Kael stood atop the tallest tower of his base, surveying the surrounding lands. For four days, they had scouted tirelessly but still hadn’t found the undead. Before arriving here, they had expected fierce resistance, yet the undead were nowhere to be found. Had they all advanced to the fifth stage to prepare for the final battle?
Were they being outmaneuvered? At the very least, his warriors had made significant progress in the past few days. Perhaps they would still encounter the undead on this stage. The fourth stage was far larger than the third, and they had barely mapped even the third stage in its entirety.
Kael was nearing his evolution to E-grade, currently sitting at level 77. Each level now required significantly more experience. But the real question was: should he evolve immediately or wait? Being able to gain more stats by advancing to E-grade would be an incredible boost, and he could take his time on this grade to search for an optimal D-grade evolution.
With his legendary blessing, his evolution was unlikely to result in a poor class, and the blessing granted him significant bonus stats. Additionally, his god had explained that the amount of credits accumulated could improve the rarity of one’s evolution. This was a secret most information scrolls didn’t reveal, and Kael hadn’t shared it with anyone. Maintaining his position of power was his priority.
The doubling of credits earned by every survivor in his base on the fourth stage was a welcome benefit. If it weren’t for the looming threat of the undead, this situation would have been ideal. He could focus on power leveling and honing his combat skills against creatures often of higher rarity than those from earlier stages.
Kael’s ranger class was especially formidable, offering incredible flexibility. His ability to switch weapons mid-fight was one of its strongest features, and his attacks were devastating. He had many powerful options to deal with a threat: ranged strikes, a speed-boosting ability, and another skill that empowered a single attack for massive damage.
On top of this, he had purchased scrolls that taught advanced combat techniques and weapon mastery. These scrolls were exclusive to those blessed by Aeta, and they were remarkably cheap considering their value. He had spent the last four days training rigorously and hadn’t even completed the first layer of what they offered.
Kai and Sylas had also acquired similar items and risen significantly in power. They would likely evolve alongside him soon. Of course, they would consult their gods for guidance on the smartest path forward. When Kael first entered the tutorial, his primary goal had been to bring as many people as possible through to the next stage. That goal hadn’t changed—except for one person.
Finding and killing Thalion had become essential. Kael’s patron had warned him that even if the vampire god Tenebrice no longer remembered Thalion, the god was aware that one of his blessed had been slain and that the sanguine thorn had changed hands. Kael’s god would forget Thalion after each conversation, but Kael diligently reported everything, knowing that once the tutorial was over, gods would have more means to gather information in the wider universe.
The sanguine thorn was central to Kael’s plans. He had purchased another mystical plant with the sole purpose of corrupting and consuming the thorn, reshaping it into something that better suited him. With this new plant in his body, achieving a mythic-class evolution would be inevitable. However, the process wouldn’t be easy. He needed to prepare a ritual to neutralize the thorn’s resistance while the new plant fully assimilated its power. Kael eagerly anticipated that day.
Although he didn’t relish the thought of killing Thalion, it was a necessity. With the transformed Thorn, Kael could potentially achieve eternal life. Such a future was too important to jeopardize for sentiment. Sylas was equally eager to see Thalion dead, though his motivations differed. Early in the tutorial, Thalion had purchased an amulet that had since become so valuable it was almost unaffordable. Even Kael had struggled to acquire items worth two million credits. Thankfully, he had already secured near-perfect equipment for himself.
Kai, on the other hand, wished they could avoid Thalion entirely. But Kael was certain that wish wouldn’t come true.
There was one other way to acquire a sanguine thorn, though it was far riskier: killing one of the vampires blessed by Tenebrice who possessed the thorn on the fifth stage. However, Kael’s god had warned him this was unlikely. Such vampires were incredibly powerful and later often reached A- or S-grade. Over five percent of them even ascended to godhood, an extraordinary rate by any standard.
In comparison, Thalion was far weaker. He was still stuck around level 40 for some unknown reason. This anomaly worked in Kael’s favor. His god had suggested several possible explanations: a parasite leeching Thalion’s power, a curse, or something equally debilitating. None seemed particularly convincing to Kael, but it didn’t matter.
All that mattered was that Thalion died—and that Kael gained the sanguine thorn.
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Lucius had returned to the headquarters. They had been hunting for days, and Cathrin had infected multiple beasts, which would hopefully spread the blood curse even further. Groomash was now close to reaching level 80, with only two levels remaining. Both he and Cathrin had already hit level 80 and were grinding for a better evolution in the future.
One thing particularly intrigued Lucius: the other vampires. To monitor them, he had planted spying crystals in two of their chambers. His shadowblood ability and strong affinity for darkness gave him a distinct advantage, making such covert actions almost second nature.
The crystals had cost over 800,000 credits each, but he considered the investment worthwhile. They transmitted sound only, which was sufficient—he already recognized their voices. There was no need to spend extra on crystals that also granted visual feeds.
The information he had gleaned from internal meetings among the Valencrest family was already proving invaluable. For example, he now knew where high-level blood beasts roamed and the locations of important natural treasures. Today, another meeting was scheduled, reportedly regarding a critical message from Tenebrice.
Waiting for everyone to assemble was tedious, but Lucius made use of the time by training and doing some body tempering. He hadn’t progressed far before the meeting began with the arrival of the last Valencrest member, Valeria.
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“Glad to see everyone here. We need to discuss the lost sanguine thorn,” announced Theron Valencrest, opening the meeting.
Lucius’s ears perked up. A lost sanguine thorn? That could mean only one thing: the vampire who possessed it had died. If his assumption was correct, the thorn was now unclaimed. This presented a rare opportunity—one that could greatly enhance his power. He had witnessed the might of vampires who possessed a sanguine thorn. The strength it conferred was an undeniable advantage, bordering on unfair.
Lucius was confident he could defeat the other vampires in a direct fight if he acquired the thorn. The challenge, however, lay in feeding it. Blood was a scarce resource in their base; the vampires consumed vast amounts of it every day. The best way to obtain blood was through hunting and killing beasts.
There had been discussions about enslaving humans to use them as a continuous blood supply, even feeding them natural treasures to enhance the potency of their blood. However, such plans were unlikely to materialize during the tutorial stage.
“We need to find its current bearer before another vampire claims it,” Valeria hissed, her displeasure evident.
“But who will be allowed to upgrade their own sanguine thorn by letting it consume the lost one?” asked Sevrin Valencrest. His tone suggested that he believed himself the most deserving candidate.
This sparked a heated debate as everyone began arguing about who should receive the additional Sanguine Thorn. Lucius learned something fascinating during their discussion: Sanguine thorns seemed to thrive on devouring their own kind. Doing so significantly boosted their power, not just in strength but also by transforming the thorn into a stronger, more evolved race of plant.
The process reminded Lucius of an old myth from his home planet. According to the tale, a vampire once drank the blood of other vampires—a monstrous, forbidden act. No true vampire would stoop to such depravity. Lucius himself found the notion so repulsive that he’d rather sleep with a corpse than drink another vampire’s blood.
The story went on to say that this blood-drinking vampire became vastly stronger and uncontrollably aggressive, requiring the combined might of two royal houses to bring him down. The events supposedly occurred over 20,000 years ago, making it difficult to verify the story's authenticity. But now, it seemed eerily plausible when applied to the sanguine thorn.
As the vampires argued, Lucius continued listening. They speculated that the thorn’s new bearer was likely an elf, human, or orc. If it were a vampire, Tenebrice would have known. It could also be in the possession of a vampire blessed by another god, but that was unlikely. Vampires could sense the presence of blood and a sanguine thorn in someone’s aura, which would make identifying the bearer relatively easy once they encountered them.
Eventually, the Valencrest vampires stopped arguing over who should receive the thorn and shifted their focus to strategizing. They planned to search a large area when the other races emerged on the fifth stage, where the true war would begin. Their primary motivation, aside from strengthening their own sanguine thorns, was to ensure that no other vampire could claim the lost plant for themselves.
This final reason seemed to unite them, enabling cooperation that was otherwise rare among their kind.
Lucius couldn’t suppress a smile. A sanguine thorn, ripe for the taking. Why shouldn’t he seize this opportunity? Luck would play a significant role in who ultimately found the new owner, but he was determined to take it if given the chance. Scouting would become his priority in the days ahead.
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"Where should we place the additional houses we’ll need in the future?" Isolde said, an elderly woman who represented many of the people living in Thalion's base. "There are also high-leveled beasts attacking our weaker citizens."
The night Thalion killed Michael and saved the woman, he had spent hours discussing with Maike, Kaldrek, and Lucan the best ways to build a strong base. They all agreed that they needed a large group of people working together to thrive. To ensure proper organization, they formed a council with three representatives from each major group: scouts, guards, alchemists, builders, craftsmen, and individuals well-regarded by the community. Isolde fell into the latter category.
Initially, everyone was skeptical about this system, but over the past few days, it had worked surprisingly well. Thalion had distributed tokens to facilitate voting for each position within the council, ensuring fair representation. The only exceptions were Lucan, Maike, and Kaldrek, who were appointed directly by him. Thus far, no one had complained.
Over twenty builders had joined the effort, working tirelessly to construct new facilities such as shops, inns, and even an additional tower. These towers included a minor spatial distortion, making their interiors slightly larger than their exteriors. The builders had also drawn up extensive plans for the placement of new houses and training areas. Progress had been steady, and the future looked promising.
"Do those beasts attack people in the base?" Thalion asked Isolde. If such incidents were happening, he should have heard of them.
"No, but they’ve attacked people a few hundred meters into the jungle. Many are worried because these beasts are extremely high-leveled," Isolde replied, her tone tinged with irritation. "And if you weren’t smithing all day, you might have heard about this sooner."
Thalion couldn’t help but chuckle at her bluntness. She wasn’t wrong—when he wasn’t organizing city matters, he was working on his armor in Lucan’s smithy. After his latest excursion in the golden palace, his skills as a smith had dramatically improved, to the point where he now helped Lucan with advanced crafting. The sudden shift had taken Lucan by surprise since, just days earlier, the roles had been reversed. Thalion was close to completing his armor—just a few more days of work remained.
In addition to his smithing, he had hundreds of liters of blood stored in his room, empowered by the magic circle crafted by Zyra. He had asked several mages to develop a similar circle to enhance blood, but their efforts had yet to produce satisfactory results. For now, that was fine. Thalion had little time for body tempering and was focused on crafting and managing the base.
"No need to be so aggressive," Thalion said with a smile. "But I don’t see a solution to the beast problem other than sending out larger hunting parties to ensure their safety. We don’t currently know where the bests are at the moment." He also didn't want to search the jungle for those beasts. It would be more than just a bit time-consuming.
"He’s right," Edrion, a guard elected to the council by everyone over level 50, interjected with a commanding voice. "We cannot protect people while they’re hunting. Another solution would be to designate zones that only individuals of a certain level are allowed to enter. I spoke with the scouts earlier and they’ve discovered a giant termite hive in the distance. If it continues to grow at this rate, it could become a significant threat within a week."
"That’s correct," Maike added. "However, the hive is the only serious threat we’ve identified for the base so far. There are some strong beasts, around level 70, roaming the area within a ten-kilometer radius. They’ve been preying on survivors and hunting parties. We’ve marked their last known positions on the map, but their movements are fast and erratic, making it difficult for the stronger parties to track and eliminate them."
"How many hunting parties currently have access to these maps? And how often are the maps updated when a threat is added?" Thalion asked, turning to Elise, one of the alchemists and craftsmen responsible for creating the maps over the past two days. The initiative was introduced after several survivors were lost to beast attacks.
"The maps are synchronized," Elise explained. "As long as someone isn’t too far from the base, they can see any updates in real time when a new threat is added."
"How many maps do we have?" Thalion asked, already forming an idea to address the issue. "If we can provide every hunting party with a map, they could call for help when needed. We could station guards or stronger parties in key areas so they could respond quickly—either to save lives or avenge them."