Ch.62Mining and the Vampire (3)

The three clans were not races that appeared in-game.

Rather, they were closer to those who outsourced their work to non-clan beings.

Mercenaries hired through two or three intermediaries, disreputable assassins, desperate people who couldn’t find salvation anywhere.

They lured, hired, and used such individuals. Because of this, the only ones you could encounter in the game were ordinary human races with no direct connection to the three clans.

But it wasn’t as if the three clans left no trace in the world.

The shapeshifters were an inferior race that could only transform into one type of animal, couldn’t properly control their transformation, and even retained base traits like mating seasons.

People hunted and oppressed these shapeshifters, and within this persecution, the base inferiors became superior monsters, giving birth to numerous tragedies.

The necromancer, as I had only recently learned, left behind the dragon people.

Originally dragons, they left powerful beings in the world who, though base, far surpassed ordinary human races in every aspect.

However, just because we hadn’t encountered them in this world yet didn’t mean that vampires’ inferior races didn’t exist.

In fact, these inferior vampires appeared quite frequently in the game. So much so that they were considered a serious problem within the game’s lore.

And for good reason.

I recalled this fact as I faced the crowd surrounding us.

“Vampires…”

Eyes emitting an eerie red light.

Pale skin as if they had never stood under the sun in their lives.

Even the gray streaks in their cold, sunken hair.

They were victims, and also monsters. Unlike me, they were the most despised and avoided monsters in this world.

Fittingly, they appeared destitute.

Their shabby attire and the pickaxes in their hands were old, rusted, and damaged, seemingly difficult to use properly.

They barely maintained their function due to being double-edged, but could hardly be considered proper tools.

The chisels, pickaxes, and hammers they held had damaged handles, tied to the long pickaxe handles.

It was clear at a glance that they didn’t live comfortable lives. Regardless of age or gender, they all had thin bodies.

The fact that they could maintain life at all was solely due to the vampiric power flowing through their bodies, transcending life and death.

They appeared to be in a predicament that would have killed ordinary humans many times over.

“There are more behind us.”

They were closing in around us. Isla spoke as she moved behind me. I placed my hand on my waist and glanced at Lorian.

“Are they all… mixed-bloods…?”

Though confused, she was diligently gripping her beheading sword.

The encirclement tightened. No matter where I turned, eerie red light filled my vision.

Mixed-blood vampires.

As Lorian said, they were mixed-bloods.

Unlike the pure-blooded clans, they possessed very little.

Rather, what filled them was something akin to disease.

They couldn’t cross flowing water. Merely touching flowing water would make them die screaming.

Their reflections didn’t appear in water. This was due to the disconnect between their souls and bodies.

They couldn’t be exposed to sunlight. The once gentle and warm spring sun was like living flames to them.

They possessed all the typical weaknesses from vampire legends.

Yet the only ability they had was recovering by drinking blood.

They had little but had lost too much. The reason for their birth was also utterly pitiful.

They were born after having their blood drained to the point of death by other mixed-bloods or pure-bloods.

Usually the former. It was a structure where victims created more victims. When playing the game, I had simply thought of it as a reason for the increase in mobs.

Seeing it in reality felt strange. Even the small child who barely reached my waist had their blood drained until the moment of death.

With a pained expression, I gripped the Star Blade at my waist.

Whoosh!

“Luwellin…”

Lorian looked at me. Her face was flickering with shadows cast by the stellar flames.

“They are…”

“I know.”

The mixed-blood vampires had already lost much, but there was one more thing they had lost.

They had been robbed of their free will.

They had no choice but to be loyal to the master who bestowed death upon them.

If that master was a mixed-blood vampire, then they would be loyal to a pure-blood above them.

The encirclement of tens and hundreds surrounding us seemed to tell me this.

That they were all appendages of a vampire, and they were now demanding my sympathy.

It felt awful. I gritted my teeth and then firmly gripped my sword.

To not hesitate in doing what must be done.

To leave their faces in remembrance.

Just as I gripped my sword and took my stance.

“Excuse me…”

Something unexpected happened.

“Perhaps, perhaps were you sent by our master?”

One of the vampires addressed me.

Squinting, perhaps unable to see properly due to the glowing crimson blade of the Star Blade, he approached me, stammering his words.

“If, if that’s the case… could you ask if we could have a little more blood? The children are starving. And there are too many people suffering…”

Even as he spoke, there was a hint of fear.

As if expecting me to swing my fist at any moment, he tucked in his chin. Though he tried to hide it, it was clearly visible to me with my increased proficiency.

I realized immediately that this too was a form of survival tactic.

Being someone who had never even been hit by my sister, I was slow to notice.

It was a posture that, knowing the other person would strike, and even while being struck, tried not to appear offensive to the striker.

Submissive, but rational.

Yet the mixed-blood vampires I had seen and heard about in the game were all closer to mindless monsters.

As I raised my head slightly, I noticed more.

What I had mistaken for an encirclement was not an encirclement at all.

It wasn’t loyalty to follow orders; rather, it seemed more like reluctance.

Judging by the attitude of this old vampire before me, they were the type to resort to violence quickly if not welcomed like this.

In other words, this could be considered a form of hospitality.

Like villagers setting aside their work to welcome a visiting king or noble.

Realizing this, I felt my strength drain. The sword in my hand gradually lowered, and my sword arm naturally went limp.

I felt like a villain. This wasn’t what I had wanted.

Perhaps I had been conveniently imagining a scenario where I killed all the monsters in the mine and resolved the situation.

I lowered my eyes for a moment, then looked at Isla and Lorian.

Unlike Lorian, who was blinking at me with a confused expression, Isla seemed to have noticed my change in demeanor just by making eye contact.

She briefly opened her mouth, then took something from her waist and threw it to me.

As I caught it, a small status window appeared.

[Komel’s Responsibility]

A well-sharpened dagger that Isla had been using until now. A blade that could cut even my tough skin without issue.

I removed one of my gauntlets, tucked it at my side, and cut my palm with the blade.

“…Ugh.”

It stings. Did I cut too deep? It would heal soon, but the numbing pain actually helped me maintain my rationality.

The red eyes of those still surrounding us staring intently was quite a frightening sight.

I approached the trembling vampire.

“Blood.”

“Pardon?”

“You said you needed it.”

Whether he thought I was an ally of his master or perhaps his master in disguise, I wasn’t sure.

But since he said he needed it, I made an intuitive judgment of the situation.

“Take it. One drop each should be enough.”

As I extended my hand with blood dripping from it, the old man’s face filled with awe.

And because of that, I failed to notice.

That Lorian was watching me with a displeased expression.

*

“…Don’t share your blood like that.”

After giving blood to the old man, and the crowd—whether encirclement or welcome—had dispersed and returned to normal.

We took some time to organize our thoughts in this ambiguous atmosphere.

And the first to speak was Lorian.

“What?”

As I was putting my gauntlet back on my already healed hand, I heard her words. When I turned to Lorian, she seemed to be pouting.

“Your blood. It’s… also father’s blood. It’s not something you should give to just anyone.”

“I can give what I have plenty of.”

“No, you need to value your body more.”

Unusually stern. I was a bit taken aback.

“That sounds like something you’d say to a carefree village girl…”

“Anyway!”

“Lu wants to do it. Why are you against it?”

When even Isla chimed in, Lorian pursed her lips.

With her girlish appearance, it was cute.

“You need to know how valuable your blood is. Even without the paternal genes inside you, just one drop of your blood could sustain an entire clan. To give so much of such blood…”

The way she bit her lip made her look like a simple pouting girl.

“If you’re going to give it to someone, you should give it to me…”

Does the mind follow the body?

Only then did I understand the reason for her discontent.

Just recalling that desire-filled expression I had seen recently made it clear.

She was upset that someone else had easily obtained my blood, which she thought she had exclusive rights to.

Perhaps because of this, Lorian remained adamant.

“No, it’s still too precious. If you’re going to give it, give it to me, and I can filter it and distribute it. Let’s go—”

“Alright, I get it. I can give some to you too. Here. No need to be jealous.”

As I removed my gauntlet and extended my arm, Lorian was at a loss for words.

She opened and closed her mouth several times.

Her intention was obvious.

She wanted to say that wasn’t it, that she was doing this for my safety.

She probably wanted to say such things. But even that stopped when she saw my arm exposed without the gauntlet.

In the end, she succumbed to temptation.

With a dazed face, as if entranced, she took my arm and kissed it.

More accurately, she sank her teeth into it, but at a glance, it looked no different from a kiss.

“Ugh.”

The pain that followed.

The sensation of being bitten still hadn’t become familiar. But it didn’t matter. It would regenerate anyway.

The feeling of life being drained also hadn’t become familiar, but seeing Lorian’s relaxed face made it worthwhile.

She held my forearm and sucked blood for a while before finally coming to her senses.

“Anyway, what I wanted to say was…”

“You want to be the only one to drink it. Something like that, right?”

“That’s, no, well… yes. I’m sorry. I was a bit jealous.”

It wasn’t just a bit, but knowing herself well, Lorian’s already flushed face reddened with shame.

Cute girl. Of course, in return, Isla’s face became slightly scary, but Isla didn’t whine openly.

I could appease her later. As I was thinking this, the old man returned.

“Thanks to you, we survived.”

His complexion was not much different from when I had seen him earlier. Unlike Lorian, whose complexion had improved after drinking blood, he still looked blood-deficient.

With such a face, he left me with various words.

Words about how children had survived thanks to my mercy, and how the hungry ones would become docile.

There was a common undertone in his words. He didn’t seem to view me as an ally of his master.

So when his expression hardened shortly after, I felt that the inevitable had come.

“…No.”

The old man muttered to himself in shock. He led us to a hastily set up tent in a secluded area.

“Please go inside and don’t come out. Absolutely, absolutely do not come out.”

As we entered the tent as directed and lowered ourselves to hide, a thought occurred to me.

The rumor the fruit vendor at the market had mentioned, about treasure in the mine.

Plus the many adventurers I had seen.

Having gone through many adventures and being skilled at reading the situation, something seemed visible to my eyes. It was a familiar pattern.

Sure enough, someone appeared in the distance, heading towards the entrance of the cavern.

“…Ah?”

Lorian let out a dazed sound upon seeing this. Following her gaze, I saw an androgynous beauty.

White hair tied high, red eyes. Someone dressed in noble attire with a long sword.

It was a vampire. A pure-blood at that.

Probably the master of all the mixed-blood vampires in this mine.

“Edilum…?”

The moment Lorian dazedly uttered the vampire’s name.

All the vampires in the cavern turned to look at the tent where we were hiding.