By the time Julian Thorne got back to his dorm, it was already seven. Surprisingly, his roommate John, a guy who was usually more myth than man, was actually there!

John was sitting on his bed, looking utterly miserable and chain-smoking. His dog, Polly—whom he treated like a son—was excitedly jumping all over him, slobbering all over his face.

Julian watched this touching father-son moment in silence. He couldn't bring himself to tell John that Polly had just been snacking on something decidedly less savory in the bathroom.

Noticing Julian, John crushed his cigarette with a sigh. "Dude, Wayne, I'm so screwed. My dad's probably going to kill me."

From what Julian recalled, John's family was loaded. His dad was one of the biggest businessmen in Darkland City, owning a whole string of, ahem, "entertainment establishments" in the red-light district near the old city. Julian had often fantasized about asking John for a "tour" of these establishments, but could never work up the nerve.

Julian: ?

He set his bread down on the table, intrigued. "No way, you're his only son. He wouldn't actually disown you, would he?"

"...You didn't get into some kind of trouble, did you?"

John shook his head gloomily. "If it was trouble, it'd be easy. Unless it was a major felony, my dad could always bail me out."

He let out another long sigh. "Remember that shop I invested in? It's about to go bankrupt. I'm going to lose everything."

Julian's interest evaporated. He'd been hoping for some juicy family drama, maybe an illicit affair with a step-sibling or something.

"It's just a failed investment," Julian said, shrugging. "It's not that big of a deal for your family, right?"

"My dad gave me ten thousand Victors..." John said.

Julian: ...

According to his memories, John had started his business venture in July, investing in a boutique potion shop outside the campus. By the end of July, he decided it wasn't making enough money, so he tore it down and rebuilt it as a boutique weapon shop.

In his words, "If you're going to do it, do it right."

And now it was September 2nd.

...Yeah, if Julian were his dad, he'd probably strangle him too.

"You're doomed. Just wait for the sweet embrace of death. Remember to haunt me when you have your funeral," Julian quipped.

Once again, John served as a stark reminder of the disparity of their lives. Julian quietly grabbed his clothes and headed to the bathroom, eager to escape the presence of this disgustingly wealthy individual.

When he emerged from the shower, John was already asleep. A few minutes later, there was a knock on the door.

It was the gas meter guy, coming to collect the coins from each room. He gave Julian a look that screamed "prodigal son" as he emptied the meter.

Holy crap. In just three days, Julian had already racked up over 4 Roshen in gas bills.

"Broke again," Julian sighed.

The sound of rain pattering against the window grew louder. Julian closed it, hopped onto his bed, and sat cross-legged. With the urgent need for alchemy supplies temporarily resolved, he finally had some time to sort through his abilities.

Julian opened his character panel. After several days of grinding, he had accumulated over 23,000 experience points, some from practicing alchemy and some from his studies.

Currently, Julian had 7 normal skills available for fusion: Expert French Fluency, Intermediate Pickpocketing, Advanced Firearms Proficiency, Expert-level Pickup Artistry, Novice Ripple Breathing Technique, Novice Mozambique Drill, and Intermediate C.A.R System.

You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

To level up the Ripple Breathing Technique from Novice to Intermediate required 10 Intelligence, and Julian was currently at 9. Luckily, he had one free attribute point remaining. He allocated it to Intelligence, finally reaching the average human baseline.

With the attribute requirement met, Julian immediately upgraded Ripple Breathing Technique to Intermediate.

[Ripple Breathing Technique (Intermediate): A breathing technique with exceptional effects, granting an additional +4 Strength and +4 Dexterity.]

The Strength and Dexterity bonuses had increased by one point each, and the description had changed from "exceptional" to "very exceptional"—not a massive upgrade, but still an improvement.

Next, Julian selected Advanced Firearms Proficiency and Intermediate Ripple Breathing Technique for skill fusion.

[Fuse Advanced Firearms Proficiency and Intermediate Ripple Breathing Technique? This fusion will consume 8000 experience points. Success Rate: 70%]

The success rate was lower than in the game, probably because Ripple Breathing Technique wasn't a game skill.

Without hesitation, Julian confirmed the fusion. The experience points for both Ripple Breathing Technique and Firearms Proficiency were reset, and the skills reverted to Novice.

[Fusion successful. You have acquired the skill: Ripple Shot.]

[Ripple Shot (Novice): A shooting technique that infuses bullets with Ripple power, dealing extreme damage to dark creatures. Using this skill grants a +3 bonus to Strength and Dexterity checks.]

Julian's eyes lit up. He had envisioned many possible outcomes for fusing Ripple Breathing Technique and Firearms Proficiency, but Ripple Shot was the best he could have hoped for. Although it didn't incorporate the accuracy bonus from Advanced Firearms Proficiency, it successfully integrated Ripple power into his bullets and added a +3 bonus to Strength and Dexterity, maximizing its offensive potential.

He had about 8,000 experience points left. Glancing at his skill list, he decided to also upgrade the Novice Mozambique Drill to Intermediate.

[Mozambique Drill (Intermediate): A close-quarters combat shooting technique that involves quickly firing two shots into the target's body followed by a headshot. Deals increased damage compared to the Novice skill.]

[Fuse Intermediate Mozambique Drill and Intermediate C.A.R System? This fusion will consume 8000 experience points. Success Rate: 48%]

[Fusion successful. You have acquired the skill: Rapid Pursuit.]

[Rapid Pursuit (Novice): A deadly close-and-long-range combat shooting technique that allows you to enter a special combat state, passively increasing your combat effectiveness.]

"It actually worked?"

Even Julian was surprised by his luck. However, the skill description was pretty vague, much like the "Fatal Tempo" specialty he had learned from John Wick. He wasn't sure how effective it would be in practice.

After leveling up his skills, he spent some time reading, bringing his reading progress to 547/1000. It was just past eleven o'clock.

Checking his remaining 9 Transmigration Coins, Julian, who had been holding back for two days, finally gave in. He opened the Transmigration Simulator and initiated a traversal.

[Preparing for traversal... Transmigration Coins -5]

[Please select a traversal mode...]

[1. Direct Traversal]

[2. Traversal using a parallel world template]

As usual, he checked the available templates for the second option.

The previous templates—Extreme Hacker, Insane Clown, and God of Gamblers—were gone, replaced by three new ones.

The first template showed a bespectacled, scholarly version of Julian with a personality marked as "Astute" and a blue-tier talent "Design Genius." His skills were "Architectural Design (Expert)" and "Accounting (Intermediate)."

The title was "Architect Julian Thorne," and the traversal cost was 3 Transmigration Coins.

The second template depicted Julian in a black mage robe, three fireballs floating in his hands. His personality was "Volatile," and he possessed three purple-tier talents: "Fire Magic Prodigy," "Magic Affinity," and "Magic Focus." His skill was "Fire Magic Omniscience (God)."

The title was "Inferno Julian Thorne," and the traversal cost was a whopping 250 Transmigration Coins—outrageous!

When he saw the third template, Julian couldn't help but exclaim softly. The image showed a world-weary Julian in a black suit, half-hidden in shadow. His personality was "Wise" and "Calm." He had a plethora of talents: "Research Genius (Purple)," "Athletic Genius (Blue)," "Vampire Physique (Purple)," "Daywalker (Purple)," and "Rapid Regeneration (Purple)." His skills included "Ripple Breathing Technique (Expert)," "Painting (Expert)," "Writing (Master)," "Firearms Proficiency (Expert)," and many more.

The title was "Legendary Vampire Julian Thorne," and the traversal cost was 0.

Julian stared blankly for a moment before it hit him. After clearing "Lost in Paris," he had received a notification that "Legendary Vampire Julian Thorne" had become a hidden template, selectable with extremely good luck.

Was today his lucky day?

There was no contest. Julian immediately selected option 1 and chose "Legendary Vampire Julian Thorne" for his traversal.

[Matching successful. In this parallel world, you are the greatest scientist and the greatest writer of the 20th century, a physicist who has won the Nobel Prize twice, and a war hero who helped the Allies win World War II. You are a legend, a living myth, and also a vampire who can walk in the sunlight. The Stone Mask granted you the gifts and body of a vampire, but your body, already partially modified by the Stone Mask and the Red Stone of Aja, has also given you the ability to walk in the sunlight. What changes will you bring to this world? Only time will tell.]

[Current world exploration progress: 56.8%. When world exploration reaches 66.7%, you will unlock the next map.]

[Game Over if you die in the simulation.]

[Boarding the Time Machine... 1%... 33%... 65%... 95%... Whoosh... Traversal complete.]