So I'm a Dragon, So What? - Game System [82]

Mera couldn't wrap his head around it, but he had witnessed this man's incredible power firsthand. If Lord Elliot was speaking with such confidence, he couldn't possibly be bluffing.

"Lord Elliot, what should I do?" Mera pleaded, his voice laced with a desperate hope. Whatever it took, if he could just escape this torturous craving for blood, it would all be worth it.

Seeing his desperation, Elliot nodded. "It's actually quite simple. Do you know why vampires need to drink blood?"

Mera scratched his head, thought for a moment, then shook it. He had no idea. The urge was just a primal, agitating force deep in his bloodline. As for the science behind it, he was completely clueless.

"Do you still have a heartbeat?" Elliot asked next.

Mera placed a hand over his own chest and nodded. "Yes, my lord. I do." As a vampire, his heart still beat, but he felt a strange coldness where the warmth of blood should be.

"Do you need to breathe like a human?"

"N-No."

"And do you produce waste after digesting food?"

"Of course..."

This string of odd questions left Mera completely bewildered.

"Then the explanation is simple," Elliot nodded, a theory crystallizing in his mind. He had always found it strange. 

Vampires could eat normal food just like humans, digest it, and had a similar bodily structure, yet they had to drink blood. It never made sense. But after asking about Mera's heartbeat, he understood.

He wasn't a medical student, but he knew a few things about human biology. What was the heart? At its core, it was just a big pump, designed to circulate blood. 

This meant that vampires, as a species, still needed blood flowing through their bodies. 

The problem was, vampires couldn't produce their own blood. They had to supplement it by taking the blood of others to fuel themselves.

Besides blood cells, blood plasma was mostly water, metabolic waste like urea, inorganic salts, and various nutrients and proteins. 

In essence, the main function of plasma was to carry blood cells and transport nutrients and waste. It didn't make sense that vampires would go to all that trouble just for plasma.

So, what vampires truly craved had to be the blood cells themselves.

But here was the interesting part: Mera didn't need to breathe. This meant his circulatory system didn't need to transport oxygen. Logically, he shouldn't need to absorb red blood cells. 

At the same time, vampires only drank blood, not human flesh. It seemed likely that vampires drank blood simply for a specific, abundant element within it.

If he had to guess, what vampires truly needed to absorb was the rich supply of iron in the blood. 

Over seventy percent of the iron in a human body is concentrated in hemoglobin. 

Perhaps the vampire's unique biology simply required raw iron, while the other components of blood were just for bodily circulation, not essential.

Elliot couldn't be entirely sure. In his world, vampires only existed in fantasy novels. But it was worth a try. 

After all, if this new underling of his kept running into villages to kill people, he was bound to get caught and strung up on the city gates sooner or later.

Elliot slowly raised his hand, and Geo energy swirled in his palm. His control over the earth element was now so precise he could easily sift a single grain of gold from a mountain of rock. Extracting iron, then, was no problem at all.

In moments, a sharp iron nail materialized in Elliot's hand. 

Of course, a nail like this couldn't be eaten directly; it would cause poisoning, and the body couldn't absorb a solid chunk of iron. 

In ancient times, people committed suicide by swallowing gold, but swallowing iron was also a thing only the rich could afford gold.

But this wasn't a problem for Elliot. If he could extract iron from the earth to form a nail, he could just as easily break that nail back down into its raw elemental form. 

Then, using a bit of force, he could directly infuse those iron elements into Mera's bloodstream.

Honestly, this was all just Elliot's personal theory. He didn't know for sure if vampires really just needed iron.

As the iron elements fused with his body, Mera felt that intense, gnawing desire for blood lessen significantly. 

Then, it faded into a complete sense of calm. 

Actually… maybe it was too much iron. The human body contained enough iron to make a 4-centimeter nail. The one Elliot had made was at least eight or nine centimeters long. Mera suddenly felt… full.

I'm stuffed! Holy crap!

"Thank you, my lord! I'm full," Mera said, feeling deeply grateful. 

This meant he wouldn't have to drink human blood anymore. Though, he still felt like something was missing. It was like getting nutrients through an IV drip it keeps you alive, but it's not as satisfying as eating a real steak and drinking soup. 

But at least an IV drip wouldn't kill you! He no longer needed to hunt for fresh human blood.

"Lord Elliot, I promise you, I will never drink human blood again!" Mera declared, placing a fist over his left breast in a solemn vow.

"No, that's not what I mean," Elliot shook his head. 

"Human blood… if you get the chance, you should still drink a little. After all, just absorbing raw iron is like eating compressed biscuits. It's not great for digestion."

"Huh?" The vampire was stunned by Elliot's words. He was completely surprised. This lord... he wasn't repulsed by him drinking blood?

"Drinking blood is a vampire's nature. If you can't resist, having a little now and then is fine. I just don't want you sneaking into villages every few days. Do it too often, and you'll get caught. Right now, you're still too weak."

"And if you find raw iron too unappetizing, you can always mix it with some fruit juice or wine. I'll see if I can develop some new flavors later."

Mera swallowed hard, his heart filled with emotion. As a vampire, he had always felt he was a vile creature. 

He could never fully accept this change in himself. If not for the young miss, he might have followed his master and lady into death. But he never expected that Lord Elliot wouldn't despise him for being a vampire at all.

"Yes, my lord!"

"Good." Elliot nodded, then took out a World Bubble. "This is a part of my power. Whether you accept it or not is up to you." 

This Mera, getting into a 50/50 fight with some unknown female adventurer… it was just pathetic! He couldn't stand to watch it anymore. Might as well give him a boost.

Mera's jaw dropped. A skill that could grant power to others... could it be [Ruler of Charity]? 

He remembered there was a Ruler ability that could bestow one's own skills upon others... 

But hadn't Lord Elliot said Ruler skills couldn't be used casually? To think Lord Elliot would go so far as to use a Ruler ability to help him... He would remember this debt of gratitude!

He accepted the World Bubble. There was no other choice. He needed power. Without power, forget protecting the young miss; he couldn't even protect himself. So, with almost no hesitation, he consumed the World Bubble. In that moment, it felt like he was reborn!

….

Meanwhile, hundreds of miles away in the Village of the Elves...

Ever since the mechanical avatar he sent was beaten by Elliot and then one-shotted by the Demon Lord, Potimas hadn't left his sanctuary. 

The Earth Dragon named Elliot... he possessed the n%1=W skill. Yes, that was the garbled code unique to reincarnators. 

Even a powerhouse like him, an Elf Patriarch, didn't possess such a skill. Now, Potimas was more certain than ever of his conviction.

Powerful reincarnators could not be allowed to remain unchecked. That Earth Dragon reincarnator had already become a threat to his position. 

Through his "daughter" Oka, Potimas knew that a total of 26 reincarnators had appeared in this world. If he couldn't control them, he had to destroy them. 

He knew very well that any reincarnator, if allowed to grow, would possess immense power, their potential far exceeding native creatures like himself. 

Twenty-six of them! And one was even an Earth Dragon! Recalling that dragon, who was strong enough to fight him, Potimas felt a constant sense of unease, like a thorn in his back.

Reincarnators possessed great power; each of them was a chosen one. Even if they started in the dust, they would eventually shine. 

This news could only be suppressed for a time, not forever. Eventually, the Human Pontiff, the Dragon Lord Gyuriedistodiez, and the Demon Lord Ariel would all find out about the reincarnators. By then, things would get very troublesome.

For this reason, Potimas, behind his daughter Oka's back, had been secretly assassinating some of the reincarnators. 

He did this because they posed a threat to him. One of them had the ability [Labyrinth Creation], able to create a domain-like existence with a wave of their hand. 

A reincarnator like that, if allowed to mature, would be a huge disaster. Potimas didn't even think twice; he simply eliminated that person.

As for that Earth Dragon named Elliot... all the other reincarnators were still infants. 

Why had this one grown so fast? Was it just because he was reincarnated as an Earth Dragon? 

Then he thought of that other reincarnator, the Vampire True Ancestor, whom the dragon had taken. 

If he allowed those two to grow, they would definitely become a major threat to the elf race in the future!

"Potimas, put the matter of the reincarnators aside for a moment. I have something more urgent for you to do!" At that moment, an old elf appeared before Potimas. 

This old elf was the Pontiff of the Divine Religion. 

In reality, besides the Word of God and the Goddess Religion, this world also had the elves' own Divine Religion. 

However, the Divine Religion was elf-supremacist, denigrating all other religions and races. Therefore, its influence was confined to the Village of the Elves.