Chapter 9
[Kyaha. This is the life.]
Late at night, my now super-luxurious Studio Apartment is.
I was buried in my gaming chair, enjoying the AOS Game “League of Hunters” on my 4K monitor.
<You have slain an enemy!>
With better equipment, I felt like I was playing the game better too.
When I had a brief moment, I took a bite of my snack.
Today’s late-night snack was fresh seonji Katarina had procured that day and was jiggling like pudding.
Om nom nom.
How is it so sweet and savory?
[Haa~ This is great.]
Top-tier equipment, a pleasant breeze from the air conditioner, and even a delicious snack.
This is happiness!
This is se…!
Hmm, I feel like I shouldn’t say that with this body.
Anyway, it was just that good.
I wouldn’t have any regrets even if I died right now.
It was then.
Whoosh-
The window opened, and a sudden gust of wind blew in.
[Huh?]
The moment I sensed something strange, I turned my head.
Swish!
Five pitch-black shadows had already entered the room and were flying toward me.
[Heuaaak…?!]
It was a sudden surprise attack in the dead of night.
No, I said I wouldn’t have any regrets if I died, but that was just a passing thought!
The figures wearing pitch-black masks, daggers in hand, were rushing toward me.
It was a distance that was absolutely impossible to dodge, and a speed that my pathetic Dynamic Visual Acuity couldn’t even track.
But it was before I could even let out a scream.
Katarina, who had approached my side at some point, opened her palm.
“Blood Art. [Blood Binding].”
Chwarreureuk-!!
The bright red blood that spewed from her hand transformed into a thick rope.
The blood-red rope cleaved through the air like a living snake, tightly binding the limbs of the five people rushing toward me like beasts being tied up.
“Eup?!”
“Keueuk!”
Crack! Crunch!
Just one second.
Along with the gruesome sound of bones breaking, the five assassins who had been suspended in the air plummeted mercilessly to the floor.
Thud-!
The blood rope even dug into their mouths, gagging them tightly.
They were completely subdued in a single move, unable to even let out a scream.
[Crazy.]
Frozen in my chair, I looked down at the guys sprawled on the floor.
Because of Exalted Dignity, there was no outward change in my expression, but my heart was pounding immensely.
[What’s with these guys? Are they sent by Black Cow? How the Hell did they find out and come all the way here?!]
Goosebumps erupted down my spine.
If Katarina hadn’t been next to me just now, wouldn’t my head have flown off in a single strike without my even knowing why?
Was I careless because I was intoxicated by peace?
I had forgotten that my main body was incredibly weak and could die at any moment.
I was reminded that my precious happiness right now could be snatched away in an instant.
[For the time being, I absolutely have to stick to Katarina’s side like gum…!]
Just as I was making that firm resolve.
Thud.
Katarina Knelt on one knee at my feet and bowed her head deeply.
“…I have committed a crime worthy of death, Master.”
Her voice was laced with deep self-reproach.
“Due to my shortcomings, I could not completely shake off the pursuit and brought such filthy bugs into your Noble Domain. Please punish me.”
[No. You saved my life instead, so what punishment? I’m not hurt anywhere and I’m completely fine.]
I was sincerely grateful to Katarina.
But Katarina squeezed her eyes shut and pointed at my monitor with an expression as if she were about to shed tears of blood.
“Furthermore, more than that…!”
Katarina’s shoulders trembled.
“Because of the interference of those bugs… Master’s avatar… Keuheuk!”
Ah.
My gaze turned to the monitor.
The monitor had turned into a black-and-white screen.
My badger character had been diligently spitting poison darts and applying pressure in the Top Lane just a moment ago.
Because I took my hands off the keyboard due to the sudden surprise attack, the little guy died a heroic death.
[…]
Was it because I grumbled a few times when I died in the game?
It seemed Katarina treated an in-game death as a serious tragedy on par with an assassination attempt.
It was absurd, but on the other hand, it was a little funny, so my tension eased.
I let out a fake cough and roughly smoothed things over.
“Ahem. This is merely a game, so pay it no mind. This body does not have a single Scratch, so it is fine.”
“Ah, this creature is simply moved to tears by Master’s endless mercy…!”
Overcome with emotion, Katarina bowed her forehead to the floor again.
Anyway.
I glanced down at the Assassin bastards wriggling while tied up on the floor.
I had to check what kind of guys they were.
Just then, a translucent System Window popped up in the corner of my vision.
[You can use the Skill “Appraisal Eye (A)”.]
[Ah, right. I had this Skill!]
I obtained the Skill as a Clear Reward for the 1st Floor on Nightmare Difficulty.
When I looked it up on Heon-gael, Heon-gael said it was a very rare and excellent Skill that allowed you to view information regardless of whether the target was animate or inanimate.
[Let’s give it a try.]
I had Katarina take off their masks, revealing that four were men and one was a woman.
I used Appraisal Eye and stared at the four fallen men one by one.
Then, Hologram-like information windows unfurled above their heads.
Not only was there basic information like their names, levels, and stats.
[Status: Intense Malice, Terrible Pain, Bewilderment]
[Peculiarity: It has a history of torturing and murdering hundreds of civilians and Awakeners. Its brain structure is optimized for murder.]
[Current Thoughts: “Keuaaak! These fucking bastards, once I get loose, I’ll tear their limbs apart and kill them!']
[Ew.]
I clicked my tongue.
Enabling one to read everything down to one’s inner thoughts and peculiarities, the Appraisal Eye Skill is completely Overpowered.
Anyway, look at that massive murder history and the state of their inner thoughts.
They were truly irredeemable pieces of trash.
But
Below that, there was one more item like this.
[Blood Fiend Potential: F]
[Huh?]
What is this.
Does it literally mean their potential when they are turned into a Vampire?
[Blood Fiend Potential: F]
[Blood Fiend Potential: E]
[Blood Fiend Potential: D-]
[Blood Fiend Potential: E+]
Anyway, every single one of these potentials was trash too.
At this point, calling them trash would be an insult to trash, wouldn’t it?
I reached a conclusion.
I opened my mouth and spoke with a cold voice.
“They are trash not even worth keeping alive. Clean them up.”
“As you command.”
Simultaneously with Katarina’s reply, the blood ropes binding the men transformed into sharp thorns.
Stab, squelch-!
Without even a moment to resist, the bodies of the four men were pierced through, turning them into hedgehogs.
Thud.
The bastards collapsed to the floor.
Perhaps because Katarina controlled the blood precisely, not a single drop of blood leaked onto the floor, making it very clean.
It was my first time witnessing a murder, but maybe because the victims were such human scum, I didn’t particularly feel any guilt.
My impression was just that it was disgusting, like catching a bug.
Now, only one person remained.
The sole female among the five-person Assassination Squad was just the slender girl with short black hair.
She too had her limbs bound by the blood ropes, dripping dark red blood from between her lips.
I used Appraisal Eye on her as well.
However, the contents of the information window that popped up were completely different from the previous ones.
[Status Effect: Afflicted by an A+ Rank Brainwashing Curse (lasting for 10 years)]
[A Brainwashing Curse? For 10 years?]
[Blood Fiend Potential: S]
[Oh? Her potential is S?]
And the thing that drew my attention the most was her inner thoughts.
[Current Thoughts: “Please… just kill me. Make me stop doing these terrible things…”]
[…]
Her body was still wriggling to attack me, perhaps due to the Brainwashing.
But from her empty, cloudy eyes, transparent tears were streaming down.
[Haa. It’s despicable that she tried to kill me, but her story is a bit pitiful.]
Judging by the Appraisal Eye, this girl had probably been living as a puppet Assassin for a Dark Guild after being afflicted by a Brainwashing Curse.
On top of that, her potential was a whopping S-Rank.
Not even A-Rank, but S-Rank.
She was a top-tier talent who was far too precious to just kill off.
[I was in need of more Retainers besides Katarina anyway.]
Isn’t there some way to break that Brainwashing?
As I pondered, the other Unique Skills possessed by my class, “Lord of Blood”, flashed through my mind.
I quickly summoned my status window and carefully read the Skill Description once more.
[Vampirism]: Drink the target’s blood to absorb life Force and Blood Power Value.
[Embrace]: Bestow Great Blood upon a target whose Vampirism is 100% complete. The target’s race will mutate into a “Blood Fiend”, and they will become your Retainer. (Upon Embrace, all existing harmful Status Effects on the target will disappear.)
-Cooldown: 30 days
-Consumes 50 Blood Power Value
[This is it!]
Cleansing harmful Status Effects.
A Brainwashing Curse is also a Status Effect.
In other words, if I turn her into a Vampire through Embrace, I can erase that Brainwashing too.
Thanks to my eating my fill of raw meat and fresh seonji, my Blood Power Value was also completely full at 100.
I slowly rose from my chair.
And looking down at the girl panting while bound on the floor, I lifted my chin with boundless arrogance.
“You want me to kill you? Hmph. Do you still mistakenly believe that your life belongs to you?”
“…”
“From now on, your pathetic life belongs to this True Ancestor.”
After making that cool declaration, I approached her on the floor, lowered my knees, and buried my face in the girl’s slender nape.
Chomp.
Then, I bared my slightly protruding fangs and lightly bit into her white skin.
This is how you use the Vampirism Skill.
I had never used it before, but I knew instinctively.
The girl’s body flinched slightly.
[Using the Skill 'Vampirism'.]
Sluuurp -
I sucked and drank the girl’s blood.
The taste was surprisingly… the taste of sweet strawberry milk.
[Mmm. So this is what Ms. Assassin tastes like.]
I made a lame joke in my head while eagerly gulping down the blood.
The girl’s body trembled as the focus in her eyes completely blurred.
The split second right before her life was about to be extinguished.
[Vampirism: 100%]
[Now!]
I lightly bit my tongue, causing a single drop of blood to form.
[Using the Skill 'Embrace'.]
[Consuming 50 Blood Power.]
The drop of blood that fell from my mouth seeped through the gap in the girl’s parted lips.
It was at that moment.
Her eyes widened, and she seemed to stiffen for a moment.
Flop - !
She abruptly slammed her head onto the floor and collapsed.
[Ehh?]
I-Is she dead?
I stared at that sight with slight anxiety.
However,
How much time had passed?
“Nngh…”
The girl, who had collapsed as if dead, slowly opened her eyes.
Her black eyes, which had lost their light and were cloudy, had now changed into clear, beautiful red eyes like mine.
And the deep hostility from earlier had disappeared, her attitude turning submissive.
“…!!”
Seeing that, Katarina was startled.
“Katarina. Release her bindings now.”
I watched the sight with satisfaction and ordered her.
“Huh…? My head… my head doesn’t hurt…? I can move my body… however I want…?”
As the bindings were released, the girl mumbled like that, moving her body this way and that and touching herself for a moment.
She looked like someone who had just been born.
Then, she made eye contact with me.
I smiled as leisurely as possible and spoke.
“Fufu, how does it feel to be reborn as this body’s Retainer?”
“Ah… Aah…”
The girl trembled and prostrated herself before me.
“You are the one who has given me life and freedom for the first time.”
Then, shedding tears, she crawled across the floor and gently kissed my small bare foot.
“I will serve you as my Master for the rest of my life…”