The smell of roast meat wafted through the air. It smelled positively delicious, but to the nose of a vampire, it wasn’t all that great. They could eat meat and enjoy it just the same as humans, but after smelling the blood of a human, nothing could quite compare to it —the smell that would often be called a foul odor by humans was one of the most magnificent aromas in the world to a vampire’s nostrils.

Clara sat behind one of the tables in the school cafeteria. It was where people who’d lost their homes to monsters or felt unsafe could take shelter, protected by the government officials and whatnot. Not that there was any government. Cars were gone and the next city over was a hundred kilometers away.

Without cars, inter-city travel was be something that only a select few would even think of. Especially given the fact that there were little to no horses in the country. Biking was a viable solution, most likely, but riding a bike in a world infested with murderous mosquitos wasn’t exactly enticing.

Despite that, the government was more or less functional in Nerea. It was the capital city of the country and just about everything that you’d need for a proper government to exist was here. Disappointingly, not much had changed after the System’s coming. People simply started to stay inside more often and there was something of an unspoken curfew —leaving your house past eight o’clock in the evening was pretty much suicide.

The bloodsuckers were out then. Not the vampires, but the insects that did the same thing. But they were far weaker, not sentient. They simply attacked and tried to suck any human they saw dry, and out in the sun, they didn’t come out. Perhaps due to the fact that they dried up very easily. Their presence in the dark made them seem far too similar to vampires.

“Are you okay?” asked Hugh. He was a short guy with black hair in a buzz cut. Apparently, he dreamed of getting into the military, which wasn’t a trait shared by many. Most would rather not even get enlisted. They sat behind a table in the cafeteria of St. Lucas’ High School which was located in the basement, proving a perfect hiding place from monsters even during the night.

“I am,” said Clara matter of factly, her tone betraying nothing. There was only some hard bread and butter on her tray while most of the others piled up as much as they could. Without electricity, gas, and just about everything that made Earth a civilized society, most didn’t light up a fire to cook food, resorting to readily made things, “I don’t have much of an appetite.”

She wasn’t lying. If she had, then everyone in the hall would be her lunch. But she wasn’t hungry. Not yet.

Dressed in a black hoodie and jeans, she looked every part a goth teenager she was trying to look like. Then again, she was just a goth teenager before she was turned a few decades ago. But Clara didn’t remember much of her life before she turned —everything was a blur. Everything her parents told her came to her recollection as broken sentences and she didn’t even remember their faces now.

Next to them sat Adeline, a mage. She was the one that ‘saved’ them from the mosquitoes the night before. That served as a good opportunity for Clara to slip into the safe havens of humanity to spy for any hunters. Hugh… was lucky to meet Adeline. She had curly black hair that reached her lower back, lazily tied into a ponytail. And to top it off, she was tanned slightly.

The hall was full and each table had six or so seats, but some had eight or twelve. They stood out slightly. Everyone else sat with their families or at least someone they knew, but the three of them? They were complete strangers.

“You’re a mage as well, right?” asked Adeline after she chewed on some potatoes. The main dish for the day was mashed potatoes with roast meat chopped into large pieces. It had gravy all over it, making it look all the more appetizing. There was no salad or anything of the sort, though. They’d run out of those things after the first three days. She then asked with a grin, “Blood Sorceress, was it? Can you make those mosquitoes explode from the inside? Since they have a lot of blood in their bellies.”

While a part of Clara wanted to say that she could, and she could very much do the same to Adeline herself with a snap of her fingers—though without using her Class Skill, as that was more externalized— she refrained from it. With a gentle smile, she answered. It was a fake one, of course, “No. I can only control blood that has been spilled.”

“That is… a bit underwhelming, but I guess there’s no shortage of it,” said Adeline in a joyous manner, her voice loud. Her optimism was infectious. Clara found herself becoming just a tad bit more optimistic when she said that, “I can just burn them for you first. They’ll go boom, and then they’ll go whoosh.”

“I-” started Clara, and stopped. She was good at lying, very much so, but when it came to coming up with what to say in the first place, she was better off having some time to herself first. But then an idea came into her mind, “I would rather not fight. I-I’m afraid of dying… again.”

Of course, she hadn’t died during the Calibration. She just ripped apart any goblin that came close to her. Those disgusting creatures who were barely human children couldn’t take on a single of her attacks, but most of her job was done with her Blood Manipulation and Telekinesis.

“So please don’t talk about that again,” Clara added. She couldn’t act suspiciously yet. After night fell, they would all turn into cattle or die. But for now, there could be hunters hiding behind every corner for all she knew. A moment of inattentiveness could result in her death. It was her duty to make sure that there were none before night fell, and she was pretty sure none were present with only an hour of daylight left.

“Alright,” said Adeline and quieted down, still with a smile. She then turned to the only other person sitting behind the table, “Well… Hugh, right? I heard that Warriors have a System-integrated weapon given to them after they complete the Calibration. Can I see it? I’m a big sword fanatic.”

Their words faded into the background as Clara absent-mindedly looked through the hall. There were one or two people that looked like they could fight. Apparently, they were the ones that guarded the school. As it was a boarding school, it had quarters for people in one of its three compartments. Then there were two compartments that had classrooms. All of them had three floors so there was ample space.

Still no sign of the hunters…

It was fishy. They were always snooping around everywhere, but somehow they weren’t doing anything now. Then again, they would have lost most of their advanced equipment from the System’s coming. It was really a blessing in disguise. They didn’t have anything to fear now. Even guns didn’t work and they barely even faze the vampires. It was obvious what awaited humanity.

“So… where are your families?” asked Adeline as Clara snapped back to reality, “Since you aren’t with your families, I mean. Otherwise, you’d be rushing back home or something.”

“I’m from the countryside,” said Hugh. He’d finished his meal faster than Clara had finished eating half her bread, “So they’re probably out on the farm. Since they’re several hours away by car, there’s really no getting back to them safely. But they’ll be fine. They have more of a chance of surviving than I do. And I’m alive as far as I’m aware.”

There was an awkward silence over the table.

She didn’t know what dying felt like, so she couldn’t really understand the trauma associated with being killed in the Calibration Stage. Apparently, a lot of humans suffered from it.

“Do you miss the internet?” asked Adeline, trying to bring back the mood. She was that one talkative girl in class that everyone loved because she was constantly bumbling, “I miss social media, and my phone’s dead too. Not being able to take selfies is weird. But I’m more attuned to real-life now so it’s a blessing in disguise.”

Clara noticed Hugh staring at her as the duo conversed. She’d long since gotten used to being stared at. But that did bring up something that she was trying to not think about: where was Sean?

While she couldn’t say that they were dating, he was the closest thing to a friend she had. All the vampires and just about every resident in the Undercity viewed her as royalty, and rightly so. She was the heir apparent of the Vampire Empress.

Maybe it was time to replace him?

No, she shouldn’t. Not when they’d be playing an active role in the matters of the mundane, but she was bored already.

Clara grit her teeth as she looked down at the tray. It was annoying, not being able to interact with others. Many embraced the fact that they were royalty and abused their rights. She… she didn’t feel comfortable, vestiges of her human life breaking her out of her stupor whenever she tried to embrace it. It wasn’t natural.

“Anyways, I heard that some people started making parties and killing those monsters. Kind of like parties from games. So umm, wanna make a guild? The System apparently has an option like that and we can chat with each other and stuff,” said Adeline, and Clara frowned after she heard that.

Carmilla was right. Humanity had to be suppressed, and fast. If they started viewing life as a game and the transition was to ever be completed, then they wouldn’t be able to dominate them as easily. Now humans could grow stronger just by reading books and working out physically to break their limits.

Everyone would be a hunter.

They had to be tamed as quickly as possible.

And they’d benefit from it, too. There was little to no corruption in the court. Not under Carmilla’s rule and faction. About Amarok’s side, Clara did not know. He’d apparently escaped the assault but they were gone now, either dead or on Carmilla’s side, having acted as spies for years.

Her resourcefulness often terrified Clara.

Would she be able to live up to such a grand figure’s name?

“You don’t have to fight, though,” said Adeline as she looked at Clara, “It’s just that… it’d be better for us loners to stick together and all. We’ll be safer that way too, I think. If you ever need me, big sis can just come over and burn any creepy weirdos that are scaring you.”

Right. She was a few years older than Hugh and her. Only biologically, though. Chronologically, Clara was in her sixties.

“Sure,” said Clara. She did hear of the Guild option before from Carmilla, but she told her not to join the ones the Undercity had created. Everyone had Appraisal and Guilds apparently showed up on its results.

“I’ll do it,” said Hugh, “So what will the name be?”

“I guess Loners works. We can probably change it later,” said Adeline and tapped a few times on an invisible screen. You couldn’t see the screens of others.

A notification popped up.

System Notification

You have been invited to join the Guild ‘Loners’. You will get access to the Chat and Raid functions of the System upon accepting.

A) Accept

B) Decline

Clara tapped on the ‘Accept’ button after seeing it. She did know the gist of it, but when Adeline sent a message and the Chat appeared, her eyes opened wide. It was interesting. So far, she hadn’t said anything but somehow the message came? This was like telepathy!

Chat

Adeline: Hi!

Hugh: Huh, I can think out loud.

Adeline: Yeah, it’s weird. It only sends what we want to send.

“That’s creepy,” said Hugh out loud, staring at empty space, “Imagine thinking about something you shouldn’t. Instantly caught.”

Clara closed the Chat window and bit her lips. She couldn’t make it a habit to use this. It could let others know what she was thinking, and she didn’t want to reveal her identity as a vampire to humans. Not yet. She was the perfect spy.

“Anyways, we won’t be using that Raid function for a good while, if we ever will,” said Adeline. She was beaming. Why didn’t she take this more seriously despite being a human? “So who wants to go get a breather before it’s night? Everyone needs fresh air.”

Hugh and Clara didn’t respond.

“No one? Ugh… fine, I’ll go alone,” said Adeline and lazily hopped to her feet. She’d finished eating her full tray of food already, and so had Hugh. Clara still had a bite left in the bread. That was when Clara noticed that Hugh was staring at her intensely, but turned away the moment she noticed him.

She liked the attention.

It felt good to be looked at that way.

So Clara did a little something to assist him.

Within moments, Hugh would have tunnel vision for Clara. Influencing the minds of humans to make them feel something was easy. Far too easy, in fact, that Clara often forgot that she was actively making them feel more attracted to her. It was miraculous how Sean managed to last that long without asking her out on a dime. He did everything else, though.

At least that’s what she thought.

His gaze didn’t change, though. He still looked at her the same, as if he wasn’t affected.

“I like you,” said Hugh and he leaned in close. Then he whispered into her ears, “So stop using that skill already. It won’t work.”

Clara’s eyes widened.

Was he resistant to it?

“Is that one of your skills as a Blood Sorceress?” asked Hugh, but after a moment, he added, “Or as a Vampire?”

“A hunter?” she asked, her brows furrowed. It wasn’t night yet, so if Clara killed him now, she risked scaring everyone away. Then again, rounding them up after wouldn’t be that hard. Kill one or two as an example and everyone would obey, “You do know that I can easily squash you like a bug, right?”

“No, a Werebeast,” whispered Hugh. Clara’s eyes sharpened. If he was alive and wasn’t a part of Carmilla’s court, then he was a rebel —she’d been strictly ordered to get rid of them. Then he raised his hands in the air, “But wait, wait. I didn’t get to decide whatever was said in the court and what the others did, but I’d like to serve you. You seem far… calmer than Her Majesty. Is that what I’m supposed to call her? Living on the run all my life doesn’t seem all that cool.”

“And what makes you think I’ll trust you?” asked Clara. Her eyes were still narrow, claws almost out. They came out if she tensed her hands enough. At the moment, she was an inch away from doing so.

“I can give you one of my fangs,” said Hugh. The fangs of a Werebeast were almost indestructible, but after losing one of them, they would temporarily be unable to access their full power until it grew back in a day. If they lost both fangs, they’d temporarily turn into regular humans, “Or I can take out both and let you sire me.”

He had a smile on his face all the while. It was a confident smirk.

“I can also bring you the head of a hunter,” whispered Hugh and pointed at an old man sitting with his back turned to them and a girl sitting at another end of the hall, “He’s a hunter or a silversmith. He reeks of silver but doesn’t have any right now. She’s also a hunter or got a Heart Factor from her mother. Smells like a Werebeast but isn’t one.”

“And what if you’re wrong?” asked Clara. She was starting to trust him slightly.

“Then I’ll let you tear off my limbs,” said Hugh, “With a rusty silver knife if you want to.”

If a Werebeast, or a Vampire, for that matter, was injured with a silver weapon, they couldn’t recover from it. Not ever. All other injuries were merely superficial and could easily be recovered from.

“Why?” asked Clara, finally, “You just met me.”

“That’s what you think,” said Hugh and she got an inkling of an idea. Was he one of those stalkers? She wouldn’t put it past Werebeasts. Most of them were. That also doubled as being good hunting hounds. His eyes turned a golden color, which was the first stage of transformation, “Should I?”

“No,” said Clara, “They don’t even have silver. The knights can take care of that. And I don’t wish to ruin my facade yet.”

“You won’t be, though,” said Hugh, “I’ll be doing it.”

“And from what you’re saying, you’ll be sticking with me,” said Clara, “So you can’t do it as well. This doesn’t mean I trust you, though.”

It was… weird. She didn’t like the knights being all obedient, but perhaps this kind of service wasn’t so bad. With witty retorts and all.

It was like a friend —her first friend on the other side after decades of having none. But then again, decades didn’t feel like much time to her.

“Oh, sweet,” said Hugh as his eyes turned black just in time for Adeline to come back. He beamed at her when she took a seat, “We’re dating now.”

“No, we definitely are not,” said Clara jokingly with a smile. This one was a genuine one.

“You two were certainly busy when I’ve been gone,” said Adeline as she took a seat. She looked out the window which was near the ceiling. They were underground, after all, “Well, the monsters are probably coming. I’m gonna go volunteer to defend the place with the others. You coming, Hugh?”

“I’m bad with insects,” he said, “Especially giant ones.”

Maybe, just maybe, she wouldn’t be lonely anymore.