Chapter 80
[Alright. Then I should enhance Dark now.]
I made up my mind to bestow the Tier 2 Grace upon Dark.
[System Window.]
First, I opened the System Window for the first time in a while to grasp the current situation.
[Name: Yu-Jin]
[Class: Lord of Blood]
[Level: 41]
[Stats]
Strength: 3
Agility: 5
Stamina: 3
Attack Power: 0 / Ability Power: 1
Defense: 0 / Magic Resistance: 0
Blood Power: 205
Essence of Blood: 45
Unallocated Stat Points: 18
[Owned Skills]
Exalted Dignity, Summon Retainer, Vampirism, Embrace, Appraisal Eye, Sight Sharing (Enhanced), Blood’s Grace, Jinjo’s Domain, Gate of Darkness
My stats were still still garbage, but my Skill list had become quite reassuring.
I invested all 18 Unallocated Stat Points I had gathered from leveling up so far into Blood Power.
[Using 18 points, Blood Power has become 223!]
[Current Essence of Blood: 45 → 63]
The price of the Tier 2 Grace was 30 Essence of Blood.
It was a pretty large expense that blew away nearly half of my current balance, but I still thought it was well worth the investment.
Making a big decision, I even purchased [Mystery: Rapid Growth]!
[30 Essence of Blood is consumed.]
[The Grace “Rapid Growth” is bestowed upon the retainer Dark.]
Flash - !
With that, a red light swirled around Dark’s body once.
But Dark paid it no mind and continued its vigorous ox blood feast.
“Kreung!”
[…]
Dark. I bestowed a Grace upon you, so how can you not care even a little bit?
You’re really serious about eating, aren’t you…
Anyway.
There were no changes at all to its outward appearance.
Even when I turned on Appraisal Eye to check, there wasn’t much difference.
[Huh?]
What changed wasn’t Dark, but my Status window.
Because a new Skill had been added to my Skill list as the Master.
[Rapid Growth (Unique)]
Causes the Vampiric Dragon to temporarily undergo Rapid Growth, greatly increasing its level and stats.
However, you must remain close to the retainer while the Skill is in use.
(Caution: The Skill will be forcibly terminated if the distance becomes too great!)
- Duration: 5 minutes
- Cooldown: 24 Hours
- Blood Power Consumption: 100
[Oh! A new Skill!]
But there was an unexpected penalty.
It was nice that it temporarily became much stronger for 5 minutes.
But I had to unconditionally stay close while the Skill was in use?
That meant I couldn’t lie comfortably in my Home Base and spectate.
Because it meant the Skill would be maintained only if I also went out to the Battlefield with Dark.
This is a bit troublesome.
After thinking for a moment, I made a decision.
[…If possible, I should raise Dark as a ranged damage dealer, Mage, or Healer.]
Let’s not raise Dark as a warrior or Tanker who fights on the front lines.
Since I have to stay close, I’d be put in danger.
Anyway, I had to do a performance test, so I immediately opened a portal leading to the Special Training Ground.
I took Dark inside and used Rapid Growth for the first time.
However.
“Mmm…? So this is how it turns out…?”
An unexpected result emerged.
It didn’t mean the performance was bad.
It was just a bit different from the picture I had imagined in my head.
[As long as the performance is good, it doesn’t matter.]
After finishing various experiments, I returned to My Room.
However.
- Buzz buzz buzz!
As soon as I returned to the room, the urgent sound of a mosquito echoed in my head.
I had ordered Retainer Mosquito No. 7, which I had attached to Song Ha-Eun, to send me a signal if anything happened.
Because even though the Mosquito Retainer couldn’t speak human words, it could exchange Telepathy with me.
I had turned it off because continuously watching through Sight Sharing was a serious invasion of privacy.
[Oh. Has Ha-Eun finally made up her mind to become a Vampire?]
I focused on the sound with anticipation, but listening closely, that wasn’t it.
- Buzz buzz buzz! Bzz bzz bzz! Buzz buzz buzz!
A rhythm that regularly broke off.
Three short, three long, three short?
[Wait a minute, this is.]
Isn’t this the Morse code SOS signal?!
I immediately activated Sight Sharing and connected to No. 7's vision.
Beyond the screen, I saw Song Ha-Eun standing on the street.
But someone was blocking her path.
A blond man with a sleazy impression.
A man with a massive build who looked to be well over 2 meters tall.
Both of them were dressed in conspicuous pure white uniforms.
And standing in front of them, a beautiful silver-haired woman.
[It’s the Saintess…!]
It was definitely the face I had seen in the photos.
But why on Earth did the Saintess come looking for Ha-Eun?
Song Ha-Eun was also hunching her shoulders, looking extremely flustered.
At that moment, the Saintess opened her mouth with a very kind and benevolent smile.
“Povera smarrita anima. La luce guiderà ti.”
“Huh? Lost lamb? M-me?”
Ha-Eun asked back with a bewildered face.
She seemed to have understood the meaning of the words, but her reaction was puzzled, wondering why such a thing was being said.
[What is she saying…?]
Of course, I didn’t know Italian, so I couldn’t understand it at all.
[Ah. I heard there was something called an Interpretation Skill.]
A System Skill that allowed Awakeners to communicate with each other without language barriers.
I hurriedly opened the System Shop, paid the gold, and purchased the Interpretation Skill.
Then, the Saintess’s voice began to be heard, naturally translated into Korean.
“You might be confused because this is sudden, but there is a high probability that you are currently suffering from Brainwashing or mental contamination by an evil entity.”
At those words, Ha-Eun blinked her large eyes and answered.
“Uh…? I’m not, though? My mind is perfectly fine…?”
At Ha-Eun’s flawlessly clear reaction, the Saintess shook her head with a pitying expression and asked.
“Not long ago, you posted a Rescue Request on the Climber Community, didn’t you? Did you encounter the True Ancestor at that time?”
“Ah, yes! That’s right. The Retainers wearing the Wolf Mask and Rabbit Mask came and helped me. They even brought me clothes and were incredibly kind people…!”
“Just as I thought.”
The Saintess’s expression turned even more worried.
“Everything you experienced was the deception of a cunning Vampire. I will purify you.”
“Huh? Uh, is that so…?”
Watching this, I was dumbfounded.
No, what on Earth is she talking about!
I don’t even have skills like Brainwashing or Mind Control in the first place.
“Why are you slandering this True Ancestor…!”
I felt so wronged that I muttered out loud without realizing it.
The Saintess on the screen placed her hand on Ha-Eun’s shoulder and emitted a holy white light, as if attempting a purification.
Paaat-!
A clear light wrapped around Ha-Eun’s body and then scattered.
The Saintess asked carefully.
“How is it? How do you remember the True Ancestor now?”
“Umm… A kind and good person! And the Retainers were really cool too.”
“…!”
It was a natural result.
There was no Brainwashing to begin with, so what would change by purifying her?
But seeing this result, the Saintess muttered with an astonished face.
“This can’t be… Is the True Ancestor’s Brainwashing this powerful? To think it cannot be washed away even with the purification of light…”
“Excuse me, I think there’s some misunderstanding, Saintess? The True Ancestor is more…”
Ha-Eun waved her hands and tried to explain, but the Saintess spoke in a soft yet firm tone.
“Would you perhaps come to Rome with us? If you go to the main office, you will be able to receive a more certain treatment.”
“Huh? Italy, all of a sudden?”
It wasn’t a coercive nuance, but bewilderment colored Ha-Eun’s face.
[Hah? This is ridiculous.]
I slowly started getting angry.
Why is she trying to take someone away without permission?
Ha-Eun is a prospective retainer that I called dibs on first and even finished giving a Scout Offer to!
[Should I dispatch the kids to stop her?]
But if I do that, I’ll end up clashing head-on with the Saintess.
Just as I was seriously contemplating this.
“…?!”
Suddenly, the Saintess and the two men all flinched and stiffened their bodies at the same time.
No. 7's vision also swiftly turned toward one spot.
- Step, step.
Over there, a scrawny man wearing a black cloak with his hood pulled down low was walking over.
[What’s this. Some kind of Halloween cosplay?]
Why is he wearing a hot cloak in the middle of summer?
“Get behind me, Ha-Eun!”
At the unusual appearance, the Saintess immediately blocked Ha-Eun’s front, wrapping around her protectively.
And she threw a question at the man.
“I definitely set up a barrier here… how did you get in?”
Amidst the palpable tension.
The scrawny man politely bowed his head and opened his mouth.
“Saintess. I have waited for you for a long time. I am Karnas, an Apostle of the Abyss Cult.”
“Abyss Cult…?!!”
The Saintess’s narrow eyes opened sharply.
And she let out an angry roar.
“True Ancestor! Have you finally colluded with the Abyss Cult!”
“…Pardon?”
The man himself tilted his head as if a bit flustered.
[What is she talking about. I don’t know this guy at all.]
I, who was watching, was equally dumbfounded.
It seemed the Saintess was deeply mistaken about something.
“Hmm. I don’t know what you’re talking about, but - .”
But there was no time to clear up the misunderstanding.
“Just, die.”
Because the man suddenly, in a surprise attack, pulled something out from his Embrace.
“…! Do not look at that!”
The Saintess shouted urgently.
But the gazes of the two in uniform were already directed at the object.
At that moment.
“Keuaaaak! Uwaaaak!”
“Ahah I saw it I made eye contact…!”
The two who had been exuding overwhelming Intimidation just a moment ago grabbed their heads and collapsed to the ground.
Bright red blood was dripping from their noses and eyes.
Fortunately, Ha-Eun was safe because she was trembling with her eyes squeezed shut behind the Saintess’s back.
[What’s that. A polyhedral dice? It’s nothing special, though?]
I, who was staring intently at it through the screen, was perfectly fine, of course.
It seemed to be an object with some kind of Mental Attack.
I seemed to be fine Thanks to the Mental Attack Immunity effect of Exalted Dignity.
[No. 7. Are you okay?]
- Buzz buzz!
No. 7 buzzed energetically.
It seemed to be fine, perhaps because it wasn’t human.
“Keugh…!”
The Saintess staggered with a pale face, but she was somehow holding onto her consciousness and enduring it.
“To use such an evil object…! You despicable…!”
“Kekeke… As expected of the Saintess. To withstand the Holy Relic of the Abyss.”
The man laughed drearily and raised the dice into the air.
“But the true value of the holy relic begins now.”
Woooong-!
An ominous wave spread out from the dice, and the surrounding space began to distort.
And bizarre monsters poured down from the empty air one after another.
Unpleasant figures that looked like they had just been fished out of the deep sea.
“Gurgle gurgle!”
“Kieeeek!”
Massive lumps of meat with glistening mucous tentacles and dozens of eyes filled the alley.
[Ugh, they’re so ugly!]
The visuals were one thing, but the aura they emitted was unusual itself.
At this rate…
The Saintess aside, Ha-Eun’s life might be in danger.
[This is bad. I need to send the kids!]
But I instinctively felt it.
Just by looking at that dice, two people strong enough to not even be visible to Appraisal Eye collapsed in one hit.
Riri was out of the question, and sending someone on the level of Si-Yeon or Sera was also impossible.
That was something only someone on Katarina’s level could handle.
I sent Telepathy without delay.
[Katarina, put on your mask immediately. You need to step up.]
- Your command!
I consumed Blood Power and Cast Gate of Darkness.
Paaat - !
A portal shimmering with purple light opened in the empty air of the alley.
From there, Katarina wearing the Wolf Mask popped out.
[Protect the human woman you saw last time, and execute those filthy lumps and the man!]
- I shall obey your command, Liege Lord!
“What…?!!”
Seeing Katarina suddenly come out of an opened portal, the man was greatly flustered and stepped back.
Meanwhile, the Saintess, who saw her, also gritted her teeth with a despairing expression.
“Keut…! As if the Abyssal Monsters weren’t enough, now even the True Ancestor’s retainer…!”
Amidst both sides falling into confusion.
The man shouted.
“Children of the Abyss. Kill them!”
“Giiiiiiik!”
The swarm of Deep Sea Monsters squirmed and surged forward.
However.
“Blood Art.”
Katarina showed no signs of surprise or fear at all.
She merely reached out her hand toward the monsters with a cold gaze.
“- - Exploding Blood.”
Puuuuung - !!
In an instant, dark red flames of blood exploded and swallowed the lumps.
“Uh…?”
The Saintess let out a dumbfounded sound.