Chapter 8
Chapter 8
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 8
Chapter Title: Lanterns in the Dark
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Before they knew it, evening had arrived.
"Do-hwa-ssi. This flower... doesn't it seem a bit dim?"
"Does it? Probably because it's evening."
"...It's evening already?"
"The Divine Tree Lanterns change their light based on the time of day. They're dark at night and bright in the morning."
"...That's unique."
Divine Tree Lanterns bloomed throughout the cave.
They lit up the darkness, but they also served to indicate the passage of time. You couldn't tell the exact hour, but they made it easy enough to distinguish between day and night.
Night made the cave far more dangerous.
In pitch-black darkness without a single point of light.
The goblins' traps were invisible, and echoing footsteps were amplified.
Monsters didn't necessarily get stronger at night, but limited visibility was a huge disadvantage in combat.
Even the seasoned veterans of Pavarintos avoided moving around at night.
It wasn't a big deal for high-level players with completed builds... but Pavarintos was fundamentally a roguelike.
Early-game techniques for scraping by were crucial, so the safest way to get through the initial nights was holing up in a safe zone.
"So, what do we do at night?"
"Sleep. Because it's night."
"...Oh."
And so, nights were usually spent fulfilling sleep requirements.
A routine not much different from reality.
But some races could stay active at night.
Races with 'Darkvision' that let them see in the dark, or those with minimal or no sleep needs.
Vampires fell into that category.
They needed very little sleep and possessed Darkvision that allowed them to see targets even in dark places.
Develop 'Heat Sensing' and 'Night Vision' later on, and you'd have a night-faring powerhouse that could strut anywhere, anytime after dark—but that was a story for later.
For now, she was just a fragile novice vampire, weaker than a human.
"Then, what about a night watch...?"
"No need for that here."
"...But wouldn't it be dangerous without one?"
"It's not completely safe, but statistically, more people die from unrecovered fatigue debuffs the next day than from raids without a watch."
"Ah..."
Potential risks were easy to overlook.
No matter how much you preached safety in real life, two-shift watches were a bit much... and they'd interfere with the next day.
Besides, incidents like giant ants breaking through Repellent Herbs at the outer well or wandering goblins barging in were rare.
The only real possibility was running into another 'player'...
...but how often would players actually fight in reality?
In the game, attacking on sight was Pavarintos' unique greeting = murder protocol, but it was hard to imagine the same in real life.
People mellowed out when they met outside keyboards and the internet, and here, everyone only had one life.
They'd probably try to get along, for the most part.
She couldn't guarantee it, though.
On the other hand, fatigue from lack of sleep had a small but definite impact.
A minor influence, but a guaranteed risk.
"Normally, people are what you worry about most, but it should be fine here, right? It's reality, not a game. Who'd stab you while you're sleeping?"
"Hmm... yeah, you're right."
He accepted it quickly.
Or maybe he was just tired himself.
Hyun Tae-jin nodded at her words and promptly lay down on the ground.
A brief silence fell, soon filled by faint snoring echoing in the clearing.
"Puhuh, pu-"
"...."
...What kind of person was he?
It felt like less than three minutes since he'd hit the ground, and he was already asleep.
Of course, if he could sleep well and wake up refreshed, it didn't matter how he did it.
'...Well, it'll be fine.'
No need to worry about it.
She'd told him to sleep, but she wasn't ready yet.
She didn't feel particularly tired, and there was still plenty to do.
Wasting time on pointless potion-making had left her only halfway through the practice she needed.
'Time to get started.'
First up: accuracy training for 'Mana Arrow'.
Her target was the faintly glowing Divine Tree Lantern straight ahead.
Distance: about 25 meters.
From one end of the well clearing to the other.
Aiming the staff's crystal tip at the target, she cast the spell.
Mana Arrow.
[Shiiiak-]
A stream of mana light began flowing from the staff's tip.
The manifested mana power coalesced into a hazy arrow shape, then shot forward with a whoosh of wind.
[-Piiik.]
The Mana Arrow flew like a bullet.
But it missed the Divine Tree Lantern and embedded itself in the nearby dirt wall.
"...Tch."
As expected. It was different from the game.
In the game, she'd have hit a stationary target easily from 100 meters. Missing already like this?
'...I need an aiming skill.'
She tried several more times, but missed every shot.
[Pak-]
She finally hit and burst the Divine Tree Lantern with the last Mana Arrow, but it was ambiguous. She couldn't tell if she'd gotten the feel or just lucked out.
With all ten stocked shots used up, she couldn't test further right now.
Memorize, Mana Arrow.
After recharging the staff, she decided to practice applying next.
She wasn't drilling Mana Arrow repeatedly because the staff had durability.
It didn't drop per shot, but prolonged continuous use wore it down gradually.
It varied by quality, but starter gear was decent, so no major worries.
Still, better safe than sorry.
Let the hardworking staff rest.
[Sreung.]
She carefully set the staff aside in the corner and drew the dagger from her waist.
It was nicely sharpened, but unfortunately lacked a enchant.
Sharpness wasn't omnipotent, but it was valuable for preserving blade edge.
A shame, but fine for disposable use.
[Whoosh-]
Using her memorized Telekinesis, she manipulated the blade in midair.
Just one Telekinesis construct.
Treating it like an extension of her hand wasn't too hard, but pitting it against a warrior's sword was reckless.
Without solid mass, the Telekinesis grip was vulnerable to impact rebound.
Given the spell's range limits, a single deflection rendered it useless—a technique best saved as a trump card.
'And finally...'
Last: using staff or dagger while levitating her body with .
[Wobble.]
"...Ugh."
This was quite difficult.
Controlling two Telekinesis constructs doubled her memorized spell consumption, and she was holding the staff in one hand too.
Unlike the dagger, body weight wasn't light; memorized Telekinesis drained fast, her floating posture was unstable, making Mana Arrow aiming tough.
'...Practice stabilizing first.'
Reality was reality, after all.
Unlike the game, there were countless details to mind.
But,
She actually liked that.
"...Fun."
Games were ultimately simplified worlds.
Played with simple rules and symbolic graphics.
So maybe that's why.
Every game had set answers.
Perform specific actions in specific situations for optimal results.
Most games were just races to follow the creator's route best.
...Pavarintos was different.
This insane shitgame had no right answers.
Build variety was beyond counting, skill types and combos adjustable by situation, altering properties and tiers.
The constant bullshit luck and RNG rendered standardized answers meaningless.
Frustrating, but that was its charm.
She'd fallen for Pavarintos because it was hard.
Brutally, unreasonably, cruelly hard—but that drew you in to find solutions.
And those solutions varied by player.
She wasn't a 'godhand' control freak in Pavarintos.
Her control was middling at best.
Still, she'd made a name because of snap situational judgment and bizarre, creative builds.
While other games funneled into one OP point, Pavarintos branched like a tree.
Unique builds no one could copy or mimic wove into tangled matchups.
Pavarintos enabled that,
and she'd sought her own path in it.
[Thud-]
"Ow."
...Not much different now.
Spell training until memorized Telekinesis ran dry.
With stocks depleted, her floating body crashed down.
A light jolt of pain rippled through her on impact, but it didn't scare her.
Fumbles and failures galore.
Yet it didn't feel tiring.
Quite the opposite: enjoyable.
Like those all-nighters piecing builds together.
Her chest brimmed only with excitement and vigor.
"...System. Mana remaining."
"...."
...Yeah, time to rest now.
Three cycles of mana recharge and spell spam until empty. Confirming the drained mana, she gave a wry smile.
Really time to sleep.
.
.
.
The 'well' was great for mana recovery, but not for sleeping.
At least in reality.
How long had she slept?
Her mind stirred awake, faint light from mana herbs shining into her eyes.
"...Ugh."
Damp dirt floor.
Sleeping on it hadn't been refreshing. She dragged her still-fatigued body up and looked around.
"Prrrrrr-"
"...."
...Wasn't he uncomfortable?
Hyun Tae-jin was snoring in the exact same position she'd last seen him in.
Both sprawled on the rough dirt, yet he slept fine—it was a little annoying.
'...Sigh.'
No more sleep for her anyway.
Maybe because she was a vampire, or lingering effects from her past zero-death legendary life, but she wasn't that tired.
She headed to the well to at least wash her face.
Approaching the pooled spring water, a unfamiliar face reflected on the clear surface.
"Ah."
Right.
Come to think of it, this was the first time seeing her new face up close.
'...Pretty.'
Definitely beautiful.
Dark, slender eyebrows and glossy, flowing hair. Sharp features, slim and soft facial lines.
And even under the baggy robe, prominent breasts asserting themselves.
'...Should've toned these down.'
Habits were scary.
Big chest didn't store more mana or anything, so why had she done that?
But it looked good and she liked it, so whatever.
'Well, kinda works...'
Face and body: approved.
Hadn't tweaked much, yet this appearance.
Beauty was less varied than ugliness, easier to craft consistently.
Sudden gender flip notwithstanding, growing satisfied the more she looked—why was that?
Well, thousands of iterations on the vampire dark mage girl build.
Of course she'd feel attached.
"Puha-"
She scooped spring water and washed her face.
In game, it'd reduce filth gauge a bit.
Mind clearing on contact was a new reality effect.
After washing, her reflected eyes gleamed red.
"....?"
Wait.
They really turned red.
Why suddenly—
"Urp-"
In her panic, something surged from her gut.
Sudden nausea-like sensation.
Violent vomit reflex hit; she whipped her head away.
"-Urk!"
Mouth opened, dark red liquid gushed out.
From throat to lips, unstoppable. It pooled on the ground before the urge finally subsided.
"Haa, haa...."
Was that all?
Breath steadying, a thought flashed.
'Blood expulsion.'
She'd forgotten.
Vampires produced 'waste blood' instead of filth.
Feeding only on blood, they expelled useless blood via 'blood expulsion'. In game, she'd glossed over it like normal excretion, but reality was visceral.
"Hoo..."
Scooped water to rinse her mouth, wiped dark red blood from her lips. Reflected eyes held faint red, soon darkening to black.
"...Hm."
And a slight thirst.
But bearable for now.
Game allowed two days fasting; hunt a goblin tomorrow for blood, and it'd be fine.
"Gulp-"
To quench it, she drank spring water.
Vampires ingested blood, but mana fueled most of their energy.
Mana-infused spring water would soothe thirst somewhat.
Unlike mana herb potions, effects evaporated fast—no portability, but good for immediate use.
Thirst eased a bit, eyes fully black again in the water. She wryly smiled inwardly.
'...No fate for easy living, huh.'
Turtling here waiting for a portal wasn't viable.
Today was the last rest day.
Tomorrow: back to scouting.
Until fully on track, constant movement and blood procurement was this build's destiny.