Ch.6Crimson Magic Tower (5)

Silence filled the room.

It wasn’t just anything.

A Magic Tower Lord position.

When offered such a prestigious position that any mage would covet, the immediate response was rejection.

The elders who heard the answer froze in place.

It was a completely unexpected situation.

If you asked any other mage whether they would take the position of Magic Tower Lord, eight or nine out of ten would eagerly accept.

Even if that position was for the Crimson Blood Magic Tower.

That’s how incredibly attractive the position of Magic Tower Lord was.

But…

‘How…’

The girl who dropped such a bombshell seemed completely unaware of how outrageous her actions were.

“Ahem… We might have misheard, so let me ask again. Would you not consider becoming the Magic Tower Lord?”

As the old man deliberately pretended not to hear and offered the Magic Tower Lord position again, Tepes thought to herself.

‘What’s with these guys…? Are they that desperate for talent?’

She was curious why they would suddenly offer her the Magic Tower Lord position in the first place.

Of course, there were people who had witnessed her power.

The two Blood Mages who had awakened her knew the extent of Tepes’s abilities.

Though they probably didn’t know everything.

‘I guess those two must have told these old men about me.’

Otherwise, the situation made no sense.

No, even with that explanation, it still didn’t make sense.

If they were gullible enough to offer the Magic Tower Lord position just based on hearsay, they’d be the type of suckers who would immediately agree if someone asked them to cosign a loan.

Logically, people who had risen to the position of elders in a Magic Tower couldn’t be such pushovers.

“Is that all you have to say?”

“Bah! I knew this would happen!”

One elder slammed his fist on the table and jumped to his feet.

The other elders turned toward him, startled.

“Wh-what are you doing, Count Vladimir?!”

“Believing that post was nonsense from the start! No matter how desperate we are, proposing the Magic Tower Lord position based on a single post from that community used by those outcasts is absurd! The honor of the Crimson Blood Magic Tower has been dragged through the mud!”

“Count Vladimir! Mind your words!”

Another elder also showed an intense reaction, busy trying to stop the elder called Count Vladimir.

‘Why are they fighting among themselves after calling me here…’

Tepes found it ridiculous.

“Stupid fraudster! You must have used editing magic on those unqualified so-called mages! Get out of our Magic Tower!”

Vladimir finally exploded, shouting vehemently with spittle flying from his mouth.

The Council of Elders once again fell into heavy silence.

* * *

I frowned.

Deeply.

“Hmph.”

How annoying.

“How rude.”

Incredibly rude.

When I spoke with my arms crossed, Vladimir snorted and said:

“And what can you do, girl? If you’re so great, why don’t you show us this amazing Blood Magic of yours?”

“Ha.”

Who does he think he’s talking to?

This one needs to be dealt with.

He needs to be taught a lesson.

I am not someone who deserves such disrespect.

Back in my Hero’s party days, even when I lived as an ordinary vampire rather than a True Ancestor, I made examples of anyone who insulted me.

In this world, it’s important not to be disrespected.

But…

“Fine. I’ll entertain you.”

That’s not why I’m doing this now.

I just don’t like what this bald old man is saying.

I revealed my fangs and smiled ominously.

“With your blood.”

I shot a blood needle at the old man’s neck before he could even react.

“Kuh, kuhak…?!”

The old man, his neck pierced by blood transformed into a needle, frantically tried to grab my blood, but it was futile.

“Wh-what?!”

“Count Vladimir?!”

When one of the elders suddenly faced a life-threatening situation, the shocked elders gave me hostile looks and prepared to attack.

“Don’t worry. I have no intention of killing him.”

I smirked as I extracted blood from Vladimir.

It wasn’t wrong to say I was the master of all things made of blood and flesh in this world—the extracted blood naturally followed my commands.

Despite Vladimir’s desperate attempts to contain the blood gushing out like a fountain, his body was already under my control.

“Guh, rrrk…”

Vladimir, drained of all his blood, looked like he was about to become a mummy.

The other elders tried to interfere again, saying this was no different from killing him.

“I’m… fine…?”

Though he looked emaciated, Vladimir was not only alive but standing perfectly upright.

“How… is this… possible…”

Even he seemed bewildered, muttering as he looked over his body.

As if he could die.

“You cannot die without my permission.”

I freely manipulated the extracted blood, floating it in the air and molding it into a human form resembling Vladimir.

The blood, infused with magical power and containing the form of a soul, took the shape of the one who had been its master until moments ago.

“Blood Magic… I don’t understand why you people gave it such a name and try to use it as magic.”

I never imagined this.

Blood Magic, Blood Mages… In my time, there were no Blood Mages, let alone information about Blood Magic.

This world was a game world where the concept of vampires didn’t exist, so it was natural. But it was truly surprising that my every act of manipulating blood as a vampire had been passed down to future generations as Blood Magic.

In fact, from that perspective, the Crimson Blood Magic Tower, where Blood Mages gathered, could be considered a good tower that I felt connected to.

After all, it meant that the will of the first Blood Mage, who admired me and established Blood Magic, had continued throughout history.

‘Strictly speaking, I’m not the founder of Blood Magic.’

I manipulate blood instinctively as a vampire, not through magical power.

Now that I’ve become a True Ancestor, essentially all blood in this world is like my limbs.

People don’t need special power to control their limbs, do they?

Everyone instinctively knows how to move and does so.

As I casually played with the blood, I thought it was time to give them a warning and show them just how extraordinary I am.

Anyway, why can’t they just recognize my greatness at a glance?

They always need a demonstration.

Grumbling internally, I gathered blood in my hand and lightly shot it toward the sky.

This was the top floor of the Crimson Blood Magic Tower anyway.

Shooting it into the sky wouldn’t hurt anyone.

Following my gesture, the blood shot upward at tremendous speed, becoming a storm of blades that sliced through the ceiling.

CRASH!

The vast tower was pierced through.

The sky was visible through the torn ceiling.

“Im-impossible…”

“The, the tower’s ceiling…?! How could that be possible…”

While all the elders were exclaiming in shock, I retrieved the blood and stroked it as it writhed above my hand.

‘I’m starting to feel sorry for him.’

He wouldn’t be in pain.

Though I had drained all his blood, he was still alive thanks to my power, and I had made sure he wouldn’t feel the pain he should have felt.

What he was feeling now was the alien sensation and discomfort of being alive despite having no blood in his body.

And indescribable fear.

The fear that I held his life in my hands.

‘That should be enough.’

With that thought, I returned the blood to the bald man’s body.

‘Hmm?’

I had noticed earlier.

Why was this bald guy’s body so damaged?

There was a reason he was bald after all.

Feeling a bit sorry for the bald old man, and since he had served as a test subject for my True Ancestor abilities—plus I felt an inner connection because he came here out of love for Blood Magic—I wanted to help him.

As I purified the blood and returned it, I focused vitality on his pores.

“Oh, ohhh…?!”

As something began to grow on Vladimir’s bald head, the other elders started to be amazed.

When all the blood had returned to his body, Vladimir had somehow transformed into a clean, upright middle-aged man with perfectly normal hair growing on his head.

Rejuvenation was a bonus.

“Well, that’s that.”

After eliminating the concentrated waste in his blood, I turned around, opening my parasol.

“Next time, learn to speak with consideration for others’ feelings.”

He must have forgotten his manners with age, showing no respect to his elders.

I’m older than all of you.

I’m over a thousand years old, though I spent most of that time sleeping.

After giving this final warning, I walked away.