The tall spires with a gothic feel, the fancy carriages, and the street lights... Claudia took in the sights as she stood in place.
Although she had seen it numerous times before now, it did nothing to change the awe she felt.
Kro Institute covered over 50% of the total land Krobridge was built on, making for quite a spectacular sight.
Numerous lecture halls alongside living quarters and even libraries, all of which were imposing.
The streets were currently filled with school staff and a few students who remained on school grounds.
Just like the underground college, the news about the Emperor’s birthday was already shared with their counterparts in Kro Institute, a day before to ensure they left before the cryptids from the college began to leave to avoid clashing in any way.
As Claudia stood in place, feeding her eyes with the scenery, she imagined how fun it would be, Vampires and Humans walking side by side.
Of course, she was well aware of how much of a dream that was.
She wasn’t naive enough to assume her fellow vampires saw humans in the same light as she did despite originating from them.
The relationship between vampires and humans was akin to that between predator and prey.
It was difficult to say that there could ever be a mutually beneficial relationship.
Letting out a sigh, Claudia walked down the street until she got to a junction.
There, a private carriage slowly moved, drawn by two brown horses with a friendly-looking gentleman at the helm.
Claudia hailed the gentleman and after tossing her luggage into the carriage, remarked. "Please take these to Hallewell Manor and inform the lady of the house that I will be coming over shortly."
"Ah, alright. That would be 100 Kobo."
"At this point, I’m both a delivery man and a driver." The man casually replied.
".... Ugh, fine." Claudia, albeit unwilling, pulled out a single note from her pocket and handed it over with the gentleman coach driver taking the money with an amiable smile.
With that, he went on his way, moving to the lower district to do as instructed.
Claudia watched him until he was out of sight before letting out a sigh.
"Now then... onto the next step."
The 11th Extension, just like the other extensions, was on high alert following the wipeout of the black market by the vampires.
It was terrifying news that was shared to ensure everyone was prepared for any eventualities.
In the last two days since the assault, demand for garlic, holy water, and wooden stakes had gone up by quite a lot.
If one was none the wiser, they’d think they were preparing for war.
It was in this atmosphere that Claudia walked into the extension.
Feeling apprehensive, her initial zest was gone, replaced with mild caution as she noticed the gazes of a few people watching her.
Gulping nervously, she made her way to the market.
Normally, for those staying within the city walls, there were two ways to buy goods.
Either by ordering for it to be delivered or going to the source.
Krobridge had no marketplace with most of its land dedicated to the Institute and the noble estates, there was hardly any space for such a structure.
Of course, they also considered that there was no need for it since the 12 Extensions all had marketplaces.
In any case, Claudia had left for the precise purpose of buying something for a certain someone from the black market so imagine her surprise upon finding out the black market no longer existed.
She was left confused, scared, and shocked.
’Is the disappearance of the black market connected to the faint hostility shown by the people?’ Claudia couldn’t help but wonder as she made her way out of the marketplace... or at least, she tried to.
"May I help you?" Claudia asked in a mellow tone.
A group of men that looked more like hooligans than respectable citizens had blocked her path with one in particular, holding a weapon.
The man scrutinized her for a bit before he asked. "Who are you?"
"That..." Claudia was left speechless for a moment.
"I asked, who are you?"
"... I’m a student... of Kro Institute."
The man scrutinized her further before gesturing for his men to surround her. "Most children studying in Kro Institute would not be here, especially not at this hour."
As he spoke, he made sure to emphasize the time as he gestured toward the night sky.
"Well, you see... I sneaked out of the house."
"Oh really?" The man raised a brow.
"Yes. I... my dad doesn’t like me leaving the house on my own but I had to because it’s my friend’s birthday soon and I wanted to get her a gift to celebrate."
"Hmm." The man furrowed his brows.
"Honestly, I wanted it to be a surprise."
The man nodded. "So why the black market?"
"Ahem..." Claudia let out an awkward cough as she leaned in slightly. "Don’t tell anyone but just between you and me... my friend is a big geek for the supernatural."
"So I thought I’d get her some cool supernatural stuff to work with," Claudia added with a friendly smile.
Her explanation made sense for the most part, causing the men surrounding her to drop their guards but hardly had they done so when their leader spoke up.
"Alright." Everything seemed to be going fine so Claudia wasn’t as tense as she was before, of course, nothing could have prepared her for what happened next.
"Where’s your identity card?"
"Your student identity card. All Kro Institute students have one. Where’s yours?"
"Well that... uhmm, I forgot to bring it with me but yeah... it’s not here." Claudia quickly explained only to pause as a certain thought came to mind.
’Identity card?... Arwen never mentioned Kro Institute students having one.’
Then it dawned on her... she was played.
"You fucking liar!" The man bellowed. "She’s a Cryptid!"
A deep sense of foreboding crept up Claudia’s spine as the man and his accomplices quickly pulled out weapons, ranging from stakes wrapped in garlic and dipped in holy water to shotguns.
Realizing the situation she was in, Claudia acted on impulse and exerted her will on the world.
It was something that she wasn’t supposed to do, after all, in the Accords, no Cryptid was allowed to use their powers in the Strongholds.
But what could she do?... If she didn’t, she’d die.