Chapter 302 Liar
Jay lay in the cave, no longer coated in giant blood or black tar after leaving the dungeon.
(Lamp, Handy, hunt me some food.)
Leaving Red to guard Jay, the two skeletons left the cave, only carrying the bone swords with them.
Jay let out a sigh, still thinking about the dungeon, "So, there are no innocent, huh? How'd I come to that conclusion…" he shook his head, though he couldn't shake the thought.
"The dungeon deemed someone innocent. I suppose, ultimately, it depends on who declares you innocent."
As the dungeon ended, Jay was not sure if it was him or whatever his skeletons did on the other side of the portal, but it didn't matter now. He was just glad that he didn't have to furiously fight his way out of that mess. However, his blood was still pumping, and his breathing was a little unsteady.
"But… was I going to fight out… what was I thinking?" he sat up, clenching his hands, remembering the handfuls of teeth he had in them. The ones he was about to detonate in a glorious explosion.
"Where did those thoughts even come from?"
He stood up and dusted himself off, not ready to step out of the darkness of a cave as he summoned Blue and Sweeper, who both perished in the swarm of knights.
While Blue and Sweeper reformed, he noticed a pair of purple eyes glaring at him from outside the cave. A stout skeleton in armor stood idly at the side.
"Asr-" Jay asked.
"Where have you been?" she snapped, her voice cold.
"Ah, I… Asra?" Jay said, sounding happy.
"That's what they call me. Now, where have… Uh, Bob?"
Jay walked towards her, and strangely, even to his own surprise, he pulled her shoulders into a hug.
She stood there with her arms at her side, looking confused more than anything.
"Ah… Bob?"
Jay released her after a moment. "Sorry… It's nice seeing a familiar face in the real world... I just escaped a locked dungeon."
Asra sighed, "Hmph, I'll forgive it this time. How long were you in there?"
Jay forced his face to remain emotionless as he looked at her with an icy stare.
"Ten years. It's been ten long years… I build a whole other life in there. I had a family. I was a shoemaker…"
"Ten years? Is that a lot of time for a husk?"
"It's about half of our life span." Jay said slowly, lying again.
"Well, at least you didn't age." She shrugged, "… and you're still level four? How is that even possible?"
"Ah, well, with excellent footwear, the soldiers could cover vast - "
Asra cut him off, "Ah, I get the point, you made shoes… Forget I asked. It's probably better if you forget, too." Asra sighed, "Now, do you remember you're supposed to be taking me home? Only a few hours have passed for me."
"Right, home… back to… moon school?" Jay raised a brow.
"Luna Academy." Asra shook her head.
"Riiight… Luna." Jay nodded slowly.
"Anyway, I'm hungry. Hold out your arm."
Jay did as she said, letting her draw near again.
Instead of clamping her mouth down onto him, she held her finger out. Her nail grew longer and turned black like a stiletto dagger.
"Ah, that's different?" Jay said, not feeling anything as the nail pierced his flesh.
"You seem like you've been through a lot. At least you look like it, anyway. This is a more gentle way to feed, though it requires some concentration on my part."
"Oh… thanks. But why? I thought I was an empty-minded husk to you, and besides, I'm used to the pain, anyway."
Asra looked away, glancing into the forest. "Just say thanks."
Jay gave her a quizzical look, "Hmm, well, thanks." He nodded, thinking she was acting strange.
"I wonder if she's growing attached. She has been alone, caught by the blood-vine bear for a while, and then I was the first person she saw, the one who saved her…" Jay wondered.
Yet, after a few moments, he dismissed the thoughts. "No. I'm probably just a tool to her, like I am to everyone else."
Jay glanced at her as she fed. She seemed to change. She looked different from the last time he saw her. A few days ago, she was weak, skinny and pale. She looked like a teenage girl, but as she drank his blood, her body turned into that of a young woman. Her body was recovering, and strangely, ageing.
"Say, Asra, what's the life span of a vampire?"
"Hmm… we're not exactly sure. The oldest vampire I heard of was maybe… three hundred years old?"
"Fuck… three hun -"
"Don't swear. And yes, three hundred. Sadly, being so old attracts... Hmm, how do I describe them... I suppose it's not something you ought to worry about."
"Ah, come on, we have time, and I'm interested." Jay smiled.
"There are these creatures which hunger for our flesh. The older we get, the more tasty we become, I suppose. Perhaps they get more power from consuming us. I'm not sure." Asra scratched her chin.
"What are these creatures?"
Asra took a breath in, held it, and then let out a sigh. She stared into the forest for a moment. "Don't worry about them. It's our problem to solve."
"I see… Say, do these creatures eat skeletons?"
She glanced at Heavy, still standing by her side, diligently guarding her. "No, your skeletons are safe. They're not even interested in husks."
"Oh, good." Jay nodded. "One less threat I need to worry about." he thought.
When Asra finished feeding, Jay began constructing a temporary sleeping area.
Just under the lip of the cave, he formed a bone platform. With his new mana regeneration passive, he wasn't worried about wasting mana, and he spread a thin veil over the top to bind the bones together and flatten them out.
Jay yawned as he unrolled his swag and prepared his bedding. While in the dungeon, nearly three days had passed, and he had little sleep, despite only a few hours passing in the real world.
After the dungeon was complete, Jay still had ten attribute points and two skill points to distribute, as well as a new passive skill to gain, along with a new item, which was a bonus reward. He planned to distribute them now.
However, as soon as Jay's head hit his pillow, his eyelids grew heavy. He knew he was not thinking clearly, having scattered thoughts.
"Asra, I'm going to sleep. Please watch over me." He said with closed eyes.
Asra gave him a strange look, wondering why he would even ask such a thing, especially since he had three skeletons guarding over him.
"Shouldn't he be asking me not to feed on him while he sleeps? Beg for mercy or freedom from my control?" she thought.
Oddly though, there was something about it which warmed her vampiric heart.
"A husk… he trusts me?"