Volume 1 - CH 155

Chapter 0155 Vampire?

『Vampire』

One of the most famous monsters in fantasy history.

The existence of twilight, the lord of monsters, or the Immortal King.

Yes, the Immortal King was by no means a skeleton! The Vampire was the true Immortal King!

Ryo wanted to exclaim out loud …

But it didn’t appear to be the right atmosphere to say such a thing, so he kept silent.

Vampires, or the like, have existed on Earth since ancient times.

Regardless on the East or the West side of the ocean.

The image that many people, including Ryo, have was formed in modern Europe.

Needless to say, it was largely due to Bram Stoker’s ‘Count Dracula’.

(Maybe Bram Stoker was a person who reincarnated from another world to Earth! Like JRR Tolkien!)

Ryo was delusional.

Vlad the third of the Dracula family, commonly known as Vlad Tepes, who became the model for Dracula, was not originally close to the image of a vampire … At best, his portraits had some resemblance and his act of skewering the enemy Ottoman soldiers was vampire-like … but that was about it.

He was a hero who had done his best to protect the weak homeland of Wallachia from the neighboring superpower, the Ottoman Empire.

“Did you say Vampire?”

It was the Priest Graham who slowly asked Dogon to confirm.

Graham, who had left all the questions to Hugh and was devoted to listening, was the first to speak this time.

Hugh also glanced at Graham, whose atmosphere had changed.

“I wouldn’t be able to tell, but Joe said so.”

The Swordsman Dogon nodded and replied.

“Master McGrath, is that Joe alive …?”

“The most seriously injured person you helped, that Spearman is Joe.”

Hugh answered Graham’s question.

“Him? There’s no danger to his life … but it might take a while for his consciousness to return. I would definitely want to ask him directly when he is capable of speaking.”

“Yes. I’ll let you know when he is ready to speak, Graham.”

The meeting was over for the day and Dogon and the other person left, offering to help with nursing in the recovery room.

Ryo approached Hero Roman.

“What’s wrong, Ryo?”

Roman had a straightforward personality, so Ryo immediately approached to ask him.

“A while ago, Graham’s atmosphere changed as soon as the word Vampire came out … what happened?”

Ryo called out to Roman to ask what had happened between Graham and Vampires.

Of course, he was trying to ask in advance, hoping that his personal feelings would not harm future operations.

It was not mere curiosity. Yes, it was not.

“Oh. In the Western Countries, Vampires are a special race. They are called the incarnation of evil … and notably, the Church has hunted Vampires many times …”

In reality, that was not the entire story.

Roman’s expression showed that it was something difficult to say.

It was a bad idea to ask excessively there.

“I see. I understand. Thank you.”

When Ryo said so, Roman left the room with a slightly relieved expression.

Magistrate office.

Magistrate Goro and Folklore Officer Rashata sat facing each other.

“A Vampire …”

“Rashata, is there a connection between the Majin and the Vampire?”

Rashata murmured to himself and Goro asked.

“I’ve been thinking about that for the entire time, but … as far as I know, there has been no indication of any relationship between the two.”

If Rashata couldn’t recall any, it meant that there were no folklores in the Kingdom that showed any relationship between the Majins and Vampires.

“To look for the missing villagers, quite a few villagers, including myself, went into the forest to search the mountains several times … but we were lucky we didn’t meet the Vampire.”

Goro frowned, recalling mountain searches that could have destroyed the village if he made a mistake.

“Well, if you think of it this way, isn’t it good that you found out about this now? It’s not normal for Master McGrath to be part of the reinforcements. And adding the Hero party to that … there’s no doubt that Goro is lucky. You can have some confidence in that aspect.”

“What is with that choice of words for encouragement?”

Then they both laughed.

The four from Room 10 were in the dining room of the accommodation.

Of course, Kona coffee was placed in front of the four.

“I didn’t expect a Vampire to come out.”

The conversation on this end began similarly.

It was surprising that it was Niels who started the discussion.

His tone was grave.

“Does Niels know about Vampires?”

Ryo was a little surprised.

He could understand if Etho was familiar with Vampires, but Niels …

“Yeah. Terrifying beings that suck the lifeblood of humans.”

“I see, I was wrong to expect something from Niels.”

“Hey Ryo, isn’t that too rude?”

Niels was indignant at the line that Ryo spat out as he jerked his head.

Amon smiled at their antics.

However, Ryo noticed that Etho, who would usually smile with Amon, wasn’t smiling.

“Etho? Were you too stunned by Niels’s answer …”

“How is it my fault!”

Niels was even more offended by Ryo’s jab.

“No, I’m sorry. It wasn’t because I was stunned by Niels’ answer.”

Etho joined in the conversation with a bitter smile.

“The Hero party … Graham, I’m worried about that person’s facial expression.”

Etho said with a slight head tilt.

“Yeah, he was very involved. I wonder if he has any grudge against the Vampires.”

“I wonder. I’ve heard when I was in the temple that, although not as pronounced in the Central Nations, the hostility towards Vampires in the Western Countries, especially their churches is intense.”

Niels also recalled Graham’s appearance in the conference room and Etho commented it might be due to his church background.

“Is it because of their Vampire hunts?”

Ryo remembered the history of ‘witch hunting’ and ‘inquisition’ on Earth.

Of course, witch hunting itself was carried out long before the establishment of Christianity and it has already been established in history that there were not so many witch hunts led by the Christian church after the Middle Ages.

So then who led them?

It was led by the people.

The people accused the people who lived next door of being witches and burned them at the stake …

Sadly, it was humans who caused such tragedies.

“Yeah, it’s happened many times. In the Central Nations, there had only been a few vampire sightings in the last hundred years, so this time would be recorded as one of the few vampire sightings too … that’s why there aren’t many documents about how to fight them and what kind of attacks are effective, even in the temple.”

Etho seemed to be thinking about various things as he was speaking more slowly than usual.

“In this battle, there may be some sections where Graham’s knowledge is needed. The Guildmaster may consider his opinion more than ours in that area.”

He ended with a bitter smile.

The next morning.

Upon receiving a report that Joe, the Five Binary Star Spearman, had regained consciousness, Hugh visited the recovery room with Graham, the priest from the Hero Party, and Etho, the priest from Room 10.

However, Hugh found a Water-Attribute Magician who was sneakily following behind Etho but not trying to hide at all.

“Hey, Ryo … oi, why would you make that expression like how did I notice you, it would be strange if I didn’t see you instead.”

“Please let me follow too …”

Hugh listened to Ryo’s words and thought for a good ten seconds with his arms folded.

Then he asked Graham beside him.

“Graham, as Ryo requested, would you mind if he joined?”

“The other day, I saw Ryo’s ability in battle in the basement of the Royal Capital Sanctum. He is an outstanding Magician. I would be grateful to have his help for this case as well.”

“Oh, oh, that’s a very high evaluation. If so, Ryo can come along then.”

Then, with Hugh in the lead, the four headed to the recovery room where Joe was resting.

“Master McGrath …”

Joe, the Spearman, muttered when he saw Hugh coming in first.

“Oh, aren’t you glad you survived?”

“……I’m sorry for the trouble.”

“That’s something you should say to Graham, who used Extra Heal to regenerate your lost limbs.”

Hugh replied and showed Joe Graham.

“I see, you did … Thank you for your help.”

Joe bowed his head. And then he asked.

“What about my companions …?”

“Oh …. By the time you reached the village, two had already passed away. There are five survivors if you combine both parties.”

Hugh tried hard to inform him calmly.

“I see……”

Joe must have been prepared for it.

He didn’t lose his composure when he heard that.

However, Hugh did not miss the slight trembling of his arms, the clasping of his fists.

He was suppressing his regret.

No one spoke a word for about a minute.

After confirming that Joe had calmed down a little, Hugh started.

“Joe, I know you would rather not relive the incident, but we still have questions. I asked Dogon yesterday for the details. We only want to confirm one thing. Regarding the being that attacked you. He heard you say it was a Vampire.”

“Yeah……”

Hugh asked and received a short answer from Joe.

“Graham, is there anything you wish to ask?”

“Yes, Master McGrath, thank you. Joe, I want to hear why you concluded that they were a Vampire. Have you seen them somewhere before?”

Graham’s words to Joe were much calmer than they were in the large conference room yesterday.

Etho probably had the same impression.

Etho and Ryo exchanged looks and nodded slightly.

“I’ve never seen a Vampire. I said it was a Vampire … because it was the same as the depiction I heard from a friend in the temple a long time ago. Red eyes, outstretched claws, physical strength beyond human capability …”

Joe spoke slowly, recalling various aspects.

At the end of the recount, Graham asked a strange question.

“How were the clothes of those that attacked you? Did they dress like an aristocrat? And were they wearing shoes?”

“Clothes? … It was worn and tattered … It was something a farmer or fisherman would wear. At least it was not the clothes that aristocrats wear. Shoes … oh yeah, they were barefooted when they jumped onto the tree. Why did you ask?”

“Okay, I understand better now. It was valuable information, thank you.”

Hugh, Etho, and of course Ryo, didn’t have further questions so they left the recovery room.

“Clothes … shoes … what were those questions about?”

Etho muttered in a really quiet voice.

However, Ryo, who was walking next to him, could hear his mutter.

“I’m sure real Vampires dress nobly and wear shoes. In other words, what attacked Joe and his friends was something similar to Vampires …”

Ryo commented because he had the image of ‘Count Dracula’ in his head.

There was no other reason.

However, Ryo’s voice was a little louder than Etho’s quiet muttering.

It was heard by Priest Graham, who was walking in front of him.

Graham stopped suddenly, opened his eyes wide, and turned his face toward Ryo.

“Ryo, have you met a Vampire somewhere?”

“N-no, I have not …”

The expression on his face was enough to surprise Ryo.

Ryo was just a little scared.

“I see … It’s pretty accurate. Vampires dress as if they are aristocrats. And they will never perform hard work themselves. Instead, the Vampire servants will do all of that. In the Western Countries, they are called ‘Strigoi’. And it was likely this Strigoi that Joe and his party encountered earlier.”

“Are these Strigoi made when a Vampire bites a person …”

“Yes. A human being bitten by a Vampire becomes a Strigoi.”

Graham answered Ryo’s question, frowning and creating deep wrinkles on his forehead.

“Graham. The way to transform those Strigoi back to human …”

“There isn’t any way. Unfortunately.”

Graham replied to Ethos’s question with a more pained look than ever before.

“That … I have one question …”

Ryo turned to Graham to ask what he was interested in.

“Yes?”

“I would like to know the magical characteristics of the Strigoi and the real Vampires.”

“Magical characteristics?”

“Yes. What are the attributes that they are weak against, like for example, they are weak against the Light-Attribute, and on the flip side, what attribute magic can they use …”

“Ah, I see.”

Graham nodded and replied.

“Let’s sit down and talk in the dining room there.”

Hugh said and quickly entered the dining room before

“Four coffees.”

Ordering without asking them and sat down.

The order ‘Four coffees’ that Ryo’s boss sometimes did on Earth was very refreshing to Ryo’s ears.

(That brings up good memories.)

It wasn’t a big deal, but it made Ryo grin a little.

“First of all, Strigoi are weak against sunlight. They detest it but it doesn’t mean they can’t move under sunlight. Well … there was a study that concluded that their ability is halved under the effects of sunlight. However, this time we would encounter them in a dense forest so …”

“Ah, that’s why the victims appear in the Eastern forest and they do not come out to the village.”

Hugh added to Graham’s explanation.

“I think so. Of course, if it’s at night, with rain, or cloud cover, they could act at full capabilities outside the forest. Also, regarding magic, I’ve not heard any word that they are weak against the Light-Attributes. They can’t use magic, but the Strigoi doesn’t have any particular weaknesses.”

Graham explained to that point in a breath and then sipped a sip of coffee.

“Also, they do not have any magic stones in their bodies, so the only way to make sure they are defeated is to decapitate them. They are certain to be dead once decapitated.”

Graham made a gesture of dragging his right hand sideways in front of his neck.

It seemed that the gesture of decapitating was common even in different worlds.

“So, regarding the Vampires … they have no magical weaknesses, just like the Strigoi, but they can use all attributes.”

“Huh……”

“All attributes?”

Etho and Ryo were utterly speechless.

Seeing that, Graham understood that the information he disclosed was misunderstood.

“Sorry, all attributes do not mean that one individual can use all attributes. Each individual can use different attributes. Some Vampires use Fire-Attribute magic, some use Earth-Attribute, and so on.”

“Just like humans.”

“Yes.”

Graham agreed with Hugh’s impression with a frown.

“Some denominations of the Church claim that Vampires are ‘Beings born in the dark’. Vampires also do not have magic stones in their bodies, so they cannot be classified as monsters. However, many people in the Western Countries harbor various feelings against them because they are a race that has been hostile to humans over a long history. Also, they are said to have an aristocratic system. Ranking from Duke at the top to Baron at the bottom. You can generally think of the rank as being the same as their strength.”

Graham calmly continued to explain.

“Those above Count are considerable monsters. However, for more than a hundred years, it is said that encounters with Vampires above the Count rank in the Western Countries are few and far between.”

No one said a word as they listened to Graham’s explanation.

It was quite valuable information for those in the Central Nations.

“We cannot know what magic to use when facing Vampires until we actually encounter them, but for any vampire, you may call it a racial trait … they have extremely high magical resistances for all attributes.”

“All attribute resistance …”

Ryo involuntarily muttered game-like knowledge after Graham’s explanation.

“Therefore, in the battle with Vampires, the magic professions convert to support and the melee professions will defeat them.”

“In other words, you have high expectations for Roman and Hugh!”

“It’s … it’s been a long time since I’ve been on the battlefield …”

Hugh McGrath sighed toward Ryo’s words.

But …

“But Ryo also has a sword …”

“I’m a Magician!”

In the Royal Capital, Ryo had been engaged in simulated battles with Roman, a Swordsman and Hero, so Graham asked to include him as a member of the close combat team, but Ryo blatantly declared that he was a Magician.

“By the way, Ryo was also having simulated battles with Sera with a sword, wasn’t he? Even the Knights couldn’t compete with him …”

“I’m a Magician!!”

In Rune, Ryo was engaged in simulated battles with Sera, a sword user who is said to surpass even the genius Swordsman Abel, so Hugh mentioned that it would be strange not to have him as a member of the close combat team, and Ryo once again blatantly declared that he was a Magician.

“In the first place … is there a real Vampire here?”

It was Etho who asked the question to tear through such unproductive questions and answers.

“It seems certain that there is a Strigoi, but we have not confirmed any Vampire presence after all.”

“It’s certainly not confirmed, but Strigoi wouldn’t be created without a Vampire, and if that Vampire dies for any reason, its kin will die. In other words, with the presence of a Strigoi, we should assume that there is at least one Vampire nearby.”

Graham answered Etho’s question with a few nods.

It was confirmed that there would be a nasty Vampire with all attributes magic resistance.

“Just one Vampire alone is still a troublesome foe though.”

Graham muttered in a quiet voice.