Riven frowned. He had thought he was the most blunt person in the squad, but it looked like someone was here to take his crown.
'But I can't just give up…' he decided to try one more time.
"I don't mean to brag, but my games are such big hits. We can make so much money."
Malakai glanced around the room, taking in the moldy food remains, empty wrappers, and general clutter. It didn't look like the room of someone who'd earned any kind of money in his life.
"I'll pass," Malakai said after a few seconds.
"Are you sure? I won't ask again. It's a once in a lifetime opportunity."
Riven regarded Malakai for a moment, taking in his compact build, his handsome face, and his cold demeanor.
'He's perfect…' A hint of regret crept into him. Was he really supposed to let this go? No!
Riven cleared his throat. "Suit yourself."
Just as he was about to turn, he took a deep breath and did something he never imagined himself doing.
He dropped to his knees. "Please, Ninth Vein of the great Sanguine Clan! Become my main character!"
Malakai watched with a baffled expression as the small boy's head touched the wooden floor.
Was this really happening? Was he seriously begging… for a game?
Malakai knew what a game was, even if he'd never played one. He also knew how rare and expensive the technology was, only the rich and powerful had access to such things.
He stopped himself from wondering how this boy had gotten his hands on it. It wasn't his business.
"I came here only to unlock my lifeguard. I'm not interested in anything else," Malakai said.
"Oh please, just give it a try! I'm sure you'll like it. We'll both get rich! Please, please!"
Riven didn't seem to hear a word he'd said. Malakai frowned. This was starting to get annoying.
He decided to try a different approach.
Riven's ears perked up as Malakai continued,
"Unlock my lifeguard first, and I'll think about it."
Riven shot up from his bow, immediately regretting it as another wave of dizziness hit him. He nodded quickly and gestured to his setup.
"Okay, okay! I'll unlock it now," he said, settling back into his seat.
"Place your lifeguard under that scanner."
Malakai obeyed quickly, wanting to get this over with.
As he placed his hand beneath the scanner on the table, Riven's fingers flew across his keyboard. A second later, the scanner lit up, a beam washing over the lifeguard.
Malakai watched as his lifeguard lit up, followed by a mechanical voice.
"Apprentice Blood Knight: Malakai Von Sanguine, registered successfully."
The voice was flat, monotone. 'The AI,' Malakai realized.
"It's done," Riven's voice came from the side. He looked at Malakai with tired, hopeful eyes.
"I'll think about it and give you my answer later."
Malakai noticed the light in Riven's eyes dim slightly, but he paid it no mind. He just wanted to leave this place.
"Thank you," he said, giving a curt nod before walking out, heading down the corridor toward the reception.
His gaze was completely fixed on his lifeguard. It was finally unlocked.
'Now, I'm officially an Apprentice Blood Knight.'
Malakai's steps slowed as he noticed Laila standing just outside the door to the reception. Her eyes were locked on the glowing lifeguard.
"Ninth Vein… I hope Riven wasn't too much," she said. "He can be like that sometimes, but he means well."
"He wanted me to become the main character for his game."
Laila scowled. "I apologize, Ninth Vein. I'll make sure he stops pestering you about that."
As Malakai nodded, her attention shifted back to the lifeguard.
"Now that you've officially become a Blood Knight, I'd like to explain the new features available to you."
He could figure it out himself, but having someone explain it was definitely welcome.
"The most important is the ability to receive death warnings and alerts. When that happens, your lifeguard will either flash orange or red. Orange means someone's on the verge of dying, could be from anything. Red means someone's died, and a darkness creature is about to spawn."
She paused, letting the information sink in.
"Each alert will come with a mission, including the location, identity, and evolution stage of the victim. If multiple people die, the alert will show all of them."
Malakai gave a small nod, signaling he understood.
"The second feature is access to the live map of the entire city. But it only tracks darkness creatures, nothing else. Aside from that, there's not much else, unless you count the rankings and mission rewards. But I'm sure you'll figure that out in no time."
"Thank you," Malakai said.
Laila gave him a warm smile. "Anytime, Ninth Vein," she said before stretching out a white attire towards him. "Here. As an apprentice knight, you have to wear this during our hunts," she explained.
Malakai received it and saw that it was a pure white jacket. He remembered reading about this in the past.
'Apprentice Blood Knights wear a pure white jacket. Acolytes wear bright red. Lieutenants, pure black. And Captains… blood red.'
Malakai nodded thoughtfully before taking off his current jacket and slipping the new one on.
"It suits you, Ninth Vein," Laila said with a smile.
Malakai suddenly turned towards her, startling her.
He hesitated a moment, then his expression hardened. "You knew my father?"
Laila was briefly taken aback, not expecting the sudden change. "…Yes." Her eyes softened with sadness as memories came rushing back.
The man who could brighten any room, who had saved her from imminent death, who had given her life purpose.
"I did," she said again, turning towards Malakai. And for the first time since meeting him, she could finally see something else beyond the cold detachment that usually wrapped around him.
Laila felt her heart twist. At the end of the day, he was still just a child, one who had lost both parents in a single night.
She wanted to pull him into a hug, but she had seen how badly that had gone with others.