All that Ryuk knew about vampires was that they sucked the blood of humans and were intensely evil.
That's all he had ever heard, and of course, everything came from him sneaking information from the other core hunters.
When he had asked about them from his uncle, all he had gotten was an uncaring shrug—something his uncle did for questions he didn't find worthy enough of an answer.
But to Ryuk, right now, his blood unconsciously flowed faster.
It would be a lie to say he wasn't curious about seeing other races that existed on Endearth.
The call suddenly disrupted Ryuk's train of thought, and he turned to the front, where the side face of the green-haired man could be seen through the small square-shaped glass that Ryuk could barely see through.
"So tell me, what is your relationship with Jacky Jack?" the man suddenly asked, curiosity shining in his sunken green eyes and Ryuk simply replied.
"He's a core trader, and I'm a hunter," he replied.
"You? A hunter? Hahahaha!" Enok laughed aloud from Ryuk's reply, and even the muscular man turned to look at him through the mirror at the top of the truck's decking.
"So you're a hunter. Yeah, right? So what do you hunt?" Enok pressed.
"Cores? I thought they were called mutant beasts?" Enok asked with a raised eyebrow, and Ryuk shrugged.
"What's the difference?"
"I guess you have a point."
"So tell me, what is the highest power level of a beast you've ever hunted?" Enok asked curiously.
"F-grade," Ryuk replied confidently, and Enok burst into loud laughter, wheezing behind the steering wheel.
Even Vandal turned to look at the boy once more, this time with a raised eyebrow.
His words were brimming with confidence, almost like he was some genius from one of those pompous higher cities, yet all he had ever hunted was an F-grade beast—a beast so low in the rankings that some didn't even include it at all for being too weak.
"An F-grade is the highest beast you've ever hunted?"
"Yes," Ryuk said, and the man stared at his face for a while through the glass at the upper front deck of the vehicle before shaking his head.
"Do you know, kid, that right now, you might be the weakest piece of shit in the entire universe?"
"Even five-year-old kids from Grade C cities have no problem pummeling an F-grade beast to death, and what age are you?"
" I'm guessing something around 17 or 18, no?"
"Uh-huh," Ryuk replied.
He wasn't interested at all in telling the people any truth about himself.
Those from the barracks weren't exactly friends to them in the settlement.
Even Old Jack didn't seem to fancy these men, so why would Ryuk try to curry favor with them?
The thick voice boomed through the van as Ryuk turned his head only to find the muscular man looking directly at him with a piercing, emotionless gaze.
"Even if you're as strong as an E-grade, you still won't survive."
"I can't sense an ounce of Apex Energy on you, so I can guess you're only still an ordinary human.
"It might even be a miracle you can go up against mutant beasts at all, but in the end, you'll die once you reach the outer world.
"Even a casual release of power from a D-grade might be enough to turn you into mush," Vandal said, and by his serious expression, Ryuk couldn't sense an ounce of funny humor in his words.
What he was confused by was why the man bothered to 'help' him.
"I know Old Jack very well, and never once has he asked for a favor or made a deal with us."
"He's usually very disdainful.
"Today, he was different—almost like he lowered his pride, something impossible for someone like Old Jack to do.
"And that reason is I can guess is solely because of you.
"He values you enough to put down his pride just to make sure of your safety."
"I'm guessing whoever you are or whatever your relationship with him is, he probably wants you to survive—or there'll be nothing remaining after your death."
"If you go out with that baseless confidence of yours, you'll be dying sooner than you think," Vandal concluded before he turned his gaze away from Ryuk and looked at the side glass, staring at the endless desert.
"You know Vandal is right, kid," Enok said, his voice softening the intense pressure that Vandal's speech brought.
"But you don't need to piss your pants. You'll survive, so long as you follow the Rule of Survival."
"Do you know what the Rule of Survival states, kiddo?" Enok said with a nauseating smile that spread to his ears as Ryuk turned to look at him, his heart skipping a beat from the man's sinister expression.
"The Rule of Survival is really simple, kiddo."
"In this forsaken world called EndEarth, only two groups of people survive: the strong and the weak flatterers.
"The really strong people own Endearth, coming from families with deep history and greater knowledge of Apex Energy, or powerful racial bloodlines."
"They're free to act as they like, and pride is rightfully entitled to their name."
"As for the weak, only those with a good tongue survive—those who know well how let down their pride and dignity and kowtow to the strong, flattering them even as they pee on their heads," Enok said with a sarcastic expression that made Ryuk raise an eyebrow.
It was the first time he was hearing such a twisted rule.
"And you know what you should worry about now?" Enok said, drawing Ryuk's attention once more.
"Just what category do you belong to?"