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Merong······.

Right now, I was sitting with my knees hugged close, zoning out while staring at the fire.

How hard could it be to burn down just a wooden house?

Starting a fire isn’t really tough; once it’s lit, just adding logs keeps it going fine on its own.

A little oil on the pillars and a match to spark the fire, and the entire wooden mansion would help out as firewood.

[ Level Up! Check your stats! ]

[ Level Up! Check your stats! ]

Noticing the sporadic level-up notifications, it seemed the vampire inside was dying one by one.

Although drowned out by the roaring flames, I could sporadically hear screams from within.

Being engulfed in flames is the most horrific pain for any human.

And that applies to vampires, who are not exempt even if they aren’t human.

Vampires in this world don’t have the whole burning-up-in-sunlight thing going on.

So, this must be their first time experiencing the pain of their bodies burning, making them scream in agony.

“Not many vampires are coming out.”

“Well, that’s to be expected.”

Escaping a burning house is really difficult.

Training on what to do in case of a fire isn’t for nothing.

Once a fire starts, the internal structure can change unpredictably.

The entrances could get blocked as the building collapses, or paths could turn into dead ends due to the flames.

Plus, the doorknobs would be too hot to touch, and the room would be filled with choking black smoke.

Everywhere would be filled with heat, creating disasters that prevent normal judgment.

“Is it a game of chance in there now?”

“Game of chance… is that so?”

“Yup.”

A fire isn’t just about burning to death.

You could also get crushed by debris when the building collapses or suffocate from carbon monoxide while burning.

If you die from suffocation or being crushed, at least it’s a comfortable death without pain.

If a modern person were here, they would probably use a fire escape or something, but sadly, such advanced tech doesn’t exist in this world.

So, there are only two ways to escape that mansion.

Going through the flames to reach the first floor.

Or breaking a window and cushioning the fall with your body.

If it’s the second floor, it might work, but from the third, even a vampire’s legs might get wrecked.

In fact, some vampires who tried to escape by breaking windows ended up falling to their deaths or barely surviving only to burn alive afterward.

The entire building took quite some time to burn down completely.

About an hour.

After some time passed, all that was left of the building were the skeleton-like remnants of burnt wood.

In the midst of this, in a room tucked away in the corner of the first floor.

That room stood out as untouched.

“Why is that room fine?”

“I can sense magical power coming from the entire room. They probably spread a thin barrier.”

“So there are still living vampires in there, huh?”

Magical power sure is versatile.

I was zoning out because hunting was so boring, but apparently, it wasn’t so straightforward.

I made my way to the only intact room and kicked the door.

-Bang!

“FBI Open up!!”

The inside of the room was truly filthy.

As much blood as had been spilled, there was more of a stench of blood than the smell of burnt wood.

As if a shut-in had been living there, the windows were boarded up so that not a single ray of sunlight could sneak in.

And right in the middle of the room, there’s a bed.

There were no other pieces of furniture, just that bed, and on it lay a silver-haired girl, her arms and legs bound.

The scene looked as if a couple was indulging in some SM play.

“Hmm. Looks like we interrupted their fun. Goodbye now.”

“Please, be careful!”

At that moment, the girl, not gagged, shouted at me.

And then, a soft voice rang from somewhere.

“Blood magic.”

The blood pooling on the floor began to wriggle, taking the shape of thorns, rushing toward me.

The blood thorns stabbed at my body randomly, and then the biggest blood puddle surged up, transforming into the figure of a man.

“You’ve stirred things up pretty well… damn human. But that ends now━━.”

“Ow, you bastard! That hurts like hell!”

“Wha, what…?!”

What is this nonsense?

I pulled out my great sword and swung it wide, the dude leaping back to dodge.

All Attribute Resistance.

The skill I gained from the last hunt increased my resistance toward blood, just as the name suggests.

Thanks to that, even with my lacking stamina of 10, I only felt a little pain.

“Luke, are you okay?”

“That’s quite the early question.”

Luna, who had been standing behind me until I got stabbed, approached.

Since Luna had seen that my resistance was high, it was natural for her not to worry, but you’d think she’d at least scream in surprise if everything was normal.

Isn’t that common courtesy for someone who’s just become a heroine?

“How are you still alive?!”

“Because I’m alive, dumbass.”

What a funny guy.

It’s the first time I’ve seen someone question why a living person is still alive.

“Shut up and die, you XP loser.”

I swung my sword once more, but the vampire dodged swiftly.

I almost felt like I was fending off a pesky fly.

“Geez, not bad for a bat, huh? All you do is run away.”

“I won’t fall for such trifling taunts.”

“If you have nothing else to say, then it’s a taunt. I’m just saying what I think.”

I was just trying to cut him clean and level up.

But the guy kept dodging like a coward, continually casting useless blood magic.

Even with Luna’s help, it was pretty tough to catch that slippery vampire.

‘Come to think of it, he wasn’t around when Arthur showed up.’

What was his name? Dmitri? Acorn? I can’t quite remember, but he’s the one who awakened Yui, the vampire queen lying there, and I think he was the first to bite the dust against her.

There is a special counter to guys who just run away like that.

It’s not my original technique, but it’s a new skill I tweaked a bit.

“Luna! It’s transformation time!”

“……”

“Hurry up!”

“…Okay.”

Luna seemed uncertain about the word ‘transformation.’

But urged by me, she poured the remaining oil from the mansion onto me.

The vampire and Yui started looking at me in confusion, but I just ignored them and took a match out of my inventory and set myself on fire.

-Hiss.

In an instant, my body blazed with flames.

But as you know, I won’t burn to death.

The skill protects me.

Thinking that All Attribute Resistance is a defensive skill is a huge misunderstanding.

Not a misunderstanding, just a blessing.

Isn’t that what allows the opponent to drop their guard?

“Wooaaah!!! Bouncy Luke!!! Fire☆Style!!!!”

Nobody who saw this form would survive.

Why? Because I’m going to ensure that.

“Ha, you’re the first human I’ve seen hasten their own demise.”

Not knowing the terror of this transformation.

Can I let this go?

“Fire☆Hug!!!”

I opened my arms and charged at the vampire.

The guy, startled at my advance, tried to dodge quickly just like before.

But the room was small, and being grabbed isn’t that easy of a skill to evade.

If we’re being technical, it’s more of a targeting skill than a non-target one.

Rather than dodging, countering would be more apt, but the bat-like guy had no time to think that through after just running away.

Eventually, the vampire caught by me experienced a hot embrace, one that boys would joke about.

Not a metaphor but a literal burning hot hug.

“Ahhhhh!!!!!”

In a blink, the vampire, who won’t burn up, let out a final gasp as he sank his fangs into my shoulder.

Does it matter now if he sips some blood?

I’m good with just mosquitoes to quench my thirst, so I flexed my arms.

-Crack! Crack! Crack!

“Iiiiiiiiy!!!!!”

I don’t know what my level is right now, but my strength is over 70.

In conclusion, by sheer strength, I’ve already surpassed D-Rank.

Too much for a frail vampire to handle.

In the end, the vampire remained hanging on me, still biting, but ultimately succumbed and opted to burn to death.

Thus, the vampire turned to ashes and vanished.

Immediately after,

[ Level Up! Check your stats! ]

[ Level Up! Check your stats! ]

[ Level Up! Check your stats! ]

Familiar notifications popped up before my eyes, signaling the battle’s end.

I leveled up a bit from this fight, but I’d have to check how much later.

“Now, shall I just kill the queen and head back?”

I approached Yui, still bound.

With her wintery white hair, probably around 159.5 cm tall, and sapphire-like blue eyes—her appearance is enchanting.

Neither a queen for nothing.

It reminded me of the author having drawn an illustration for a monster about to meet its end.

That was Yui, and thanks to her pretty illustration, she secured a fanbase.

The issue was that she got sliced in half the moment she appeared to Arthur.

Thanks to that, comment sections flared up that day.

“Give our queen back!” they cried.

Seeing her in person, I felt like becoming a fan myself.

As I gazed, tears began to well up in her eyes, and in a shaky voice, she called out, “P-please, save me… I’m not one of those vampires…!”

“No way.”

You’re going to give me the highest experience points here, and you want me to let you go?

Not a chance!

“P-please! If you just let me live, I’ll do anything!”

“Anything?”

“Yeah, yeah! Anything!”

In the original, she wasn’t such a coward.

I remembered her being more contemptuous towards others, but maybe since she hadn’t awakened yet, her personality was different from what I knew.

“Hmm… anything, huh…”

Killing her aligns with the original, but…

‘I can’t resist “anything!”‘

Does it really matter? Since when do I have to follow the original?

“Luna. Release her.”

“Sure.”

I just freed a new high-class slave!

*

Before morning, I returned to the Count’s territory with my newly acquired high-class slave, Yui, after finishing the request as promised.

Although I was a bit late, it seemed I should catch some sleep, so I headed to the inn, when suddenly—

“I finally found you, commoner.”

“How relentless can you be? Piggy.”

At the entrance of the inn we were going to, a piggy was waiting with some thugs.

Now, I see they brought some different guys instead of the soldiers I saw last time, meaning Isaac handled things well.

But it seemed like they were counting on the thugs and throwing little money at them just because Isaac wouldn’t lend the soldiers.

People struggling day to day wouldn’t hesitate to throw a few punches for some cash.

“How dare you, a mere hired hand, loiter around instead of doing your assigned task? Because of you, I’ve torn the inn of the territory apart.”

Ah, yes. You’ve been working hard, haven’t you? A textbook example of how being dumb means putting your body through hard labor is right before my eyes.

Seems like they plan to beat me up and just capture Luna for themselves; they won’t be easy to take down.

This is why it’s bothersome to deal with prideful folks.

I guess it’s time to stomp them down hard enough so they can’t get back up.

“Luna, can you do anything for me?”

“Y-yes…?”

“I asked if you can do anything. Answer me.”

“…Yes.”

“So that’s what you say.”

Hehe, you’re done for, piggy!

 

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