July 14, year 0 Guardian, calendar

“Are you ready.” Scitus turned to his team of twelve goblins that would accompany into the forest. The past fourteen days had been well spent, from his alliance with Harpies and with the arrival of his new subjects. His Magic combat training had also been going well, and so he decided that he had to investigate those rumors the fairies had been spreading.

“Father, I can go in…” Scitus waved away her opinion, “If I don’t grow stronger, eventually a god will challenge me to a fight and I will lose.” While it was indeed an investigation it would also be a test of his abilities.

"He's right Hera, right now even I could kill him." Sia came up from behind with a peculiar stone, she held it close to her as if it held great importance. She placed it carefully in her bag and then patted Hera on the back. Within the past week, some event spurred a closer relationship between the two but Scitus had no idea what it was.

"But if anything goes wrong" Sia's eyes furrow and her smile faded as she tossed a small trinket ordained with red stones the size of small grains. "pour mana into that, and I'll be able to teleport to your exact location." Scitus caught it with his left hand and placed it in his jean pocket. "Thank you."

The original spartan and assassin knights formed a neat formation and followed their king into the forest. Their destination was an hour or so in, within a small swamp that dwelled outside the outskirts of Scitus's territory; It would be dangerous for him, for he would lose his infinite stamina and would require at least three hours of sleep per week. His stamina was the most detrimental effect, but Sia had been teaching him how to convert Mana into physical energy he was advised to only use it when necessary for it may cause strain on an untrained body.

The swamp smelled of waste and toxic pollutants of the Earth. The trees grew far apart making way for wet ground that the water passed through and every step felt like walking on soft ground that melded with their flesh. Fortunately, the small troop had shoes, recently made by the duergar colony.

Some time ago Sia had sensed a vampire roam the area around Scitus's territory. It was a brief meeting but She felt that a vampire would be a great boost to their strength if they could be convinced to join.

It didn't take long to find an out of place creature out in the oasis. She sat with her back placed beside a large stone. Her skin was pale white and her eyes were like beautiful marbles. She appeared no older than nine and from a distance appeared to be a porcelain doll. The two goblin units were weary, they had never seen anything so peculiar and terrifying. As Scitus approached the doll opened its mouth and revealed some hideous fangs and sharpened teeth. Her teeth were all sharp like thick needles. She breathed as if coming to life and her head turned towards them at a nearly impossible speed. Her small dainty hands pressed against the soft muddy floor as she got on all fours. Her head tilted as her nose desperately smelled their existence.

"Hungry!!!" she shouted before leaping towards the group. Scitus quickly cast shield spell and the doll smashed against it nearly snapping her own neck. "Hungry!!!" her eyes were a blood red as she began eating the shield. Normally this would be impossible but Scitus's spells lacked precision and energy efficiency. All his spells would leak immense amounts of mana that any decent mage could undo given the time. Vampires were creatures that ate mana which they would normally acquire from the blood of their victims for blood was the most mana-rich part of any living creature.

When a vampire’s mana levels grew smaller, their sanity would quickly shrink along with it and they would gain an immense hunger that consumed any other thought. Sia had explained to Scitus that it was likely that the vampire they were dealing with had gone hungry for so long that she entered a dormant state to conserve energy.

Scitus had never seen a creature as ferocious as the vampire and it terrified him but he was a man of composure and did not allow it to show on his face. The shield wouldn’t hold long and Scitus feared he would be her next meal.

Scitus cast another spell and raised the earth above them. the vampire used her sharp claws to climb the giant wall of dirt and a skit skit sound resounded in their ears as the creature reached the top. her mouth opened in three places as she shouted at them. "Hungry!!!!" the goblins held their positions and waited for an opportunity to strike. Vampires were among the strongest monsters in the world and no ordinary being could kill them. they were near immortal and near invincible but all they had to do was wait for their king to do the work.

Sia had explained that as long as a vampire was fed, they would regain their sanity. Scitus with his imperfect spells and immense mana supply was perfect for feeding a vampire without being directly attacked. Sia had even suspected that if a vampire drank Scitus’s blood they would either die or become the strongest vampire in the world.

Scitus cast another shield as the small vampire jumped towards them. her head made a clear snap and her limbs bent in several places. The girl's limbs quickly repaired themselves and her neck aligned itself back into place as she once against began chewing the shield as if it were candy. "MORE!!! GIVE ME MORE!!!" she wailed as she finished the last bits of excess mana around the shield. She smashed her fists more and more against the shield until it shattered.

The vampire walked on all fours as she sniffed her prey. They smelled delicious especially the human one. he had such a rich mana concentration that she couldn't help but salivate at the sight of him. she leapt towards the human but two goblins protected him with their spears. However, they were only made of wood and she snapped them easily. She hissed at the goblins as if telling them to not get in the way of her meal. Another goblin attacked with a dagger which she easily stopped with her hand. She grabbed hold of the goblins wrist and was ready to bite into it when suddenly the sweet aroma of the human's blood entered her nostrils. She released the goblin who gripped his crushed wrist in pain. The human had cut himself to lure the vampire. He had failed to cast another shield in time and had allowed the vampire to enter space, he had endangered his guards but he would not let them die so easily. He poured as much mana as he could into his muscles and punched the vampire just as she had leapt towards him. in an instant, she tore through several trees from sheer momentum and stopped only when she reached the foot of a small hill.

Scitus fell to his knees as he tried to resist the pain slowly overtaking his arm. He had torn all his muscles in the attack. Sia had explained that most people could increase their physical attributes but without proper training, they would hurt themselves in the process.

“this is bad.” Scitus thought to himself as he looked at his shredded arm. It was covered in blood for even his skin could not hold in the impact of his attack and his bones had only barely survived completed incineration. At the tip of his fists were skin once was, was small dent at the end of his bones. It was where the vampire’s teeth had dug into during his attack.

The vampire's body was torn to pieces all that remained of her was her head but at the tip of her lip was a small bit of torn flesh with a few drops of blood from that human that had attacked her. She weakly licked the piece of skin and savored the blood as she fell into a deep extasy.

Her head matured into that of a young woman, her torso grew along with her arms and legs and then her toes and fingers. After a few moments, stood a pale beauty only a bit younger than Scitus. she had ashen skin and charming red eyes and dark black hair.

“I’m full”