Heading to the dome, Erin found her body was sore from going through everything it had done, but there was something different about how it moved. Even though her stats were at the same level, it felt like she had improved hand-to-eye coordination. Later, when she was off of this god forsaken planet, she would try to recreate the moves Fex used with her finer control.
Fex, however, was tired, but it wasn't just from being put through tough fights. Instead it was from having to use his brain so much, and the stress of two back to back fights.
Before they went to the dome, Fex told his strange flying bull friend to return back into an earing. He told him to stay hidden until things were clear again. Erin could only assume that it was a tamed beast, but she wasn't interested enough to ask Fex questions about Ham.
Instead, Erin was looking at her system as there was something quite strange happening with one of the skills.
[Skill: Blood ritual unlocked]
[1/2 members]
[ERROR]
[User: Quinn Talen is not blooded]
[0/2 members]
Erin didn't know what to make of the error, other than the fact that it was similar to that message she saw once when she was going to give Quinn an earth ability book. If this was at all related, then was a 'blood ritual' meant to be the skill that could turn someone into a vampire?
'Layla did say that this was something they could do in vampire stories,' Erin thought, "I wonder how she's doing…"
Thinking about Layla and her desire to be turned into a vampire had passed her mind. Given that Erin had turned into a monster when she didn't have blood, the idea didn't seem very smart until she was in a more stable position. Fex had somehow managed to survive this far without turning into whatever she did, and he had that flask.
'Actually, how does Fex get his blood? Does he have some sort of person he drinks from like me?'
Looking at the rest of the long list of notifications, she found out that she could use a new skill.
[New skill: Daze]
[This skill has no cost and can be used on the opponent to stun them between 0.2 seconds and 0.5 seconds at a time. Must have direct eye contact with the opponent. The skill has a chance of failing depending on the strength of the enemy, and on the user's Charm points. The more the skill is used on an opponent, the higher chance they have of resisting.]
Erin liked the sound of the daze skill. It was something she could use in an offensive manner, and came at no cost at all. Sure it would require her to have a high charm skill for extra effectiveness, but with her 8 free stat points, she could easily level it up to 18 if she wanted to.
[Shop has been unlocked]
[New tutorials have been unlocked]
[System level 2 will now activate]
Erin had only just looked at the 'system level 2 will now activate' notification before it suddenly opened a video in Erin's vision. It once again showed the long haired blonde man from the hammer strike and flash step lessons. She had stopped walking to focus on the video more.
"Congrats!" The man said as he clasped his hands together, "You have now officially joined the family. I thought maybe a simple human wouldn't be able to make it this far, but it looks like my little experiment was a success. Now that the system has been upgraded to level 2, I had a good friend of mine install an AI system with my voice. It's amazing, right?! Now you'll never feel alone again, and if you ever have a question about the system, just ask."
'If I ever wanted to ask someone questions through the system, I'd talk to Quinn,' Erin thought, already getting annoyed by the man's stupid cheerful voice.
"Now you're probably thinking, 'why didn't I design it this way from the very beginning?' The truth is you needed to be able to get this far on your own. From your own mistakes along the way, they can only make you stronger."
Erin did not think that at all, but now that he mentioned it, she had a really, really, really strong urge to shove her sword right up this man's ass.
'I'll do that after I get a new one,' Erin thought, recalling that her old sword broke.
"Are you good?" Fex asked, a little reluctant. He had noticed Erin stopped following him for a bit.
"Don't worry about it," Erin replied, and continued walking ahead.
"Now before I leave you, although the AI system will help you answer any questions you have about the system, it will not be able to go beyond that, so here are my final recorded words. I'm sorry, but now that you are a vampire, others will come looking for you. They have already blended into society, so it's almost impossible to tell who is one, and who isn't. If you want to live a life of freedom as I did, then get stronger, create a force of your own, and fight back. Good luck my friend."
The video closed, and as it did, they had both arrived at the dome. It was a large structure made of an incredibly sturdy material, no doubt galathrium with how there was next to no scratches on the outside. There was also a long hallway, and as they entered it, they spotted a pair of steel doors which had a pass code machine on them.
"Wow, haha, I'm surprised we didn't find any beasts on our way here," Fex joked, slightly nudging Erin.
Erin visibly grimaced as she was reminded of the mindless massacre she committed against numerous beasts while she was a bloodsucker. In return, Fex cringed a little seeing that Erin didn't respond positively.
They both heard a noise right outside the hallway, and spotted a lone rattaclaw right in the entrance.
"I'll go get it," Fex said, not waiting for Erin to reply.
Meanwhile, Erin placed her hand on the pass code machine, and used the inspect skill on it.
[An access code machine linked to the two steel doors. The combination is 87735264333]
'With how long these numbers are, you'd expect some sort of prize inside.'
She inputted the number, and soon enough the door had opened. Fex came back flinging some black blood off of his hands, and onto the walls.
"You know, I was just thinking, beast blood isn't particularly tasty, but it would make for a great finger paint," Fex chuckled as he wiggled his fingers, "Let's hope there's a sink inside."
Erin took a look at him before letting out a single dry chuckle.
"I think you'd make a mess of yourself first before making any kind of art."
They were now in a reception area with a desk at the front, a small canteen in the corner, and several seats around the area. It was quite a strange sight for the two of them as it looked so well preserved compared to the rest of the city. Erin turned around to spot a small light switch, and flicked it on.
The lights flickered a little before they fully illuminated the place, keeping a consistent glow. However, there was that one light in the corner that kept flashing on and off.
In the dome, it smelled like stale air and dust. It was generally pretty quiet aside from the hum of the lights.
"It doesn't look like anything aside from us has managed to enter this place," Fex spoke, "And just so you know, we can see in the dark just fine."
"I am aware," Erin commented, walking past him towards one of the doors.
Fex thought it was a little strange for Erin to turn on the lights, but thought it was just a leftover behavior from when she was human. As someone who was born in a perpetually dark place, he didn't have such habits.
"We should split up and try to see if we can find a portal back. Portals are often stored in strong sturdy buildings. With how long this structure has survived, its bound to be here," Erin called out.
Fex looked around the place, and headed to the opposite door. It led to a hallway that led to even more rooms, some of which were resting rooms. These rooms had metal doors with pass code machines on them, and were quite easy for Fex to break. There was just one small annoying thing.
'To check all of these rooms for a portal… It's going to take me a while to break all of these pass codes,' Fex thought.