Chapter 144: All-Out War (2)
Buzzing!
The dagger traced a sleek arc.
“Kuk!”
Naturally, Bertyon responded by swinging his rapier in turn.
Blade clashed against blade.
Clang!
The shrill sound of metal proved a perfect contest of skills.
But then.
[The effect of ‘Soul Drain’ has granted you 0.3 mana.]
‘Soul Drain’ could siphon mana from its target without needing to land a solid hit.
The old saying rang true, ‘Should’ve avoided it instead of blocking.’
Moreover.
As a higher-level skill, it included an additional effect.
[The effect of ‘Soul Drain’ has permanently increased your vigor by 0.01.]
Unlike temporarily absorbing mana for use,
‘Soul Drain’ could also steal ‘vigor (正氣),’ a unique form of energy.
A stat that synergized with all others and could invigorate the user by itself.
‘Although it’s not as top-tier as something like gap or adaptive type skills, the perk of permanent stat growth with each battle is undeniable.’
In other words.
Vigor could grow indefinitely.
Most notably, you didn’t even need to level up to gain vigor.
In plain terms, if you fought all day with beings like Elise or Cheon Yu-Seong and drained their vigor, you could massively increase your stats.
While ‘Soul Drain’ was choosy, favoring only the vigor of worthy opponents, it was undeniably an efficient skill.
Crash! Bang!
How long did the fierce exchange of sword strikes last?
After several bouts, Bertyon too realized something was amiss—a feeling as if vitality was being siphoned from his entire body.
Fighting became increasingly unbalanced.
“You’re more vampiric than a vampire!”
“Heh. Even from Dekasus, you’ve got some sharp instincts,” Jinhyuk chuckled lightly.
Ah, it wasn’t a sneer but rather a mild compliment.
Typically, the process was a gradual withering away.
He deserved extra points for noticing it early, but…
‘It won’t change the outcome.’
Zip!
Jinhyuk accelerated using the ‘Sword Demon Emperor Stance.’
RattleRattle!
The dagger moved so fast it became a blur to the eye.
“Kggg…”
Bertyon focused all his energy on defense.
But that was all he could manage; a counterattack was beyond his capacity.
Jinhyuk’s aggressive movements, picking apart weaknesses, were almost cruelly efficient.
Rather than a quick decisive blow, he targeted the most painful and vulnerable spots, draining as much vigor as possible.
[Mana 0.3…]
[Vigor 0.1…]
[Mana…]
[Vigor…]
As the battle wore on, Bertyon’s mana was continuously being drained. In contrast, Jinhyuk was experiencing a phenomenon where his mana was restored the more he fought.
Eventually.
“Tch!”
Ophelia joined the fray with a short click of her tongue.
A straight trajectory.
Whirr!
Her rapier pierced the air towards Jinhyuk’s neck.
However, Jinhyuk effortlessly evaded the ambush from the blind spot.
The blade barely grazed his hair.
“To come at me two on one… Well, that could be fun.”
Why refuse when they were so eager to offer their vigor?
Dragging things out was problematic, but Elise could hold her own for the next 10-15 minutes.
That was enough time to extract as much ‘honey’ as possible.
Jinhyuk further increased his speed.
Now the movements of the two vampire nobility noticeably slowed due to the substantial drain on their vigor.
Any further delay would be disastrous.
Bertyon and Ophelia, more than anyone, were acutely aware of this.
“Bertyon!”
“I know!”
[Ophelia activates Lv15 ‘Heart Eater’!]
[Bertyon activates Lv16 ‘Blood Spear’!]
Front and back, they maximized the advantage of a 2 against 1 position.
They had selected their strongest skills.
Whooooosh!
A blood-red aura manifested through the rapier.
‘Bertyon focused on destructive power, while Ophelia’s skill is specialized in targeting vital points with a narrower range.’
In fact, having clashed with the Six Families numerous times, Jinhyuk had a thorough understanding of most of their skills and their pros and cons.
Seeing them in action outside the game was somewhat different, a fresh experience.
How to describe it?
Like watching children’s talent shows on YouTube live for the first time?
They were doing their best, but from Jinhyuk’s perspective, it was just amusing.
Dammit, I should be more on edge…
Since watching Elise and Mikhail fight, everything else had become dull.
“Huff.”
Jinhyuk regulated his breathing lightly.
Victory was a foregone conclusion.
He planned to edit this footage before posting, requiring a high degree of cinematic perfection.
‘With those power levels and this terrain arrangement, roughly…’
As Jinhyuk sketched out the scene in his mind,
RumbleRumble!
Suddenly, a rough energy surged.
A voice filled with fury followed.
“How dare you be distracted!”
“You insolent worm! I’ll tear you apart!”
The vampires unleashed their pent-up mana to the limit.
Their blood-steeped blades rushed forward with speed incomparable to before; their trajectory was wildly unpredictable, like a snake honing in on its prey.
Truly, these were strokes of desperation.
But.
Did they realize?
Their very perfection would become their poison.
‘If they’d aimed for an arm or leg, it might have been harder, but why stubbornly go for vitals?’
Jinhyuk channeled different kinds of mana into his twin blades.
Calculated without an ounce of error.
Then, timed perfectly against the incoming blades.
‘Now!’
With a slight twist, Jinhyuk’s lightning-fast slash intersected them.
CrackCrack!
The rapier strikes detonated from front and back subtly deviated as they collided with Jinhyuk’s blades.
The rapier aiming for the heart from behind slid past the armpit,
while the one targeting the neck from the front grazed past and extended behind.
Plunge! Skewer!
The chilling sound of flesh pierced filled the air.
＊＊＊
“Cough…”
“Ah…”
The exclamation came not just from pain, but shock at the impossible situation.
Doubts about what being they were facing assailed them.
Followed by a sense of reverence for their overwhelming opponent, transcending all other emotions.
DripDrip!
Bertyon, with a hole in his heart, collapsed onto one knee.
No vampire, however resilient, could survive a stab to the heart by a blade wreathed in ‘Star’s Blessing’, the bane of their kind.
He gasped roughly a few times, clinging to life.
And then, Bertyon fell to the ground for the last time.
Ding!
[You have hunted a noble from the Dekasus family residing on the Tower’s upper floors.]
[A remarkable achievement has been accomplished.]
[This feat will be recorded in the ‘Hall of Honor’ for one day.]
[You have leveled up!]
[You have leveled up!]
[You have leveled up!]
Multiple notifications flooded in.
Even with the enhanced mana from the ‘Soul Essence’, downing an upper-floor entity was no mean feat.
Thus, the value of this accomplishment—and the footage itself—was astronomical.
‘I can easily pull in a million coins with this; I’ll need to touch it up with some editing before posting in the Hall of Honor.’
Previously, introduction to the Hall of Honor was forced, but now, it was an option.
The message in the status window confirmed it, stating, ‘You can…’
‘The continued benefits of being in the Hall of Honor should follow. This is happening faster than expected.’
Rik had even subscribed, lowering the cost to 80%, paving a smooth road ahead.
Coins and leveling up could be dealt with later.
Priority goes to…
Jinhyuk looked down.
Below lay Ophelia, breathlessly struggling with injuries.
“Sigh.”
That was a blunder.
While Bertyon died instantly, Ophelia’s fatal wound missed by two centimeters.
The perfect script now had a blemish.
“This is how seasoned players ruin their reputation.”
Even the most absurd acrobatic feat is to be mastered by essence itself, isn’t it?
‘Or maybe, this could work out better.’
With things as they were, he could now inquire about several things he was curious about. Originally, he planned to ask Mikhail, but this woman might know something as well.
Jinhyuk squatted in front of Ophelia.
Smiling innocently, he gathered mana in one hand.
[Lv8 ‘Fire Element’ is activated!]
Flames arose with vigor from his palm.
As expected.
The previously sealed fire element skill activated, as if it had never been restrained.
Having met all copying conditions, the skill seal vanished.
Now there was nothing left to inhibit him.
“Are you going to torture me with that?”
Ophelia’s pupils quivered slightly.
No matter how long-lived a species was, they did not desire pain.
“That depends on you. I have questions, and if you answer honestly, you may keep your life. However, if you choose to remain silent, I’ll grant you a deeply immersive experience in advanced methods of torture. Preferably, I’d choose the latter. It’s less entertaining when it comes too easily.”
“What do you want to know?”
“Your Six Families’ target location. Where is it?”
“That, I cannot…”
Ophelia drew a deep breath.
She couldn’t even maintain eye contact, as if hit directly in her most sensitive spot.
“Would you rather remain silent?”
Then, there’s no helping it.
He didn’t expect her to open up easily.
It had been so long since he last used such a method, but if she insisted, he was ready to demonstrate.
The flames climbed higher.
Yet, even as the fire drew nearer, Ophelia tightly shut her eyes, her lips sealed.
“You’re quite principled. I respect that.”
Jinhyuk’s grin grew wider.
At the same time.
The flames ferociously consumed the target.
Ophelia clenched her teeth, expecting excruciating pain.
But.
“…huh?”
The anticipated agony never came.
It felt peculiar, and just as she realized this,
Ophelia’s body wobbled.
Before she could gain her balance or even open her eyes, a wave of cold enveloped her head.
Plunge!
The ground gave way beneath her, and she found herself plunging into icy water.
“Scream!”
Ophelia screamed, her throat raw.
Instinctively reaching up, the person above her was, unfortunately, Jinhyuk.
“Oh, what have we here?”
Jinhyuk grasped a branch that had fallen from a coniferous tree.
He then proceeded to push Ophelia’s head down.
Gurgling! Glug!
“Choke! Cough! Cough, hack! Stop it! Stop, you demon!”
“Sorry, I can’t quite hear you. Could you be a bit clearer and louder?”
PressPress.
Her crown was particularly tempting.
There was an odd addictiveness to targeting the center of the crown with a branch.
“If you want, I can do this all day long.”
By the way…
That’s no joke.
At that moment.
“Wait! Hold on, just wait a moment…”
Ophelia finally spoke up.
“Hmm.”
From her mouth spilled the vampires’ objective, something intriguing enough to warrant a complete reevaluation of his strategy.
