Vampire (1)
“To get straight to the point, it’s a vampire,” the president of the Vietnam Hunter Association announced.
“Just as I thought,” the hunters muttered, nodding as if they’d expected it all along.
A survivor drenched in someone else’s blood. A body so shriveled it looked like every drop of moisture had been sucked out. To hunters who had even tackled A-rank gates, this was a familiar sight. One particular monster came to mind.
A vampire. Also known as a bloodsucker. With the exception of the lowest-tier familiars, nearly all of them were high-ranking entities. They took human form, with pale skin, sharp fangs, and an insatiable thirst for human blood. They wielded power drawn from that blood and possessed terrifying vitality.
“This is going to be a pain in the ass.”
“Tsk… Anyone here with a light-attribute conversion skill?”
“Do we have any silver-plated weapons for undead?”
The hunters’ reactions were far from enthusiastic. And for good reason. Vampires were highly intelligent, advanced monsters with exceptional life force. They could recover their vitality in an instant by drinking blood, and each one commanded four or five familiars. They were notoriously difficult opponents.
On top of that, this particular gate had nearly wiped out an entire skilled party from an A-rank raid team.
“This is going to be tough.”
Everyone was already predicting that clearing this gate would be no easy feat.
Should I pull out?
Honestly, this seems way too dangerous. We probably need at least one or two S-rank hunters for this.
No matter how much of a hunter someone was, their own life still came first. No one wanted to step into a gate where survival odds looked like fifty-fifty at best, let alone a guaranteed clear.
But there were exactly two people whose thoughts ran completely counter to everyone else’s.
Vampires? Vampire girls?
Pale skin, blood-red lips, shimmering silver hair… They’re going to be so fucking hot.
The moment they heard the word “vampire,” Park Jihun and Shin Jiyeon’s eyes began to sparkle.
If it was a vampire, it would obviously be humanoid. And in this world, that almost always meant they were beautiful. There were bound to be female vampires among them.
But still…
You never know. Maybe giant bat-like monsters will come flying out even if they’re called vampires.
Having been thoroughly betrayed by the Sirens not long ago, the pair raised their hands and asked the association president,
“Are all the vampires in humanoid form?”
“Hm? Ah, yes… That’s correct. They were completely humanoid monsters.”
Chien Bao looked puzzled about why they were asking, but he answered anyway. At his response, both Park Jihun and Shin Jiyeon nodded in satisfaction.
Perfect.
Vampire sisters… that pale skin… those cold but soft, squishy breasts! I want to lick them all over!
The two of them were already flaring their nostrils at the mere thought of encountering female vampires.
However…
But this time it’s gonna be pretty damn tough, isn’t it…
Even though it was labeled an A-rank gate, it had been judged as nearly S-rank. They had information now, but that didn’t change the difficulty inside the gate. All it meant was they could prepare accordingly.
Honestly, Park Jihun’s stats were already close to S-rank, so he might be fine. But Shin Jiyeon and the rest of his familiars were not. Shin Jiyeon had only just stepped into A-rank, and the other familiars were all B-rank. He could now summon disposable subordinates, and his overall combat strength wasn’t bad, but…
Could he really clear this vampire gate with just his current forces?
“We’re going in.”
At that moment, the leader of Team 8 from the mercenary guild Peace stepped forward.
“We’re mercenaries. As long as we get paid, we’ll dive into any crisis.”
“......”
The news of their participation caused a stir among the others. They had been ready to back out because it seemed too dangerous, but now that they thought about it, the rewards were starting to look tempting.
If those guys go in and somehow manage to clear it… Vampires drop mid-A-rank magic stones as basic loot. Plus vampire fangs, high-end clothing, grimoires hidden in their lairs, and even vampire blood…
Vampires, their familiars, and the boss. It was a high-difficulty gate, but it was famous for dropping top-quality magic stones and expensive loot. If Peace monopolized all of it, they would walk away with tens of billions… maybe even over a hundred billion in profit.
It was a shame. If they couldn’t have it, fine. But the opportunity was right in front of them. And if they cooperated with the others, it wasn’t impossible.
Peace’s Team 8… I heard their members are all top-tier talents. If we join them, the others will definitely follow.
The leader of the Bianco raid team thought this and subtly raised his hand.
“We’ll go in too. If we leave it like this, not only Vietnam but the surrounding Southeast Asian countries will be in danger.”
“As expected of a former mafia guy. Your tongue sure is smooth. Why don’t you just say you’re drooling over the magic stones?”
“What?!”
When the leader of Peace’s Team 8 picked a fight, the expressions of the Bianco raid team members twisted instantly. For a second it looked like a brawl would break out, but—
“We’re going in too. Honestly, just like they said, the magic stones and byproducts look pretty tempting.”
The leader of the Raijin raid team adjusted his glasses as he cut in.
With that, the participation of three A-rank raid teams was decided.
All that remained were Park Jihun and Shin Jiyeon.
“......”
All eyes turned toward them.
Honestly, isn’t this too much for them? One fresh A-rank and one B-rank…
Of course, when you factored in his familiars, Park Jihun’s actual fighting power was above A-rank. But even then, the others didn’t think he had any business inserting himself into this group.
No matter how fast he was growing, he had only just crossed into B-rank. His familiars were at best B- to C-rank in strength. They hardly seemed like appropriate personnel for a near-S-rank gate clear.
Meanwhile, Park Jihun was thinking something entirely different.
Ah, shit. If too many people join, it’s gonna suck… These bastards are just gonna kill all the vampire girls!
He was actually reluctant about their participation.
Still… it’s true that this one is genuinely dangerous. Unlike with Sira, there’s almost no chance my abilities will luckily match up perfectly for survival this time.
Park Jihun knew it well. This wouldn’t be like Sira’s special gate where everything aligned perfectly by luck. He also knew he couldn’t handle it alone.
Yeah, can’t be helped. But there’s no way I’m giving up the chance to see vampire girls, right?
In the end, Park Jihun made his choice. Even if those rotten hunters ended up slaughtering most of the female vampires, if he could claim even a few for himself, it would be worth it.
I’ll subdue them in battle first, then take care of the rest once we’re out.
He had already confirmed multiple times that once subdued, they became perfectly obedient. It was doable.
Having reached that conclusion in his head, he turned to Shin Jiyeon.
“Jiyeon, you okay with this?”
“Yes, I think this much should be fine.”
After receiving her agreement, he raised his hand.
“We’ll participate as well.”
Park Jihun and Shin Jiyeon have joined the vampire gate subjugation force.
“Fuck, why do we have to put up with a bastard like that acting all high and mighty?”
Yamazaki Teru, a Japanese hunter from the Raijin raid team, was extremely displeased that a mere B-rank like Park Jihun was being treated as their equal and boldly claiming a spot among them.
But afraid of getting smacked in the head by his leader again, he had held back his complaints earlier. Now that they were in the waiting room assigned to each raid team, he finally let it all out.
“Can’t be helped. He was invited to that seat as a fighting force on the level of an ‘A-rank raid team,’ just like us.”
Leader Hanami Ken also felt some dissatisfaction, but he considered it unavoidable.
“People tend to have their abilities overhyped once they’ve made a name for themselves.”
As long as he didn’t cause trouble for others and took care of his own skin, that was good enough. That was how he saw it.
“Well, at least he has some conscience. He said he won’t take any of the rewards.”
One of the raid members recalled the earlier discussion.
…That part was definitely strange.
Park Jihun’s group had declared they had no need for magic stones or vampire byproducts. They even said the others could split the loot from any monsters they killed.
It was probably a decision made after carefully considering their own rank and position.
At first I thought they just wanted the fame and prestige of having cleared a near-S-rank gate.
But then they had added one more condition.
In exchange, any vampires captured by Park Jihun will be recognized as his property. No one is to touch them.
The moment he heard that, Hanami Ken understood why Park Jihun was willing to enter the gate even while giving up on clear rewards.
A-rank gate vampires would naturally be A-rank level threats. If he tamed one of those A-rank vampires as a familiar, his combat power would skyrocket.
So his goal was power growth from the beginning.
And since Park Jihun had a growth ability, he was probably trying to use this gate as an opportunity to raise his stats significantly.
Haa… I can’t help but feel like I’m raising a monster from another country with my own hands.
Still, when a hunter volunteered to risk his life in the gate even while abandoning the rewards, the Vietnam Hunter Association had no justification to kick out the very person they had originally recruited as a clear force.
So Ken could only accept it.
“…Tsk.”
Watching his silent leader, Yamazaki Teru clicked his tongue.
He had always hated people who acted arrogantly without knowing their place. Especially someone like Park Jihun, who, after gaining a little fame, dared to try and stand shoulder-to-shoulder with A-rank raid teams. It pissed him off to no end.
I hope that bastard just dies inside the gate.
Thinking that, he began applying the undead-slaying silver plating to his weapon.