Eugene, who had been sucking the monster's blood for a while, stopped sucking blood only after he realized that his body was no longer changing and he felt full.
The rain that seemed like it would pour down endlessly has stopped.
Under the dim moonlight, Eugene gazed blankly at the corpse of the monster, its once gigantic body now pitifully shrunken.
Even though he had used this forest as a hunting ground for over ten years, he was unaware of the existence of this monster.
It was not difficult to find game even if you crossed the mountain, and they did not even approach the wetlands because the water was so dirty that it could not be used for drinking.
But thanks to the mercenaries who captured him and brought him here, I learned that this monster lives here.
Of course, the mercenaries were unaware of the monster's existence.
The monster's existence was unknown because everyone who had seen it before was eaten.
'Originally, the wetlands were smaller than this.'
It was later discovered that the reason monsters and mercenaries encountered each other was because the water level had risen due to the monsoon and heavy rain, increasing their range of action.
Anyway, the six-legged, nameless giant monster tore seven mercenaries apart, then escaped deep into the swamp with an injury that cost it an eye.
At that moment, Eugene's eyes caught sight of one of the bastard's severed toes, and he was able to take advantage of the excited mercenaries' confusion to suck up a sip of the blood dripping from the toe.
Eugene shuddered at the powerful energy that was incomparable to that of a normal beast, and it was then that he first awakened as a true vampire.
Of course, since the amount of blood sucked was too small and it was before the sun had even set, he was not able to gain full strength.
However, with just that strength, it wasn't difficult to cut the ropes that bound his hands and feet, and take down a few mercenaries in the night when his five senses as a vampire were returning, and escape.
That was the beginning of a six-month runaway life.
If I hadn't been able to drink a sip of this monster's blood then, it would have been impossible to even escape.
And that meant, conversely, that if only I could suck all the monster's blood, a lot would have changed.
"Just like right now."
Eugene looked around his body.
I'm not sure, but it seemed like he had grown at least a hand's worth of height since he ran away in his previous life.
Beautiful muscles were now visible throughout his elongated limbs, and his skin, which had always been dirty, had become so white and clean that his blood vessels were visible.
Moreover, I could clearly feel the vitality pulsing throughout my body.
It was a powerful force I had never felt before.
The strength to feel like you can accomplish anything.
Right now, it seemed like he could even deal with the paladin who had cut off his own neck, Jung Dirkt.
"No, you shouldn't be proud."
Dirk was strong.
Moreover, instead of using a normal weapon that cannot inflict great damage on a vampire, he uses a silver-plated weapon imbued with divine power.
Eugene still vividly remembered the fiery pain he felt the moment he was struck by it.
"Don't fight a battle you can't win. Until you're confident, focus solely on getting stronger."
If you get caught up in your emotions, you will just end up like in your previous life.
And the world wasn't just a holy knight like Jung Dirk.
"One by one, planned out."
Eugene calmed his mind.
"The tattoo is still there."
The ten or so tattoos that had been engraved like branding all over his body since childhood were still there.
I have no idea who carved it, when, or how.
Something you might have had since birth.
"Someday I'll know about tattoos too."
Eugene took his eyes off the strange letters and shapes in his tattoo, then wiped the dagger clean and examined his own face.
Vampires don't appear in mirrors. However, this only applies to their original body, so any clothing or accessories they wear are reflected.
Additionally, vampires can see themselves in mirrors.
"At first glance, it looks like a person."
Eugene had no standards for beauty and ugliness.
Having lived almost all my life alone, I had neither the time nor the reason to distinguish between who was pretty and handsome and who was ugly when I was on the run.
That's why Eugene was satisfied with just the fact that his face had eyes, nose, and mouth in proper positions like other humans.
"Still, I guess I'll have to keep wearing the mask during the day."
Eugene, muttering softly, moved to throw the monster's corpse back into the wetlands.
Even in the most remote places, there was a high possibility that someone, like the mercenaries of my past life, would approach to get water.
If you kill as a vampire, you must never leave behind any evidence.
It was one of the things I learned from my past life on the run.
"huh?"
Eugene's eyes, which had just caught the tail of the squirming monster, were filled with a strange color.
The bastard's corpse was black and dirty.
But a strange red glow remained only in the middle of the back.
"I don't think it's the original leather color."
Eugene carefully examined the reddish area.
"Is it inside?"
It seemed like the light coming from inside the body was shining outward, not through the skin.
Eugene stabbed the monster's corpse with a dagger.
Originally, it was a monster's shell that would be difficult to wound with a dagger like this.
However, since all the vitality had been sucked out, and Eugene was now awakened as a member of the Dark Clan, it was not difficult to dismantle it.
"This is...."
Eugene opened his eyes slightly as he realized what the red light inside the corpse was.
If I had just been hiding in the cabin in the past, I wouldn't have known what I had in my hands now.
But now that Eugene had learned quite a bit about this world while being chased, he could guess what the crimson ore was.
"Magic Stone? As expected, this guy was special even among the Roamers."
Roamer.
This is not a term for monsters that live in areas called "magical realms" such as labyrinths, dungeons, or ancient ruins, but rather for those that wander around mountains, forests, and valleys.
But unlike the monsters in the Demon Realm who all have magic stones, I heard that only special ones like Romer have magic stones inside their bodies.
Such magic stones are sometimes treated as more precious than precious metals or jewels in the human world.
In fact, the magic stone itself is just a kind of pretty gem, and in some ways, it is an object that has a negative effect on humans.
However, the magic stone that was purified by a priest or wizard restored a person's vitality, slowed down aging, and when worn, extended lifespan.
So, humans, especially the nobles, were desperate to secure magic stones.
"You said all magic stones were green. And they're this big?"
The magic stones Eugene had seen in his previous life were all bright green and smaller than a pinky fingernail.
But what Eugene was holding in his hand was red and the size of a thumb.
"It seems like something special. But it's just a pipe dream for me anyway."
There was no way for Eugene to purify himself right now.
It would be best to just keep it and sell it to a human noble when the opportunity arises.
… … thought Eugene.
Until the magic stone with a strange red glow spoke to him.
- Eat.
- It's for you.
"...!"
Eugene's eyes widened as the intense emotions that pierced his mind.
It wasn't really Ma Seok who spoke.
The moment he stared intently at the magic stone, something in his head gave him that instruction.
Because of that, Eugene slowly lifted the magic stone as if possessed by something.
The red color of the magic stone resembled blood and the color of his own eyes.
- It's yours. Take it.
At that moment, Eugene opened his mouth wide without realizing it and swallowed the magic stone.
A hotter and more intense energy than when I sucked blood flowed down my esophagus and quickly rushed to my right chest.
"Ugh!"
Eugene instinctively put his hand there and fell to one knee as the pain spread through his chest.
But the feeling I felt in my hand was strange. It felt like I was touching cold, hard metal, not soft skin.
Eugene took his hand away and looked down at his right breast.
A black, hard shell the size of a palm.
"What, what is this? What!?"
Suddenly it spread across my chest, back, and limbs.
A black shell, exactly like that of the swamp monster he had just defeated, instantly covered Eugene's entire body.
"What the heck is this...."
Eugene muttered in disbelief as he stroked the thin, hard shell that completely covered his face.
Even the hair, though seemingly ordinary, felt like the shell of a monster when touched.
If anyone had seen him, they would have mistaken him for wearing a one-piece scale mail suit.
"Disappear! Be gone!"
Just in case, Eugene shouted like that.
Then, surprisingly, the shell that had been covering his entire body instantly seeped into his skin.
"...."
Eugene looked around his body with bewildered eyes.
Then he spoke cautiously, imagining his body becoming stronger.
"Be strong. Show up."
The shell that had disappeared reappeared and quickly covered the entire body.
After trying it a few more times, Eugene discovered that this ability could be manifested simply through a thought accompanied by intense concentration.
He soon clenched his fists in uncontrollable excitement.
"This will be a formidable weapon."
It is the shell of a swamp monster that was barely able to survive with the mercenaries' weapons.
It was clear that it would be able to defend against most common weapons, even if it was not a silver-plated knight's weapon.
There was something else that was more important than anything else.
"It's black, so maybe it will block the sunlight."
We'll have to wait until the sun rises to check that.
Eugene waited for the morning to come for the first time in his life, and with a satisfied heart, he moved to throw the monster's corpse back into the swamp.
But then, a bright blue light appeared above the overgrown water.
"Is it a firefly?"
Eugene, who didn't think much of it, spun his body around with all his might and threw the monster's body across the swamp.
"That's so cool! You dirty little crocodile! The fish will love it! Kekekekeke!"
Eugene turned his gaze in the direction of the sudden, careless voice.
But there was no one.
All you can see are the bright blue fireflies swimming above the bushes.
"That's why you should have made a fuss less!"
The voice seemed to be coming from a firefly.
Moreover, the talking firefly sat on the bush and chattered without paying any attention to Eugene's approach.
"You little brat who used to roll around in shit now has a big head and doesn't know your place, huh? You've made my area so dirty because of me, and if you try to put it back together...?"
The voices of the fireflies, who had been chattering excitedly, died down.
Eugene's gaze met that of a small, human-shaped creature with two pairs of blue wings spread wide open, hands draped over his waist, and a firefly, or rather, a small, human-shaped creature with two pairs of blue wings attached to the center of its back.
"Huh? Are you seeing me? No way. How can a vampire cub see spirits? No way. Didn't this cub swallow a crocodile cub's magic stone a little while ago...?"
The self-proclaimed spirit, who had been chattering to himself with his brows furrowed, looked up at Eugene again.
Then, in an instant, he erased the arrogant look that had been swearing just a moment ago, and cautiously put his hands together and spoke.
"Do you see me? Lord of the Night Clan?"
"uh."
"...Then did you hear what I said?"
"Everything. Even calling me a vampire bastard."
"...."
The spirit, who had been hesitating, soon smiled brightly and lowered his head.
"Oh, I see. Then you seem busy. Please continue with what you were doing. I'm busy, so I'll take my leave now."
A spirit flapping its two pairs of wings and flying away like lightning.
But the spirit could not overcome the vampire's reflexes on a moonlit night.
The moment the spirit flapped its tiny wings, Eugene had already reached out, and the spirit was caught in his ominous hands.
"Kkiet! I'm so small I can't even suck blood! If I keep living in shit and eating it, it'll only taste like shit! Please save me! There's a saying that even if you roll around in shit, this life is better! Kkieeeek!"
* * *
"So you're the spirit of this place, and you were originally the master of this wetland? But fifteen years ago, that monster took over and enslaved you?"
"To be precise, I'm not a slave, but rather a strategic partner. Since the water would be completely polluted, no prey would come, I acknowledged the waterside as my territory."
Eugene spoke coldly to the spirit who was rubbing his palms cowardly.
"If you have no choice but to do what you are told, that is what is called a slave."
"Yes, yes. If that's what you want, then of course it is. Anyway, thank you. Now that the baby crocodile has been killed, this place will be purified too. It's all thanks to you, sir."
The spirit even bowed deeply.
It might have seemed like a genuine gesture of gratitude, but Eugene knew it was an act of fear.
Even though he was lying face down on his palm and his head was down, he was glancing around, and it was obvious that he wanted Eugene to leave as soon as possible.
'It doesn't matter, since I'll never come back to this forest again anyway.'
"I'll send you, so live as you please."
"Ah! As expected, you are a true Night Clan member with a wide range of talents, as well as a dazzling beauty! You will be blessed."
The spirit who suddenly woke up bowed.
Eugene waved his hand as if shooing away a fly and sent the spirit flying away, then turned around without thinking much and said.
"For over ten years, that monster was the only person you could talk to. You must have been through a lot. Anyway, take care."
"yes!"
Before he could even finish speaking, the spirit that was flying excitedly towards the water stopped and quickly returned to Eugene.
"Your Majesty, over there."
"why?"
"Do you need something like a portable sample?"
"what?"
Eugene narrowed his eyes, wondering what this guy who had been trying to run away just a moment ago was talking about.
"I'm a water spirit after all. Need clear, clean water? I can make it for you. Like this."
Before I could even answer, a spirit flew in holding a single, wide lotus leaf and leaned back.
"Kaaaak! Thwack! Thwack thwack thwack thwack!"
Large drops of water poured out from the spirit's mouth one after another, and soon enough, enough for one or two sips, gathered in the center of the lotus leaf.
"How about it? I can make you enough water to drink all day long in just a few minutes. It's very clean and delicious."
Eugene, who had been staring blankly at the spirit who was spitting out a lot of phlegm and had a proud expression on his face, immediately turned his head away.
"No need."
"Ah! Me, Your Majesty! Wait a minute! I can purify water too! I can make any water drinkable! Oh, and are you not satisfied with the speed of the water purification? Instead of spitting it out, you can get a lot more quickly if you spit it out..."
"go away."
"Your Majesty! Your Majesty of the Night Clan!"
(To be continued in the next episode)