Chapter 276
Chapter 276
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 276
Chapter Title: Vampire (1)
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Thanks to that, Rokan finished his preparations easily and left the village with a satisfied look.
He had already used the Heavenly Rune Book to save the location.
Interference from the celestials? No need to worry about that.
This was the demon realm, after all.
Unlike the surface world, there weren't specific conflict zones here. The territories were clearly divided, and crossing a border didn't just mean conflict—it meant war.
So he could move around without a care.
"First up, the familiar ones."
Checking his map, Rokan spotted something closer in familiarity than distance.
Vampires.
The best matchup would have been the naga clan, but they were too far away.
That left the vampires.
'Vampires, huh...'
They were definitely nobility. Their abilities were quite powerful in their own right.
But he had history fighting them.
In this life, he'd skipped the direct fight by using the guards and swiped the quest item, the Blood Seal. In his previous life, though, he'd completed all the quests and battled a guy who'd turned into a full vampire.
Of course, there'd be a significant gap between a mere blood thrall empowered by vampire strength and a true vampire, but Rokan wasn't the same as back then either.
He was stronger now than he had been at that time—even stronger than at the very end of his previous life—and his skill combinations were leagues better.
At this point, he could probably take them down much more easily.
'And I've got skills that counter them hard.'
Above all, he had skills that hard-countered them.
Just as Immunity to All Poisons was a perfect counter to the naga clan, this time another skill would neutralize one of their main weapons.
"Is this the place?"
He arrived at a small village. It made sense, given that the lord was just a vampire baron.
But he wasn't here to do anything in the village, so it didn't matter.
Instead of lingering, Rokan headed straight for the vampire's lofty castle at the edge of a distant cliff.
"Huh? A human here?"
"What's going on?"
"Sniff sniff. This guy's scent is weird. Smells like divine beast blood, but at the same time, there's a strong divine beast aura..."
"Didn't he just hunt one and get the smell on him? Slurp. Anyway, that blood scent is damn enticing. Think we could sneak just a sip?"
A human without even demon wings.
A few demons guarding the village considered picking a fight as he passed, but none dared act on it.
The scent of divine beast blood meant he'd hunted one. No one in their right mind would mess with that.
Most divine beasts were level 400 or higher, right? Just having taken one down proved Rokan's strength.
[You have entered the Vampire Baron's Castle.]
[First entry bonus: Acquired experience gain increased by 30% for 3 days.]
[First entry bonus: Drop rate increased by 30% for 3 days.]
[Title 'Pioneer' effect: First entry bonuses enhanced by 10%.]
But things were different for Rokan.
Since he hadn't sided with the demon faction, the vampire baron's castle—lord's manor or not—and the vampire village were just hunting grounds to him.
Crunch crunch.
As soon as he stepped inside, bats swarmed to greet him.
Thanks to his Divine Beast Hunter title, they didn't attack first.
"How may I assist you?"
The bats flying toward him merged into a single form—one remarkably similar to a human's.
[Vampire Butler Sharac][Lv 395]
A vampire butler. A mid-level manager type, coming out to greet Rokan first.
He seemed polite, but his eyes were fierce. Probably because he'd caught the divine beast blood scent on him.
But none of that mattered.
Rokan's battle had already begun.
"I'd like to deliver this to the baron."
"What's that?"
Sharac's eyes gleamed at what Rokan pulled out.
It was the heart of a holy wolf.
A byproduct from hunting the holy wolf Serint.
Infused with holy power, it was like an elixir to vampires who raised their power's tier through blood.
Vampires didn't usually go for hearts, but wasn't a heart basically a pump for blood?
Packed with blood and divinity, just looking at it had Sharac drooling unconsciously.
A divine beast's heart, no less.
"Slurp. Ahem, I can pass it along for you..."
"No, I can't entrust something this precious to someone else. I want to see the baron myself."
Sharac's eyes wavered at Rokan's insistence.
Who knew if he'd really been planning to pocket it mid-handover or if introducing a human—who'd likely never met a baron before—to one straight away was too much? But a divine beast heart was qualification enough for such a demand.
"Please... wait a moment."
Unable to decide, the butler shifted back to bats and vanished—probably heading to the baron's room at the top.
The wait felt tediously long and tense, but Rokan played it cool.
If negotiations broke down? He'd pretend to hand it over to Sharac and bury his battle axe in him to kick things off.
After about five minutes, Sharac returned.
Flutter flutter flutter.
This time with a swarm of bats.
'Did he catch on?'
Even Rokan tensed a bit at this point. There had to be a reason for bringing backup.
But what happened next was out of left field.
"Please, come up. I'll escort you to the baron."
It was a sort of elevator.
The swarm settled low to the ground like a platform—each bat a vampire, forming a footing for Rokan.
He briefly wondered if this was a ploy to suck his blood under the guise of guidance, but he hopped on without issue.
He trusted the Lion King's Boots wouldn't be pierced by their fangs, and he saw this as another test from them.
"Let's go."
As Rokan stood on the black platform, they shot up in unison—straight toward the open ceiling like an elevator.
The sight drove home the vampire baron's prestige.
Sure, just a baron, but you couldn't compare him to a surface-world one. A vampire baron was over level 400, equivalent to a duke or higher up top.
It spoke to how high the demon realm's power level was.
Just the ones under his feet could wreck a surface nation without breaking a sweat.
They ascended smoothly to the top floor, where stairs appeared. No direct entry to the baron's room.
'Uses the whole floor, huh.'
Seemed like the entire floor was his domain.
Might get annoying if the field was too spread out, but Rokan followed Sharac up without a hint of it.
'Hmm.'
Sharac placed a hand on the door, triggering some magic that swung it open on its own.
Must be their workaround for daytime activity limits.
'Would've been a pain if I'd stormed up.'
Killing Sharac probably would've found a way in eventually, but this was easier.
Inside sat a handsome middle-aged man lounging atop an ornate, massive coffin.
[Vampire Baron Shasrok][Lv 412]
"You've brought a divine beast heart?"
"Then I'll take my leave."
Shasrok's eyes filled with greed as he eyed the heart in Rokan's hand. With a gesture, he dismissed the butler Sharac.
Butler or not, who knew if he'd get stabbed in the back and try to claim it? Snagging just this could elevate Sharac—nearing level 400—to grand master tier.
Rokan read the dynamic between them, the subtle tension in the air.
And a fun idea popped into his head.
"Come on, hand it over."
With Sharac gone, Shasrok didn't hide his greed.
He could feel the abundant holy aura from the divine beast heart Rokan held.
If he made it fully his own, he might rise beyond mere baron.
That eagerness had him looking ready to pounce on Rokan right then.
"Yes."
Rokan approached the worked-up vampire, chuckling inwardly at the sight.
"Here you go."
As he closed in on the defenseless fool, he shoved the heart forward—then whipped out his battle axe.
Swapping beast heart for vampire heart, he charged.
"Rampage!"
"Nooo!"
Full buffs would've been ideal, but luring out that carelessness was unavoidable.
In a single breath, a dozen-plus strikes exploded out.
None other than Rokan's signature killer move.
Shasrok yelped in shock, hastily turning into a bat swarm, but some got sliced mid-transformation, dropping dead.
"Storm Avatar! Full Body Might! Martial Soul Awakening!"
It was shallow. The feedback at his fingertips felt off.
Confirming that in an instant, Rokan shifted into giant god form.
Against a guy who could become hundreds of bats, he'd have more surface area to hit—but his attack power and strike range skyrocketed too.
"Damn it! Should've known better than to trust a human!"
The scattered bats regrouped at a distance.
But not fully intact.
The bats Rokan had cleaved became wounds.
They soon turned red and healed, but not completely. His HP had definitely dropped.
"Bloody Trap!"
Snap.
Shasrok flicked his fingers.
Blood Rokan had spilled while grabbing bats surged up from the floor.
Blood magic, using spilled blood as medium.
The vampire's specialty in action.
"Huh?"
Even Rokan hadn't seen that coming.
He knew they could draw their own blood for special spells, but manipulating distant blood?
A league apart, huh.
The binding power—tough even for Rokan's strength to shake—held him in place as Shasrok snapped again.
"Poison Blood."
A technique that amps poison in blood and sprays foes.
The bind broke, but potent toxin flooded Rokan's body.
[Poison Blood infiltrates your body.]
[Title Immunity to All Poisons negates all effects.]
[Blood Slaughter effect restores HP.]
"......?"
But the results were the opposite.
The title neutralized the poison, and Blood Slaughter—absorbing enemy blood—filled his HP instead.
"Urk."
Rokan shuddered the next instant.
He grimaced, bracing his battle axe on the ground to steady himself.
"I'll kill you and take that divine heart for myself!"
Feint.
It was a ploy to draw him in.
To land a solid hit on a guy who'd scatter into bats and flee, he needed him close.
But Shasrok was cautious. Instead of rushing in at Rokan's "vulnerability," he kept distance, unleashing blood magic nonstop.
Snap.
"Bloody Vulcan!"
Rat-tat-tat-tat-tat.
Blood bullets sprayed from his fingertips like machine-gun fire, peppering Rokan.
[Blood Slaughter effect restores HP.]
The impacts jolted him, sure—but his overwhelming defense burst the droplets on contact, restoring his HP again.
'Not even poison and cure in one...'
He clenched his jaw, faking a grimace, but watching Shasrok gleefully spam blood magic nearly cracked him up.
Rokan's acting must've been convincing, as the barrage continued.
But blood magic had limits. Vampires had a finite blood reserve.
Blood served as mana for them, but it was their life essence too.
Unable to expend it forever, Shasrok—face growing paler—bared razor claws, lunging to plunge them into Rokan's heart.