Norton sat on the stone he had moved in from outside some time ago.
The crude environment of this place naturally prevented him from building his preferred decorations or furniture like before, which diminished his sense of refined living.
However, the more crude it was, the more beneficial it was for his seclusion.
Norton felt the power within his body.
Nearly three years had passed since he first started drinking blood. Compared to the beginning, Norton could genuinely feel the increase in his physical strength.
This power comparison wasn't too significant - by Norton's estimation, his current strength should be greater than a werewolf's, but still not reaching the level of those two Golden Saints.
Simultaneously, his adaptability to sunlight seemed to be decreasing proportionally. Before evolving to his current dried bark stage, standing completely naked under sunlight only caused needle-like pain. Now, standing naked under the sun felt much worse than before, and his eyes could no longer directly look at sunlight.
Norton didn't know whether further evolution would make him completely unable to stand under sunlight.
Yet the intensity of his strength increase seemed somewhat related to whose blood he drank.
For example, drinking rabbit blood had brought far fewer benefits than deer blood, and drinking deer blood provided much less strength increase than drinking werewolf blood. Currently, the greatest strength boost came from drinking the blood of those two Golden Saints.Norton somewhat coveted their blood, yet he also wanted to lie low and evolve slowly. This contradictory mindset made him think about it several times almost every day, only to reject the idea again.
It was truly a typical case of the left brain arguing with the right brain.
A faint musty smell spread through the attic, making Norton stop breathing to stay alert to surrounding scents, his gaze turning toward the source of the mildew.
In the corner of the attic sat a small pile of moldy pastries.
These pastries looked like there were at least twenty or thirty pieces.
Indeed, these were all given to Norton by that damned little boy named Carl on the street. The boy stuck to him like plaster, treating Norton as some emotionless tree hole machine to use at will.
Almost every few days, he would pour out his damned grievances and share his lovestruck insights!
Norton felt he might as well deliver that damned Jennifer to his bed in the middle of the night and suck that damned Henry dry!
As for these pastries, he hadn't thrown them back on the roadside but had picked them up and piled them in this corner.
Time flowed slowly, and in the blink of an eye, two years had passed.
Norton had become increasingly familiar with Rino City.
He had spent twenty years in Holy Lord City and the Holy Church, but never felt the slightest sense of belonging. Yet after just two years in Rino City, he already had some traces of his existence here.
This wasn't about body odor lingering in the air, but rather the marks of human life.
Like familiar people, familiar streets... though these things were simple, they formed the lines that composed life.
On the familiar street, Norton wearing cloth clothes still sat in his usual spot.
Honestly, after two years, his observation of Rino City's church was basically complete, but he had grown accustomed to sitting here daily.
The coming and going crowds around him were all familiar, and this sense of security and belonging from living in a familiar environment made him somewhat reluctant to leave this place.
"Mr. Norton, Jennifer is really annoying now. I actually prefer Mary more. Can I stop being with Jennifer and be with Mary instead!" That little brat Carl had achieved some growth over these two years.
The growth speed of human young made Norton feel somewhat envious watching it.
If he, as a vampire, could have that kind of growth speed, why would he need to hide away in Rino City? Wouldn't he have been able to go back and cause trouble for Mia long ago?
Thinking of Father Mia filled Norton with motivation.
Over these years, he had conceived countless ways to torture Father Mia! Like skewering him with a stick and roasting him over fire, or piercing through his eye sockets with steel needles, hanging him on a stake with feet barely touching ground, making him unable to die yet unable to move - every movement bringing bone-piercing pain, leaving him unable to seek life or death!
Norton felt his psychology had become somewhat twisted.
But then he became angered by Carl's idea.
"Foolish! Why can't you have both?" Norton's hoarse voice sounded like fingers scraping glass, making people's hearts shudder uncomfortably.
But Carl had grown accustomed to this voice, or rather, he had come to regard it as gospel truth.
A year ago, when Norton first spoke, he had startled Carl.
Though Norton's voice was raspy, every word he spoke made Carl feel suddenly enlightened. From then on, Norton was no longer just a tree hole for confiding but a mentor on life's path.
Now this mentor had given him the most crucial advice on life's journey.
"This is absolutely brilliant! Mr. Norton. Why do you always possess such wisdom?" Carl's eyes shone brightly, filled with excitement.
Mr. Norton's words always struck directly at his heart, making it impossible not to believe.
His thinking had been thoroughly corrupted by Norton over these two years, and this wealthy family's child might grow into a complete degenerate in the future.
"This is talent." Norton's words remained as brief as ever. Compared to discussing these childish problems with the boy named Carl, he preferred obtaining other information from him.
The amount of information these children from wealthy and powerful families could access far exceeded what ordinary poor people could obtain, and its accuracy was more reliable.
Norton had begun consciously guiding Carl to gather information from his family a year ago, and now he used this method with great ease.
"Any recent news?"
Carl snapped out of his already filthy fantasies. Hearing Norton's question, he immediately became proud.
"Mr. Norton, I've learned quite a lot recently! Let me think."
This was the best thing about manipulating children - they would painstakingly collect everything you wanted for praise and to showcase their abilities. Though children from powerful families like Carl were more cautious and thoughtful, they might still share information that didn't involve secrets.
But for someone like Norton, even information not involving secrets wasn't easily obtainable, as it required enormous manpower and resources to compile.
"Well, my father said His Holiness the Pope seems very dissatisfied with the Holy Eye's work results recently. He estimates the church will take major action soon. But I don't know what action."
"Also, the church recently secretly obtained some new thing, but even my father doesn't know what it is. Though I heard it came from Holy Lord City."
"I also heard my father say His Holiness the Pope seems to want to consolidate power, but I think that's probably impossible. Bishop Doxia and other bishops wouldn't agree. Although His Holiness the Pope holds supreme status, his control over local areas is still too weak."
Though young, Carl's perspective from being born into a wealthy family far exceeded that of the poor. The reason he told Norton these things was partly to show off, but also because these messages weren't important secrets involving confidentiality.
If his life mentor wanted to hear, he'd just tell him.