Back in the training center, Quinn was staring at the new System Screen that had just popped up in front of him. If he was being honest with himself, he was wondering what the Blood Ritual Skill even was. There wasn't any information revealed when he had obtained the Skill, other than it only had two "slots". But now that the System was offering for Vorden to become "blooded", as the AI had put it, the function of the Skill now became clear to him.
It was a ritual for turning someone into a Vampire. Additionally, seeing the "0/2" below the Skill, Quinn assumed that this number might increase in the future. But for now, he would only be able to turn two people.
'I can't just turn Vorden into a Vampire!' Quinn thought. 'He'd have to deal with the same crap that I do! Maybe I needed it to make myself stronger, but seeing as how Vorden is already strong, there's no upsides!'
Just then, a thought came to Quinn's mind. The blonde-haired Vampire in the video had told him to "grow his own army", because soon others would be coming for him. Is this what he was talking about? In the end though, Quinn decided that it wasn't his decision to make. Vorden had helped him big time. If he was to become a Vampire, it would be his choice. Although, it would be nice to have a few people to go through this with.
Tsukuru then looked up at Vorden.
"Hey, Vorden." Quinn replied, causing Vorden to turn to him. "If you had the option, or, let's say that I could turn you into a Vampire, would you want to?" He asked.
***
Back in the forest, the "Retrieval Team" began walking around. As they did, Sergeant Faye narrowed her eyes.
"Hmm…strange." She replied, causing Del to turn to her. "Didn't General Nathan say this forest was swarming with those Intermediate-Tier "Palewalker" Beasts?" She asked.
The group soon came to a large clearing. And when they did, they came to a sudden stop.
"Uh…" Del muttered, being at a complete lack for words.
Looking around, they saw the clearing littered with the corpses of twelve white creatures that seemed to be a cross between humanoid and insectoid. And seeing as how close they were to each other, there was no way they all died naturally.
"Looks like we found your Intermediate-Tier Beasts, Sergeant Faye." Leo said with a slight smirk.
***
Back in his office in Military Base 2, General Nathan was pacing in his office. His desk was still covered in documents and paperwork, but he was too anxious to work.
'Damn it, Duke…' He thought in irritation.
This wasn't the first time Duke had done something rash, but this was by far the STUPIDIST thing he had ever done. Now, because of him, not only was there an Original trapped on a Red Portal Planet, but also a newly-discovered source of infinite Glathrium for the military.
Just as Nathan had finished his current lap around his floor, there was a nervousknocking at his door.
"What is it?!" He yelled, his anxious nerves getting the better of him.
After a moment, a voice came from the other end.
"Um, sir, the teleporter that Head General Paul used to travel to Military Base 1 has just powered on!" A nervous military official replied.
Instantly, Nathan's head snapped towards the door.
"What?!" He yelled. He bolted towards the door, and ripped it open. Seeing the door suddenly being thrown open, the military official jumped. Nathan dashed past him, and sprinted down the hall towards the meeting room. It was where the Portal to Military Base 1 had been left since Head General Paul had used it to leave the base two days ago.
As Nathan entered the room, he saw General Duke and Sergeant Dillon already waiting. Standing at attention. Pressed against the wall of the room, was a large Portal whose interior was filled by a vortex of white energy.
Nathan took his spot next to Duke.
"I hope you have a really good excuse lined up for the Head General to explain why you lost our Glathrium Printing Press." He muttered.
Duke grit his teeth in irritation.
Soon, Head General Paul could be seen emerging from the Portal.
Duke opened his mouth, in preparation to explain the "unfortunate accident". However, before he could even speak, anotherfigure emerged behind him. And when he came into vision, the eyes of both General Nathan and General Duke widened to the point that their pupils became pinpricks. The figure…was Oscar White, the Supreme Commander of the military.
'Oh…SHIT…" Duke thought. He now suddenly deeply wished that he had been sent off in the retrieval team to Piloletic.
***
Back in the clearing of the forest on the outskirts of the abandoned shelter on Pioletic, The retrieval team looked down at the corpses of the Palewalkers.
"Hikiko Tsukuru has been busy…" Leo replied.
Instantly, Del snapped his head towards Leo.
"You see a group of Dead Beasts, and you think Hikiko Tsukuru was the one responsible?!" He cried, incredulous.
"No." Leo replied. "That does." He pointed towards something off in the distance.
The remaining four members immediately turned their attention to where Leo was pointing. Off in the distance, they saw a large rectangle made out of a solid, black metal. Seeing it, Del's jaw dropped.
"Is that what I think it is?" He asked.
Shizuka narrowed her eyes, and walked over to examine the strange structure. As she reached it, she brushed her hand against it.
"It's Glathrium." She replied. She had been around the black metal enough during her time on Military Base 1 to be able to recognize it in an instant. Shizuka then heard footsteps from behind her. Two sets of footprints, to be exact.
"Why would Hikiko Tsukuru make a solid brick of Glathrium in the middle of a forest on a Red Portal Planet?" Faye asked.
"It's not solid." Leo said, causing both sergeants to turn to him. When they did, they saw that Leo was staringdirectly at the structure. Due to his Dragon Eyes Ability, he was able to see the interior of the structure. "It's hollow."
Hearing his words, Shizuka narrowed her eyes, and examined the structure more closely. As she did, she noticed the large, wide slits along the sides of the rectangle. She knelt down, and rubbed her fingers against the slits.
Seeing her actions, Faye looked down at her.
"Find something?" She asked.
"Ventalation holes." She replied.
Shizuka then noticed the small rectangle jutting out of the front. Shizuka raised an eyebrow in confusion. Outstretching her hand, she pressed her hand against the small rectangle. It pushed inward with no resistance, and an audible "click" was heard. Instantly, a vertical rectangle in the center of the front shot upwards, like a spring-loaded door. As it did, the inside of the rectangle could be seen. Like Leo had said, the rectangle was indeedhollow. The square was completely empty, with the sole exception of a full-sized bed pressed against the back of the interior, going lengthwise.
The three sergeants stared at the interior for a moment. Eventually, Faye spoke.
"It's a sleeping chamber." She replied.
Sergeant Leo then turned his attention elsewhere in the clearing. As he did, in his wire-frame vision, he saw Hayley kneeling over one of the Palewalker corpses.
***
Hayley had her helmet removed, it placed on the ground next to her. She traced her fingers along the chest of the Beast.
"Hmm…how odd." She muttered.
She then heard footsteps approaching her.
Looking up, she saw Leo standing over her.
"You find something?" He asked.
Hayley narrowed her eyes.
"Maybe." She replied. "Look at this."
An amused smirk appeared on Leo's face.
"Look at what, exactly?" He asked.
Hayley's eyes widened, as realizationcame over her.
"Oh, right." She said, glancing away, her cheeks reddened. She had forgotten that Leo was blind. "Despite the fact that there is only residue Beast Energy coming off of the Beast, there is no cut or incision. No mark to indicate that the Beast was cut open to extract its Beast Crystal. It's as if it never had one to begin with."
Hearing her statement, Sergeant Shizuka turned her attention away from the Glathrium "Sleeping Chamber", and examined the nearest Beast Corpse. Hayley was right. While there was an amount of laceration marks covering the Beast's body, it did not look like a Beast who had been carved up to have its Beast Crystalextracted.
Shizuka narrowed her eyes. She pulled out her Beast Rapier, and raised her arm high into the air. She then brought it down in a clean, downward slice, cleaving the Beast in half. As the two halves separated, them rolling to the side slightly, a small cavity became visible in the Beast's chest, most likely where the Beast Crystal should have been.
'Is this another 'System' thing?' Shizuka thought.