Chương 26

The sea ended abruptly at the edge of the Nightmare Biome. From there, it was stretches of blackened land with muted colors. Even the sun repositioned itself when they crossed over the border. It went from a fully sunny, beautiful day over the ocean, to a dark dusk.

"How dreary," Kiki commented.

"Is it always like this?"

"Yes. This is what day looks like over here." Actually, it looked like a rather pleasant day. One of the best he'd seen in the last year. Maybe the other biomes nearby were rubbing off on Oliver's old home biome.

"I assume that castle straight ahead is where we're headed?" Kiki asked.

"Yes. That's where the Vampire Lord lives. What gave it away? The craggy cliff it's perched on, or the lightning strikes crackling all around it?"" Speaking of lightning,"Ben said." I'll need to set you down before we arrive. While my drones can function with minimal damage from electric shock of the caliber at display, I do not believe your bodies are quite so hardy. Unless you happen to have far more Resilience than I assumed." A bolt of lightning might be pressing his luck.

Especially since Oliver would likely also fall from the sky immediately after being struck. And seeing as he still had 0 luck stats, pressing that would definitely not be in his favor. Ben set them down at the base of the mountain. Kiki voiced concern that they were touching ground a short distance away from a collection of graves. Oliver shut that complaint down. In this biome though, everything was a short distance away from a cemetery. At least these graves were marked.

There shouldn't be any surprises bursting from the soil. If anything broke free, it would just be a normal, human, zombie.

"Do you know of any secret passages or entrances?" Kiki asked as they began walking up the winding path to the castle.

"No. I've spent the last five years actively avoiding this place. Going near here is suicide. All I know is that this road is where villagers drop off their monthly sacrificial offerings. I've only come this far once before when I had a quest once to interfere with a child being offered to the vampires. I failed that quest and it still resulted with me being hunted for over a month by the bloodsuckers."

"What about others from this biome? Did anyone turn vampire and survive? Could we contact them and get advice?"

"The only other Nightmare Biome survivor I've met is a [Flesh Weaver]. He might know of a way in. But I'll leave it up to you to ask him. Last time we spoke it ended with a village burning to the ground."" Oliver's assessment is correct. I deemed the other Nightmare Biome survivor too dangerous to risk contact with. If you encounter him, my suggestion is to avoid conflict and flee in haste. Do not waste time with words.

He is a highly intelligent foe who will manipulate and twist any opportunity offered to him into an outcome in his favor." That raised the question, what had happened to his fellow biome survivor? Oliver would be more than happy to never see James again, but the last he'd seen him, he had already been at a very high level. His assault on Oliver implied he was more than okay with the idea of killing other experiment subjects. It was surprising to not have seen him on that leaderboard list.

James made it clear he wanted power and cared little about those in his way. It was possible the [Flesh Weaver] had challenged someone out of his league or gotten unlucky and died. Still, Oliver wasn't holding his breath. He needed to stay vigilant while back in this biome." Perhaps you could inform us more about the social dynamics of your biome while we walk? How do vampires place in the hierarchy?" Oliver considered the question.

"Humans are the bottom of the food chain. At least as far as the supernatural are concerned. They can hold their own against some undead, but that's their limit. They have to appeal to either werewolf tribes or a powerful vampire for protection. That usually requires a tribute. Werewolves require less, but are also less reliable than a vampire. The Vampire Lord whose home we're currently approaching is the most powerful one in the biome."

"Humans never contest the other two factions?" Kiki asked. She sounded insulted by the idea.

"At one point a [Necromancer] human rose to power, but he was shut down within a year." Looking back, Oliver realized that was likely a path of power being offered by his experimenters. But at the time, he'd wisely deemed it idiotic to get involved in that power struggle. He wondered now what that route would have looked like and whether or not his siblings in mirror Nightmare Biomes had attempted it. This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author's work.

They walked on a bit further, the biome's usual silence broken by the buzz of Ben's drone.

"Have you fought other vampires?" Kiki asked.

"Yes. Though only the lowest of their kind. And, even then, it's not a monster I pick fights with in random alleyways. Still, I have managed to kill a dozen or so vampire spawn. It requires careful preparations and safeguards. And I almost died in several of those fights. I've also had near misses a few times with standard vampires who have possessed normal people."

"They can do that?" Kiki asked.

"Possession?"

"Yes. It's a bit rare since it leaves them more susceptible to a stake in the heart, but they're practically untraceable when wearing a human's skin. They often walk among the townsfolk and are immune to their other weaknesses."

"Hm." She rapped her fingers against her sword hilt.

"Werewolves are far easier to kill," Oliver continued.

"They're only transformed at night. We don't exactly have 'day' like you do in other biomes, but they're exposed during the biome's dusk. They die easily in their human forms."

"Interesting." Kiki considered.

"And vampire's weaknesses? You mentioned those earlier. They must have some, right?"

"Yes. Silver. Like my bullets. Though it's not as effective as it is on some other supernatural monsters. Garlic. Which is practically nonexistent here. Sunlight. Which never shines enough in this biome to meaningfully harm them. Fire. Which is an option I've used in the past. But it comes with downsides like making an escape is substantially more difficult. I read in a book that holy water is incredibly effective. But you need someone with a [Priest] class to create it.

The only [Priest] I ever met was hunted relentlessly by the vampires and died horrifically two days after our meeting. You can also stake them in the heart with a wooden spike. If you're willing to get close enough. And, finally, there's decapitation. That kills most things, vampires included."

"Half of those aren't weaknesses," Kiki said dryly.

"They're very specific ways they can die."

"Which is exactly why I avoid vampires. Let me remind you, even now I am not here to kill them. I'm here to sneak past them and get to this server. Vampires have keener senses than humans, but I've snuck past werewolves on several occasions. I should be able to manage vampires."

"So you want me to do what? Sit outside and twiddle my thumbs?"

"That's what you signed up for," Oliver replied.

"Ben, you need to physically get down into the server to connect to it? Do your drones fold up? Like the ones I saw in the outside world when I was a kid?"" Almost correct. I will detach this drone's reconnaissance features from the flight structure. You will still be able to communicate with me, however I will not be able to engage in combat. Simply carry me to the server. Once within a ten meter radius, I will be able to connect to it."

"You don't need to connect with a cord? I assumed you'd want me to plug in some wires."" While, yes, that could indeed substantially cut down the time I need to hack into the server, it is not necessary. After extensive research and examination of Neo Nova's server, I've come to the conclusion that it would require more time to explain where and how to port the proper cables. It also would increase the risk substantially should you make a mistake. Wireless is the safest option." Oliver nodded.

That was more than fine with him. He just needed to get this chunk of metal close to the other, hidden, chunk of metal somewhere in the castle.

"And you'll be silent? Stealth is essential."" Nothing is truly silent. However, I will make far less noise than a human's heartbeat." Good enough for him.

"Excellent. Then if something goes wrong, you can use your second drone to contact and guide Kiki to my location. She'll stand in reserve as back-up." Kiki clearly still did not approve of that solution. But when Ben agreed with him, she accepted the plan. Still about half a mile away from the castle, Oliver split off from the drone and Kiki. He used his skill to remain in the shadows adjacent to the footpath as he approached the magnificent, gothic structure.

He passed by a pair of peasants, clearly shaken after sacrificing someone to the vampires, but, other than that, he saw no one on the winding path. The little lighting cast from dusk faded into night, the darkness only broken by the occasional crack of lightning. The abundance of darkness only made his Shadow Slink skill more effective. The shadows felt like a familiar blanket after suffering the reflected sun off the sea of the last biome. Still, he acted cautiously.

The occasional bursts of light from lightning overhead could easily expose him if he stepped carelessly. All that the vampires needed was a glimpse of him and they'd be on the offensive." Could you not have disguised yourself like the peasants we passed?" Ben asked quietly from Oliver's pack as Oliver carefully proceeded.

"Too risky with my equipment," Oliver whispered.

"A passing vampire might check my bag. Plus, even assuming I slip through the gates undetected under a disguise, infiltrating that way might end with a pair of fangs in my neck."" Affirmative. That's a logically sound concern.

"Ben paused." I won't lie, I assumed the decision to forgo disguise might be for a more superficial reason."

"What are you talking about?"" Well, you do seem rather attached to the look you've cultivated for yourself. Dark leathers and that triangle shaped hat."

"Don't be stupid. I wear this because it's reliable and useful," Oliver said defensively. Though, he did silently admit to himself his outfit, indeed, looked pretty sick.