Vampire Species

The main quest was cut off. Or, to be precise, I was still in the middle of the main quest.

However, no more quest guidance markers appeared.

[Ether Growth]

Achieve Ether Grade 6 for equipment 0/3

Achieve Ether Value of 1,000 for character 570/1,000

It was like seeing Deron in its early days.

They throw out only one goal and let the users do whatever they want freely. It meant that whatever form it took, they would eventually reach this situation, that they *would* reach it.

There’s no quest guidance. No information. It’s truly time to explore this world again.

Only then did I recall the word “romance,” which I had forgotten.

I had always been running, as if being chased by something.

This expansion pack was telling users like me.

To look back for a moment. And to enjoy it leisurely.

I frowned. The game company’s intention is good. But how many users will be happy with this?

What will happen to the users who have been accustomed to the method of blindly following only the quest guidance markers?

I was deeply worried.

“Yeon-ah.”

“Yeah.”

“The quest guidance marker isn’t showing up.”

“Same here.”

Helena had reached the same situation because she was keeping pace with me.

I sat on a large rock with her and stared blankly at the sky.

Increasing the ether value was not that difficult.

If you just hunted monsters aimlessly, it would rise at some point.

It was like gaining experience.

The biggest problem was raising the ether grade of the equipment.

There is a limit to transcending items with [Faint Transcendence Stone]. To move on to stage 6, an item called [Shining Transcendence Stone], which is higher than this, was needed.

But. You have to know where it comes from to go get it, right?

I was dissatisfied with this situation.

“What should we do? Should we wait for the information to be released?”

“No, then it’ll be too late. We have to move on our own.”

“Just the two of us?”

“Yeah, but it doesn’t have to be just the two of us. Either way, we have to proceed with the game.”

“Uuung…”

I jumped up from my seat. Nothing will change by just sitting here. First, I had to move and explore this world more.

“Alright, let’s go.”

The tempo of the game has slowed down too much. This is because the mounts were intentionally sealed, forcing them to explore this vast world directly.

Piyak-i, Eureurang, and Pony flashed before my eyes.

“Are we going hunting again?”

“Yeah.”

While answering Helena’s words, I constantly check the guild chat. As the servers were integrated, big and small disputes were occurring one after another. Iyap was quickly moving to resolve most of the problems, but if a big problem arose, I would have to move as well.

A prime example was the Exorcist Guild incident.

“Yeon-ah. Where are you going?”

“To a place where people are scarce, where strong monsters appear.”

“Won’t it be dangerous?”

“It’s never dangerous. I’ll protect you, so don’t worry.”

Having experience raising a mage, I knew well what she was worried about.

But don’t worry, it’s me, of all people. As long as you’re in a party with me, there’s absolutely no way that a precious friend will die to a monster.

Was I trustworthy enough?

I looked up at Helena and smiled slightly.

A slight blush crept onto Helena’s face.

If you pass the Horned Rabbit, Goblin, and Dire Wolf hunting grounds, there was an area you would arrive at.

It was the front line where the battle with the Red Orc Empire continued.

“Oh…?”

Since the Red Orc Empire had entered as a friendly NPC, I thought that the front line in front of it had also disappeared.

But it wasn’t. The garrison where the Knights were stationed, the barricades built in front of it, and the soldiers training were all still there.

If it’s not a fight with the Red Orc Empire, are they fighting with another race?

I ran forward with sparkling eyes.

Along the long ridge, the appearance of a miserable battlefield comes into view. Immediately after, my gaze naturally shifted.

“Heok…”

It was more shocking than when I first encountered the Red Orcs.

It was the Elves who were waging war with the Humans.

Why, why, what happened?

The Elves, who were replacing the Red Orcs in the place where they should have been, had red names above their heads.

It’s a sign of a hostile NPC, or a monster.

Whatever the reason, now that they’ve been judged as monsters, I was going to swing my sword at them.

“Let’s go, Helena!”

“Ah, wait a minute!”

Ignoring the shout coming from behind, I draw my sword and charge.

I wasn’t the only one hunting in this place. Other parties were also setting up camp far away and beating up the Elven monsters.

The Elven monsters are basically classified as humanoid.

Which naturally means their defense is low.

I ran with all my might and swung my sword.

“Ugh-!”

The silently swung sword pierces the skin.

Keuk-

The slender arms and legs stagger helplessly. Sticking a sword into the belly of a pretty Elf *unni* made me feel strange.

“You, you vile humans!”

The Elven monster who was attacked by me fell helplessly with a very angry expression.

Endless curses against the human race poured out of its mouth.

Fortunately, those words had no impact on me.

That’s because I’m not a human, but a proud demon, right?

I was different from those vile humans from birth.

“Are you okay? Are you hurt anywhere?”

Helena, who had belatedly run over, looked at my condition and asked worriedly.

I smiled brightly with my demon sword slung over my shoulder.

There’s no way I’d get hurt in a place like this.

“Something’s a little strange.”

“What is?”

“These Elves. They don’t seem like the Elves we know?”

I tilted my head at Helena’s words and looked at the Elf who had already become a corpse.

“Oh-“

I didn’t know until they ran at me from afar.

As Helena said, these Elves were a little different from the existing Elves.

First of all, their skin was a slightly grayish white, their teeth were sharp, and their eyes were red.

“Vampire?”

I mumbled blankly. The characteristics of the Elven monster that died to me somehow reminded me of vampires.

“Are you going to keep hunting here?”

“Euum…”

I looked around at Helena’s words. The monster’s respawn rate wasn’t bad, but the placement was too far apart.

Rather than a hunting method specialized in party compositions for mob hunting, it seemed like a suitable place for hunting with a small number of people like Helena and me.

I’ve decided. I should hunt here and farm some transcendence stones.

I already felt sorry for receiving so much from Helena.

“I guess so. This place seems good.”

I picked up the junk items dropped by the Elves and looked for the supply officer NPC nearby.

In the original Deron, there was a repeatable quest that collected items from hunting monsters here and exchanged them for equipment.

It was no different in this version of Deron.

“Hmm… are you adventurers?”

“Yes.”

“That’s good timing. Can you help us? We’ll give you a reward that you won’t be disappointed with.”

※This is a repeatable quest.

[Defeat Vampire Elves]

Defeat Vampire Elves and collect their teeth 0/60

As expected, a repeatable quest was given.

What you could receive as a reward for this quest was not an equipment box, but a Faint Transcendence Stone box.

[Faint Transcendence Stone Box]

Contains Faint Transcendence Stones at random.

1~2 Faint Transcendence Stones can be obtained.

“Did Helena get the quest too?”

“Yeah, but… this…”

“Perfect timing. Let’s farm some transcendence stones here and get out. I’ll give all the stones I earn to Helena.”

“I, it’s okay…”

“No. Rather, Helena should take all the teeth that drop here. That’s how it should be. You’ve given me so much, right?”

“No. It’s okay if you don’t give it to me now. So…”

I ignored Helena’s words and drew my sword.

By the way, Vampire Elves, does that mean a new race has appeared?

I glared at the Vampire Elf that had just respawned and charged forward.

“Hayyaaa!”

The story didn’t matter. The most important thing was to upgrade my stats. And to repay the transcendence stones I borrowed from Helena.

“Kyaaak! You cowardly humans!”

The Vampire Elf reacted to my attack sound, shone its red eyes, and swung its weapon.

While ordinary Elves use bows, this guy was holding a sword.

Kaang!

The attack was blocked. Because it was a charge with a shout, not a surprise attack, this Elf reacted and attempted a counterattack.

Unexpected. And I realized. The reason why there were no people here.

Hwiik-!

Evading the quickly swung attack, I moved as if rotating my sword.

Without a level system that allows you to know the enemy’s strength at a glance, I was experiencing the strength of the Vampire Elf firsthand.

Strong and fast. It wasn’t a elite monster, but it felt like fighting an elite monster of the same level.

It’s no wonder there are no people hunting here. Users who have not strengthened their equipment using transcendence stones will not be able to solo play here.

At that moment, I felt a hot flame behind me.

I know without looking. Helena’s assist.

As soon as I bent down, a hot flame flew over me.

Kwang!

There’s a saying that if you want to experience the most powerful dealer in Deron, you should become a mage.

That means it’s a very powerful class.

“Kuaaaak!”

It’s already a humanoid monster with weak health and defense. And whether it has a weakness to fire attribute attacks, its health was instantly blown away.

It’s a chance that Helena created. I didn’t miss that gap.

Taking a big step, I put strength into the hand holding the sword and move forward.

The moment the tip of the sword trembled slightly, the trajectory of the sword was drawing two paths at once.

The eyes of the guy engulfed in hot flames scan my sword. It was a look of confusion as to where to block.

Even though it’s equipped with elaborately designed AI, the only part it can defend is one place.

The sword aiming for the upper neck and the lower leg begins to move like a snake.

In the end, the Vampire Elf chose to defend the upper part.

It’s a natural result. Because if its neck is cut off, it will die immediately.

But even so, the fact that it dies did not change.

Swiik-!

The transparent wind wrapped around the demon sword scattered and shot out quickly.

Kwajik!

“Keuak!”

As the tip of the sword pierced its leg, the Vampire Elf screamed in pain.

The attack doesn’t end there. Twist the sword in your hand, and lift the direction of the force applied to the sword in reverse.

Kwaddeudeuk!

The overwhelming strength stat increased by equipment transcendence made movements that would have been impossible possible.

“Kkeureureuk…”

The upward slash that started from the leg bisected the Vampire Elf’s body.

It was a truly satisfactory result.