CHAPTER TWO

The sheer amount of information in front of him and his lack of experience with stats overwhelmed him again. Brian took the time to breathe in and out, like what the meditation guidance scripts would say, except nothing helped with the overload of information he needed to figure out.

Brian was doing quite well for someone placed in a crazy situation. However, now his limits were reached, he needed to step back.

So he spent the next hours calming himself and understanding the situation from the very beginning. Perhaps, then he could understand more about what happened and how he got here.

The migraines started a week ago, the first occurring while he was studying at his desk. Seeing how he was studying biology for a good five hours, he hadn’t thought much of it and popped in a Tylenol before passing out.

From that day on, the migraines increased. He did some google research, though most of the results scared him with life-threatening bullshit. But he did hear from other students that getting headaches from intense studying was normal. Besides, his migraines weren’t too bad, nothing more than a light pound. There was no reason to look more into it.

After all, he definitely didn’t think it would be related to god damn traveling to a game.

What else happened during that week?

Wait a minute… Just then, Brian realized there were many red flags he’d ignored. Today was not his first experience with memory loss; in fact, he had lost the keys to his car before finding it under his bed. Typical. But the number of times he had forgotten or lost an item wasn’t. He would walk in a new class lecture, completely forgetting what he had learned the day before. While listening to music, he’d encounter a new song on his favorite playlist, thinking that perhaps someone hacked into his account. Those events were all dismissed.

At some point, he forgot that he forgot things.

I’m so stupid. He should’ve gone to the doctor sooner. Maybe that would have prevented this whole ordeal from happening.

Now, he was in a strange throne room in an entirely foreign physical body, apparently operating by a game-like system.

The same system that spent the entire week messing with his brain. And then he had to ask again, why him. So many people would be ecstatic to be in his situation. How many gamers would jump at the opportunity to enter a new crazily realistic world like this?

He was the wrong test subject.

All he wanted to do was go home, see his parents, graduate high school and go to a standard university to get a job. He didn’t mind the typical 9-5 grind, not wanting to diverge from the same lifestyle most people went through.

Oh god. Mom and dad… He knew they’d be freaking out by now, going all frantic and calling the police and his friends for information. His eyes started to water, and he used his sleeve to wipe it off. Although both his parents worked and weren’t the most present, they tried their best to make a loving home.

He grabbed his chest. “Fuck, I need to get home quick.”

Brian looked back up to the red window. While highly unlikely, perhaps, it wouldn’t take long for him to finish. His mother was supposed to make some lasagna today, and he’d been looking forward to the long-time home-cooked meal. Maybe after finishing this game, he’d return back to the exact same time he left.

Yeah. Let’s be hopeful.

He clicked on ‘Press to See Your Stats.’

Lord Azriel [lvl 10]

Species

Vampire

Basic Stats

Health

100/100

Strength

30

Agility

35

Speed

50

Mental Stats

Cannot be calculated. Based on the host.

Skills and Magic Spells

「Blood Increase」

Every sip of blood:

* Increases health

* Increases Strength

* Increases Agility

* Increases Speed

「Blood Chain」

Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings.

Bind or cut victims with a chain made of blood.

「Blood Drain」

Exposed wounds will allow health to drain by 1 every minute.

「Castle Owner」

Control all Castle components

Press to view Castle Control Panel

Restraints

The Sun

Skin contact with sunlight will cause host to burn into dust

Decrease by 5 health every second

Holy Magic

Holy magic is 2x more effective on host

Azriel Castle

Cannot surpass the castle walls. Blocked from exiting the doors and windows.

He was a vampire.

And with that discovery, the throne room aesthetic and attire all made sense. No wonder everything was dreary, gothic, and red. He was also glad that his pale skin wasn't due to lack of nutrition or disease but his own physical disposition. He didn't want to deal with another layer of trouble on top of this entire mess.

Frankly, too, out of all fantasy characters he could think of, vampires were near the top of the list. At least he looked human-like. If his luck was worse, he could've ended up as a troll or some boneless creature.

However, he couldn't outright say he was lucky. While fictional vampires on Earth were considered physically more powerful than humans, would the same translate here? No matter how much he reread the information, he couldn't gauge his current strength level compared to someone else.

The only clue he had was that his castle was in 99999th; if anything, he was starting from the very bottom. The weakest of the weak.

A scary thought popped in his head. What if I die the moment someone attacks me? He shook his head. I don't want to think about it. He'd deal with it when the situation occurs. For now, his focus should be on the only viable way of surviving this strange universe.

The existence of his powers.

There was a tinge of excitement upon realization. The experience of going beyond human limits - harnessing otherworldly magic. Who wouldn't be curious?

But why do all my powers involve... Blood. He wrinkled his face in disgust. Of course, one would expect a vampire to have blood-related capabilities, but his mind was still human. He'd grown up understanding that blood was tied with pain, suffering, and death. Danger. Furthermore, sipping someone’s blood? The thought made him feel nauseous.

Out of the small list, there was only one power he was willing to try. The blood chain. Relatively straightforward from the description and not as intense.

The problem was that there was no instruction manual. Do I just say the spell out loud? The thought was quite… Embarrassing. As if he was going back to childhood and pretending to be a wizard.

However, he didn't have any other ideas, so he proceeded to recite.

「Blood chain」

His voice deepened to a soul-shaking timbre, a harmony of multiple voices out of his mouth. A tingling sensation stirred in his heart all the way to his skin before reaching outwards. While the chain formation wasn't physically present, he could feel the existence of the energy-filled link.

Upon reaching the last millisecond of his casting, there was an energy flash before reality showcased dark red liquid floating in the air in the form of a tight chain.

Brian's eyes widened. "Holy fuck!"

The corners of his lips lifted into a smile. He created this. He was the one that summoned this bloody but probably useful chain thing. After being put through all this stress, something was finally going his way. He was goddamn magical.

His happiness was short-lived once the smell hit him.

The wrenching metallic stench forced its way to his nostrils, hitting him in the gut. Where did this blood come from anyways? Was it his? His whole body clenched as he started to gag. His hand tightly grabbed on the armrest for support as he steadied himself.

He'd never encountered this much blood in person. The stench filled the room as if a battle had occurred right in front of him.

Not even a few seconds later, an interesting shift began to occur.

The scent slowly turned into sweet honey, enticing enough for his being to be overtaken by his vampire instincts. His mouth watered, and the intensity increased by the second, and soon he found himself in a trance. I'm hungry. So hungry. Would it be wrong to have a small sip? His pupils turned a darker red and expanded to the ends of his iris - his canines sharpening with murderous intent.

Something in Brian's brain snapped, and he lunged forward, but at the touch of his own magic, he made an obvious realization. He couldn't consume his own magic.

Get your shit together.

His body slowly returned back to a normal state, and when his mind cleared, a tinge of red filled his cheeks. How could he lose control so quickly? The contrast between his rational and vampire instincts was more significant than he'd imagined.

Hopefully, I don't lose myself like that again.

He wasn’t a creature who couldn’t control its own impulses. Brian had self-control. Or at least that was what he was convincing himself.

The chain stayed floating in its spot, completely still, almost mocking his previous episode.

Brian clenched his teeth. He was determined to learn how to use it for battle. Instinctively, like how one would move your own hand, he made the chain drive to the right side. The movement was fluid, and the mind's translation to reality was perfect.

Is this supposed to be… That easy?

With the basics handled, he opted for a more complicated move.

Let's wrap the chain around the pillar. The chains immediately headed to Brian's command, shooting to the nearest post and wrapping around the frame. Although liquid, the blood didn't disperse and kept its shape, proving to be stable.

Brian could imagine different attack tactics on his opponents. And now that he'd experienced the fine delicacy of blood, he was more determined to have a taste.

He licked his lips at the thought of slicing his opponents, before widening his eyes. The debate between nature vs nurture. His situation proved to be the earlier.

Anyhow, the fact that his power was easily manipulated was enough to make him feel somewhat safe in this strange world. All he needed to do was wrap the chain around his opponents or use it as a whip to throw them against the wall. Could he even cut them in half? As long as his opponent wasn't overpowered or geared with high stat defensive items, he believed he was fine.

Feeling comfortable with the blood chain, he wanted to try the other spells. Unfortunately, his list was short, and the others required a living being to be present.

There was nobody to test his powers on.

Am I feeling disappointed? He thought to himself before shaking his head.

I'm still human… Right?