Chapter 60
“Mmm. Truly fitting for my Retainer.”
I looked at the screen and nodded in satisfaction.
At first, when Sera was getting pierced by thorns and all, I was a little worried.
Even though I had coached her to fight like that, this was a real battle, not training.
However,
All of that was part of the [Blood Fiend Swordsmanship].
Sera overwhelmed the opposing Vampire without any difficulty.
Fighting while absorbing life Force, she felt like she was getting stronger as time passed.
“It really pays off to hand her an S-rank Item.”
- Haaah!
Chwaaak!
Finally, she released the blood energy she had accumulated so far.
Sera splendidly sliced the enemy in half.
“Good, well done Sera!”
I cheered in delight.
But then, the next moment.
As blood poured into the air like a fountain, I couldn’t help but freak out.
It wasn’t particularly because the scene was grotesque.
“No!! My meal!!!”
It was because my precious experience points were being scattered on the ground.
What a waste…!
Fortunately, Sera seemed to realize it too, as she sheathed her sword and immediately scurried over to the corpse.
Then she fumbled around and pulled a Vacuum Blood Collection Tube out of her clothes.
It was a Monster Vacuum Blood Collection Kit purchased from the Hunter-Exclusive Shop.
It was specially treated to preserve the collected blood in optimal condition so it wouldn’t coagulate or spoil.
Of course, the other Retainers could easily collect blood by manipulating it without needing such tools.
Katarina was a given, and Si-Yeon had also gained basic blood manipulation abilities after I unlocked the Blood Art [Blood Bullet] for her.
Riri didn’t have a Blood Art, but the Mystery [Blood Blacksmith] she possessed was itself an authority for handling blood.
But Sera had absolutely no skills in that area, so she had no choice but to use such an analog method.
Kneeling down while wearing a cute Rabbit Mask,
Sera was quietly and diligently drawing blood bit by bit with a large syringe.
She looked exactly like a blood donation nurse.
That sight was admirable but also a little pitiful.
“I should Unlock a Blood Art for Sera next time too.”
Since the blood collection efficiency would be much better that way.
At that moment.
Sera’s gaze turned toward the man who was sitting on the ground with a blank expression.
I used [Appraisal Eye] on him.
[Name: Choi Min-Seok]
[Class: Sword Master of Wind (A)]
[Level: 62]
“Oh, his level is high.”
His level itself was higher than Sera’s.
Plus, his class was an A-rank.
Then he should be about an A-rank Hunter, yet Sera had caught a monster that even someone like him struggled with, entirely on her own power without the [Book of the Dead] buff.
As expected of a Retainer with S-rank Potential.
Anyway.
“Should I silence that Hunter and tell him not to let anyone outside know?”
I briefly considered covering up the incident, but soon shook my head.
It wasn’t like she did anything bad, and she had saved a person, so even if it became known that my Retainer did this, it wouldn’t be a bad thing.
Rather, she might be given a good image as a Vampire Hunter who hunts vampires.
Mhm. A Vampire Hunter who is a real Vampire catching vampires, so to speak.
* * *
Choi Min-Seok stared blankly at the Rabbit Mask girl.
She seemed to stare down at him for a moment, then soon withdrew her gaze.
Then she took some sort of tool out of her clothes, approached the dead Vampire’s corpse, and calmly began to collect its blood.
'She’s drawing blood…?'
Choi Min-Seok could only watch that bizarre sight without even making a sound of breathing.
“Just who is she? There was a powerhouse like that in Seoul?”
He was a High-ranking A-class Hunter in name and reality.
He roughly knew the faces and combat styles of most top-tier A-rank and S-rank Hunters.
Even if he wasn’t personally acquainted with all of them, being in the industry meant he would naturally come to know their names.
But he had never seen someone like her in his life.
“She seems to be at least a top-tier A-rank to S-rank…”
Moreover
'Her body… doesn’t show any signs of pain at all.'
He had clearly seen her take fatal wounds multiple times during the battle.
But for whatever reason, the girl was moving around perfectly fine.
What was her identity?
Unable to hold back, he carefully activated his [Appraisal Eye] Skill.
Ding!
[Appraisal has been blocked.]
However, a red Message Window popped up and blocked the Skill.
“She even has Appraisal Block.”
It was when Choi Min-Seok was inwardly clicking his tongue.
The rabbit girl, having finished all her blood collection work, stood up and glanced in his direction once more.
Choi Min-Seok’s body stiffened without him realizing it.
He instinctively tensed up, wondering if she might target him as well.
But without any particular words or actions, the girl swiftly slipped into the darkness and disappeared in an instant.
“…”
The empty back alley.
“Hah…”
Left alone, Choi Min-Seok let out a hollow chuckle.
It felt like he had dreamt a midsummer night’s dream.
Only the Vampire’s corpse, sprawled on the ground, cut in half, told him that what he had seen earlier wasn’t a hallucination.
“…This is totally trending post material.”
His mouth was itching to share this unrealistic event with someone right away.
But he couldn’t post it on the Hunter Gallery due to the Association’s guidelines to hide information related to vampires.
He hurriedly brought up a System Window in the air and logged into the Climber Community, where Top-tier Awakeners from all over the World gathered.
* * *
[Title: Just met someone like a Vampire Hunter? in Seoul (Warning: Graphic Image)]
Poster: Anonymous
(Photo of a Vampire sliced in half)
I’m a Korean A-rank Hunter.
I met a crazy strong Vampire and almost died, but some girl wearing a Rabbit Mask showed up and saved me.
She was holding a red sword and sliced the Vampire in a single hit. Damn.
She recovered instantly even after taking fatal wounds, and appraisal didn’t work on her either. What kind of class is she?
And after it was all over, she drew blood with a syringe.
I’m seriously so curious about what kind of person she is.
- What is this, a hidden expert?
- There’s a Vampire Hunter in Korea?
- Rabbit Mask, damn. Kinda scary.
- Crazy! Look at how clean the corpse’s cross-section is. She definitely seems like an expert.
- But why did she draw blood? Was she farming materials for weapons or potions?
ㄴ Could Vampire blood be used for things like that? Fascinating.
'Looks like it’s that person from earlier.'
I chuckled as I looked at the piping hot post that had just been uploaded to the Climber Community.
The comment reactions weren’t bad either.
I immediately contacted Sera.
“Good work, Sera. It was a splendid performance fitting for my Retainer.”
At my praise, Sera’s trembling voice came through.
- …Th-Thank you, Master! But is that person from earlier okay…?
Even in the midst of this, Sera was looking out for others kindly.
No wonder she kept glancing at the man; she must have been secretly worried.
'Well, seeing as he even uploaded a proof photo to the Community and is checking comments, he seems perfectly fine, so she doesn’t need to worry.'
I laughed inwardly and replied in a dignified voice.
“That human is safe, so you need not pay it any mind. Now, return to the Territory.”
- Yes…! Understood!
Not long after, Sera returned safely.
“Master. I have subdued the enemy and harvested their blood.”
The Vacuum Blood Collection Tube she carefully handed over was filled with dark red blood.
I immediately checked the condition of the blood through [Appraisal Eye].
[Mid-grade Blood]
'Oh, it’s Mid-grade Blood.'
As expected of a High-tier Monster that made even an A-rank Hunter struggle, the Blood Grade was also excellent.
Even if I drank it right now, I would gain experience points.
But as I fiddled with the blood collection tube, I soon changed my mind.
'No. It’s a bit of a waste to just drink it.'
Rather than consuming this blood right away, it was much more beneficial to put it in the newly installed [Oak Blood Barrel] and age it.
Since letting it sit would apply a pretty sweet buff.
I put the blood collection tube away and patted Sera, telling her to rest.
After that, I continued to check the vision of the other Retainers, but unfortunately, none of the others encountered another Vampire today.
“Sera was just lucky.”
But, thinking about it the other way around,
The fact that even one of them could immediately encounter a Vampire as soon as I let them loose was a problem in itself.
It definitely meant that this situation was spreading seriously.
“Mr. Association President, your head must be hurting quite a bit these days.”
Well, I’m also affiliated with the Association in my own way.
To show some patriotism and grab some experience points while I’m at it, let’s keep farming like this!
And so, I continued to send out my Retainers every night after that, carrying on the Vampire cleanup of Seoul.
* * *
Republic of Korea Hunter Association.
“Unidentified powerhouses wearing masks are continuously subduing the Vampires in Seoul, huh…”
Association President Kim Tae-Seong fell into deep thought as he looked at the report placed on his desk.
The report recorded incidents that had occurred all over Seoul over the past few days.
According to the circumstances revealed by witness statements and CCTVs,
Unidentified powerhouses wearing various animal masks such as wolves, puppies, cats, and rabbits appeared, killed Vampires, and retrieved their blood.
Vampires and animal masks.
The moment he heard those two keywords.
A single Scenario was naturally being drawn in his mind.
“…Has the True Ancestor started hunting other Vampires?”