So as not to make the same mistake I’d made with Lord Darius, I focused my attention on taking in everything there was to learn from the Vampire Captain. It was then that I discovered the truth about why vampires were unique.
Shamash had said that they naturally possessed more Darkness Aspect than Corruption. That had been an understatement. His mana was 80% Darkness and 20% Corruption. No wonder they were so weak against Solar. As I examined it, I was mystified by what I saw. The Darkness in his blood had been refined into a liquified state. Was this change in form the reason he was able to resist better than the others? I needed to get my hands on his Dark Orb because there had to be something unique about it. It might hold clues to how I could unlock Corruption Magic.
Stepping back to get an overall look, I ripped my focus from his form in the mana realm when I realized his blood was no longer leaking from his body. He was regenerating.
I tried casting Time Crawl, but its cooldown timer wasn’t up. Spinning around in a quick search for other vampires that might still be alive, I reverted to my human form to utilize Mana Sight but it revealed only corpses with dissipating mana. I needed to take care of the Captain before he regenerated, then I’d do another search.
I hadn’t recovered much mana, but I launched Laser across the room and aimed it at his head. He’d recovered enough to shift his weight out of the way.
He began to channel his Dark Magic into a massive spell. I was practically out of mana, but he certainly hadn’t used all of his.
Taking off at a sprint, I began to change. There were a hundred feet between us.
Bolts of black lightning leaped from the growing mass of a spell he was summoning and struck the floor all around.
Primordial Cat Form took shape when I was three-quarters of the way there.
It didn’t seem like he could see me. His eyes remained charred. He was certainly able to feel me though, for his massive spell began to move.
With one last stride, I pounced.
His spell soared over my head and he staggered like an uncoordinated zombie as I pummeled into him with my claws and teeth.
His fist struck with such force that it sunk deep into the magma on the side of my head. Even when almost dead, he was ridiculously powerful.
Clamping down with all my might, I tore into him with my teeth. I jerked him off the floor and shook him savagely. Unlike when face off with Amilia and Leeman, this time I didn’t stop until I’d finished the job.
There was a Dark Magic explosion from somewhere behind me. It pushed me forward, but I didn’t dare let him go even though I was sure he was already dead.
Like a tiger cornered by an unknown adversary, I stalked around the room ready to fight whatever hopped out. I’d cruised around the perimeter three times before I let myself believe that it was finally over. It was still many minutes before I completely calmed down an released the Vampire Captain’s corpse. I left him lying in his pool of blood.
Back in my Incubus Form, I began studying my popups while I cast Drain on the room with 200,000 MP.
Vampire Form
Bloodline: Inferior
Level: 1
Cost: 5,000 Mana Per Second (500 with buffs)
Strength: +500
Dexterity: +500
Intelligence: +500
Special Abilities: Vampire’s Might, Night Vision, Shadow Step, Bat Form…
Next Level:
Cost: 4,960 Mana Per Second (496 with buffs)
+5 Strength
+5 Dexterity
+5 Intelligence
In many ways, Vampire Form was underwhelming. It offered very little in stat buffs, although it did offer a rare Intelligence Buff. The special abilities it gave me I already had. Curious. It did make me wonder if having Vampire’s Might as a spell and in a Form would allow me to double-dip and gain stats from mobs I’d already fully tapped. Since there was a limit to how many stats I could take from any one mob type, this might let me go beyond that and even double the stats I could steal from them. I doubted it, but it was worth testing out.
The most interesting part about the Form was notes underneath the basic explanation.
Note: Your Vampire Form does not Rank Up as most Forms do. It doesn’t even have to reach its maximum level to Rank Up during the beginning ranks. This changes after reaching Trueblood. In order to Rank Up, you must use Vampire’s Might on vampires with purer blood
Inferior Bloodline explained. At this Rank, your blood is diluted. You have no trace amounts of a Trueblood vampire. This means that you were a vampire that was made, and not born. The more Trueblood you leech with Vampire’s Might, the purer your blood will become. Your Rank will go up as well as your power.
Was that the difference between Lord Darius and the Vampire Captain? Was Lord Darius a Trueblood Vampire and the Captain Inferior? That might explain the discrepancy in how mana mingled with their blood.
So to Rank Up my Vampire Form, I just needed to drain other vampires while in the Form. That would be easy enough. Too bad I’d already cast Drain on the room. The power of 60 vampires was already filling me.
+519 Str
+499 Dex
+1,417 Int
+789 Wis
I hadn’t even looked at the levels I’d received, and it was already the biggest take of mind specific stats I’d ever had. Returning to Vampire Captain’s corpse, I used my skeletal tail to reach in and yank out his Master Dark Orb. It was certainly different than any of the Dark Orbs I’d ever seen.
There was a Blue Magic ability outside the Form. Vampire Draw was the vampire form of Succubi’s Caress. I wasn’t planning on leveling it because there really was little difference. So much so that I couldn’t distinguish a single distinction between them besides the name when I quickly tested them.
“Elorion,” Shamash hissed as he sped into the room. He came to a stop a few feet from my face. “We must move quickly up the stairs and find a place to hide on the Cavern Level. You’ll need to refine your mana again before you’re ready for another fight.”
The lich’s gaze was heavy on my face.
“Are we going to loot them?” I said. “Take their orbs?”
“No. This isn’t like slaughtering a group of beasts. This will soon be an active crime scene. The more disturbance we make, the more they will be able to learn about us.”
I held up the Vampire Captain’s Core. “Should I put this back?”
“Don’t bother, but we must go. Use your Incubus Form for now because it hides your Light Magic well. We will go quickly at first but be ready to cast your stealth abilities at any moment. Now, follow me.”
He flew up the stairs at a breakneck pace. I managed to keep up well enough. While using Mana Sight, I was able to check my level and pump my stats into Wisdom. I wasn’t disappointed.
Elorion
Character Sheet
Level: 5,897
Health Points: 563,716
Current Mana:
Refined Mana: 0
Base Mana: 5,750,399
Mana Per Minute: 240,170(4,002.83 Per Second)
Attributes
Strength: 6,500
Dexterity: 6,174
Constitution: 5,344
Intelligence: 11,417
Wisdom: 24,017
I’d gained 1,176 levels in a single battle. It didn’t seem like a lot after killing a level 20,000 monster. I couldn’t complain about the 700,000 additional MP and the 40,000 MPM.
My Refined Mana was just beginning to replenish as I exercised my core as we ran. I was starting to see why playing the long game might take so long. Even if I hit outposts like this, vampires between levels 5,000 and 20,000 would only get me so far. And between each fight, I’d have to take the time to refine my mana to be at full power for the next one.
***
It was two days before we stopped running. Unlike the Dungeon Level, the Cavern Level was truer to its name than I ever imagined. Instead of tunnels snaking throughout the earth, the Cavern Level
was like one big open cavern as far as the eye could see. There were walls and side paths, and most of this region was dark, but it resembled more of a moonlit night on the surface than the Dungeon Level. There was so much room.
We found a cave at the base of one of the area’s underground mountains, and Shamash sealed it off so that I could change back to my human form and focus on Refining Mana. Only when he stopped did he finally congratulate me.
“Why didn’t you tell me I was able to channel all my mana at once in my Solar Form?” I said a while later.
He woodenly shook his head. “I didn’t know exactly what would happen. Only that Light Mages were capable of something similar when the Illuminated Cathedral was at full power. This is one instance where the legends were less than the reality.”
“So you knew I’d survive?”
“I knew there was danger, but no, I didn’t think it would kill you. If Light Mages had commonly blown themselves up in the past, I would have told you about it. Your True Forms seemed to allow you to become one with each Aspect of Light Magic. It was mana sickness that made you feel as if your life was slipping away.”
“So what’s next?”
“Lord Darius’s manor is in the city of Persepolis. It is close by, but it has a population of over 100,000. With your Vampire Form, it may be possible to deceive your way in, but you’ll need to reach the rank of Trueblood at the least for it to work. There is also the possibility of sneaking in, but it would take even longer for you to build the skill to pull that off. There is also my preferred route.”
“Which is?” I said when he didn’t continue.
“Become powerful enough that you can leave the city in ruin and take what you want by force.”
My first inclination was to make a joke to lighten the mood, but it wasn’t Travis I was speaking with. This wasn’t dark humor. The lich was being serious.
He left me to the mana refining process as I thought about what he’d said. It made me think of Travis who was probably going to be nearing the end of his road soon. With Kylie delivered to him by the Head Mistress, I highly doubted I’d ever see him again. He said that they still had their reservations about their relationship, but I’d seen how she waited all night during the first days of his transformation into a Werewolf.
I was happy for him. He was my friend, so I wanted him to go. It would be safer, and he’d have a happier life.
The wisest path would be to spend years here, decades, or even centuries so that I could become powerful enough to finally protect the others. I feared that if I took that long, they’d no longer be among the living.
Aeris’s dilemma was even more time-sensitive than that. As much as I wanted to daydream about the Head Mistress’s downfall, if Aeris lost her conviction and the will to fight, then what was the point?
There was no clear path to accomplish everything I needed to achieve. For now, I’d refine mana. Then, I’d find some vampires to kill.
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