The First Vassal

For a long time, as the Constellation of the Brilliant Hero, it had encountered countless tales — and been disappointed by them, one after another.

But then… it saw.

Randolph.

A storyteller who transcended everything with a suspicious, almost unnatural ease.

He had gambled with his own death on the line.

If it had been in that situation — could it have made the same choice? To willingly swallow the source of contamination, to let itself be corrupted, and to summon the Demon Blood King?

No. It would not have.

It would never even have conceived of such a thing. It would have carried out Isabella's final will and sunk the city into the Abyss.

I want to see more…

Was that why?

It had thought itself filled — yet it was not filled at all.

It wanted just a little more of his story. It wanted to draw, together with him, the heroic chronicle he would go on to write.

No matter what it had to sacrifice. Even if it had to burn itself further still.

…It simply wanted to watch.

—Have you anything more to offer?

As the starlight faded and began to vanish, a single mouth appeared from within the darkness.

—You said you wanted to see more. Then you must have something further to put forward, no?

What more?

Had it not already offered everything?

…Ah.

There was still one thing left.

Something it had not yet offered. Something it had not yet given to that thing.

—The stories you have gathered all this time. How interesting.

The stories it had watched and accumulated wound themselves into a book — then slipped into the mouth.

Grin!

The mouth savored the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠taste for a long while, then smiled as if thoroughly satisfied.

The moment I entered the Rift Tower, I surveyed my surroundings.

A Level 1 zone.

Grassland.

That was all there was to see — grassland. Lush grass, trees scattered here and there.

By means of ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the Eternal Lord's Heart, I had shattered the conditions and reached a Level 1 zone alone.

So "rift" really did mean scattering us apart.

Party members were split according to their levels. That was why it was called the Rift Tower.

But the scores of all party members would be totaled for the final raid.

Combat power?

Was it a composite of stats, star grades, and the like, expressed as a single figure?

What was certain was that this tower felt entirely different from any that had ever existed in Pangenia.

This isn't simply a tower that appeared because the Demon Blood King was eliminated. His death was only a kind of trigger.

Come to think of it, no one knew the true origin of the towers. Pangenia was filled with countless towers, yet each had a different master, and the trials they imposed were all distinct.

Perhaps towers rose whenever a being like the Demon Blood King died — or whenever a world itself vanished. Jormungandr had warned of him with such gravity that the Demon Blood King must ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠have been a tremendous existence.

…It really is empty, being a Level 1 zone.

I looked around, but not a single person was in sight. Of course — what Level 1 would dare try to climb a tower? No one would even consider a Level 1 when forming a party. Only someone with a death wish would enter the tower at Level 1.

Sssss.

Shhhhsss!

In that instant, vines stretched long and bound my feet. The entire grassland was thick with them.

Carnivorous plants.

They bound people, dragged them in, and ate them. To a Level 1, they would have been extremely dangerous.

Snap! Crack!

With every step I took, the vines tore apart. No matter how many coiled around me, things like that could never stop my advance.

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

Plants like these are weak to fire and frost.

I raised Winter.

And then—

Whoooooosh—!

Winter arrived.

No one else had been discovered as far as the 3rd floor. Thus I was able to surge ahead in an instant.

Everyone's putting in the work.

Andrew was a priest, so scoring would be hard for him. But unless they were in a situation like mine, the other parties likely hadn't properly earned points yet either.

13,788 parties. Roughly sixty-nine thousand people.

Exactly 68,940 challengers were attempting the Rift Tower. More than I'd expected. It was clear that not only Players but a great many of Pangenia's native beings were challenging it as well.

The rewards in low-level zones are pretty meager, though.

Thirty SP and ten hours' worth of Golden Rule fragments — the final haul from clearing the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd floors. Still, for rewards obtained at this level range, it was a considerable amount. How else would you get that much in the low-level brackets?

Push higher in level and the rewards grow larger.

But I couldn't simply rush upward. Sweeping every zone thoroughly on the way up was more advantageous in every respect.

No harm in stockpiling SP.

When Wilhelm died and I created a new character, I had dumped all 1.6 million SP into all-random rolls. Thanks to that, every talent had been raised to Max level, and thirteen Hidden Traits had been generated. On top of that, obtaining the title of Demon Blood King had maxed out all related talents as well. In terms of talents, there was practically nowhere left to spend SP.

But SP could be exchanged for Achievement Points at the Achievement Shop. And there were exactly two talents that had never been rolled at all.

Truth Seeking and Dimensional Comprehension. Not a single point in either of those two.

Talents like Black Blood and Blood Awakening had all been fully invested — but those two alone remained completely untouched. I could either save SP to trade for Achievement Points, or put points into those talents.

"S-Save me!"

"Aaaargh!"

That was when it happened. Screams spreading from far off. Distinctly human voices. From the Level 4 zone onward, it seemed there were challengers.

As I drew closer, I found two people being pursued by something.

"Nobody said anything about this!"

"Master, you son of a bitch!!"

Master?

Had Master actually challenged the Rift Tower as well?

But more than those two, my eyes were drawn to the things chasing them.

Those are…?

Monsters of a strangely familiar form. Human torsos split down the middle, spread open like wings, with countless fang-like protrusions jutting out. Demon Blood Clan, without a doubt.

But unlike the Desert Queen, their protrusions were small and their bodies far tinier — barely thigh-height at best.

I stopped.

As I approached a little further, a number of the Demon Blood Clan tilted their heads. Then—

Sniff sniff! Sniff!

They caught a scent, turned their heads, and looked in my direction.

Had they found new prey?

"Wh-What?"

"They're not following us?"

The two who had been fleeing turned back in confusion, then — just like the Demon Blood Clan — shifted their gazes to me. Moments later, watching the Demon Blood Clan swarm toward me in a rush, they shouted urgently.

"Hey! Run for it!"

"These bastards don't let go once they bite!"

They threw out their warnings, but I simply stood still. How strong could Demon Blood Clan in a Level 4 zone possibly be?

Kyarrrr!

Kiiiiiii!

The Demon Blood Clan let out eerie cries and closed the distance in an instant. And when they reached point-blank range—

…What are they doing?

The small Demon Blood Clan surrounded me and began spinning in a circle, as if performing some kind of ritual.

Shaaaaa!

Then, all at once, they opened their mouths toward me — like baby birds begging for food.

There was no hostility. Only bewilderment on my part. The fact that they had gathered after catching my scent meant there was something about me that inspired a sense of kinship.

Because of a Hidden Trait, maybe?

It was possible. I was the Demon Blood King. The Demon Blood Clan might recognize me on their own.

But what were they asking me to give them?

Don't tell me… blood?

The only thing that came to mind was blood. All my related talents involved the use of blood, and nothing else suggested itself.

As a test, I pricked my finger with Winter and raised a bead of blood. Then I fed a single drop to the one at the front of the pack.

Brrrrrr!

The small Demon Blood Clan that had swallowed my blood trembled violently — and began to grow larger.

And that was not all.

Crack—!

The Demon Blood Clan that had ballooned in size in an instant no longer looked like an ordinary member of its kind. The flesh spread open like wings had transformed into a black cloak, and its entire body had become smooth and glossy as steel.

What had been Level 4 had jumped all the way to Level 7. From a single drop of blood.

So multiplying subordinates through blood is a trait of the Demon Blood King.

Whether it worked only on the Demon Blood Clan, I didn't know — but what was certain was that I could strengthen these monsters with blood and make them follow me. It was rather interesting.

I fed the remaining blood to the small Demon Blood Clan. And once some twenty of them had drunk my blood and been bound as subordinates—

"Wh-What the hell is that?"

"Don't tell me he's not a person — he's a boss monster…!"

The two who had watched the entire scene from the start were struck dumb with horror. They had thought he was about to be attacked — only for him to casually feed the creatures his blood, transform their forms, and leave them kneeling on one knee as if before a king.

—My King.

But I had no interest in those two.

A voice rose abruptly.

—Bestow upon us more of your blood.

—A hierarchy must be established.

—Powerful vassals! Comrades!

—More blood still!

By feeding them equally — one drop each — their hierarchy had vanished. Did that mean feeding them more blood would make them evolve further?

Even if the Demon Blood King's Hidden Trait granted my blood the authority of dominion, the ability to evolve through my blood was likely unique to the Demon Blood Clan. The clan itself seemed designed to be strengthened by the Demon Blood King's blood.

A species that evolves through my blood.

Truly fascinating.

Some twenty Demon Blood Clan. They hungered for my blood. They also hungered for a hierarchy among themselves — volunteering, in order of how much blood they received, to become my loyal vassals.

One drop of blood raised it three levels.

A Level 4 had become Level 7 in a single stroke. Even in a low-level bracket, raising three levels normally took time.

How far can I push them?

I was curious. Blood subordination. If the Hidden Trait Beast Lord had activated, they were being recognized as my "pets" without question — which meant at the very least, these creatures would never betray me.

In that case—

Drip. Drip.

I fed the first one two more drops, and its body swelled once again.