Chapter 214

Even the Mana Essence Duke Tirund pulled out contained a ridiculous amount of information. Under normal circumstances, most of that information should have flowed straight back out and disappeared on its own.

In the process, only scraps would have remained like residue, barely enough to learn a single unique spell at best, and even that would have been counted as part of the reward. But Do-Jin had one massive variable working against all common sense: the Grimoire of Truth. That greedy, truth-obsessed book swallowed every piece of magic and information that came its way without hesitation.

It didn’t care whether the information belonged to a domain he could understand yet or not. The book compressed everything, block by block, and scribbled it all down like it was hoarding the universe.

[▨▨▧▧▨▨▧▧▨▨▧▧▨▨▧▧▨▨▧▧]

Because every bit of processing power had been funneled there, every letter and hologram in Do-Jin’s vision shattered completely. Fragmented characters and broken holograms scattered through the air, while golden mana particles sprayed wildly as the Grimoire of Truth activated on its own. The sight looked like the final hallucination of a junkie who had slammed every dangerous drug he could get his hands on and now stood right on the edge of death.

Even that alone was already too much for Do-Jin. On top of it all, Duke Tirund, knowing he didn’t have much time left, handed over his True Blood as well. The decision had been sudden, but he pushed it onto Do-Jin anyway. From Do-Jin’s perspective, being forced to accept it only made the situation even more brutal.

What the hell is going on?

Pressure surged through his paralyzed body, and the visual overload spiraled completely out of control. Suffocating discomfort closed in, but Do-Jin clung on desperately. His instincts screamed at him that the moment he lost consciousness, something would go horribly wrong, whether that meant side effects or permanent losses.

[▨▨▧ ▧▨▧▧ input▧▨.]

[Sys▨ ▨▨▨ ▨▨▨ ▨ proc▨ data▨▨ ▨▨...]

At last, the end seemed to be approaching. The shattered hologram windows slowly began to piece themselves back together, and although still limited, proper letters finally appeared in the messages. Do-Jin didn’t realize it, but the vampire lord’s True Blood was the reason.

Right after the injection, the True Blood had been the main culprit behind the spike in physical and mental strain that nearly crushed him. As it began to synchronize with Do-Jin, however, it flipped roles and started assisting with magical information processing instead.

Carneth Tirund’s magic was the product of his long existence and refinement as the vampire king. Because of that, the True Blood, which embodied the physical and mental essence of a vampire lord, naturally helped Do-Jin accept that magic.

[All information compression and storage processes have been completed.]

[Accessible information among the stored data is currently extremely limited.]

[Interpretation of accessible information will now begin.]

His vision still hadn’t returned, but the system messages appeared clearly whether his eyes were open or closed. As he sensed that he could move his body again, even if only a little, Do-Jin focused on getting his mind back under control. That calm lasted only until the next messages showed up.

[Vampire Lord Carneth Tirund has passed on his True Blood to you.]

[Trait Sealed True Blood has been created.]

What the hell was this now? If his paralysis had fully lifted, shock would have burst straight out of his mouth.

So that sudden spike earlier was because of this shit.

As Do-Jin roughly pieced everything together, his vision gradually returned. The golden mana particles that the Grimoire of Truth had sprayed everywhere slowly settled down. Beyond them, surrounded by clusters of golden light, he saw a daughter holding her father. Karin leaned her head against the duke’s chest in silence.

“I’m sorry.”

The father gently stroked his daughter’s hair. The sight was painful and beautiful at the same time.

Tears streamed clearly down her face as Karin spoke, “Please don’t say that. I know you loved me dearly.”

He wished he had given her more. He wished he had lived like a pathetic, doting fool who never held anything back. Even a thousand years of that wouldn’t have been enough, and he would still have regretted it.

Holding all of those feelings in his hands, the duke stroked his daughter’s hair once more. Clear droplets of tears fell to the floor. He could smile and cry again.

“I owe you an apology as well,” the Grand Duke addressed Do-Jin. “I’m sorry for placing such a heavy burden on you by giving you so much.”

Do-Jin, who had stayed silent to avoid interrupting their moment, shook his head with a strained expression. “I’ve already received more than I deserve.”

The duke cast his gaze far into the distance and looked out over his principality. After that, he turned his eyes to Karin, then to Do-Jin.

“Please take care of her.”

The intensity in his eyes matched the weight of his words. Do-Jin accepted that weight without flinching. He then nodded slowly, putting his sincerity into the motion.

“Don’t wor—”

Then, the sound got cut off. The silence that followed swallowed the world. The soft texture of the hair that had rested beneath his fingertips vanished as well.

Carneth realized that this was the end. His eyelids felt unbearably heavy. Each time he closed them and opened them again, the world blurred further. There was nothing left to worry about. He had someone he could trust.

Oh, no. I should let go of my daughter before I freeze up completely.

Carneth tried to lift his hand away from Karin’s head. Karin pressed down on her father’s hand that was about to slip away and held it in place.

From the soundless world, her voice forced its way through. “I want you to keep holding me. Will you do that, Father?”

“Yes. Of course.”

Drowsiness crashed over him.

I was a happy man. I like that I can fall asleep as a father and as a person, not as the king of monsters.

Listening to his daughter’s whisper, Carneth drifted into a sweet sleep for the first time in a very long while.

“I love you, Dad.”

Karin stayed in her father’s arms as he hardened into a statue. Do-Jin stood quietly by her side. Several hours later, Karin dissolved into a mist of blood and slipped free from her father’s embrace.

Karin turned and faced the horizon. “I want to see the sun.”

“Alright.”

Karin flew over the dark sea beneath the continent’s shadow. She passed beneath the massive landmass, then shot upward through the clouds. The moon and stars greeted Karin and Do-Jin as they emerged into the open sky. They crossed a snowfield drenched in moonlight and starlight, then stopped at a place where they had once stood. There, they waited for the sun.

While they waited, Karin suddenly spoke. “Thank you.”

What was she thanking him for? He should have done better. He should have tried something else. He should have done anything at all. Do-Jin stood there with nothing but those thoughts while Karin smiled at him with clear eyes.

“There was always going to be a farewell between my father and me. It would have been far worse than anything we could imagine. It would have been terrifying. This farewell came a little early, and that hurts, but even so, it was beautiful and full of love.”

Do-Jin’s chest twisted painfully. Did this kind vampire understand what she was doing to him? This only deepened his guilt. She probably didn’t know. She probably didn’t realize that the duke’s request and everything he had been handed had just grown even heavier.

“Before long, the other vampires will wake up too. We will make this place truly beautiful together.” Karin pointed at the pure white snowfield. “I can tell now. We no longer need to crave blood, and we no longer need to fear the sun. This is my father’s gift. It is his legacy.”

The night ended, and the moon withdrew. As if announcing the beginning of a new day, the sun rose. Sunlight caught on the snowfield and in Karin’s eyes, making them sparkle. The sight was painfully beautiful. Do-Jin took it in and burned it into his memory.

“You’ll come visit often to see if I’m doing well, right?”

“Of course.”

Karin delighted in the fact that sunlight no longer burned her. She smiled as brightly as she could, doing her best not to let even a fragment of grief show.

While Karin and Do-Jin stood there, the other vampires began to awaken from their suspended state, starting with the strongest among them. They had lived for a long time with their sense of self stripped away, so their minds hadn’t yet fully returned.

Even so, there was no rampage. Their instincts told them everything they needed to know. They would never again feel that horrific thirst for blood nor the bottomless fear of the sun.

Instead, the awakened vampires felt a crushing sense of loss. Vampires instinctively feel affection toward higher beings and obey them absolutely. For creatures like that, the absence of Duke Tirund could only mean unbearable grief and an equally unbearable sense of loss. Unable to endure that crushing loss, they all took flight in search of the highest presence they could feel.

“That is...”

Black dots flew beneath the sunlight. Without a word, they gathered on the snowfield before Karin and Do-Jin and dropped to one knee. Karin was now the highest-ranking vampire in existence. With the duke gone, she was effectively the one who held absolute authority over all vampires.

The problem was that the vampires, who were still closer to dolls than people, didn’t direct their affection toward Karin alone. Do-Jin, who had inherited the “First Blood,” also registered as an object of affection to them. Only now did Do-Jin truly understand what he had received, and a bitter smile crept onto his face.

What the hell did you leave me with?

He had never planned to run in the first place, but this went beyond that. This was driving the final nail straight through. Duke Tirund hadn’t only hammered in a wedge to seal the curse, he had shoved in something else entirely.

***

Do-Jin never even checked the messages detailing his rewards. After watching the duke depart like that, he had no desire to see what items he had gained or what abilities he had unlocked. He stayed beside Karin instead, helping her tend to the vampires as they regained their senses and remaining at her side while she struggled to figure out what to do next.

He sent a short message to the fallen party members, telling them everything had been resolved and not to worry. With Theresa and Soso around, they would storm his place and watch the recording themselves if their curiosity got out of hand. As he turned his focus back on Karin, the messages from Theresa and the others were left unread.

Theresa: Do-Jin, things are absolutely blowing up outside right now.

***

When the manifestation of the curse appeared and began orienting itself toward the Central Continent, Möbius posted an announcement saying a new World Boss would soon appear.

└ ???

└ Another World Boss event already?

└ What the hell is this? They just say the word “scheduled” and nothing more?

The sudden announcement sent curiosity through the roof. Around that time, someone posted a sighting.

└ I’m running a dungeon in the tower on the mountain right now, but there’s this black-red shit shooting up in the north. It looks insane.

Do-Jin hadn’t been aware of this, but the manifestation of the curse had an enormous impact on its surroundings. It was powerful enough to dye the sky near the Floating Continent a deep, blood-red color.

A handful of users who happened to be closer to the north and at high elevations managed to observe the anomaly in a limited capacity. They soon began submitting reports along with screenshots and videos.

└ Isn’t that related to the World Boss?

└ That direction’s the Floating Continent, isn’t it?

└ I guess it’s about time the World Boss is spawning there or somewhere up north this time.

└ Makes sense. Player levels are way higher now. It’s about time the main stage moved to a new area.

└ Please don’t tell me it’s a vampire boss.

No matter what it turned out to be, it was new content, and it reeked of major plot bait. Player hype kept climbing.

Then the next day, Möbius dropped another announcement completely out of nowhere, causing the community to implode.

[The previously scheduled World Boss Raid Event has been canceled.]