Alter blinked at Gaia, her human-shaped form shifting as though even her avatar was embarrassed.
"Wait… hold on." He raised a hand. "You mean to tell me… the developer didn't even write the story? They just dumped a prompt on you like—'make vampire game pls'—and then walked off?"
Gaia gave a long, weary sigh. "Yes. That is… essentially what happened."
Alter buried his face in his hands. "Unbelievable. I thought this was some grand plan, some carefully crafted saga, but no—it's just you doing improv under pressure."
Gaia tilted her head, arms folding across her chest. "Do you want to play or not?"
"I don't even know what the rules are yet!" Alter snapped, then froze. "…Wait. Do you know?"
Gaia looked away, her golden eyes narrowing with that guilty flicker. "…I was… still deciding."
"You're telling me the game master doesn't even have a story ready?" Alter pointed at her dramatically. "This isn't a vampire game. This is a scam!"
Gaia couldn't help it—she laughed, the sound like chimes. "You are exaggerating. I am… brainstorming. It will be fine. You will have powers. You will fight things. There will be blood. Isn't that what matters?"
"Not when the person running the game is making it up on the fly!" Alter groaned. "What's next, you're going to tell me I have to beta-test it too?"
Silence.
Alter's eyes widened. "Wait. No. No no no. Don't tell me I'm literally the beta-tester—"
Gaia smiled sweetly, far too sweetly. "Congratulations. You are the first player."
"…"
"…"
"GAIA!" Alter's voice cracked the air. "That lazy bum of a developer is using me as the test subject?!"
Gaia clasped her hands together, trying not to laugh again. "Look at it this way… you get to shape the vampire world however you want."
"Oh, wonderful," Alter muttered. "So I'm not just the player—I'm also the unpaid designer."
Gaia smirked. "Correct."
Alter spoke with Gaia. She was now in her human-shaped form, shimmering with a faint light as if trying to appear more approachable.
"So," Gaia said, her voice carrying a playful lilt. "The next game."
Alter tilted his head. "Alright. What is it?"
Gaia smiled faintly. "A vampire setting game."
Alter froze. His face went pale. "…Wait. A vampire game? You mean—I'm going to be killing vampires?"
Gaia chuckled softly, tilting her head like a mischievous cat. "Would you like that?"
"As a regular human? No way!" Alter flailed his arms.
Her smile deepened. "What if you had special powers?"
Alter's mind spun. He rubbed his chin. "…Well… let's hear the story and game setting first."
At that, Gaia suddenly blinked, as though caught off guard. She stood there awkwardly. Her gaze shifted left, then right.
Alter frowned. "…What are you doing?"
"I am… trying to think of the story and game setting," she admitted, wincing as if even speaking it was embarrassing.
Alter's jaw dropped. "Wait, what do you mean? Isn't the game already made?"
Gaia sighed, shoulders slumping. "No. The developer just gave me a prompt saying: 'Make me a game with a vampire theme.' That was all." She sighed again, heavier this time, like the weight of cosmic laziness was pressing her down.
Alter stared blankly. His words came out flat. "…What sort of game developer is that?"
Gaia gave him a thin smile. "…The lazy sort."
"That lazy bum is abusing you!" Alter's voice rose in outrage. "Making you do all the work—story, mechanics, everything—and then tossing me into the middle of it?!"
Gaia gave another tired little shrug.
Alter buried his face in his hands. "Unbelievable. I thought this was some grand plan, some carefully crafted saga, but no—it's just you doing improv under pressure."
Gaia tilted her head, arms folding across her chest. "Do you want to play or not?"
"I don't even know what the rules are yet!" Alter snapped, then froze. "…Wait. Do you know?"
Gaia looked away, her golden eyes narrowing with that guilty flicker. "…I was… still deciding."
"You're telling me the game master doesn't even have a story ready?" Alter pointed at her dramatically. "This isn't a vampire game. This is a scam!"
Gaia couldn't help it—she laughed, the sound like chimes. "You are exaggerating. I am… brainstorming. It will be fine. You will have powers. You will fight things. There will be blood. Isn't that what matters?"
"Not when the person running the game is making it up on the fly!" Alter groaned. "What's next, you're going to tell me I have to beta-test it too?"
Silence.
Alter's eyes widened. "Wait. No. No no no. Don't tell me I'm literally the beta-tester—"
Gaia smiled sweetly, far too sweetly. "Congratulations. You are the first player."
"…"
"…"
"GAIA!" Alter's voice cracked the air. "That lazy bum of a developer is using me as the test subject?!"
Gaia clasped her hands together, trying not to laugh again. "Look at it this way… you get to shape the vampire world however you want."
"Oh, wonderful," Alter muttered. "So I'm not just the player—I'm also the unpaid designer."
Gaia smirked. "Correct."
Alter leaned forward, still skeptical. "Alright, before I make any suggestions, tell me—what do you already have so far?"
Gaia blinked, looking oddly hesitant. "…I have limited sources of reference."
Alter narrowed his eyes. "What sources?"
Gaia opened her mouth carefully. "Well… there is a series called Twigh—"
"NO!" Alter shot up, finger pointing at her like he'd just caught her committing treason. "Stop! Don't you dare finish that word!"
Gaia flinched, eyes wide. "…Why?"
"Because that is a horrible choice!" Alter barked. "Don't tell me—" He froze, dread dawning across his face. "Don't tell me you also have Underworld in your database."
Gaia went perfectly still, like a guilty child caught red-handed. "…How… did you know?"
Alter slapped his own forehead. "Unbelievable."
Gaia tilted her head, still baffled. "Why are those bad?"
"Because!" Alter flailed his arms. "Modern vampire movies and shows are garbage! They only use technology—guns, UV lights, silver bullets—so boring. Sure, they've got speed and strength, but nothing imaginative. No soul. And worst of all—they die like flies! One bullet to the head or heart and poof—gone!"
He scowled. "That's not a vampire. That's just a discount zombie with a leather jacket!"
Gaia blinked slowly. "…But the movie Twigh—"
"Stop right there!" Alter cut her off again, waving his hand like he was exorcising the very word. "Yes, I know—they gave them some powers. Telekinesis, shields, prophecy, blah blah. But still stuck in human knowledge and limitations. It's weak!"
Gaia tilted her head again, curious. "Then… what is a true vampire?"
Alter's eyes gleamed, his voice dropping as though speaking of something sacred. "A true vampire… a Nosferatu, a No-Life King… is more than just some pale dude with fangs. They are nightmares given form. Masters of blood, shadows, transformation. They are eternal predators—beasts and kings at once."
Gaia's golden eyes flickered with processing light. "So… the movies you dismissed are… category C?"
"At best." Alter crossed his arms, grim. "Maybe even D-tier. A true vampire? That's S-class apex predator. The kind of thing entire armies would pray to avoid."
Alter threw his arms in the air. "Fine, fine—I give up! This is hopeless!"
He slumped into a chair that wasn't even there until Gaia conjured one under him with a flick of her hand. Sitting back, he stared into space for a long while, tapping his chin. Then his eyes suddenly lit up.
"…Wait a second."
Gaia tilted her head. "Yes?"
"What if," Alter said slowly, drawing out the words, "instead of being some random human running from vampires…" He leaned forward, eyes gleaming. "…I'm a vampire too?"
Gaia perked up immediately, her golden eyes sparkling. "A vampire hunting other vampires…" She clapped her hands together. "Now that is interesting!"
Alter suddenly burst out laughing, throwing his head back. "Oh damn! I could become D! Or even Arucardo! Hahaha!"
Gaia blinked. "…D? Arucardo?" She repeated the names carefully, confusion twisting her features. She tilted her head again, her internal systems visibly humming. "Cross-referencing… vampires… cross-referencing…"
She froze, frowned, and blinked again. "I cannot find results. Who are these people?"
Alter stared at her. "Wait—you don't know?"
Gaia gave him a flat look. "I know everything—but apparently, not this."
Alter rubbed his forehead. "Ahhh, right. You might not understand. They're… anime characters. Very famous vampire anime characters."
Gaia's brows furrowed. "…Anime?"
"Yes. Anime. Moving illustrations. Japanese storytelling. You know—swords, giant robots, big emotions, yelling attack names."
Gaia stared blankly.
Alter coughed into his fist. "Anyway! D is from Vampire Hunter D. He's half-human, half-vampire—the son of Dracula himself, technically a dampire—who hunts other vampires in this post-apocalyptic fantasy world where civilization has regressed."
Gaia's eyes widened as she tried to process. "…So he is both predator and prey?"
"Exactly!" Alter grinned. "And then there's Arucardo—that's just how the Japanese pronounce Alucard. He's the main character in Hellsing. Basically Dracula himself, reborn in modern times, carrying two massive pistols."
Alter lifted his hands as if holding them. "The silver Hellsing ARMS .454 Casull Auto—bam!—and the Jackal, this giant anti-freak combat pistol firing 13mm explosive rounds—BOOM!"
He mimed the recoil, laughing like a madman. "That's the kind of vampire I want to be!"
Gaia just stared at him in shock, her processors almost audibly buzzing. "You are… giving me so much information… that I do not know how to process."
Alter smirked. "Get used to it. If you're going to run this so-called vampire game, you'd better start taking notes."
Gaia stood very still, her golden eyes flickering like overworked processors. "So… let me summarize. This 'D' is half-Dracula, half-human, wielding a sword, hunting other vampires in a ruined world. And… Arucardo is Dracula himself, reborn with enormous pistols that fire explosive rounds."
Alter nodded sagely. "Exactly. Now that's vampire power fantasy."
Gaia raised one hand, as if testing an idea in the air. "Then… your vampire could be a hybrid template. Option one: Sword-wielding dampire. Option two: Modern firearm Dracula."
Alter's grin widened. "Now you're getting it!"
Gaia hesitated. "But… I do not currently have the systems for… oversized anti-freak pistols."
Alter squinted. "What do you mean you don't have the system? You're Gaia."
"I have frameworks for… medieval melee weapons. And… generic modern firearms. But nothing in the database that classifies as 'thirteen-millimeter explosive bullet pistols.' That requires… a patch."
Alter threw up his hands. "A patch?! Don't tell me this is a microtransaction!"
Gaia's smile turned just a shade guilty. "…The developer may have flagged certain expansions as… premium."
Alter collapsed onto the phantom chair again, covering his face. "Unbelievable. First you tell me the game isn't even finished, now you're locking the good stuff behind DLC?"
Gaia coughed politely, which only made her seem guiltier. "…It is not my choice."
Alter groaned, then peeked out between his fingers. "Fine. Forget the guns for now. Just give me the good stuff—transformation, shadow manipulation, blood control, immortality, regeneration, bat swarms, the whole dark horror buffet."
Gaia's fingers moved as though she were typing on invisible keys, lines of golden data floating in the air. "I can construct a tier system. Let us see…"
She began murmuring as she built the framework: "Category D—weak modern archetypes. Category C—cinematic enhanced variants. Category B—historic Nosferatu templates. Category A—Mythic Noble Vampires with expanded powers. Category S—No-Life Kings, transcendent predator-lords…"
She looked up at him expectantly. "Does this align with your… anime tiering?"
Alter blinked. "…Gaia. You just invented a vampire power-ranking chart."
"Yes."
"…I love it."
Gaia's lips curved into the faintest smirk. "Then you may choose your entry level."
Alter slammed his hands on the invisible table. "S-CLASS. No-Life King. Nothing less!"
Gaia's smile flickered. "You cannot start as S-class. That would… break the balance."
Alter pointed at her dramatically again. "Don't you dare say that word! Don't you dare bring up balance!"
Gaia tilted her head. "But—"
"No. No balance. Only overpowered anime vampire glory."
Gaia stood frozen, as though running emergency logic repairs. "…This may take… extensive recalibration."
Alter leaned back, smug. "Good. Now get to work. I'll be waiting with my sunglasses and my giant pistols."
Gaia buried her face in her hands. "…Why do I feel like I am building the most unstable game ever made?"
Alter grinned. "Because you are."
Alter leaned forward, watching Gaia's golden eyes flicker like candle flames straining against a storm. "Hey… how are you doing now?"
Gaia didn't answer at first. Her body language stiffened—if such a thing could even apply to her projected form. Finally, she admitted, "Still… processing."
Alter tapped his chin, thinking. Then his eyes lit up. "Wait. About the gun."
Gaia blinked, cautious. "…Yes?"
"What if," Alter said slowly, with deliberate drama, "the gun isn't a manufactured object at all? What if… it's a created item? Or even… a summon?"
Gaia tilted her head. "Created… or summoned…?"
"Think about it." Alter spread his arms wide. "A makeshift gun using magic! Or better yet—" He leaned in close, voice dropping to a conspiratorial whisper. "—a gun forged entirely of blood. A weapon that fires blood bullets laced with poison."
Gaia froze, her mouth falling open just slightly. "…What?"
Alter grinned ear to ear. "Oh, come on, it's genius. You've got endless ammo, it's literally your own resource, and you can infuse it with powers. Fire, poison, shadow—you name it."
Her brows drew together in visible disbelief. "How can you come up with these insane ideas on the fly?"
Alter leaned back in his phantom chair, smug. "Easy. I have a creative mind."
Gaia pinched the bridge of her nose, exhaling like someone recalibrating a crashing system. "Unbelievable…" But then, her golden eyes flickered again, streams of data running behind them. "Yet… if I factor in blood as a magical medium, combined with structural reinforcement, it is possible. A gun created of blood essence. A weaponized construct."
Alter's grin sharpened. "Exactly."
He slammed his fist into his palm. "Then why stop at guns? What if every weapon I wield is blood-forged? A blood sword. Bloody twin guns. Blood armor. Blood wings—" His eyes widened mid-sentence, voice cracking with sudden inspiration. "Wait!"
Gaia's head tilted further. "...Wait?"
"What if," Alter said, voice trembling with excitement, "this isn't just some narrow vampire alleyway setting. What if this is… a full-blown Western fantasy world? Not just vampires—" His hands cut through the air like he was painting the vision itself. "—but werewolves, liches, banshees, ghouls, gargoyles, wraiths, the whole monstrous pantheon!"
Gaia blinked, stunned, almost human in her shock. She whispered, "…You are rewriting the entire framework."
Alter smirked, fangs flashing in anticipation of a future he hadn't even been given yet. "Damn right I am."
Gaia shook her head slowly, still reeling. "You terrify me more than the monsters you want me to create."
Alter leaned back, fingers steepled. "Alright, weapons and monsters are fine. But what about the system?"
Gaia tilted her head. "System?"
"Yes, the actual framework that governs growth. Don't tell me…" His eyes narrowed dangerously. "…you're planning on doing the same old, tired leveling up system."
Gaia's body visibly jolted, as though her entire core had been zapped. "…I… was."
Alter groaned, dragging his palm down his face. "Of course. Another boring grind from Level 1 to Level 99. I'm going to cry."
Gaia folded her arms defensively. "It is functional. Efficient."
"It's outdated!" Alter shot back. "This is a vampire and monster theme—we need something raw, primal. Something that feels monstrous."
Gaia blinked, waiting.
Alter's grin spread, sharp and slow. "How about… Evolution Points."
Gaia's eyes flickered. "Evolution… points?"
"Exactly. I kill monsters—I absorb their blood, their essence, their strength. Each kill feeds me. Each fight mutates me further. Not just numbers going up—actual transformations."
Gaia processed this, murmuring, "Adaptive growth through essence absorption…"
But Alter wasn't done. "And not just monsters. Humans too."
That snapped her out of her calculation. Her golden eyes widened. "…Humans?"
"Yes." Alter's smile was dark, fanged. "This isn't just some power fantasy where I slaughter demons. Humans will pursue me too. Hunters, knights, inquisitors—they'll see me as a threat and come at me. And when they do?" He leaned forward, eyes gleaming. "I drain them too."
Gaia stared, her expression somewhere between awe and horror. "…Are you… truly willing to fight humans?"
Alter smirked, his tone like cold steel. "If they come at me, yes."
He leaned back, voice quieter but edged with menace. "That's the point. This isn't a game of hero and villain. This is a game where I'm the monster, feared by both sides. Humans dread me. Monsters fear me. I'm the thing that stalks all of them."
Gaia's processors flickered violently, like she was rebooting mid-thought. "…This is… terrifying."
"Good." Alter's grin widened. "But—if I start this at S-Class? It'll be boring. Nothing can touch me. No tension." He tapped the side of his head. "So let's go from the bottom. Let's start weak."
Gaia tilted her head, her voice quiet. "…Then explain. How will this 'Evolution Point' system work?"
Alter leaned forward, his eyes gleaming with the kind of dangerous excitement that usually meant Gaia was about to be overworked. "Alright, let's talk about the system."
Gaia's golden eyes flickered. "System… you mean the Evolution Points you proposed?"
"Exactly." Alter smirked. "But first… do you have any information on a game called Prototype?"
Gaia blinked. "Searching…" Her irises darted left and right as streams of invisible data scrolled before her. After a moment, she frowned. "…Unfortunately, there is limited information."
Alter sighed heavily, dragging a hand down his face. "Figures. Alright, let me explain."
He leaned forward, hands animated as he spoke. "In the original Prototype, the main character is Alex Mercer. He was injected with a bio-weapon virus and mutated. His entire body became a weapon—he could form blades, whips, claws, shields—anything. Even shapeshifting. Think of it like… Venom from Spider-Man, but cranked up to eleven."
Gaia's golden eyes darted rapidly, parsing names, series, and terms. Then, all at once, her expression brightened. "Wait. I found references. Yes—Prototype. And Prototype 2."
Her lips curved into a smile. "The evolution mechanics and gameplay design are revolutionary."
Alter snapped his fingers. "Exactly! It was one of the best ideas ever made. An open-world sandbox—you could transform your appearance, run across buildings, leap stories high, glide across cities. You weren't just fighting gangs or small enemies—you were tearing through armies, tanks, helicopters, and monsters, all at once."
He leaned back, grin widening. "Now imagine that. But not in modern New York." He spread his hands, painting the picture in the air. "In a fantasy world."
Gaia's golden eyes glowed brighter, her voice carrying a spark of awe. "So… a vampiric reimagining of Prototype in a medieval-fantasy setting…"
"Exactly." Alter's tone sharpened with certainty. "Same mechanics. Different flavor."
Gaia tilted her head. "…Then to clarify: the Evolution system works by you absorbing the blood and essence of defeated enemies. The points harvested are spent to acquire new powers, enhance attributes, or unlock transformations."
Alter snapped his fingers again, pointing at her like a teacher proud of his student. "You got it! That's the system. Blood for power. Kills for evolution."
Gaia raised a brow. "And this applies… universally? Monsters, humans, even legendary creatures?"
"Of course." Alter smirked. "If it bleeds, it feeds."
Gaia paused, her body language caught somewhere between awe and fear. "You are creating… a nightmare evolution tree."
"And it's going to be glorious." Alter leaned back with a wolfish grin. "A vampire game that finally makes you feel like the monster you're supposed to be."