Chapter 110
Cheon Ryuryeon, the shop attendant at Unrae Inn, was a young man who had only just turned twenty-one.
Though he was called a shop attendant, he had worked at the inn for several years and earned the innkeeper’s favor, effectively taking on all the duties of the establishment’s deputy manager.
But today, he found himself welcoming some extraordinary guests.
A young lady in luxurious clothing, with beautiful white hair, accompanied by people who looked like her attendants.
A prominent, perfectly shaped nose.
Snow-white skin.
Eyes red as rubies.
Small, bright-red lips like poppy blossoms.
They possessed a noble air that made them seem not of this world.
He had found himself staring blankly at them for quite some time.
‘No. Why would such distinguished people come to an inn this shabby?’
What was more, they had declined a seat blessed with sunlight and deliberately gone to a dark corner,
ordered cheap dumplings and thin noodles, and even asked for the garlic to be removed.
They were peculiar guests who made requests that were difficult to understand.
But then, some martial artists barged in and began hitting on them.
‘Oh no. Black Path bastards…!’
Cold sweat ran down Cheon Ryuryeon’s back.
Since the guests also seemed to be distinguished people, he had tried his best to get through the situation without incident.
But he could hardly openly stop martial artists—especially unorthodox martial artists.
It was while he was awkwardly fidgeting helplessly behind them.
An unbelievable thing happened in an instant.
The head of the martial artist grinning foolishly at the front burst open, and then a flying chopstick pierced another man’s eyes before snapping his neck.
‘G-good heavens…!’
These people were martial artists.
More precisely, they were extraordinarily powerful female masters.
From Cheon Ryuryeon’s viewpoint as he lay facedown on the floor, he saw the silver-haired young lady sitting with her legs crossed, her mouth hidden behind a black folding fan.
She quietly whispered.
“Shh. Do not make a disturbance while I am eating.”
‘……!’
He was briefly dazed by her cruel yet noble appearance.
“P-please, spare my life—”
Even the last remaining martial artist, who had squatted on the floor and wet himself, had his head cleanly severed by the yellow-haired attendant.
Naturally, he would be killed next if things continued like this.
‘Think. Think, Cheon Ryuryeon…!’
Cheon Ryuryeon trembled as he desperately racked his brains.
At that moment, frightening rumors about the murim that he had overheard from customers while working as a shop attendant flashed through his mind.
It was a story he had heard two martial artists discuss when they visited the inn about a year ago.
They said that long ago, there had been something called the Blood Cult, a group that practiced sinister martial arts involving blood and had no compunctions about killing people.
And the leader of that group had been known by the sobriquet Blood Demon.
They said the Blood Demon was an immortal monster with red eyes and snow-white hair who would never grow old.
But the frightening thing was that the Blood Demon had merely vanished, and there was no clear record anywhere of the Blood Demon having been defeated.
Cheon Ryuryeon summoned his wits and shouted loudly.
“C-could you perhaps be members of the Blood Cult?”
Then.
“……”
The young lady, still hiding her lower face behind the fan, looked at him with an intrigued gaze.
***
Thank heavens Riri had made me that fan.
‘Ugh. I ate so clumsily that I let blood spill all over my mouth.’
Perhaps it was because I had a child’s body, but sometimes when I drank something from a cup, I ended up spilling it like this.
Wipe, wipe.
‘It isn’t coming off very well.’
After pretending to be cool by throwing out a vaguely stylish line, I was covering my face with the fan and diligently wiping the blood from around my mouth with the back of my hand.
But then.
“C-could you perhaps be members of the Blood Cult?”
The shop attendant, who had been lying facedown on the floor, suddenly blurted out something completely unexpected.
Blood Cult?
I tilted my head and recalled the martial-arts knowledge I had studied.
In wuxia web novels, the Demonic Cult is sometimes portrayed as a faction with a tragic backstory.
But the Blood Cult is portrayed as an utterly evil villain in every single one.
A blood-crazed villainous faction that murders without a second thought and does not hesitate even at human sacrifice.
‘How can you treat me like some Blood Cult member?! I’m a good vampire.’
Besides, according to Solo Warrior’s strategy guide, I knew that the Blood Cult was not even specifically mentioned in this world’s setting.
But it was precisely then.
[You have discovered a hidden objective!]
[3. Blood Path (血道): Rebuild the forgotten Blood Cult and etch your faction into the murim.]
‘Huh…?’
I stared blankly at the system window floating before my eyes.
A hidden route?
A hidden path to build an entirely new faction, rather than following the existing Righteous or Demonic Cult routes?
‘Wait a second. Doesn’t this mean I can surpass the Heavenly Demon’s record?’
The Chinese Heavenly Demon had earned 99 points by following the prescribed path.
But what if I revived a faction hidden within this world’s setting itself?
‘This has potential.’
More importantly, as someone who had been a dark gamer, I simply could not resist a hidden route like this.
As I stood still for a moment, thinking, the shop attendant hurriedly continued.
“This humble one has long listened to the great legends of the Blood Cult and deeply respected and admired them!”
He looked at me with sparkling eyes, as if he were looking at a celebrity.
[Status: Groveling and flattering desperately in an effort to survive.]
‘…….’
His performance was so excellent that, if I had not been able to read his thoughts, I might have believed him.
“Furthermore, those red eyes and snow-white hair. That dignified bearing as you command blood. Could you possibly be the famous Blood Demon?”
‘Blood Demon? I’m not the Blood Demon.’
I opened my mouth to answer that he was obviously mistaken.
“Hmm…. Blood Demon. Well, I suppose one could say that?”
‘Eek?!’
I was horrified by the words that had just come out of my own mouth.
‘That damn [Noble Demeanor] trait is acting on its own again!’
No, this was the trait that had even prevented me from hiding the fact that I was a vampire because it considered that an affront to my pride—so why was it lying now?
Thinking it over, it seemed similar to how it had arbitrarily named me “True Ancestor” when I had set my nickname before.
It seemed to have judged the title “Blood Demon” to be a cool-sounding phrase.
As proof, I had unconsciously folded my arms and puffed out my shoulders.
‘Sigh.’
I could excuse impersonating the Blood Cult as being for the sake of the quest, but I had suddenly ended up impersonating the Blood Demon as well.
I didn’t know anymore. Let whatever happened happen.
I folded the fan and sighed.
“Oh! So you are the great Blood Demon! This humble one was blind and failed to recognize the Supreme One!”
The shop attendant started going on with insincere praise of the Blood Cult, so I raised a hand to stop him.
“Rest assured. This body does not harm innocent humans.”
“Ah…. Th-thank you.”
Only then did the shop attendant let out a sigh of relief.
At least the immediate crisis had been averted.
‘By the way, why did those men increase my Blood Power earlier?’
Could it be that everyone in this sixth-floor world increased my maximum Blood Power when I drank their blood?
‘Hmm….’
Surreptitiously.
I activated [Insightful Eye] on the shop attendant lying facedown on the floor.
……I’m only checking once. Just checking.
[Name: Cheon Ryuryeon]
[Level: 10]
[Age: 21]
[Traits: Quick-Witted, Silver-Tongued, Dexterous]
[Special Note: He is quick-witted and eloquent.]
[Vampire Potential: D]
However, the shop attendant’s information did not contain the line about increased Blood Power upon drinking blood that had appeared for the Unorthodox Alliance martial artists earlier.
‘Apparently, drinking just any blood doesn’t increase it.’
There seemed to be some special condition required for increasing Blood Power.
I would have to investigate this further.
Anyway, leaving that aside.
‘Rebuild the Blood Cult and etch your faction into the murim?’
I fell into deep thought as I looked at the newly appeared quest window.
It was rather vague.
In truth, the other objectives were just as vague, telling me to earn recognition from the Nine Sects and One Gang or make contact with the Demonic Cult.
‘Solo Warrior’s strategy guide had laid out exactly what to do, step by step, but there isn’t any information at all for this one.’
Hmm… Still, if I had to make a guess.
The key lay in two things: “rebuilding the Blood Cult” and “etching my faction into the murim.”
Then, what would I need for it to qualify as a proper Blood Cult?
‘I’d need to gather people, establish a headquarters, and put up a convincing signboard, wouldn’t I?’
As for etching my faction into the murim, surely I simply needed to stir things up throughout the murim and spread my infamy—or rather, my name—far and wide.
‘Hmm. But where am I supposed to find a headquarters and people right away?’
As I looked around in dismay.
The interior of the inn caught my eye.
Though it looked old and shabby from the outside, the interior was fairly spacious and clean, and it even had rooms upstairs for lodging. It was perfect for use as a base.
Then I noticed Cheon Ryuryeon, the shop attendant, still kneeling at my feet and anxiously watching my reaction.
‘He has a neat appearance, and his status window says he’s quick-witted and eloquent. Besides, he must know the inn business inside out, right?’
Wouldn’t he be a fairly useful resource for a first recruit?
“Boy.”
I looked down intently at Cheon Ryuryeon, who was lying facedown on the floor.
“Would you like to join the Blood Cult?”