Chapter 120

[Translator – Prøks]

[Proofreader – Prøks]

Chapter 120: Vampire’s Castle (2)

Vampires.

One of the most infamous monsters.

Their characteristic trait is that the more fresh blood they suck, the stronger they become.

Their recovery also increases like crazy. Thanks to this blood-sucking ability, they were one of the most notorious monsters.

‘In that sense, the undead are their natural enemies.’

Undead?

Most of them don’t have blood.

A few types do, but as corpses, it’s rotten blood.

It’s a type of blood that would actually harm them if they drank it.

The only thing they could suck blood from was himself.

‘Well, I can just dodge that.’

It was practically the same as having their most troublesome ability, blood-sucking, half-sealed.

Thud.

Thud.

As he approached the castle with Dolsoe’s heavy footsteps,

―Screech!

Suddenly, a group of dark figures rushed in from all directions.

There were about ten of them.

It was a vampire ambush under the cover of night. Their blood-red eyes were all fixed on him.

When dealing with summoners, the usual strategy is to target the summoner directly.

These vampires must know that too.

The undead horde reacted swiftly.

[Dolsoe uses Taunt (A) on Idran!]

Dolsoe raised his shield and blocked the path. One vampire’s head snapped around, targeting the golem.

‘It begins.’

Kim Minwoo stretched out his hand.

[Casting Land of Death (S)!]

Land of Death was activated first, and…

[Curse of Aging (D)+9…]

The curse, amplified by the Ring of Ascension, enveloped the vampires.

[‘Serena’ is cursed!]

[‘Albolton’ is cursed…]

.

.

[Possesses powerful blood! Curse effect and duration significantly reduced…]

Each vampire had a name. This was a characteristic of pure-blooded vampires. Nevertheless, the curse took effect.

A slight decrease in speed and defense, about 10%.

Merhen activated her magic towards the slowed vampires.

[Merhen uses Water Prison (SS)!]

The group rushing towards Kim Minwoo was trapped in a water prison formed in mid-air. Red blood gathered on their hands, transforming into claws.

Rip!

A mass of blood cut through the water.

Several vampires tore through the Water Prison and emerged.

As if waiting for them, Cedric’s spear greeted them.

―Kill them all!

[Cedric activates Dragon’s Strike (S)!]

Blood-formed claws clashed against the elongated spear.

Boom!

The vampire staggered and was pushed back.

Cedric’s stats had already increased with the release of the second seal.

On top of that, with the stat boost from Land of Death and the skill he used, he wouldn’t be easily pushed back.

Dullahans, Specters, and Skeletons swarmed in from all sides, and the mages’ curses blinded the vampires.

A chaotic battle unfolded in every direction.

Meanwhile, two vampires, having stubbornly pushed through, were rushing towards Kim Minwoo.

“Fire.”

―Coo.

[Sharing attributes with ‘Hayang’! ]

[You can now utilize the fire attribute!]

[Fire resistance increased by 10.2%!]

Hayang’s attributes had also increased significantly. Now it could be utilized effectively even without the ice attribute.

[‘Law of Victory’ activated!]

[All stats increased by 50%!]

[All damage increased by 50%!]

The title that increased by 10% for every 100 levels.

50% meant a level difference of at least 500.

‘The level is a bit high.’

Of course, it didn’t matter much.

Fire was the natural enemy of vampires.

He swung his sword, engulfed in flames.

[Using Command Swordsmanship (S)!]

[Consuming 3,000 Mana…]

Dozens of flaming sword energies enveloped the vampires.

The splattering blood was seen being sucked back into their bodies as if in reverse regeneration.

Source of Blood.

One of the passive skills of pure-blood vampires.

The effect was simple.

Even if blood flowed, it returned to the body.

A kind of mini-immortal.

‘The way to overcome it is…’

To inflict heavy injuries, causing them to spill more blood than they can recover.

He dodged the vampires’ attacks and swung his sword.

In the midst of a fierce melee…

After 3 minutes of fighting, the head of the first vampire was severed.

That was the moment.

The headless vampire stood up, its arms dangling.

“…!”

The vampire next to it was startled at the sight.

No matter how pure-blooded they were, they couldn’t survive with their head cut off.

Maybe a high-ranking noble could…

But the pure-blood who just died was just an ordinary one.

‘Could it be?’

The bad feeling soon became a reality. The vampire, now an undead, plunged its claws into its comrade’s body.

The tide of the battle began to turn rapidly.

* * *

Creak.

A coffin in the castle opened for the first time in decades. Inside the blood-filled coffin lay a vampire.

“We greet the great Duke Timorn.”

The vampires bowed respectfully towards the vampire who opened his eyes in the coffin.

The vampire before them possessed a power worthy of such reverence. He was a noble among pure-bloods.

A noble with the highest title of Duke.

“Why have you awakened me?”

The vampires bit their lips and knelt down.

“…Please help us, Duke. A necromancer has invaded. He is an enemy we cannot handle.”

At those words, interest sparked in the Duke’s eyes.

A vampire’s power is determined by their blood.

In other words, pure-blood vampires were strong from birth.

They had settled here and turned countless invaders into crow food.

But if they were seeking his help, then…

The Duke rose from the coffin.

Slide…

The remaining pure-bloods followed him reverently as he moved smoothly.

As he walked forward, the Duke frowned, feeling his life force draining away.

‘They’re using troublesome magic.’

Of course, for someone like him, losing a bit of life force wouldn’t cause any major problems.

It was just a minor annoyance.

Soon, he could see the chaotic scene inside the banquet hall.

Blood splattered everywhere.

A mess of overturned furniture.

A horde of undead and a human standing calmly in the center.

Timorn’s eyes narrowed.

‘A necromancer.’

A summoner who controls the undead.

Among the undead, there were even some pure-bloods who had already turned into corpses.

It seemed he had used a special ability to resurrect the killed vampires.

‘I can roughly understand the situation.’

The necromancer invaded, and in trying to stop him, they ended up strengthening his forces.

The Duke took a step forward.

Instantly, a woman with a parasol cast a spell.

Rumble!

A massive lightning bolt surged towards the Duke. The pure-blood vampires trembled at the sight.

Many of their comrades had died from that witch’s magic.

At that moment, surging blood enveloped the Duke’s body.

Fizzle!

The lightning bolt, colliding with the blood, dissipated instantly.

“You control interesting minions.”

Timorn began to stare intently at Kim Minwoo, as if intrigued.

[Translator – Prøks]

[Proofreader – Prøks]

* * *

A vampire wearing elegant attire.

His atmosphere was unusual from the start.

A group of vampires had been following closely behind him since he entered the banquet hall.

‘That must be him.’

The reason this mission offered a reward of 500,000 points plus something extra.

It seemed to be because of that vampire.

[The castle boss, ‘Duke Timorn,’ has appeared!]

The message also indicated that he was not to be underestimated.

A Duke, no less.

As a test, he ordered Merhen to attack. The magic that had been decimating countless pure-bloods barely affected the Duke.

‘High magic resistance.’

Of course.

He was a Duke, after all.

Having lived for hundreds of years, his level would naturally be high.

Although Merhen’s magic power had increased significantly with the release of the second seal, the level difference was an insurmountable issue.

He sent the pure-blood vampires revived by the Land of Death towards the Duke.

He wanted to check the Duke’s physical abilities. The undead vampires rushed in with their mouths wide open.

Their racial abilities had long since disappeared after being revived as undead.

But their physical abilities alone were still useful.

―Screech!

The Duke frowned at the sight of the undead rushing in from all directions.

“Tsk.”

The moment he clicked his tongue and waved his hand, over ten undead vampires were instantly split in half.

‘…He’s quite strong, isn’t he?’

He was weaker than Vulcan, whom I had seen in the previous arrangement.

[TL/N: Balkan->Vulcan (correct spell)]

The problem was that he wasn’t alone. The number of pure-bloods following him was close to sixty.

Having just caught about forty of them, this was another hurdle to overcome.

‘Good thing I brought the bombs.’

If I had tried to attack without them, I would have had to be prepared to die.

“I will grant you a glorious life.”

His fangs gleamed sharply. I could see the overflowing greed in the duke’s eyes.

‘Is he thinking of turning me into a vampire?’

Vampires can turn those they feed on into their subordinates.

Of course, the number isn’t unlimited. That’s why they usually create subordinates carefully.

It seemed that he was interested in my abilities.

‘Good.’

To turn someone into a subordinate, they have to sink their fangs into their neck.

I had to close the distance anyway to use the light bomb.

Seeing the duke’s greedy eyes, it seemed like I wouldn’t have to worry about that.

As expected, he started to close the distance.

The pure-bloods swarming in from all sides were a bonus. While the undead army took care of the pure-bloods,

Cedric, Dolsoe, and I rushed towards the duke.

[Dolsoe uses Provoke (A) on Timorn!]

[The difference in rank is too great! Provoke fails to….]

Perhaps due to the large level difference, the provocation didn’t work.

Whoosh!

Dolsoe swung his mace.

Cedric threw his spear towards the Duke, who easily dodged by bending his waist.

A powerful combo of Shadow Spear and Dragon’s Strike, dealing 14 times the damage.

The Duke caught the spear with his bare hand.

Cedric opened his mouth wide and unleashed a breath attack.

The Duke also opened his mouth.

A bloody mist flowed out, completely absorbing the breath attack.

Kim Minwoo seized the opportunity and stabbed deeply.

[‘Law of Victory’ activated!]

[All stats increased by 80%…]

A monster with a level exceeding 1,000.

The Command Sword slightly pierced the Duke’s waist. A few drops of blood trickled down before being absorbed back into his body.

The Duke’s head snapped around.

Timorn looked at him with a chilling smile.

Desire burned in his eyes.

“You’re tempting.”

He maintained a relaxed demeanor throughout, as if he didn’t even consider the possibility of defeat.

“Shall I give you a gift?”

“…?”

The Duke tilted his head at the unexpected words.

A small sphere of light formed on Kim Minwoo’s hand. It was the Light Bomb he had taken out of his inventory.

[Using Light Bomb!]

[Does not harm allies!]

“…!”

The Duke’s eyes widened.

A chilling feeling made his hair stand on end, and he hastily created a blood shield, but it was meaningless against the sphere of light exploding right in front of him.

“Kuaaak!”

A bright light that could blind his eyes.

The pure-bloods around him were also affected. Their entire bodies were torn apart like ants caught in a typhoon.

When the explosion subsided…

“Cough… Cough…”

The Duke, covered in burns, coughed up blood.

It was a clear critical injury.

Yet, he did not die.

That was because his level was that high.

Anger filled his eyes, having been struck by an unexpected blow.

“…You, I will kill you.”

“Oh, I have another one.”

“…?”

Boom!

Another massive explosion erupted. He had managed to block one, but two were too much for him.

All the blood in his body evaporated, and his body withered like a mummy.

When the seemingly endless light finally faded, the Duke’s appearance had changed drastically.

“Blood… Give me… blood…”

The Duke desperately craved blood.

Unfortunately, that was an impossible goal.

This side wasn’t weak enough to be defeated by a Duke who had become significantly weakened after losing all his blood.

His body crumbled like a cracker under the attacks of the undead swarming from all sides.

‘Worth the points.’

To think that just two bombs could instantly subdue such a monster.

It wasn’t for nothing that each one cost 500,000 points. Kim Minwoo approached the Duke.

“Farewell.”

The Command Sword severed his neck.

That was the moment.

[The Command Sword absorbs the prey’s blood!]

[Powerful enemy! Absorption amount greatly increased! (4/10)]

‘Huh?’

When he hunted Han Baek-gil, who had become a demon, the Command Sword absorbed a value of 1.

That suddenly jumped to 4.

‘Is it a similar case to Vulcan?’

Just like Vulcan’s level increased by 2,000 after feeding him blood, it seemed like a similar mechanism was at play here.

It was proof of just how strong the Duke was.

The messages didn’t end there.

[Obtained the title ‘Executioner of Vampire Duke’…]

[A new entry has been added to the The Beginning of a Legend – Part 1…]

[All entries in Part 1 have been filled! (10/10)]

[Obtained the title ‘Completer of Part 1’ as a reward!]

[The Beginning of a Legend – Part 2 is generated!]

Title acquisition message.

[You have completed the Vampire’s Castle mission!]

[Rewards will be given!]

[1. You have earned 500,000 points!]

[2. You have received a VVIP Store Unlock Pass!]

The hidden question mark reward.

It seemed that it was a VVIP Store Unlock Pass.

He looked at the details.

[VVIP Store Unlock Pass]

[Rank: Unique]

[Effect 1. Unlocks the VVIP Store upon use. (However, the VIP Store must be unlocked first.)]

[Effect 2. Allows you to purchase ‘Nuclear Bomb’ from the VVIP Store.]

What was this?

He saw a strange phrase.

“…Nuclear Bomb?”

Kim Minwoo tilted his head.

Could it be the nuclear bomb he was thinking of?

[Translator – Prøks]

[Proofreader – Prøks]