บท 18: 18. A free vampire

The next morning, Dexter woke up, and he knew that it was very early. "It should be a little bit past 4 am," he thought. Growing up, he had always been awakened at this time, so now he couldn't stop waking up early.

He began his stretches—splits, air kicks to maintain flexibility, after all, it was his routine as a taekwondo specialist. And then push-ups.

"Push-ups, more than 100...!"

"I haven't experienced that bloodlust since I drank that bottle of blood," he mumbled, putting a hand on his chin. 'Could it be that I can now stay longer without blood?'

Of course, he knew that his thoughts were unlikely, as the Tiran specified that he was going to have to fight for his humanity after he becomes a vampire.

"It'll kick in anytime soon. I think I'll also need a mask. The smell of blood gets heavier as time goes," he thought, continuing his exercises.

Soon, Leo, Zain, and Rina woke up, and someone knocked on their room door, bringing food.

It was different from what Dexter imagined. They were given a plate of rice with sauce, even a few meat pieces in it.

"Ah, Laurence is really treating us well. These exploration missions must be very risky," Dexter blurted out, making the others turn to him.

"What? It's the least we deserve," he shrugged as he ate his food wholeheartedly.

He even pulled a bottle of cola drink from his bag and drank it until it was finished.

Dexter smiled as he put the container in his bag and then looked at the others to see them looking at him with confused expressions.

"What?"

"Dexter, you're stingy as hell," Zain complained.

...

The morning meal was good overall, and Zain berated Dexter about his stinginess, so Dexter ended up giving them a few drinks from his bag.

He was even shocked when he offered Leo a drink with a smile, expecting that Leo would reject it, only to end up disappointed.

Yup, Leo took it with a warm smile. The dude probably knew that Dexter really didn't want to give it.

They all dressed up and headed out of their small room, as it was already morning, and they were supposed to meet up with Laurence.

Soon, they reached the gate.

"You guys are looking sharp. Ready for your first mission?" Laurence asked, and all of them nodded.

Dexter noticed that Beatrice was sitting in the front seat of the black truck they used before.

"So where are we headed?" Zain asked as they walked to the jeep.

"We're going to a supermarket close to an abandoned park overrun with zombies," Laurence replied.

They didn't ask any more questions after that and entered the truck, where they saw three young men already there in their black uniforms.

"Ah, those three new recruits," an Asian-looking guy with long, curly brown hair and brown eyes said. He held a sniper in his hand, which stunned Dexter. He had never been so close to a gun in his life before. This was his first time.

"Cole, don't creep them out with your smile," the handsome guy with a side-cut, short black hair, and blue eyes said.

"My smile is perfect. Not creepy," Cole argued. "What about you, Chapman? Your smile looks like you just saw someone who puked."

Dexter and the others just stayed quiet as they observed the situation from the sidelines.

There was one more man inside the truck who didn't talk at all. He was dark-skinned, muscular, with tattoos on his body, and a short haircut. Dexter spotted a pistol in one of his side pockets.

...

They rode for a little over ten minutes before the truck came to a halt.

"We're here!" Laurence's voice came from the front of the truck.

"Here where?" Zain asked as he got down and looked around to see that the truck was parked behind a building.

"Oh, the supermarket is still a little over a hundred meters away from here," Laurence said, making everyone there confused.

"The place is surrounded by monsters. The truck will be destroyed," a cold voice, filled with seductive maturity and feminine charm, came from the other side of the truck.

The beautiful Beatrice came from the side with a sniper too, and that's when Dexter noticed that most of them were holding snipers. Even Laurence had one and a machine gun.

"It's what the snipers are for?" Dexter asked.

"Yes," Laurence nodded. "Okay, now ready your gear; we're climbing this tall building."

Dexter looked at the building they were beside. It was a fifteen-story building that looked still in shape more than others.

Cole, Chapman, and the silent guy all brought hooks with long ropes and began throwing them one by one. Then they would pull them and hope for them to hook the edge of the building.

'This will be a good time,' Dexter thought as he stepped forward.

"I can do it," he said, making Laurence look back while examining him from head to toe.

"How?"

"I can run up walls," Dexter shrugged. "It's a skill."

Laurence nodded in approval.

"Alright then, give him the hooks," Laurence commanded, and five hooks were given to Dexter, each with a long rope attached to it.

He looked up at the building and then walked back while readying himself.

'The lightning doesn't amplify speed. But it'll be cool though,' Dexter thought as he began to feel inside of him.

When the skills entered his forehead before he learned everything about it in that moment, which was quite amazing.

If chemistry and physics were like an orb, he would have excelled in his studies.

'So spirit energy is concentrated in my abdomen. But it's not physical. We summon the energy from our spirits,' Dexter began to feel the mystical energy flowing within him.

On the outside, the others watched Dexter, and they soon began to see sparks of lightning surrounding his body.

He suddenly opened his eyes and shot towards the building. As he put a foot on the vertical surface, he felt that the world rotated, and the building was now horizontal.

He smiled as he ran up at an immense speed, leaving a trail of lightning as he went.

As he felt the wind brush against his skin, he felt excited, thrilled. He felt as if he could jump from this building and not die. He felt something he hadn't experienced in a long time. He felt free.