up lining the streets and there's always a crowd here. Some of the good vendors were gone so I ended up buying dried meat for the two of us to eat. I wanted to know why the vendors thinned out around here so I found someone to ask. He looked around 50, had a short white beard and sold blue carrots.

Becket:"Hey what happened to the other vendors?"

Blue Carrot Guy:"You haven't heard? There's a rumor going around that vampires are in the city targeting the people in this district."

Becket:"Vampires?"

Those red eyes from last night instantly came to mind.

Blue Carrot Guy:"You don't have to worry during the day since so far they've only attacking at night which means it's probably one of the weaker ones."

Becket:"What do you mean by that?"

Blue Carrot Guy:"Well if it was a high ranked vampire like a Pure or Nosferatu than they wouldn't have to fear the sun."

Becket:"Wait vampires can walk under the sun? I always thought they turned to ash if exposed to sunlight."

Blue Carrot Guy:"Only vampire servants turn to ash. Don't you know the different rankings for vampires?"

Becket:"Sorry I don't. Could you tell me."

Blue Carrot Guy:"Only if you buy something."

Becket:"Fine. I'll take four blue carrots."

Blue Carrot Guy:"Blue carrots? I only have ganji."

*I guess that's what carrots are called here.*

Becket:"Then give me four of those."

He tossed four blue carrots over to me which I placed in my satchel next to Aria who had a bored expression on her face and pulled out my coin pouch to pay him.

Becket:"Ok so tell me the rankings."

Blue Carrot Guy:"The strongest ones are born vampires and are called pure vampires then the vampires turned by a pure are called Nosferatu. Those top two are the only ones that can walk under the sun."

The old man started to stroke his beard.

Blue Carrot Guy:" When a Nosferatu turns someone it's called a Revenant which won't die from the sun, but it will burn and weaken them. When a Revenant turns someone it's called a Drac which will be immobilized under the sun. When they turn a person it's called a vampire servant which turns to ash if exposed to the sun."

Becket:"Can you distinguish a vampire from a normal person?"

Blue Carrot Guy:"Every vampire has red eyes. Pures are born with them and the others get them when they're turned. There are also Damphirs which are half pure since they're the only ones able to have kids. They're the only type of vampire without red eyes. They aren't effected by the sun either, but their power can range from very weak to very strong."

I organized all the information in my head before returning to the conversation.

Becket:"Thanks. I'll buy from you again."

Blue Carrot Guy:"I'm planning on leaving the city tonight so you won't get a chance to."

Becket:"Oh. One more question. Are the rankings for the vampires common knowledge?"

Blue Carrot Guy:"Well not really, but I spent a few years in Ardeal trading so I'm fairly knowledgable when it comes to them."

Becket:"Ardeal?"

Blue Carrot Guy:"The vampire capitol. Where the vampire king lives."

He gave a little chuckle.

Blue Carrot Guy:"You need to learn a little about the people around you. The ignorance of youth can get you killed."

Becket:"Thanks I'll remember that."

I gave a wave as I pushed through the crowd away from blue carrot guy. I now knew my encounter last night was with a vampire. This body needed practice so I headed back to the inn. When I entered Gene was sitting at the counter.

Gene:"You're back Becket."

Becket:"Yeah."

Gene:"Thanks for last night. I feel a lot better about things."

I walked across the room towards the stairs with Gene watching me.

Becket:"I'll be in my room if you need me."

Gene:"Why are you walking like that?"

I was still on my tippy toes so I probably looked a little weird.

Becket:"Balance training."

Gene:"Balance training? What for?"

Becket:"For fights."

Gene:"Who are you planning to fight?"

Becket:"Anyone that attacks me."

Gene:".....ok."

I gave him a nod before going up the stairs. Once inside my room I tossed my satchel onto the bed.

Aria:"Aaaahhh! I'm still in here!"

Becket:"Sorry. I Forgot you were in there."

Aria was grumbling as she pulled the piece of dried meat out of the satchel and began nibbling on it. I was now focused on improving my control over this body.

It was time I started practicing. To begin I got into the basic warrior stance I learned in the marines with my feet apart, hands up, elbows in, chin down and feet shoulder-width apart.

Aria:"What are you doing?"

*Why do I get asked questions all the time?*

Becket:"Practicing."

Aria:"Me too!"

She flew over and landed to the right of me. She tried and failed to copy my stance. I started throwing basic punches, elbows, uppercuts and hooks then moved on to kicks, knee strikes and stomps. I made a good bit of noise, but Gene didn't come up stairs. Aria was trying to mimic me, but she obviously couldn't.

Aria:"Fuck this!"

Aria flew up into the air and zoomed over to the bed where she plopped down.

Becket:"Giving up already?"

Aria:"It's to hard. I'm just gonna watch you."

Becket:"Ok but I think it's fun."

I went back to my practice.

****************Aelisia POV****************

I was currently standing in a field with lush green grass below my feet and a vast blue sky above me. A large group of knights were standing in front of me dressed in full armor and covered in sweat which anyone within three feet could smell.

Aelisia:"I want each of you to find a partner and spar. If you win the match you can go clean yourself up, but if you lose I want 200 more push ups."

The knights started to scramble to get to the people they wanted to fight before they were taken. One of the High Knights dressed in their purple armor finished his fight and was going to leave when I called him over.

Aelisia:"You! Get over here."

He looked a little frightened which made me chuckle.

Aelisia:"What's the deal with the king and his new found hatred towards elves?"

He seemed to hesitate so I stiffened my gaze. He trembled then started to speak.

High Knight:"A-an elf l-laid hands on p-p-princess Eva."

I paused for a second to process the information.

Aelisia:"Hahahahhaha! I was right! So what happened to the elf?"

I continued to giggling as he talked.

High Knight:"He escaped. W-we haven't caught him yet."

Aelisia:"That's one brave elf! What else do you know about him?"

High Knight:"His n-name is Becket. He was hired a month ago a-as a healer for the knights in training. The p-princess took a liking to him and started coming down to s-see him."

Aelisia:"What was he like?"

The knight seemed to have finally gained his composure. He let out a big breath and straightened his back.

High Knight:"He kept his distance from everyone except the princess. The only time he interacted with other people was to heal the injured knights."

Aelisia:"That's enough."

The knight was dismissed since I got what I needed. I left one of the higher ranked knights to watch the rest of them finish their workout as I made my way back to the palace. I was given a luxurious room with a large canopy bed that could fit three people and white silk sheets. To the left of the bed was a balcony that showed off the royal garden and to the right was a large wardrobe with a full length mirror inside. I opened the wardrobe and started removing my armor.

I kept the black shirt and pants, that I wore under my armor, and my sword on. I got into a meditative position on the cold stone floor in the center of the room. It was time to balance my inner mana. I was never good at controlling outer mana so I had no promise as a mage. There are two types of mana in the world which are inner and outer mana. Knights learn to master inner mana while mages master outer mana. Either one requires a great deal of concentration though some people are born as naturals that can use one of the two manas easily.

I was finished balancing my inner mana when I heard a knock at the door.

*Knock Knock*

I stretched my legs and arms out since they were feeling a little stiff.

Aelisia:"Enter."

The door glided open and Gideon was standing on the other side.

Aelisia:"Don't just stand there come in."

He walked into the room and stopped a few feet away. I was still sitting on the floor stretched out.

Gideon:"Four of the knights encountered a vampire last night in the Garnet district."

Aelisia:"Oh. Well what happened?"

Gideon:"Three of them died. One was late so he survived."

Aelisia:"Why was he late?"

Gideon:"The knights stopped the vampire from attacking a young woman who was helping a drunkard home. One of the knights stayed behind to question the woman."

Aelisia:"Did they get a description of the vampire or figure out which kind it is?"

Gideon:"The knight that survived didn't get a good look."

Aelisia:"What about the young woman? What did she see?"

Gideon:"We don't know. She was told to report to the castle this morning, but never showed."

Aelisia:"Did he really think a woman from the Garnet district would come to the castle? Even if she did the knights on guard probably would have shooed her off."

Gideon:"I'll have the knight come up with a description of her to pass around."

Aelisia:"Finding her is not going to be easy. That district is full of young women trying to earn enough to live."

Gideon:"I'll have patrols in that district increased."

Aelisia:"Tell them if they do find her try not to scare her. I'm sure being attacked by a vampire was frightening enough to begin with."

Gideon:"Of course. I'll be getting back to work now."

He turned around and left the room.

****************Becket POV***************

It's been a week since the vampire attack and I've continued practicing with this body everyday. I'm now able to keep up with and perform movements that were impossible in my last world. Gene has gone out drinking every night this week, but he's started to come back fairly sober so I guess he's starting to get over his wife. I was curious one day and asked him so he told me what those three white stone buildings were. They are churches for the three gods worshiped by the humans.

There are actually seven gods in total, but the humans only worship those three. The first god is Dylios who is the only god worshipped by the dwarves. The second god is Haarus who the beastmen worship and the third is Ofhena who the elves worship. Humans are the only race that worships more than one god.

Aria and I were wiping ourselves down in our room which was now filled with many different flowers that I used to experiment a little with my ability.

Aria:"The flowers really help with this rooms smell."

Becket:"I found some with a sweet fragrance and I thought they would make this room a little more bearable."

There wasn't much sunshine in the room, but they didn't seem to wither after I supplied them with mana which according to Aria was the pull I felt when forcing the flowers to grow and harden. We finished cleaning ourselves so we put our clothes back on. She didn't seem to hesitate when taking her clothes off which I took as a sign that she didn't feel embarrassed so I started to wonder if she might be older than she looks. Maybe she just didn't understand not to undress in front of men.

Aria:"Becket."

I turned my head to look at her when she called my name.

Becket:"Yes."

Aria:"I wanted to thank you for rescuing and taking care of me all this time so as a reward I'd like to give you one of my blessings."

Becket:"Are you sure? You told me you can only bless up to five people in your life."

Aria:"I owe you my life so I feel it's only fair to give one to you."

Becket:"Ok. So how do we do it?"