Child of Destiny

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After Arthur, Leonard, and the other members of the group finished the Barbarian Giant Dion, Alucard finally had time to reply to Shin and the others.

Shin and the others were currently clearing the monsters in the area of the ruined village while looking for clues on how they were going to progress on their quest. And while they were doing that, he suddenly got a message from Alucard.

"Huh!?"

Seeing the sudden message that he received, Shin quickly finished off the monster in front of him before telling the others that it was time for them to take a quick rest.

After he quickly looked for a quiet spot before opening the message.

Alucard: Sorry for the late message, the battle here is quite intense.

Sickarius: It is fine. We are not that in a hurry anyway.

Alucard: Then why are you guys asking for Vampires? Did you encounter one? Dealing with them is quite troublesome due to their powerful capabilities.

Shin pursed his lips for a moment before quickly giving his reply. "We haven't yet, but we are suspecting that we may encounter one later."

Alucard: Alright, it is best if I am there since I pretty much know most of their weaknesses. But given our current circumstances, I am afraid that I will not be able to get there in time.

Shin nodded his head as if Alucard could see him before replying. "It is fine. Just tell me a thing or two that we need to take note of."

At this point, the others finally finished their business with monsters that they were fighting respectively and headed over to Shin.

"Is that Alucard?" asked Cloe right after she arrived beside Shin.

Shin nodded his head slightly and replied without turning his head at her. "Yeah, it seems like they already cleared the open dungeon on their side."

"Tell him to discuss it in the party chat channel, quick!" said Cloe before wearing a mischievous look on her face before teasing Shin. "Why are you two exchanging private messages with each other? It is as if you two are secret lovers or something."

Seeing her giggling, Shin could easily tell that she was trying to tease him. He then smirked and quickly replied to her. "Yeah, I think it seems like it."

"Eh!?"

Cloe suddenly paused and turned quiet as she felt that her brain short-circuited all of a sudden due to what she just heard. Then her eyes suddenly turned wide while looking and pointing at Shin, trembling. "Eh-...!!!!!????"

Shin chuckled after seeing her reaction before flicking his finger on her forehead. "If you want to tease me, then look for a better way to do it."

"Ah!"

Cloe was startled due to the sudden flicking of his finger. She then quickly covered her forehead with both of his hands before glaring at him. "Do you think it is funny, huh? Huh?! Is it FUNNY? I almost got a heart attack due to what you just said!"

Shin ignored her remarks and quickly asked Alucard to switch to party chat as they continued their discussion.

Sickarius: So how strong are their strengths exactly compared to most of the monsters within the game?

Alucard: Vampires are said to be as strong as Corrupted and Demonic Monsters. Well, they are actually demonic beings in a sense since their ancestor, the first vampire, is said to gain his powers through making a contract with a powerful demon.

Alucard: I am not entirely sure about the history behind it. In fact, it is one of my main quests to look for clues about this matter.

Alcuard: Oh! And they also have unique classifications just like most of the high-ranking monsters.

Seeing that that topic was getting interesting, Arthur couldn't help but join the conversation.

Siegfried: Interesting! Tell us more about it!

When Shin and Cloe saw him chiming in, the two of them quickly reprimanded.

Sickarius: Focus on your own job!

Arielle: Do sub-quest first!

"Tsk! These heartless love birds!" Arthur clicked his tongue when he saw that he couldn't join the conversation unless he was done with the situation on their side.

"Anyway, why is this corridor so long? We have been walking on here for quite some time already!" he said while looking ahead.

"Just continue moving, we will reach its end eventually," replied Leonard with an uninterested tone as he was also focused on the ongoing discussion on the party chat.

Alucard: Vampires are divided into Nobles, Retainers, and Infected.

Alucard: Infected is said to be the weakest. Just like the legend says, they become vampires after being bitten by another vampire. Their strength is only subpar at best and almost as strong as Chieftain Rank Monsters.

He paused for a moment before quickly adding.

Alucard: And only humanoid people can be turned into a vampire from what I know. And their strengths are obviously much stronger than how they used to be.

Alcuard: I already saw an Elf who turned into a Vampire Elf and a Beastman who also turned into one, they lose some of their main abilities but also gain a few new things at the same.

Seeing that, the others couldn't help but become curious as Shin voiced out their thoughts.

Sickarius: How strong are they?

Alucard didn't even hesitate to answer after seeing that question.

Alucard: They are both NPCs and their original strength is Special Elite. But right after turning into a vampire, they are immediately promoted to Royal Knights!

The others simultaneously raised their eyebrows when they heard those words.  – "That is a pretty huge leap!" –

After being silent for a moment, Shin told him to continue.

Sickarius: Go on.

Alucard: Next, is Retainers. These guys are quite special since they got their powers after the Nobles shared some of their blood with them.

Alucard: Or to be more precise, they become a vampire after drinking the blood of a vampire with a noble bloodline.

Alucard: As for their strengths-… it depends. But one thing is for sure. They are a lot stronger than Infected ones! And the leap of their original strength is obviously stronger.

Alucard: Moreover, the higher the rank of the Noble that gives them the powers, the stronger they are.

It was a pretty obvious statement, so the others just nodded their heads after seeing that message. Then the party chat channel turned quiet for a moment as no one talked. And as usual, Shin was the one who voiced out the thoughts that were running inside everyone's head.

Sickarius: So, are you also a Retainer if we go with that logic?

Alucard answered with slight hesitation.

Alucard: Most likely since I also turned into one after drinking a vial of a vampire's blood.

Alucard: Oh! By the way, it tastes like slime that turned into a sticky juice with an unexplainable flavor.

Seeing that last message, the others couldn't help but send a violent reaction to his remark.

Sickarius: That is unnecessary.

Cloe: You don't have to tell us that!

Ithilien: Sounds disgusting!

Owen: I totally agree!

Chaotic Luck: Why did my brain imagine that?

Akailu: You should have kept it to yourself.

Dualla: I don't think that I will be able to eat later.

Archimedes: …

Siegfried: You deserve some punishment for that.

Simba: Then I will be increasing the level of his training.

Seeing those 'lively' reactions in the chat, the perpetrator couldn't help but chuckle a little before continuing on the next topic.

Alucard: As for the Nobles-… they are quite unique since they have their own rankings. And it is based on the purity of their bloodlines.

Alucard: The first line of nobles got their powers directly from the very first vampire himself as he shared his blood with them. And from then on, their bloodline was passed down from generation to generation. Though, each one of them can live for a very long time.

Alucard: Their ranks are just like the royal monarchy and it started from a Baron as the weakest then followed by Viscount, Earl, Marquis, Duke, Prince or Princess, then King and Queen.

He then paused for another brief moment as he was trying to compare their strengths based on the current monster and NPC rankings available within the game. But it only took him a moment to shake his head and give up.

Alucard: Actually, I am not sure how strong they are to be exact since I have never met any of them yet. But if I am trying to make an estimate, then a Baron should be at least as strong as a Level-175 Overlord Monster Boss.

This time, Arthur couldn't help but ask.

Siegfried: Have you seen the battle footage that is posted in the official forums? The one with a first discovered vampire.

Alcuard nodded his head as he replied.

Alcuard: Of course, I already saw that. But I am pretty sure that it is only a Retainer Vampire. Though, it is a retainer of a Noble Vampire with a very high ranking.

Seeing that message, the corner of Shin's mouth and the other godlike players within their group suddenly twitched while the other members had a weird look on their faces.

– "That one is as strong as an Emperor Rank Monster Boss!" –

– "Isn't that one as strong as the General Rank NPC that we fought earlier?" –

Feeling the gravity of their current situation, Shin couldn't help but tell the others to take a break. "I think we should log out for a moment to take proper rest. We need to be in our peak condition to battle something like that if we are going to fight a monster on that level."

He then took a brief pause before saying to Arthur and the other members of their group. "You guys finish the subquest on your side and regroup with us later when we get back online."

He took a brief pause and looked at the people on his side before asking. "We should at least meet up at night since we have our own matters to attend to in the morning, I guess. So, how does 6 to 7 pm sound?"

Seeing them nod their heads, he also asked the others on the other side about their opinion. And when he saw some positive reactions, he immediately finalized their schedule.

Sickarius: Then we are going to meet later at night between 6 to 7 pm. See you later!

With all of that, Shin and the members on his side immediately looked for a safe spot before logging out.

On the other hand, Arthur and the others quickly hasten their speed to reach the end of the corridor, so that they could finally clear their own quest and also log out of them.

....