Chapter 33: Suspicion (1)

[Your level has increased.]

Immediately after defeating the Vampiric Tree.

As if to prove how formidable an opponent it had been, Han-seong’s level rose by 3 in an instant.

[Rewards will be distributed based on contribution.]

[Reward]: 10,000 Coins

[You have achieved a new accomplishment.]

[Job Quest: Mage – Progress 2/3]

Following that, coins were awarded based on contribution, and a notification of achieving a new accomplishment appeared, but Han-seong didn’t even glance at it.

[Remote: Inventory activated]

[Loot detected within collection range]

[Loot will be automatically stored.]

Normally, he would have examined the loot first, but now wasn’t the time. Han-seong moved his body, which felt like it could collapse at any moment.

‘…I must get to the Healer!’

To save Ji-hye, who was critically injured.

He immediately tried to summon the Collector on the rooftop. To enter its pouch along with Ji-hye and find the Healer.

But what came back was a despairing message.

[Replica: Collector cannot be controlled]

▷Health has been completely depleted.

▷Entering hibernation state

▶Time remaining until reactivation: 47:57:39

“Wh-what…”

Han-seong’s expression quickly hardened.

If he couldn’t use the Collector, it meant he couldn’t even escape from this building right now.

Moreover, the Warp Gate connecting the main base and temporary base still had cooldown remaining, so he couldn’t return to where he was originally either.

‘If only my legs could move…!’

He could somehow take Ji-hye and move. In this hopeless situation where he could do neither, Han-seong bit his lip hard.

Just then.

[Acquired Loot List]

▷Blood Imprint (Bound)

▷Incomplete Blood Fruit

▷Skillbook: Mana Drain

▷Vampire Tree Seed

As the list of loot obtained from the Vampiric Tree was displayed, suddenly a burning pain like his skin was on fire was felt in his left palm.

“Ugh! Urgh…”

As his face contorted from the sudden pain.

An unusual notification appeared before his eyes.

[Blood Imprint has been engraved.]

[You can now create Vassals.]

Blood Imprint? What are Vassals?

No, now’s not the time to be curious about such things. If he can’t go to the Healer, he needs to think of another way to save Ji-hye.

‘First, let’s resolve the status effect.’

Ji-hye is in a state infected by the Parasitic Sporeworm.

Han-seong hurriedly opened his inventory to take out a detox potion. But then something caught his eye.

“That’s…”

A bright red fruit.

At a glance, it looked like a cherry tomato.

Seeing that small fruit, Han-seong touched it as if entranced. Soon, the identity of the fruit was revealed.

[Name]: Incomplete Blood Fruit

[Description]: Loot that can be obtained with an extremely low probability when subjugating a Champion grade or higher Vampire race.

▷When consumed, there is a 10% chance of initiating a Blood Contract. If successful, all status effects are removed and vitality is fully restored. However, if it fails, the consumer dies.

Han-seong’s eyes widened.

It was because of the phrase stating that all status effects would be removed and vitality fully restored.

Of course, it had extreme conditions attached – only a 10% chance of activation, and death upon failure – but there was no time to consider such things now.

‘I have to feed her this!’

Han-seong crawled towards Ji-hye with the desperation of a drowning man grasping at straws. Then he frowned at her condition, which had worsened considerably since earlier.

She was sweating profusely and breathing irregularly and roughly. She didn’t even respond when he called her name and spoke to her.

‘But…’

How should he feed it to her?

Can an unconscious person even chew fruit? Han-seong pondered this while taking out the fruit, and soon realized it was needless worry.

The fruit was so soft it would burst with just a light squeeze. So as he was about to bring it to Ji-hye’s mouth, a notification appeared.

[Notice]

-When the Blood Imprint owner initiates a Blood Contract, a subordinate relationship is established between the imprint’s master and the contract target.

▷Blood Master: [Kang Han-seong]

▶Blood Vassal: [Lee Ji-hye]

-Are you sure you want to proceed with the contract?

Contracts and subordinate relationships be damned.

First, he needs to save a life.

Han-seong ignored the notification message and squeezed the fruit with his fingers.

Pop! Drip drip!

The juice, red as blood, flowed down Han-seong’s fingers into Ji-hye’s mouth. And not long after, an anomaly occurred.

Ji-hye’s body, which had shown no movement, suddenly trembled and shook. Soon her shoulders heaved with violent convulsions.

“Please, please…!”

Han-seong grasped her hand tightly and squeezed his eyes shut. For the first time since becoming paralyzed from the waist down in an accident, he even prayed to a god he had never sought before.

And some time later, a miracle occurred.

Ji-hye’s complexion, which had been consistently pale, slowly began to regain color. The trembling of her body gradually subsided, and the convulsions completely disappeared.

Soon after, a notification appeared.

[Blood Contract: Success]

[All status effect effects are removed.]

[All vitality is restored.]

It was the moment of breaking through the 10% probability.

Ji-hye’s condition improved rapidly.

Minor wounds had long since disappeared, and even the penetrating wound in her abdomen began to heal.

“Ah, aah…!”

A miracle unfolding before his eyes.

Only then could Han-seong feel relief.

After all the wounds on Ji-hye’s body had cleanly disappeared, the tension throughout his body was released.

‘…My head.’

It’s dizzy. The world is spinning.

It was a phenomenon caused by the pain and fatigue he had desperately suppressed until now rushing in. Han-seong staggered and soon lost consciousness, collapsing beside Ji-hye.

The two who had collapsed like that.

A moment later, a notification message appeared in the empty air.

[A blessing is bestowed upon the contractor.]

[Target: Lee Ji-hye (Alchemist)]

[Blessing: Vampirism]

Immediately after the message appeared.

Her chest swelled greatly.

Thump! Thump thump!

Her heart soon began to beat violently. The sound of its pounding could be heard even from outside. Then a new message appeared in the air.

[Vampirization begins.]

[Time remaining until completion]: 19 minutes 59 seconds

With that brief message.

Ji-hye’s eyes flew open.

“Ugh! Argh…”

Eyes bloodshot. Body convulsing.

Ji-hye let out a painful groan, and her pupils gradually turned red. An even brighter red than the fruit she had just eaten.

Meanwhile, at that time.

Ha-eun’s group hid on the top floor of the shopping mall, looking at the scenery across the Han River.

“…Is it over now?”

“It seems so.”

The Vampiric Tree leaning towards Kangil Girls’ High School.

The monsters that looked like walking flowers that had flown across the Han River like dandelion seeds.

Their numbers alone reached several hundred, so Ha-eun’s group held their breath and hid. Hoping the monsters wouldn’t search the shopping mall.

And now, the situation had ended.

“Phew, thank goodness for the Mage.”

“I agree. If it had just been us, how could we have fought against such monsters…”

Dozens of minutes after the anomaly occurred.

Red lightning struck from the clear sky several times, and then all the monsters turned to dust.

The leaning Vampiric Tree still remained in place, but the anomaly seemed to have completely disappeared. The Mage must have surely won.

Unlike Min-cheol and Eun-ji, whose expressions brightened as they sighed in relief, Ha-eun stared out the window with a seriously hardened face.

She was focusing on the officetel across from the shopping mall. The building where the Mage resided.

“How on earth did they know?”

“Hmm? Know what?”

“The Mage’s location. Doesn’t it seem like they knew exactly where it was when they attacked?”

“Oh, now that you mention it…”

Eun-ji wore a puzzled expression.

That’s when Min-cheol offered his opinion.

“It’s probably a similar situation to when we faced the Collector. Back then, the Collector also seemed to pinpoint the Mage’s location and charge towards it, right?”

“But even then, it at least looked around after coming to the surface as if searching for the exact location. But earlier…”

The monsters had rushed straight towards the building where the Mage was as soon as they landed on the ground. Recalling that moment, Ha-eun narrowed her eyes.

‘As if they already knew…’

Some time later.

When she heard the sound of glass shattering, she felt her heart sink.

But fortunately, as if to prove the Mage was safe, he rained down lightning and emerged victorious.

That’s when Min-cheol shrugged.

“Well, whatever the process, it’s fine as long as the result is good. The Mage safely won the battle and all the monsters have disappeared.”

“That’s right. I’m glad everyone is safe.”

Eun-ji also smiled brightly.

Hearing the word ‘everyone’, Ha-eun suddenly looked around.

“By the way…”

“Hmm?”

“Where is Tae-min sunbae?”

Tae-min hadn’t been seen since returning to the shopping mall in the evening. The people from the underground mall had also disappeared without a trace.

Min-cheol answered her question.

“That guy left at dawn saying he had something to do. Haven’t seen him since.”

“We were thinking of going to look for him when suddenly all this happened and we got stuck here.”

Eun-ji added her response.

The question about Tae-min’s whereabouts was resolved, but Ha-eun couldn’t shake off an uneasy feeling.

The uncomfortable truth she had heard from Ji-hye earlier kept circling in her mind.

「You should be careful too.」

Tae-min, who left at dawn and hasn’t returned.

The survivors from the underground mall who have vanished without a trace.

Of course, if a little more time passes and day breaks, they will surely return to the shopping mall. After all, all the food they’ve gathered is piled up here.

‘…But.’

The ominous feeling wouldn’t go away.

Ha-eun looked at the devastated streets, waiting for daybreak to come quickly. If they don’t return even when the sun is high in the sky…

‘Then I’ll have no choice but to go look for them.’

Resolving to follow Tae-min’s trail.

Ha-eun’s eyes shone brightly.

How long had he been unconscious?

As if a light bulb suddenly turned on in the pitch-black darkness, Han-seong abruptly became aware that he had regained consciousness.

“Ugh…”

His whole body feels as heavy as a wet cotton ball.

He barely managed to lift his eyelids, which felt just as heavy. What he saw then was a ceiling on the verge of collapse and black hair.

And Han-seong realized.

Someone was giving him a lap pillow.

“Ah, Mage-nim.”

A familiar voice was heard then.

Since it came from right above his head, it seemed to be the person giving the lap pillow.

Han-seong narrowed his eyes and tried to see the person’s face, and soon realized who it was and opened his eyes wide.

“Are you feeling a bit better?”

“…Ji-hye-ssi?”

“I was so surprised to find you collapsed next to me. Are you feeling uncomfortable anywhere?”

That’s what I should be asking you.

After all, Ji-hye’s condition had been far more serious than his own. So Han-seong was about to return the exact same question to ask about her condition.

But at that moment.

He felt an inexplicable sense of discomfort. Soon after, he realized why he felt that way.

‘Her eyes…’

Ji-hye’s eyes had turned bright red.

Her pupils were a bit strange too. They were vertically split, like a snake’s or lizard’s. And her skin looked unnaturally pale as well.

As he stared blankly at this, suddenly the situation before he lost consciousness flashed through his mind.

‘That’s right, thanks to the success of the Blood Contract…’

All her wounds had healed.

But what was this Blood Contract?

A question he hadn’t had the leisure to consider earlier suddenly popped up. That’s when Ji-hye, who had been silent, spoke up.

“Mage-nim.”

“Yes…?”

“Would you like to hold my hand?”

Ji-hye stretched out her left hand.

Since you can see each other’s status when holding left hands. Recalling the function he had learned about in the isolation dimension, Han-seong carefully grasped Ji-hye’s hand.

Soon Ji-hye’s status appeared.

[Name]: Lee Ji-hye

[Race]:【Vampire: 1st Generation】

He found two differences from before.

The fact that mana had been added, just like for Han-seong himself. And above all, the biggest change was that a race category had been added.

“V-vampire?”

No, suddenly? Why?

Han-seong was startled. At this reaction, Ji-hye let out a light laugh.

“I see you have the same reaction as me.”

“Ji-hye-ssi. This is…”

“Hahaha, I was surprised too. Who would have thought this would happen just from eating something that looked like a fruit.”

Han-seong was surprised again.

At the time he fed Ji-hye the fruit, she had clearly been unconscious. So how did she know about this?

Han-seong looked at Ji-hye with eyes full of questions. She then smiled awkwardly as if she had read his mind.

“I was actually conscious. I just couldn’t move my body.”

“How is that possible…”

“Well, I think it’s probably because I was infected by the Parasitic Sporeworm. At the time, there was a notification that only I could see that said something like this.”

She revealed that right after being infected by the Parasitic Sporeworm.

Along with a notification that her body was gradually becoming paralyzed, a message appeared stating that her consciousness would be maintained until the infection rate reached its maximum.

“But I could still feel the pain, so it was really terrible. I still can’t forget that vivid sensation of the Parasitic Sporeworm eating away at my internal organs.”

Ji-hye shuddered.

But that was only for a moment, and she soon smiled brightly as if nothing had happened and said:

“Thanks to that, I saw everything. I saw you struggling against the root monster, and how desperately you tried to save me.”

“Ji-hye-ssi…”

“I don’t resent you, Mage-nim. Just like when I tried to save you, feeding me that fruit must have been the best you could do at the time.”

Ji-hye nodded.

As if understanding his actions. Then she suddenly stretched out both arms and hugged Han-seong’s face.

“So don’t make that expression.”

What kind of expression am I making right now?

Probably an apologetic face.

Because even though it was the best he could do, he felt guilty for turning her into a non-human being.

Meanwhile, Ji-hye spoke in a cheerful voice.

“Besides, even though I’m a vampire? I don’t really feel any different from when I was human. It’s not like I look like a monster like a zombie or anything.”

The only differences that existed were three things.

Unlike before, her skin felt cold, her eye color had changed, and her canine teeth had grown particularly sharp.

She added that these were the only physical changes, and there didn’t seem to be any mental changes.

“If anything, I feel overflowing with strength, which is nice. Somehow I feel like I could easily take down a few zombies now!”

Ji-hye clenched her fist.

Seeing her spirited appearance, Han-seong finally let out a faint smile.

“I’m glad there’s no problem.”

“Ah, well, that’s not entirely true.”

“Huh? You mean…”

Is there some serious problem?

Han-seong was about to ask with a surprised face what kind of problem there was. But just then, a loud noise came from Ji-hye’s stomach.

Grumble! Growl!

A series of sounds.

Ji-hye smiled awkwardly.

“Actually, I’ve been hungry for a while now.”

“Ah, that kind of problem…”

“And, well, this is a bit embarrassing to say, but for some reason, Mage-nim has been looking kind of…”

“Kind of?”

“Delicious. Hehe.”

What did I just hear?

Han-seong tilted his head.

“So, um, about that.”

Meanwhile, Ji-hye brushed her hair behind her ear and leaned in a little closer. Then she whispered with moist eyes:

“Can I just take one little sip?”

“…Pardon?