[Congratulations! You have obtained a DEMI-GOD-LEVEL item: The Vampire Progenitor BLOODLINE]
[Do you wish to 'Fuse' with the BLOODLINE?] the System asked.
"…No. Please keep it for now"
Taufik answered quickly. There was no way he was going to fuse with a mysterious, possibly explosive power-up in the middle of an open sidewalk.
With his luck, he'd grow wings, explode, or faint dramatically in full public view. None of those options sounded good.
[BLOODLINE 'Vampire Progenitor' has been stored in the inventory. The Master may access it anytime]
"Uh… I knew I felt lucky today, but what the…" Taufik muttered, mind still struggling to wrap around the situation.
He'd expected maybe a small bonus. A tool. A minor skill. A beginner gift pack.
He had not expected to receive something that sounded like it belonged to the final boss of an urban fantasy novel.
He was happy, of course. Thrilled, even. But also horrified.
"…System, what does 'Vampire Progenitor Bloodline' even mean?" he asked. Sure, he knew what a vampire was, but he'd only ever heard terms like pureblood vampire or half-vampire.
But progenitor? That sounded like a top-tier, VIP, royal-vampire-of-vampires kind of thing.
[Answering the Master]
[Vampire Progenitor: The first, the oldest, and the strongest of all vampires.
The Vampire Progenitor Bloodline grants: Immortality, Enhanced Vampiric Abilities, and Imagination Magic]
The System continued explaining monotonously:
[Immortality: The Progenitor cannot be killed by normal means. Any lethal damage will rapidly regenerate. Even the most fatal injuries cannot end their life]
[Enhanced Vampiric Abilities: Supernatural strength, a massive magic core, heightened speed, reflexes, durability, and enhanced senses]
[Imagination Magic: A magic system powered by imagination. The user may manifest anything, limited only by imagination and available magic energy]
Taufik's jaw slowly dropped.
'Wait. Wait. WAIT. Isn't this WAY too overpowered? A demi-god-level item already gives immortality AND imagination magic?! Then just how busted is a full god-level item supposed to be?!' His thoughts spiraled. 'Immortality alone was insane, borderline ridiculous. But Imagination Magic?'
That was on another level of broken.
Imagination was endless. Limitless.
He could think of anything. Normally, imagination stayed imagination, only existing in drawings, paintings, stories, or 3D models.
'But actual magic based on imagination…? Magic that made imagination real?'
It sounded like the kind of power that could rewrite reality if abused.
"Damn… I really need to be careful. At least for today…" Taufik muttered, feeling both ecstatic and terrified at the same time.
The weight of his first reward, a demi-god-level bloodline, was simply too much for a normal teenager to process.
"…There's a saying: When the universe gives you too much, it's bound to balance things out" He gulped. "Will that apply to me too?"
'…I've gotta stay alert. With what I got, maybe a cow will fall from the sky and crush me. Who knows?'
The thought alone scared him enough that he began scanning the environment like a trained scout.
Even small pebbles rolling across the sidewalk caught his suspicion.
His level of vigilance rivaled that of a soldier conducting reconnaissance deep in enemy territory, one wrong move could be fatal.
At least, that's what Taufik convinced himself of the entire walk to school.
---
As he continued down the road, Taufik kept his senses sharp.
Every step was deliberate.
Every rustle of leaves or distant engine noise made him tense up.
Every passerby warranted a cautious glance.
And yet… nothing happened.
Maybe he really was being paranoid. But still, better safe than sorry.
After a long, uneventful walk, the school finally came into view.
The familiar open gate, no fence, no guard, just an entryway he'd passed through countless times, felt oddly comforting after the stressful morning.
Taufik let out a quiet sigh of relief.
But he didn't lower his guard yet.
He continued toward his classroom with the same seriousness, ignoring the cheerful calls from friends he hadn't seen since before the holiday.
"Taufik! Yo, bro!"
"Oi, Fik! Long time no see!"
He didn't look their way. His eyes stayed glued to the path ahead like he was walking through a minefield.
Only after reaching his classroom and sinking into his seat did he finally, finally feel like he could breathe normally.
"…Well… nothing happened. That's good," he whispered to himself.
Minutes later, the classroom door opened.
Their homeroom teacher entered with a warm smile.
"Good morning, class. It's good to see you all again after the holidays. How was your break?"
The teacher asked with a warm, welcoming tone.
Ms. Janet Jennifer Robins, affectionately known as Ms. Jennah, was a woman in her mid-30s who somehow looked like she had barely entered her 20s.
With long, glossy black hair and striking azure-green eyes that almost seemed unreal, she was widely regarded as one of the most beautiful women in the school.
Half-Russian and half-Indonesian, her exotic looks were a frequent topic among students and even teachers.
She carried an 'Ara-Ara' aura, the gentle, caring older-sister vibe straight out of anime. Girls from her class and other classes often asked her about her beauty secrets.
But her answer was always the same: "It's a family secret"
That vague reply only deepened the mystery, turning her youthful appearance into one of the school's "Seven Great Mysteries," which remained unsolved to this day.
Hearing her question, the students eagerly began sharing stories about their holidays, filling the room with lively chatter.
"Okay, kids, keep it quiet," Ms. Jennah said gently.
Despite her soft voice, it carried an inexplicable authority, almost magical, that made the classroom fall silent instantly.
"Alright~ Since this is the start of a new semester…"
She began explaining the new curriculum, and soon after, the lessons proceeded smoothly until the bell signaling lunch break finally rang.
---
During lunch break, Taufik slipped out of the classroom quietly, looking for a peaceful spot. Once he found one, he sat down and ate the lunch his mother had packed for him.
After finishing, he took a deep breath.
It was time to talk to the System.
"…System?"
[Yes, Master]
"…This might sound strange, but why are you here? Why me, out of all people? There are billions of humans on Earth, many smarter than me, many stronger than me. So why was I chosen? It's not that I'm unhappy or anything, but… this is a peaceful world. What am I supposed to do with this power?"
Taufik frowned. His question wasn't unreasonable.
'I'm just an average teenage boy. Well… okay, maybe not completely average. I'm pretty handsome thanks to my mother's British genes, and my dad did give me a pretty good physique. But aside from that? I'm just… normal. Wait... is that considered average? No, no, forget that. Still… why me?'
[My purpose is to assist you, Master. As for why you were chosen, that is a mystery for Master to uncover]
"…."
[Master, this world is not as simple as it appears. There are many hidden mysteries, unseen realms, and powerful individuals who keep themselves concealed from ordinary society]
"…Is that true?"
[Yes, Master]
"…So, a supernatural world really exists?"
[Yes, Master]
Taufik went silent. He held his chin, trying to digest the information. The idea alone felt absurd, yet the System's voice carried a weight that made it hard to deny.
"I see, so supra-… Wait a minute!"
His eyes widened in realization.
"…My father's disappearance… Could it have been caused by something supernatural?"
The possibility hit him like a shockwave.
It was something he had never considered before. But now, with the System revealing hidden worlds and unseen powers, the clue that once felt impossible suddenly made far too much sense.
'If the supernatural exists… then everything would make sense'
His father and his entire expedition team had vanished without a trace, no bodies, no equipment, not even a clue of where they went. It was as if the earth itself had swallowed them whole.
"…The System mentioned hidden worlds. What if my father accidentally entered one of them… and couldn't find a way back? If that happened, then of course the real world would just label him as 'missing' They'd never know the truth"
Taufik's thoughts spun rapidly, connecting dots he didn't even know existed minutes ago.
'Damn… This actually makes sense. But I need to investigate it thoroughly. I can't tell Mom yet. I don't want to give her false hope, and there's no way I can explain how I know this either…' He rubbed his face in frustration. 'Sigh… This is going to be a lot of work'
---
After lunch, Taufik returned to his classroom. His mind was still entirely consumed by his father's case, so much so that he didn't even notice the next teacher had already arrived.
It was history class.
And history, as always, was painfully boring.
'Yeah! It's NEVER CHANGE because for some bizarre reason, human history only exists from the 1st to the 4th century… then suddenly resumes from the 16th century to the present. The entire 5th to 15th century is just… gone'
A thousand years... vanished.
Historians had argued over it since the beginning of modern study. They sifted through ruins, scripts, and artifacts, but found only an empty void. No records, no myths, no legends, nothing. It was as if that millennium had been deliberately erased by God Himself.
The absurdity was undeniable. How could an entire era leave no trace at all?
Scholars proposed theories, political collapse, unrecorded civilizations, and global catastrophes, yet these hypotheses were always shot down. Nothing fit.
Then there were the fringe theories: worlds overlapping, forgotten civilizations, supernatural interventions. And, naturally, those were dismissed as nonsense too.
But for the first time, Taufik didn't dismiss them.
'…What if that lost millennium also vanished because of something supernatural? If hidden worlds and supernatural beings truly exist, then the impossible has a way of becoming possible… doesn't it?'
He closed his eyes, feeling a strange mixture of fear and curiosity ignite within him.
Whatever the truth was… He was already involved now.
....
...
..
.