When they returned to town, Genji was promoted to the Bronze rank for his kills. Considering how easily he had dispatched the vampires, he should have been promoted to the Silver rank, but he didn't meet the requirements. Hans felt that he had the combat skills of one, but the ranks were only given when sufficient bodies were provided.
With this promotion, Genji skipped past the Iron rank and gained a status two ranks higher than Hans. Although Hans was more experienced in the field, his strength wasn't up to par. Not much of a surprise, considering his power was only at the level of a newly promoted second-step member before the Spatial Battlefield. Any of the current realm members could easily defeat him.
In fact, he had been lucky to have survived the encounter with his current strength.
"But Bronze rank already? Isn't he too strong for this area?"
"What does that matter? Won't we just be safer with him around?"
"Yeah, but I doubt he will stay for long. When people reach the Bronze rank, they often go on solo hunts in areas with stronger vampires."
With this promotion, Genji was also provided with a variety of vampire hunter equipment. Eventually, he settled for a silver solution and an uncommon-rated crossbow. The idea was that the crossbow would attract the attention of further vampires, luring them over to their deaths.
Genji took his equipment and ventured deep into the wilderness, hunting anything that challenged him. He killed plenty of normal vampires but came across no elites. It was strange considering how many elites had been in the previous battle. Eventually, Genji settled on an explanation for the scarcity.
"What if there were elites because there was a Baron? Maybe vampires gather in groups, and the wandering ones are the outcasts?"
This answer would explain everything when he factored in how most of the vampires he killed so far were thinner and barely had any blood energy. But that would mean the only difference between an elite and a normal vampire was their stock of blood energy.
If that were the case, that would mean all vampires could awaken a blood art upon reaching that level. It wouldn't make sense if they were taught, as that pace would never keep up with their deaths.
"What a mysterious race. As long as they consume enough, they can become elites. No wonder the hunters were so troubled. If they were fighting elites with common-level soldiers, they would need multiple times their numbers to stand a chance."
Yet Genji knew that wasn't the case. The hunters were spread very thin, suggesting that there might be more vampires than scientifically possible. Genji had no idea if this was true, but the numerous figures he'd beheaded seemed to indicate that.
As for how they were sustaining such numbers, Genji didn't bother thinking about it. It's a magical world with vampires, so trying to apply science would be a fool's errand.
The bigger concern for Genji was why a Baron showed up. He doubted it was to ambush a group of trainees, so there must be a different motive. With the pieces of information laid out, Genji guessed it was either a migration or a hunting trip. Either way, it wasn't anything good. Luckily, they dispatched the group before any significant harm was done.
Genji put these thoughts behind him as he walked out of the fog and approached another town. Learning from before, he pulled his identification tag into view. When the surrounding guards saw the bronze plating on his chain, they saluted respectfully and opened the gate for him.
"Can you tell me if there's a branch in this town?"
"Yes. It's the first building on the third street," the guard replied, pointing in the general direction.
Genji thanked them and headed over, hoping for news of stronger vampires to hunt. Pushing open the wooden door, he made for the bartender at the back. Many of the hunters gave him a second look when they realized he was an unfamiliar face, but then continued their own business afterward. It's not often they get visitors.
"Do you have any troublesome vampires in the area?" Genji asked as he sat down and ordered a drink.
"If we did, we would have been wiped out already."
"Thank you, then." Genji finished his drink and prepared to continue traveling.
As he got up, the door to the bar opened, and a hunter with a unique temperament entered. Dressed in a dark, loose-fitting leather garment, this figure seemed to blend into the darkness. On their head, a large crow-beaked mask reminiscent of the plague doctors covered their face. Because of this get-up, Genji had a hard time making out the figure of this hunter.
By their side, a thin sword rattled in rhythm with the clacking of boots on the wooden floor. With each step, the person emitted a pressuring feeling that deterred anyone from approaching. But all that paled in comparison to the silver plating hanging from their neck. Seeing this eye-catching color, many hunters gulped, knowing that an important person had just entered.
"I'm here to post a mission," the figure stepped up to the bartender and said in a low, gruff voice.
"I'm ready," the bartender replied once he pulled out a parchment to record the information.
"I found a coven in our territory. The strength is unknown, but the size indicates at least Baron level. I want to recruit hunters to attack this place."
The hunter's words caused many people to freeze, sending the room into pin-drop silence. A coven in their area? That's never good, considering that each time the hunters attacked one, they suffered massive casualties. But not attacking wasn't an option either, as the coven would eventually attack the town, causing even greater casualties. They had families to protect, so they didn't have a choice.
"Sounds interesting. Count me in," Genji interjected, taking a seat again.
The silver-ranked hunter looked at him but said nothing upon seeing the bronze plating. Having someone of that caliber would be a great help for this mission.
The bartender let out a distressed sigh before addressing the group of people.
"You heard him. Who wants to volunteer for this?"
Hesitation flashed through the hunter's eyes, but resolve soon replaced it. Many of them got up with gritted teeth and stepped forward.
"We'll leave in two days. Make the necessary preparations by then," the silver-ranked hunter informed them, giving them time to say their last goodbyes.
----------------------------------------
As they set off, Genji learned the hunter's name was Lazul. Lazul, the Darkwalker, had earned this title when he once trudged through a vampire-infested area, killing everything in his path. By the end of his journey, vampires no longer dared to approach this ominous figure.
Once the group had gathered, they set off with a light jog. On the way, they came across multiple stragglers that they quickly dispatched, spreading the scent of blood and attracting more vampires. After a while, they had attracted the vampires of the coven, revealing their location and rendering a sneak attack useless.
Genji stayed in formation as an army of vampires charged at them. Drawing his saber, he slowly carved a path forward with the other hunters. There was no point in rushing ahead when he had no idea where they were heading.
Conserving their energy as much as possible, the group killed any vampires that came at them. Unfortunately, battles like these always had casualties. The hunters had simply grown accustomed to this and continued forward. If someone felt they couldn't hold on, they would retreat. If they were too wounded to continue, they would still try to take down as many vampires as possible.
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Genji also sensed a few realm members attacking, trying to fulfill their mission requirements. As elite vampires joined the battle, casualties increased, forcing them to fight harder to make up for the lost numbers. Genji tried to cut down as many elites as he could before they used the pools of blood to fuel their blood arts, yet the number he killed was only a drop in the bucket.
Soon swirls of blood coursed through the air, cutting down anyone who couldn't defend themselves in time. Multiple vampires clawed into their ranks, unleashing a massacre, and forcing their stronger hunters to do the same.
Like a Feather
Genji was one of these hunters that rampaged through the area. With the skill activation, Genji felt the pull of gravity disappear, allowing him to swiftly thread between the crowd. In the blink of an eye, a whole area was cleared out as [Jaguar] weaved between the group. By the time the vampires reacted and tried to stop him, Genji was already dancing between their backlines.
Seeing the chaos Genji sowed, Lazul also went all out to carve a path. The only difference was that while Genji was able to waltz through, Lazul had to kill everyone around him before advancing. That's the difference caused by their movement speeds.
With their interference, the battlefield became drenched in blood as deaths occurred more rapidly than ever. The vampires did their best to eliminate the hunters, while the two hunters themselves unleashed a massacre. It became a race to see which side could kill faster, but ultimately, the vampires were forced to retreat.
Minutes later, Genji's battered body came into view with heavy breaths. With each pant, his muscles agitated the numerous wounds adorning him, causing a dull throbbing as bruises, cuts, and vampire blood took their toll on him. Luckily, most of these wounds were shallow since he dodged most of the attacks and tanked the rest with the help of his added defense and Solid Core.
As for the concern of vampire blood corruption, Genji was unfazed. In his current heightened energy state, any foreign invading effects were easily repelled, but it did sap his energy and stamina.
As for Lazul, he pulled out a vial of silver solution and cauterized the wounds with vampire blood. A sharp hiss of pain muffled through the mask as blood smoke wafted from his wounds.
"I didn't realize you could deal with wounds that way," Genji commented as they settled to recover.
"Not many can bear the pain of doing so."
Although Lazul said this, there's a different reason why hunters don't use this method: the silver solution is too scarce. Most hunters only received a vial or two, which were quickly depleted during their hunts. These vials were one of the weapons hunters had against the deadly blood arts of vampires.
Unless they were of a higher rank, they seldom had enough to even consider treating their wounds, especially when Lazul used 3 vials alone just now.
"If everyone is ready, we'll continue moving," Lazul said after some time.
Although reluctant, the hunters pushed their sore bodies to continue onward. Now that they had an idea of how many vampires they were dealing with, they knew they needed to finish this job. That number could drain the town dry in minutes if left unchecked.
After some more marching, they encountered another army of vampires. Judging by the numbers present, Genji deduced that this was the entire coven. In the rear of the group, a tall vampire in a black suit exuded a menacing presence. By comparison alone, Genji could tell that this vampire was stronger than Keith.
"A Count? I expected as much when we encountered that army," Lazul said with a grim tone.
There was a huge difference between a coven led by a Baron and one led by a Count. The number of elites alone was more than enough to justify the difficulty, despite the small change in stats.
[Count Hackler]
Health: 9,800/9,800
Blood Energy: 679/440
Con: 28
Str: 28
Dex: 26
Int: 22
Spc: 19
Skills:
- Mini-boss: +7,000 hp
- Blood Energy (Generic vampire skill, no change)
- Blood Art (Generic vampire skill)
- Blood Regeneration (Generic vampire skill)
No further skills can be discerned.
The stats were still at the mini-boss level, meaning the health was at manageable levels, but insight was starting to become redundant. He scanned one vampire, he'd scanned them all. At best, it was used to tell him the level of the opponents he was facing.
"Let's work together to kill the Count. If we let him go, we will only have more problems in the future. The other vampires can be left to the hunters," Lazul proposed to Genji.
"No need. You can hold the ground for now. Let me strike first," Genji replied, fading into the shadows.
Seeing him disappear in front of his eyes, Lazul knew this bronze rank was hiding more than he let on. After all, not many could elude his senses like that.
Genji slowly made his way around the flank of the vampires, waiting for the opportune moment to strike. After a few minutes, Genji got his chance when Hackler focused on gathering a large blood orb. Knowing full well that such an attack requires high concentration and letting such an ultimate go unchecked would be dangerous, Genji attacked, hoping to interrupt it.
Dagger Arts: Scar!
Both of his daggers burst into flames and swept down on the neck, sending it lying upward. But before he could fully destroy the head, the blood orb detonated, covering the area with a huge explosion that tried to kill him.
Quantum Shield
As the blood blast covered him, Genji quickly used the barrier life-saving skill, protecting him from any harm. Then Genji dashed in the direction of the airborne head, [Curse Bearer] manifesting to deal the final blow with Big Bullet.
Yet when he fired, he knew the head had deviated from its initial position. If it had hit, the ball of curses would have exploded instead of continuing onward and landing in the middle of the vampire group.
When the blood mist cleared, Genji saw the reason behind his miss. At the bottom of the severed neck, multiple blood wings flapped to slow the head's fall. But, before Genji could do anything else, a streak of blood shot up from the body and attached to the wound.
Then, in one swift motion, the blood pulled the decapitated neck back onto the shoulders, healing the wound instantly. The only indication of this exchange was the lowered energy of both fighters.
"Your blood manipulation is impressive," Genji commented, fading into the shadows again. Since he has low-priority stealth, he's going to make the most use of it.
"And your stealth is amazing as well," Hackler responded, wary of any potentially fatal attacks.
Genji didn't respond, choosing to play a game of patience and putting huge pressure on Hackler. Minutes passed in this fashion, but Hackler didn't dare do anything. If he got distracted even slightly, he would risk his life. In this way, Genji managed to tie up the strongest fighter on the vampires' side.
Now all that remained was to watch how the battle unfolded. Genji had already burned through one trump card, so he didn't feel like using any more. If the vampires won, he would retreat and report the events. If the hunters won, then they could gang up on Hackler, making the fight that much easier.
Hackler also realized this and called a large group of vampires to surround him. That way, he could have some breathing room if Genji attacked, allowing him time to gather another blood sphere. Hackler's forcing Genji to make a choice. Will he attack head-on, trying to stop him, or will he allow Hackler to unleash the attack?
Yet contrary to his thoughts, Genji chose neither option. Out of nowhere, a silver saber pierced through Hackler's heart, confusing him as to the origin. Genji had snuck in when the encirclement was being formed, rendering this tactic futile.
Hackler felt his heart burn from the silver solution smeared on the blade, but that wasn't enough to bring him down. Enduring the damage with his superior stats, Hackler turned around to swipe at Genji with a stream of blood claws.
This attack, however, missed as Genji retreated after the stab, causing the attack to carve into the surrounding vampires. Appearing after his Flashstep, Genji entered stealth again, but this soon proved useless when Hackler charged after him with pinpoint accuracy.
"I got you!" Hackler screeched, tracking the blood that coagulated onto [Jaguar] as it left his body.
Realizing this, Genji activated Untraceable Movement, setting his speed multiplier at 3x and turning around to tangle with the vampire count. Flashes of blood and metal swept through the surroundings as Hackler parried all of Genji's attacks and Genji dodged all of his.
It was very hard to break through when Hackler could manipulate the blood to move fast enough to keep up with Genji's speed. He just needs a thought and the blood would appear there.
As the skill duration reached its end, Genji backed off, knowing full well Hackler wouldn't be able to pursue him. If he tried, he would end up cut down by Lazul, who finally joined the fight.
"You're something else to stall a Count for so long."
"Yeah yeah. Take over, would you? I didn't delay him for so long just to be the main fighter."
"Very well," Lazul replied, fully aware Genji didn't want to exert himself anymore.
As for Genji losing if he was any later, Lazul never doubted that. Genji was too calm right now, telling Lazul that he had other trump cards to use. The only problem was that Genji was unwilling to use them now that Lazul could do the heavy lifting.
Lazul raised his thin sword and rushed at Hackler, clashing as Genji did before. It was another evenly matched battle, but Genji wasn't about to just stand around.
Activating his other speed-boosting skill, Genji launched his own barrage of attacks at the blood hovering around the Count.
The pressure on Hackler was huge, but he still managed to fend off the attacks. Yet this all changed as Genji pulled out [Curse Bearer] again. As the blood shield scattered under his strikes, Genji fired the flintlock before the shields could recover.
*Bang*
A large hole opened in Hackler's chest as this unfamiliar technology caught him off guard. The wound festered and weakened him, allowing Genji to slip two more shots in. By then, Hackler's movements experienced an obvious decrease in both power and speed. Lazul noticed this and went all out to capitalize on this weakness.
Paired with Genji's relentless attacks, Hackler soon couldn't hold up any longer and succumbed to their assault. To be safe, Lazul took out a vial of silver solution and hurled it at the head of the fallen body. Smoke covered their vision as the flesh and bones corroded into a puddle of reddish liquid, cementing the vampire's death.
[You have slain: Vampire Count, Hackler]
[You have obtained: 13,863 coins, 13 max energy, and Vampiric Dagger]
[Vampiric Dagger]
Rating: Rare
Damage: 23
Durability: 135/135
Requirements: 14 con, 9 dex
Effects
1. Siphon (Passive): Heal 2 hp for every 400 damage
2. Energize (Active): Lose 1 hp per second and enter an adrenaline rush.
Description: A dagger that can heal you if you don't forcibly induce an adrenaline rush.