Nomatter how long Akiha lay there, sleep refused to come.
He stared at the dark ceiling, listening to the quiet of the room—the faint creak of settling wood, the distant murmur of voices from the first floor, and, most clearly of all, the slow, steady rhythm of Fumika's breathing from the other bed.
She was already asleep.
Knowing that should have reassured him. It didn't.
…Why am I still wide awake?
I should be very exhausted.
And yet, since the moment they'd been summoned, his body had felt… wrong.
Not painful. Not sick. Just subtly off—like something fundamental had shifted without asking for permission.
He rolled onto his side and blinked.
The room was dark. The lantern had long since gone out.
And still—he could see.
Not sharply, not perfectly, but enough. The outline of the furniture. The window. The gentle rise and fall of Fumika's chest beneath her shirt.
…Since when could I see this well in the dark?
On the road from the Luminaryx Temple, he'd dismissed it as moonlight. A coincidence. Adrenaline.
But now there was no denying it.
More than that—he wasn't tired. Not the bone-deep exhaustion he should've felt after everything: the summoning, the humiliation, running for his life, hauling water from a well.
His body felt light. Alert.
This isn't normal.
What's happening to me?
His gaze drifted again—unbidden.
Fumika lay on her side, facing him from her own bed, hair spilled loosely across her pillow. In her sleep, her collar had shifted slightly, exposing her neck.
Smooth. Pale.
Something sharp surged through him.
A pull, as if it inviting him.
An urge—sudden, vivid, and terrifying—to lean closer. To press his mouth there.
To bite.
Hard.
His breath hitched.
—What the hell?!
He tore his eyes away and squeezed them shut, shaking his head.
No.
No—no—no!
What is wrong with me?
The urge vanished as quickly as it had come, leaving behind a cold knot of dread in his stomach.
That's not me.
That can't be me.
He exhaled slowly, forcing his breathing to steady.
…Think. Calm down.
As he tried to busy his thought process with anything else but the wierd feeling of his body—memory surfaced.
Countless games. Endless novels. Familiar tropes burned into his brain.
Systems. Status screens. Hidden mechanics.
Actually… this is Isekai, right?
Let's try it. Just in case.
"…Status," he whispered. "Open."
The air in front of him rippled.
A translucent window snapped into existence.
Akiha froze.
"…It really worked?"
The interface hovered silently—far more detailed than the appraisal crystal at the Luminaryx Temple. Clean lines. Clear text. Cold, merciless clarity.
His heart pounded as he read.
—————————————————
Name: Kageyama Akiha
Race: Dampir
Level: 1
EXP: 0 / 150
———
Stats:
[HP:180/180] [Stamina:60/60] [Mana:55/55] [Condition:Fine]
Stat Attributes:
[Vitality:12] [Strength:12] [Endurance:12] [Agility:12] [Mana:11]
—————————————————
"…Dampir. Not human?"
He know what it was—half-human, half-vampire.
His breath hitched, shallow and uneven.
How did I even ended up as one—?
Carmen's voice surfaced back in his mind, uninvited and unmistakable.
"...A covenant, sealed in blood."
His fingers curled slightly, trembling before he could stop them.
…So that's what she meant.
The words she'd said before—casual at the time, almost teasing—returned with weight he hadn't understood back then.
"...You will be hunted. Opposed by gods, and the world itself."
His stomach tightened.
…What if this world hold grudges against all of vampire kins?
What if "Dampir" isn't just a race—but a sentence?
What if someone finds out that I'm one?
…Am I gonna be hunted down by people and became the enemy of this world?
Paranoia hit him as images flickered through his mind: guards turning hostile, bustling street going silent, torches instead of lanterns—
Fumika's terrified face.
He swallowed.
I'm… not ready for this.
Not for hiding. Not for being hunted. Not for choosing between survival and honesty.
What am I supposed to do, Carmen?
The answer—if there was one—didn't come.
After a moment, he exhaled slowly, jaw tightening.
And scrolled down anyway.
—————————————————
Skills:
Blood Magic (Mastery — 2);
Allows manipulation over the user's own blood, enabling alteration of shape, density, and trajectory.
Manipulated blood remains magically conductive.
Warning: Excessive drawing of the user's blood may result in rapid HP loss and severe anemia.
Blood Craving (Passive);
Blood Craving rate accumulates continuously over time.
0–30%: Calm mind, sharpened senses.
31–60%: Restlessness, heightened sensitivity to touch and temptation.
61–80%: Loss of focus, agitation.
81–95%: Increased heart rate, aggressive impulses.
96%+: the user enters a Feral State — attacking any nearby blood source indiscriminately. During this state, blood-related skills will activate at random without user control (disabled only after the accumulation rate had downed under 30%).
Blood Drain;
Reverts Blood Craving's progress,Restores HP, Mana, and Stamina by consuming someone else's fresh blood.
Warning: Excessive use may cause lethargy or severe anemia in the target.
Repeated use on the same target increases their resistance to the aforementioned effects.
Blood Binding;
Binds a target through blood and soul by marking them with a bite, turning them into the user's Blood Servant.
A Blood Servant cannot defy orders or harm the user (unless permitted).
Blood Drain's effects are doubled if used on the Blood Servant.
User Stat Attributes increased by 10% of his Blood Servants' base Stat Attributes. Blood Servants' Stat Attributes increased by 30% of the user's total Stat Attributes.
User gains permanent access to the weaker versions of his Blood Servants' skills. User may share one of his owned skills with the Blood Servants (requires blood contact).
Restriction: Activation of Blood Binding requires mutual trust between user and the targeted individual. Binding cannot be forced.
Racial Traits — Dampir;
Saliva possesses minor healing properties (has no effect on self).
Requires significantly less sleep.
Passive regeneration (can be enhanced by accelerating Blood Craving progress).
Direct sunlight exposure causes severe burn damage.
—————————
Why all this skills hadn't showed up during the appraisal?
Well, I'm glad it doesn't—
Then his eyes landed on the last piece of information on the screen.
—Direct sunlight exposure causes severe burn damage!?
Akiha stared at the line until it felt carved into his vision.
"…You've got to be kidding me," he muttered.
His eyes flicked toward the window. Outside, the night was thinning—darkness slowly bleeding into gray. Dawn crept closer, inevitable and uncaring.
So that's it, then.
I'm a nocturnal now.
But that wasn't even the worst part.
—————————————————
Blood Craving: 26%
—————————————————
…Already?
Just one day, and it was already over a quarter full.
At this rate, I'll hit Feral State in three days.
God, help me—actually, no. Please don't help me, and just leave me alone.
If everything Carmen had told me were true—the gods were supposed to oppose me when they found out, weren't they?
Man, what in hell I got myself into…?
The sheer absurdity of this circumstances almost made him laugh. Almost.
How am I supposed to explain this to Fumika?
'I'm sorry. Apparently, sunlight will burn me alive now. Also, if I don't bite you and drink your blood in three days, I will bite you and drink your blood—without asking first.'
Yeah. That sounds real convincing.
His gaze drifted to her bed.
Fumika was still asleep, turned slightly toward the wall, breathing slow and even. Peaceful. Unaware.
A familiar ache tightened in his chest.
…I can't tell her.
Not yet.
Not about the race change.
Not about the Craving.
Not about the fact that sunlight itself had become his enemy.
She trusts me.
And he was terrified of losing that—of seeing that trust replaced by hesitation, fear, distance.
He don't want that look in her eyes.
The one that says he's not the same anymore.
…I'm scared.
He scrubbed a hand through his hair and forced himself to think.
Okay. Think like a real gamer.
Think like someone who's read way too many cheap, AI generated, isekai stories.
An idea surfaced.
The Adventurers' Guild is busiest during the day, right?
So—we should register at night.
And shopping for clothes? The stores definitely thin out after sunset.
He nodded slowly, convincing himself.
I'll tell her we should train our magic during the day.
Get used to our skills first.
Then suggest shopping at night—because she hates crowds.
Always has.
He could already hear her voice.
"Honestly? Fewer people sounds nice." then, "Training first makes sense."
His lips twitched faintly.
Yeah.
This'll work.
He leaned back against the bedframe, exhaling.
I'll just… ease into it.
No lies. Just selective truth.
Outside, the sky brightened further. A pale band of gold crept over the horizon.
Fumika stirred.
She shifted, let out a sleepy groan, then blinked awake, sitting up slowly before stretching.
"…Morning," she murmured.
Akiha straightened, heart thudding—not with fear this time, but resolve.
"Morning," he replied, steadying himself.
"...Why's Aki-kun here—" her gaze sharpened. "Oh, right, we… actually get Isekai'd." She sighed. "I hope that was a dream."
Alright.
Let's see how convincing I can be.
…Man. This guilt is twisting my stomach.