VRMMORPG: Rise Of The Blood Paragon

Lionel looked at Karvin warily, his eyebrows raised. "Yes?"

He stepped closer. "Do you know something about it?"

"Yes—" Karvin began, but Lionel cut him off.

"How can you, a Fledgling, know that?" Lionel said, a slight smile playing on his lips as he rested his hand on the hilt of his sword. "Aren't you supposed to be inexperienced?"

"Yes, I'm a Fledgling. You already know that, don't you?" Karvin said. "It's not hidden. I was turned by my former master, Lord Valtheris, before his father, an elder of the court, gave me to you on your birthday to serve you. That was early, before the coup that cost your father his life."

"I didn't know about that," Lionel said simply. "I told you, my memory is bad."

"Yes, you've said so, and that's what bothers me. You shouldn't remember, right? But why do you?"

'Perhaps because I'm a player. I can see he's an NPC, which I expected, but a Fledgling? Aren't they supposed to be inexperienced? Maybe the game isn't that accurate, or Fledglings are just labeled that way because they aren't original vampires,' Lionel thought, his eyes scanning Karvin.

He sighed and crossed his arms. "I lost my memory, but not my brain or my mouth. I asked around and got my answers. The proud knights said you were supposed to be a blood slave but were turned into something else—my knight. A loyal one at that."

"I'm loyal to you because we share the same goal: advancing the current vampire king. And I also want to avenge my sire, who was brutally slain along with his clan."

Lionel frowned, his eyebrows furrowing. "If I recall correctly, a sire is the one who turned you. But you want to avenge him? Someone who treated you like a slave and forced you into a life of hardship?"

"Your Highness, you misunderstand," Karvin said. "The late Lord Valtheris of Clan Duskshade was not an oppressor. To be clear, your father wasn't involved in trading blood slaves or causing hardship for humans. In fact, he made sure no wars were waged against humans. But some nobles and elders defied him. Those were the ones involved in blood slavery.

"I was given to Lord Valtheris, who turned me and then gave me to you as a knight. He said it would make my life easier, being part of the enforcers. You know, a king can't control all his subjects, especially the old elders from certain clans. They cared nothing for the previous king's vision. That defiance is what made the coup easier for the new king. My sire and many other clans were wiped out, and those who supported the king's cause were eliminated. Human slavery in the kingdom continued."

"And the Crimson Bloodline? What do you know about it?" Lionel asked.

"That... that is far greater," Karvin said. "To hasten my adjustment to vampiric life, I delved into the libraries and read about the history of the ancient vampires. I once came across the Crimson Bloodline.

"The world is divided into various realms: the mortal realm, the arcane realm, the undying realm, the beastial realm, the ethereal realm, the abyssal realm and others. The arcane(supernatural) realm consists of five regions—vampires, elves, wolves, foxes, and witches. In the vampire region, we have a king and many clans. Each clan has a unique bloodline, which ties nobles together, defines their innate affinity, and sometimes determines their rank in the hierarchy.

"Take my sire, for example—Lord Valtheris of Clan Duskshade. His bloodline granted him mastery over shadows. The Duskshade bloodline was a weapon during the old wars, capable of shrouding entire battlefields in darkness, blinding armies instantly.

"Then there's Clan Thornweaver. Their bloodline grants them an affinity for nature—though it's more like twisted blood magic. They can awaken dead forests and create traps from thorny vines.

"But the Crimson Bloodline…" He paused, meeting Lionel's gaze. "That's something else entirely.

"It isn't just a bloodline—it's the bloodline. The purest. The first. It was believed extinct—until now. You, and perhaps your descendants, carry it.

"It means you're a complete vampire. Not like me, a Fledgling bound to my sire's gifts. You're untethered. Whole. The Crimson Bloodline grants ultimate mastery over blood—its creation, manipulation, and destruction. You can forge weapons, reshape it into armor, or pull it from your enemies with a thought.

"But it doesn't stop there. Blood is life, Your Highness. With this power, you could create life—or extinguish it. You could command armies, their veins bending to your will."

"Interesting," Lionel said, placing a hand on Karvin's shoulder. "Thanks for explaining."

Karvin nodded. "So, how did you come by this bloodline?"

"I failed the night of the full moon," Lionel said.

"Failed? I've never heard of that before. Isn't it death to fail on such a night? Defying the order of the world?"

"Like how a wolf will turn under a full moon," Lionel replied. "I don't think it's supposed to be this way. It wasn't always like this, was it?"

"No, it wasn't," Karvin said hesitantly. "It's the witches…" He trailed off, raising a finger to his lips.

His head snapped toward the ship ashore.

"A sound," Lionel whispered, moving forward.

"There are more assassins on the boat. We need to wipe them out, and you will assist, Your Highness," Karvin said, turning his head to look at Lionel—only to realize he was nowhere to be found.

Karvin panicked, his eyes darting around until he spotted Lionel already walking toward the ship, calm and deliberate in his stride.

"Your Highness!" he called out, his voice sharper this time. Lionel stopped and turned, his gaze steady and unreadable.

Karvin hurried to him as Lionel crouched beside the corpses of the fallen assassins. His hands moved with purpose, searching their bodies before retrieving a set of weapons. He handed them over to Karvin without a word.

Karvin stored them in his ring, watching Lionel rise to his full height.

"I need to absorb blood essence. I have none now… so I can't use my skills," Lionel said, his tone matter-of-fact but tinged with frustration.

"I've already absorbed their essence. You'll have to rely on the basic sword techniques I've taught you. Kill one, absorb their essence, and keep going," Karvin said.

Lionel hesitated for a brief moment, then nodded. "Sure, that'll do."

The two of them moved forward. As they neared the ship, twenty men cloaked in black emerged from within, their weapons glinting.

Karvin assessed them quickly. "I'll take seventeen. Easy for me. You take three. These assassins are from the Shadowfang Order—trained killers, but not as formidable as they might seem. They're half Awakened, unable to wield innate affinities. You're in the same position now, so you'll be evenly matched. Plus, they're all at the first stage of Blood Initiate and only just reached it."

Lionel nodded. "Not bad. At least they're cultivators. That means I can absorb their essence."

He scanned the three: one wielded a spear, another a dagger, and the last an axe.

Karvin moved first, swift. He hurled one assassin into the water with ease, the unfortunate man frozen solid in an instant. Turning with deadly precision, Karvin dispatched three more in quick succession, their screams cut short by a flurry of blows.

Lionel turned his attention to his own fight. His heart pounded against his ribs, not from fear but from a surge of adrenaline. It reminded him, oddly, of the hours he used to spend playing video games—except this wasn't a screen. This was real. And he needed to survive.

The first assassin lunged at him with a spear. Lionel crouched low, his movements surprisingly smooth. The rush of adrenaline sharpened his reflexes, guiding him almost instinctively. He sidestepped the spear and slashed at the man's leg. The assassin staggered, his balance faltering.

"Focus," Lionel muttered to himself. His grip on the sword tightened, the cool metal cold to his palm.

Then he lunged forward as another assassin came at him, swinging an axe with brutal force. Lionel rolled to the side, his body moving faster than he thought possible. As he sprang to his feet, the third assassin closed in with a dagger.

Lionel's mind raced.

He feigned a stumble, baiting the dagger-wielder into overextending. As the assassin lunged, Lionel spun, catching his wrist and twisting it sharply. The dagger clattered to the ground. Lionel grabbed it and plunged it into the man's chest without hesitation.

The axe-wielder roared, swinging his weapon in a wide arc. Lionel ducked just in time, the blade whistling past his head. He countered with a swift upward slash, his sword cutting into the assassin's side. Blood sprayed, warm and metallic.

The first assassin, still limping from Lionel's earlier strike, tried to reengage. Lionel turned sharply, his sword a blur as he drove it through the man's chest and slashed it into his neck.

Panting, Lionel stood amidst the fallen assassins. His chest heaved, his muscles trembling with exertion and the lingering rush of combat.

He glanced at Karvin, who was dispatching the remaining assassins with cold efficiency. Karvin's movements were fluid, almost lazy, yet every strike was precise, every enemy falling before they could even mount a proper defense.

The last assassin crumpled to the ground.

Karvin turned to Lionel, his lips curling into a faint smile. "Not bad for someone without blood essence."

Lionel wiped the sweat from his brow, stepping over the bodies of the assassins he had killed. He crouched down, his fangs elongating as he sank them into the neck of the first assassin. Warmth flooded his veins as he drank deeply, savoring the surge of power that came with the essence. He repeated the process with the other two corpses, feeling stronger with each feeding.

[150×3 Blood Essence Absorbed]

He stood, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand before sheathing his sword. His gaze lingered on the bodies for a moment, a flicker of something—pride? Disbelief?—crossing his face.

"How do you manage to absorb their blood essences without digging your fangs into them?" Lionel asked, moving to stand beside Karvin.

"My sword does the work," Karvin said simply, tapping the hilt of his blade.

"Oh….I have one of those," Lionel said.