Ch.50Chapter 50: Vampire (6)

Valt was carefully observing the scene.

‘Hmm, so this is what it feels like when life force converts to magical power. This is amplification. Converting life force to magical power is quite efficient.’

It’s different from physical-to-magical power conversion.

When converting physical power to magical power, the conversion rate is only one-tenth, but the Lilith before him had drawn a small amount of blood from her fingertip and used it as a medium to achieve an enormous amplification of magical power.

Though he couldn’t precisely grasp what “life force” was, he could at least perceive some kind of energy being converted into magical power.

“Here I go, Lord Valt.”

A brief incantation came from Lilith’s lips as her eyes gleamed.

“Blood Spear.”

*Charalarak-*

The blood-colored particles that had been subtly floating around Lilith’s body combined with magical power, condensing to form a red spear.

Then the spell was fired at tremendous speed.

*Thwack!*

‘It’s quick—faster to cast than regular magic.’

The property transformation phase of the spell casting process was missing.

When a gnome uses Valt’s magical power to create stone, the gnome needs to go through the process of converting mana into the properties of rock.

But vampire blood magic already has blood as its inherent property, so no separate conversion process is needed.

Valt, who had been curious about the power of blood magic, blocked the spear with his forearm using Wheel Stone Barrier.

*Thud!*

*Bang!*

*Boom!*

‘Oho! That’s quite heavy!’

It was clearly a Blood Spear with 5th-circle power.

Seeing how easily Valt blocked it, Lilith thought, “Just as expected.”

Lilith, who had been waiting for Valt’s counterattack, found it strange.

“Huh? Why aren’t you attacking?”

“I’d like to observe more blood magic. Attack me all you want—I’ll take it all.”

Impressive confidence. He planned to demonstrate his skill by simply taking hits.

In a way, defense is the most fundamental aspect of not dying.

“I won’t hold back then. Haah!”

6th-circle magical power gathered around Lilith as she formed hand seals.

‘Hmm, so hand seals are necessary. It’s a bit different from regular spell casting methods.’

Valt actually preferred hand seals.

Hand seals were ultimately created to adjust the arrangement of magical power.

It was a somewhat analog method with less expandability than memorizing formulas and calculating magical power arrangements.

But for a barbarian lacking in intellect, moving the body was certainly better than using the head.

With hand seals, you just had to memorize the movements.

Even a barbarian could manage that after hundreds of repetitions.

“Here I come. Valt, this will be a bit stronger. Rapids of Blood!”

*Whoosh!*

True to its name, a dark red wave of blood erupted from Lilith, crashing toward Valt in a wide-ranging attack.

Though she used it lightly, it still had 6th-circle power.

“Hmm! Good!”

While he could have easily shattered it with Anti-Magic Slash, Valt was curious about the spell’s power.

He wanted to feel it with his body.

Not wanting to damage the floor of someone else’s palace, Valt tensed his body and stretched his hands forward.

He had learned that the spiral sphere technique taught by Aileen could be applied in many ways.

Beyond its original use as Spiral Burst Ball, it could also be adapted for defense.

Concentrating magical power into his firmly extended hands, Valt created a rapidly rotating sphere of magical power.

Then he spun it in a circular motion.

By rotating the spiral sphere, he added the physical force of rotation, creating a wind barrier in front of him.

With a sphere at the center and wind rotating around it, it looked just like a fan.

Robin, who was watching, let out an admiration.

“Wow… all of Valt’s magic is something I’ve never seen before. Where did he learn such things?”

“Haha, right? What is that? What kind of defensive magic is that?”

As Lilith announced her spell’s name, Valt also named his defensive magic.

“Unique magic: Spiral Fan Shield.”

*Kwagagagagaga!!*

The crimson wave and Valt’s vortex collided, creating a tremendous contest of magical power.

The surging bloody wave failed to break through Valt’s rotating barrier and eventually dissipated.

“W-wow, that’s amazing…”

Lilith’s pure admiration. It was the strongest attack she could use without straining herself. Yet Valt blocked it with complete ease.

This was no protection spell that a mere 1st-circle mage could create.

Having seen enough, King Bladir’s voice was heard.

“That’s enough. I’ve seen sufficient skill. What a fascinating ability. Physical strength converting to magical power—it must be related to that item on your finger.”

With insight befitting someone above Arch Mage level, King Bladir immediately saw through Valt’s ability.

“With that level of skill, there should be no problem. I’m counting on you, Valt.”

Though it was disappointing not to observe more blood magic, Valt was grateful for this much.

He was certain he would have a more definite opportunity to learn after helping them.

‘There’s potential here. If it uses hand seals, our people might be able to use it too.’

“Leave it to me.”

.

.

.

Thanks to meeting Lilith, Valt had quickly gained King Bladir’s favor. After leaving the king’s audience chamber, he began receiving explanations from Lilith.

“Currently, we have two problems.”

“Two problems?”

What else could there be besides the entire race being weakened by their inability to obtain blood?

“External problems and internal problems. Though it’s just suspicion… there’s a hardline faction that seems clearly connected to this situation.”

The internal political situation wasn’t going well.

“Since becoming king, my father has consistently been a moderate who wants to maintain good relations with humans. His principle is that there’s nothing to gain from antagonizing humans who practically dominate the continent. His goal is for vampires to stop hiding in darkness and step into the light.”

Though it seemed contradictory for vampires to be in the light, Valt understood the sentiment.

“It’s true that in the past, vampires bred humans to extract blood. But in the 200 years of my father’s reign, such a thing has never happened even once.”

“Hmm, so that’s why vampires aren’t often seen on the continent.”

“Yes, that’s right, Robin. We kept a low profile for our leap forward, and recently we even contacted the Halkin Imperial family.”

The political intrigue of vampires was quite interesting.

“The Halkin Emperor dreams of integrating similar races. Though some might call him a dreamer, his achievements cannot be ignored. You all are students of Grovint Academy, right?”

“Yes.”

Lilith’s eyes showed a hint of envy.

“The Emperor suggested education at Grovint Academy as the first step toward opening up the vampire race. But I couldn’t go. Unsettling events kept happening in Brasov.”

“So you, Princess, were invited?”

Lilith smiled wistfully.

“Yes, if nothing had happened, I would have been enjoying school life with all of you. It’s truly regrettable.”

At that moment, something clicked in Valt’s mind.

‘Hmm? This is a favorable situation.’

Valt didn’t know how long it would take to learn blood magic.

If Lilith could enroll at Grovint, nothing could be better.

The Emperor wouldn’t ignore a rare race like vampires in his grand racial integration.

“After the humans we traded blood with disappeared, my father’s position hit rock bottom. The other nobles are pressuring him now.”

That explained why there were no courtiers in the audience chamber.

And the remaining personnel loyal to the Emperor were busy working on countermeasures.

A very unfavorable situation.

The first thing they needed to do was clear.

“We need to investigate. We should visit at least some of the villages that traded with Brasov, if not all of them.”

Robin nodded at Valt’s words.

“We didn’t properly investigate the village where we found Lilith. If I had known about this background, I would have examined it more thoroughly.”

It had been difficult at the time because of Lilith’s poor condition.

“We need to go back there first. It’s only half a day’s journey, so we can make the round trip in a day.”

Yuria’s ears perked up too.

“Shouldn’t we call the others over? None of us are really the thinking type, right?”

Robin, bristling at this, countered Yuria.

“Yuria, being a skilled archer also means being a ranger. I’m confident in tracking and searching.”

“Ah, sorry. Your muscles are so bulky I didn’t think of that. Still, it would be better to get Arias’s help, wouldn’t it? Elves are really excellent in forests. Lati would be a big help too.”

Yuria had a point.

Valt thought he should contact Lisa’s group outside.

As they were about to leave the castle…

A group of vampires approached Valt’s party.

Seeing them, Lilith clicked her tongue and muttered.

“Tsk… of all times…”

The six vampires looked somewhat different from the other vampires Valt had seen so far.

They had good complexions and appeared healthy. They were clearly consuming blood from somewhere.

The sharp-featured man with long black hair at the front addressed Lilith.

“Well, Princess. Humans in our sacred grounds? And even other races… May I ask what this is about?”

Though his tone was polite, the emotion behind it was not.

It felt more like an accusation than a question.

Valt quickly assessed the level of the man addressing them. 8th-circle Arch Mage.

‘He’s strong. Are Arch Mages this common?’

He seemed to have no intention of hiding his aura and skill.

The magical power he exuded made it easy for Valt and his companions to gauge the man’s level.

He was deliberately applying pressure.

“Uncle Ishuran, this is not your concern. These are my benefactors who saved my life, and I am hosting them, so please mind your own business.”

In response to Lilith’s sharp reaction, the man called uncle laughed dismissively.

“How could that be? No matter how urgent the situation, bringing humans in without the Senate’s permission? What qualifications do they have?”

Behind Ishuran, the five vampires were staring at Valt’s group—or more precisely, at Robin.

Valt recognized the look in their eyes.

Hunger.

They were looking at Robin and swallowing their saliva.

‘Huh, this blatantly?’