Heading to the dome, Erin found that, although her body was sore, there was something different about how it moved. She hadn’t noticed it at first but it became more aparent as time went on.

Even though her stats were at the same level, it felt like she had improved in other areas as well that stat’s didn’t show. One of the big differences was her hand-to-eye coordination. Thinking about this, she was wondering how this might be able to aid her in the future.

Later, when she was off of this godforsaken planet, she would try to recreate the moves Fex used with her newfound finer control. It defentily was something that would give her more versititalty in the future if she could master that.

Fex, however, was tired. Between having to use his brain so much making a plan to save Erin, and the stress of getting chased by her, he couldn’t wait to get some nice deserved rest, at least he thought he deserved it.

Before they went to the dome, Fex told his strange flying bull friend to turn back into an earring. It transfromed into shape and was hanging there like before. He told him to stay hidden until things were clear again.

Erin could only assume that it was a tamed beast, even though she had never seen a tamed beast that could turn into another item. So then she wodnered if it was a beast weapon with the power to turn into something else but she wasn’t interested enough to ask Fex questions about Ham.

Instead, Erin was looking at her system as there was something quite strange happening with one of the skills.

[Skill: Blood ritual unlocked]

[Blooded family: 1/2]

[ERROR]

[User: Quinn Talen is not blooded]

[Blooded family: 0/2]

Erin didn’t know what to make of the error, other than the fact that it was similar to that message she once saw when she was going to give Quinn an earth ability book. If this was at all related, then it was a ’blood ritual’ meant to be the skill that could turn someone into a vampire.

It was at times like this she wished she had some sort of guide or at least the system would explain a bit more to her.

’Layla did say that this was something they could do in vampire stories,’ Erin thought, "I wonder how she’s doing...I doubt she could even imagine what I’ve been through right now."

Thinking about Layla, and her desire to be turned into a vampire had passed her mind. Maybe with this blood ritual she could make her dreams come true. Thoughts of what she would do and how she would handle the situation did come into her mind, but she had another thought that worried her.

Given that Erin had turned into a monster when she didn’t have blood, the idea didn’t seem very smart until she was in a more stable position. Maybe when she learnt more herself about everything there was to be a vampire she could even be the one to guide her. Because there clearly were still a lot of things to learn, and being a vampire so far hadn’t been easy and was very dangerous to those around her.

However, it would provide a good way for someone to get stronger, and having a strong ally by her side would help her toward her goal in the end. After all, Fex had somehow managed to survive this far without turning into whatever she did, most likely thanks to his flask.

’Actually, how does Fex get his blood? Does he have some sort of person he drinks from like me?’ Erin wondered.

Looking at the rest of the long list of notifications, she found out about another new skill.

[New skill: Daze]

[This skill has no cost and can be used on the opponent to stun them between 0.2 seconds and 0.5 seconds at a time. Must have direct eye contact with the opponent. The skill has a chance of failing depending on the strength of the enemy, and on the user’s Charm points. The more the skill is used on an opponent, the higher chance they have of resisting.]

Erin liked the sound of this new skill. It was something she could use in an offensive manner, and came at no cost at all. Sure, it would require her to have a high charm skill for extra effectiveness, but with her 11 free stat points, she could easily level it up to 21 if she wanted to.

[Shop has been unlocked]

[New tutorials have been unlocked]

[System level 2 will now activate]

Erin had only just now looked at the ’system level 2 will now activate’ notification before it suddenly opened a video in Erin’s vision, once again showing the long haired blonde man from before. She had stopped walking to focus on the video.

"Congrats!" The man said as he clasped his hands together, "You have now officially joined the family. I thought maybe a simple human wouldn’t be able to make it this far, but it looks like my little experiment was a success. Now that the system has been upgraded to level 2, I had a good friend of mine install an AI system with my voice. It’s amazing, right?! Now you’ll never feel alone again, and if you ever have a question about the system, just ask."

’If I ever wanted to ask someone questions through the system, I’d talk to Quinn,’ Erin thought, already getting annoyed by the man’s stupid cheerful voice.

"Now you’re probably thinking, ’why didn’t I design it this way from the very beginning?’ The truth is you needed to be able to get this far on your own. From your own mistakes along the way, they can only make you stronger."

Erin did not think that at all, but now that he mentioned it, she had a really, really, really strong urge to shove her sword right up this man’s ass.

’I’ll do that after I get a new one,’ Erin thought, recalling that her old sword broke.

"Hey, why’d you stop?" Fex asked. He had noticed Erin stopped following him for a bit.

"Don’t worry about it," Erin replied, and continued walking ahead.

"Now before I leave you, although the AI system will help you answer any questions you have about the system, it will not be able to go beyond that, so here are my final recorded words. I’m sorry, but now that you are a vampire, others will come looking for you. They have already blended into society, so it’s almost impossible to tell who is one, and who isn’t. If you want to live a life of freedom as I did, then get stronger, create a force of your own, and fight back. Good luck my friend."

The video closed, and as it did, they had both arrived at the dome. It was a large structure made of an incredibly sturdy material, no doubt galathrium with how there was next to no scratches on the outside. There was also a long hallway, and as they entered it, they spotted a pair of steel doors which had a pass code machine on them.

"Wow, haha, I’m surprised we didn’t find any beasts on our way here," Fex joked, slightly nudging Erin.

Erin visibly grimaced as she was reminded of the mindless massacre she committed against all of those rattaclaws while she was a bloodsucker. In return, Fex cringed a little seeing that Erin didn’t respond positively.

They both heard a noise right outside the hallway, and spotted a lone rattaclaw right in the entrance.

"I’ll go get it," Fex stated, not waiting for Erin to reply.

Meanwhile, Erin placed her hand on the pass code machine, and used the inspect skill on it.

[An access code machine linked to the two steel doors. The combination is 33346253778]

’With how long these numbers are, you’d expect some sort of prize inside.’

She inputted the number, and soon enough the door opened. Fex came back flinging some black blood off of his hands, and onto the walls.

"You know, I was just thinking, beast blood isn’t particularly tasty, but it would make for a great finger paint," Fex chuckled as he wiggled his fingers, "Let’s hope there’s a sink inside."

Erin took one look at him before letting out a single dry chuckle.

"I think you’d make a mess of yourself first before making any kind of art."

They were now in a reception area with a desk at the front, a small canteen in the corner, and several cushioned seats around the area. It was quite a strange sight for the two of them as it looked so well preserved compared to the rest of the city. Erin turned around to spot a small light switch, and flicked it on.

The lights flickered a little before they fully illuminated the place, keeping a consistent glow. However, there was that one light in the corner that kept flashing on and off.

In the dome, it smelled like stale air and dust. It was generally pretty quiet aside from the hum of the lights.

"It doesn’t look like anything other than us has managed to enter this place," Fex spoke, "And just so you know, we can see in the dark just fine."

"I am aware," Erin commented, walking past him towards one of the doors.

Fex thought it was a little strange for Erin to turn on the lights, but thought it was just a leftover behavior from when she was human. As someone who was born in a perpetually dark place, he didn’t have such habits.

"We should split up and try to see if we can find a portal back. Portals are often stored in strong sturdy buildings. With how long this structure has survived, its bound to be here," Erin explained.

Fex looked around the place, and headed to the opposite door. It led to a hallway that led to even more rooms, some of which were resting rooms. They had metal doors with pass code machines on them, and were quite easy for Fex to break, but there was just one small annoying thing.

’To check all of these rooms for a portal... It’s going to take me a while to break all of these pass codes,’ Fex thought.