At that moment,
Kain suddenly felt as if he had lost control.
His body began to move on its own, running toward the spilled blood. His eyes glowed red—the unmistakable mark of a vampire. An intense aura of bloodlust radiated from him, so powerful it could only belong to one thing: a predator.
A predator who was starving. A predator who had become mindless, driven by nothing but the primal urge to hunt and feed.
As soon as Kain reached the few drops of blood, he knelt and began to drink.
Though there were only a few drops, the taste was so exquisite that tears welled up in his eyes as he licked the floor clean. His face twisted in a mixture of pleasure and desperation, as if he were experiencing the most intense ecstasy.
Eren's face had already gone pale. He couldn't make sense of what was happening. He'd heard stories about zombies, and for a moment, he wondered if Kain had become one. He didn't know what to do.
Should he kill his brother-like friend to prevent an apocalypse? But how could he do that? He was paralyzed by indecision.
"Kain... I won't be able to kill you... I'm sorry..." Eren whispered, a tear slipping down his cheek as he braced himself for death.
"Kill me? Do you really want to become a murderer? And do you even have the guts to do that?" Kain asked, looking at Eren.
The bloodlust had already faded from his eyes.
[System Mission]
[Description: Drink the blood of three different humans to become a true vampire.]
[Progress: 1/3]
[Received +1 Agility]
[First status increase achieved. The System will now issue a status screen.]
[Vampire Status]
Name: Kain
Family: [No Family]
Talents:
- Retain (Unique)
[Stats:]
Level: 1
Agility: 6
Perception: 10
Intelligence: 5
Strength: 4
Vitality: 50
[Path Abilities:]
The Sin of Pride (Locked)
The Sin of Greed (Locked)
The Sin of Wrath (Locked)
The Sin of Envy (Locked)
The Sin of Lust (Locked)
The Sin of Gluttony (Locked)
The Sin of Sloth (Locked)
[Bloodline Abilities: (Locked)]
[Other Abilities:
Kain realized he had much to learn.
Every path in this world had its own way of helping its user grow.
It all depended on the nature of the path itself.
There was no guarantee that every path would have a 'System' like his.
Similarly, there was no rule that the 'System' was unique to Kain's path.
It all depended on the user and the path they walked.
Two people on the same path could experience entirely different mechanics.
The only thing common among all systems was the concept of levels.
But Kain couldn't find such a thing in his own system.
'This system is truly weird. I need to research it,' Kain resolved.
'Now that I know I can't keep ignoring all of this... I need to adapt,' he thought.
Kain wasn't an idiot. He had only been testing what would happen if he ignored this 'Vampire' path.
"Brother Kain... You're not dead? You're not a zombie? Uwah..." Eren cried, hugging Kain tightly.
Eren used to cry a lot as a child, but in recent years, he had stopped. Now, faced with this sight, he couldn't hold back. Kain realized he needed to calm Eren down, or the boy might just drench him in tears.
"Dude... why are you crying like a kid? Haven't you grown up? Don't you feel even a little embarrassed?" Kain teased, trying to lighten the mood.
"What embarrassment? I thought I was about to die! Why should I care about my pride? What even happened to you? Your eyes... they turned back? Weren't they red?" Eren asked, confused.
"Um, let's see..." Kain began, deciding to explain everything. His secret was already out, and if he kept hiding it, he couldn't truly call Eren his brother. After all, they shared everything—what was the point of hiding anything now? Eren might even help him.
[...]
A few minutes later,
"Brother... I don't really know what this vampire thing is, but I'll research it! Don't worry, Brother Kain! I'll find out everything I can and let you know!" Eren promised, determination in his eyes.
"Brother Kain, you said you feel weak in the morning. Is that why you chose a location where sunlight doesn't reach for party hunting?" Eren asked.
The Beast Continent had many regions.
The region Kain chose was one such place, called the 'Night Fog Forest.' The name alone hinted at its nature.
The forest was shrouded in a dense fog that rose higher than a twenty-story building.
No sunlight ever reached the ground through that thick, unnatural mist.
Hunters came here to hunt Shadowfang Wolves.
These wolves were masters of stealth in the fog. As long as the party kept a close watch on their surroundings and each other's backs, they could defeat them.
Though the wolves were deadly assassins, they were weak when forced into open combat. If you could defend against their ambush, you could kill them with a swift counterattack.
"Yes, when I turned into a vampire, my perception increased dramatically. So when I saw where the party was going to hunt, I signed up immediately," Kain replied.
'I can't let him know I didn't even think about that,' Kain thought, feeling a bit embarrassed by his oversight.
But he didn't dwell on it—after all, intelligence was something that could be improved with level-ups.
In this world, every monster kill awarded experience points. When the experience bar was full, the user would level up and grow stronger.
After Kain and Eren finished talking, they donned their armor and left for the WGC.
When they arrived, they waited in the reception hall for the rest of the party.
The others would arrive in about twenty minutes—they had arrived early.
It was 11 PM, and by the time they reached the Night Fog Forest, it would already be 1 AM.
[...]
After ten minutes of waiting,
A petite girl with bright yellow hair approached them.
"Hi! Are you the ones joining the party for the Night Fog Forest?" she asked cheerfully.
"Yes, that's us. My name is Kain, and this is Eren. We're here to join your party," Kain replied.
He looked up to see a towering man standing behind her.
The man had broad shoulders, stood over seven feet tall, and wore full body armor—though it was clearly starter equipment. He carried a massive shield.
Beside him stood a cool-looking archer who seemed as if he'd been forced to be there.
"Ugh, what a drag. Why do we even need more people? Won't we have to split the loot even more?" the archer complained.
"Shut up. We really need more melee fighters for this one. Please, at least try to behave in front of the newcomers," the towering man said in a surprisingly feminine voice.
Kain stifled a laugh, while Eren turned away, clutching his stomach.
"Tsk, tsk. Just make sure these newcomers aren't a bunch of dead weight who can't hold their own. If they are, I'm protesting against giving them any loot," the archer grumbled.
The little girl and the towering man sighed, then turned to Kain and Eren.
"Hi, Kain, Eren. I'm Avery Lin. This giant here is Damien Cross—he's our tank. And this tsundere over here is Jace Hollow, our sniper or archer—whatever you want to call him," the girl introduced them.
Though Avery was small in stature, she was probably the same age as Kain, or maybe even older. After all, no one could become a mage before turning eighteen.
To become a mage, one needed a strong affinity for mana. When someone chose a combat class, their magic affinity was revealed, ranked from E and up.
Currently, the highest recorded affinity was S rank, but if someone surpassed that, a new rank would be created.
Talent was something people preferred to keep hidden, as there was always a risk of their data being leaked. It was possible that someone with an extraordinary affinity for magic was out there, undiscovered, simply because talent testing wasn't mandatory.
Soon, Kain and the party set out for the Night Fog Forest.
[...]
After about an hour, they arrived at a port.
From there, they would take a small ship across to the Beast Continent.
In truth, the Beast Continent began the moment they left the port—because there were beasts in the ocean as well.
The true mysteries of the ocean remained unsolved.
Many high-level adventurers, including the one who reached level 100, had tried to explore the ocean's depths, but all had failed miserably. They barely survived.
It wasn't that the ocean was too difficult for even level 70 players, let alone level 100. The real problem was that the beasts ruled the sea—a domain humanity had never truly explored, not even in the ancient, prosperous days of Earth, much less in Terraria. Research and exploration had long since ceased.
Now, science was only used to improve comfort and technology for daily life.
There was no longer any real drive for discovery.
Anyway, they soon boarded a boat and arrived on the other side within an hour and a half.
[Currently at the shores of the Night Fog Forest]
The area was completely engulfed in darkness, as if it were truly night.
Fog blanketed everything. Visibility was limited to just a few meters—enough to see each other, but not enough to spot danger approaching.
For Kain, however, the world was different. He could see up to fifty meters in the fog, and on clear land, his vision extended for more than two miles, perceiving everything with perfect clarity.
"Stay on high alert. Our goal is to level up, so keep your eyes on each other and watch the surroundings," Kain instructed. "Damien, you'll take the front. Eren or I will stay just behind to protect you and deal damage. Avery, you'll be next to me—I'll protect you, and if I'm busy, Damien or the second melee fighter will cover you. Jace, stay behind Avery, covered by the second melee."
No one argued about leadership; everyone was fine with the plan. Soon, they entered the forest and began to explore.
...
Meanwhile, in an unknown place,
"My Lord! My Lord! There is a big problem!" a voice cried out as heavy doors swung open.
It was a dark throne room, and a man sat atop a grand throne.
"What is it? If it's not worth my time, your head will be forfeit," the man replied, his gaze fixed on a clock.
His face was hidden in shadow, only two glowing red eyes visible.
The throne room was vast, with a large window at the front. A strong red light poured in, and various bats began to swirl through the air.
"My Lord—"
...
At this moment, Kain and the party were traveling through the dense Night Fog forest.
The fog was very thick, There was no light coming from anywhere, almost nothing would've been visible if not for Avery's light magic, which cast a soft glow of light with Rune-like patterns swirling here and there.
Soon, Kain's high perception came to some use. He detected a leaf that was supposed to fall in one direction but fell in another direction when there was nothing to influence its trajectory. As soon as that happened, Kain gave a hand signal for others to stop and come closer in a defensive formation.
"Something's here.. stay close and keep eye on the surroundings.", said Kain as he specifically concentrated in a single direction while pinching his eyes.
then..He saw it.
He saw Blue Eyes.
Eyes that glowed as if coming from a ghost who was eyeing them, eyeing them like prey. As soon as Kain saw it, the wolf moved.
"TANKER! COME! DEFEND!" shouted Kain as he made way for Damien to come forward.
Instantly, Damien came forward, rushing and taking a stance.
At that moment, a silhouette of a beast came forward, rushing at a speed that was not something normal human eyes could perceive. Instantly, it pounced on Damien as it slashed its hand over to Damien's shield, Damien being thrown in the opposite direction.
When everyone saw Damien, they were all utterly shocked. As soon as everyone locked their eyes over to Damien, they suddenly heard a growl as they turned around....