I Awakened The Ancient Vampire System

Chapter 84: Chapter 84: The Knights of the Horizon

Lucian stood in the mountain clearing behind Allistar’s wooden house. The morning sun caught the lake’s surface, scattering light across the trees. It was quite peaceful and quiet.

Lucian punched a boulder.

The boulder exploded into fragments of granite rocketing outward in every direction, dust cloud billowing, a crater where the boulder had stood.

Lucian stared at his fist.

Ten of his past self couldn’t defeat the current him. It wasn’t even close.

The system pulsed.

╔═════════════════════╗

║ ✦ TRANSCENDENT CORE FORMATION REWARD ✦ ║

╠═══════════════════════╣

║ Bloodline Seal: -2% (86% → 84%) ║

║ System Credits: +30,000 SC ║

║ NEW PASSIVE ABILITY UNLOCKED: ║

║ ◀ TRANSCENDENT BODY ▶ ║

║ Physical stats receive a 20% boost to growth rate during training. ║

║ Reason: A Transcendent Core refines how mana flows through the body during physical conditioning. ║

╚════════════════════════╝

Lucian pulled up his physical stats.

╠═════════════════════╣

║ PHYSICAL STATS ║

║ ├─ Strength: 350 ║

║ ├─ Agility: 200 ║

║ ├─ Dexterity: 160 ║

║ ├─ Durability: 320 ║

║ ├─ Constitution: 300 ║

║ └─ Perception: 250 ║

╚═════════════════════╝

The numbers were significantly higher than before the breakthrough. Strength alone had jumped from 252 to 350 — nearly a forty percent increase. And with Transcendent Body active, every training session from now on would push those numbers up twenty percent faster.

He tested his speed. Light Steps carried him across the clearing in a blur — fast. His mana was denser, his control was sharper, his body was stronger.

"Lucian."

Allistar’s voice came from the porch. He was sitting in his rocking chair, tea in hand, eyes closed as always.

Lucian walked over.

Allistar reached into his storage ring and pulled out three items. A white card. A small metal emblem — circular, with an engraving of a rising sun over a horizontal line. And a credit chip.

"Go to the United States," Allistar said, holding out the card. "Go to the address on it. Show them the emblem once you arrive."

Lucian took the items. The card had an address printed in neat black text: 47 Horizon Drive, New Miami, United States.

"What is this for?"

"You’ll find out. Don’t finish the credits." Allistar sipped his tea. "Flight is just thirty thousand credits. The rest is for emergencies."

Lucian looked at the credit chip. Fifty thousand credits. The old man was giving him a fortune in travel money but refusing to cover the mana stones he’d burned through during the breakthrough.

"Stingy old man," Lucian murmured.

"What did you say?"

"Nothing."

Lucian turned and left before the old man could respond.

He told Clara that evening.

"I’m leaving for the USA," he said. "Master’s orders. Don’t know how long."

Clara was sitting on the couch, legs tucked under her, a book in her lap. She looked up with an expression that was half curiosity, half annoyance.

"You’re leaving? Now? You just broke through."

"It’s not my choice."

"How long?"

"Don’t know."

Clara stared at him for a long moment. Then she sighed and returned to her book. "Come back in one piece. Or I’ll drag you back myself."

The following morning, Lucian boarded a commercial mana-powered flight at the academy airfield. One hour later, he was on the ground in New Miami.

The city was enormous. Skyscrapers of glass and reinforced steel rose from a coastline that had been heavily fortified against oceanic threats. Military vessels patrolled the harbor. Hunter Guild banners flew from guard towers. The sheer scale of American infrastructure made the European cities look modest.

Lucian hired an automated vehicle and fed it the address. Fifteen minutes later, the car stopped at the edge of a massive estate.

The mansion was absurd. Three stories of white stone and dark glass, surrounded by manicured gardens and a fountain that shot water twenty feet into the air. The property stretched at least two hundred meters in every direction.

Two security guards stood at the front gate. Both radiated Early Core Realm aura.

One of them stepped forward as Lucian approached. "State your business."

"I was sent here. By my master." Lucian held up the emblem.

The guard’s expression didn’t change — until he saw the emblem. His eyes widened. A flicker of something that looked very much like fear crossed his face before he schooled his features.

"My apologies. Please follow me."

The other guard held the gate open. Lucian walked through. The escort led him up the mansion’s front steps, through an entrance hall with marble floors and crystal chandeliers, and into a sitting room with velvet furniture and floor-to-ceiling windows.

"Wait here," the guard said. "I’ll inform the boss."

The boss. Lucian stood in the sitting room, arms crossed, wondering what kind of organization employed Early Core Realm guards and operated out of a mansion that probably cost more than entire city blocks.

The door opened.

A kid walked in.

Pink hair, tied in two short pigtails. Big eyes. Round cheeks. She looked maybe fourteen years old. She was wearing an oversized sweater that hung past her knees and fuzzy slippers.

Lucian stared.

The guard behind him cleared his throat. "Greet the boss."

Lucian looked at the guard. Then at the kid. Then back at the guard. "There is no way I’m greeting a kid."

The kid’s expression shifted. Annoyed. She walked forward — she barely came up to Lucian’s chest — and reached out and touched his arm.

Lucian felt something ripple through his body. A wave of energy that sank into his bones, his muscles, his core.

Then the world tilted.

His body shrank. His arms shortened. His legs compressed. His clothes became loose and baggy. He looked down at hands that were smaller, softer, younger.

Ten years old. He looked ten years old.

"What the fuck?" Lucian’s voice came out high-pitched. Like a child’s voice.

The kid — now towering over him by a full head — smirked down at him. She plucked the emblem from his loose grip and examined it. Then she examined him. Her eyes were sharp despite her childish face.

"This old man hasn’t been active in years," she muttered, annoyed, "and he sends an Early Core Realm disrespectful kid to my house."

"Change me back, you brat!" Lucian shouted. His child voice ruined the intimidation completely.

The kid looked down at him with a dark smile. "Don’t worry. You’ll just stay like that for just an hour."

Lucian’s expression darkened. Where the fuck did the old man send me?

Exactly one hour later, the effect reversed. Lucian’s body grew back to its normal state. He flexed his fingers and verified his core was intact.

The door opened again.

A woman walked in. Pink hair, now flowing past her shoulders. Early twenties. Sharp features. The same face as the kid — older, matured, but unmistakably the same person.

Lucian looked at her.

The woman sat on the velvet couch across from him, crossed her legs as a dark smile spread across her face.

"Welcome to the Knights of the Horizon."

Lucian said, "Knights of what?"

"We’re a secret organization," she continued. "We don’t work for any government, any clan, or any academy. We answer to no one. Our purpose is simple — maintain the peace of Earth and protect this planet from any threat that the regular institutions can’t handle."

She leaned back.

"Dungeons. Beast hordes. Vampire clans. Rogue awakeners. Emerging threats that haven’t been classified yet. We handle what the World Government can’t, won’t, or doesn’t know about."

Lucian processed that. An independent secret organization.

"Your master was a member once," she said. "A long time ago. He doesn’t participate anymore, but he still has pull. That emblem is his calling card. It means he vouches for you."

She stood.

"You’ll go through registration. After that, you’ll be assigned missions depending on the threat level. Some missions are solo. Some are group. Your rank and compensation will scale with your performance."

She looked at him with those sharp eyes.

"Any questions?"