Chapter 21: Growing Hunger
LUCIAN'S HOUSE
A soft hum rang out, as a large oval-shaped portal opened up in the living room.
Stella and Lucian stepped out of it, with the latter immediately collapsing on the sofa.
Stella closed the portal and sat next to him.
"You didn't manage to get a single hit on me. Do you even want your reward?" She teased.
"S-shut up. You're an orange-rank, how the hell am I supposed to beat you? I'll never even reach yellow in my life," Lucian complained.
'At least that's what everyone else thinks,' Lucian added mentally.
One's ability was the main determinant of one's maximum power ranking. F-ranks could go past white rank, E-ranks couldn't go past yellow rank, etc. Only SSS-ranks could ever reach the legendary black rank.
Having higher abilities would also allow one to rise through ranks at a much faster speed as well.
The main decider for an ability's rank is its future potential.
The main reason F-ranks were looked down upon so much was that they would never be able to surpass the limits of a 'common' human.
F-rank abilities were classified as F-rank abilities since their users were predicted to never reach the yellow rank.
Their abilities were useless in general, and they couldn't really get stronger.
Two people with the same ability could theoretically have different ranks, but the higher-ranked one's abilities would be generally far superior.
For example, suppose someone with an SSS-rank version of Lucian's ability appeared. In that case, he might be able to pull off astounding feats such as reconstructing most of his body in seconds, while Lucian being an F-rank would take several hours to completely heal a small flesh wound.
Furthermore, people who strengthened themselves to a higher colour rank would not only be stronger ability-wise but their physical prowess would also be heightened significantly.
There was no way a white rank like Lucian would be able to beat an orange rank like Stella, especially one at the cusp of reaching red rank.
Lucian rubbed his aching muscles with an annoyed look.
'Hmm… This isn't as bad as when I stabbed myself with a scalpel yesterday to test my regeneration ability, but damn does it still hurt.'
Stella watched Lucian with an amused expression.
"Hmm, you know what? Since I ramped up the difficulty in today's training, I'll give you a reward for getting through it."
Stella bent over and kissed Lucian on the forehead.
"Keep it up, I believe in you."
Lucian froze momentarily from shock.
But soon his mouth curved into a cheeky smile.
"Not on the mouth?"
"That's for the day you manage to land a hit on me," Stella winked.
"So you never plan on kissing me then? You do understand that while you can continuously get stronger, I've already hit my maximum potential. If I can't beat you know, I won't be able to ever beat you," Lucian lamented.
Stella shook her head.
"We can worry about that later. For now, just focus on landing a hit on me."
Rising to her feet she opened another portal.
"I need to go to the training facility, so I'll head out. See you tomorrow!"
She gave Lucian one last look before stepping through the portal, which promptly closed behind her.
Seeing her leave, Lucian smiled to himself.
"I might not be your match now, but the future is no longer set in stone. I'll get strong enough to be your match."
[Highspeed Regeneration]
The muscle cramps and aches on Lucian's body disappeared, quickly removing the pain that was irritating him for the past few minutes.
*Ding*
[New Quest Initiated]
[Quest (Reoccurring): Satiate your hunger]
Quest Description: Hunger level has gone over 80%, satisfy your craving for blood before it consumes you.
Quest Completion Requirements:
- Drink 100% of a mortal's blood.
Quest Fail Conditions:
- Let the THIRST bar reach 100%
Quest Completion Rewards:
- Victim's Ability (Warning: currently does not work on victims with abilities greater than E-rank)
- Exp
Quest Fail Punishment:
- ???
"So I receive a quest if my thirst is above 80%?"
Lucian pulled up his staus window.
"Status"
[Status Information]
Name: Lucian Sanguinis
Age: 15 years old
Race: Vampire
Lv.1
EXP: 50/100
HP: 25/25
STA: 7/13
ABILITY ENERGY: 15/15
THIRST: 42/50 (Gain one point in thirst every 30 minutes. WARNING: DO NOT LET THIRST REACH THE MAXIMUM VALUE)
DEF: 9
SPD: 16
STR: 14
CHAR: 25
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Abilities:
Plunder Lv.1
Ability Description: Steal the abilities of anyone whose blood you completely drink. (Currently can not steal abilities that surpass E-rank.)
Ability Slots: 1/5
[New Ability Iron Skin]
Ability Description: Cover your body with a coating of metal. Significantly increases defence and durability.
Cost: 1 Ability Energy every 10 seconds of use.
____________________________________________________________________________________
Titles: Prince of the Night
Title Description: ???
____________________________________________________________________________________
Skills:
- Blood Claw Lv.1
Skill Description: Coat your claws with a cover of blood, amplifying damage from slashing and piercing with your claws. (Warning: Will consume your own blood if not covering your claws in the blood of others before using this skill. Using your own blood will reduce HP.)
________________________________
- Charm Lv.1
Skill Description: Charm your target into becoming a slave to your will. The effectiveness of this skill depends on the level of your charisma.
________________________________
- Highspeed Regeneration Lv.1
Skill Description: Passively increase the rate of natural regeneration significantly, but consume points of thirst.
____________________________________________________________________________________
Taking a quick peek at his status bar, Lucian noticed his hunger bar was past 80 percent full.
His Exp gauge was also 50% completed.
'What do I get when I level up? If this was a game I would probably get some stat increases and if I'm lucky some kind of new skill!'
"Alecia, pull up the dinner menu."
"Yes master Lucian," a synthetic female voice replied.
A female robot entered the room and gave him a tablet.
"I have shortened the list to only contain options with chronic drinking problems like you asked."
"Good."
Lucian scrolled through the list, looking for his next victim.
Suddenly he paused, with his eyes widening slightly.
"Hmm… This ability… I want it!"
He stood up and faced the robot beside him.
"Has the outfit been prepared?"
"Yes sir, I shall bring it here for you to change."
Lucian's eyes turned from black to blood red, while his canines extended into full-blown fangs.
"Let's make this quick… I'm starving!"
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
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