"Huuu."
Rowen took slow, shaky steps as he approached the decrepit house. He had known about this place for a while now, ever since the kids in the slum began to hang out there.
Their behavior had become strange since then, and they had invited him to join them several times, but he always declined.
He knew something was off.
Rowen never really had any friends.
Being an orphan and an outcast, he had always been called weird by the people around him.
But he didn't think he was the weird one. It was the slum itself that was strange.
Nobody here dreamed anymore.
People – both children and adults – had given up on escaping this place and had resigned themselves to this lifestyle.
Occasionally, a child would awaken to mana and be drafted into the military, which was technically a way out of poverty since being a soldier meant earning a lot of money.
However, in this place, being drafted was equivalent to a death sentence.
The children who were drafted into the military camps could not afford to attend private military academies, so they became foot soldiers and were sent off to fight in wars, never to return.
Rowen hated it here.
He felt suffocated living among people with no vision. In a place full of settlers, he aimed for excellence, and he was laughed at for that.
But he refused to give up on his dreams. He dreamt of a future where he would be wealthy, living a life of luxury.
A future where he wouldn't have to scavenge for food in the trash or steal to survive.
A future where he would be treated with respect instead of disdain upon entering the city.
A future where he could live his life instead of just surviving it.
This slum may have been a place where people had stopped dreaming, but he was not one of them.
So when he was offered a chance to make his dreams come true– to make his future a reality, he accepted it in a heartbeat.
Now here he was.
Even though he hated this place and the people here who ridiculed him at every turn of his life, he was risking his life for them.
After all, this was his only chance to get out of this place. A chance to attend the world's top military academy– essentially securing his future.
"Okay," Rowen nodded his head upon arriving in front of the house. "Let's do this."
Knock—!
After a second of preparing himself, the boy knocked on the front door.
From inside, he heard footsteps that slowly grew louder until the doorknob was finally twisted open.
Click—
The door swung inward, revealing the figure of a small girl with clear orange eyes that matched her hair. She peered out and scrutinized the person who had knocked.
Rowen knew her. Her name was Mary, and she had moved in here with the 'scary lady.'
"Rowen?" Mary spoke, looking at the black-haired kid with a narrow frown. "What are you doing here?"
"Hey, Mary," Rowen flashed a smile. "Well, I was bored, so I thought about hanging out with you guys. I can go back if you don't want me here–"
"No, no!" the frown on Mary's face melted into a sweet expression. "You are welcome here! Come, let's go inside."
"O-Okay," with a little hesitation, Rowen followed the orange-haired girl inside the house.
The inside of the house was oppressively dark and musty.
The air was thick with a lingering cold, metallic scent that sent shivers down Rowen's spine for some reason.
Despite the heat outside, the atmosphere inside was unnaturally chilly.
The windows were covered in heavy curtains and papers, obscuring any natural light from entering.
Creak—
As Rowen's foot touched the wooden floor, it let out an eerie creaking sound that echoed through the empty halls and intensified the unsettling feeling that hung in the air.
But the girl walking in front of Rowen seemed unfazed by the horror movie-like interior of the house.
'Well, she has been living here for well over a year.'
As Rowen thought that to himself, he kept following the orange-haired girl until they reached the drawing room.
"Everyone, Rowen is here," Mary excitedly announced as she entered the room.
As Rowen stepped into the room, he saw a group of kids sitting around on the floor and on an old couch.
The dark, ominous atmosphere made their pale skin stand out, and their pupils glowed an eerie white as every eye in the room turned to him.
For some reason, suddenly, a chill ran down Rowen's spine, and his instincts screamed at him to run.
But he tried to keep his composure and stood there frozen.
One of the boys got up and walked over to him, putting a hand around his shoulder in a way that disregarded personal space.
"Rown!" the boy exclaimed in excitement. "You finally showed up!"
"Rowen is here? Good," Another girl spoke up, "You know, Rowen, you should spend some time with your friends instead of always sticking your nose in those scraps of magazines and books."
'You all are not my friends,' is what Rowen wanted to reply, but he kept his mouth shut and forced a smile.
"A new member? Haha! Let's see how many rounds he can last before fainting," one of the boys giggled.
"What?!" confused, Rowen turned to him with a questioning frown. "What does that mean?"
The boy, with his arm still around Rowen's shoulder, patted him to dismiss his worries.
"He's just playing with you. Anyway, have you met Miss Reina?" he asked.
"Miss Reina? No, I haven't yet–"
Before Rowen could finish his answer, an alluring feminine voice whispered in his ear from behind.
"We have a guest?" he heard her say.
Surprised, he turned around to see a bewitching woman with fiery red hair that cascaded down her back.
She wore a simple black gown that did little to conceal her mature, otherworldly hourglass figure.
Her full lips were painted the darkest shade of red, complementing her snowy pale complexion.
As Rowen looked into her captivating scarlet red eyes, he realized that there was something unsettlingly tempting about her. But before he could put the finger on anything, he felt his mind going numb.
"..."
For a few seconds, Rowen stood there in a trance, completely frozen and unable to think straight.
He had never seen someone so beautiful. To be fair, he had seen this woman many times before, but for some reason, right now, she was looking irresistible.
It was then he remembered that he had read somewhere about how vampires can charm and compel individuals of other races weaker than them into submission by making them look into their eyes.
Of course, unless one is bitten by a vampire, there is a way to break this charm. A strong stimulus, like getting punched or shaken, would do the trick.
However, he was in a vampire's nest right now. Who would help him?
"I heard you weren't willing to hang out here with your friends," said the red-headed woman. "What made you change your mind?"
Rowen was compelled to tell her the truth, starting from how he met Lucas outside, but somehow, he managed to spout out a lie.
"I… was bored today."
The woman's expression stiffened upon hearing those words. Shaking her head, she said, "That's a lie."
She then slightly bent her knees and ran a finger against Rowen's cheek before leaning her face forward and whispering in his ear, "Tell me the truth."
"I– Uh… I…"
Rowen felt his heart racing and his skin crawling.
He wanted to run, but he also wanted to answer the woman earnestly. It was a weird feeling of submission and fear, making it hard for him to speak.
He was about to give in until….
Beeeeep—!!!
"Eeik!"
The earpiece in his ear made a high-pitched stinging noise which shook him out of his trance and made him grip his head in slight pain.
-[Rowen, it's time. Pull out the grenades!]
As if waiting for that cue, a familiar voice rang in his ears.
It was his signal!
Seeing something strange happening to the kid, the red-headed woman frowned before her eyes widened in surprise.
With her accelerated thought process, it didn't take her even a second to realize what was happening.
It was an ambush!
Thwack—!!
Wasting no time, she kicked Rowen and sent him flying back before yelling in an authoritative tone, "Mary, get behind me!"
Even though the orange-haired girl couldn't understand what was happening, she quickly did what she was told and hid behind the woman.
Thwaaam—!
Rowen's body landed on the wooden floor amidst all the other children who were just as confused as Mary. Nobody could infer just what was going on?!
"Arghhh!"
Rowen grunted as he struggled to stand, his hand pressed against his aching ribs.
With his other hand, he reached under his clothes and retrieved several small, ball-shaped grenades.
He hurled them into the air and got on the ground, quickly covering his eyes and ears.
"Children, run—!!"
The woman tried alerting the kids but she was cut off by the blinding explosion of the flash bombs in the air.
Kshwiiing—!!
