Summoning My Familiar, Oh Kimchi Stew, Pork Stir-Fry, Seasoned Chicken... I'm Sorry, I Miss You!
Kimchi stew, pork stir-fry, seasoned chicken... I'm sorry, I miss you!
The flavors of the mortal world I once loved flashed through my mind, nearly bringing tears to my eyes.
Sob sob sob. I should have cherished you more while I had you.
'Give me back my soul food—!'
But there was no one to complain to.
Just yesterday, I was a 22-year-old job-hunting orphan. Who would believe I'd woken up as a silver-haired little girl who couldn't even stomach garlic? The EX-rank class didn't feel real yet, but turning into a girl and hating garlic? That hit immediately.
I snapped out of my brief despair and lifted my head.
Come to think of it, vampires have other famous weaknesses besides garlic.
Crosses and sunlight.
No cross in sight right now, so fine. But looking at my room corner...
I'd drawn blackout curtains as a gamer's basic setup, but morning light seeped through a crack.
'Gahhh!!!'
Wouldn't that turn me to ash if it touched me?
I reflexively fled as far from the light as possible.
Then, mustering courage, I shielded myself with the blanket for maximum protection... Hup. With trembling hands, I managed to close the curtain completely.
But a tiny gap remained at the edge of the worn fabric, letting a sliver of light through.
'Ugh, that's scary.'
I swallowed hard.
A moment later.
Curiosity bubbled up.
'...Should I test it once?'
Living my whole life avoiding sunlight would suck.
The garlic just tasted awful—no real bodily harm. So sunlight probably wouldn't be catastrophic.
...Right?
I hesitated, then cautiously approached the lit spot on the floor.
And gingerly touched it with just my pinky.
"......"
Phew, at least I didn't turn to dust like I'd feared.
No burning flesh or melting skin.
Instead...
'Hmm...'
My head swam unpleasantly.
Like a hangover surging back.
Nauseous stomach, spinning head. That kind of feeling.
'Ah. So that's what it's like.'
I got it instantly. Not lethally fatal. No burns or mutations.
Just intensely unpleasant and gross.
I yanked my finger away with a shudder. 'Ugh. Garlic tastes like shit, and sunlight gives me motion sickness...!'
Good that it doesn't incinerate me, but going outside in this state? Impossible.
I'd be retching like someone with seasickness all day.
Then my stomach growled again.
'Sunlight checked... Cross later. Time for food.'
Can't skip meals.
First, I mercilessly dumped the raw garlic, roasted garlic, minced garlic, and ssamjang into the sink drain.
Ahh—
You are all [Disposal].
All that remained: a few cooling beef chunks in the pan and half a pack of premium hanwoo raw meat.
A bit of time had passed; it had risen by 1.
I needed to fill this gauge to 50 to use my class skill, Familiar Summon.
'Let's see. 30-day cooldown, right?'
My rice-gamer instincts stirred.
Industry standard: For long-cooldown skills, pop it ASAP to start the timer.
Hoard a 30-day skill? Nah, that's inefficient.
Besides, look at me now.
Tiny silver-haired beauty body.
Wandering alone without protection in this rough world? Disaster waiting.
Or I'd end up in a lost child shelter.
Point is, I desperately needed minions.
Decision made.
Fill blood power to 50 and roll the gacha.
Hmm, anyway.
My gaze drifted to the vivid red raw meat on the table.
'Why does this make my mouth water?'
Not yukhoe—thick sirloin for grilling.
Can't eat raw, obviously.
Yet it looked insanely appetizing since earlier.
At first I thought hunger, wanting it cooked fast. Nope.
This raw meat itself tempted me.
Makes sense, thinking about it.
I'm a vampire.
Vampire staple? Blood.
Raw might be better than cooked.
And for blood power—blood force—raw bloody meat should help, right?
'Shall I try...?'
Steeling myself, I brought the dripping raw hunk to my mouth.
Chew chew.
Squishy texture and fishy smell exploded.
'This is insane. Self-loathing max...'
Not some caveman, but here I was, gnawing raw meat in my one-room.
Pathhetic.
But then.
'Huh?'
The fishy taste flooding my mouth felt unbelievably sweet.
Umami and richness like no raw meat I'd known.
Best food ever.
Nom nom, slurp.
I devoured it mindlessly.
Crazy. Why so delicious?
Vampire taste buds? Or top-grade hanwoo?
Gulp!
Anyway, the raw meat vanished in seconds. "Haa—." I exhaled in satisfied relief. Thirst gone, belly full. Lips smeared bloody.
No mirror, but probably horror-movie demon kid vibe.
Whatever.
'Success!'
Hit the target.
Drinking blood for real filled it up. Raw is the way.
Anyway. I wiped blood from my mouth with my hand, grabbed wet wipes. Sticky as hell.
Cleaned up neatly.
'Hunter Gallery said... To use skills, do this.'
Deep breath, then I shouted inwardly.
Familiar Summon
That instant.
Splurt—!
"......?!"
From my right wrist, blood pierced skin, jetting crimson into the air.
No time to scream.
Not painful, but startling—heart pounding.
The blood coalesced midair into a massive blob.
Gurgle, gurgle.
Twisting with weird sounds, it shaped into a human form.
Arms formed, legs extended, long lush hair cascaded like a waterfall.
'Wait, "made from blood" meant my actual blood?!'
Grotesque. Grimacing, the blood mist cleared, and a woman lightly landed on the floor.
"......"
Under the room's fluorescent light, her figure sharpened.
High black ponytail with pinkish tint.
Slightly pointed elf ears.
Voluminous figure in skin-tight black maid uniform.
And blood-red eyes like mine.
She slowly raised her head to me.
With sharp, veil-piercing gaze.
That presence choked me.
Whoa... stunning! No, more like scary strong!!
Dark gamer senses screamed.
She's no basic minion.
SSR-tier for sure.
Could fold a shrimp like me easy.
Problem:
'Why's she staring so murderously?!'
Silent, piercing stare.
I backed away slowly.
Then she stepped toward me slowly.
Still silent, killer eyes! That pressure froze me like prey before a predator.
'Ugh, my short 22-year life. TS'd to girl on day one, killed by my own skill summon...?'
Too scared, I squeezed eyes shut.
Then—
Thud.
Something heavy hit the floor.
I cracked one eye.
And was stunned.
"......?"
The ponytail beauty who'd eyed me like prey...
Now knelt like a pledging knight at my feet, head bowed low.
"O great one."
Her voice trembled tensely.
"You are my creator...!"
Eh?
This vibe's way off from what I expected.