Chapter 130:

“This is the hunting rifle my father left behind. He was once the most formidable hunter in several nearby villages, single-handedly defeating three gnoll bandits. Alas, you’ve all helped me so much these past few days, but I have nothing good to give you in return. I hope this hunting rifle can protect you, true warriors.” In a corner of the city square, the student faction’s Miaomiao Shark received the weapon from the kindly old Sister Jules, who handed it over with a benevolent smile. This lady was the medical officer in the camp, and Miaomiao Shark had previously helped her complete a series of tasks, from finding old photos to locating her missing house cat. He thought it would end there. But tonight, during the celebration, the old lady recognized him and gifted him her “family heirloom.” Miaomiao Shark was extremely delighted. Although the reward equipment from this “quest series” was no better than the elite firearm he currently used, the feeling of encountering an “acquaintance” among the crowd was quite nice. Especially the old nun’s grateful yet kind gaze, and the little flower cat she held in her arms—the one Miaomiao Shark had rescued from the rubble in a remote corner—made him instinctively straighten his back at that moment. What is an immersive role-playing experience? “Hey, Shark! It’s time to go, they’re calling us to the halls for the ceremony,” called Spicy Gugu Chicken, Miaomiao Shark’s dormmate. Miaomiao Shark slung the stylish old firearm over his shoulder, waved goodbye to the nun, and under her blessings, rejoined his sworn son. “What’s wrong with you? You look like someone kicked you in the balls,” Gugu Chicken asked, eyeing his son oddly while holding a grilled fish and taking big bites. Miaomiao Shark shrugged and told him what had happened. “Huh, I thought it was something else. Isn’t that just you doing a quest and getting a reward from an NPC?” Gugu Chicken sneered. “I thought maybe a girl had confessed her love to you or something.” “You don’t get it,” Miaomiao Shark snorted. “This game is different from others. They’re all alive, like we’re the accidental intruders in their lives.” “I think you’re delusional. Lay off the angsty young adult literature, will you?” Gugu Chicken mocked, but a few steps later, they encountered a group of muddy little monkeys running around. One scruffy little boy caught sight of Gugu Chicken and immediately brightened up, shouting “Chicken Brother” in a strange tone as he ran towards him. Clearly, they had interacted before. “Don’t call me Chicken Brother, you little runt! Call me Gugu Brother,” the Chicken Brother grinned, shoving the half-eaten, foul-smelling grilled fish into the boy’s hands. He then pulled out a handful of malt candies from his spirit bag and coaxed the other little munchkins to call him “brother” in their broken Common tongue. Miaomiao Shark watched this scene with an odd expression. A few minutes later, after chasing away the sugar-chewing brats, Gugu Chicken turned to find his dormmate giving him a look like he was an idiot. “What?” Gugu Chicken asked irritably, wiping his mouth. “If, I mean if—” Miaomiao Shark drawled. “If a monster showed up right now and tried to eat that kid who called you ‘Chicken Brother’...” “I’d beat the shit out of it! Little rascal Pam is someone I rescued from the dungeons with my own hands. Anyone who dares harm him will pay!” Gugu Chicken clenched his fists tightly, the bones cracking, and then stalked off towards the inner city, shouldering his family’s badass greatsword, all while Miaomiao Shark watched with a weird expression. “Ha, you idiot!” Miaomiao Shark yelled after him. Without turning back, Gugu Chicken flipped him off. “No, you’re the idiot now! Didn’t see that coming, did you? Hahaha!” As the two bickering father and son walked away from the square shoulder to shoulder, Maxim looked up at the crescent moon in the starry sky above. The “Astral Realm Rift” in the heavens made this scene seem rather bizarre yet ethereally beautiful, its purple glow staining even Kadman City’s moon with an eerie allure. “Go play,” Maxim said, bending down to let the two little girls sitting on his shoulders down. He waved to the other children surrounding him. “But remember to go home early, don’t make your parents worry.” These were children Maxim and his Kadman Civilian Self-Defense Force had rescued from the ruins, and a few had even been brought back from the Blood Vulture Halls. Unlike the city’s past residents, these kids didn’t reject Maxim for his strange appearance. They all knew this ever-stern uncle would bring anything found in the city to the survivor’s camp. He was a good person. “Uncle Maxim! Old Stan says you’re a monster.” A snotty little boy clutching berries looked up at Maxim, whose hair and skin were unnaturally pale compared to ordinary people, and asked: “Are you really a monster? But Dad says you protected us, and he never lets me call you a monster.” On one hand, she was excited to attend such a formal, high-level occasion for the first time as a commoner girl. On the other hand, she feared that after Maxim completed the process, it would be her turn. Although Murphy had always emphasized he would not violate her will, this was Transia! On Transia’s lands, vampires could do as they pleased, who could stop them? When the last grain of sand fell through the blood hourglass held by Lady Adele, Murphy said solemnly: “Maxim Cena Vlad, step forward!” “Yes, my lord,” came the deep response from beneath Maxim’s full-face vulture mask. He handed his spirit poison blade and ritual black sword to Bonnie beside him, took a deep breath, and strode up the red carpet to stand before Murphy. Then, under the little players’ gaze, the loyal servant knelt on one knee in a standard knight’s gesture, removing his mask to reveal his inhuman face. “I ask you, Maxim, are you willing to forsake your mortal birthright this night and awaken in crimson by drinking the blood of sin’s descendants?” Murphy asked softly, but thanks to spirit magic amplification, every player could hear him clearly. Maxim’s response, however, thundered loudly: “Of course, my lord. It is my honor!” “Good.” The Count of Kadman nodded and raised the Desire Demon Blade to tap Maxim’s left shoulder. He asked again: “I ask you, Maxim, are you willing to bid farewell to the sun-bathed world at this time and enter immortality under the night’s protection?” “I am willing, my lord. I will offer my future as a sacrifice to the Night Mother.” “Good.” Murphy’s longsword rose and tapped Maxim’s right shoulder lightly. The ceremony should have ended there, but Murphy asked a third question: “I ask you, Maxim, are you willing to follow Murphy’s cause and use your own hands to open a new future for the dark and closed-off Transia?” This question was not part of the rehearsed ceremony. But Maxim looked up, meeting Murphy’s eyes as he said seriously: “I will give you my heart, my sovereign.” “Good.” Murphy sheathed his sword and declared loudly: “Then by the power granted to me by the Blood Vulture Duchess Tris, I hereby proclaim that from this day forth, Maxim Cena Vlad shall become the Knight Commander of the Long Night under the Count of Kadman! I shall grant you the title and authority of ‘Baron of Leim’, and I shall also share my strength and blessings with him. My warriors shall bear witness to this, my warriors shall remember this! A new future for Transia begins here!” His blade made a shallow cut on Maxim’s neck, and a gush of blood flowed out, which Murphy extracted with vampiric power. Though he could have bitten directly like when initially embracing Lady Adele, such intimacy between two men exceeded Murphy and Maxim’s comfort levels. Both men had very normal, perhaps overly normal, aesthetic sensibilities, not nearly as outrageous as rumors suggested. Ultimately, the essence of the embrace lies in the fusion of blood, the means is merely symbolic. “Ugh!” Amid the little players’ gasps, they saw Maxim’s blood being drawn out in a flowing motion into Murphy’s hand. In the midst of the swirling blood sphere, the loyal servant’s body rapidly withered into a desiccated corpse-like state. One could hardly imagine how excruciating this process must have been, yet Maxim remained utterly silent, maintaining his half-kneeling posture of fealty. Murphy squeezed out his own blood into his other hand, mixing it with Maxim’s in a 1:3 ratio until the latter’s blood took on the taint of an Eternal Sin Descendant. He then drank it down in one gulp. Touching the wound on the breathless Maxim’s neck with his fingers, fresh, powerful blood soon flowed back into the servant’s body. Another note popped up: 【Please select an inheritance template for the descendant ‘Maxim Cena Vlad’. Current available character templates: Standard/Rare/Elite. New ‘Elite Template’ inheritance rules are as follows:】 Murphy didn’t even look at that note. Giving Adele the Rare Template inheritance had left him weakened for three days. The cost of swapping to the Elite Template now would undoubtedly be even greater. But the vampire did not hesitate to choose the elite inheritance, for the man kneeling before him deserved such praise!