The pain in Gilran's side was sharp, molten, and unrelenting.
Each heartbeat pushed more warmth out of his body, soaking the cold stone beneath him. His vision wavered between clarity and a dull, dark haze, yet the screen before him glowed brighter than anything else in the chamber.
> [Unique Class Initialization: Absolute Blood Monarch]
[You may accept or reject the Class. Choosing 'Reject' will result in immediate death.]
He almost laughed not because it was funny, but because the absurdity was the only thing keeping his mind from collapsing.
Accept, obviously.
His lips parted. "Accept."
A cold shock spread through his veins, as though ice water had replaced his blood.
It wasn't numbing it was awakening.
Every drop of his blood seemed to hum with a quiet, ancient voice.
> [Class Accepted.]
[Blood Authority Unlocked.]
[Skill Gained: Blood Summoning Lv.1]
[Skill Gained: Blood Assimilation Lv.1]
[Skill Gained: Heaven Gate – King Tier Access]
The stone spear still jutted from his side, but the agony dulled, replaced by a strange clarity.
Gilran's breathing slowed, his mind sharpening.
He could feel the blood spilled across the chamber his own, Jin-Woo's from a shallow cut on his cheek, the fallen hunters… and something else.
Something ancient.
His eyes shifted to the towering statue the one gripping a massive stone sword.
Faint traces of dried blood clung to its base, the kind of residue left by hundreds of sacrifices over countless years.
And from that trace, he could call.
> [Blood Summoning Activated]
[Target Race: Vampire – Progenitor Level]
[Source Blood Detected: Pureblood Fragment – Ancient Chamber Residue]
The air rippled.
A shape emerged from the crimson mist that bled out of the bloodstains tall, regal, with pale skin and eyes like molten gold. His presence was suffocating, predatory.
"Who summons me from such a pathetic scrap of my blood?" the being asked, voice laced with disdain.
Gilran, still kneeling, met his gaze without flinching. "The one who can send you back to your eternal nap… or let you stretch your claws again. Choose."
For a long second, silence.
Then, the vampire smirked, showing just enough fang to promise violence.
"Very well, mortal. For one battle."
The summoned Progenitor moved faster than sight.
The statues relentless and unyielding suddenly shattered like brittle clay under his strikes. One swipe tore through a statue's head. One kick cracked another into rubble.
Gilran gritted his teeth and pulled the spear from his side, blood gushing only for the wound to slowly knit shut. The System whispered:
> [Blood Regeneration Activated – Passive]
Jin-Woo stumbled toward him, face pale.
"Hyung! You— what the hell is that thing?!"
"A friend for the next sixty seconds," Gilran said, grabbing Jin-Woo by the arm. "We're leaving the moment the path's clear."
The Progenitor fought like a storm.
But the chamber's magic fought back. The massive statue on the throne began to rise, its eyes glowing with murderous light.
Gilran didn't need the System to tell him they'd die if they stayed.
He focused on the fresh skill tugging at his mind Spatial Marking. A faint blood-red sigil appeared on the entrance door where they'd come in.
> [Spatial Mark Registered.]
The Progenitor slammed into the throne statue, buying them a heartbeat.
Gilran seized it, gripping Jin-Woo tight.
> [Spatial Shift – Activated]
The world folded.
One blink, and they were outside the chamber, tumbling onto the cold stone of the outer dungeon tunnel.
Gilran lay on his back, panting.
His wounds were closing, but exhaustion hit him like a wave.
Jin-Woo knelt beside him. "Hyung… you saved my life. Again. But what happened back there? You— you vanished and—"
Gilran pushed himself up, wincing.
"Later. Right now, we walk out of this Gate and pretend we saw nothing worth dying for."
"But"
"Jin-Woo." His voice was firm, but his eyes softened. "You're alive. That's what matters."
As they limped toward the Gate's exit, the System's voice whispered only to Gilran:
> [Trial One Complete.]
[Blood Authority Level Increased.]
[New Storage Unlocked: Heaven Gate – King Tier Inventory Access.]
And deep in the back of his mind, a vault door opened revealing treasures and vials of blood that pulsed with infinite possibility.