In the southern region of the Edoras Empire lies its largest city, Aventon City. On its eastern side stands an arcane tower, 25 meters high, with crimson walls coated in alchemical materials.
Despite its striking red exterior, the tower is overshadowed by other arcane towers in the city, which soar up to 50 meters high.
Inside the third-floor study of this arcane tower, oak bookshelves crowd the space, filled with valuable tomes such as "A Comprehensive History of the Edoras Empire," "Basics of Alchemy," "Fundamentals of Arcane Arrays," and "Light of the Deities," along with some magical books usually reserved for the nobility.
At this moment, a young man in a black robe lies unconscious on a gray velvet carpet.
Is this an arcanist?
His skin is pale, his slightly parted lips reveal two sharp fangs, and his handsome face exudes a dark charm, as if he has never seen the sunlight.
If anyone saw him, they would undoubtedly scream "Vampire!" and flee in panic.
In the Edoras Empire, vampires are considered demonic incarnations. If discovered by temple priests and clerics, they would mobilize the army to exterminate them.
Yet here, in an orthodox arcane tower, lies a vampire, a being long hunted by arcanists.
Vampires are prized for their arcane materials: their blood for inscribing arcane arrays, their ashes for crafting alchemical traps, and their teeth have numerous uses. Even a level 10 senior arcanist would be thrilled to hunt a vampire.
And now, this unconscious vampire is wearing the robe of an arcanist from the Aventon City Arcanist Guild, creating an eerie scene.
Alcat Drake suddenly awakens, his mind feeling overstuffed and throbbing with pain.
He rubs his eyes, the grogginess fading, but his vision remains blurry.
He sighs in relief, "At least nothing major happened. I should get checked at the hospital later to avoid any lasting effects."
Just as he tries to stand, the pain returns, as if countless ants are biting him every second. Alcat clutches his head as unfamiliar memories flood his mind.
Elves, giants, arcanists, warriors, barons of the Edoras Empire, members of the Aventon City Arcanist Guild, vampires...
The memories pour in relentlessly, and Alcat absorbs them passively.
Half an hour later, the foreign memories have been assimilated, and a pale-faced Alcat looks bewildered. "Did I transmigrate into the game ‘Divine Radiance’? And become the progenitor of vampires?!"
Due to an electrical malfunction in his gaming pod, Alcat's consciousness now occupies this body, while the original soul has vanished.
The body Alcat inhabits holds a significant status: a member of the Aventon City Arcanist Guild, a level 10 senior arcanist, and a baron of the Edoras Empire; secretly, he is the vampire progenitor named Alcat Drake, with a castle in the distant mountains outside Aventon City, home to over 200 vampire offspring.
Based on his knowledge of "Divine Radiance," Alcat confirms he has transmigrated into this unreleased game.
"Divine Radiance," developed by five major global game companies, boasts a claimed realism of 99.9%, with in-game time flowing differently from real-time—three days in the game equal one day in reality.
This groundbreaking masterpiece has caused a massive sensation, with players who experienced it expressing great astonishment.
The game's setting is an arcane world featuring deities, giants, dragons, elves, demons, dwarves, humans, and more, with vampires being one of the races.
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Alcat realizes he is indeed in the game, as the information in his memories matches the official data perfectly.
He feels lost, "Am I an NPC? Or is this world real? Can I return?" As the thought crosses his mind, everything around him changes. The study transforms into a lit room with a laptop playing the latest variety show.
Alcat could hardly contain his excitement. "I'm really back? This isn't a one-time thing? I can return!" He tried re-entering the game world, and with a mere thought, the scene of the Arcane Tower's study reappeared. Alcat was ecstatic, bursting into laughter.
Through continuous experimentation, he concluded:
1. He could switch between the world of "Divine Radiance" and the real world at will.
2. When entering the game world, his real body remained in a sleep state but would wake up if stimulated.
3. The number of transitions was linked to his mental strength, allowing a maximum of five entries within half an hour before experiencing severe headaches.
Alcat then focused on studying other aspects, and a game interface appeared in his mind:
Alcat Drake
* Race: Vampire (Progenitor)
* Level: Arcanist Lv10 (113/5000), Warrior Lv5 (max level reached)
* Mana: 663/663
* Talents: Vampire Progenitor (Unique), Bloodline Shackles (Limited), Arcane Affinity (Supreme)
* Racial Skills: Shadow Bat Doppelganger, Blood Recovery, Enhanced Physique (Passive)
* Arcane Spells:
* 1st-level: Minor Fireball, Thunder Strike, Puppet Control, Arcanist's Hand, Protective Shield, Water Flow, Meditation
* 2nd-level: Detection, Greater Fireball, Thunderstorm, Advanced Puppet Control, Mana Surge, Haste, Fortify, Charm
* 3rd-level: Teleport, Spatial Shift, Explosive Fireball
Suddenly, a message on the panel froze his smile: "1095 days until the arrival of the Divine Chosen One..."
Divine Chosen One? Game's official release? Players?!
Alcat didn't expect players to actually come. Exactly three years in game time, 1095 days.
In its promotions, "Divine Radiance" had highlighted that the game time was three times that of real time, meaning one day in reality equaled three days in the game. Initially, Alcat thought this was just marketing exaggeration, but considering the game's release a year after the real world, and now seeing over 1000 days on the game panel, it turned out to be true.
Does that mean I traveled into the game three years early?
For a moment, a flicker of excitement flashed in Alcat's eyes. Starting as the Vampire Progenitor with hundreds of minions and being a high-level Arcanist at Lv10 – wasn't that a bit overpowered? But no matter, the more overpowered, the better, he thought.
After his excitement subsided, Alcat turned his attention to the attribute panel. The skills listed made his heartbeat quicken. He had three main categories of skills.
The first category was talents, consisting of three skills: Vampire Progenitor (Unique), Bloodline Shackles (Limited), Arcane Affinity (Supreme).
Vampire Progenitor: As the progenitor of vampires, you possess a powerful bloodline, immune to sunlight. You can develop one blood offspring per month, all of whom will have unwavering loyalty. Each offspring provides 1 character experience point per month.
After reading the skill description, Alcat's eyes sparkled with excitement. Unwavering loyalty was an overpowered attribute. With this, he could rest easy, knowing even if he acted out of line, it wouldn’t matter. Of course, he needed to verify if this loyalty was as absolute as he imagined or if it allowed for independent thought. Additionally, each offspring providing 1 character experience point per month was incredibly practical.
In "Divine Radiance," gaining experience was notoriously difficult, as noted on the official website. Despite being just a level 10 Arcanist, in the bustling metropolis of Aventon City with millions of inhabitants, he could practically walk with impunity.
Bloodline Shackles (Limited): As a vampire progenitor, you have absolute control over your blood offspring. You can issue commands through bloodline bonds. This brief description gave Alcat an even more domineering feeling. The control a vampire progenitor had over vampires was unparalleled, especially with the ability to issue bloodline commands, hinting at significant future utility.
The final talent, Arcane Affinity (Supreme), allowed him to manipulate arcane energy effortlessly. Simple yet potent, it clearly told Alcat that he was destined to be an Arcanist, without any distractions.
According to the "Divine Radiance" official site, each player could select only two talents during character creation. Yet Alcat had three, each stronger than the last.
The second category was racial skills, which differed from talents in that they were related to the vampire race, while talents were more about personal gifts. Vampire racial skills were extremely practical.
Shadow Bat Doppelganger: Transform into 100 small bats, each containing 5% of your power. As long as one bat survives, you can be reborn. Alternatively, manifest bat wings for flight, at 50% of the bats' speed.
Blood Recovery: Vampires can recover stamina, mana, and mental energy by sucking blood.
Enhanced Physique (Passive): As a vampire progenitor, you possess a robust body.