Chapter 2428 – 2428. Dark Moon
As the bewilderment faded, my mind began to work, and I started to speculate about the cause of my transformation into a Trueblood.
‘The Phantasm isn’t the first artifact I’ve used. It’s an artifact that the great mage Merlin has used for a very long time. That means the genetic information of a Trueblood vampire might have been left behind since Merlin used it.’
When I used the Phantasm, I simply decided to transform into a vampire. And so, Absolute Polymorph transformed me into a Trueblood vampire.
Unless there are other clues, that’s the most plausible cause for now.
“Ha, magic is truly… amazing and absurd. How can I become a Trueblood vampire?”
“…Arcane magic.”
“Okay, okay. I won’t ask. But if you’re a Trueblood, you need to be careful.”
“You mean about the sun?”
“The sun too, but… Trueblood vampires are very rare. There will be many who covet you. Bio companies will also want you. If you’re going to act as a vampire, just be a regular one. Oh, and watch out for vampire hunters too.”
“I’m a fake anyway.”
Vampires and vampire hunters.
Their relationship was famous. They used to be in a kill-or-be-killed relationship in the past… but now, vampire hunters don’t attack vampires indiscriminately unless they’re criminals.
In the first place, most vampires in this era became vampires by injecting factors. It’s not as hard to obtain as elf factors. Except for the fact that they need to consume blood, they’re not much different from humans. Getting blood is also easy. Artificial blood is cheap.
‘I heard that a normal human can become a Class 2 just by injecting vampire factors.’
In the original work, classes are divided by level… but it’s a bit different in this reality.
Class 1 refers to those who can sense and use mana.
Class 2 refers to those who can use mana to fight.
Most mercenaries are usually Class 3.
‘A single drop of a Trueblood vampire’s blood can turn a normal person into a Class 4 High Vampire.’
Class 4 are called veterans, outstanding soldiers or warriors, living weapons, tanks in human form, and so on.
‘High Vampires are already Class 4 just with their physical abilities. With a little experience, they can become Class 5 or higher.’
From Class 5, they can dominate small-scale battles. Still, up to Class 6, they are treated as humans to some extent. From Class 7, they are superhuman. Something beyond human.
As a Trueblood vampire, can I produce High Vampires using my blood?
The answer is no.
The moment a part of my body that falls off in the transformed state interacts with something else, that part disappears. It doesn’t revert the transformation, it disappears. The damage to the main body doesn’t disappear, though.
‘I’ve already tested it.’
Rose created a profile and showed it to me.
A profile made up entirely of lies.
“…From the back alleys of Divine France?”
“Your name is French, isn’t it? Isn’t this what you wanted? Oh, you know that Divine France hates vampires and werewolves, right? Be careful.”
“And let’s take some pictures. I need them to forge your ID properly. I also need fingerprints and blood… but let’s skip that, you’re not trying to become a noble, are you? Mercenaries are often shady, so you just need a minimum of trust.”
“You’ll vouch for that part. I’ll only take your requests.”
“If you know, be careful. If necessary, I’ll expose your identity. Okay, taking a picture. Smile.”
“……”
Of course, I didn’t smile. Rose didn’t seem to be serious either, and just took a picture roughly. It was quite close.
She smelled good. A sweet smell. Instinctively, I looked for the part where the smell was strongest. It was Rose’s neck. The white nape of her neck visible between her black hair.
*Gulp.*
I swallowed unconsciously.
“…Ha. Have you really become a vampire? You’ve been staring at my neck since earlier.”
“I can’t help it. It’s a vampire’s instinct.”
“That sounds very dangerous?”
“I can control it. Even if I can’t control it… I can just undo the magic. Like this.”
I turned back into a human.
My appetite disappeared. I couldn’t smell the sweet scent that Rose had been emitting. Instead, I smelled a faint rose scent.
However, since I’ve undone Absolute Polymorph, it will take some time before I can use it again.
“That’s a relief. It doesn’t seem like you’ll lose control of your vampire instincts and cause trouble like some of those guys. Go for today. I’ll contact you when a suitable request comes in. You’ll have to take low-paying requests for a while. You don’t have a reputation.”
“I know. I’m a new employee with experience. I’ll have to endure it until my reputation spreads.”
“Yeah, yeah. See you next time.”
• • •
The reputation of Eugene, the vampire black magician and body collector of Neo London, began to spread among the mercenary circles.
The nickname that sounded like a serial killer was due to a recent incident.
I stole one of the hearts of a client who looked down on me for being a black magician. I didn’t kill him to complete the request.
‘The client had three hearts through life magic. I just took one of the most expensive magic hearts.’
Originally, it was a type of magic called magical biology, but now it’s called life magic, and it’s famous for selling magically enhanced artificial organs. Well, it’s still a minor magic.
Anyway, the rumors about this incident were exaggerated and distorted, and I got the nickname of body collector.
Rose let the rumors spread. When I complained a little, I remembered what she said.
‘She said it was a good thing. Thanks to it, my reputation is spreading faster.’
Won’t clients avoid me if they hear the rumors? She scoffed at my concerns.
“Eugene. No, Eugene. The higher the level of the request, the higher the level of the client. Clients who are swayed by such rumors? They’re just small fry. Clients who give you real dangerous jobs will have figured out the truth behind the rumors.”
“…I did take a real heart, though.”
“……That’s a bit of a problem, but you didn’t kill him. The incident started because of that client’s mouth. It’s up to the client to be careful.”
After that day, I got more requests. Most of the jobs that use mercenaries are illegal, but the requests that specifically named me were particularly malicious. I didn’t discriminate against requests and handled them all. My success rate was 100%.
And today, Rose was much more serious than usual.
“Congratulations, body collector Eugene. After just three months, you’ve got a request from a big shot.”
“A big shot?”
“Alpha Tier. You know them, right?”
I flinched for a moment.
Alpha Tier Pharmaceutical Company. A name I can’t forget. The source of my experimentation. My emotions surged for a moment, but I was confident in my poker face, so I wasn’t caught.
“Is the client Alpha Tier, the global pharmaceutical company?”
“No. There’s no way. Alpha Tier is on a different level. Why would they hire a vampire black magician mercenary who’s just a bit famous in Neo London? Do you think the job of a corporate agent is for nothing?”
She was right.
Why would Alpha Tier be crazy enough to give me a request? I was momentarily distracted by the name Alpha Tier and didn’t think of the obvious.
“…Is that big shot hostile to Alpha Tier?”
“That’s right. Those who are openly hostile to them. Do you know about the Liberals?”
“I know. They’re a global newspaper company headquartered in Neo London. And not in a good way. It’s a place where anti-corporate activists gather.”
They’re the guys who have been annoying me lately. Their anti-corporate sentiment is so extreme that they curse at any company. My company, LK, was no exception. Some of these reporters even tried to break into my mansion.
‘When I caught them and asked, their answer was ridiculous. They said they were trying to find evidence that LK had created superconductors through human experimentation. Was the superconductor an invention made through human experimentation?’
At first, I thought they were spies sent by other companies disguised as reporters, but they were just crazy. The other reporters at the Liberals newspaper were all similar.
“That’s right. And it’s a place that receives enthusiastic support from people. Anti-corporate sentiment is spreading more and more recently.”
“I know. Most companies have a lot of ethical problems.”
“It’s surprising to hear that from the president of a rising company.”
“Enough with the empty words. What’s the request?”
“To escort a reporter to a village outside of Neo London and back. And to help the client with their work.”
“…What is that reporter trying to do? It doesn’t seem like a good thing if they’re hiring a black magician.”
“They say they got a source of information about a human experimentation village run by Alpha Tier. The Liberals want to confirm if that information is real.”
“It doesn’t seem like they need to specifically name me, though.”
“They needed a magician who is proficient in blood magic. Specifically, a magician who can use the Class 5 magic, Blood Chaser.”
Blood Chaser is a Class 5 blood magic. There are no high-level blood magicians in Neo London, so the request came to me.
“It seems they don’t know exactly where that human experimentation village is.”
“Maybe not. But the reward is quite good. The location of the workshop where the arcane magic of Ilario Gomez, who was active 30 years ago, is hidden. It’s exactly the kind of reward you wanted.”
Ilario Gomez. A Class 7 black magician who is already dead at this point.
“…That’s certainly true. The reward is so good that it’s suspicious. What’s the proof that the information is real?”
“The editor-in-chief is Ilario’s grandson. He’s a normal person who doesn’t know anything about black magic, but he says he’s been to Ilario’s workshop a few times when he was young.”
Ilario was famous as a necromancer. I heard that he even summoned demons. I was interested in his arcane magic.
Besides, if the request is successful, I can give Alpha Tier a taste of their own medicine.
I felt more motivated than ever and asked Rose.
“When do I start the request?”
