76 Chapter 76

Vampire Halflings.

A species of Vampires created through the reproduction between a Vampire and a human. They're physical traits are like that of a Vampire's only with better benefits.

For example, a resistance to sunlight, as well as a weaker thirst for blood. It is because of these features that it is easier for them to live hidden amongst humans unlike regular vampires.

"...Halflings are discriminated against in the Vampire world... Because they're conceived through the intercourse between a human and a vampire... They're treated so badly that the only way for them to make a living or survive in the Vampire world is through dangerous jobs."

She narrowed her eyes as unpleasant memories flowed into her mind.

"Most choose to live hidden in the human world, but some like me remain in the Vampire World, doing dangerous jobs like bounty hunting and others..."

"I see... And are you in any way related to the smiling ogre?"

The girl raised her brows with a confused look.

"What...? I already told you, we met by chance for this bounty. Before that we'd barely interacted."

Xavier wasn't buying it at first, after all they were both halflings, but based on her story it could have all just been a coincidence.

"Are you aware that he's also a halfling."

She finally understood where Xavier was getting at.

"Oh... I had my suspicions but I never got to see what was behind the mask. Did my suspicion end up being correct?"

Right as Xavier was about to respond, the sound of approaching growls echoed in the distance.

The two looked up only to find a group of ghouls with their sights set on the two of them, approaching.

'Right... she's a halfling and I'm a fledgling... We both have human blood and that makes us a bigger target for the ghouls.'

Xavier sighed as the ghouls got closer and closer, tripping up on the threads as they did so.

'Well, it's free XP so no complaining...'

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"Is this good enough?" She asked as she turned to Xavier.

Xavier looked over in her direction, only to find all the ghouls raised up into the air with the threads wrapped around their limbs, preventing them from moving.

They were successfully restrained.

'She's already showing signs of being useful.'

"Yep, just perfect." Muttered Xavier before vanishing.

*SWOOSH!*

A second later, his figure blew by the restrained ghoul's instantly decapitating all five of them in one single swing.

[You have killed 5 Ghouls!]

[+ 100 XP!]

[XP: 1540/1800]

[You are approaching Level 10!]

[Evolution in proximity!]

Xavier was only 260 XP away from evolving and boy was he looking forward to it.

"Let's head over to the tech section... I want to see if I can get a charger for this iPhone, or something I can use to communicate with my family in case they ever need me." Said Xavier as he picked up his giant supply bag and walked over to the next section.

"I'll help you look." She responded before following after.

Once they reached the entrance to the next section, Xavier looked back before pointing at the threads.

"Aren't you going to get rid of these?"

She shook her head.

"They'll stop any ghouls that come and don't take any energy to maintain. Think of it as some sort of defence system."

'That's a useful ability... I wonder when I'll get one like that...' Xavier thought to himself as they walked through the door.

Nothing seemed out of place at first glance, it was quiet, not a single ghoul to be seen other than the many corpses lying around.

Xavier shrugged it off, assuming that the ghouls which had been in this section had moved onto another section or something.

'Gluttony... Level up faster so I can finally start gaining stronger abilities.' complained inwardly Xavier with a dejected look.

Unfortunately for Xavier he wasn't able to take the smiling ogre's ability [Jet Manipulation.]

This sucked because for Xavier there were so many different useful uses for it.

It not only offered mobility but also an offense boost, there was no ability more balanced for Xavier's fighting style.

"Um... Devourer... I believe this is the telecom row." Said the vampire girl as she pointed at the shelves beside them.

Xavier had been walking whilst focused on his thoughts so he hadn't noticed. Turns out she was right.

They walked over to the shelves and began inspecting the devices they had available. While they did so, the two interacted for a bit.

"Xavier... That's my name. What's yours?" Xavier asked as he inspected a communication device. It was a walkie talky.

"O-Oh... I'm Sophie..."

The air around them was still a bit awkward after what had happened but in Xavier's opinion, it could have been worse. They'd expected as much, there was no helping it.

'It's been five days since the apocalypse began... I doubt the power will last for another day or two.'

'When the powers shut down so will the radio towers... My phone won't have any signal so using it for calls will be useless... Will this work in that situation?'

"I think you should take that..." Said Sophie as she glanced at the walkie talky.

"Do you know anything about it?"

She gave him a slight nod.

"Not much... Their range is limited compared to a phone but they'll last longer and can put out their own transmissions... They're not overly reliant on radio towers unlike cell phone signals."

'What part of that is not much?' Xavier questioned.

"Alright, grab around six of the best quality ones you can find. I'll go get a charger, so we can finally get out of here."

Sophie nodded in understanding.

"Where are we going after this?" She asked with a confused look.

"You said you're sticking to me right? We're going to go to the hospital and then you're coming back with me to my base."

A shocked expression mixed with fear grew on her face.

"Is that really alright?" She asked.

Xavier thought about it for a while before responding. "Probably not, but who cares. If you try anything back in the base, you'll die."

Sophie shivered at his words.

"A-Alright..." She responded nervously. "I'd already assumed as much."

Xavier smiled in response to this. He proceeded to look around for the charger in order to not waste any more time.

"Let's hurry up, we still have to go to the hospital."