Chương 47

Silently praying he was mistaken and that this was one of those mimic creatures Kiki had mentioned, Oliver used Appraisal on the figure looming on the throne in front of him. Vladislaus Orlak Vyprianiv II, Vampire Lord. Level 90.

"Shit," Oliver whispered. That single word didn't even begin to describe how royally fucked he was." Come closer," Vladislaus demanded. His words reverberated with a power that pulled on Oliver's insides. He only just barely managed to resist. Instead of stepping up, Oliver raised his shovel and rested it on his shoulder. A very minor act of defiance, but all he could manage under the current weight of his opponent's pull. The Vampire Lord laughed, the sound a deep and controlled boom that shook the throne room."

You resist me using my own wardrobe? Brazen and brash. I'd expect nothing less from one of my two remaining experiment subjectees." Oliver chewed on the side of his cheek, the pain helping him ignore the glamor used. The Vampire Lord's honeyed words were laced with an exotic accent Oliver occasionally heard from other vampires in the biome. The melodic cadence added to his sophisticated demeanor, which only served to set Oliver on edge the more he truly considered the implication.

This was a monster genetically engineered to serve as a protector of this biome's greatest secrets.

"You know who I am?" Oliver asked. While he knew the Vampire Lord was his biome's administrator, he desperately needed to buy himself time. Getting the terrifying Vampire Lord monologuing would give himself time to maybe toss together some semblance of a plan." Oliver Nightingale. You're a [Grave Robber], [Underkeeper], and, most recently, a [Paranormal Slayer]. An interesting selection. It's unfortunate that you won't be able to choose a fourth class. I was quite curious about what you might select."

"Why won't I be able to do that? I'm close to the level 60 mark." Oliver's heart raced and he debated firing his blunderbuss immediately. But the Vampire Lord undoubtedly had half a dozen means in which to dodge a bullet. At level 90, his Dexterity alone likely made moving at the speed of a bullet trivial." Do you truly believe you will exit this room alive? You stumbled into my domain, utterly naive and clueless. I promise, there will be no stumbling out in a similar manner."

"Can anything I say change your mind?" Oliver asked. To his surprise, the Vampire Lord actually paused and seemed to consider Oliver's question. Then he smiled, lips curled back to reveal truly horrific white fangs, tipped with red." Yes. If you truly wish to continue your existence, I will offer you one path of survival. Accept the gift of vampirism and act as my champion. Then, with myself acting as your master in all things, you must hunt down and slay as many of your fellows as your life permits."

Oliver hesitated. He didn't seriously debate his answer, but he was caught off guard that it was offered at all.

"Why?"" Once this grand experiment ends, I have been promised that my life will continue on in my domain, unchanged for eternity.

"Vladislaus leaned forward on his throne." I have reason to doubt the sincerity of the offer."

"You think you'll be put down with the rejected experimentees?" Oliver guessed, understanding dawning on him.

"And, if I were to kill all of my peers, then it would mean the experiment might never end."" It will end eventually, regardless of if you all die. However, you keeping others from escaping through the exit will buy me precious time." The earlier grin retreated into a thin smile on the vampire's pale face." Not only will this deal between us allow you to leave my presence in one piece, but I promise you additional power under my influence. I have long experimented on humans, making them thralls and underlings.

Through that experience, I have gained great knowledge in how to twist pathetic mortal lives and enhance them."

"Like what the flesh ripper did to people?" Oliver asked. He vividly recalled the abominations he'd encountered in his first day in the biome. They haunted his dreams. Eerily similar to what he'd seen in the castle's dungeon." His work served as a template. As did your fellow survivor's. Fear not. I have perfected the craft in my quest to combine it with vampirism. You will not lumber from this chamber a grotesque horror.

I will not allow my champion to appear as anything other than the pinnacle of elegance and beauty." Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit. Oliver made a show of considering the offer. Tapping a finger on his chin, head titled while he hemmed and hawed." My offer is available for another twenty seconds." Oliver's eye twitched and he cursed internally. A small part of him wondered if the Vampire Lord's offer was truly that bad.

It meant escaping here alive and he could probably focus on killing the other experimentees who'd already gone down the path of killing others for levels. He might even hit level 100 through the Vampire Lord's power and escape through that means. However, Valdislaus hadn't mentioned that as a way to sweeten the deal which implied that either it wasn't a viable option after vampirism or the administrators weren't privy to that escape route. That was a coinflip.

Of course, there was also the possibility that the Vampire Lord simply intended to kill him long before escape became more than a dream.

"Ten seconds." Of course, Oliver couldn't seriously consider the offer. Perhaps he was an idiot for not jumping on the offer of power, but he didn't care. He was already physically a prisoner. He refused to turn over his mind as well and allow himself to become a mere thrall. He was actively seeking escape from this hellhole. He wasn't about to take several steps backwards and forfeit himself. Better dead than an enslaved puppet. Three seconds remaining, Oliver barely developed the bones of a bad plan.

Two seconds remaining, Oliver committed to it. One second remaining, Oliver shook his head and declined the Vampire Lord's generous offer." Pity." No time remaining, Oliver activated his Ring of Lycanthrope. The scarlet crescent that swung at him like a sideways guillotine passed over his transformed form. While the horrible pain caused every activation of the ring to feel impossibly long, from an outsider's perspective, the change was near instantaneous.

He felt the crescent blade attack scrape the top of his ears, shaving off a fraction of an inch off the fur there. Then Oliver bounded forward, pressing both his natural Dexterity and the bonuses granted by his quadruped form. Some sixth sense through the wolf body granted him the means in which to narrowly dodge the next ranged attack. Rationally, he knew he should run away. He needed to escape and regroup with Kiki.

Perhaps if they passed over the biome's borders, he would be safe from the Vampire Lord's influence. And yet, his body rushed him forward. In a matter of seconds, Oliver found himself at the foot of the Vampire Lord's throne, staring up at the abysses that served for the monster's eyes. As he stepped forward toward his opponent, his feet caught on the first step. Camouflaged in the stairs, black ooze consumed the bottom half of his front legs and rooted Oliver in place.

He felt its acidic nature eating away his skin and fur." Your body carries with it the sin of the werewolf species,"Vladislaus observed nonchalantly. If he held any concern about the wolf yards away from him, his posture gave nothing away." I had not realized you'd taken on the burden of their curse. It must be a recent development. Perhaps when they attempted their foolish invasion of my home? It matters not. Even should you have accepted my deal, it seems that you would have been found incompatible and put down."

The Vampire Lord finally stood up from his throne, looming over Oliver. He raised an arm, like an executioner's ax, and chopped down through the air, his long sleeve rippling at the motion as he glided in Oliver's direction. Oliver activated his ring, the transformation freeing his arms and granting him the blessing of thumbs once again. In one swift, fluid movement, Oliver unholstered his pistol and shot a silver bullet between the vampire's eyes.

Centimeters from contact with Oliver's skull, Vladislaus staggered backwards, stunned. While not a killing blow, a silver bullet in his forehead wasn't something even he could shrug off without care. The Vampire Lord hissed in outrage, then his entire body burst into black mist. For a fraction of a second, Oliver dared to hope that perhaps he'd truly vanquished the dreaded lord of the Nightmare Biome. But the lack of a kill notification squashed that asinine dream.

The black mist coated Oliver's extended arm, blocking his vision of that limb and the gun it held. With the silver bullet fired, there was nothing to stop the cloud of darkness from absorbing both the gun and arm. Oliver's eyes went wide and he screamed in agony as every single bone in his right arm snapped under the pressure exuded from the vampire's attack. His gun clattered to the stone floor as he stumbled backwards, yanking his arm out of the cloud.

His arm remained externally attached, not a single bit of bone pierced through the skin, but it was far more than simply broken. The Vampire Lord had turned his limb into a skin covered putty approximation of a human arm. Everything south of halfway up his bicep hung loosely and jiggled as he moved. If the bones had been removed, it likely would have hurt far less. As it was, the tiny shards jutted and cut through his internal muscle and flesh with every small movement." Goodbye, Oliver."

The black mist surged forward. As it did so, Oliver stared at his limp arm. He spotted the glint of metal in the shape of a wolf attached to his finger. Somehow, despite the bones snapping, his Ring of Lycanthrope remained attached to his finger. He activated the quest reward. This time, with the raging pain emanating from his right arm, the transformation almost felt relaxing. He noted, with some surprise, that the transformation resealed his shattered arm into a whole piece again when it changed his body.

As the black mist now fully enveloped him, it did so to his wolf form. When the mist retreated, it left a broken dog in its wake. Oliver shuddered on the stone floor while the Vampire Lord's laughter echoed all around him. He tried to move, but the best he could manage was to undulate and that slight motion sent a new spike of throbbing pain through his body.

The only stretch of his prone form without damage was his spine, where his silver shovel lay, pressed against his fur where it had acted as a deterrent to the vampiric mist. Even twitching his eyes hurt as the shattered bones of his eye sockets dug into the backs of the gooey orbs and scratched his optic nerve. Oliver died. The ring on his hand shattered.