About half an hour later, Nolin was already at home. He was sitting by his table.
“Today was quite unusual… Who could have sent those thugs? They were quite well trained; if I hadn’t taken care of them in time, they could have caused quite a bit of trouble, especially since my body is not strengthened yet. I need some sort of part-time job… I should at least help out at home, especially since mom works overtime every day…”
Nolin thought and looked at his phone, put it into his pocket and stood up. He left his house and started walking on the streets once again.
“I need some fresh air… Also, I need to look for some work… I live on the outskirts of the town, so at least there are not many people, but it also means it will be harder to find a part-time job.”
Mumbled Nolin as he was calmly walking on the nearly empty street. Only occasionally could Nolin see cars on the roads. As he was walking, he passed by a pub; however, since it had no sign indicating that the owner was looking for a workforce, Nolin walked forward. He passed by many different stores, shops and restaurants, but none of them was hiring. And as time went by, Nolin could only walk slower due to his leg, and he had to take breaks more and more frequently.
“Well, no luck today; tomorrow, I will continue…”
Said Nolin as he reached the lake. He sat down on one of the benches around it and just stared at the lake. Minutes went by without Nolin moving, and then finally, he shook his head and closed his eyes, and started meditating. And only stopped after it was dark already, and the only light came from the moon and the lamps around the lake.
“It is finally done! I have finally gathered enough magical power to reach the first tier… I truly have to go slow, and I shouldn’t rush, no matter what… Better to make haste slowly than not at all.”
Said Nolin and stood up, but he didn’t grab his cane. Nolin stood still and closed his eyes. And the moment he opened his eyes, a larger gust of wind ruffled his hair, and at that moment, he brought his hands over to his chest, and his eyes started to glow green. In the next moment, Nolin was engulfed in a powerful and thick green aura. The green aura around him looked as if it was some sort of flame, and the moment it appeared, it generated waves in the lake. However, the aura soon dissipated, and along with it, the waves in the lake also vanished, and then Nolin grabbed his cane and walked away.
“Tier one completed; I am one step closer to defeating that bastard, but I still have a long journey ahead of me! I should go home; it is getting quite late. Mom will probably sleep at work, just like always.”
Nolin thought, and he started walking back home. Although the lights on the streets were quite dark, however, it was no problem for Nolin; he easily and quickly got home. The first thing Nolin did after arrived at home was take a shower. Then walked to the kitchen to prepare a meal for himself. The kitchen was relatively small; it had the required utensils, a round table with four chairs, and a small clock on the fridge. The moment he opened the fridge, someone rang the bell.
“Who could it be?”
Growled Nolin, now in pyjamas, walked to the door and opened it. Behind it, a short skinny girl stood with red hair and eyes. Her clothes were torn and seemed to be made of leather. Almost seemed like she came from the past.
“S-sir, would you be as kind as helping me, please? I am being chased by bad guys… I think they want to kidnap me!”
Asked the girl with puppy eyes. Nolin raised his eyebrows and then replied.
“Oh, of course; please come inside.”
“Thank you very much.”
Said the girl and quickly entered the house. Nolin led the girl to the table in his kitchen and sat the girl down. The girl was nervously looking around and was sweating. Nolin, on the other hand, was perfectly calm. He prepared two glasses of water, and placed them on the table, then sat down as well, on the opposite side of the table.
“So tell me… how did you get here?”
“W-well, I was walking home when suddenly some men started chasing after me, and I had no choice but to run away.”
“That is not what I asked, and we both know what I REALLY asked.”
“Sir, I don’t know what you are talking about; what I said really happened; I am not lying!”
“Yes, I am sure that you are not lying, but you skipped, or rather omitted, one very important part of your explanation!”
“I still don’t understand, sir… are you…”
“Fine, let’s stop pretending. How did you get into this world?”
“I-I…”
“How come that… never mind that… At least I learned another very important fact today as well. In your current predicament, although I don’t know how powerful the people are chasing you, judging by your feeble power, I would say you wouldn’t survive for that long outside.”
“H-how did you know?”
“Why? Because I can see right through you! I could kill you in a second just by disrupting the flow of your magic power! It would be easier than breathing! You are full of flaws and errors. I don’t know how you managed to learn magic, but even in this primitive world, you could be considered “primitive”! Anyway, what are your plans? Let’s say you get away from your chasers; then what?”
“I… I don’t know… I barely managed to survive, so I only thought of getting away, nothing more. But it seems I walked right into a trap. Today I will definitely die!”
“Who said I WILL kill you? I don’t kill unless I have to. After all, I am just an everyday human being.”
“Sir, I apologise for being rude, but you are lying. You are anything but an “everyday human being” I can tell that you are way more powerful than those who chased me! The moment you looked through me, I felt it… You are a real monster in human skin.”
“I never heard that one before; I like that. Anyway, I am going to eat now; then I will go to sleep. You can stay here but don’t break anything and be quiet! Should you violate these rules, I will be very angry!”
Declared Nolin as he glared at the girl and then, with the help of his cane, walked over to the fridge.
“S-sir… Can I ask what happened to your leg? Someone as powerful as you wouldn’t get injured that easily!”
“I used to be picked on and was abused by others, and once I got into a fight… which ended up breaking my leg… Since we are not very well of, in fact, we are barely making ends meet; we couldn’t afford proper healthcare. Thus the bone in my leg didn’t heal as it should have…”
“A-and h-how did you get so…”
“I believe you already know way more than you should… Also, I don’t even know your name and know anything about you.”
Answered Nolin coldly as he turned around with a sandwich in his hand.
“I… Yes… I am very sorry… My name is Kaisa… I am a vampire…”
“I already knew you were a vampire!”
Interrupted the girl Nolin, causing the girl to start fidgeting with her hands and sweating even more.
“I am the firstborn of my family… Although I am a vampire, I am quite weak, as my family’s bloodline is not the least bit pure, so I faced some harsh events in the past due to my bloodline. Still, even as such a weakling, I do have one special ability; I have great healing properties.”
Explained Kaisa while Nolin was munching on his sandwich. Nolin didn’t reply, he was only eating slowly and calmly, and the girl was still fidgeting with her hands and just sat there silently. After Nolin finished his sandwich, he chugged his glass of water down and then stood up.
“I see; good night then.”
Said Nolin, and then with the help of his cane, he left the girl alone in the kitchen. After a few minutes had passed, the girl got off the chair and kneeled down, and started breathing heavily.
“I don’t know who he is, but he is not someone I can mess with… His pressure was so intense… He is not like the soldiers who attacked me… I could kill most of them, but he… He doesn’t even see me as a threat; although he knows that I am not human, in his eyes, I am nothing more than just a helpless, little, weak girl. I must befriend him… I must do anything to befriend him; maybe he could help me get stronger!”
Kaisa thought while she was on her knees while still having a hard time to breath properly.
