Chapter 17 - The Price For Being Too Decisive

<Joren, don't you dare die on me! You have the potential!>

What?

Urgh...!

My head... it's ringing so loudly. It hurts!

<Oh no... oh no.... what have they done? What have they turned you into?>

Whose voice is this? It sounds familiar... painfully familiar. As if this voice is the cause of my suffering.

Is this the inner me?

<That's right... open your eyes... slowly. Come on, Joren, it's not the end of the world even if they turned you like that.>

'What is this fish talking about?'

Joren slowly opened his eyes. But even though his eyes were opened, he was quite dizzy and his senses are still trying to trick him often. Only time let him be fully conscious and after a moment, he could finally hear voices. Voices that are not from inside his head.

"Stop it, Virena! He's going to die!"

"Pri-principal, just a little more, please! I haven't drunk blood for centuries!"

"No! Enough is enough!"

'Huh...?'

Joren finally had his senses coming back to him as if his recovery had just begun.

"Look, he looked so thin."

"But... he's human, Principal... he will regain his lost blood...!"

"No! He's no longer one!"

"... what's happening...?"

<Joren, you're finally awake! I knew you wouldn't die just from tha->

"Shut up...!"

Joren growled as he held his head in pain. His words stopped Virena and the teenage girl who's holding her back. Somehow, they calmed down too as they felt a little bit intimidated by Joren's voice.

He massaged his head for a while before opening his eyes. This time, everything is clear to him. He was still in the place he was before. Memories came flooding back to him and he remembered what happened.

His eyes then rolled towards the two girls who didn't know what to do but watch him. Once he remembered everything, his face paled which already was. His pupils contracted as he stared at the cause of him losing consciousness.

The teenage girl felt his stare and felt guilty and shame as she hid behind Virena.

Joren raised his finger and pointed.

"You... you pushed me...?"

Although he was right, Virena found this disrespectful. The blood hunger she had earlier turned into bloodlust. Her eyes glowed bright red as they looked down on him.

"Watch where you're pointing that finger at, it might disappear."

Virena prepared herself as if expecting Joren to retaliate after remembering what happened.

'The fear I felt when he spoke earlier... Is he going serious now that he almost died? Although I saved his life... I don't think he will appreciate the method.' she thought.

Joren immediately retracted his finger. How could he not take her words seriously? He almost died. But he was not angry, no. Joren was stupefied by what just occurred to him. He didn't point blame earlier, he was just puzzled.

Just your push and I almost died?

Then the memories of his back-breaking flashed in his head. His hand jerked and felt his back to find that there was no pain. There was but it was fading away.

'Is this my own power?'

That was his first thought. But soon, he found something amiss. He noticed his hands. It was pale... too pale.

"Hm...?"

A bead of sweat traversed Virena's forehead since Joren finally began noticing the change in his body.

"I don't remember me having this kind of skin color... is it because of the fog?"

Hearing his mutter, the teenage girl tugged Virena's back and whispered.

"Tell him what happened."

Virena nodded and called, "Joren..."

Joren looked at her. His face was seeking an answer. He had an idea at the back of his head from recalling what he heard earlier, however, he didn't want to think about that possibility as that would be too ridiculous.

"Sorry, but I turned you into a ghoul."

"Oh... is that so..."

Joren nodded in understanding- not!

"W-what did you just say!?"

The teenage girl further hid while Virena sweated more, probably because of guilt, but still, she was harsh.

"Don't you dare raise your voice in the presence of the principal!"

But Joren ignored that and continued to ask.

"I turned into a ghoul..!?"

Virena's face clenched and continued her explanation.

"Yes! You're dying earlier so I drank yo- I have to turn you into undead to save you."

"Huh...? But, I remember you saying that I can be healed as long as I'm not dead earlier."

After he said that, Joren saw Virena roll her eyes away with a guilty expression.

"Is that a... lie?"

"I didn't lie... there are all kinds of healers here but, they are not all-powerful. I just said some of the parts so that you will not run away while I beat you up..." Virena's volume of voice decrease towards the end of her sentence.

Joren's jaw dropped. Now he's mad. However, he controlled himself and just thought to be calm.

'She basically saved me. Also, she doesn't seem to have the intention to kill me in the first place. She lied, yes, but it's my fault for losing my composure as well and thinking I can fight a vampire even though I was warned.'

After taking deep breaths, Joren finally calmed down and asked.

"So, what will happen to me now?"

"..." Virena stayed silent. The teenage girl tugged her cloak again to make her speak. She took a deep breath before replying.

"You're no longer living nor dying. You're considered an undead, like me, however, lesser. I cannot turn you into a vampire since... that would be unnecessary, instead, by drinking your blood, you're now under my power."

"Basically?" Joren tilted his head.

"Basically, you're now under my control. But! You're now an undead, it's like you're immortal!" Virenan then whispered under her breath, "Although you will decompose until you're just bones."

"What?"

"Nothing."

"Under your control?" Joren's heartbeat increased. No, now that he thought about it- he can't feel his heartbeat!

<Check your status board.>

Joren followed the voice in his head and opened his status board.

[Name: Joren Vierei]

[Race: Lesser Undead - Ghoul]

[Title: Thug Underling]

[Level: 3]

[Experience: Unable to Level Up]

[Health: 00/00

Toughness: 76 (-15) ->61

Strength: 57 (-15) -> 42

Agility: 62 (-15) -> 47

Stamina: 80 (-15) -> 65

Talent: 102 (-102) -> 0

Thugness: 10 (+10) -> 20

1 Free Stat Point]

"Ack!" Joren felt like his world just turned upside down.

Virena and the teenage girl found his reaction weird but didn't ask. It seemed that they were unable to see Joren's status board.

<A ghoul is, after all, a lesser being. If she were to turn you into a vampire, those negatives would've been positive. Furthermore, ghouls don't have the ability to learn, that's why your talent turns to zero. But still, you're now undying.>

After hearing this voice in his head, Joren stood up and stood in front of Virena.

"Can you turn me into a vampire?"

<Huh? Aren't you too decisive?>

Joren didn't answer and just stared into Virena's red-glowing eyes. But soon, he found something strange. The red glow was disappearing and it was Virena's cheeks who were now having the tint of red.

"There's no turning back now. I think strength. If I can't get stronger as a ghoul, I need to turn into a vampire!"

Virena began to frown.

"I... I don't think you understand what it means to become a vampire."

Meanwhile, the teenage girl from behind Virena was shivering from embarrassment.

"I'm at a fault here too, however, who lied and murdered here?!" Joren's eyes widened and his eyes rolled down to stare at them.

<Oh... the power of 20 Thugness.>

Virena gulped and felt like she was at the edge there. She was guilty too, however, turning Joren into a vampire? That's impossible!

"I... I can't do that."

"Why? If it's impossible, then I'll give. However, if it's not..." Joren didn't further continue.

"It's not impossible..." Virena's face turned redder.

"Then...!" Joren smiled when heard this.

Virena began to hesitate. In other words, she's giving it a thought.

'If I turned him into a vampire, the principal's mistake will be fixed. But... but...!' her eyes then rolled down and noticed Joren's crotch.

Gasp*

"You...!" Virena shivered in anger as she clenched her fists.

"What?"

Joren frowned, confused by her reaction. When he looked at what she saw down there, he almost internally died.

At his crotch, there's a thick conspicuous bulge. It even twitches.

"So you're aware of it!"

Virena's eyes became teary from anger. She pointed down and ordered.

"Kneel!"

Without resistance, Joren kneeled down in front of his master.

"W-what...?"

<Ah, it's because to become a vampire, you need to be equal. You need to bang her to become her lover and become a vampire. She must've thought that you're getting hard just by thinking about it.>

'What?' Joren still couldn't comprehend from what he just heard, 'But I'm not even hard. I didn't know that and I'm not hard... I'm not having a boner...'

<Oh, as a desperate measurement, I have to hide here. I don't like it but do I have a choice? Not only will I be able to talk to you but you will also have that big dick energy.>

'AHHHH!!'

At that moment, Joren internally screamed at the circumstance that he just fell into.