Chapter 38
Chapter 38
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 38
Chapter Title: Jin Soran (2)
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“Ah! So, um, may I ask how you ended up in that place, Benefactor?”
Jin Soran, who had been chattering away for a good while, finally snapped back to her senses and turned her gaze back to me.
“Call me Heinz. That Gamma guy sweet-talked me into tagging along. Even if he tried something shady, I figured I could slip away no problem.”
“Hmm... That’s... impressive...”
She trailed off with a subtle expression on her face.
It was like she wanted to call it reckless, but since I’d actually saved her and gotten out, she had nothing to say.
Even if she hadn’t expected her comrade’s betrayal, she was the one who’d gotten captured.
“Oh, right! This isn’t the time!”
Suddenly, Jin Soran frantically rummaged through her pockets and pulled out her smartphone.
She must’ve been trying to report what happened, but unfortunately, her phone didn’t have a self-repair function like she did.
“Ah~ Nooo! I still have so many payments left...”
The screen was completely shattered.
Of course, it wouldn’t even turn on.
She froze with a devastated look for a moment, then started fidgeting awkwardly while stealing glances at me.
Like she wanted something but couldn’t bring herself to ask.
“...Want to borrow my phone?”
“Ah! Yes! Thank you!”
She accepted eagerly the moment I offered.
She took the burner phone I handed her and fiddled with it for a while.
“Phew, got it sent. Oh, um, is it okay if I delete the call history?”
“Doesn’t matter to me. But is it really fine to contact them on an outsider’s phone?”
“It’s okay. That’s what the emergency network is for.”
She seemed relieved after sending the message and slumped back in her seat.
Then she started glancing at me again.
“...Something you want to say?”
“Yes! You seem really strong, Heinz. Are you part of any group?”
Her response came as if she’d been waiting.
She was the type who didn’t hesitate when an opportunity arose.
“Nah, I only got back to Earth recently. I followed Gamma because I was curious about this Blood Alliance he mentioned. He said it’s where most of the vampires in Korea gather, right?”
Perfect timing.
But I kept my cool and brought it up casually.
“There are probably some in other groups too. Still, I’d say about seventy percent are with the Blood Alliance? Not sure exactly, since we don’t know how many got caught by the Ability Management Bureau or are in hiding.”
“What happens if a vampire who hasn’t committed any crimes gets picked up by the Ability Management Bureau? They wouldn’t just kill them outright, would they?”
I asked the questions I’d been wondering about during our chat.
Stuff like this never showed up online.
“Sigh... They don’t kill them. But the treatment isn’t great either. Pretty much like a prison, from what I hear.”
She added that she’d heard it from someone who’d escaped after getting caught.
“Actually, after the Mad Vampire incident, there was an attempt to integrate the more moderate vampires. Didn’t go so well, though. Now they’re treated like potential criminals.”
“Hm, good thing I didn’t turn myself in after coming back.”
“Right? So, speaking of that...”
Her eyes sparkled as she spoke.
“If you’re looking for a group to join, how about the Blood Alliance?”
Then she started enthusiastically pitching her crew.
They were a moderate faction within the Blood Alliance that pursued peace, with stable blood pack supplies tied to blood centers, and occasional opportunities to feed on clinical trial volunteers.
“They pay people to let you bite them. Just enough blood that they’re fine after recovery, then heal the bite marks and send them on their way.”
She paused mid-explanation and checked my reaction again.
“So~ with that setup, if you want to build power, our crew might not be for you. I can introduce you to somewhere else if that’s what you’re after. Somewhere that doesn’t cause much trouble...”
“Nah, that sounds fine. I’m not particularly keen on sucking human blood to get stronger anyway.”
Yeah, because I plan to suck vampire blood to power up.
Jin Soran’s face brightened, unaware of my thoughts.
“Then it’s perfect! Wow, maybe we were fated to meet like this?”
She was beaming happily when she suddenly froze.
She blinked and peered out the car window.
“By the way, where are we headed?”
“You’re asking that now...?”
I’d been driving nonstop since she woke up.
Though to be fair, it was partly my fault for not mentioning it.
“No real destination. The goal was escape from the start. After getting far enough, I’ve just been looping nearby roads. If there’s somewhere you want to go, just say it. I’ll drop you off.”
I should’ve pulled over somewhere if I’d known the talk would drag on.
I’d planned to naturally offer to take Jin Soran to her crew’s base and show some interest...
“Ah! In that case, I won’t hold back! Why don’t you come with me while you’re at it, Heinz? It’s late anyway—I can set you up with a place to crash.”
The long night filled with events was ending.
Dawn was breaking.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ “Soran unnie~! I heard! Are you okay?!”
As we entered the lobby of a building in a villa complex, an elementary school girl—maybe upper grades—came dashing out and threw herself into Jin Soran’s arms.
It was a pretty forceful body tackle, but she smoothly redirected the impact and hugged the girl.
She’s pretty skilled at this.
Still, a kid that young being a vampire... How old was she when she went to the otherworld?
Or maybe she looks younger than she is.
“...Who’s that uncle?”
The girl peeked out from Jin Soran’s embrace, eyeing me warily.
“This is Heinz, who’s joining our crew. He helped me out this time too. Say hi, Nahee.”
“...Hello.”
“Hey, kid.”
At Jin Soran’s low words while patting her back, the girl nodded and greeted me.
She seemed a bit less guarded after hearing I’d helped Jin Soran.
Though she was still clinging to her.
“Nahee? Unnie has some quick business... Can you let go for a bit?”
Shake shake...
The girl buried her face back in Jin Soran’s chest and shook her head.
“I’ll come to your room after I’m done. We can sleep together then. Just let go for a sec, okay?”
Stroking her hair and coaxing gently, Jin Soran finally got the girl to release her, though with a grumpy face.
“You better come quick? I’ll stay up waiting!”
“Yeah, yeah. Unnie will be right there.”
She sent the girl off with more pats, but then had to deal with others who came one after another.
They must’ve heard her return with their keen ears.
She’s popular.
“Phew, let me show you to a place to rest first.”
After greetings and introductions, Jin Soran finally led Heinz up the stairs.
“By the way, I’ve been wondering... How long are you gonna keep the mask on?”
“I’m a bit shy around new people. I’ll take it off once we’re closer.”
“Ah... Okay. Whatever makes you comfortable...”
She accepted my shameless answer with a awkward look, then guided me to an empty room without further comment.
It was sparsely furnished but neatly kept.
Good enough for a short stay.
“There was a really young-looking kid in the crew earlier.”
“Ah... Nahee?”
“First returnee I’ve seen that young. Thought maybe she’s older than she looks.”
The youngest known so far was a high schooler, though that was rare too.
Usually adults over twenty.
But she looked upper elementary at most, middle school tops...
“She’s not a returnee. Her dad was, and he turned her into a vampire to save her from an incurable disease.”
That’s when I realized my mistake.
Not all vampires were returnees.
Vampires who returned from the otherworld could infect others on Earth, and so on.
No wonder the government wants to control them. It’s basically an imported contagious disease.
That explained the occasional low-level Servants mixed in with crime syndicates.
Perfect cannon fodder.
But oddly, there didn’t seem to be that many...
“Oh, but vampires can’t just multiply endlessly. For some reason, turning someone on Earth takes over ten times the power.”
Yeah, that made sense.
Probably because it’s a different dimension.
If creating more weakens you, blindly expanding has limits.
“That Nahee seemed stronger than expected.”
To make a strong infectee naturally takes more power.
And from Appraisal, she was mid-tier Lesser Blood.
“Her dad pushed hard so she could live openly under the sun.”
Level 1 burns to ash in sunlight, Level 2 gets continuous burns.
Level 3 and up take no damage, just some discomfort.
Nahee looked late Level 3, so her dad must’ve sacrificed a lot.
“What about her dad?”
Jin Soran just smiled awkwardly and shook her head instead of answering.
“...It’s late. You should rest. Busy day today. Let’s talk more tonight.”
She forced a bright tone, said goodbye, and left.
Vampires or not, everyone has their stories.
The room had blackout curtains.
Heinz lay on the bed and closed his eyes.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ Breakfast was a steaming bowl of seolleongtang.
Followed by scrambled eggs and pork jjimdak rice, then hot dogs and a pint of ice cream for dessert.
“Hm... A bit light?”
No, this is just right for breakfast.
My main body doesn’t squeeze calories to the extreme like an avatar.
I eyed my avatar wolfing down chicken breast, boiled eggs, and health foods aggressively, chomping on high-calorie protein bars.
⚔ ENTITY INFO ⚔ 📛 Entity Name: Harley 🔗 Common Traits: 「Mind Hub」, 「Persona」, 「Super Recovery」, 「Clear Mirror Still Water」 🧬 Entity Trait: 「Adaptation」 📝 Notes: Han Seonghyeon’s fifth avatar. Adapts quickly and efficiently to changes even in extreme situations. About a week had passed on Earth since Heinz gloriously perished in Azantu.
Around when Heinrich joined the Church, this guy became resummonable.
And that’s when I learned something. It took a week this time, but next fallen avatar will take about two weeks to recreate.
And it’ll keep increasing with each repeat.
Well, I can unsummon if it gets risky, so no big deaths unless it’s special circumstances.
Coincidentally, Hans, Heinz 2nd, and Heinrich all had cockroach-level survivability now, so just be careful with new ones.
This one’s starting skills suggest it’ll be tough to kill too.
Newborn ‘Harley’s initial skill: 「Adaptation」.
A real cockroach power—adapts and survives any harsh environment.
Training loads were treated as extreme too, so paired with 「Super Recovery」, the gains were insane.
Don’t know when or where I’ll deploy it, but prep now for later.
Next, checked the Karma Shop.
After blowing most leaving Azantu, no big events, so low expectations...
🛒 KARMA SHOP 🛒 『Unique Skill Enhancement (800,000)』 『Status Enhancement – View Details』 『Held Karma: 331,087』
More karma than expected.
Not mind-blowing, but windfall for my inactive self.
What did I even do? Last big thing was getting 「Persona」... Hans clashed briefly with the Church during magic research, took the siblings to Rapella City.
Ran into True Blood vampire in Talaria, Heinrich joined Church of the Main God.
Big stuff since mostly on Earth, but Earth gives no karma...
...Seriously, nothing much?
Hans’s clash was quick, Heinrich just a Holy Knight candidate.
Hardly world-shaking.
Wait...
En route to Roselia Main Temple, Heinrich heard from his city-guide Holy Knight.
They fought more vampires and black mages than Immortal King descendants. Black mage forces lost base in Talia Kingdom, went underground...
Hm, got it.
So...
“...My fault?”
I did stir the pot hard.
Didn’t expect this backlash.
“...Eh~ Whatever. Good stuff. Virtue rewarded! Live right, get blessed. Old sayings never fail.”
Muttering to myself with no audience, I refocused on the Karma Shop.
Way short for unique skill upgrade.
Boost stats or save—those are the options.
Already did some status boosts.
After Heinz died fighting vampires, before Heinz 2nd deployed.
Prepped strength, agility, etc., fearing repeats.
Not enough for related skills, just spread thin.
Inefficient to grind stats for skills anyway.
Got 「Super Recovery」 after dumping 310k into ‘Body – Vitality – Recovery’.
Early desperation for disability recovery, no regrets.
Physicals are fine now. Super Recovery + training suffices. More is greedy.
Mental via stats also inefficient.
Unique skill 「Avatar」 upgrade gives mental boosts cheaper.
Decided. Save till next unique upgrade.
With that settled, I searched online for info.
Nocturnia... Found it. Pretty well-known dimension.
World of warring vampires and humans.
Tech like early 20th century Earth, but anti-vampire tech hyper-advanced.
Vampires get bloodline powers; Slayers refine their blood into drugs for temporary superhuman strength.
Endless war; safe rear support nets enough karma in 10 years to return.
Advanced detection means low risk.
Confident fighters can frontline to shorten it.
10 years there = about 1 Earth year. Lots of returnees, lots of info.
Boosts survival for latecomers.
Return rate now over 20%.
Was under 10% early on.
Searched Jin Soran next.
No hits on real name, but stage name...
“Orchid... There she is. Oho, pretty famous.”
300k followers? Solid streamer.
But makeup made her look different—less glamorous, more lively and approachable.
Vampires are pretty, but subtly inhuman. Doll-like.
Clicked recent stream replay; joyful Jin Soran appeared.
Corner notice: hiatus announcement.
If Heinz hadn’t gone, no stream after that.
I sank into the chair and closed my eyes.
Heinz currently end of Pureblood—Earth Levels 6-7.
First, evolve Heinz to True Blood.
Need more prey...
And I had their habitats and hunting tools in hand.