Picking up Girls With My System

The task of filling the carriages with supply crates was not easy, and everyone involved was tired to the bones, but it was a way to get to ride along, which was what most were looking for.

Arthur was there, helping too, and even though he had a skinny body, his strength was not something to make fun of, especially among weaker mages or ordinary people.

There was a man beside Arthur, and when he saw how Arthur put the crates inside with ease, he said, "strong one, aren't you?"

Arthur was not feeling like talking to the man, so he just smiled and said a few words, cutting the conversation before it started. The man did not get sad about it, as it was common for adventurers not to mingle, and he was okay with it.

The merchant expected the men to take one hour to put all the crates inside the carriages, but with Arthur there, it took them thirty minutes! That made the merchant happy, and he knew who was behind such a decrease in time.

"Hey, you," the merchant said, yelling to Arthur, who went toward the man to hear what he had to say.

"You can go in that carriage over there," the merchant said, pointing to a specific carriage amidst many, "that one is the comfiest."

Arthur was happy to hear that, as he did not enjoy traveling in carriages, especially bad ones. He looked at the merchant and said, "thank you for this."

"Now, everyone, let's move!" the merchant yelled, ensuring everyone went to their designated spots as they left the city.

~~~~

Inside the carriage meant for Arthur, there was no one else, which was quite good. He never believed the merchant would give him that much of a perk just because he saved him thirty minutes.

"I will not complain about it and enjoy it instead," he thought.

Arthur spoke with the merchant beforehand, asking him about the cities they would pass, and there was one close to the vampire family's territory Arthur wanted to go. That was why he wanted to go with that convoy and not others who were also leaving the city.

"So boring. I should meditate and increase my power on the way! Reaching the third circle should be fine," thought Arthur as he sat cross-legged and meditated.

This time, he had to get the mana from the atmosphere and not from leveling up, which would make it slightly more complex. Still, Arthur had a powerful meditation technique from the Blood Monarch, an existence that surpassed the dragons, so reaching the third circle was not difficult.

Arthur could get stronger than that, too, if he wanted, but that would only make the vampires suspect him more. A vampire not attached to any family did not have the supplies one needed to reach higher ranks, like a decent meditation technique — most did not even have one — so Arthur could not go there being too powerful.

The third circle was an okay level. Even without a meditation technique, a vampire could obtain that level after feeding many times throughout the years, so it would not make them suspicious of him, which was what he wanted.

He started his meditation technique, following the chants he had inside his mind from the Blood Monarch's inheritance, and Arthur felt the difference in his body almost instantly.

Arthur was not even at the first circle, so after a round of meditation which took him six hours, he reached it! There were no signs the carriage would stop, so he kept going, adding up to twelve hours in total, reaching the peak of the first circle, almost the second.

But, after that much training, he needed to eat! Arthur was not scared of feeding on others, as he ate people when being a dragon many times, so getting some blood was not a big deal.

The carriages slowly stopped, and the merchant, who owned them, said, "everyone, we will camp out here for the day. No cities or villages are around, so we must camp!"

"Camping in the middle of the night, in a forest, this is the perfect chance for me to feed!" thought Arthur.

They had tents if they wished to, but all the people opted to sleep inside their carriages, as it was safer that way, and if someone tried to sneak up to steal their goodies, they would know.

Arthur was the one who had the advantage in that scenario, as he was alone in his carriage. "I can leave and look for opportunities. Surely someone will leave their carriage to get some fresh air, pee, or something like that!"

With that thought in mind, Arthur waited inside his carriage, focusing on hearing everything happening outside. It was quiet at first, but then he heard footsteps leaving the area where all the carriages were, going into the nearby forest just beside the road.

"My chance!" Arthur thought, putting on his dark hooded robe and following whoever was leaving the campsite.

"Huh?" the man said, turning around to see if something was following him.

"Am I getting scared of peeing in the forest?"

The man turned to face the tree, but before he could do anything, a shadow came from above him, putting a hand on his mouth and sinking its fangs on his neck.

Arthur did not hesitate to jump and bite the man on the neck, draining his blood. He had yet to learn a technique to mess with the minds of his victims, making them easier prey, as they would not scream and not remember the attack.

But, he still did not know these techniques, so he had to feed old-fashioned by putting the hand on the man's mouth so he would not scream and kill him in the process.

With Arthur's hunger, the man barely had time to fight, passing out in the first ten seconds and dying shortly after. Arthur did not feel bad for killing the man, as he killed others for way less, and now it was for feeding, making it even less painful.

There was nowhere to put the body, like a river, to make it drown, so Arthur just put it beneath some bushes and hoped the beasts would eat the rest of it during the night.

Then, he returned to his carriage, feeling more energetic and his hunger satiated.

"I thought the blood would taste like shit, but it is not bad."

Arthur was not sleepy, as vampires preferred to sleep from 6 am to 2 pm. So, he planned on continuing his meditation, but that would not happen as he wanted it.

~~~~

"Michael? Where are you?" a man yelled in the forest.

Michael was the man Arthur killed and was part of a mercenary group and was traveling with one of his friends, who went out to look for him after he did not show up.

The man knew how to track and knew Michael well, so he found him! Well, he found his corpse behind a bush with marks of fangs on his neck and visibly dry, as if there were no liquids inside.

Everyone knew vampires, and it was easy to tell when they attacked someone. So the man ran back to the camp and woke everyone with screams, "everyone, there's a vampire among us!"