However, the golden-haired, red-eyed Vampire Princess would not allow it to escape, waving her beautiful, outstretched fingers like a conductor's baton.
A pale blue fireball, faithfully following its conductor's command, chased after the fleeing scorpion monster.
Direct hit!
"Gurgle gurgle!"
The scorpion monster let out a painful shriek. The moment the Vampire Princess's magic struck it, a pale blue light exploded, filling the surroundings.
It dyed this dark abyss room a pure and beautiful blue.
Soon, perhaps the magic's effect duration ended, as the pale blue flames gradually extinguished.
All that remained was the agonizing corpse of the scorpion monster, its back shell scorched fiery red and its surface melted.
This showed how terrifyingly high the temperature of the Vampire Princess's fire magic was.
This Guardian was the strongest monster Hiyama had encountered so far; a Claw Bear would probably only serve as its snack.
If it were a Behemoth, it probably wouldn't even be fit to polish its shoes.
If Hiyama had acted himself, it would likely have taken several rounds to kill it, and he might even have suffered a bit if he wasn't careful.
But the Vampire Princess solved this monster with just one magic spell. She truly lived up to her reputation as the famous Vampire Princess from centuries ago.
Her strength was not to be underestimated.
Thud.
Just as he finished praising her in his mind, he heard the sound of something landing. Hiyama shifted his gaze from the monster's corpse and looked in the direction of the sound.
He saw the Vampire Princess sitting on the ground, panting heavily, looking very exhausted.
It seemed this magic wasn't so easy for her either.
"Vampire Princess, are you alright?"
"Mmm, barely."
After receiving an affirmative answer, Hiyama no longer needed to worry about her.
"Mmm, you did well. Leave the rest to me."
Hiyama took out the serrated greatblade of the Purgatory Armor from his magic space; only this vicious weapon could cut open the monster's body.
The scorpion's shell was already cooked. As Hiyama cut it, he couldn't help but think of braised crab.
After Hiyama finished processing the monster's corpse, he looked back.
Despite her expressionless face, the Vampire Princess, sitting on the ground, watched Hiyama with eyes that betrayed joy.
She must have been happy to be useful.
There was still a long way to go to clear the dungeon, but with the Vampire Princess as a reliable companion, it would surely be much easier from now on.
PS: I rushed to get this chapter out for a bonus update. A few flowers and review votes wouldn't be too much to ask, right?
Also, good night everyone *
Chapter 20: Let's Eat Hot Pot!
After killing the Guardian, this room became very safe, and no ignorant small fry would come to disturb them. Hiyama decided to make this their temporary resting point.
Although the Vampire Princess had some complaints about this, after all, it was the room where she had been imprisoned for hundreds of years, and she still had some psychological trauma from it.
Unfortunately, Hiyama was not someone who cherished and protected women.
He also moved the corpse of the statue monster from the doorway inside. After this monster was shattered from its stone statue state, its corpse turned from stone blocks into meat chunks.
Hiyama naturally couldn't let go of the meat of this high-level monster.
Hiyama processed the monster's meat while chatting with the Vampire Princess.
After a simple inquiry, Hiyama learned about the Vampire Princess's origin and also revealed a little about his own identity to her.
The Vampire Princess was not an ordinary vampire. According to her, she was a vampire who experienced an "atavism" phenomenon from birth, possessing the long-extinct power of a True Ancestor at a young age.
Her family, fearing her power, sealed her in this dark abyss. It was said that her own relatives were the ones who acted.
"So, Vampire Princess, you must be at least three hundred years old, right?"
Hiyama put the monster meat into the pot and asked in a very straightforward manner.
"....."
"The Vampire Princess refuses to answer that question." The Vampire Princess puffed out her cheeks.
After a period of adjustment, the Vampire Princess was now able to interact freely with Hiyama, unlike before when she spoke timidly.
As far as Hiyama knew, vampires were believed to have been annihilated during the large-scale war three hundred years ago.
In fact, the Vampire Princess had been in the silent darkness for so long that she barely felt the passage of time, but she must have been sealed for a considerably long period, so it was not surprising even after such a long time.
Because she said she was sealed when she was around twelve years old, her age would be a little over three hundred years.
"However, with the Vampire Princess's loli physique, no one can tell how old she is," Hiyama thought to himself.
Considering the Vampire Princess's feelings, Hiyama decided not to say this aloud.
"Are all vampires so long-lived?"
"...I am special. Because of 'Immortality,' I won't age..."
Only upon asking did he learn that when she was twelve, after direct manipulation of magic and her "immortal body" awakened, she stopped aging.
Ordinary vampires could live longer than other races by drinking blood, but that was at most around two hundred years.
The average lifespan of humans in this world was seventy years, demon-humans one hundred and twenty years, and demi-humans varied by race, with some elves living for hundreds of years.
"So, like the Vampire Princess, I won't age anymore either, and I also have infinite life?"
Hiyama exclaimed in his heart.
"Speaking of which, Master, what have you been doing since earlier?"
The Vampire Princess widened her eyes, watching Hiyama use two small wooden sticks to scoop out slices of monster meat from the boiling pot, dip them in an unknown powder, and put them into his mouth.
"Oh, this is called hot pot. You should try it too."
Hiyama took out a bowl and chopsticks and handed them to the Vampire Princess, saying enthusiastically.
Hot pot tastes better with more people!
The Vampire Princess pouted her cute eyebrows and, imitating Hiyama, clumsily picked up a piece of monster meat with chopsticks, almost dropping it on the ground.
After dipping it in a little red powder, she put the meat into her mouth.
!?
The moment the monster meat entered her mouth, she widened her ruby-like eyes.
"It's so delicious." The Vampire Princess exclaimed.
"I've eaten monster meat before, and I only remember it being very unpalatable and hard to swallow. Why is this one..."
"There is no unpalatable food in the world, only chefs who don't know how to prepare ingredients."
"This is a truth my ancestors told me." Hiyama smiled mysteriously.
Hiyama scooped a spoonful of soup from the pot, brought it to the Vampire Princess's face, and said, "You drink some."
The Vampire Princess hesitated a bit, but out of trust in Hiyama, she still closed her eyes and took a small sip.
"Hmm!?"
As the soup went down, the Vampire Princess instantly felt a warm current surging through her body. All her fatigue vanished, and she felt incredibly energetic.
Her complexion became even rosier, and even her skin seemed to have improved considerably.
"This is soup boiled with 'divine water'." Hiyama explained when he saw her looking like a curious baby.
"divine water?"
"Could it be... the legendary—which can heal all injuries and illnesses—"
"Water condensed from divine crystal!?"
The Vampire Princess exclaimed in shock.
Even in her kingdom, divine water was a divine object that only existed in legends. It was said that only the Church still preserved a small vial of divine water in the world.
This small vial of divine water was strictly protected deep within the Church, and no one except the Pope had the authority to use it. Its preciousness was imaginable!
Now, her Master actually told her that this whole pot was divine water!
How could she not be shocked!
"Boiling monster meat with divine water not only removes the fishy smell but also promotes the softening of the meat, killing two birds with one stone."
Hiyama said with a hint of pride.
If the clergy of the Church heard this, they would probably be infuriated to death!
Such precious divine water, regarded as the ultimate sacred object by countless people.
Hiyama used an entire pot of it merely because it could better process monster meat!
It was simply a waste of natural resources!
Even though the Vampire Princess was royalty from one of the strongest kingdoms centuries ago, she was still greatly startled by Hiyama's extravagant behavior.
"What's wrong? You can eat more, replenish yourself well."
Hiyama saw her frozen and urged her on.
The Vampire Princess, as an important combat force, must always be able to maintain her best condition.
"Mmm... okay..."
Although the Vampire Princess had many doubts in her heart, given her status as a slave, she couldn't ask anything.
And no matter what, she believed her Master would not harm her!
After clearing her doubts, the Vampire Princess happily scooped out piece after piece of meat from the pot and feasted.
Seeing her like this, Hiyama couldn't help but smile.
These days, he had been eating alone in this dark place. Now with one more person, he had to say it relaxed him quite a bit. *
Chapter 21: Hungry?
Hiyama Daisuke, 17 years old
Male
Level: 23
Occupation: Mage
Strength: 2400
Stamina: 1800
Resistance: 1600
Agility: 1720
Magic Power: 3860
Magic Resistance: 2500
Skills: Legendary Fire Magic Adaptation, Magic Manipulation, Stomach Acid Enhancement, Lightning Wrap, Heavenly Step (+Sky Power) (+Shrinking Ground), Wind Claw, Presence Sensing, Language Comprehension, Night Vision, Far Sight, Poison Resistance, Adamantite, Presence Concealment (+Phantom Step), Immortal Body
Special Magic: Vibration Magic, Equip Magic: Knight
After eating two high-level monsters, his attributes were greatly enhanced, and he also learned three skills: Adamantite, Poison Resistance, and Presence Concealment (+Phantom Step).
Adamantite can enhance physical defense, and Poison Resistance is self-explanatory.
More interesting are Presence Concealment and Phantom Step.