Vlad found himself in another strange location. Instead of a dense forest in the night under a beautiful full moon or a gray landscape filled with skeletons, ghosts, and more undead on the horizon with a castle on top of a hill, he was now within a chamber of sorts. It was big enough to fill in over ten dozen people if not more. The entire area had four walls that were covered in ancient stone along with massive gates in the center. The gates appear to be the type that pull up to open up the entrance.

Vlad patted himself down, noting that he still had his armor on from the previous trial. He sighed deeply, relieved that he still had some protection on him, only to frown right after, quickly remembering that his so-called “protection” was currently torn to shreds from his fight with the Cerberus. He traced his fingers along the various holes and dents created in the armor, making it look like he was wearing a slice of Swiss Cheese rather than Greek armor.

He groaned, knowing fully well that his armor was useless now. He was more exposed than when he didn’t have his armor on. But, instead of aggressively taking them off, Vlad relented on wearing them. From his outlook, torn armor was still better than no armor. There were still places that could protect him, so until his protective covering was completely compromised, he insisted on himself to keep wearing them.

Aside from his armor, he also still had his spear from the previous trial as well. Unlike his armor, the spear was more or less in good condition. The shaft was a little worn out, but that was likely from using it against the three jaws of Cerberus. He was lucky it didn’t get destroyed by them during their scuffle.

Glancing around, Vlad felt like he was enclosed in some kind of Colosseum. The only problem is that there weren’t thousands of seats above him filled with monsters or humans looking down on him like he was the main event. There was also something else that caught his attention as well.

Aside from him, he soon spotted a statue up ahead, standing there all alone. Piqued with curiosity, Vlad carefully walked over to the statue. Getting a closer look, he noticed that the statue was that of a woman. She looked so divine that she could've been compared to a Goddess, or maybe she was one. She was young, had long hair that went down to her waist, and wore a Greek toga gown. The fact that the folds of the gown were perfectly carved, showed how much dedication the sculptor had to make it. Looking down at the feet of the statue, Vlad bore witness to a stone basin placed in front of it. It was about the size of a tub but had nothing in it.

“What’s a Fountain statue doing here…?” Vlad examined the statue once more, moving his head up and down to take in all of its details.

Out of curiosity, he appraised it to see what it was.

[Statue - ???]

“Seriously? More question marks?” Vlad groaned. “Why can’t I get a straight answer for this? Especially since it’s obvious that this thing seems important.”

From what he could tell, this looked like nothing more than one of those statues that acted as Fountains you would see in a park square or something. And yet, for some reason, Vlad felt that there was more to it than that. And the more he examined the statue, the more that feeling grew stronger.

Vlad was quickly startled as another message panel materialized before him, making him jump back in response. And what he read only confused him more.

[Welcome to the Final Fable - "Blood Rite"]

[Trial of the Final Fable - "Prove your faith to The Blood": This is your final trial. To complete this, you must prove your faith to the blood. To do this, you must fill the basis with the blood of your victims and then indulge yourself in the blood bath.]

Vlad blinked slowly; his mind unable to process the words before him. Even when he reread the new quest, he could only tilt his head in confusion. What in the world was he supposed to do? What were his “victims” and what did it mean by “indulge yourself”? Just what in the world was this Fable about?!

Before he could question the message panel about its vague mission, the sound of loud metal creaking stole his attention from him. Vlad then whipped his head around to see the source of the noise, only to watch all four gates slowly rise from the ground, opening their entrances. He frantically looked at all the gates, completely on edge as to what was in store for him this time.

He was forced to battle against ethereal beings, undead monsters, and a giant three-headed guard dog. What was he about to get involved in next? And did he have a chance at survival?

Vlad’s sharp ears soon picked up a sound coming from one of the entrances. They were light thuds that gave off the sound of footsteps along with clanking metal. His keen nose also detected a foul odor that rivaled the rotting bodies of the undead from Hades’ Realm. The footsteps continued to get closer until the source finally emerged from the shadows and revealed itself to Vlad, only for him to turn pale at the sight of them.

They were familiar creatures that he had run into before. Small, green-skinned, pointy ears, piss-colored eyes, and jagged rotting teeth that would give any dentist nightmares. Vlad knew these monsters very well, for they were the ones he was struggling against back when the apocalypse first started. It was the damn goblins.

[Goblin – Level ???]

“Oh, come on!” He snapped. “You’re seriously telling me that these bastards have question marks too?!”

Several of the green gremlins emerged from the entrance, their eyes trained on Vlad as wicked smiles formed on their faces. The young man braced himself, readying his spear while getting into a battle stance. His feet were firmly planted on the ground while his spear was directed at the goblins before him. His eyes stayed trained on the monsters, not leaving their sights for a second, out of fear of them suddenly appearing in front of him as if they teleported.

Neither side made their move first, as if waiting for the other to act before them. As if impatient from the waiting, the goblins took action and charged at Vlad, to which he responded by sprinting toward them. The moment both parties were close to colliding, one of the goblins that wielded a small, worn-out dagger lunged at Vlad, attempting to stab either his chest or skull or maybe both. Before the green menace could do that, the divine hunter brought his spear up and fiercely pierced it. The spearhead easily plunged into the monster’s chest, poking out the other end as blood seeped out the wound.

With a single swing, Vlad released the goblin from his spear while it tumbled on the ground.

[Goblin has been defeated! Error! Due to Player being in a Trial, no EXP can be obtained!]

Lovely, so he also can't get any experience from these bastards as well. At this point, these trials were useless aside from the skills he managed to gain from them.

He spared a glance at it and watched its blood spill all over the floor, coating the stone base in red. His eyes then trailed over to the basin with the statue before they widened in shock and realization as he suddenly remembered the goal of the quest.

[Fill the Basin up with the blood of your victims.]

Like the last piece of the puzzle being placed, Vlad finally figured out what his quest was about. The basin needed to be filled with the blood of the monsters he’d killed. In other words, his victims. He glanced at the dead goblin, before rushing over to it. Without stopping, he picked up the green menace and tossed it in the basin. Because he had a group of goblins after him, he didn’t have time to properly drain its blood in the stone tub, so he resorted to just dumping it in the thing and letting it fill up on its own while he harvested more blood.

Two more goblins shot toward him, one wielding a sword while the other had a club. The first one jumped to attack his face, leaving the previous one to assault his lower torso. Vlad easily took a step back, watching the goblin’s sword glide past him. Before the gremlin could land, he grabbed its wrist and swung its body at its brethren, sending it flying backward. Still holding the goblin, he snatched its weapon and instantly plunged it into its neck. Blood rapidly spilled out from the wound, nearly spraying on Vlad before he hurled it at the basin, leaving a trail of blood in its wake. As the goblin flew in the air, another kill notification showed up, but he ignored it and continued fighting.

When he turned his attention back to the rest of the goblins, one of them wielding a dagger closed in on him and slashed at his leg. A wave of pain flared across his limb, but Vlad gritted his teeth and kicked the goblin bastard square in the chest, sending it flying backward from the force. He even managed to get a couple of other goblins caught in it too as all three sprawled on the floor in an instant. Vlad had no time to revel in this moment as another goblin appeared and tried to pierce its sword through his torso.

Vlad easily swatted its weapon away and grabbed it by the neck, lifting it as if it were a stuffed animal. The goblin struggled to break free, clawing at his arms, but thanks to his bracers, which were one of the only pieces of armor that weren’t broken, the creature barely made any damage to him. And with his spear, he drilled it into the monster’s skull, killing it instantly. While going limp like a puppet who got its strings cut off, Vlad sent it over to the stone tub with the rest of its deceased brethren.

There were only two goblins left, to which Vlad made the first move and charged at them. He swiftly thrust his spear into the first monster’s neck, then grabbed its weapon and threw it at the other goblin, piercing its skull right between its eyes. Both creatures collapsed to the floor, prompting Vlad to carry both of them toward the Basin. After tossing the last two in the tub, he waited until all of their blood was drained out of their corpses.

Once Vlad felt that they were empty, he pulled the monsters out of the tub one by one and dropped them to the ground, not sparing one glance at any of them. Once the basin was cleared of the corpses, he looked within it to check his progress. A decent amount of blood pooled in the basin, though Vlad estimated that it was either less than a quarter or just at a quarter full. Either way, Vlad still needed more to fill this container to the brim.

This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

As if heeding his goal, Vlad heard more footsteps. He spun his head around to gaze at the entrances, only to witness more goblins emerging from them. It wasn’t just one entrance, but all of them that the goblins were coming out of. From what Vlad was witnessing, more than a couple dozen goblins made an appearance, all of them glaring in his direction as if he were their main target.

He could hear the menacing cackles and grunts coming from all of them as they readied themselves for battle. Vlad did the same, ignoring the basin for a moment, and became completely focused on the horde of goblins before him. Without waiting, the goblins entered the chamber and charged at Vlad from all sides, attempting to overwhelm him with their numbers.

Vlad gripped his weapon tightly, bracing himself for the fight of his life. His heart pounded and sweat profusely beaded down his face, but even when faced against such a horde, he didn’t relent and rushed at the monsters as well, meeting them halfway. And with the vigor of a lone warrior, he fought the horde.

Vlad didn’t pay attention to an individual goblin for long as he either cut their throats or pierced their chests, killing them instantly and launching them toward the basin. Instead of staying in one place, he moved around the area, swinging his spear all over the place to slaughter any goblins that got too close to him. One of the gremlins managed to straddle on his back, but he easily grabbed it by the head and slammed it to the ground while driving his foot on its skull, caving it in like watermelon. Blood and brain matter splattered all over the floor.

While stomping on the monster, a couple of goblins with swords were able to successfully slash his legs, wounding him instantly and making him nearly tumble on the ground. He jumped away to avoid them, but not before swinging his spear at them to at least retaliate. One of the goblins got their throats slit, blood spurting out aggressively while the other one backed away in time.

Vlad didn’t know how long the battle lasted. Even when he slaughtered one or two goblins, it felt like three more materialized right after. It was as if their numbers weren’t dwindling but instead multiplying by the second. But he also viewed that as an opportunity. With so many goblins, Vlad continued to fill the stone basin with their blood. He was like a machine; he killed a goblin and then sent it toward the tub in rapid succession. He was performing so well, that he had to occasionally rush toward the basin to pull out the goblins that were bled dry.

It was thanks to this horde that it didn’t take long for Vlad to accomplish his goal. He gazed at the basin, seeing that it was filled to the brim with blood. The entire tub was full of the crimson liquid, that if he added any more corpses, it would overflow and spill all over the floor.

And yet, despite completing his goal, something was amiss. Why didn’t a message panel show up to tell him he completed the mission? And why were there more goblins appearing?

“Shit…what the hell is going on?! The basin is full, dammit, so I completed the mission, right?!”

Vlad fought back against two goblins. One slashed his arm and the other pierced his side with its sword. Roaring in pain, Vlad kicked the first one away while slashing his spear at the second one’s neck. Despite the basin being full, the hunter grabbed the second goblin and slung it into the tub. Blood splashed everywhere and overflowed, no longer able to contain the liquid inside. Despite that, Vlad still didn’t receive a goal completion panel.

“Dammit!” He cursed, glaring at the basin with disdain. “why isn’t the quest complete yet? I filled the damn thing to the brim and made it overflow! What more do you want, dammit?!”

There had to be something Vlad missed. He needed to think back to the quest’s goal. What exactly did it tell him to do? He searched through his memory and thought back to the quest. It told him to fill the basin up and…indulge himself in the bloodbath. But what did the latter mean?!

“What does indulging in the bloodbath mean?! Do I have to go in the tub or something?!”

Vlad winced as he felt a sharp pain in his right leg. He looked down only to see a goblin stab him with a dagger, wickedly smiling all the while. In a rage, he grabbed the dagger and stabbed the goblin in the neck multiple times. He mutilated its neck so badly that only a few strands of flesh kept it attached to its shoulders. Vlad pulled himself up, grimacing as the wound in his side acted up.

The fun didn’t end there because as soon as he got back up, he looked ahead and saw several goblins in the distance, lined up and holding bows. They were pulling the strings before releasing a volley of arrows to rain down upon him. Vlad tried to move away and avoid getting hit, but failed as his leg, arm, and back were struck with arrows. Pain washed over him, momentarily dazing him. However, he managed to shake it off and proceeded to pull out the arrows except the one on his back, because he couldn’t reach it. To avoid it getting in his way, he rolled across the floor and broke the arrow, leaving the head lodged in his back. It was stupid, but he knew the shaft of the arrow would cause problems during his fight.

At this point, Vlad was losing steam. He’s been fighting for who knows how long and his fatigue was finally catching up to him. Even when he had the physique of a Divine Hunter, there were clearly limits to his abilities. And he was currently suffering from those limitations.

He was breathing heavily, clutching onto his wounds as blood seeped out, coating his hand in the crimson substance. His vision slowly blurred and everything was fading in and out. Vlad staggered on the floor, struggling to walk as his legs wobbled uncontrollably. Despite how numb he felt, the pain in his side and other injuries were still present, continuously aching without taking a break.

Still, Vlad pushed through. He gritted his teeth and forced his body to keep moving. Even when his legs felt like giving out, he mentally forced himself to move. The goblins slowly overwhelmed him, inflicting wound after wound in rapid succession. In the haze, Vlad stumbled over to the basin and statue. He absent-mindedly glanced at the flowing red liquid in the tub, almost mesmerized by it.

Even though the basin was filled, nothing had changed…and he was about to die because of it. Vlad turned away from the basin before facing the horde of goblins before him. He was seeing double, making it look like the horde of goblins multiplied drastically. They were surrounding him, laughing and cackling like mad. Vlad couldn’t even get angry due to how exhausted he was.

Then it happened…

While in a daze, an arrow was shot and flew right at him. Vlad could barely react in time as the projectile was plunged into his chest. The sudden force pushed Vlad back, causing him to trip and fall into the basin of blood. His entire view was red as bubbles erupted from his mouth before floating to the surface.

Vlad attempted to hold his breath long enough for him to pull himself out of the tub, but his body refused to move. He was out of energy. For a few moments, he floated in the pool of blood, still holding his breath in hopes of getting out of this situation. But as he continued this, his lungs soon gave out, and he instinctively tried to breathe only for the blood to enter instead.

His mouth was filled with the foul taste of iron from the monsters. It was so disgusting that it made him want to vomit. However, while he was choking on the blood, something strange occurred. The rancid taste from before changed, becoming more flavorful and delicious, as if he was swigging some kind of tasty fruit juice. And his desire to drink more of it became stronger as he continued to down the blood in the basin.

Suddenly, a message panel invaded Vlad’s vision. The panel was practically blown up in his face, making sure that he could read it.

[Conditions have been met! You have proven your faith to the blood.]

[Beginning metamorphosis.]

Vlad’s muscles began to tense and bulge as his mind was filled with uncontrollable impulses building within him. While swimming in the blood, his body twitched and convulsed, undergoing a change that would fundamentally alter Vlad for the rest of his natural life.

[Error! Due to the consumption of Blood, All Divine Hunter skills are being corrupted!]

[Conditions have been met! Due to the corruption, The Divine Hunter’s Blessing and [The Undying One] are being integrated!]

[Due to integration, Player’s Biological Lineage has been altered!]

[Player’s biological race will now change from [Human] to [Vampire].]

[Mana Points have been changed to Blood Points!]

[The Goddess of the Hunt is outraged by your Metamorphosis and has given you a curse! You are now weak to Silver!]

[The God of the Sun discovered your Metamorphosis and fears the power you possess and has given you a curse! You are now weak to the Sun and Fire Magic!]

[The Angels are aware of your presence and fear the power you possess and have given you a curse! You are now weak to Holy Magic and are despised by all Holy beings from Angels, spirits, and so on! Being in the presence of spirits or any other Holy beings will result in them attacking you on sight.]

[Player now has access to [Vampiric Legacy Classes].]

[You are worthy of becoming the [???]’s Legacy. All previous and new blessings will now be converted into [???].]

[Warning! Certain requirements have not been meet for receiving [???]. Majority of Blessings will be sealed until conditions have been met.]

[Warning! Due to Player not having [???], all Authorities have been sealed as well until all conditions have been met.]

Vlad couldn’t read the stream of messages flooding his vision as his body continued to change and alter against his will. His head pounded, his muscles ached and tensed, and his incisors lengthened and throbbed while all of his wounds slowly healed, mending together as if time was being turned back. But even when his body was healing, Vlad was still in immense pain as he felt his bones crack and grind under his skin, adapting to the new physiological changes like the rest of his body.

While enduring this hellish transformation, Vlad’s mind eroded; his thoughts and emotions devolving into a single, uncontrollable desire that was driving him into insanity. He desired to consume blood, no matter who or what it was. His eyes widened as his pupils then changed and mimicked the crimson color of the pool.

With a single motion, Vlad erupted from the basin of blood, sending the liquid in the air while raining down all around him, as he returned to the surface. And like a newborn fresh out of the womb, a monstrous roar exploded from his mouth, exhibiting his full hunger and rage for all the monsters before him to hear. All the goblins stopped in their tracks; their bodies frozen stiff with fear after they heard Vlad’s cry.

The newly changed vampire savagely examined his surroundings, his crimson red eyes glaring at the monsters before him, all of them cowering like rats confronted by a bigger, fiercer predator. A low growl escaped his lips, revealing his sharpened canines that looked like they could pierce through the skin with ease.

[Player’s Blood Point is low. Until BP has been replenished, Player will be under a [Blood Frenzy] state!]

He was hunched over, breathing heavily. His thoughts were overwhelmed by his hunger for blood to the point of madness. He wanted blood. Hell, he needed blood right now. Instead of simply dying from thirst, he was losing his mind from it. He was now no different than a wild animal…and it was time to hunt.

Vlad made another blood-curdling screech and lunged at one of the goblins. The moment he pounced on the monster and pinned it on the ground, the vampire opened his mouth, fully displaying his fangs before ripping into the goblin’s throat with them. His canines easily pierced its skin before quickly drawing blood.

The red substance coated Vlad’s mouth, overwhelming him with a sweet, delectable flavor. An irresistible taste to the point where Vlad continued to gulp it down without stopping. And the more he drank, the less of the madness took hold of him as if he was slowly regaining his sanity by drinking the blood.

[Blood has been consumed! 5 Blood Points have been obtained!]

The goblin ceased moving as its limbs slacked on the ground, no signs of them moving again or ever at this point. This prompted Vlad to pull away, but not before making a satisfied expression. He was like a man who just drank from a fountain after nearly dying of thirst. The entire scene was…bizarre, to say the least.

Despite his pleasure, the hunger did not leave him. It continued to writhe around inside his gut, urging him to keep consuming blood until it was completely satiated. And Vlad had every intention of fulfilling that urge.

The ravenous vampire stood from the corpse of the goblin before glaring at the rest. Before he saw them as monsters that he needed to kill to survive. But now…they were merely seen as food to him.

Vlad made an animalist growl before lunging at the horde of goblins, with only one desire he must gratify; kill and consume. It was now time for him to indulge in the blood bath.