Hidden World.
The smell, that damned smell, Marcus was sure he would never forget it. A pungent stench of rotting flesh and charred bodies mixed with the faint metallic scent of blood. It was a stench that stood out among other horrors.
The scene before him was one of pure carnage: bodies strewn everywhere, forming a grotesque sight that revealed the most horrific massacre Marcus could imagine. He stood among the corpses. His body trembled, and his breathing was labored. Such brutality would disturb anyone.
However, the massacre was not what worried him the most. The semi-transparent screen floating before him was the true source of his discomfort—a screen he was all too familiar with.
Name: Baltaza Solomon
Level: 7
Class: Common Vampire
Health: 50
Strength: 20
Agility: 15
Dexterity: 13
Mana: 16
Spirit: 15
Skills:
Bite (Level 3): You bite a living being and drain its blood, regaining health equal to the amount of blood absorbed.
Vampiric regeneration: Ability to regenerate abnormally quickly; injuries fatal to humans can heal in a matter of days.
Vampiric Spell: Beings with weaker willpower than you will have a slightly favorable disposition towards you.
The status screen Marcus observed was a standard representation of the lowest class of vampires in the Hidden World universe , the most popular franchise at the moment, with 30 games, 20 books, two TV series, and a film trilogy.
For over 10 years, the Hidden World universe was Marcus' life, the only thing that made him happy. He dedicated all his free time to this universe. Among all the works that made up the expanded universe, one stood out: the three-game series Shadow's Mystery , which followed a young detective who comes into contact with the supernatural world, until then hidden.
The scene that unfolded before him was a recurring one in the game: an overturned carriage surrounded by dozens of bodies. This image kept coming back throughout the game, appearing in several flashbacks; it was the event that changed everything: the attack on the blood baron Bartolomeu Fiore.
The powerful vampire lord was ambushed and killed upon returning to his domain after a visit to the theater in Yorfen. The attackers were the Holy Inquisition and the notorious werewolf clan, the Petrov family. At least, that was the vampires' version of events. The Petrov family and the Inquisition each had their own narratives, but it was clear that all three factions had lost important members on that strange, abandoned road.
"Damn." For a moment, Marcus was startled by the sound of his own voice, hoarse and heavy. He tilted his head and looked down at his hands, an instinctive reaction. What he saw terrified him: large, calloused hands that were not what he was used to.
Baltazar Solomon. Marcus couldn't help but remember the name he read on the status screen moments before. He was very familiar with this name, although he rarely used it. Baltazar was also known by another nickname: "The Butcher".
Marcus cursed his luck. Balthazar was a mid-level boss in Shadow's Mystery ; he had been the only survivor of the massacre, saved by supernatural luck when he hid among the bodies. The head of the Fiore family saw some use in him and made him the new ruler of the Bartholomew territory. The problem was that, after enduring years of physical and mental torture from Bartholomew, Balthazar had gone mad and become a completely insane and brutal man.
But that didn't matter anymore. What worried Marcus most was not Baltazar's nature, but the catastrophic fate that awaited him at the hands of the protagonist, who would give him a brutal death.
"Damn it, DAMN IT! If I was going to transmigrate, I might as well at least be like the damn protagonist!"
Marcus's mind was spinning every time he thought about his situation. He sat on the floor in the fetal position, taking deep breaths for a few minutes to calm himself down. Suddenly, he stood up and shouted to himself:
"DAMN IT! I'M NOT GIVING EXPERIENCE POINTS TO THIS BASTARD!"
His gaze quickly changed from frightened to determined. The decision was made: he would fight for his survival.
"Damn it! If I stay like this, I'll end up dead. If I run, those crazy clan's vampires will track me down and tear me apart. If I stay, that bastard will use me as XP bait. To survive, I need to get stronger before the game starts."
Determined to find something useful, Marcus looked around. The scene was macabre: charred and mutilated bodies strewn everywhere. Despite this, his night vision, granted by his vampiric nature, allowed him to distinguish details in the darkness.
After several minutes of searching, a body caught his eye. It was a tall, thin man, apparently about forty years old. His skin was deathly pale, and red veins looked ready to burst from its surface.
"Conrad Graut," Marcus murmured, feeling a rush of memories flood his mind. They were memories of Eduard Baltazar. Conrad had been one of two vampiric knights serving under Bartholomew, a powerful vampire leader.
Cautiously approaching, Marcus crouched down and placed his left hand on the lifeless body's chest. He was startled when a bright screen appeared before his eyes:
Black dog coat green item
Description: Grants the ability to summon two level 15 black dogs to fight alongside the user. If the user is weaker than the dogs, they will attack them.
Marcus blinked, stunned. He had never imagined he would be able to access such a powerful item so soon. Despite the disturbing description, it was an opportunity he could not pass up. With steady hands, he removed the overcoat from Conrad's body, already feeling the pressure of time against him.
"If I want to survive, I need to use everything I can. This is just the beginning," he muttered to himself, his eyes shining with a mixture of fear and determination.
After removing his coat, Marcus went on to search the other bodies. He didn't have much time—if the sun rose or someone arrived, death would be all that awaited him.
Despite his thorough search, Marcus failed to find many useful items. He looted a repeating rifle, a revolver, and two ammunition belts with demon-killing bullets from the bodies of the Holy Inquisition members. All of these were valuable.
After finishing his search, Marcus's eyes fell on the overturned carriage in the center of the sea of bodies. It was a large, old, and antiquated carriage, riddled with bullet holes, as if a firing squad had unloaded their weapons into it.
Marcus's gaze revealed fear and apprehension. The being that resided in that overturned carriage possessed enough power to destroy an entire small town if it had time to prepare.
Though considered one of the weakest, Bartholomew Bella Fiore was a bloodlord—a master of the night carrying the blood of the Fiore family and a direct lineage of the vampire king himself.
Marcus gripped the revolver tightly, looking at the carriage. In the game, Baltazar had found his turning point when he drank the blood from Bartholomew's dying body. Marcus knew this was his best chance. However, the idea of drinking blood was disturbing, and Bartholomew doing so seemed even more uncomfortable.
What worried him most was what Bartholomew would still be able to do. Even on the brink of death, an animal was still an animal. Bartholomew wasn't the ruler of a vampire territory by chance.
Bartholomew's cruelty was legendary, and no other force dared to confront him. Anyone who tried could return home to find their entire family dead and tortured.
"Damn..." Marcus muttered, cursing as he advanced towards the carriage.
He struggled to climb it. He paused for a moment, staring at the door before him. With his right hand, he pointed the revolver at the door while slowly opening it with his left.
The creaking of old wood increased Marcus's anxiety.
"Calm down, Marcus... calm down..." he repeated, a mantra to keep himself steady.
When he finally opened the door, what he saw was grotesque: pinned to the seat of the carriage was a short, fat, bald man with a long nose. His most distinguishing feature, however, were the three spears that impaled him.
The first pierced his throat. The second lodged in his right shoulder. The third pierced his stomach. Bartholomew's hands gripped the spear through his throat as if trying to remove it, but he had no strength.
A thin, almost invisible smoke emanated from the points where the spears met Bartholomew's body.
"Sacred silver..." Marcus commented.
It was a metal imbued with divine energy, lethal against creatures of the night.
Bartholomew's eyes slowly turned to him. The vampire tried to move his head, but the spear in his windpipe prevented him. After a few moments of effort, he gave up, remaining still.
Marcus froze when he saw that, but was woken up by a hoarse, chilling sound that escaped Bartholomew's mouth:
"You... bastard... get me out of here, you dog!"
Even in that condition, Bartholomew's arrogance and despicable personality remained intact. A wave of uncontrollable hatred washed over Marcus when he realized this.
Memories of abuse, torture and humiliation suffered by Baltazar at the hands of Bartholomew flooded his mind.
"YOU PIECE OF SHIT! HOW DARE YOU?!"
Without realizing it, Marcus screamed and threw himself into the carriage. His fangs grew instinctively, and he tore out Bartholomew's throat with his own teeth.
Bartholomew's eyes showed extreme confusion and surprise as Marcus tore him apart like a wolf devouring its prey.
Marcus was lost in blind rage and only regained consciousness when Bartholomew's head fell from his neck.
"What… what did I do?"
Before he could answer his own question, his attention was drawn to a semi-transparent screen projected before him:
Superior blood detected.
Your level has increased by +8.
Your class has evolved.
Initiating transformation to Blood Knight.