Legacy World 4.3 Vlad's Right Hand Man

/For now, we can be sure that my body statistics seems enhanced. Strength, agility, speed, and all of my senses except for touch./

[And your appetite.] BaoBao added on.

/What? Why?/

[... You finished an entire deer. In one sitting. Without a break!]

/I did?/ Vanora looked beside her and stared speechlessly at the pile of bones. Before she knew it, she was already cooking what was left of the deer.

/Oh dear./ In all the previous worlds, she would have preserved it and the deer would have lasted her days. /You're right./

[Not like you'd have a problem hunting anyway.]

/... True. It's not that time consuming./

She was about to take another bite into the blue-rare meat when she heard a strange sound of air churning and warping in itself above her. She looked up warily. A man with short raven black hair and blood red eyes appeared out of thin air. He looked charming in an all-black suit and brown leather shoes. 

He had an eyebrow raised as he glanced around, studying her surroundings. "You're the new demon, aren't you?"

Before Vanora could reply, he continued in the same business-like nonchalant voice. "Because you came into existence in the territory of the demon lord Vlad, he has sent me here to inform you that you have till-" He stopped talking upon making eye contact with Vanora.

Several emotions fleeted across the man's face. Shock, then surprise, then awe, then finally curiosity. His gaze then landed on the small chunk of meat left in her hand. Vanora felt like he was an open book with the way he wore his heart on his sleeve.

"How odd. You haven't eaten a single human. Weren't you created on the outskirts of a village? Why didn't you ravage them? Were you not hungry? Impossible. How did you do this? And look at your... Food. You obviously know how good it tastes raw but you're still cooking it even if a little. Why? I've not heard of a human keeping their nature after becoming a full fledged demon."

Vanora waited for him to stop talking before she replied, "... I don't know."

He suddenly disappeared and appeared in front of her with his body bent down and face inches away from hers. His gaze burrowed deep into her eyes. "How interesting, how interesting."

Vanora eyes were opened wide in surprise and her heart had jumped. However, she managed to keep her cool. Building connections could help in her survival, so it was crucial. She leaned back slightly then asked him in an amiable tone, "So what did you come to inform me of?"

"Ah! Yes!" He stood up straight before continuing, "You have 2 years to prove your worth to Lord Vlad. If you're just a demon that causes trouble and takes up resources and space, you'll be obliterated. I will come every 6 months to assess your progress."

/An assessment... And he comes by every 6 months... It's an opportunity!/

"Can you give me any tips and advice on how to become stronger?" Vanora asked earnestly.

He put on a very bright smile that showed his pleasure. "You're really impressive. Intelligent. Unlike all the previous ones."

He made himself comfortable on the grass in front of her. "You're a Wrath descendent. Demons of your kind do not need to eat to survive but you will lose sanity and self-control the more you starve. You'd be no more than a small brainless demon. As for strength, you become stronger the more wrath related emotions there are in you and in your vicinity."

"In my vicinity? Why? Do I make use of them somehow?"

"You absorb their emotions. Can't you see something around me?" He asked with a light smile.

Vanora frowned and squinted a little. "The air around you bends.. It's like... Like water is evaporating off you."

"That's an aura. It only looks like that now because you're new. After getting used to your body, colours will appear which will tell you the emotions of the host. That is the thing you can absorb."

Vanora recalled the fight the demon had with Angela. "Do angels not have wrath or is there a limitation on who we can absorb the aura from?"

His eyes curved into thin crescents. He really liked her good intuitive questions. "You're right. Angels have a divine protection that prevents their aura from being absorbed. You can only absorb the aura of demons and humans. Do note that if the demon's stronger than you, their aura would overpower yours and you would end up consumed instead."

"What happens when your aura is absorbed?"

"Targets would feel lethargic and empty. Humans can't resist the pull of sleep, so they faint immediately." He shrugged. "Demons have a stronger resistance. They will be able to choose when and where to go into hibernation."

Vanora nodded and took a mental note that she really had to become stronger as soon as possible so as to not fall prey. "You mentioned how I do not need to eat to survive. How would I die then?"

"Your heart would have to be obliterated or your entire being exploded into bits such that regeneration or recovery is not possible. Otherwise, it is only a matter of time for any wound to heal no matter how fatal. Oh, eating does help you recover faster."

Vanora nodded. There was still so much to ask and so much more for her to know. The book about this world did not have a comprehensive review of the different powers that exist besides the main characters. To prevent being caught by surprise, it would be ideal to know what she might be up against. 

She peeked at the demon guy again to gauge how much longer he was willing to stay and educate her. It was now that she finally realised that he had never taken his eyes off of her and his smile did not change either. As if he was admiring some work of art. It suddenly made her feel self-conscious and uncomfortable, so she fidgeted. She was truly not used to having so much attention on her. In the previous world, LongFei's staring felt less intense and she would always be distracted with something else anyway. 

Vanora lightly rubbed her nose while she continued her inquiry. "Can you share about all the different powers there are? I want to know what I may be dealing with."

At this question, he frowned a little as he went deep into thought. "That's quite a substantial amount to learn... It's not possible to learn it all even after years. Not everyone knows every other power there is to know."

"What about you? What do you know?" 

He smiled meaningfully as he replied her. "I do know everything there is to know. How else would I serve Lord Vlad perfectly and be in this position? Also..."

He stood up and took two steps towards her so that she was within his reach. He touched her chin and gently lifted it up to face him while he gradually brought his face closer to hers. Vanora did not believe that anything would happen between them, so she did not mind the closing distance. He stopped when his face was inches away from hers.

"I know what's your power."

Vanora's eyes grew wide in pleasant surprise. "What is it?"

"It seems to be charm."

Vanora frowned instantly. /Charm? A demon of wrath and my power is to charm others?/

"How do you know? You can see it?"

"Because I feel inexplicably drawn to you." His eyes curved into crescents yet again. 

Vanora blinked a few times, taking awhile to register what he said. When she finally realised that he was not being serious, she frowned and pouted just a little because she had treated his answer very seriously. "Listen here, are you still willing to teach me? If you're only going to toy with me, I don't have the time to waste with you."

She had completely missed how the colour of his eyes darkened with a certain desire as his gaze traveled down to her lips. Her question brought his gaze back to her grey eyes that revealed her slight irritation. In contrast, she was looking into blood red eyes that seemed to hold only curiosity and mischief. She thanked him curtly with a tight smile, brushed his hand away, then got up to walk off. However, just after a few steps, the scenery around her started warping and changing. All the colours melted away and got replaced with rust while the sky became pitch black with some splotches of blood red. 

She instinctively turned around to face the demon again. "What's going on? Are you doing this?"

"You wanted to find out about your powers, didn't you? By now, you should have noticed that all your body statistics are enhanced and strengthened. What varies across individuals is how they make the inherited power theirs. It will come out naturally in combat." He explained in a light smile. For some reason, Vanora felt like he was not truly smiling for once. It was as if he was masking anger.

/What's he suddenly angry about?/

Vanora's guard was raised and she asked him warily. "Combat? What're you planning?" 

"To help you learn about your new powers like you wanted. At the same time, you can learn about mine." He made his move the moment he was done talking.

He disappeared then appeared in her face already posed to throw a punch at her. She reflexively jumped away but only managed to dodge by a hair's breath. His punch created a gigantic crater in the ground. Rocks, sand, and dirt flew. She got blown away by the strong wind created from the impact of his punch. 

Vanora flipped in mid air and grabbed onto the branch of the tree she was flying past. She swung up and stood on the branch but the moment she did, he snapped his fingers and the tree she was on decayed at an alarming speed that gave her no time to react. The branch broke from being unable to support her weight and he dashed forward to kick her while she was airborne. She barely dodged it once again by twisting her body just before his kick would have landed on her. The tip of his brown shoes grazed her skin and blood seeped from the scratch. 

She landed on the ground but immediately found herself surrounded with a dozen of him closing in on her fast. He left her nowhere to escape. 

/Shit! Was I too rude earlier?! Did I piss him off?!/

Her mind went into overdrive and she thought of several ways to escape this situation but none would work. She hated how she got careless and how her survival was threatened far earlier than what would happen in the book. /I can't die here!/