8
Chapter 8
An uninvited guest came to my precious home.
The intruder was a terrifying monster belonging to a species called vampires.
[Vampire lv.40]
┗Pw.240
┗Rnk.Elite
An Elite rank?
This is another rank I'm seeing for the first time.
It seems Elites gain 6 Power per level.
It was definitely a higher rank than Superior.
But it must be lower than Unique rank.
Since my Teddy Bear Camouflage skill was working perfectly fine.
"What is this? I definitely felt mana vividly from this teddy bear earlier... Was I mistaken?"
Yes, you were mistaken.
I am not a monster.
I'm just a perfectly normal teddy bear.
"Hmm. Was the mana not from this teddy bear, but leaking from the dead rat next to it?"
The vampire crouched down.
And she looked back and forth between me and the Venomfang Rat.
"They're so close to each other, it's understandable that I was mistaken. Seeing the traces of battle left behind, it seems it was attacked by a predator, ran away, and finally died here."
I didn't move an inch.
I stayed perfectly still, pretending to be a real teddy bear.
The moment I moved even a little, I'd be exposed as a monster.
"No, wait a minute. Looking at the condition of this rat... it didn't just die, did it? Then what on earth was the mana I felt so vividly just now?"
The vampire made a suspicious face again.
Oh, come on.
Drop the suspicions already.
Have you been tricked your whole life or something?
"......Haa. I must be out of my mind from exhaustion. To think my senses have dulled to the point of misjudging a dead thing's mana."
It seemed she had come to a conclusion.
That she had been mistaken.
More importantly, I can understand the vampire's words too.
Is she using an Interpretation skill like Mr. Tiger did?
There would be no reason to use it when talking to herself, though.
Well. She was either using the Interpretation skill all the time, or there was some kind of common language that anyone could understand.
Anyway.
Ms. Vampire. You're done with your business now, right?
Then please go somewhere else.
Because this is a secret place for Jjokkomi and me.
"Should I rest here for a bit before moving on?"
What? Don't spout nonsense, you punk!
I claimed this place first!
It's my house! No, it's my land!
Don't trespass and get out!
"Phew. Yeah, resting here is the right choice. I've been traveling all the way here without taking a single break."
Plop.
The vampire took a spot next to me and sat down.
And so, for today.
An uncomfortable cohabitation had begun.
I really want to use Bear-Bear Punch right now.
"But this teddy bear... The more I look at it, the cuter it seems."
I take back wanting to use Bear-Bear Punch.
***
Vampire.
In other words, a bloodsucker.
I was very familiar with these beings.
Because they were quite famous on Earth as well.
Of course, they weren't real there.
They were merely beings that appeared in folktales, legends, myths, and fiction.
The known lore about vampires on Earth was quite varied.
I remembered most of that lore.
They look similar to humans.
They are immortal.
Or they have much longer lifespans than humans.
They are weak to the sun.
Their power weakens during the day, or they can't be active at all.
Or they face annihilation immediately upon exposure to the sun.
They don't reflect in mirrors.
They are weak to garlic and crosses.
They suck the blood of living creatures.
And so on.
While most of my important memories were blurry, I hadn't forgotten this kind of useless information.
Anyway.
Among that lore, the part about vampires being weak to the sun was incorrect. It was a complete lie.
"The sun is warm. It's beautiful weather."
This vampire had no problems at all even when exposed to the sun.
Rather, she liked the sunlight a lot.
She had thrown off all her clothes and was even sunbathing.
Noona, couldn't you put some clothes on?
What if someone comes and sees you?
It's fine for me to see since I'm a teddy bear, but still.
The vampire put on a satisfied expression as she enjoyed her sunbathing.
While doing so, she frequently muttered to herself.
"Haaah. I love that there's no one here."
Yes. There is no one here.
You are indeed alone.
Because I am a doll.
"Just how long has it been since I could rest comfortably alone like this?"
You must have been busy lately.
Please get plenty of rest today at least.
You occupied my land without permission, but since you are stronger than me, I'll generously overlook it.
"This peace will end soon, too. Sooner or later, this continent will be dyed in chaos."
Why?
Is something going to happen?
"......."
Answer me!
The vampire kept her mouth firmly shut.
What's the point of making me curious and then doing this?
Please talk to yourself some more.
"Wow, you really never know how the world will turn out. To think the barrier that had enveloped the entire continent since the beginning of time would face annihilation overnight."
Oh. She muttered to herself again.
My earnest wish must have reached her.
More importantly, what does it mean that the barrier was annihilated?
Does it basically mean some kind of protective shield guarding the continent has disappeared?
"Now that the barrier is gone, those human bastards will soon set their filthy feet on this land."
Oho.
It seems there are humans in this world too.
And there are no humans on this continent, right?
Thanks for the info.
"Come to think of it, according to the Lord, humans create and use strange tools with their own technology......."
Who is the Lord?
The Vampire Lord?
Perhaps that bloodsucker was able to cross the barrier.
Seeing as they seemed to have information about the humans in the outside world.
"I'm not thrilled about this land becoming chaotic, but I am looking forward to seeing those tools that supposedly made humans strong, a species recorded in history as being infinitely weak in the distant past."
I'd also like to see them later if I get the chance.
I became curious for no reason.
What are Human tools?
Firearms? Or maybe something like items.
The Vampire's soliloquy ended right there.
After that, she kept her mouth shut and only looked up at the sky.
After quite some time passed like that,
the Vampire, having finished her sunbathing, gathered her clothes and put them on. Then, she took out a small box with a strong antique feel from her pocket.
Creak.
The Vampire opened the box.
Inside, it was filled with blood-red spheres that looked like dumplings.
What is that?
I can feel Mana from it.
Is it a lump of blood containing Mana?
The Vampire picked one up and pushed it into her mouth, then swallowed it whole without chewing.
So it was something like emergency rations.
It's a relief she didn't touch my prey.
I thought she would suck its blood dry, thinking it was a free meal.
The Vampire closed the lid of the box.
It seems eating just one was enough.
"Now that I've replenished my blood, I should get some sleep."
Have a good sleep.
The Vampire lay down and closed her eyes.
She didn't put the box back in her clothes but placed it next to her head. It seemed she intended to eat another lump of blood as soon as she woke up.
.......
A little time passed.
I waited longer with patience.
.......
More time passed.
She must be asleep by now, right?
Zzz zzz.
Just in time, I heard the sound of snoring.
I immediately took Action.
Sneak sneak.
I approached the Vampire stealthily and grandly, making sure not to make even a small sound.
I have no intention of doing anything to the Vampire.
It's obvious that none of my attacks would work.
I had a different purpose.
After reaching a close distance to the Vampire.
I carefully opened the box next to her head.
This was my goal.
Sneaking just one won't be noticeable.
If it were just a lump of blood, I wouldn't have cared.
But this isn't a simple lump of blood.
It was a lump of blood containing Mana.
I picked up one of the blood lumps.
Ms. Vampire.
This is the rent.
Aah- Nom.
I didn't make a bear-chewing sound.
I just swallowed it without chewing.
[Truly Teddy Bear lv.10]
┗Pw.10 (+1)
┗Rnk.Normal
Ohh.
Reached a double-digit level again!
To think my level would rise after eating just one.
This is quite the item.
Greed began to well up inside me.
Should I eat just one more?
I feel like I could Level Up again if I eat another one.
Stop hesitating and eat it, bear!
The inner Demon Teddy Bear whispered to me, tempting me.
Are you going to blow such a golden opportunity, bear!
The Demon Teddy Bear relentlessly egged me on.
The Demon Teddy Bear's temptation didn't last long.
Drop dead, bear! An angel Teddy Bear belatedly appeared in my mind and tore the Demon Teddy Bear to shreds.
Yeah, let's just drop it.
I barely suppressed the greed that was creeping up on me.
The reason I gave up was simple.
I felt like my life would be in danger if I ate more.
I had only swallowed one small lump of blood, but my body was currently filled with blood. More accurately, the cotton inside me was overly soaked in blood. If I got too greedy and consumed another blood lump here, my body might burst.
By the looks of it.
This blood lump seemed to be made by condensing a significant amount of blood.
In addition, was it made by condensing some special blood?
The blood inside my body was extremely slow at undergoing Decomposition through the Feeding skill.
That's why I decided to be satisfied with this much.
As a side note.
Hiding the box somewhere,
or stealing it and running away had crossed my mind for a brief moment.
But I dropped that idea as well.
It was in return for her praising me as cute earlier.
You should be grateful, Ms. Vampire.
***
Darkness fell.
The Vampire got up from her spot, as if she was getting ready to leave.
"Hmm. This Teddy Bear is cute so I kind of want to take it with me... but someone might have lost it, so I should just leave it be."
Have a safe trip.
And don't come back.
Looking at the back of the departing Vampire, I bid her farewell in my heart.
The Vampire gradually grew further away.
When she finally disappeared from my sight.
Whoosh!
I vigorously got up from my spot.
She's finally gone.
Now I can finally undergo Evolution.
Currently, my Physical Adaptability had reached a value that met the Evolution condition.
Because my Physical Adaptability only dropped a little during the previous Evolution, it was at 29, and by eating the blood lump and getting a Level Up, it became 30 again.
I had already checked the Evolution list.
================
[Possible Evolutionary Species]
◎ Vampiric Teddy Bear - Normal
================
Vampiric Teddy Bear!
I quite like this species name.
It gave off a strong vibe.
This Evolution route likely opened up as an effect of eating that blood lump earlier.
Anyway.
Let's go! To Vampiric Teddy Bear!
[Evolution is complete.]
[Vampiric Teddy Bear lv.9]
┗Pw.9 (+2)
┗Rnk.Normal (Limit Breakthrough possible upon reaching lv.10)
[Skill]
[Helper lv.1], [Evolution lv.1], [Action lv.2], [Feeding lv.1], [Magic Chef lv.1], [Teddy Bear Camouflage lv.1], [Bloodsucking lv.1]