Wizard

[Jojo]

Are you sure you can carry all that stuff? Why don't you lighten your bag?

Aww, my wounds are fully healed, but I'm still in pain.

How's Mojo doing? Heh, she's so curious, I feel sorry for Brother Grimm for having to deal with her.

I can't leave here just yet. There are still many things in this place I want to know about.

King has smelled blood. Even though that's how he found me when I was bleeding to death, it still scares me that he can do that.

A fight has broken out somewhere over there. Don't you want to go check?

I'm going to stay here for a while. It'll take for a while before Dracula fully regains his energy, and personally, there are many things that I want to know about these people.

Please let Nun Gem and Mojo know.

Adventurer, see this luminous glow over here? It's from the shining spores you brought to me.

I feel as if I traveled back in time, studying by this dim light.

I still have enough light left in these shining spores. Please come back after dawn.

Adventurer! You are the light of my life!

[King]

You're scaring him.

Could you get me shining spores again today?

Please bring me 10 Shining Spores from Neon Mushrooms and 10 Clusters of Nightmares from Sweet Nightmares. Thank you.

Adventurer, wait!

You misspelled that.

Where? Oh, I did it again.

Tsk, tsk. I don't know how you've become a wizard when you can't even spell correctly.

This is only because it's too dark to see. And stop peeking at what I'm doing!

It's not like you're writing something important.

What are you doing here? Don't you have things to do?

Are you? I was going to ask you a favor, but I can wait.

Then you'd better go attend to your business.

Why?

Since we're underground, it's too dark for me to write and read. I have a lot of information that I want to catalog, but I keep misspelling words because I can't see them clearly.

You should be able to do that with your eyes closed. You're a wizard. Didn't you learn how to summon light? But of course, if you use magic in front of me, I'll burn you to ashes.

I completed my guild's official wizard training program. I'm strong enough to have a contest with you!

Oh, really? Good for you!

Be honest, though. Did you really study hard? Did you attend every class, study all night, and practice hard? You'd better tell me the truth.

Can you honestly say that you tried to push past your limits?

...

No, you didn't. That's why you had your butt handed to you by those mushrooms.

I said they were zombies, not mushrooms!

Zombies and mushrooms. Same difference to me.

You're not good enough to earn your keep. I can't believe your guild actually invested in you.

Then what about you? I know you can transform. But what else can you do?

Maybe you keep questioning me because you can't trust me. How about I teach you to be the greatest mage among humans? Would you trust me, then?

Erm, you want to teach me?

Sure.

I've studied a lot. Why do you think I have?

To become smarter?

No. Because I was bored to death!

You have all the time in the world. I'm envious of that.

If you don't want me to teach you, that's fine by me.

No, no! I'd love to! But, erm, you're not going to ask for my blood in return, are you?

*Snort* If I drink anything because I'm hungry, I wouldn't be any better than those Matte Drainliars now, would I?

Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to keep you standing there. Could you get me some spores from Neon Mushrooms? I need some light to see what I'm writing.

Oh, you know how those spores glow. I want to use them to illuminate this place.

Well, then go get them yourself. Don't dump things on this adventurer.

Oh, well... I'm... Neon Mushrooms are... You know.

Where are you going to put the spores, anyway?

I have an empty bottle? oh, I forgot I lost my bag when I was attacked.

Adventurer, could you get me some Clusters of Nightmares as well? I can mix them with the spores to make a paste and apply it on the wall.

What? That's so tacky.

But effective nonetheless. You didn't know you could use them like that, did you?

Because I didn't need to.

Then, Adventurer, please bring me 10 Shining Spores from Neon Mushrooms and 10 Clusters of Nightmares from Sweet Nightmares.

Adventurer, welcome back!

I can tell that's not enough, just by looking at it.

Oh, you're right. You must have forgotten what I asked.

I can tell he brought everything you asked. Come on, make a paste and apply it to the wall already.

Adventurer, thank you for helping me study. These glowing spores don't last long. Could you come back tomorrow and get me more of them?

[Dracula]

What brings you? I suggest you stay away out of this place.

[

Typical wizard... Wait, could that be Jojo??

Wh-who are you?

No, no! He's not my friend! I've never seen him before in my life, I swear!

He could be sent by your friends. Human, answer me!

[Stranger]

I see. We found him injured and unconscious, so we took him here and treated him. He's well enough to leave now.

Let me thank you on behalf of his colleagues. May I ask your name?

You're here, and yet you don't know who he is. He's Dracula. Didn't you come to challenge him to a battle?

Dracula? You mean the Dracula?

You have a familiar smell about you, Adventurer. I've yearned for this smell for a long time.

I mean he smells like a friend, Little One.

...I see. How is she?

Wow, so you've been hanging around here all this time because of that ungrateful girl. Is that it?

What did you give her?

Eternal life.

Eternal life...!

That's the normal reaction from humans! She's ungrateful!

Betrayed her? Hah? Where is she? He should've just let her die!

She still hasn't forgiven me. But I did what I had to do.

I needed humans to survive. I hid among them and hunted them whenever I needed.

One day, people from the Church found me. They were bent on killing me in the name of justice.

I was gravely injured by them, and somehow I ended up in this place full of death and mysterious energy.

I thought I was going to die here, but then Lady Luck finally turned her gaze upon me.

Bomi saved me. She fed me her blood, so I could regain my strength. I'm not a living being, but that day, she gave me new life.

Why didn't you leave afterward?

Even though Bomi was a strong woman, her body was failing her. It pained me to see her waste away day by day. I offered her eternal life, and she rejected it.

I stayed because I wanted to be there for her when she died as a human.

For the first time in my long existence, I really thought about humans, and what made them who they were. They also have this impulse to help others, expecting nothing in return.

I'd learned about them through Bomi. What I'd learned didn't make sense, and I didn't really understand it.

But it was different from what I previously thought of humans. I was starting to understand them.

Then why did you turn her against her wish?

There was an accident. The people who almost killed me found me again.

Bad luck follows me wherever I go. Bomi even made me a lucky charm, but it didn't work.

By then, I'd fully regained my strength, and those humans weren't a match for me. But Bomi... she didn't want anyone to get hurt.

Long story short, she got caught in the crossfire. She was dying and I panicked.

I wasn't ready to let her go. Before I had time to think about what I was doing, I turned her.

You did it because you didn't want to lose her. I would've done the same in that situation.

But that stubborn girl refuses to acknowledge that!

I don't understand her logic. How could she possibly want to die as a human than live as a vampire? How could she think the gift of eternal life is a betrayal?

I think I know. People tend to take things for granted. If I could live forever, I think I'd lose all my motivation. I mean, you have nothing but time.

I think you guys need to talk it out with each other. Have you tried to talk to her?

When she was brought back to life, she was so shocked and angry that she wouldn't listen to me.

I did what I did to save her, and I understand she resents me for it.

Dracula, what's that human to you? Why do you insist on staying in a place like this

I'm not?

Everyone, hush. I smell something.

King? What is it?

A fight? Oh no, we'd better hurry!

I've decided to wait for her. I could use some rest, anyway.

The bat blood she drinks sometimes causes her to go out of her mind. She calms down after a while, but if the people from the Church see her in that vulnerable state, they will try to kill her.