Chapter 19 – New Skill Turn
The Creation runes flickered, casting eerie shadows across bark and stone. Edem kept his breathing steady, the intermediate core's essence still swirling around his dual guns like fire. He had expected his Crimson Howlers to emerge sharper, deadlier—yet the system's cold declaration rang in his ears:
[Congratulations, host. You have created your first Vampire.]
New Skill Unlocked: [Turn] — the ability to turn others into your race.
[Number of people turned: 1/5]
"Wait… created WHATTT?"
Edem sat motionless, the words sinking into his bones. His eyes narrowed, reflecting both surprise and unease.
"So… I can turn others," he muttered. "I already suspected it since I evolved into Noble Blood… but who? And when?"
The thought lingered like smoke. Was it a soldier among them? A careless act—my blood mixing with theirs, because I was wounded in most of my battles with the beass? A brush of contact during battle? His mind spun furiously, running scenarios like a machine at full speed.
He hadn't consciously chosen to do it, yet the system confirmed it as fact: 1 out of 5 turned. Someone out there bore his mark now, walking with the curse—or gift—of vampirism.
The idea was both dangerous and thrilling. He could create followers, a lineage bound to him. But to what end? Soldiers? Servants? Or survival companions? For now, he shelved the thought.
He glanced at the Crimson Howlers. The upgrade had failed mid-fusion. The runes had sputtered the moment the vampire revelation struck, leaving the pistols only partially improved. They were merely repaired from their damage, not ascended to the strength he envisioned.
"Tch. Not enough energy," he growled. "I'll need more cores. Many more."
A new plan began forming.
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[Status Updated]
Name: Edem Qwasi
Race: Vampire (Noble Blood)
Level: 29
Crimson Evo Points: 0 / 2500
HP: 490 / 500
Energy: 350 / 400
Talent: Blood Manipulation
Attributes (5 unassigned points):
Strength: 59
Vitality: 52
Agility: 60
Endurance: 46
Intelligence: 44
Perception: 49
Skills
Passive: Blood Regeneration (Mid), Night Vision
Active: Blood Sense, Blood Aura, Creation, Crimson Detection, Turn
---
He exhaled slowly, the glowing stat panel grounding him. His growth was undeniable, but the hunger for more surged in his chest. To evolve again, he needed 2,500 Evo Points. The number was daunting, yet not impossible. If he could ascend once more, even the chaos of an uncontrolled vampire spawn could be dealt with easily.
"Three days," he whispered. "Three days of hunting. Three days to gather cores."
The plan was simple: collect beast cores, strengthen his weapons, and prepare for the storm that would follow. Unbeknownst to him, Captain Luo and his men had already departed the Gate, carrying carcasses and scavenged cores.
Edem leapt from the branch, landing silently in the underbrush. The forest greeted him with the scents of ash, blood, and damp earth. His perception sharpened. Every living pulse within five hundred meters registered in his awareness—small critters darting, a boar-like beast rooting for fungus, even the faint warmth of beasts further away.
"Crimson Detection," he murmured. His vision overlapped with a web of crimson lines—arteries of life and energy pulsing through hidden creatures. Among them, one signature blazed brighter than the rest, throbbing with an unnatural rhythm.
An intermediate-tier beast at its peak, on the verge of evolving to advanced.
Edem's lips curved into a predatory grin. "Perfect."
---
The next three days blurred into violence and patience.
On the first day, he culled basic Tier 0 and Tier 9 beasts with ruthless efficiency. Each kill granted only fractions of what he needed, but the cores piled steadily. Blood Manipulation let him crush arteries mid-combat, siphoning life while his prey collapsed, leaving him unscathed.
On the second day, he lured a pair of intermediate Tier 2 Nightfang Wolves into an ambush. Their speed nearly matched his own, but when his Blood Aura doubled his stats at the critical moment, the outcome was decided. Crimson rounds riddled their bodies, molten with his essence, until their cores were pried from steaming flesh.
By the third day, he had crafted a storage bracer, now heavy with cores. Yet the forest never stayed silent for long.
At dusk, after resting, his senses pricked at a powerful aura nearby.
"It seems I've caught a big fish."
---
[Quest]
Agent Mission: Survive the Primordial Trial.
Requirement: Enter the nearest Portal Gate.
Objective: Survive for one month inside a Primordial Forest Gate.
Warning: Though you are at the peak of humanity, here you are the weakest.
Reward: ???
Failure: Death.
[27/30 days left]
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