It was a joke but honestly, what the fuck. This is the last time I get in an alleyway with a stranger. Probably. I learned from [Sun Sickness] that vampires are not a disease or a curse like one would expect but a race that deserves to be on this planet as much as the next. Ignoring the cataclysm, first of all. For all intents and purposes, they are undead. I had this thought before, in this very mask. They are both undead and not, by the classification they use for the undead.

"If you are worried about curses... I swear on my family's name that the blood will be purely for consumption..."

"That's not very reassuring."

"You must not be well versed in vampire culture even though you identified me... Perhaps... Nevermind... It is a shame that your tantalizing smell caused blemishes in my disguise. I'm no rookie. I must imagine what would happen if you were in front of my children..."

"You aren't going to assault me, are you? If you are, you sure are taking your time."

"No... No... I'm above assaulting for meals... Us vampires are civilized creatures, unlike your silly stories... What's up with that one story about the high school and the girl...? The vampire is conically like six times her age..."

"I have no idea what you are talking about, but I can ask someone for you."

"No... I'm okay... So...?"

"You never answered my question."

"Ah... apologies, hunger must be affecting me more than I wish to admit... I don't desire to speak my name... but seeing as you don't have a clue... It wouldn't matter... I am a part of Clan Aleveritas... Or the truth speakers... A clan of pureblooded vampires who cannot lie... It is our weakness... I have means to prove this fact... But no noninvasive ways that'll fit my time frame..."

"..."

"We also can't break contracts... If you are interested, I can complete a binding agreement... The blood I purchase with this transaction will only be for consumption..." He pulls a sheet of paper out of his sleeve, and words form as he presents it to me.

"Let me call my lawyer."

I call Free Chains, and he's happy to hear from me. I sent him a picture of the contract and a summary of what he said, and Free Chains didn't disappoint. Free Chains confirmed the Aleveritas vampire clan's existence. They caused him headaches in some of his past cases since they are sneaky with their wording if they want to be.

Free Chains also sent a tweaked version of the contract over text. One of the main things was specifying the definition of "consumption" since curses can "consume" the blood to cast the hex. I owe Free Chains 2,000 credits and a meal for the service. I didn't even ask for all that. Free Chains also gave me a freebie and said that the vampire should have a symbol on him that should look like a woman without a tongue.

"Show me your clan's sigil, and I'll sign the modified contract."

He shows me the bottom of his cane, and sure enough, it's a woman reading out loud from a book, but she has no tongue. He looks over the modified contract on my flip phone's screen before making a copy with a new sheet of parchment.

"Hehe... You have an excellent lawyer, young man... He left no room for quote-un-quote fast ones..."

I sign the magical contract and feel some mana leave my body.

"So, how much blood do you want?"

"I will pay 100,000 credits for a pint... That's how much is in a blood bag..."

"Double it."

"Okay... I'll pay for two gallons worth... Here..."

[User ??? wants to transfer 3.2m credits to you.]

[Accept/Decline]

Maybe I should've tripled the price instead.

"Do you have containers available?"

He pulls out a stack of empty blood bags from nowhere and looks on intensely as I cut myself with my novelty knife and fill the bags one after another. I wonder if my regeneration provides blood as fast as I'm bleeding or if I have a few gallons to spare. I obviously accepted the money long before cutting myself.

"So, what makes me so tantalizing?" It's 100% the forbidden fruit, but I want to hear his answer. "Is it because I'm a virgin?"

"You are...? Congratulations...That makes little difference... If we want to look into things like that... What you are doing is profoundly... how do you kids say it... erotic in the male-on-male variety... No, there is no sexual influence..."

"So what's the deal?"

"Something about you reminds me of home... Long before the conjoining of worlds... Long before... The absolutely delicious smell doesn't hurt..."

So that forbidden fruit has vampiric origins? I wonder if the ring that made the fruit has vampiric roots or if it was just because it used blood to make the fruit. I don't want to make another one until I manage to find reliable information on it. It's not like I can ask someone for very specific "forbidden" information without getting on some watchlists. The wrong types of watchlists.

"That's sixteen bags filled. We should make a long-term deal eventually."

"Perhaps... But a monopoly would need to be established... You wouldn't mind being held like livestock... yeah, that's what I thought... I'm not reselling this blood anyways... 'Only for consumption...' You can come here to spend some of your funds... Maybe we can make another small transaction..."

He hands me an invitation to an auction house with no name. Only an address and text indicating that it's an invitation to an auction in a week.

"Thanks, but I doubt I could buy anything good, even with my new funds."

"True... but there is what the rich would be considered trash as well... I have a proposition for you... a solution to money issues and loneliness... I have a daughter, roughly your age and physical maturity... I can overlook interspecies marriage since you are a delectable case... Doing non-captive long-term business would be easy then... No...?"

"Maybe, but even if I clone myself, I don't have time for a relationship. I barely have enough time to finish what's on my plate."

"A busy man... I can relate... Don't forget to bring something to sell at the auction... It isn't a requirement, but you might get harrassed if you are deemed a 'freeloader...'"

With that, he leaves. I looked over the invitation one more time, and it says I can bring a plus one. Cool. I pocket the piece of paper and finish healing the people here. With this influx of credits, I can actually work towards my goals.

The first thing I do is buy the basic necessities for a wizard's workshop. I also bought books/grimoires and magical reagents. The entire thing runs me two million credits. One of the reagents is [Powdered Elemental Stone]. There was only one set, and it was pricey. It can no longer regenerate energy but has the energy stored before it was powdered. I mean, what's the difference between a powdered rock and a rock? The powdered substance is just many tiny rocks.

I need to find one more [Elemental Stone], and I'm set. I get on my laptop and look up the digital auction house. It's the same one I found the gentlemancer on. I can't buy things online, but I can see their catalog and see if it's worth heading down. Aaaaand they are sold out. Great! It looks like they'll restock in seven months or less.

Not only is what I'm looking for rare, but they aren't functional. Flash Gordon is the only noticeable exception. Having to filter out energies is a waste. It's better to have one of each stone. The gentlemancer needed one to advance his class, maybe? I didn't care about his aspirations to actually remember. I'm not allowed backdoor connections to get what I want, so let's use the front door instead.

~

I ask my new vendor friends where I can acquire stones or crystals. I haven't seen anything but the lowest-grade crystals here. To make them worth anything, they've been carved to resemble jewelry or knickknacks they overprice to tourists or dumb people looking for something to waste credits on.

All I learned was that the only place that would have what I was looking for, at least in the capital, would be the Merchant Guild. Sphynxwork Auction Company is the biggest guild in the coalition of mercantile companies that makes up the Merchant Guild. I now notice that the Merchant Guild is singular and not possessive. Who is the merchant this guild is named after? Is the Merita? Her church isn't in the coalition since they technically aren't guilds but organized religion.

If the biggest mercantile company doesn't have the thing I'm looking for, I'm either being gatekept because I'm poor or just fucked. They don't have what I need. They'll stock it in 7 months, but fuck that. Maybe I can find someone who knows a guy with a tie-in to a mining company or make my own elemental stone. Not the same way Flash Gordon exists, but akin to alchemy. I could hope I luck out in the auction, but that seems convenient. Ignoring that he's a vampire and wants my blood, if someone invited me to an auction that sold what I needed without me indicating anything, I would expect to die that day.

The people I befriended aren't helpful, but they are getting the word out about me. Cool. They no longer need my healing since I got to all the regulars already, so I take the time to walk around and look at what they are selling. Most of it is food or mundane junk. Why would I buy a non-enchanted toaster? I spam [Scientific Insight+] to see if I can spot any gems in the garbage.

Someone who looks younger than me is selling a bunch of random items on a blanket. Nothing catches my eye except a broken bell.

[Bell (Broken)

This broken bell is shaped like a traditional dinner bell, with a crack taking up most of the body. The metal is strange. The initial prognosis deems it silver, but that is incorrect. More investigation is required. Magical effects are suppressed in this state.]

"How much for the broken bell?"

"Why do you want it?"

"Why are you selling it?"

"It used to be my dad's, but it's now mine. It seems to be made of valuable metal, so I want to sell it. I'll do two hundred credits. This is high-quality silver. You'd get that much if you melted it down and sold it!"

I bought it and walked away with my new prize. The vendor believes he is the winner in this transaction, but that remains to be seen. I also buy some ice and a small magnet. This thing has a weak magnetic pull, not ferromagnetic. The ice melts quickly on this thing, meaning it has a high thermal conductivity. I flick it, it rings out a clear sound, and I scrape a little off for an acid test. Flash Gordon can provide the acid, not a lot but just enough. Bright red. This thing is silver. I lick it and get an overwhelming feeling of dread. Cool, magical silver.

I'm done stone-hunting for today since I found a new toy. I sit in my manor and start healing the bell. It will take an excruciating amount of mana, even with the mana glitch. I did a few more tests, and I think this is [N-Silver]. Silver is a highly enchantable metal because it's pure, but if its 'purity' gets corrupted, it can turn into [N-Silver]. It's typically found in the same places undead hang out.

This could hint where Rob can lord over a graveyard, but at this point, I should make a graveyard on the manor grounds and populate it with the undead. Duchess seems to be enjoying her new equipment at least.