Appearing in a forest at night, Zero looked around and found that there were no people or even animals around. This made him sigh with relief since it would affect his plan if he was seen appearing out of nowhere. He knew his mom had taken some consideration to choose this location, but he was still a bit worried because he felt that she was a bit ditzy. Having taken time to calm down and let the earlier unpleasant feeling fade, he was now ready to begin his quest to increase his soul rank.
"System, where am I, and where is Soma Cruz?" asked Zero.
CURRENT LOCATION: HALF A MILE EAST OF HAKUBA SHRINE IN HIROSAKI, JAPAN.
SOMA CRUZ IS SET TO TRANSFER INTO A SCHOOL NEAR THIS SHRINE IN TWO WEEKS.
THE ONLY SCHOOL IN THIS AREA IS HIROSAKI HIGH SCHOOL.
Zero was shocked; he had imagined the system would be unable to answer the question but could direct him to a place where he could find out. "How do you know when he's due to transfer to the school?" asked Zero, curious about how the system knew something he wasn't aware of.
"THROUGH DEDUCTIVE REASONING, YOUR MEMORY STATES THAT SOMA CRUZ WENT TO A SCHOOL FOR A YEAR IN JAPAN. IT ALSO STATES THAT HIS LOVE INTEREST IS A GIRL NAMED MINA HAKUBA, AND THAT THEY WENT TO THE SAME SCHOOL. THE ONLY SCHOOL IN THIS AREA IS HIROSAKI HIGH SCHOOL; THEREFORE, THEY WILL BE THERE. FURTHERMORE, ALL SCHOOLS IN JAPAN START AT THE SAME DATE, SO IT'S SIMPLE TO DEDUCE WHERE AND WHEN HE WILL APPEAR AT SCHOOL."
Zero's shock only grew as the system explained the process it used to answer his question. He began to wonder how intelligent his mom was to have created something like this so quickly.
"Well, umm… do you know what I should do next?" asked Zero, unsure of what to do next in the current situation.
"IT IS RECOMMENDED THAT THE HOST APPLIES FOR THE SCHOOL AND FINDS A WAY TO LIVE AT THE HAKUBA SHRINE. SINCE THE HOST DOESN'T EXIST IN THIS WORLD, IT WILL BE DIFFICULT TO CARRY OUT THESE ACTIONS CURRENTLY. THAT IS WHY IT IS RECOMMENDED THAT THE HOST TRIES TO GAIN THE ABILITY TO MANIPULATE MINDS. FIRST, THE SYSTEM RECOMMENDS SEARCHING FOR A LESSER VAMPIRE FIRST AND ASSIMILATING THEIR HYPNOTIC GAZE SKILL. THE HOST IS RECOMMENDED TO USE THE SYSTEM SEARCH FUNCTION TO FIND A LESSER VAMPIRE. SHOULD THE SYSTEM BEGIN SEARCH? YES/NO."
"Yes. Also, what's the search function?" asked Zero.
"CONFIRMATION ACKNOWLEDGED. BEGINNING SEARCH. THE SEARCH FUNCTION ALLOWS THE SYSTEM TO SEARCH AND FIND ANYTHING THAT THE USER HAS KNOWLEDGE OF IN A 1000 KM AREA. SEARCH COMPLETE. LESSER VAMPIRE DISCOVERED 5 MILES SOUTH OF CURRENT LOCATION. MARKER PLACED. PLEASE FOLLOW MARKER TO FIND TARGET."
As the system finished relaying its message, a green arrow appeared in his line of sight and pointed in a certain direction. Knowing that this was the marker, he began to walk in the direction it pointed. He walked for about 20 minutes before he reached the city. Knowing that he still had a long way to go, he continued walking for another 30 minutes before he found himself in an alleyway. As soon as he arrived at the alley, the arrow vanished, and he could see a faint green glow up ahead in the darkness. Getting closer slowly, he could make out a silhouette of a man holding a woman.
"System, appraise the man," thought Zero in his mind, keeping as still as possible and controlling his breathing to remain hidden from the vampire.
NAME: ZACK INÉS
RACE: LESSER VAMPIRE
SOUL: LESSER VAMPIRE
SOUL RANK: E+
LEVEL: 10
ATTRIBUTES: DARK
A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.
STRENGTH: 72
SPEED: 68
MAGIC ENERGY: 800
VITALITY: 1,000
SKILLS: VAMPIRE PHYSIOLOGY, SHAPESHIFTING, HYPNOTIC GAZE
VAMPIRE PHYSIOLOGY: VAMPIRES ARE KNOWN TO HAVE HEIGHTENED SENSES, AUGMENTED HEALING, PARTICULARLY SMELL, BEING ABLE TO DETERMINE ONE'S CLAN ORIGIN SIMPLY BY THE SCENT OF THEIR BLOOD. THEY FEEL AN INSATIABLE DESIRE TO CONSTANTLY CONSUME BLOOD. CAN CONSUME BLOOD TO STRENGTHEN ABILITIES AND SPEED UP REGENERATION. WEAK TO SUNLIGHT, HOLY MAGIC, HOLY WATER, AND FIRE.
SHAPESHIFTING: CAN SHAPESHIFT INTO ANY CREATURE OF THE NIGHT SUCH AS A WOLF AND BAT.
HYPNOTIC GAZE: CAN HYPNOTIZE MORTALS WEAKER THAN YOU. ABLE TO CHANGE MEMORIES FREELY AND CONTROL INDIVIDUALS. REQUIRE 300 MAGIC ENERGY TO USE.
"System, is it possible to copy the skill from here?" asked Zero.
YES, THE HOST MUST MAINTAIN A DISTANCE OF 36 FEET FROM THE INDIVIDUAL YOU WISH TO COPY THE ABILITY FROM. THE HOST WISHES TO COPY ABILITY "HYPNOTIC GAZE." TIME NEEDED: 00:03:00. PLEASE STAY WITHIN RANGE OF THE TARGET OR THE PROCESS WILL BE PAUSED UNTIL THE HOST IS ABLE TO REENTER THE RANGE OF THE TARGET.
As the vampire named Zack was enjoying draining the blood out of a helpless woman, Zero stood perfectly still at the corner of the alley, not making a sound. After three minutes had passed, Zero received a notification.
SKILL HYPNOTIC GAZE GAINED
HYPNOTIC GAZE: CAN HYPNOTIZE ANY INDIVIDUAL WITH A WEAKER SOUL RANK THAN YOU. ABLE TO CHANGE MEMORIES FREELY AND CONTROL INDIVIDUALS. REQUIRES 500 MAGIC ENERGY TO USE.
Gaining the ability he needed, Zero quickly and quietly walked back in the direction towards the shrine. After walking for 20 minutes and reaching the edge of the city, he decided to ask the question on his mind.
"System, why was the ability I received a bit different from what that vampire had?" wondered Zero.
HOST USED ABILITY POWER ASSIMILATION, WHICH CHANGES POWER TO PERFECTLY FIT THE HOST. THE ORIGINAL ABILITY COULD ONLY AFFECT THOSE WEAKER THAN YOU; HOWEVER, HOST'S VERSION IS ABLE TO AFFECT ANYONE REGARDLESS OF STRENGTH, SO LONG AS THE HOST HAS A HIGH SOUL RANK. MOST HUMANS HOLD A SOUL STRENGTH OF EITHER G- OR G, SO THE ABILITY WILL AFFECT THEM SINCE THE HOST CURRENTLY HAS A SOUL RANK OF G+.
As the system was answering his question, Zero noticed two young men harassing a young lady. Zero instantly disliked what he saw, and then he realized he would need some practice to be able to use the ability perfectly. So he decided to use it to save the young woman.
"System, how do I use the ability I just gained?" asked Zero as he walked closer to the two men harassing the woman.
SKILL TUTORIAL ENGAGED. HOST NOW HAS MAGIC ENERGY, SO THE SYSTEM WILL NOW TEACH YOU HOW TO ACCESS IT. MAGIC ENERGY CAN BE CONSIDERED WHAT HAPPENS WHEN MANA OR MAGICAL ENERGY IS DRAWN THROUGH ONE'S SOUL. A HIGHER QUALITY SOUL IS ABLE TO CONTAIN MORE MANA, AND MANA AUTOMATICALLY GATHERS IN THE SOUL SLOWLY. TO USE A SKILL, SIMPLY TRY TO FEEL THE FOREIGN ENERGY THAT IS DIFFERENT FROM YOUR SOUL AND USE THAT TO FUEL THE SKILL. TO USE ANY SKILL, SIMPLY FOCUS THE MANA TOWARDS THE BODY PART NEEDED FOR THE SKILL. IN THE CASE OF "HYPNOTIC GAZE," FOCUS MANA IN YOUR EYES TO USE.
Zero finally reached where the two men were. As he did, he reached into his soul and quickly figured out where the mana in his soul pooled and how to manipulate it with ease. He was unaware that most people would need years of study to attempt what he did in seconds. He was able to quickly grasp the concept mainly because he had spent a majority of his current life as a soul, so manipulating his soul came easily to him.
Focusing the mana that he manipulated into his eyes, which began to glow with a purple hue, he looked towards the two men and said, "Why don't you two go beat each other up until you pass out, and when you wake up, you'll feel the desire to become better people."
The two men walked a few steps away from the woman with a dead look in their eyes, and when they got far enough away, they awoke from the hypnotized state and began to attack each other. Zero then looked at the woman with his eyes still glowing purple and said, "It's getting late now; why don't you head home and forget about ever meeting those young men and me." As he finished saying those words, she walked past him and continued walking until she could no longer be seen.
As she disappeared, the purple hue in Zero's eyes began to fade, and he felt a bit dizzy. "System, what's wrong with me?" asked Zero.
ALL OF THE MANA IN THE HOST’S BODY WAS USED TO AUGMENT HIS EYES, TEMPORARILY CHANGING HOW HIS EYES FUNCTIONED. WHEN THE EFFECT FADED, HE FELT FATIGUE PLUS A SMALL SIDE EFFECT OF HIS VISION SWITCHING BACK.
THE HOST SIMPLY NEEDED TO CLOSE HIS EYES FOR TEN SECONDS TO RECOVER.
"How long until I'm able to use the hypnotic gaze again?" asked Zero as he closed his eyes to stop the world from shaking.
Mana is already building up in your soul; please wait 10 minutes to use the ability again.
"That's quicker than I imagined. Does everyone's mana recover as quickly as this?" asked Zero.
NO, THE HOST RECOVERS MANA QUICKLY BECAUSE OF THE CHAOS ATTRIBUTE. ANY FURTHER INFORMATION ON IT IS LOCKED UNTIL THE HOST IS ABLE TO UNLOCK THE ATTRIBUTE.
Heading back in the direction he came from, he returned to his initial location when he first arrived and proceeded to head east toward the shrine. As he arrived at Hakuba Shrine and walked up the flight of stairs, he came across a young lady sweeping the ground along with an older man who should be her father but was never mentioned in the game.
Zero proceeded to collapse and asked for help in a weak voice. The two shrine caretakers rushed over to help him and asked if he was okay. Zero then proceeded to guide his mana toward his eyes, giving them a purple hue, and said, "Hello, I'm Zero Hakuba, Mina's cousin, and I'll be staying with you for the next year. My parents want me enrolled in Hirosaki High School. They are away on a business trip out of the country, so they left me here in your care, so there's no need to attempt to contact them."
Having finished his manipulation, he closed his eyes and released the minuscule mana that remained. After 10 seconds, he opened his eyes and saw the young lady named Mina looking at him with love and concern. She proceeded to ask him, "Are you okay, cousin Zero?"
Zero smiled at her and said, "Of course, Mina. I simply tripped. Can you help me up and show me to my room?"