The night grew deeper. Jack, who had joined the town guard less than three months ago and was still a rookie, walked along the main street carrying an oil lamp.
This was his nightly patrol, starting from 6 p.m. and continuing until dawn.
It was clear to see this was a thankless job, always handed off to newcomers like him.
Among all the professions in town, town guard was considered the one with the most perks and hidden profits, with all sorts of unexpected gains. After Jack graduated from the academy, it hadn’t been easy for him to get into the Guard Bureau. Even though he’d immediately been tossed onto the night shift, he still believed that one day he’d become a full-fledged, courageous, and just town guard, admired by all!
Of course, having money would be best too.
Jack had already walked his assigned route twice tonight. His responsibilities were few, but most important was driving off any residents still outside at this hour and urging them home, to keep them from running into trouble. After all, beneath the skirt of the Goddess of Night, all manner of non-human creatures began to stir.
Some of these beings were exceptionally vicious, seeking out people at this hour to kill.
Ghouls feasted on flesh and innards, even crushing bones to swallow them down; wraiths devoured souls to grow stronger; liches, the most despicable of all—creations of witches—were nearly mindless fiends who loved to hunt anyone with magic, set up blood-ritual arrays, and refine their prey alive into their own bodies.
If a lich didn’t die, those absorbed into its body would never be freed, doomed to endure decades or centuries of torment—a cruelty beyond words!
When Jack first joined, he’d heard the other guards gossiping: a notorious witch had appeared near several surrounding villages. This witch was a wanted criminal in the Kingdom of Lottis, once a noble lady who, in pursuit of eternal beauty and a long life, had willingly become a witch.
No one knew how many people she had murdered over the past hundred years. In recent decades, the old hag had even advanced to Sequence II, turning many magically gifted individuals into liches, leaving them to lurk in the nearby towns, devouring flesh to increase her own power.
In fact, Jack owed his current job partly to this witch. With the recent increase in night patrols, the old staffing levels weren’t enough, so the Guard Bureau had split the patrol routes further, assigning many new rookies to cover them.
If a murder happened in someone’s district, losing performance points was the least of their worries.
Jack had been on the job only three months—not even past what the veterans called the “probation period”—and he certainly didn’t want to lose his job now.
Thinking of his parents and younger sisters’ hopeful eyes at home, Jack’s weariness seemed to melt away, replaced by fresh energy.
He tightened his grip on the oil lamp, and his steps picked up pace.
“Hm, what’s that?” Suddenly, his lamp’s glow revealed a figure leaning against a shop doorway.
“Tsk, another drunkard spending the night outside.” Jack scorned inwardly, but still trotted over.
Ding-ling, ding-ling, ding-ling…
The oil lamp in his hand gave off a crisp, clear chime. This was no ordinary lamp; it was forged with magical materials and engraved with a magical array by priests from the Church of the Sacred Light, possessing strong suppressive effects against creatures that thrived in the night.
As he approached, Jack saw the person clearly—this was no drunkard! She was wearing a student uniform, her long golden hair shining, her sleeping face delicate and charming.
“A female student?” Jack was shocked.
Students in this town were rarities, real treasures—there were barely any schools, and most families’ children weren’t even eligible for education. If you were in school, you were considered talented, a bright prospect for the future.
What’s more, some schools catered exclusively to the nobility. Anyone who could attend one had a powerful, wealthy background!
If something happened to someone like that in his district, he could forget about being a guard!
He might even be “forced” to resign, never to live in peace again!
Jack’s heart pounded so hard it almost leapt out of his throat. He rushed over to the girl. Her pale-gold hair looked even more dazzling under the lamp’s glow, making him even more anxious.
No, no, no—could she be the beloved daughter of some noble house? Please, nothing must happen to her!
Jack prayed fervently to the Goddess of the Sacred Light in his heart. Even if she only looked like she was sleeping, what if—?
What if her soul had been drained by a wraith, or her blood sucked by some bold vampire, or—worse—if a foul lich had planted a flesh-ritual array in her body? In a month, all her flesh would wither away, leaving only a bag of bones!
“Goddess above, Goddess above! Please, let nothing have happened to her!”
“Goddess above, Goddess above!” On a nearby rooftop, Hill finally saw the guard arrive. Watching the clueless young man take off his uniform coat and drape it over the girl, Hill knew she was safe.
The moment that girl woke up, she’d declared herself Hill’s blood bag and insisted on going home with her. Hill, the weak and pitiful vampire, was terrified!
Y-you’re trying to get me killed! Hill had been heartbroken.
Although she was tempted, Hill had still refused, and without hesitation, drove her fingernail into the girl’s neck and injected more venom. The poor thing had immediately fallen asleep, and Hill had dragged her to the spot where the guard found her.
Actually, the girl was never in much danger—Hill hadn’t even fed enough!
She’d only had a single mouthful, enough to stave off hunger for a day at most. If nothing else happened, Hill would have to go hunting again tomorrow night!
But…
Her next prey would probably be some drunkard or scavenger, right?
Tsk, tsk, tsk! Hill felt a pang of disappointment. It was inevitable—after tasting a rare delicacy, anyone would feel a sense of loss when faced with plain fare again. Especially for vampires—the more delicious the blood, the more useful it was to them.
Ordinary blood was nothing like a magician’s blood!
And the difference between sequences was even greater!
Hill mused to herself: if only she could have a sustainable snow leopard—er, blood bag—and take a sip every day, she might be able to fill her experience bar and advance to Sequence I in two or three years!
But that was nearly impossible. Those fresh-faced students at school didn’t even have a sequence yet—barely any magic, no better than street performers.
Anyone who reached Sequence I was teacher level, with a wide array of spells. They’d have no trouble dealing with a little vampire like her, who only had some fighting power at night!
“Sigh!” Hill sat atop the roof, letting the cool night breeze brush her legs, which were wrapped in thick black stockings and short boots, swinging back and forth.
The girl who could’ve been her blood bag had been let go by her own hand. How could Hill not sigh? Even drinking ordinary blood for ten years might not get her to Sequence I, but at least it kept her hunger at bay!
That was the greatest luxury for many of the hidden non-humans in town.
She gazed at the bright moon in the night sky, lost in thought.
The moon seemed unusually bright tonight…
“Almost forgot.” She got up, put a finger to her lips, and used her extended fang to prick a hole.
Vampires never bled from wounds, for blood was their lifeblood—a loss of two or three hundred milliliters was a massive injury, needing long rest to recover.
Whenever the stars were few and the moon was bright, it meant the Goddess of Night was in a good mood. Even if it wasn’t the “Festival Moon” itself, praying now might win a blessing from that goddess.
It was a pity—over the past month, Hill had only prayed once, on the full moon, and… not even a glimpse of the goddess’s toe for her trouble. She’d wasted the whole night waiting on the rooftop and had to run to school the next day.
Would her prayer work this time?
Forget it. Even a fleeting glimpse beneath the goddess’s skirt would be worth it.
Hill had been male in her previous life, with a love for women, and not even transmigration could change her tastes.
She squeezed a few drops of blood from the wound on her finger, her face twisting in pain, but this was the way of the vampire’s rituals—a hereditary instinct etched into her bloodline!
The drops of blood floated up, gradually forming a simple symbol—a round moon with a half-open eye inside. If you looked closely, the eye seemed to hold a hint of mysterious amusement.
This was the symbol of the Goddess of Night. She was a capricious goddess with no church of her own, and this sign was imprinted instinctively in the blood of all who bore her blessing.
Hill closed her eyes and recited a few words of prayer, not knowing that in the sky above, a matching eye appeared in the full moon. The eye lingered on Hill for a moment, then an unseen silver glow drifted down from the heavens, like a gossamer robe gently settling on her shoulders.
Half an hour later, Hill opened her eyes, feeling an odd sensation in her body, as if a foreign power was trying to blend with her.
She opened her status panel. Sure enough, something had changed!
Name: Hill Hamill
Level: 1 (65/100)
Race: Vampire
Sequence: None
Skills: [Night’s Blessing I], [Extraordinary Magic I]
[Extraordinary Magic I]: As the darling of the Goddess of Night, you have caught her whimsical eye. The goddess was greatly pleased by your recent meal, for you had no idea you were drinking the blood of the Sacred Light Goddess’s earthly agent. As a reward, your magical talent has greatly increased; when casting spells, spell power increases by 50%, and casting time decreases by 30%.
The goddess’s whisper: “It’s been so long since something amused me this much. Do it again, with even more gusto!”
Hill: “???”
Did you just say I drank whose blood?