Chapter 58
“You did very well.”
Pat, pat.
A small, soft hand was ruffling her hair.
“Huu, huaa…”
Sera felt her face grow hot.
How long had it been since someone had patted her like this?
Sera recalled that warm sensation from a very long time ago, when her mother used to praise and pat her, before she lost everything to the knights of the Holy Imperial Church.
Of course, the appearance of the Master standing before her was that of a beautiful young girl, much younger and more fragile-looking than Sera herself.
However, her noble manner of speech and the overwhelming aura she exuded made it easy to guess that her actual age was far removed from her outward appearance.
“Just how old is Master…?”
Hundreds of years? No, perhaps she was someone who had existed for thousands of years.
Along with a sense of boundless awe, Sera carefully brought out a thought she had hidden in a corner of her mind.
In truth, Sera had vaguely assumed that her Master was not the type to step forward and swing a weapon or use Physical Techniques.
She had thought that no matter how outstanding her authority was, she would be more of a Mage rather than relying on physical martial prowess.
There was a reason she had come to think this way.
Whenever she followed her seniors into the Master’s room to clean, the Master was always rolling around on the bed.
She was giggling while holding a mysterious glowing rectangular board in one hand - which senior Katarina had informed her was a 'Smartphone'.
Or just munching on snacks like macarons and congealed ox blood.
That sight suited the Master’s small and petite frame so well that, occasionally, she even had the… irreverent thought that it was a little cute.
Therefore, Sera considered her Master to be somewhat distanced from physical combat.
However, the single piece of advice her Master had nonchalantly thrown at her just now in the Training Ground, with the Master’s hands clasped behind her back, had shattered Sera’s misjudgment into pieces.
- Do not fear being cut. What need is there to block every little attack? Give Flesh, Take Blood.
That was not advice that someone who only knew the theory could give.
It was something that could only be said by someone who had traversed countless battlefields and gone through innumerable combats.
It was an insight that smashed the framework of Swordsmanship Sera knew with just a single word.
“As expected of Master…”
Not just Magic, but Physical Techniques are important as well.
Even that sight of her rolling around in bed was the unique leisure of an Absolute Being.
Sera felt ashamed of her ignorance and tightly gripped the sword in her hand.
The wounds all over her body had long since disappeared without a trace due to the sword’s effect.
What was most surprising was the change in her senses.
After becoming a Vampire, she didn’t feel the Terrible Pain that would make her mind go blank like in her human days, even when scratched by a monster’s claws or stabbed by a weapon.
With the pain gone, the fear of the enemy’s attacks naturally vanished as well.
And in the place where fear had vanished, overwhelming destructive power filled it.
'…I’ve gotten stronger.'
She had instantly obtained a power that her former self couldn’t have even imagined, even with a lifetime of training.
She was so incredibly happy.
The Holy Knights of the Holy Imperial Church.
She sought revenge against that massive enemy who had killed her parents and taken everything from her.
Before she had this body, achieving her revenge was nothing more than a distant dream.
But now it was different.
With the power Master had bestowed upon her, and this sword Master had personally gifted her…
It truly felt like she could take one step closer toward her revenge.
No. She felt certain that as long as she just stayed by Master’s side, she would definitely be able to achieve that wish someday.
“Let us return now.”
The back of her Master, who had taken her hand off her head and turned around, was visible.
She stared at it endlessly.
* * *
“Huaa.”
Having finished spectating the performance test of Sera’s Magic sword and having returned to My Room, I hopped onto the bed.
Even if it was just the background of the Training Ground, going mountain climbing was a very tiring task.
“Mhm. As expected, it is dangerous outside the blankets.”
Sprawled out on the bed, I brought up the System Window in the air and began to check my current status.
[Name: Yu-Jin]
[Class: Lord of Blood (EX)]
[Level: 35]
[Blood Power: 205]
[Current Essence of Blood: 75]
“Good. Very clean.”
Thanks to my dispatching my Retainers diligently to gates and consistently running Remote Hunting, my level had also jumped up to 35 before I knew it.
I invested every Stat Point I gained from leveling up entirely into Blood Power.
Physical Stats like strength or agility were completely meaningless to me.
My combat power depended solely on Blood Power.
As a result of going all-in like that, my Current Blood Power Value had reached exactly 205.
What this value meant was extremely important.
“It means the Summoning Cost for the next Retainer has been prepared.”
The Cooldown for the [Summon Retainer] Skill was exactly 30 days.
When summoning the Third Retainer, Riri, 100 Blood Power was consumed, and according to the system’s explanation, summoning the next Retainer would require double that, 200 Blood Power.
The Cooldown currently remaining was about a week.
Building up over 200 Blood Power in advance before the Summoning Availability Date approached was my first short-term goal, and I had achieved it with plenty of room to spare.
“I wonder what kind of person the Fifth Retainer will be.”
Since the Retainers I had pulled so far all boasted out-of-the-box, Overpowered performance, my expectations for the next gacha naturally rose as well.
“And the next task is… Tower Climbing, as expected.”
Tower of Trials, Nightmare 5th Floor, Chapter 3.
After Chapter 2, which ended with my getting a free ride to a perfect 100 points just for scouting Sera, the remaining time until the opening of the next chapter presented by the system was roughly a little over ten days.
Coincidentally, it was around the same time the Retainer summoning Cooldown would finish.
'There’s one more thing I need to prepare before then.'
I recalled in my head an item I had been keeping an eye on from Riri’s [Blood Blacksmith] Crafting List.
[Animal Mask]
- When equipped, Recognition Interference is activated, preventing others from properly recognizing the wearer’s identity and blocking appraisal-type skills and items.
Previously, when I dispatched Si-Yeon to the secret meeting with Association President Kim Tae-Seong, hadn’t I roughly put a Cat Mask on her to hide her identity?
This item was exactly an upgraded version of that.
From now on, when the girls go outside to farm or enter and exit gates, the probability of catching the eyes of other hunters cannot be ignored.
The red eyes and aura unique to Vampires were impossible to hide even if they tried, making them stand out too much.
To think that wearing this grants Recognition Interference and Appraisal Block.
It is truly perfect for preventing unnecessary aggro and Identity Exposure.
“Katarina as a wolf, Si-Yeon as a cat, Riri as a puppy, and Sera… - would a rabbit be good after all?”
It would be perfect if I assigned an animal that fit each of their images and had a mask custom-made for each of them.
Making the masks didn’t particularly require a lot of blood, so it was entirely possible with just the spare blood left over from making the Magic sword.
I immediately called out toward the outside of the room.
“Riri.”
“Ung?! Did you call, Master?!”
The door opened, and the red-haired Third Retainer came scurrying in.
“It might be troublesome, but there are a few more items you need to make. This time, it is masks that can cover your faces. Try making them in the shapes of a wolf, a cat, a dog, and a rabbit.”
“Masks?! Yeah! Riri will make them pretty and sturdy again!”
I felt a little sorry for making her craft a Magic sword all day and then ordering her to do something else, but it was a needless worry.
Perhaps because her identity was a Blacksmith, Riri seemed to greatly enjoy the act of making things itself.
Riri excitedly ran back to her room.
'Good. With this, I’ve finished all the urgently needed tasks for now.'
Now, there was nothing in particular to do until the gacha Cooldown finished in a week.
Maybe we should just send the Retainers out to farm if a decent gate opens.
I decided to lurk leisurely on the Climber Community.
[Title: Today’s Word.]
Poster: Apostle of Light
“Even if a false night covers the World and blinds your eyes, you must never compromise with the darkness.”
Our light shall burn away even the deepest Abyss, and we shall finally purify those tainted by the evil forged from deceit with the Holy Flame.”
These are the words of the Book of Radiance, Chapter 4, Verse 12.
Brothers and sisters, the thicker the Temptation of Darkness becomes, the more awake you must be.
As Light Wills.
-As Light Wills.
-Thank you for the gracious words again today.
-But isn’t this verse blatantly targeting the True Ancestor? Lol
-Seems like they’re super on edge lately because of the Sol-Peul-Jeon-Sa incident.
-No, Sol-Peul-Jwa came back alive. He even said it wasn’t true himself. Are people still believing the Vampire Brainwashing theory?
└ Apostle of Light) Book of Illumination, Chapter 7, Verse 6. What is seen with the eyes may not be the truth.
└ Lmaoooo look at the madness.
“Ugh, how scary.”
I frowned as I looked at the reply the Apostle of Light had left.
To think they were still treating me like a villain and grinding their teeth at me like that, even when Sol-Peul-Jeon-Sa himself had perfectly written a clarification post.
Why do they hate me so much?
Well, since I had no reason to go outside the house anyway, I would never run into that Fanatic in my entire life.
I quickly scrolled down and clicked on the next post.
[Title: Have a good day~@ Everyone, please take a look at the mountain scenery^^]
Poster: Geom-Ui-Gil-Eun Kkeut-I-Eop-Go
(A photo of a wide-open sea of clouds taken from the mountain peak)
(A macro photo of azalea flowers covered in morning dew)
(A photo of makgeolli and a seafood green onion pancake)
Mountain climbing and Swordsmanship truly have many similarities.
As you climb toward the peak, your breath fills up to your chin. And it is painful. But as you silently move your steps, before you know it, a wide-open spectacular view welcomes you.
The Path of the Sword is also like this: Rather than trying to jump up all at once with shallow techniques, you must honestly take one step at a time. Only then can you break your own limits and reach your very own peak, haha.
Everyone, today as well. I hope you have a vibrant day!
- Thank you for the good post, Sword Saint-nim haha. The green onion pancake looks delicious.
- Fuck, his way of speaking is like a normal neighborhood ahjussi lmaoooo
└ But then when you read it, his depth of martial arts is insane;; You must honestly take one step at a time to reach your very own peak…
└ Yeah, telling us not to use shallow techniques really hits home.
“This ahjussi is peaceful again today.”
As far as I knew, this person was our country’s Number 1 Hunter and one of the World’s Top 10 Rankers, the “Sword Saint”.
It was truly bizarre to see someone said to possess the World’s highest level of martial prowess hanging out in the Community like a neighborhood hiking club ahjussi.
Still, it was much better to look at than the Apostle of Light, who targeted me every single day.
I continued to lurk with interest like that.
'Hm?'
[Title: Why have Vampires increased so much in Seoul lately?]
Poster: Anonymous
A single post caught my eye.