I Awakened The Ancient Vampire System

Chapter 80: Chapter 80: Rewards

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Lucian’s fight was not fifteen seconds.

The zombie had adapted to the Blood Clone. Instead of focusing on one target, it positioned itself to keep both Lucians in its field of vision — back against a wall, its black eyes flicking between the original and the duplicate.

Lucian attacked from the left. His clone attacked from the right. The zombie blocked Lucian’s Moon Shattering Blade with its metal-scaled forearm and kicked the clone’s blood sword out of its hand.

The clone dissolved its sword and reformed it instantly and as attacked again. The zombie caught the blade in its metal palm and crushed it.

Squelch.

The clone backpedaled. Reformed the sword.

Lucian saw the opening. He raised his free hand — Light Bolt. A concentrated beam of light fired from his fingertip and hit the zombie’s left wrist at point-blank range.

The beam burned through the thinner metal coverage at the joint. The hand separated from the forearm and hit the ground.

+10% bonus damage (Zombie Slayer Title).

The zombie didn’t react to the pain. It swung its remaining fist at Lucian’s head.

Light Shield.

A flat disc of hardened light appeared between them. The fist hit the shield and detonated. The shockwave cracked the shield and sent Lucian skidding backward. His boots left grooves in the street.

The zombie pressed forward. Lucian’s clone moved to flank. The zombie anticipated — spun and caught the clone with a backhand that sent it flying into a wall. The clone hit stone pinned to a wall.

The zombie charged towards the real Lucian. Lucian Light Stepped right, then Phantom Walked left. The zombie tracked him — its black eyes were too sharp, its reactions too fast for the same trick twice.

A fist caught Lucian in the ribs.

CRACK.

He flew sideways. Hit a car. The vehicle crumpled around him. Eternal Regeneration kicked in immediately — ribs knitting, tissue repairing. But it cost BE.

BE: 62/100.

Lucian pulled himself out of the wrecked car. The zombie was already coming.

Lucian raised the Moon Shattering Blade. Light Blade activated. Crescent Moon Slash charged along the edge — white light building, compressing, extending beyond the blade in a growing arc.

The zombie didn’t slow down.

Lucian swung.

The crescent arc hit the zombie’s chest. The light cut through metal scales, flesh, and muscle — a deep groove across its torso, four inches at its deepest point. Black blood sprayed in a fan.

But it wasn’t enough. The cut didn’t reach the spine. The zombie kept moving.

It grabbed Lucian’s sword arm. Metal fingers closed around his wrist.

Squeezed.

Lucian’s Blood Clone appeared behind the zombie.

The clone didn’t attack. Instead, it extended both hands and released Scarlet Threads — dozens of ultra-thin blood lines that wrapped around the zombie’s ankles, knees, and waist.

The zombie’s forward momentum was arrested. Its legs locked. It stumbled — just a fraction of a second of imbalance.

Lucian ripped his arm free. The metal fingers tore skin but missed the bone. He raised the Moon Shattering Blade with both hands. Light Blade blazed at maximum intensity. Crescent Moon Slash energy layered on top.

He swung for the neck.

The blade met metal-scaled flesh. The light met resistance. And then — powered by Vampire strength, refined mana control, and every ounce of killing intent Lucian possessed — it cut through.

The head separated.

It hit the ground with a heavy, wet thud. The body stood for two seconds, black blood pumping from the neck stump. Then it collapsed.

+1,000 EXP.

Quest Complete — Kill 2 Core Realm Zombies (Solo): 2/2.

Lucian stood over the corpse.

The system erupted with notifications.

╔═══════════════════════════╗

║ ✦ ALL EXPEDITION QUESTS COMPLETE ✦ ║

╠══════════════════════════╣

║ QUEST 1: Top 3 in UK All-Star Academy ║

║ Status: PENDING (Expedition ongoing) ║

╠══════════════════════════╣

║ QUEST 2: Kill 1,000 Normal Zombies ║

║ Result: 1,247/1,000 — COMPLETE ║

║ Reward: 3,000 SC — DEPOSITED ║

╠══════════════════════════╣

║ QUEST 3: Kill 200 Neophyte Zombies ║

║ Result: 247/200 — COMPLETE ║

║ Reward: 5,000 SC — DEPOSITED ║

╠══════════════════════════╣

║ QUEST 4: Kill 2 Core Realm Zombies ║

║ Result: 2/2 — COMPLETE ║

║ Reward: Blood Eclipse Art upgrade + ║

║ 10,000 SC — DEPOSITED ║

╠══════════════════════════╣

║ ⚠ EXTRA REWARD ⚠ ║

║ For exceeding kill counts across all categories: ║

║ ★ EMPEROR GRADE CORE CONDENSATION PILL ★ ║

║ Effects: Massively increases core quality during breakthrough. ║

╚══════════════════════════╝

Lucian stared at the notification.

Emperor Grade. The highest tier of pills below legendary artifacts. Earth, Sky, Heaven, King, Emperor — each grade represented an exponential leap in quality. The Sky Grade pills he’d given Clara and Rose had helped them form Flawless Cores. An Emperor Grade pill could push far beyond Flawless.

Transcendent Core.

Allistar had given him an impossible quest — form a Transcendent Core when standard cultivation said it couldn’t be done. But with this pill, the probability shifted. Not guaranteed. But real.

*Thirty percent increase in chances. Maybe more.*

Lucian closed the notification and checked his EXP.

SYSTEM LEVEL: 10

EXP TO LEVEL 11: ~24,480 / 50,000

He sheathed the Moon Shattering Blade and walked back toward the academy.

---

Clara was waiting at the gate. Her zombie lay frozen in a block of ice behind her.

"Done?" she asked with a smile.

"Done."

Ryan and Rose emerged from the academy’s main building five minutes later. Ryan’s wrist display showed zero signatures in the area.

"That’s all of them," Ryan said. He paused. "You two took the Core Realm ones alone?"

Lucian and Clara exchanged a glance.

Ryan sighed.

They left Vienne City behind and continued southwest. There were still two days left in the expedition, and their zone was fully cleared. Small clusters of zombies lingered in the rural areas between cities — Ryan’s detector picked them up as they traveled. The group cleared what they found.

Normal zombies fell to Lucian’s pistols and Light Blades. Neophyte variants were handled by Clara and Rose working in tandem. Ryan provided support and analysis. Lumina adapted to combat seamlessly now — shifting between offensive and defensive forms with a speed that surprised even Lucian.

By the final day, the group had pushed through three additional zones. Their kill counts had climbed far beyond the quest requirements. The wrist bracelets logged every kill, feeding data to the World Government’s monitoring network.

When the extraction signal came — a mana pulse broadcast across all expedition channels — the group was standing on a hilltop overlooking the French countryside. Green fields stretched to the horizon. No zombies. No ruins. Just land that was slowly, painfully, being reclaimed.

"Expedition’s over," Ryan said, reading the broadcast.

Rose sat down in the grass. "Thank god. I’m exhausted."

Clara leaned against Lucian’s shoulder. Her eyes were closed. The sun was setting behind them, painting the sky orange and gold.