Chapter 305: That must cost a fortune to maintain…

[If you believe you should leave, leave.

Just do not tell anyone you ran away from House Arcelis because of a dream.

If you want, I can even come and take you with me.]

Vivienne suggested and Lucian’s mouth twitched.

He could practically imagine Vivienne smiling from the other side of the phone and as rare and beautiful as that sight was, right now, Lucian did not like it one bit.

"...you are saying that on purpose, aren’t you?"

[I only gave you permission to run away.]

"Please stop calling it running away."

[A brave retreat.]

"..."

Lucian didn’t know how to react to that.

For the next few seconds, both of them remained silent.

Then—

[Lucian.]

Vivienne spoke his name.

[You trusted your instincts and you called me, it was a good decision.]

Lucian listened to her more carefully since he knew more was coming.

[But you must understand that you will experience things you do not understand. The supernatural world is older and much more mysterious than you can imagine, there are powers you have never heard of, beings no one has classified, places governed by rules that do not exist anywhere else.]

She took a small pause, letting her words settle in properly.

[You will not understand everything, but the unknown is where the strength lies. If your first response to everything beyond your understanding is to retreat until someone stronger explains it to you...

Then you will never become what you claim you wish to become.

You want strength, do you not?]

"Yes, I do."

[Then understand what strength actually requires, and it is not simply fighting stronger opponents, it is being capable of moving even when you do not know what lies ahead.]

Those words slowly changed Lucian’s expression.

Though before he could disconnect the call and do anything foolish—

[That does not mean walking blindly into danger, only idiots do that.]

"..."

Lucian stared at the phone with a deadpan look on his face.

Vivienne did not stop.

[Learn when an uncertainty is worth confronting, some mysteries kill those who pursue them, some should be left untouched, and some...]

She took another pause.

[...some become experiences that shape what you eventually become.]

"I understand."

Lucian nodded in a serious tone, without any hint of playfulness or amusement.

Vivienne nodded at that.

[You cannot expect everything to remain under your control. There will be situations where you cannot see the entire battlefield, situations where your senses fail, situations where the information you have is incomplete.

If you require certainty before acting, you will lose every time someone manages to deny it to you.]

Lucian nodded again. He understood that it wasn’t just about the dream, it was... training. Another lesson which might very well be more important than the rest.

"Then you think I should stay."

He asked one last time and Vivienne—

[I am telling you to decide.

Consider everything you know, consider the possible dangers, possible enemies, possible allies and finally—

Once you have everything, make a decision.]

"I understand.

Thank you, Teacher.

I miss you a lot."

He spoke coyly and the instant he did—

Beep Beep Beep

Vivienne disconnected the call.

"Aww, tsundere."

Lucian chuckled as he put the phone away.

He still had time, he could go back to sleep but it was very clear he wasn’t really sleepy. So instead, he decided to go out and wander a little, maybe take a light hundred-kilometre run around the estate to clear his head.

With that thought in his mind, Lucian walked out.

Then, once he was on the estate grounds, he started running.

He wasn’t moving particularly fast, at least not by his current standards. He kept a comfortable pace, letting his body move almost automatically while his mind thought about everything Vivienne said.

The paths around the estate were wide enough for several vehicles to move side by side, so Lucian had no problem at all.

He just kept running, past the guest wings, past the gardens, past several enormous courtyards. Then further out, towards the wider roads that connected different sections of Arcelis territory.

Ten kilometres.

Twenty.

Thirty.

His breathing remained steady, his body warmed up a little, his muscles loosening as he settled into a rhythm. Then, he increased his speed, the world around him began to blur a little.

After about an hour, Lucian had already crossed the hundred-kilometre mark and as his mind cleared up, he finally slowed down, stopping near one of the inner gardens.

The sky above him began changing as well, the sun wasn’t completely up yet, but the day was starting little by little.

And as Lucian kept staring at the sky, his eyes fell on it again.

That slight distortion in the sky that an untrained eye would miss entirely.

It was a transparent layer stretched across the sky.

A Barrier.

He noticed it before as well and from the little he had read about the Vampires, he knew it was a common structure.

While sunlight did not instantly reduce Vampires to ashes, that part was mostly human fiction, there was, however, some truth to it. Sunlight did weaken the bloodsuckers considerably.

Physical strength, regeneration, blood abilities, senses, their ability to control energy, sunlight affected every single thing. Of course, the older and stronger the Vampires, the better they could endure it, but they still weren’t fans of the sun.

There were also artifacts that reduced the effects of the sun.

Clothing, jewellery, personal barriers, even certain bloodline techniques, there were a few absurdly rare artifacts that could almost completely nullify the effects of the sun.

However—

House Arcelis and other influential Houses, however, didn’t rely on individual protection alone.

They covered their entire territory.

Hundreds of kilometres, covered under one gigantic transparent barrier, designed to filter sunlight before it reached the Vampires living within.

"That must cost a fortune to maintain..."

Lucian muttered as he kept staring at the barrier and just then—

"You have no idea."

A familiar voice came from behind him.

It was Aurelia, standing a few metres away from him.