Miles was stupefied by Zhan Shen’s reaction. He sputtered out, struggling to speak within that overwhelming pressure, “Old Zhan… W-What are you talking about? It’s me!”

The pressure decreased, slightly, but it remained, holding him in place.

The Elderly Butler frowned, seemingly confused. Slowly, he asked, “But... you can’t be! Your aura... it’s so vile, inhuman, lifeless. The child I brought up can’t be a monster like you! I never should’ve let you--him...”

‘Dammit! He can sense the change? And it’s that bad? But I don’t feel that different? Ahhh, f*ck. I’m going to have to come clean, aren’t I?’

Starting to feel the weight of guilt, Miles started to explain, “So… remember when I said I didn’t have any intention of becoming a Vampire? I… might have… kind of… lied.”

Just as he finished, the pressure increased several folds, so much he could no longer even speak.

Instantly, Zhan Shen dashed towards him. He was extremely fast, but the Miles now could somehow see through it. Not that it helped much as he couldn’t react.

‘Ahh shit! He doesn’t believe me?’

He could just barely see a flash as the old butler lifted his hand, preparing to strike a deadly blow.

The attack hit him right on the head, sending a throbbing pain all over his skull.

‘Ow! That hurts! Wait, that’s it?!’

In the next instant, the crushing pressure vanished.

Rubbing his stinging head, Miles turned towards the elderly butler in surprise.

Zhan Shen was smiling, and it was a relieved smile, as if a weight had been lifted off his old shoulders.

Still, the old butler replaced this smile with an angry frown, as he began to berate his unruly ward, “Never, ever, do sh*t like that again. Seriously what the hell were you thinking, Master Miles? Going off blind and becoming a Vampire?! What if you can never walk in the sun again?”

Miles waved his hand at that, “Don’t worry. I can turn back if I want. The System said so.”

Zhan Shen nodded, slightly skeptical, but no longer as angry.

However, Miles was confused. He was glad that old Zhan seemed to believe him, but if the roles were reversed, he didn’t think he could believe so easily.

So he asked, “Old Zhan, how do you know it’s me? If my aura has really changed that much, how could you trust me so easily?”

Zhan Shen laughed.

“There’s really only a single reason. Instinct. The Miles I know is always calm, confident, and unforgiving. Exactly how a man, a Lykaon, has to be in the world today. But it is also only you, who would lose all of that confidence and feel so guilty after lying to this old man! Only you!”

‘Seriously?! That’s it?’

Miles scoffed, making a mental note to never feel guilty about lying to the old bastard again.

Zhan Shen simply smiled.

Miles was almost starting to feel annoyed, when he remembered that he had not checked his status after completing the quest. More than glad to turn his attention away from the annoying butler, he willed the system to appear.

With a familiar, Ding! the status screen opened up.

[User: Miles Lykaon]

[Current Form: Kindred.]

[Kindred Class: Newborn Lvl. 1 || (0/10) Varying Blood Sources Consumed.]

[Disciplines: |Haemomancy Lvl. 1|- Untrained]

[Kindred Generation: Too sparse to detect. Please evolve first.]

[HP: 10/10] | [Conditional Undeath] | [BP: 10/110]

{Blood Points(BP) in detail: (Personal) 10/10 + (Ripae Sanguine) BP: 0/100}

[Strength: 17]

[Endurance: 15]

[Agility: 18]

[Intelligence: 70 +5]

[Wisdom: 80]

[Influence: 1000 +5]

[Skills: Haemomancy- {Ripae Sanguine-Inferior}]

[Titles: Discredited Heir of Lykaon Industries (+1000 to Influence)

Newborn Kindred (+5 to all stats but Wisdom, Kindred Senses.)

Cursed {First: Minor Thirst, Second: The Beast Within, Third: Sol’s Hatred}

Conditionally Undead (Granted by the Ankh, the Key of Life. As long as the user is not burned alive or decapitated, any injury will heal, given time. It is still possible to become comatose due to total blood loss.)

Balanced Path of Life

Vessel of The Beast Within (Sealed)

Last Son of Lykaon (Inactive)]

There were several changes, but the first thing that captured Miles’s attention was the skill, the first he had ever gained, {Ripae Sanguine-Inferior}. This phrase was not in a language that was currently used in the world.

It was in Latin, the language of the Ancient Romans. In its prime, Latin had spread all over the region, throughout a country once known as Italy, and later even the entirety of the Western Hemisphere.

Unfortunately, Latin had been a dead and forgotten language even centuries before the beginning of the Fae-Human War, making Miles confident there were only a few people who even knew about it.

Coincidentally, he was one of them.

His father Etan Lykaon, an avid researcher of ancient history, had taught him many things. Of course, the greater focus had been on philosophy, culture, people, kings and emperors, the rise and fall of empires, the revolutions, rebellions, and how the world had become what it was today. But his father had always had a soft-spot for the Roman Empire and was greatly focused on their lessons. Consequently, Miles had also been taught Latin.

And he wasn’t half-bad either.

Having been reminded of the past, he couldn’t help but reach for the Yin-Yang talisman, still safely tucked under his shirt. With a fond smile, he observed the old wooden talisman, one of the few things that made him feel closer to his parents, regardless of wherever they may be.

But, out of the corner of his eye, Miles spotted the Lykaon ring glinting in the light.

Instantly, his smile vanished.

He didn’t have time to reminisce about the past. He had to look to the future, and forge ahead. He had to fulfill his duty, his responsibility, so that they would have nothing to worry about if… no, when they came back.

With a slow exhale of breath, Miles began to rack his brain for old and buried knowledge, finally concluding, ‘It means… Blood Bank? I suppose that makes sense if the skill comes from Haemomancy.’

However, the moment he thought this, the status changed, just slightly.

The phrase Ripae Sanguine-Inferior was still there, however, if he focused for a moment, it would be replaced by Blood Bank-Inferior.

‘Eh?! It changed simply because I figured out it’s meaning? This System really does change based on my thoughts, huh? But, why was this the only phrase in Latin? Why couldn’t everything have been in the same language? Why make it like this?’

Unfortunately, there were no answers.

Not willing to waste time, Miles moved onto the Cursed title. Once again it had added a new phrase, a ‘third’ curse. Sol.

More Latin. But at least, he could make some sense of this, compared to the other two curses.

If he remembered correctly, Sol referred to the Sun, or the God of the Sun. Perhaps, a god of the sun considering that Apollo existed as well, but…

This didn’t give Miles a good feeling. Not at all.

If he had gained the Hatred of the Sun, would that mean he wouldn’t be able to walk in sunlight again? As a Vampire, Kindred, would he forever be ostracized from the Day? Did Old Zhan have a point?

Well considering it was still the middle of the night, he wouldn’t be able to find out just yet.

Either way, Miles forgot all about this, by what he saw next. In fact, he was shocked beyond belief.

He had known that he would become a Vampire, a Kindred. He had known being weak in Sunlight was a distinct possibility. He could even accept the additional +5 to Intelligence and Influence. And he was only mildly surprised by Haemomancy and Ripae Sanguine.

But... the hell was that!?

At that same moment, Zhan Shen who had been observing him carefully, asked with a small frown on his face, “As happy as I am about you being you Master Miles, you still aren’t exactly who you used to be. Even if you can turn back, things have changed. Anything new?”

Miles almost shouted as he answered excitedly, “Anything new? ANYTHING NEW!? OLD ZHANG, I CAN’T DIE ANYMORE!”

Zhan Shen's frown deepened with disbelief, “Impossible. Death is an inherent part of life. Men know not what lies past death, beyond the fact that it is the inevitable end of us all. Even if you are a Vampire, I don’t believe you are unkillable.”

Miles scowled, “Don’t ruin my moment, Old Zhang. Sure, it looks like I can die under some conditions, but I’m pretty sure I can regenerate now. It’s called… Conditional Undeath.”

Zhan Shen raised an eyebrow as he smirked, “Shall we test it then? I can hit you with a killing blow and see what happens?”

Miles was sure he was joking, but just in case the battle junky was serious, he shook his hands in a hurry, “No way! I don’t want to experience the pain of death for no reason! But… let’s test it with something small first. Let me use your knife.”

With another flash of white, that he could just barely see through, his guardian passed over the knife.

In a single slash, Miles cut his palm, opening a small wound. It was slightly painful, but it was nothing he couldn’t handle.

Red blood started to seep out of the wound, seemingly as ordinary as any other wound.

But to Miles’s surprise, a small message appeared.

[External bleeding detected. 0.01 Blood Points(BP) lost (Negligible. Not considered.)]

‘Huh? I lost blood... but it was considered as part of a blood point? Does that mean Blood points refer to the amount of blood in my body? Then…’

He did some minor mental calculation.

‘If I lost about, let’s say, 5 ml of blood just now, that means a Blood Point is about 500ml? Funny enough, that’s roughly the volume of a pint. A pint is a point. Catchy.’

[Conditional Undeath activated. All wounds healed. HP: 10/10]

A second message appeared, making Miles realize that the pain in his wound had almost completely disappeared.

Intrigued, he wiped away the blood with his other hand. Lo and behold, there was no cut!

Zhan Shen, who had been watching from the side, couldn't help but smile in relief. It appeared that the young master wasn't under any Fae spell, ability, or even hallucinating. 

It wasn't that there was a mass of vile aura within Miles, or something even worse. It was simply and truly because he had become a 'Vampire'. While not entirely without flaws, this could only be considered as a fortuitous encounter of sorts.

It was still rather suspicious, but... no matter. He was here.

Hiding his smile behind an apparently impressed whistle, the old butler spoke out, “So it’s real! It’s real regeneration. And I didn’t notice any energy being used either. Which means the regeneration can occur infinitely. 

Master Miles, while you may not be unkillable, you are now extremely hard to kill to any ordinary Faehuman. I suppose, your choice to become a Vampire wasn’t a total waste.”

Miles grinned, pleased at having impressed his guardian. But he felt just this wasn’t enough.

His grin widened, “You think that’s all? I also got a couple other upgrades…”

***

A group of three men dressed in black, stood at the side of a deserted and unlit road blending into the shadows of the night. They would occasionally spare glances down a nearby alleyway.

The youngest of the three, lean, with straw-like hair, whispered nervously, “Dude, Luther are you sure about this? Everyone is staying inside right now due to the Fae invasion. What if some make it through the military defenses and attack us?”

Luther, a rough, muscular fellow with small scars over his face answered, apparently annoyed, “That’s exactly why we’re doing this now, Jimmy! There’ll be lesser chances of getting caught. Besides, we can handle a few orcs! We’re Fae Humans, aren’t we? You even started Military school. Shouldn’t you have a bit more spine?”

Unfortunately, Jimmy didn’t seem convinced, “But Luther, are you REALLY sure about this? That you want to commit a crime, rob from someone? And what will you even do if there’s someone here?”

Luther scowled as he answered again, “Yes! For the millionth time, I’m sure! I need the cash! It’s just some rich fellows safe house or something. They can afford the loss. And I’ve been casing this place for months. No one has been here during that entire time!”

Jimmy frowned and asked adamantly, “But what if there is!? What if there is someone right now? Like a caretaker or a guard or maybe the owners themselves, hiding from the orcs?”

Before Luther could reply, the third man interrupted the conversation in his place. This man had an extremely plain and ordinary face. If it was to be compared, one could only imagine a living mannequin or something similar. But his eyes glowed with a distinctive blue light, as he spoke mercilessly, “Kill! There will be no witnesses.”

He then turned to Luther with an impatient frown, “What’s taking so long, boy? Will this friend of yours be a problem? If you can’t pay up, if you don’t dare to do what needs to be done, I’ll have to take both your heads to pacify the boss.”

Shaking his hands in fear, Luther hurriedly refused, “No, no! Master Jonn, I will definitely repay my debt with the loot from this place! With a powerful Epsilon like you here to help, why would I not dare?”

Saying so, Luther spared a glance at the now extremely nervous-looking Jimmy. His eyes grew soft, “Buddy, you can stay outside and guard the entrance. You’ll be our lookout.”

Jimmy nodded, apparently relieved, but also worried.

Luther turned towards the alley, taking a deep breath.

Turning back one last time and showing off a smile to Master Jonn and his friend, he walked into the alleyway. The other two followed behind.

Three men, three would-be robbers, walked towards a definitely not empty safehouse.