The Obsessive Regressor of The Academy

19. Entrance Exam (5)

The second day of the exam dawned.

“…Ugh.”

Acel opened his eyes to the sound of birdsong. Sleeping on roughly laid leaves had taken its toll; his back ached considerably. He seemed to have a touch of muscle soreness, and his throat felt raspy. He’d erected a barrier and even raised the internal temperature, but apparently, it wasn’t enough. He’d hoped to greet the morning in peak condition, but his body was just short of it.

Still, well, he was in good enough shape.

Acel burned the leaves that had formed his makeshift bed, meticulously erased any traces of magic, and then set off.

His destination was the riverbank he’d scouted the previous evening.

What he needed during this week-long trial wasn’t a group or a core, but stamina and provisions. The longer the trial stretched, the more vital drinking water and food would become. In that regard, the river was a decent source of sustenance. He could secure both water and food there.

Water wasn’t much of a concern for Acel. He could conjure it whenever he pleased, so it wasn’t something to fret over. But food was different. That was something Acel had to procure himself. So, he was heading to the relatively nearby river to catch some fish.

‘Not that I’m much of a cook.’

Even so, grilling them shouldn’t be too difficult. Acel mused, pushing through the thicket until he reached the river.

The water’s depth reached his waist, but the river was quite wide. By unleashing an impact spell or forcefully draining the water, he could easily catch fish. He carefully folded his black coat and placed it on the ground, then rolled up the sleeves of his shirt.

Just then, something burst forth from the water.

“Hwah!”

It expelled the water from its mouth, finally taking a breath it had been holding. Acel prepared a spell to attack, but he frowned upon realizing that the strange creature was a woman.

She was entirely white. Not only her shirt, but her hair as well was as white as snow. Her skin was pale to the point of near transparency, and her long, pointed ears hinted at her race.

“…An elf?”

Acel murmured, then reconsidered when he sensed that her aura was far too murky for an elf.

The magic he sensed was tainted with the scent of blood. Among the various races scattered across the continent, only one reeked so strongly of blood.

“A vampire.”

“Hm?”

Hearing his voice, the woman turned her head and looked at Acel. Then, as if she’d found a friend, she brightened and exclaimed,

“Help me!”

“…”

“I can’t catch any fish! If you help me, I’ll share them with you!”

Acel stared at her innocent face for a moment, then chuckled and held his palm above the water. As he unleashed his magic, a small explosion erupted beneath his hand. Thanks to his careful control, the vampire wasn’t caught in the blast. She made an “oof” sound and rose from the water.

“You’re a mage?”

“As you can see.”

Acel continued to unleash explosion magic into the river. Before long, stunned fish floated to the surface. The vampire gasped in admiration as Acel manipulated his magic into strands of thread and snared them.

He left behind the ones torn apart by the explosion. They were too difficult to clean, and the edible portions were too small, making them inefficient. If there were only a few stunned fish, he would have taken those as well, but fortunately, there were more than five intact ones. This would be enough to get him through the day with abundance.

The vampire’s eyes sparkled as she watched the fish dangling from Acel’s strands.

“Wow! You caught five of them! I didn’t catch a single one! Great, I’ll only eat one, so you can have the rest!”

“I won’t be sharing.”

“Huh?”

She uttered that dull sound and turned to face Asel. Asel, as if asked the most obvious thing, let out a dry chuckle and said:

“I did all the work myself, why would I give it to you?”

“But! …Hng.”

The vampire, bereft of any worthwhile retort, made a crying face. Asel, leaving her grumbling behind, grabbed one of the dangling fish and began to clean it. He condensed mana at his fingertips to slice open the fish’s belly and pull out its innards. The head was cleanly severed. Not that it was an edible part anyway.

He roughly wiped the blood from his hands on the river, then gathered leaves and started a fire. He skewered the cleaned fish on a branch and held it to the flames. He did this five times, until there were no fish left. Asel nodded in satisfaction, and waited for the fish to cook.

The vampire continued to loiter around Asel until the whole process was complete. The faint growls that echoed came entirely from her stomach. She must have been quite hungry.

It wasn’t as though vampires solely subsisted on blood. Blood was merely a vital nutrient for their survival. They, too, needed to eat food and drink water to live. He couldn’t be entirely certain, as he had only read about the species in books rather than observing their ecosystem directly, but judging by her reaction, he couldn’t be too far off.

“I’m huungry…”

She glanced at the fish, now roasting a golden brown, then met Asel’s gaze, and feigned nonchalance with a whistle. Asel chuckled at the sight.

“Want some?”

“Yup!”

The reply was instantaneous. Asel gestured for her to come closer, where she stood stiffly. Without hesitation, she rushed over and plopped down next to him.

Her clothes, damp from her dip in the water, were bothersome, so Asel stretched out his hand towards her, intending to use some simple magic. She tilted her head, then gripped Asel’s extended hand with both of hers. Asel couldn’t help but let out a dry laugh at the soft sensation.

“…What are you doing?”

“Hm? Weren’t you asking me to hold on?”

“I was just going to dry your clothes.”

“Ah-ha!”

She pursed her lips and released Asel’s hand. Asel promptly used magic to cleanse her clothes, then broke off a piece of the perfectly cooked skewer and ate it. The vampire watched him, then, upon Asel handing her the skewer directly, smiled brightly and greedily picked the meat off the bone. Watching her eat with her cheeks puffed out was rather endearing.

“What’s your name?”

Asel asked. The vampire swallowed all the meat she’d been chewing before replying.

“Elena! Elena von Valdemia! I came from the Valdemia Duchy!”

A surname identical to the Duchy’s name. Asel instantly recognized that she was a direct descendant of the Duke.

The Valdemia Duchy was a city and nation founded by vampires. Back when racial wars were rife on the continent, they established a refuge beyond the secluded mountains in the southern part of the continent to avoid unnecessary conflict. The vampire leader who led them was named Valdemia. That’s how the Duchy began.

Despite their intimidating name, vampires were not a warlike race. They needed to drink the blood of other races to survive, but their methods were considered quite humane, so their reputation wasn’t too bad.

Direct bloodsucking never occurred without mutual consent, and more often than not, they purchased blood for a price.

They did become bloodthirsty if they didn’t drink blood for long periods of time, but the amount of blood flowing into the Duchy was enough to feed all the vampires and then some. Thanks to this, thirst had become a non-issue for them.

It seemed to be the same for Elena. Asel nodded, looking at the half-full blood pack attached to her waist.

“An heiress of the Valdemia family. Why are you trying to enroll in the academy?”

“Just because? I’d be bored if I only stayed holed up in the Duchy!”

The reason was simpler than expected. Well, I guess there are people who think like that. Asel respected her will.

“There are other reasons too, but those are secret.”

“Alright. Eat some more, though. There’s plenty left.”

“Okay!”

Elena answered brightly, taking another skewer. Asel burned the empty skewer to ashes, then drew some water and took a sip.

“What’s your name?”

“Asel. I don’t have a surname.”

“I see. Well then, Asel! Give me just a sip of your blood!”

“…? All of a sudden?”

Weren’t we just exchanging pleasantries? Why is she asking for blood all of a sudden?

Asel frowned at the words blurted out without preamble. Elena, seeing his reaction, hurriedly spoke.

“W-Well, I was supposed to bring human blood, but I accidentally grabbed pig blood instead. I can’t last a week on that…”

“…So you need my blood?”

“Yes! Blood itself is important to us, but the magic contained within it is even more so. Like elves absorb mana through photosynthesis, and humans or beastkin get mana from food, we have to live by absorbing mana from blood!”

This was a new story to Asel. The books only contained fragmented information, so he didn’t know exactly what they gained through blood-drinking.

He knew it was essential for their life activities, but hearing about the inner workings was a first. Asel felt his interest piqued, and he stared at Elena.

“Is the mana you can get from pig blood limited?”

“Almost nonexistent. Animal blood isn’t good for us. We only drink it when we want to feel a little tingle, maybe?”

“What about a mage’s blood?”

“Special delicacy!”

Elena’s eyes sparkled as she leaned her upper body towards Asel. Her chest swayed dramatically with the movement.

“Aura doesn’t agree with us, so it doesn’t taste very good. It’s better than a normal person’s blood, but you can’t compare it to a mage’s.”

“So mana agrees with you the best, I guess.”

“Yep. It’s also the most expensive, hard to find, and even if it occasionally shows up at the market, it sells out right away, so it’s hard to get!”

“……”

“It’s delicious, and the surging vitality that fills you up when you drink it is amazing. I wouldn’t need to feed for a while.”

“So that’s why you want to drink my blood? To get through the exam period without feeding?”

Elena nodded. Asel pondered for a moment, then held up a finger, setting a condition.

“Giving a few drops of blood isn’t a difficult thing. But I have to get something in return.”

“I’ll do anything I can!”

Elena nodded, her expression resolute. Asel stated his condition directly.

“I am interested in blood magic, so I want to observe the magic you use during the trial.”

“I don’t use magic, but the power of ‘Blood Manipulation,’ you know?”

“It doesn’t matter. Blood magic itself is a magic that imitates Blood Manipulation in the first place. Observing it will yield meaningful results, I’m sure.”

Libraries related to blood magic did not exist within the Witches’ Coven library. The Coven did not handle unconventional magic—black magic, blood magic, or necromancy—that heightened the potential for mental derangement as one ascended the ranks.

Asel wouldn’t go mad just because he learned such heterodox magic. He knew that perfectly well. However, that didn’t mean he intended to master those magics to their extreme. He only needed to learn the subtleties, and be able to integrate them into other types of magic, or use a few spells fluidly.

Blood magic was the beginning.

“Is that possible?”

Asel wiggled his fingers in front of Elena, inquiring. Elena vigorously nodded her head, as if it weren’t a difficult request at all.

“Of course! I’ll show you as much as you want.”

A deal was struck.

Asel immediately drew out his mana into the form of a needle, pricking his finger lightly. A crimson drop of blood welled up on his fingertip. Elena’s eyes gleamed as she watched the shimmering droplet. Asel looked at her and asked,

“How do I give it to you? Where should I put it?”

“Ah, no. Just give it to me.”

“Just?”

“Sprinkle it on my tongue!”

“What?”

The moment he asked that, Elena opened her mouth, sticking her tongue out as far as it could go. She voiced out in that state.

“Bleehhh…”

“…Something’s off about this picture.”

Asel muttered, shaking the drop of blood from his fingertip onto her long tongue. When about five drops had fallen onto her tongue, Elena closed her mouth and savored the blood.

“…Ugh?!”

Her eyes widened.