Chapter 8: 8. Eyes of a predator looking down on food.

After 10 minutes of travelling, Damien felt mentally drained and almost ill from mana exhaustion. 

 

In the game, Damien played as characters from many different countries. Still, in his opinion, no Capital city quite captured the medieval walled city aesthetic quite like the Capital city of Kassinki. 

 

The city has 150,000 people, making it the third-largest city on the continent. To the north of the city is the Kazimir mountain range, named after the first Vampire who built the Nightshade stronghold there.

 

The vampires are powerful but few in numbers and have well-documented weaknesses. Official records suggest over a thousand vampires are living in the mountains, but Damien knows the number is closer to 500. 

 

To the east is the Oshal empire; this is the country Fay fled from. Its capital city is more extensive than Kassinki at 200,000 people, but they are all humans. Oshal is a highly religious nation that preaches that all demi-humans and other races are inferior. 

 

Technically, they are correct from a gamer's point of view. In the game, humans are a blank slate. They have no unique qualities, but they also have no apparent weaknesses. Vampires are near-immortal against any metal except silver and can quickly heal surface wounds except those inflicted by light or fire magic.

 

Oshal has a somewhat aggressive stance against Kassinki because it is a diverse city that harbours many different races. A proper fantasy city.

 

Despite Damien's headache, he marvelled at the tall grey stone walls. Damien had seen this sight many times through a VR headset, but viewing it in person was a completely different experience.

 

"Master, drive the carriage over to the noble gate." Fay calmly said while pointing to the left.

 

Damien already knew about the noble gate, but Fay thought him taking a moment to take in the scenery was because he was lost. 

 

"Tsk."

 

With his last bit of willpower, Damien directed the carriage off to the left. There was a long line of people trying to enter the city, and they all stared in wonder at the horseless carriage, which seemed to move by itself.

 

Off to the left, a more fancy-looking gate was down a small cobbled road. Beside the entrance was a man wearing plated armour, and he shouted out to the horseless carriage. "This is the noble entrance! Please go back in line with the others!" 

 

The others in line for the main gate seemed to agree with the man. 'How could a noble ride in such a shabby carriage? Even a farmer could afford a carriage like that to carry his wheat!'

 

The carriage stopped, and out stepped a man; he casually walked up to the armour-plated guard. Everyone felt a wave of inferiority wash over them as if they were gazing upon a superior existence. 

 

[Noble Aura] (Intimidation increased) one of Damiens traits had activated automatically. When others try to look down on a king, they will feel his wrath and learn to bow their heads. 

 

But unlike the ordinary citizens who were shaking from his aura, the guard's face lost all colour. He was the guard of the noble gate; a simple aura like that would never affect him.

 

No.

 

It's those eyes. The eyes of a predator looking down on food. Damien's face is neutral, but his eyes are smiling. 

 

Fay quickly ran in front of Damien before reaching the guard's throat and presenting a noble crest.

 

"I am Fay Karles, the first daughter of Baron Karles, and this is my… um… distant brother who is visiting us."

 

The guard inspected the crest under the gaze of Damien and nodded. He would usually do a more thorough background check and call his supervisor. 'This is my first day on the job; I'm not paid enough for this shit; that brother is terrifying!' the guard screamed in his mind. Of course, he might lose his job for this, but that's better than his head, right? So how had he run into such scary nobles on his first day?

 

He bowed slightly, "Welcome Mr and Mrs Karles to our city."

 

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Despite the guards' average height, Damien easily towered over the man and looked down upon his head. "I will leave the carriage in your care, careful with it; despite its cheap look, it's worth more to me than your head."

 

'Did he just threaten my life for a cheap carriage like that?' Of course, the guard was utterly terrified at this point. 'Yep, I'm resigning tomorrow after this psychopath leaves; screw this job.'

 

***

 

After parking the carriage and leaving it with the friendly guard, Damien proceeded toward the university grounds. Although it was a 10-minute walk away from the gate, the campus occupied a large part of the eastern wing of the city.

Since all races are allowed in Kassinki, its university is the most popular learning institution for the demi-humans across the continent; many rich demi-humans would send their sons and daughters on a month-long trip to have the chance to study here.

 

Due to its popularity, they had to implement an entrance exam that has become more rigorous every year. At this point, it rivals the difficulties of the Oshal Empire's Royal Academy. But, of course, if you say that to a student of Oshal, they will try to stab you. The very idea of being considered at the same educational level as a demi-human irks them.

 

Damien walks through the streets with Fay following closely behind; she tries to match his pace without jogging, settling for a slightly odd form of speed walking.

 

"Brother, huh?" Damien asks Fay, and she seems to freeze up for a moment before answering, "Well, I needed to give a believable excuse since I come from the Oshal Empire that rarely shares information on its nobles with Kassinki. So I knew they couldn't a hundred percent confirm or deny the validity of my statement."

 

"Hmmm," Damien tried to use Telepathy to read Fay's surface thoughts but just got a confused mess.

 

'Does she not hate me? She could have told the guard I was a vampire that killed a Baroness, and they would have tried to detain me, or at least they could have saved her and chased me away. What is she plotting?'

 

'What if she's suffering from Stockholm syndrome? At best, Fay was a side character, so I never bothered to read her wiki page on her backstory. I just assumed she was a crazy person or had a deep hatred for Damien after what he did to her mother….'

 

While deep in thought, Damien had arrived at the university's front gate; the guard just waved them in after seeing their clothes. The guards were mainly there to stop drunk people or suspicious individuals from entering.

 

Once inside the gates, Damien was greeted with a plaza covered in areas of grass and trees, with students of different races happily chatting under the shade. Not that they provided much considering it was January, and the trees were naked of leaves. 

 

There were some wooden benches placed around with young couples sitting on them, holding hands while eating meat sticks. But, to Damien, it just looked like a zoo with lots of livestock walking around.

 

Fay noticed the hungry look in Damien's eyes and tried to direct his attention towards a food stall, as she was starving. 

 

A beastman who seemed half bear and half-human was selling something that resembled a hamburger from Earth. Fay asked if she could have one, and Damien obliged. The smell of burnt meat and the beastman's body odour caused Damien great distress, so he threw a coin at the beastman, which he caught with surprising reflexes, and then Damien retrieved the hamburger with Psychokinesis. 

 

The beastman gave his actions no attention since a line of students was waiting. They gave Damien hateful glares for cutting in line, but they all averted their gaze when his [Noble Aura] subconsciously activated again.

 

The duo then proceeded through the plaza towards the public library; the magnificent Mage Tower loomed in the distant skyline. The public library held books on every topic, such as mathematics, economics, literature, and even some basic ones for magic.

 

The public library looked almost older than the city itself; it gave Damien museum vibes from the three entrances with a set of marble stairs leading to them. The dark wooden doors were all wide open, and students were entering and leaving through the different entrances at random. 

 

Just as Damien was about to enter through the middle door, "Damien, you bastard, is that you?" 

 

Damien turned to see a middle-aged man wearing spectacles and a suit. He looked like a seasoned scholar. Damien instantly recognized him; he was the head professor, his boss, and also the position Damien was aiming for.

 

Damien put on a fake smile.

 

"Greetings Head Professor, to what do I owe the pleasure?" 

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