Chapter 445: Echo of the Inner Beast

There was another problem too. Even while Charlie was inside his soul, she no longer regenerated HP, mana, or stamina. Samael had explained that this happened to servants starting at Rank E. He called it a bonus piece of information for Luke. After all, once someone reached Rank E, everyone received a massive increase to natural regeneration, even HP. That meant a servant no longer needed their master to recover.

Samael described it as greater autonomy for servants. However, they still needed to die near their master in order to respawn inside his soul, and even then they wouldn’t return with full HP.

So Luke couldn’t cheat the system by storing Charlie inside his soul to somehow refill her Blood Core or force her HP to regenerate. It simply wouldn’t work. At this point, he only served as a respawn point for Charlie, not a source of restoration.

What was meant to be new freedom for servants, since they were now strong enough to regenerate on their own outside their master’s soul, had become a new curse for Charlie. Because the only way a vampire can regenerate HP is by feeding on blood.

“What do you think of her?” the shop attendant asked, pulling open the curtain to the fitting room with a curious smile.

“She looks very pretty,” Luke said, straightforwardly.

Charlie approached and gave a shy spin. Her long blonde hair followed the motion, sweeping through the air like a silken wave.

“Am I… truly pretty, Master Luke?”

“You look very pretty, Charlie. I’m sure you’re turning heads out there,” he said, trying to encourage her. She was still terrified of being recognized as a vampire; every compliment seemed to help her believe she could pass as someone alive.

“Your hand is on fire,” the attendant noted, blinking in surprise.

“S-sorry… sometimes that happens…” Charlie murmured, mortified, her entire face burning red.

Flame of Love… it was right in front of me the whole time.

‘Luke, the universe was screaming at you.’

The ten silver coins he’d received earlier were worth something close to ten thousand dollars. He’d done the math quickly, remembering every participant in the tutorial had gotten the same amount.

Those soldiers gave us the equivalent of at least fifteen million dollars in New World currency? Man, they made a massive investment.

They walked to an open air tavern, or maybe it counted as a restaurant. Luke still couldn’t tell the difference here. Polished wooden tables were set beneath patched together awnings, and the smell of roasting meat mixed with warm herbs drifting from the kitchen.

Luke ordered two plates of meat; he was a little hungry himself. When the server returned and set the plates down, Charlie didn’t move. She simply stared at hers as if it were some kind of puzzle.

“M-master Luke… I… I don’t know how to use these.” She pointed vaguely at the cutlery. “And… it’s my first time eating. I’m nervous.”

Luke understood instantly. This wasn’t just a meal. It was the first real sensation of food she’d ever experienced, after a lifetime of being little more than a half formed set of senses.

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“I’ll help you,” he assured her. “Don’t worry.”

He cut the meat into small pieces, steady and patient. Then he speared one with the fork and lifted it toward her.

“Y-you’re… you’re going to… feed me?” Her voice got smaller the closer the fork came, her face flushing a deep pink.

“Yes,” Luke said gently. “It’s okay.”

She was clearly embarrassed, and he noticed the shift in her. With a physical body, one that could feel, her shyness seemed sharper, more human. No more numbness. No more emotional static.