Chapter 440

“I’m just putting this out there, Rue, I’m not a fan of this.” James said as the party finished their planning. It was important that they leveled up Ifrit as fast as possible, but they also needed to do it safely. While it was true, James wouldn’t lose his summon if it died, it would still lose all the progress it had gained, if it died before it reached its evolution parameters. Meaning, they needed to grind safely, to get his Djinn at least to evolve once, before they moved onto the second floor. Even with the stat boosts Ifrit was gaining, as it stood, he was still a level 1 basic Djinn summon. And, according to the Djinn, it needed to reach level 12, and land 25 final blows, to unlock it’s preferred evolution…whatever that was. The Djinn’s personality was…difficult, to say the least. But James didn’t really mind. What he wanted, more than anything, was to get started with the dungeon dive, in full. The only thing keeping them from the dive, at this very moment, was Rue. As James had figured, she had plans for her Cleric of Blood skills…and those plans, included James.

“Aw, come one.” Rue pressed, eying him mischievously. Her vampiric fangs flashed in that smile against ruby red lipstick. Somehow, Vampire Rue was even more enticing than normal, which James hadn’t thought possible. Then again, who didn’t like a strong vampire character? “Do you really want someone else serving as my personal blood bank?”

“If you referred to it as that, then yeah.” James retorted. “However, you specifically just said you wanted to make me your blood pet. And I know full well, that giving you even an ounce of freedom down that path, will cause me all sorts of trouble.”

“You’re the best candidate.” Steve commented, shit eating grin matching his tone. “If she’s going to be draining the life out of anyone, it’s best that it’s you and not me man.”

James shot Steve an angry glare. Mechanically, he got it. Really, he did. The Cleric of the Blood had a special skill called Sanguine Bond. The skill allowed the cleric to make a bond with another party member, which would allow the healer to drain hp from the bonded player, in order to amplify their healing spells and such. As part of the tradeoff, the player the bond was made with, gained a small amount of life steal, or life vamp, in exchange. With pet classes, the skill applied not only to player, but also their summoned mobs. Meaning, if Rue used the bond on James, it would give Ifrit life vamp, as well as James. And, considering James’s class was meant to utilize it’s pet more for combat than himself, he in theory, should have plenty of life to spare, while Steve tanked.

All of that was fine and dandy. But the drawback of Sanguine Bond was that the healer was the only one who could cancel it. The healer also had the ability to keep drawing life from the bonded individual, by spamming abilities and such. That meant, if Rue wasn’t paying attention, or if she was feeling especially vicious, she could use the skill to kill James. As much as he loved her, she was a bit scatterbrained at times. The last thing he needed was for her to accidently drain all of his life during a major fight and kill him. That would remove both himself, and Ifrit, from the battle, and James doubted Steve’s spanker could solo bosses.

James also knew better than to assume Rue wouldn’t hold this type of power over his head, if the situation presented itself. And again, while he loved her, and he trusted her, this felt like the next step. He was literally putting his life in her hands. Sure, it was just a game, but to him, it meant something. Or, maybe, because it was Rue, because of everything they’d been through, this situation, meant something. This decision carried more weight to it, than it should have.

“You know he’s right.” Rue said as she drew nearer to James. She ran a finger along his arm, sharp nail dragging against the skin, causing a warm sensation to run along his arm. Once she was close enough to kiss him, she dropped her voice to a whisper, her eyes looking upwards into his.

“You know you can trust me on this.” She said, her voice as soft as a dream, her eyes sincere.

“I know I can.” James replied, his voice quiet, though not as gentle as hers. The Archon avatar wasn’t really a subtle, gentle type. “It just, my life will be in your hands.”

“It’s just a…” Rue’s eyes widened as she realized what was holding James back. It wasn’t just the jokes, it wasn’t the whole blood bank bit, it was something more than that. A vulnerability, an openness, that transcended mere gameplay. “Oh.” She closed her mouth, her eyes searching his. If they were in the real world, and she wasn’t a vampire, James was certain the quiet between them would have been filled with the sound of her heartbeat.

“I trust you. And I love you.” James said, somehow closing the distance between them even more. He wrapped his arms around her, and she nestled her head into his chest. “I just want you to know, what this means for me. And,” James paused, steadying his damned heart, while trying to keep his voice from breaking. “And us. My life belongs to you.”

Rue didn’t say anything. Instead, James saw a prompt appear out of the corner of his eye.

Accept Sanguine Bond: Y/N?

James didn’t say anything else. He merely accepted the prompt, and as he did, he felt Rue shudder. She pulled away from him, her eyes shimmering with a wetness James hadn’t thought possible. Apparently, vampires could cry.

“You’re safe with me.” She said quietly. Rue stood on her tip toes and gently kissed him, a feeling that was rather unique, given the Archon facial structure. As she pulled away, the feeling lingering on James’s lips, James caught Rue’s final words, even amidst Steve’s unnecessary hooting, hollering, and whistling.

“I love you, James. Always, and forever.” Rue wiped her tears away, turned her back on James, and moved back to the rest of the party. Steve was still clapping and making indecent remarks, while Ifrit stood there, arms crossed, with a rather annoyed look on his face.

“If the two of you are done.” The NPC summon said dryly. “Can I finally begin my work?”

“With pleasure.” James said, his emotions anything but calm. He was lightheaded, nauseous, euphoric, and confused. Anxiety, excitement, and relief played havoc on his heart, and he was certain he’d be sweating if he were in the real world. This, felt like the next step for him and Rue. It solidified, even more, that he and Rue, belonged together. And, it was another stone set, for his belief that he belonged in DCO. That this, was really the world in which he should exist. The real world was pointless. DCO, was life.

James pointed towards a flock of dickens. The five mobs could be a problem, if they engaged them all at once. He knew that, and he’d seen plenty of adventurers make that mistake in the past. However, he wasn’t a normal adventure, and this, was his dungeon.

“Steve, pull one of those dicken, and let’s get this party started.” James drew his whip, and pointed his other hand towards Ifrit, preparing a buff spell for his Djinn. It was time, finally, to show his dungeon who was boss in a way he’d wanted to do since day 1. They weren’t leaving this floor, this run, until they’d cleared all the mobs, and Old Man Jenkins, was no more.