Chapter 50

Why the fuck is a vampire, an Elder no less, just lying around here when it’s not even supposed to show up until way later?

Do-Jin cursed inwardly.

Vampires weren’t supposed to set foot in the Central Continent for a long time. Not until their numbers swelled, their power grew, and they turned into a serious enough threat to warrant a Holy War. All of that was way down the line. Even during the crusade, Elder vampires never crossed into the Central Continent. They stayed put in the Shadow Principality, slaughtering any humans dumb enough to set foot in their domain.

“And yet, an

Elder

is right here. It sure as hell looks like someone kidnapped her.”

The more Do-Jin thought about it, the less it made sense. However, it was clear to him that this was a really bad situation to be in. This wasn’t about some random coffin being dumped in a crime-ridden slum. If this thing opened and the Elder Vampire inside woke up hostile, it wasn’t just Do-Jin who was screwed. This entire city could be wiped off the map in an instant.

It’s a quest, so maybe I won’t get insta-killed... but this game has fucked me over enough times before. This is looking a lot like the so-called disaster that would turn Marzia into the City of the Dead...

That thought alone had his fingers twitching. Should he attack first? If there was even the slightest chance that this thing would wake up swinging, he needed to put it down now, but he couldn’t do it just yet. Jumping the gun would mean giving up on the one thing keeping him from getting one-shot, the hope that the quest wouldn’t let him get bodied before he even had a chance to react.

Just then, her eyelids fluttered. Her lips parted slightly as she inhaled. Do-Jin could feel his heartbeat speeding up. If she wanted, she could kill him where he stood. If she wanted, she could turn this entire city into a bloodbath.

Please don’t let this be another one of those bullshit moments where the game just decides I’m dead.

The Elder’s eyes opened fully. And the very first thing she did was to make eye contact with Do-Jin.

“Ah, um... hello? Oh?

Ah

!” She had been bowing her head when she suddenly lost her balance, tripping forward like a complete klutz.

Do-Jin tilted his head back and stared blankly at the ceiling.

What the actual fuck.

That was the only thought running through his head as a quest choice was triggered.

[

Cursed Coffin

]

The vampire girl found inside the coffin appears to be severely weakened for some unknown reason.

⏵ Don’t be fooled by that pretty face! Vampires are the enemies of humanity. If she regains her strength, she could be a massive threat. Kill her now while she’s still weak.

⏵ She doesn’t seem dangerous. There’s no way she ended up locked in here for no reason. Hear her out first.

Note: Choosing the first option will end this quest.

Do-Jin had completed enough quests in his past life to understand exactly what these two choices meant. If he picked the first option, the quest would end immediately, just like the system message said. It was a safe bet with no extra risk. It was just like taking the decent reward and walking away.

The second option meant bigger rewards, sure, but also a bottomless pit of potential headaches. There was no telling how deep the quest line would go or how badly things could spiral out of control. Chasing after a bigger payout or indulging curiosity could end in bloodshed. Even so, Do-Jin made his choice without hesitation.

In this world, nothing changes unless you take risks.

Playing it safe might’ve meant slow and steady growth, but it sure as hell wouldn’t make him the best. If he wanted to get ahead, he had to be willing to step into the fire and come out the other side stronger. More than anything else, it didn’t matter how powerful he became. It wouldn’t mean anything if he couldn’t change the future. The path this world was on led straight to destruction. If he didn’t intervene when he had the chance, all his efforts would be wasted.

If I see an opportunity to change things, I need to take it. No half-measures.

With that decision made, he stepped closer to the vampire girl who was sprawled on the floor like a limp sea slug.

“Um... excuse me? Are you the one who did this to me? I was told someone would be able to break my curse, but... I don’t think it was you. Did they have other business to attend to?” the vampire girl asked him.

Her voice was polite and absurdly so, given the situation. She couldn’t even lift her head and was instead rubbing her cheek against the floor as she spoke.

Do-Jin was thrown for a loop. His knowledge of vampires boiled down to two types: the rabid freaks that lost their minds over blood and the Elders who didn’t need to drink but still butchered humans without a word. This girl fit neither category.

“I’m not the one who did this to you. I found a chained-up coffin, opened it and you were inside. That’s all,” Do-Jin replied.

“I see. Would you mind helping me up? If it’s not too much trouble...”

“Answer my questions first. Then I’ll think about it.”

“Oh! You must have noticed my heartbeat slowing down.” She made a tiny effort to nod, her movements barely a twitch. “That must mean you realized I’m a vampire and now you’re nervous. Oh, dear... I was careless. I completely forgot that Central Continent residents see us as bloodthirsty monsters.”

With some effort, she finally managed to turn her head, just enough to look up at him with a harmless and almost sheepish expression.

“But there’s no need to worry! Unlike vampires who suffer from their curse, I’m an Elder, so I’m not affected by it. That means I have no reason to drink your blood!”

Her wide, innocent eyes practically screamed,

Do you have more questions? Go ahead! I’ll answer anything!

She wasn’t saying this because she needed his help. She was just genuinely nice, and Do-Jin didn’t know what to do with that information. It was confusing for sure, but at least getting intel out of her would be easy.

“Vampi—err, people from the Shadow Principality don’t leave their land, right? Your kingdom is in perpetual darkness, so you don’t need to avoid the sun. But an Elder like you is lying here, chained up in some underground dungeon. Why is that?”

“Ah, so that’s what you’re curious about?” She smiled like he’d just asked how her day had been. “You’re absolutely right. For 1,500 years, our principality has honored the non-aggression pact we signed with the Empire and the Celestial See. My father worked very hard to uphold that promise...”

Her voice trailed off and her expression shifted into something more somber.

“Maybe it’s because they’ve been holding back for too long, but my people are finally losing themselves to the curse of bloodlust. Unlike Elders, who can survive on darkness alone, the rest of the vampires have reached their limit. That’s why I came to the Central Continent, to find a way to break the curse. And I was lucky enough to meet someone who offered to help.”

The way she said it, all wide-eyed and reverent, reminded Do-Jin of those naive college girls who get sucked into cults.

“What exactly did this person tell you?”

“They listened to my troubles, shared in my sorrow, and promised to help me find a solution. All I had to do was cooperate with their experiments. If I helped, they said they could make it so the rest of my people would no longer need human blood to survive, just like Elder Vampires. With just darkness, they—”

“You dumbass,” Do-Jin interrupted.

This was beyond frustrating for him, and it wasn’t even worth listening to anymore. This moronic Elder had left her homeland, desperate to save her people, only to walk straight into the arms of a scammer. Now, she was lying in a goddamn coffin, chained up like cargo.

Pressing his fingers into his temples, Do-Jin tried to push back the headache pounding in his skull. Meanwhile, behind him, the captured women were still quietly sobbing, completely lost as to what was happening.

“Excuse me, humans of the Central Continent! If you’re crying because you’re scared of me, please don’t worry! I may be a vampire, but I don’t need to drink human blood! In fact, just looking at blood makes me lightheaded! So there’s no need to beg for your lives!”

This poor, clueless vampire was trying to comfort them, thinking their cries were because of her.

Jesus. Okay, just roll with it... This isn’t the weirdest shit I’ve dealt with.

At the end of the day, he’d made his choice, and now he had to deal with it. Thankfully, he had expected something like this and planned accordingly.

“Hey,” Do-Jin interrupted the vampire.

For now, he needed some usable manpower. That sure as hell wasn’t going to be the brain-dead Elder. Even the imprisoned women would be far more useful. Getting them on board, however, wasn’t going to be easy. Just making eye contact had them flinching like they were about to be slaughtered. Although it was pitiful, he didn’t have time to be gentle.

Better to scare them into surviving than coddle them into dying.

With that in mind, he focused on the one who seemed the most composed.

“Make them stop crying.”

“Wh-what?”

“I said shut them up.”

The sudden shift in his tone snapped them into silence. Like prey caught in a predator’s gaze, they froze on the spot.

“If you want to live, listen carefully. I infiltrated this place to take down the slavers. And I plan on getting you all out of here.”

For a moment, they just blinked at him, trying to process what they had just heard. “Are... are you serious?”

Her voice was laced with suspicion, but there was no hiding the flicker of hope creeping in. Still, hope alone wouldn’t do them any good. If he gave them a few more seconds, they would probably start sobbing again, only this time, it’d be desperate cries of “Please save us!” instead of fear-driven wails.

Do-Jin cut them off before it could get to that point. “Listen up. I don’t have the luxury of dragging dead weight along. If you want to make it out of here alive, you follow three rules. One, no crying or whining that’ll piss me off. Two, do exactly what I say, no hesitation. Three, don’t ask questions. Do you ladies understand?”

The distrust in their eyes wavered, replaced by something stronger. It was their sheer, unfiltered survival instinct. They bit their lips, swallowing their sobs, and eventually nodded. Then, Do-Jin gestured toward the vampire still collapsed on the ground.

“Good. Now, get her on her feet and be ready to move at a moment’s notice. Things are gonna get loud out there, but don’t panic. When I give the signal, you run. Follow my lead, got it?”

“Y-yes.”

As expected, the first to respond was the same woman who had shown the most courage from the start.

Do-Jin pointed at her. “You’re in charge now. Once we get out, you gather the others from the other cells and make sure they keep up. They’ll listen to you better than they will me.”

She nodded again, but Do-Jin had already turned away.

“This should be far enough.”

Stepping out into the corridor, he walked toward the farthest end of the prison block, leaning casually against the wall. With a flick of his wrist, he used Psychokinesis to shift the five massive oak barrels the idiots had so kindly delivered.

With the setup in place, he called out loud enough for his voice to carry through the cramped corridors. “Vickie! You and the rest of you fuckers, get over here!” His voice echoed, bouncing off the stone walls and carrying deep into the dark passageways beyond.

A moment later, Vickie’s sharp voice rang out from the pitch-black corridor, drawn-out and grating with clear mockery. And right on cue, the men’s crude laughter followed, overlapping with hers like a chorus of scumbags.

“What’s the rush? Are you already done? Or did you get too excited and kill ’em all? Just so you know, there are no refunds!”

“Don’t worry about refunds! But you might want to come take a look at this! It’d be a damn shame if I was the only one enjoying it! Hell, if you want, you can even join in! Vickie, you don’t even have to participate. I’ll pay you just to sit back and watch, so get your ass over here!”

“You’re one twisted son of a bitch, you know that? But hey, I’m not complaining if you’re throwing more coins my way! Sit tight, I’ll be right there. Some of these dumbasses are already hard just from the thought of it!”

Hearing their response, Do-Jin loaded a spell into his Magic Circuits and focused on the sounds around him. When he heard the steady, deliberate thuds that were accompanied by one so light it barely made a sound, he knew exactly where the bastards and Vickie were. It wasn’t long before their figures slipped out of the pitch-black corridor, stepping into the flickering torchlight like rats creeping out of the dark.