Chapter 218 - Thirst and Desire 

I considered what I could do for a moment… getting the alchemist class would help me in the future quite a bit. A lot of materials that I left behind could be used for potions, but I didn’t have use for them back then…

Risking Glacien's neck wasn’t an option either, so while I hesitated in showing my amulets in action, it was better than the other options. I readied the Fireball amulet and then attached a mana core when the next group of lesser chimeras showed up. I wounded the creatures just enough to give Glacien enough of an advantage. The best option would be to burn their tails, but I needed them for their poison. So, I just half burned their heads.

Ayla crossed her arms and tried to study the amulet, but I hid it under my cloak. No one was going to learn their secret if I can help it. Come to think of it, she said something weird when the first group of monsters showed up. By the look of things, she imagined that the guys in the area were responsible for the massive number of monsters here.

‘They shouldn’t be stupid enough given how long they can leave to make this kind of blunder, so they must have a reason for this… their elder can’t be that incompetent, either. Considering how long they can live as well, they should know that they are risking a dungeon break here. Still, if that was really their goal, they wouldn’t let anyone even enter the first section.’

The math isn’t mathing… I was certain that Rowan and Louise father hadn’t come to this area yet to talk with the elder here, so I could only guess that the elder was risking causing a dungeon break in order to spread enough chaos and then give the dwarves the chance to attack, but that would be too dumb.

No one would risk destroying their territory to give the chance for a war to start. Unless they were bat shit insane. Regardless, it was none of my business. I just wanted to get the alchemist class and then leave. The real problem was my mind, who liked to think about these kinds of things in order to find the answers… it was a lot easier to find those answers than the ones I actually need in my life, after all.

In the end, we stayed at the entrance of the section because the lesser chimeras kept showing up. By the look of things, the other floors would be filled with them as well, so getting the alchemist class would be pretty hard and time consuming.

‘These guys and those guys… everyone trying so hard to make my life harder. I just can’t be unlucky that I am always walking into trouble or when people are sneaking around.’

“Can you make some stamina potions with the materials you have? I need to check something outside.”

“... No… at least that is what I wanted to say, but given that you have stitched my arm back to its place, I guess I can’t say that. Still, I can’t make the potions with a single hand.”

I wanted to make her leave, so this was a good chance for me to speed things up. The only downside was that she had seen too much from us.

“I will make them then. It is better this way since the potions will have the extra effect.”

I wondered what kind of effects those would be… but even potions have ranks, so it wouldn’t surprise me that they could have extra effects. It was near impossible without the specialized class for a person to be able to make an item with an extra effect, after all.

In any case, I took the materials that Ayla would need to make the potions and wondered if they would actually make her gain time instead of just heading outside normally. Either way, it wasn’t my problem… 

Using her needle, she poked some holes in the leather of a kobold and then covered the mouth of a large pot with it. In the next moment, she poured the two types of poison on the leather. The leather began to absorb the remains of the poison as the liquids nullified the toxic properties of each other and the remaining liquid began to fall into the pot. This was exactly how things were described in the alchemy book of Clarice’s family. It would seem that they either learned a lot from the dark elves or they shared their secrets with them.

I wondered if I could make a business out of this… unlike those back on earth selling beverages with this kind of potion, they would be real energy drinks. Not like anyone would buy anything that a half vampire had made.

In any case, I tried not to watch Ayla working that much, and so focused on dismantling the monsters, but after turning around enough times, my dark side began to stir up… my mouth began to salivate while looking at Ayla’s neck. 

‘Shit…’

I turned around and then sat on the ground. I had to get used to this kind of temptation… Getting used to being thirsty when I was alone was easier, but not when I wasn’t. 

No matter what happens, I can’t let that feeling take over me… once I do it the first time, there is no going back since I wouldn’t stop the first time. Still, this made me wonder… why I didn’t feel that thirsty when I was with Clarice. We spent some time alone, even though it was mostly awkward.

‘I guess it is because I see her as a friend… somehow. She can be annoying, but she isn’t someone who would betray me, at least not as she is right now.’

This made me think… I felt thirsty a few times recently, while the feeling was weak since my mind was somewhere else. There was still a pattern. I felt like that when I paid more than a bit of attention to some individuals… and they all had a single thing in common. They were quite pretty… at least from my perspective. 

The thirst was a lot stronger with Ayla around, though, and that made me think that it was because she was gorgeous. Among all the Elves that I had seen, she and Clarice were at the top when it comes to beauty, but Clarice was more like a cute type, while Ayla was more of the sexy type.

‘Is my thirst making me think of this or am I reaching puberty with this body?’

I felt like sighing… It looked like I had to return to my hermit life pretty often if I wanted to keep walking the straight path. 

I knew that the connection between vampires’ thirst for blood and their sexual desires came from the symbolic and intimate nature of feeding. Blood represents life and passion, and for vampires, the act of drinking blood is often as deeply personal and physically close, paralleling the intimacy of sexual acts. This link is heightened by the vulnerability of feeding locations, like the neck, which are associated with sensuality. Additionally, vampires’ heightened senses make them more attuned to beauty, drawing them to individuals whose allure symbolizes vitality and perfection. This blending of hunger and desire creates a powerful connection between their predatory instincts and human-like longing for intimacy.

Gorgeous individuals are harder for vampires to resist because their beauty intensifies the temptation and internal conflict. As creatures of seduction and forbidden desires, vampires struggle between restraint and indulgence. A beautiful person embodies the perfect prey, triggering both their physical hunger and suppressed passions. This dynamic creates a compelling psychological tension where the act of feeding becomes more than sustenance. It’s a metaphor for succumbing to primal urges, making beauty and desire inseparable in the vampire’s mythos.

‘I guess this would explain a lot…’

The best way to get mentally stronger against a desire was by resisting it nonstop. There was not just a little that would be fine… once the dam is opened, fighting back would be a lot harder, so I had to make good use of Ayla’s presence.

In any case, after one hour, Ayla was done with the potions and then began to prepare to leave.

“You have my thanks. Don’t do anything harsh with your arm until I return.”

“Consider us even, and you don’t need to return at all.”

Ayla studied me for a moment before disappearing into thin air. I wondered if she had the stronger version of the Ninja class or something. I wanted that kind of power.

… …

Two hours later, Ayla was back at the entrance of the labyrinth. The guards outside were still unconscious and her leader was nowhere to be seen. Given the traces of his footsteps and the distance between them, she assumed that he had dashed back home.

‘Such a misfortune…’

She felt torn between looking for him and confirming her guesses… She wanted to ask his opinion before doing something troublesome. It was better if they all just kept for themselves… they had been doing that for hundreds of years, after all, and thanks to that, they managed to survive without suffering losses like they did in the past when they lived on the run.

Even if the world changed, as long as they remained in their hideout, nothing would change for them and they would survive just fine. That was the truth for hundreds of years and there was nothing to say that it wouldn’t remain the truth for more hundreds of years.

Still, Ayla’s instincts and curiosity made her move to confirm her doubts… just confirming things wouldn’t change much for her and her people… in the end, the whole group would have to work together if they were to change the status quo.

With those thoughts in mind, Ayla headed toward the closest town.