Becoming the Dark Lord

[Vampiric Reflexes I (Ancient)]: A vampire’s natural reflexes, combined with its heightened perception, create a full 360-degree sphere of awareness, making it extremely difficult to catch off guard.

[Vampiric Aura I (Ancient)]: In moments of pursuit, the vampire releases a predatory aura capable of intimidating weaker foes or anyone with low mental resistance.

[Weak Vampiric Charm I (Ancient)]: The vampire possesses an innate beauty, an elegant and hypnotic charisma that can evolve into a devastating power of seduction and mental influence if the vampire chooses to pursue that path.

“Charm?” Luke muttered, thrown off by the idea. He glanced at Charlie.

She really was beautiful now… to the point he doubted she even needed a charm skill.

“This one isn’t something I activate, Master Luke,” Charlie said, flustered. “I think… it just made me prettier.”

Her hair did look softer, smoother, like silk. But Luke didn’t linger on the details; she was still completely naked, after all.

[Vampiric Leap I (Ancient)]: By consuming 5 Blood Energy, the vampire can leap great distances.

[Vampiric Softfall I (Ancient)]: By consuming 5 Blood Energy, the vampire drastically slows falling speed, cushioning impacts from significant heights.

It was these two skills that finally made something click.

Blood Energy?

He scrolled back through the notifications until he found two entries that explained everything.

[Blood Core: 0/100]

[Warning: The Blood Core requires Blood Energy. Feed on blood to halt the effects of Vampiric Hunger.]

So these activation skills didn’t run on mana. They burned Blood Energy instead, stored in her Blood Core.

The next skill appeared:

[Vampiric Strength I (Ancient)]: By consuming 10 Blood Energy, the vampire temporarily boosts physical strength. Veins surface beneath the skin and blood pumps faster, reinforcing the muscles for feats beyond normal limits, scaling with the vampire’s attributes.

A buff?

If it worked the way he suspected, it was like his other temporary enhancement skills, except far more intense, powered not by mana, but by blood. And the cost wasn’t cheap. Ten Blood Energy was ten percent of her entire Blood Core. This wasn’t a mild boost. It had to be something brutal. Something monstrous.

But the next notification was even more shocking.

[Vampiric Regeneration I (Ancient)]: By consuming 50 Blood Energy, the vampire activates a blood-fueled regeneration. This skill can restore damaged organs, close critical wounds, and, in extreme cases, reattach severed limbs, including the head, so long as they are recovered in time.

Luke stared at the description, stunned.

It was absurdly powerful. Sure, Charlie as a skeleton could do some degree of reconstruction, but this… this was beyond that. She had a real body now, a living one. If Luke’s own head was cut off, he’d die instantly; he’d killed enough people to know that. But a vampire? A vampire could pick its head off the ground and put it back on.

Killing one suddenly sounded like a nightmare.

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And now only one skill remained, the one he sensed Charlie was most afraid to learn about.

[Vampiric Bite I (Ancient)]: By sinking your fangs into a living target, you drain its blood and convert it into vitality to restore your own, while also satisfying your Vampiric Hunger by feeding your Blood Core with Blood Energy. Depending on how much blood remains, the target may die as its life essence is completely consumed. The bite also grants a small temporary bonus to stamina and mana regeneration.

Charlie’s gaze drifted to Luke, and she took a quick step back.

“M-M-Master Luke, I won’t hurt you. Please don’t worry. I-I-I can handle being hungry, I swear.”

She spoke in a rush, but Luke wasn’t reading her through her words. He felt it through their bond. Worry. Deep, trembling worry. She was imagining herself in his world, his modern society with its rules and crowds, and she feared he would hesitate to introduce her to his family. That he would see her as a danger instead of the friend who had fought beside him since the beginning.

“It’s alright, Charlie,” he said gently. “I’m not afraid of you. I know you’re a good person. But you can’t forget what this means. You’re losing HP constantly. If you don’t eat, you’ll die. I’m worried about you too.”

And he was. Not just about the hunger.

There were practical problems now. Sunlight. Predatory instincts. The fact that she could only feed on living creatures. Stockpiling blood in a pocket dimension? Impossible. Vampiric Bite required a living target.

How much blood can I actually give her? Can I regenerate fast enough to keep her alive?

Blood meant HP. His body, being Rank E, regenerated health naturally over time, but he needed to understand the math. How much Blood Energy she needed. How quickly her HP would decay. How much he could realistically provide without killing himself in the process.

If she needs more than I can regenerate, I won’t be able to sustain her. Not long term.

Then an idea surfaced. Luke opened Charlie’s system interface and focused on the Identify function. He scanned the menus, searching for her race description. When the usual tabs didn’t show it, he pushed harder, forcing his focus through the system’s structure.

A new screen unfolded before him.

[Vampire]: Among the countless beings that wander the multiverse, few names inspire as much dread in humans as Vampires. Called “leeches” or “children of the night,” they are known for their supernatural strength, mastery of magic, and the near immortal burden they bear. Unlike mortal races, vampires are not born; they are created through a profane ritual in which the cursed blood of the Vampire Gods corrupts the host, rewriting their biology and condemning them to eternity.

It is said the first Vampire was born when a God dared to manipulate bloodline magic to forge his own offspring. But by twisting the ancestral flow, he created something corrupted, a race of nocturnal predators bound forever to the hunger for blood.

These creatures thrive in darkness and weaken beneath sunlight. They carry the Curse of Vampiric Hunger, a torment that never sleeps. If they do not feed, the hunger begins consuming their body and essence, slowly draining their life until nothing remains but dust. In advanced stages of Vampiric Hunger, the vampire loses both reason and humanity, allowing the savagery of a Vampiric Beast to surface, a creature driven solely by the instinct to hunt and feed.

Attribute Bonus per Level (Rank E): +2 to all stats, +7 free points.

That cleared up a lot of things for Luke at once. First, that Earth’s fiction had gotten vampires right in more ways than he liked to admit. Second… if Charlie didn’t feed on blood, she could lose her rational mind and, in the end, die.

“Charlie, don’t worry,” he said, resting his hands on her shoulders. “We’ll figure this out. Healing you inside my soul is still our main option.”

Suddenly, a sharp pain pierced his chest, as if someone had stabbed him. The pendant at his neck began to glow, and from it slipped the black card he had received from Samael.

He remembered. The card was meant to be opened when Charlie evolved to Rank E.

Luke grabbed it quickly, and the card unfolded without any resistance.

“Hello, Luke. This is Samael from the past speaking as I write this letter. Fun fact: I’m writing this while you’re still reading books and trying to decide which profession to pick here in the tutorial. And if you’re reading this now, that means you managed to escape the tutorial and Charlie has completed her Rank evolution and is now officially a Vampire.”

He stopped reading the letter, realizing that from the very moment he first met Samael he already knew about Charlie, he already knew about all of it.

Luke kept reading.

“Due to the particular circumstances of her being a vampire, I’ve decided to jot down a bit of knowledge about vampirism. Not everything, of course. Just the basics. But hey, what is ‘basic’ when I know most of the multiverse’s secrets? So my basics are very advanced. Anyway, let’s get to the point. I’ve included here the main topics on vampirism and called it: ‘Manual on How to Take Care of My Lovely Vampire Servant.’”