Ch.1Charlotte

# Common Sense-

How many people can walk down a street at night with no streetlights?

Especially relying only on moonlight.

My night vision was extraordinarily sharp.

That wasn’t the only strange thing. My outstretched white legs and small feet glowed white as if emitting their own light.

Just like the soft moon floating in the sky.

While admiring my sparkling skin, I caught a subtle movement at the edge of my vision.

Thick clothing, a massive backpack slung over the shoulders.

And a strange metal skewer held in hand.

Suddenly, an oddly sweet scent began to waft through the air.

Coming from the direction I was looking.

I swallowed dryly.

This must be a dream, surely a dream, yet why am I feeling such intense thirst?

My body began to move naturally.

I follow the stranger slowly, tracking from behind.

The closer I get, the stronger the sweet fragrance becomes.

It’s that person. That person is definitely hiding something.

Sweet candy perhaps? Or maybe chocolate?

I couldn’t tell exactly.

But one thing was certain: my instincts were telling me to catch that person.

In a daze from the sweet scent, I continued tracking.

The stranger with the backpack entered a building and was gathering supplies.

The wide-open bag contained shining canned goods, water bottles, and various types of books.

“Hello-“

A casually offered greeting.

But the response was anything but casual.

I stood there dumbfounded as they jumped in shock, as if they’d heard something they shouldn’t have.

Clatter-!

The metal skewer in their hand fell to the floor with a loud noise.

Tension, excitement, fear, and hostility.

The person before me was excessively wary of their surroundings and of me.

Why are they looking at me like that?

Ah-

Only then did I realize I wasn’t wearing any clothes.

Clothes- garments, I needed something to cover my body.

The moment I thought this, shadows on the floor began to writhe and take on a subtle form.

I accepted this naturally, as if it were expected.

This was a dream after all. It was only natural that I could get what I wanted in my dream.

Rustle-

A pleasant texture covering my body.

Shoes, pants, shirt, and even a coat.

Now that I’m dressed, shouldn’t everything be fine?

No, the other person didn’t seem to think so.

“You…!”

The low voice that emerged contained clear hostility.

And their actions matched.

The man grabbed the metal skewer from the floor and pointed it at me.

Why was he showing such hostility?

I couldn’t understand his behavior.

“Wai-“

Thunk-!

I tried to say “Wait.”

But the word was never completed.

A stinging, burning sensation.

A chilling sound.

What I felt next was coldness.

Something long and hard had penetrated my body, specifically my neck.

Gurgle-

A sound of blood boiling in my mouth as red liquid flowed out.

As I recognized this fact, my gaze quickly moved along the metal skewer piercing my neck.

Blood flowing along the skewer soaked the man’s hand.

His trembling hand and dangerously wavering gaze were directed at me.

Reading the endless hostility within, I wondered.

Why did he hate me so much?

I couldn’t understand the reason.

The moment I thought this, the shadow at my feet began to move.

Slither-

Black and red.

The mixture of these two colors formed the head of a massive beast that opened its mouth wide.

Rip-

Crunch!

A simple movement.

Opening its mouth and taking a large bite out of the man.

With a squelching sound, the red mass of flesh began to be crushed.

There wasn’t even a scream.

My foggy mental state cleared.

A moment of clarity.

The smell of blood stimulating my nostrils told me that this situation was not a dream.

“Huh…”

The black beast that had finished feeding disappeared into my shadow.

The man who had been holding the skewer vanished before my eyes.

The metal skewer that had pierced my neck had somehow been removed and was rolling on the floor.

If not for the blood soaking the floor and the backpack the man had been carrying, I would still have thought this was a dream.

Shadow, blood, and a collapsed city.

As the words in my mind combined, the title of a certain game came to mind.

No way.

It can’t be, right?

I shook my head and began rummaging through the backpack on the floor.

Not yet, it’s too early to be certain.

I needed more concrete information.

What I could take out of the backpack were magazines and books containing various specialized knowledge.

Cold sweat ran down my back.

[Emergency Treatment Vol. 1]

[Gun Maintenance Vol. 6]

No author’s name.

No publisher’s name listed.

Just the title written on the book cover.

Doubt became certainty as the blurry outline in my mind became clear.

Werewolves, vampires, humans, fusion bodies.

A game world where four races lived together.

“Blood Carnival…”

The moment I recalled the game’s name, many memories came flooding back in sequence.

It couldn’t be helped. Blood Carnival was the only online game I regularly played.

Feeling the sweet scent stimulating my nose, I let out a hollow laugh.

Exceptionally sharp night vision, skin that sparkles even in pitch darkness, the ability to control shadows, thirst for blood. Even the mental state that allowed me to remain calm despite witnessing someone die before my eyes.

These are the racial characteristics of vampires in the game.

And I now possessed those characteristics.

How could I deny it?

I had become a vampire.

Well then, what should I do now?

I sat on the large backpack and fell into thought.

“Status window… status… skill window… inventory…”

As I continued thinking, I muttered hopefully.

But as expected, nothing appeared before my eyes.

I let out a small laugh of disappointment.

The fact that I could think calmly despite this situation clearly showed that the game settings were having an effect.

Even if I couldn’t see it with my eyes, were the game settings still maintained?

While continuing these calm thoughts.

I was able to recall a small fragment of memory.

A massive map, like something that would appear in a game, unfolded showing the terrain of this area.

And red markings overlaid on it.

[Survivor Camp]

[Werewolf Territory]

There was a survivor camp near the collapsed urban area, and far from there was werewolf territory.

I frowned and tilted my head. This memory was clearly not mine.

But it wasn’t unfamiliar.

As if I had always remembered it, it naturally seeped into my memories.

I got up.

Although the source of the memory was unclear, I couldn’t just stay here.

Since the survivor camp wasn’t far from here, I planned to go there.

I picked up the backpack from the floor and left the building.

The vampire race has superior physical abilities compared to humans.

Being able to run quickly and tirelessly without making a sound is a blessing in this world.

I used the vampire’s physical abilities to sprint quickly through the collapsed urban area.

[Grrrr…]

While running for quite some time.

A strange sound reached my ears.

The low growling sound was somehow familiar.

I stopped and focused on the sound.

[Grrrrrr-]

The sound became clearer.

Rather than fear, I felt disgust.

After carefully moving toward the sound for a while.

Peering slightly through the gap between collapsed buildings, I could see a strange creature.

Long extended limbs.

Dark red, tough-looking skin covering the entire body.

Rough fur protruding from its back.

Sharp claws and talons, long teeth covered in sticky blood.

A race you inevitably encounter when playing Blood Carnival.

It was definitely a Fusion Body.

A strange tension flowed.

There was only one Fusion Body in sight.

The vampire’s senses, which were clearly on high alert, also told me that what I could see was all there was.

If, if I were really playing the game, I would have killed that Fusion Body ahead without hesitation.

But that was only when I was playing the game with a keyboard and mouse.

I felt no pain despite stepping on glass shards.

I felt no pain despite having my neck pierced by a metal skewer.

But I wasn’t confident it would be the same this time.

I wasn’t confident that I wouldn’t feel pain if my body was torn by those large claws.

That’s why I couldn’t move readily.

In the end, my choice was to find another path.

I unfolded the small map in my mind and changed direction.

After moving for quite some time.

I was able to escape the collapsed urban area and reach the survivor camp.

Hiding my body in a slightly distant location, I observed the camp.

Barricades built from scrapped cars and building debris, and people standing guard on top of them.

There was only one entrance to get into the camp.

I narrowed my eyes to check the people’s armament status.

Bows, spears, and metal clubs made up most of their weapons.

Those with guns were very few.

The camp was larger than I expected.

With so many guards, it was impossible to approach carelessly.

Considering the reaction of the first man I met, approaching the camp thoughtlessly might result in bullets flying my way.

After pondering for a while on how to make contact with people.

The camp gate opened and a group of people slowly walked out.

Wearing thick clothes with large backpacks on their backs.

The weapons in their hands were crude things like metal clubs, metal skewers, and bows.

No one seemed to have guns.

It was just like the human faction’s gameplay in the game.

They were clearly a search party going out to secure supplies.

Watching the search party leaving in the distance, I gripped the backpack on my back.

Perhaps I could get information more easily than I thought.

I hid in the darkness and followed the search party.