NOVEL NEXT Chapter 34
Earth’s Vampire (1)
Honestly, I had encountered a vampire several times as Han before.
Just a little while ago, during the factory raid, wasn’t there one?
But at that time, Haines was in the middle of a deal, and that guy was just a Servant, so I didn’t pay much attention.
I could easily read the necessary information from his mind, so I didn’t feel the need to go through the trouble of confronting him alive.
So, I panicked when I suddenly came across another dimensional vampire.
Probably stronger than Haines.
I couldn’t help but feel tense.
“Well, let me introduce myself first. I’m from ‘Nocturnia.’ It’s been around five years since I returned to Earth. You can call me… ‘Gamma’ for now.”
A handsome appearance, friendly smile, and sociable tone.
He looked at me with his beautiful black eyes shimmering.
“Haines. Just as you expected, I’ve just returned to Earth, and my origin is…”
With the situation having escalated to this point, pretending not to know any longer would be useless.
As I casually answered, I realized something was off.
My rapidly expanding mental strength suddenly spiked, accelerating my thoughts.
Time around me stretched momentarily, and space gradually froze.
‘Why am I answering so willingly? To someone I’ve just met for less than five minutes? Just because he introduced himself first? Is there a guarantee that everything the author said is true?’
The moment the doubt hit me, a sense of alienation was detected in the “Mind Hub.”
A psychic energy piercing my mind.
I couldn’t grasp it immediately as it seeped into my natural emotions.
‘With his appealing looks and mannerisms, he led me to answer naturally, preventing me from feeling any discomfort.’
Even my “Reflective Mind” couldn’t fully defend against it, only sensing a sense of unease, which indicated his level was quite high.
Whether he wasn’t using it overtly due to the limits of his ability or was being cautious for a covert activation was uncertain…
‘A mental manipulation ability. Is that the author’s unique skill? Or is it a vampire’s ability?’
I heightened my vigilance toward him in my heart.
Crucially, it was while I was answering.
My name didn’t matter since it was just an identifier; the fact that I had just returned was merely a setting.
To avoid showing vigilance, I would hide my originating dimension for now.
“…I came from the ‘Dotmier’ dimension. I’m not sure if I’m the first or if that’s still unclear, but I couldn’t find any information online.”
“Hoo, so it was like that.”
I continued to speak nonchalantly, as if time had returned to normal.
Gamma seemed oblivious to any unusual signs, nodding and gazing at me with his shining black eyes.
“I’ve met quite a few vampires in the meantime, but I’ve never smelled blood like yours before. Isn’t it fascinating? There are numerous dimensions with vampires, but each blood has its unique characteristics.”
Well, the same could be said for other races too.
As he continued, he scrutinized me from head to toe as if observing.
“So, as a vampire from Dotmier, what status did you have there? The standards differ by dimension. You seem to have received quite decent treatment.”
His eyes sparkled.
I felt that alien power intruding my mind once more.
I didn’t resist but played along adequately.
“Well, I was about a mid-tier executive.”
“Hooh, it must have been a quite high-level dimension. But to grow your strength to that extent, you must have endured a lot of bloodshed; it must have been tough.”
“I didn’t avoid it when necessary.”
And the conversation continued.
He seemed to be quite talkative, opening his mouth without rest.
“I’m just curious, you know? Does your vampire faction have any distinctive ability? I’ve heard some vampires have near-immortal regeneration capabilities. Really envious!”
While he was dishing out lots of information, he didn’t talk about himself at all.
I evaded the topic naturally by using excuses to avoid suspicion.
“Well, I can’t really say. I haven’t seen other vampires, so I wouldn’t know what’s different.”
“Oh… that makes sense. You did say you just returned not long ago.”
Gamma licked his lips as if disappointed.
Not letting go of that opportunity, I threw a question his way first.
“But Gamma, you mentioned you’ve met many vampires, how is that possible? Did you really go around searching for them like earlier? Our vampires are treated like demons, so we always have to hide, right?”
“Hmmm…”
He oddly stared at me for a moment before nodding.
“Well, that’s not entirely wrong. But we’re not criminals; we can’t just keep hiding forever, can we?”
He grumbled about how it was unfair since he hadn’t wanted to become a vampire from the start.
“To survive, we must band together. I’m part of a vampire organization called the Blood Alliance. We’re level six.”
“Blood Alliance? Level six?”
“It’s not a fitting place to talk here. Let’s move.”
He suggested relocating after gauging the situation on my side.
Maybe he thought he could subdue me anytime.
The place we moved to was a sports car parked on the side of the road.
He hopped into the driver’s seat and gestured toward the passenger side.
Vroom—
As soon as I got in, Gamma smoothly started the ignition and took off.
“Where are we heading?”
“Isn’t it better to see it in person rather than just hear about it?”
“…Are we going to the Blood Alliance headquarters? How do you plan to gain my trust?”
At my words, he chuckled softly.
“Well, it’s not the headquarters. More like a branch… In fact, there’s not really a proper headquarters either. It’s closer to a loose organization.”
Although, it isn’t entirely a perfect loose organization either.
He added that and paused for thought before continuing.
“Just think of it as like-minded individuals cooperating in different regions. It might be more akin to a relay station than a loose organization. We call the gathered group a ‘Crew.’”
Well, even if they formed a group, they’d have to hide as demons most of the time.
“And how do you expect me to trust you? Aren’t we all in the same boat? We should help each other in tough times.”
Gamma smiled warmly, delivering such touching words.
If it weren’t for the psychic energy still probing into Haines’ mind, that is.
‘Now that I think about it, someone had said something similar before.’
A thought of Malcolm, who had become a reliable ally, flickered through my mind.
“Helping each other in tough times” — indeed a good phrase.
“And there’s one more thing you should know. I mentioned I’m level six, right? On Earth, ‘level’ indicates a vampire’s rank.”
Since each world had its standard, it was hard for everyone to understand each other’s meanings upon gathering on Earth.
“There are divisions based on ranks or names like Jinjoni or Sadeon. By the way, Nocturnia used chess pieces for differentiation. I was a Bishop.”
Thus, it was the powerful vampires from various regions who had come together to agree on the ‘level’ system.
“Specifically, this started in Europe. Back then, there were exceptionally strong vampires there. The system from that area was naturally imported and adapted by us as well.”
Though roots diverged according to the characteristics of the land in each respective dimension, there was one universally shared trait among all vampires.
That was the “Blood Factor” contained within their blood, serving as the foundation of a vampire’s power across all dimensions.
The level system detailed the blood factor’s concentration.
“We’ve arrived. We typically live separately at home, so it’s a bit small when we gather.”
The sports car rolled into the parking lot of a fancy three-story house.
It seemed like his sense of money was different from mine.
“Let’s go in. There’s a device inside that can measure the blood factor.”
Gamma grinned at me, his black eyes sparkling.
It seemed he had no intention of hiding it anymore as the psychic force began to swirl in my mind.
I realized that prolonged conversations were likely conditions for him to strengthen his mental manipulation.
‘No wonder he was so talkative. Thanks to that, I did gather quite a bit of useful information.’
“What are you doing? Hurry up.”
Was it safe to assume that once we reached this point, the situation was settled?
I didn’t resist the compelling force urging me to act and obediently followed him into the building.
‘Even with “Blood Magic,” I only sensed the barrier after entering the building. The concealment level is no joke.’
As I followed Gamma calmly, he suddenly halted in front of me.
Following his furrowed brow, I spotted six people facing off against three inside.
The distinctive scent of vampire blood wafted from them.
But one among them, like Gamma, gave off no scent at all.
“What’s going on here?”
The six on one side perked up at his arrival.
At the same time, one of the three opposite, the woman in the center with no scent, whirled around to look at us.
“So you finally arrived, Do Han-Soo. I’ve been waiting a long time.”
“Hoo, call me ‘Gamma Do’.”
“Right, right. Gamma Do, you know why I’m here, don’t you?”
She stalked up to Gamma with an agitated gait.
Thanks to that, I got a clear look at her face…
‘Even considering she’s a vampire, I’ve never seen such a beautiful person. No, haven’t I seen her somewhere before?’
She was stunning.
I couldn’t easily forget such an attractive woman.
As I struggled to piece together a strange déjà vu, it happened.
“Right, Jin So-Ran. I don’t know what brought you here, but it’s rude of you to just show up like this.”
“Hah! Rude? If you hadn’t treated me with such utter disdain, I wouldn’t have bothered to come all the way here to see your revolting face!”
Watching the two engaged in a heated argument, I squinted as a familiar feeling flickered at the edge of my mind.
That face and that voice… if not from outside, then it must be online…
‘Ah! Orchid. She was an internet streamer. There were plenty of captures of her circulating in the community, praising her beauty. I’ve seen her a few times back then.’
At the time, her makeup might have altered her impression slightly.
But now that I finally remembered her, the frustration vanished, and a wave of mental satisfaction washed over me.
As I felt smug internally, I suddenly realized she had been staring at me for a while.
“Who are you? I don’t believe we’ve met before.”
As she questioned my identity, I couldn’t provide an answer.
I was under the control of Gamma’s psychic ability.
‘I could resist if I wanted to… but maybe I should just observe the situation a bit longer.’
“He’s my guest. It’s none of your concern, so just mind your business.”
Gamma subtly moved in front of me, firing back at her.
But she didn’t back down either.
“You know why I’m here, don’t you?”
“I’m not sure what you’re talking about. Care to explain?”
“Are you really going to play dumb until the end?”
Jin So-Ran ground her teeth as she glowered at Gamma.
“I know you’ve been abducting vampires for something! You just kidnapped one of our Crew members under our protection, right? You think I wouldn’t find out?!”
‘As expected, he was initially planning to capture vampires from the beginning.’
Jin So-Ran and her two companions brought tension into the air, applying pressure on him.
Gamma’s allies, who seemed to belong to him, joined the standoff, forming a new line of confrontation.
“By the way, we informed our Crew that we would come here. If we can’t return, the upper management will be notified immediately. Do you know what that would mean?”
Although they were fewer in number, their morale did not falter against Gamma’s group.
After all, all three seemed to be of similar standing as him.
In fact, Jin So-Ran seemed even stronger than Gamma.
She must have brought only elite members for this surprise attack.
“Surely the person over there is someone you’ve abducted too? What are you after?!”
Hoo…
Gamma glared at her, squinting as a sigh escaped his lips.
Even if he ordered me to undermine her unfairly, it would only result in an unnatural spectacle.
He didn’t possess the power to give commands in my heart.
“Tch, such a cocky little brat who doesn’t know her place…”
“Aha~? So you’re finally revealing your true colors!”
As Jin So-Ran braced for a fight, her companions also prepared for combat, raising their energy.
“Alright, there’s no turning back now. Capture her. I’ll use her for materials.”
“Hah! You think I’ll just go down easily… Cough!”
Crack— Boom!
A sudden ambush sent her flying, blood spraying from her mouth.
Then, from behind her, the muscular man who was covering her back… no, the man who was once an ally slowly swung his fist.