Draconic Vampire : Curse of the Blood

Chapter 72: An Offer

Keith looked at the dean with a dumbfounded face. He never thought that his genes would become undetectable. What did it even mean? As he thought this, he looked at the dean with anticipation.

“What are you saying, dean Jesper?”  Valencia asked with a frown on her face.

It was normal for vampires to get some genes from the originals, even if it was little. It was enough to create some runes inside the rune circle. So not being able to read the genes was not supposed to happen. 

“What I mean by this is, either his genes are so complicated that the judgment pillar can not distinguish the individual genes or his genes are incomplete and mixed with some other genes.” A smile appeared on the old man’s face.

“His genes are more complicated than the genes of the original vampires? How is that possible?” Valencia looked at Keith with disbelief. 

She couldn’t imagine someone who could have a more complicated set of genes than the originals themselves. Was he not a descendant of the originals? How could he have more complicated genes than them? Thousands of questions swirled around her mind as she tried to comprehend this.

“What an interesting boy? I haven’t seen a talent like you in centuries. You surely have some hidden cards that couldn’t be detected through normal means.” 

The dean looked at the metal plate which was updating the rankings of the students present. Keith ranked first even with the undetermined result of his genes. He crossed so many layers and even stepped on the King’s layer, so the points awarded to him were significantly higher than others. 

Annica ranked third with her exceptional performance and she was quite satisfied with the result. She was aiming for the top three spots anyway, so this was not so bad. Keith’s performance was out of her calculations, but she still considered it something out of her reach.

His means were something she could never replicate, not even after reaching the viscount stage. But she was glad she befriended him when nobody knew him.

Sitting inside the count layer, Keith observed the metal plate that showed his name on the top. He was really surprised that he was ranked first after his gene test failed. He expected his rank to be second or third based on his performance but it looked like crossing the king layer gave him a lot of points.

He nodded his head in satisfaction and stood up after his blood-qi was stabilized. He returned back to his seat along with Annica. All the students’ eyes were on him as if looking at a distinguished person. His performance in the test had earned him the respect and jealousy of countless students.

Sitting on his spot, he wanted to observe the rest of the test as there were three more rows of students left for the test. The later batches of students were not so flamboyant and definitely didn’t match the expectations. Their performance was rather lackluster.

Amidst all this, Valencia approached Keith when he was observing the test of a batch of students from the third row. 

“Keith Ennes, it’s nice to finally meet you.” A beautiful feminine voice resounded from the side.

Keith turned his head around and looked at the person who just entered his periphery.

“How can I help you, miss?”  Keith asked with a respectable voice.

He knew her identity, but he didn’t tell her right away.  She had a mysterious aura around her so he proceeded with caution. Besides, she was an important person inside the academy, finding trouble with her would not be ideal when he just entered this place.

“We are not acquainted, yes. But your performance today at the test forced me to look into your information. It was a surprise to find such a genius hiding himself as a normal person.  You sure like to stay lowkey.”  Valencia tenderly mocked him, giving a soft laugh.

“Ah! I was unaware of my talent up until this point. I merely followed my instincts and reached where I was supposed to.” Keith scratched his back with an embarrassed expression.

“That goes to show how talented you are. You don’t even know your own limitations. Your instincts told you to attempt crossing the king layer, is that what you are saying?” Valencia looked at her intriguingly.

“You overpraise me. I was feeling a little good so the performance was something that exceeded my expectations, but it was just a one-time thing really. I can’t cross the king layer like that again with my current strength.” 

“I don’t believe you. You kept on going and showing us one miracle after another. I doubt you ran out of cards to play.” With a suspicious voice, Valencia mocked Keith.

“I was just doing my best to get the first spot, that’s all. See, my gene test was a failure. You can even say that I have no original genes in my blood. I was rather disappointed by it.” A sorrowful voice escaped Keith’s barely moving lips.

“You know how to act, don’t you? I was trying to break the ice, but it turns out you were playing with words all along. I will cut to the chase, I want you to join the student council. I will give you a position at the disciplinary committee, which is generally given to viscount level students who at least stayed in the academy for two years. 

I am giving you this position after evaluating your performance and by judging your talent.” Valencia offered the terms to Keith.

“That… I haven’t been around long enough to know about the student council. I need more time to mull things over and give you a proper response. I also received other offers from different departments so my plate is full at the moment.” Keith replied with a pained sigh.

“And can I ask, who offered you to join their department? You are yet to receive your formal result and even though it is being shown, I don’t think anyone is allowed to recruit before the test results are out.” Valencia said with a snort, trying to expose his lie.

“I am not lying. It was an old man in the blood warrior training facility. I was just merely visiting the place, just to know more about the campus. I met him there and he asked me to join the blood warrior department after I talked to him for some time. It was so strange.” Keith feigned an innocent face with a tinge of ignorance.

“Blood warrior’s training facility. Are you sure? Because if I catch you lying, you will be in big trouble.” 

“Do I look like I’m lying? He was there in the front hall. From his get up, he looked out of place, but he told me he was a blood ritualist.” 

A strange expression appeared on Valencia’s face as she heard him say that. 

“He was asking you to join the blood warrior’s training facility. Am I dreaming or what? When did he have the time to get out of his lab?  I know you are not lying because, if you have seen him and his identity, it’s definitely him. He doesn’t get out of his lab to meet random strangers.” 

“What did I tell you? He was thinking about dissecting me and studying my parts. If I refused to join, I can’t imagine what he would’ve done to me.” A shiver ran up his spine as he pretended to be terrified. 

“That’s him alright. You got yourself such a backer even before the orientation. I underestimated you kid. Alright, I believe you. But that doesn’t mean I can’t recruit you. The departments and the student council are two different things. They are the official branches of study by which students are divided into their disciplines, but the student council is not like them. We don’t require exclusive membership, and you are free to join any other department, even multiple departments if you get invited that is.” 

“So what I am saying is, think this over and give me an answer by the end of this week. You can find me at the student council office, or the berhmington residence at the south campus. This is my card, show it to the butler, and he will allow you to enter.” 

Valencia handed Keith a red rune card embroidered in many gems. 

“I don’t think I’ll ever go to your living quarters,” Keith said with a frown.

“Why not?” Valencia asked with surprise.

“What do you expect the other students to think after I do that? You are the student council president and I am just a first-year baron. I can’t even fathom your blood core level. Why are you favouring me so much as to invite me to your place? I would rather go to the office to avoid any misunderstandings.”

Keith replied with a straight face.

“You don’t have to pay any mind to the students. They think all sorts of things, doesn’t mean it has to be that way. I will silence anyone who dares to spread any misinformation about you. What about now? Do you still think it’s inconvenient?” 

Valencia asked Keith with a smile.

“I will think about it for sure, but I will meet you at the student council office,” Keith replied with a plain voice.

“Oh!  I am looking forward to your answer. But what a bummer, I was expecting an intimate chat with a young genius, turns out you are not as brave as you look.” 

Saying this she turned around and left with the vice president.