Chapter 132: The Hounds of the Decarsus Family (1)
“So you must be the bastard called Kang Jinhyuk.”
“Not bad looking, I must say. And hmm, what’s this? This guy, why does the smell of his blood have such a sweet scent?”
A cold voice and an excited one contrasted each other.
Among the ice trolls, two figures revealed themselves, one with dazzling white hair and the other with red eyes—a male and a female.
There was no need to state the obvious. They were vampires.
More precisely, they were undoubtedly from the Decarsus family, as Melena had mentioned just recently at the general meeting.
The ring of Braham trembled violently.
[Don’t hold me back! Those bastards… the mongrels of Decarsus! I’ll go out there and kill them all right away!]
Had it not been sealed, Elis would have burst out immediately.
However, releasing Elis here would create too much of a variable.
If the sealing were to be loosened enough for her to fight the vampires, mana consumption would become uncontrollably excessive.
‘Before I understand how much they’ve prepared, it’s better for me to deal with them directly rather than sending out Elis.’
It wouldn’t be a problem to confront them head-on.
But if the battle were to be prolonged or if they attempted to flee, it would become a headache.
Mana must be conserved as much as possible.
Jinhyuk slowly scanned the two individuals up and down.
‘The Eye of Gluttony’ had a relatively low mana consumption, but even that could not be used carelessly.
Especially since the required mana consumption increased against opponents with a significantly higher level or greater strength.
However, gaining information about the opponent was necessary—it was impossible to forgo using it completely.
‘Which one should I look at…’The stronger or the weaker one.
The one likely to replicate or not.
The decision didn’t take long.
Jinhyuk chose to look at the male.
‘The Eye of Gluttony’ penetrated the status window.
Name: Lior Bertion
Gender: Male
Age: 1082 years
Level: 108
Strength 32 Agility 36 Health 33 Mana 45 Dark Fighting Spirit 50
Stat Points Available: 0
Unique Ability: Blood Cancel
Skills: Lv16 ‘Blood Spear’, Lv16 ‘Blood Prison’, Lv15 ‘Blood Shield’, Lv15 ‘Memorize Teleport’, Lv15 ‘Dark Fighting Spirit’, Lv14 ‘Mana Drain’
[Copy Condition: As expected of a vampire, they need to suck! You can copy the opponent’s unique ability by inserting a straw into their neck and consuming more than 100mg of their blood.]
[If you survive after uttering at least 4 death flag phrases, you can copy one of the opponent’s skills. However, the phrases must be appropriate to the situation to be recognized, and each time you say a phrase, one of your unique abilities or skills will be sealed. (Time Limit: 96h:00m:00s)]
“F*ck.”
Jinhyuk scrunched his face upon reading the status window.
It was fine to obtain the rough information, but once again, the conditions to copy were ridiculous.
‘How could this be getting more outrageous each time? I’m not a vampire. Suck 100mg of blood?’
It’s known that elders sometimes consume deer blood for health, but that’s strong stomach territory.
‘I’ll pass. Besides, the blood-based Blood Cancel ability doesn’t seem tempting enough.’
Above all, rather than biting a man’s neck, I’d prefer to bite my tongue and die.
However…
The other copying condition was intriguing.
There was a useful skill among those Bertion possessed.
A skill that would be incredibly helpful in a melee or in a drawn-out fight.
Jinhyuk narrowed his eyes.
‘Death flag phrases, huh… It’s certainly not easy to survive after spitting out such phrases under pressure.’
Furthermore, the condition of having a unique ability or skill randomly sealed with each phrase uttered was exceptionally annoying.
But despite all the risks, there was one ‘skill’ he absolutely wanted to obtain.
As Jinhyuk pondered, Bertion spoke again.
“Why aren’t you answering? Could it be, are you too scared to even move?”
Assuming Jinhyuk had frozen in fear due to the terror, he had been absorbed in confirming the copying conditions.
“Ah. Sorry, was just checking something. So, what were you saying?”
“Are you Kang Jinhyuk?” Bertion had inquired.
Hmm.
Would it work if I used the alias Cheon Yuseong here? It’d be convenient to blame that guy, honestly.
After a brief consideration, Jinhyuk shook his head.
I can only sell him out up to a point. Who knows, he might come to my door one of these dark nights.
“That’s me.”
Jinhyuk shrugged nonchalantly.
Upon hearing that, Bertion’s lips curled up into a smile.
“My name is ‘Lior Bertion’. I belong to the Decarsus family. You humans often call us vampires, so perhaps that term is more familiar to you.”
“I am Ophelia. Unlike this drab fellow, I’m with the same group.”
The two introduced themselves briefly—Bertion and Ophelia.
Both of these individuals were significantly stronger than the Ataraxia family members they had met in the passage before.
From the individual levels and stats to the natural flow of mana exuding from them, it wasn’t even a contest.
The vampires that Elis and her followers had become were weakened from their long exile and from the power discrepancy between the two families.
“Vampires of the Decarsus family, eh…”
“You don’t look too surprised.”
“I’ve encountered vampires before.”
In the ring. I’m raising a hell of a vampire myself.
If an ordinary vampire is a mosquito, then Elis is an Adidas striped mosquito, isn’t she?
With a sting that can pierce through jeans, truly the top of the vampire world.
“It’s true! You were harboring the traitor exiled in the passageway!”
“Don’t pretend to be surprised as if your wild guess was correct. If you’ve prepared to this extent, it means you’re not just suspicious but certain. And here you are, ‘Ah, just as I suspected.’ What a smug grin.”
“…What? You… How dare you speak to me like that?!” Bertion stuttered furiously.
Was it because he hit a nerve? Or was it because he had never been defied so openly by a mere human before? Either way, his alabaster face flushed red with anger.
“Haha. A brazen human. You’ll make a delightful meal.”
Now Ophelia joined in, her interest peaked even further, her red eyes gleaming with excitement.
That expression…
Where have I seen it before?
It’s reminiscent of the first time I met Elis, who threatened me, claiming my blood tasted good.
Damn, all these vampires always treat humans like they’re some kind of lunchbox.
“How about it? Come with me, and I’ll at least spare your life.”
Ophelia extended her hand temptingly, her slender fingers spreading out.
Needless to say, grabbing it would be a one-way ticket to hell.
“So you mean to live as a personal blood bag? Is that what you’re suggesting?”
“Wouldn’t you prefer that to death?”
“I’ll politely decline. Personally, I prefer taking rather than being given.”
“You’ll regret this…”
“Well, the last time I received a similar offer, it wasn’t me but my opponent who ended up regretting it.” The one who offered lived lavishly in a 1000-square palace and is now down to a cramped 0.01-square closet.
“That’s a shame… Then there’s no helping it. Though I wanted to savor you slowly, it looks like you’ll just be a one-time meal.”
Ophelia stepped back.
The atmosphere began to take a menacing turn.
A pre-storm calm loomed.
If someone moved now, a massive slaughter would ensue.
Gulp!
“Ugh…”
“Damn it.”
The players, who had been waiting in bated breath, faces turned ashen with fear.
Although they couldn’t understand the conversation between the two due to their overwhelming fear, they instinctively knew when the talking stopped:
Their lives would soon end.
‘I can’t survive.’
‘It’s over.’
‘Damn, what kind of monsters are these…’
The murderous aura emitted by the vampires, each above level 100, was too much for the B-rank players who had just entered the 7th floor to handle.
They were going to die.
Without a doubt.
Even with Jinhyuk, an S-rank, right in front of them, he was no match for those monsters.
The oppressive atmosphere felt heavier than any foe they had faced before.
＊＊＊
Jinhyuk watched as the ice trolls slowly tightened their encirclement.
Then, he slowly opened his mouth.
“Can I ask just one thing before we start?”
“Even if you’re about to die, you can’t help but satisfy your curiosity, huh? Fine, ask your last question.”
“Was it also your doing to hunt down the players of the Dan-gun Guild sequentially in the forest? Including carving symbols into the rock?”
“We heard you know a lot about the Tower. That’s why we set the trap.”
The better-informed someone is, the more they tend to put absolute faith in their knowledge.
And if they think others are unaware of that information, the effect multiplies.
“You would’ve entered this forest hoping to obtain ‘Phoenix feathers.’ It’s one of the most certain methods to conquer this floor.”
Bertion continued speaking calmly.
“However, upon arrival, you would’ve sensed a strange unease right away, naturally suspecting an anomaly since a group of high-level players disappeared without a trace. You’d hurry to the forest to prove your hypothesis.”
“If you discovered the trolls’ symbols, it would lend weight to your assumptions, making you even more negligent toward me. That’s probably what you meant.”
Jinhyuk finished the thought.
“Exactly. With the hypothesis of an imminent outbreak, you would call other players here. The longer you stay in the forest, the more time we have to complete our encirclement.”
“Ah! And you should give up hope that other humans will join you. The mines have agreed to handle that side.”
No room for escape, huh?
“Quite impressive. You put some thought into the trap.”
It was a clean set-up.
With the inclusion of both the mines and the ice trolls, the assembled three-team coalition couldn’t have been stronger.
No matter how strong a ranker was, being caught in such a situation would surely cause panic or despair.
But do you know something?
In fact…
“I was aware that you would make contact.”
Jinhyuk knew all the internal information through Melena, everything from Decarsus family’s hounds descending to the lower floors of the Tower to their dealings with Lancelot.
While I couldn’t pinpoint the exact time or place, it wasn’t expected to be far off.
“Above all, a trap only makes sense if there’s a guarantee it will kill the target.”
“Oh? And what might that mean?”
“The very thought that you dogs could defeat me… was the mistake.”
With those words as his cue,
Kukukukuku!
The mana he had suppressed to its limit was released.
