Ch.75The Second Change

While circling around the Safety Zone, I was able to spot humans.

They were stationed quite far from the Safety Zone, and predictably, an enormous number of traps had been set up in the vicinity.

Rushing in recklessly would clearly result in tremendous damage.

Even at a glance, their numbers were staggering. It seems all personnel from the Busan area had gathered here.

The humans were wary of the Safety Zone but didn’t approach it easily.

Apparently, they hadn’t yet figured out what purpose the Safety Zone served.

Unlike vampires who could perceive all information in the world through their Mystic Eyes, humans lacked such abilities.

“What should we do?”

“Hmm…”

I let out a small groan at Aurel’s question.

Since our main vampire force hadn’t arrived yet, we couldn’t just rush in recklessly.

Moreover, judging by the number of humans gathered here, fighting them would likely bring more losses than gains.

In that case, it would be better to examine inside the Safety Zone first.

I pulled Hwang-gu’s leash and approached the widely spread veil.

The moment I passed through the veil—

Suddenly, I felt something blocking me with a thud, pushing my body backward.

“Ack…”

“Charlotte?”

“Woof?”

Having fallen off Hwang-gu’s back, I rubbed my head.

The Safety Zone, which had accepted my finger without any resistance earlier, had now pushed me away.

I looked at Hwang-gu and Aurel, who wore bewildered expressions.

Unlike me who was bounced back, the two girls could freely pass through the veil.

Aurel and Hwang-gu hurriedly ran out and approached me.

“What happened?”

I didn’t answer Aurel’s question.

I had to stare at the message that appeared before my eyes.

[Insufficient credits.]

Insufficient credits? Wasn’t the entrance fee 1,000 credits per hour?

I couldn’t remember the exact amount, but I had enough credits to pay the entrance fee and still have some left over.

What was going on here?

I sat on the ground with a serious expression and rummaged through my pocket.

“Charlotte?”

“It says I don’t have enough credits.”

“What…?”

“Did you two have any problems?”

Hwang-gu and Aurel looked at each other at my question.

Both children nodded simultaneously.

It seemed this message was only visible to me.

The credits that came out of my pocket totaled 22,500.

An amount more than sufficient after paying the entrance fee.

But even with these credits, I couldn’t enter.

I tried to enter again just in case, but the result was the same.

[Insufficient credits.]

The same message from earlier appeared without fail.

While I was staring at the message with a serious expression, Aurel approached me and said:

“Charlotte.”

“What?”

“Could it be because of the children?”

“Because of the children…?”

“Yes, when we cleared dungeons, we received credits according to the number of children, right? So maybe the entrance fee is also required per child…”

“Oh…”

“Woof…!”

Hwang-gu and I gaped at Aurel’s words.

Come to think of it, that was true. I had been receiving dungeon clear rewards based on the number of children.

Since rewards were given based on entry and exit, this Safety Zone might have a similar structure.

As expected of Aurel. She was the smartest among our group.

“Hmm…”

I fell into contemplation. I wanted to go inside right away to see what had changed, but I couldn’t leave the children outside.

Above all, we might have to fight humans in this situation.

“Should we go look around by ourselves?”

“Just you two?”

“Yes!”

I shook my head at Aurel’s answer.

I was curious about what changes were happening inside the Safety Zone, but there was no need to take unnecessary risks.

It would be better to wait for the main vampire force to arrive and move together.

Right now, we were moving in small numbers and hadn’t been detected by humans, but who knew how long that would last?

I climbed onto Hwang-gu’s back with Aurel.

The main vampire force arrived quite some time later.

Judging by the significant time difference compared to before, Hwang-gu’s speed must have become incredibly fast.

I gathered the clan leaders and began explaining about the veil covering Uljin.

After the explanation was over,

The vampires began selecting personnel to enter the Safety Zone.

This was decided because it would be a big problem if we all rushed in together and got surrounded by humans.

Those chosen were me, Aurel, Hwang-gu, and Prix.

Firin also seemed to want to come along, but too many clan leaders couldn’t leave at once, so she couldn’t join us.

Above all, Firin was the only one I could trust to take care of my children.

Before entering the Safety Zone,

I summoned the children and spoke:

“Everyone, listen well to Firin. Understood?”

-Yes!

-Will you bring us gifts when you come back?

-I’ll be good!

The children answered cheerfully to my command.

Even those who were human just a day ago showed signs of quick adaptation.

All thanks to Instructor Yeppi’s education.

I patted Yeppi’s head.

“My goodness…”

Firin gaped as she looked at my children.

There were nearly 200 children, but they had gentle personalities, so taking care of them shouldn’t be too difficult.

“I’m counting on you, okay?”

“Okay…”

Before entering the Safety Zone, we observed the movements of the humans.

The humans were highly wary of the suddenly appearing vampires.

The atmosphere was very tense. It wouldn’t be strange if a war broke out right away.

I headed into the Safety Zone, leaving that atmosphere behind.

Just in case, I closed my eyes slightly, but unlike before, I could pass through the large veil without any problems.

As expected, Aurel’s prediction was correct.

“Hmm… There doesn’t seem to be any change.”

“Yeah…”

Aurel shared her impression as we entered the Safety Zone.

As she said, the surrounding landscape didn’t seem to have changed.

But it was too early to be disappointed. We were just at the entrance, weren’t we?

I pulled Hwang-gu’s leash and slowly began to move.

After walking for a while,

Hwang-gu’s ears, which had been walking slowly, began to flap wildly.

She must have detected some special sound.

Raising her head and checking my reaction, Hwang-gu began to walk quickly in one direction.

“Did she find something?”

Prix asked, following behind Hwang-gu.

I nodded and stroked Hwang-gu’s head.

“Seems like she found something.”

The ruins, covered in thick darkness, always created an eerie atmosphere.

Hwang-gu walked without hesitation.

Climbing over collapsed buildings, sometimes sticking her head into narrow holes.

While Hwang-gu, Aurel, and I in marshmallow form could pass through without any problems, Prix couldn’t.

He always had to take a different route.

“Oh…”

The place Hwang-gu arrived at was a very distinctive space.

Unlike other places, there was a neatly laid stone floor.

Straight stairs leading underground.

And bat-shaped street lamps illuminating the surroundings.

“This is…”

“A dungeon perhaps?”

I shook my head at Aurel’s question.

As far as I knew, there was no dungeon entrance like this in Blood Carnival.

“Let’s go check it out.”

Prix said, starting to walk ahead.

I hurriedly drove Hwang-gu to follow behind him.

Tap- Click-

Click- Tap-

The sound of Hwang-gu’s marshmallow jelly feet and Prix’s shoe heels echoed at regular intervals.

After descending the stairs for quite some time—probably more than 10 minutes—the end was still not in sight.

I looked around and touched the patterns engraved on the wall.

“This is…”

“A mural…?”

As Aurel said, there were pictures drawn on the straight walls.

I thought they were just decorative patterns, but apparently not.

“This feels unsettling…”

I muttered, looking at the mural.

The picture drawn on the wall was somehow familiar.

A large bull and a girl stepping forward.

Judging by the black wings spread behind her back, the girl in this picture was me.

That wasn’t all. The images of Hwang-gu and Aurel were also depicted.

“I’m not there…”

Prix muttered with a gloomy expression while looking at the picture.

Ignoring Prix’s words, I stared at the moon drawn in the sky.

It was clearly a moon, spreading pale light while submerged in clouds.

But to me, it looked like a large eyeball.

“Does this look like an eye to anyone else?”

“Grrrr…”

Hwang-gu answered my question with a growl.

She also seemed to find the large moon picture disturbing.

The god who created the world like this must have been a pervert.

Drawing the moon floating in the sky like an eyeball was no different from saying they were watching us from anywhere, anytime.

“It’s creepy.”

“What? Aren’t you pleased?”

Aurel tilted her head and asked after hearing my muttering.

I frowned at Aurel’s reaction.

How many people would be happy seeing such a picture?

Nine out of ten would react like me.

“Why should I be pleased?”

“Because your great achievements have been recorded, right?”

“Great achievements…?”

“Yes, Charlotte has accomplished great feats that others couldn’t achieve. God was impressed by that and recorded it like this. Shouldn’t you be happy about that?”

How could anyone come to such a conclusion?

I made a sour expression at Aurel’s answer.

“It still feels creepy.”

Even if, as Aurel said, God left the mural out of admiration, it didn’t change my unpleasant impression.

I mumbled and pulled Hwang-gu’s leash.

We could soon reach the end of the underground.

It seemed there weren’t many stairs left.

At the end of the underground was a small altar, and on it was a statue of a beautiful girl.

“This is…”

I examined the statue with a stiff face.

Behind the back of the girl with long silver hair, black wings were spread.

“It’s Charlotte, isn’t it?”

As Aurel said, the girl statue placed on the altar resembled me.

“Seems like God likes you.”

My expression wrinkled at Prix’s words.

The affection of an incomprehensible being—I wanted to decline.