The Stigmatas
Dracula calmly awaited the arrival of his Stigmata options that the disciples were scouring for in their temple while trying to contact their high-ranking officials.
The Temple of Blood God also had their own ranking system for people working in their institution.
Disciple, Senior Disciple, Beseecher, Covenant Master and finally, the Saint.
After waiting for half an hour, a Beseecher rank official of the temple, donning Red and Black priest-like robes came with a golden box engraved with many insignias. He too was befuddled after hearing that someone passed with Golden light in all 3 tests.
However, they were currently inside the 3rd layer of the stronghold so only someone of his ranking was tasked to lead this branch of the temple, holding immense authority and commanding respect within their temple's ranks. The higher-ranking people were present only in the 4th and 5th layer respectively.
"I'm Garmon, young lad. May I know your name?'' he asked while maintaining an amicable smile.
"Blood Path Stigmatas leading to Ghostblade warrior class. Those are the ones I want." responded Vlad without showing any hint of appreciation.
If not for setting a strong foundation since the beginning and using the temple of Blood God to easily gain access to these powerful stigmatas, Dracula wasn't an idiot to reveal his caliber so quickly. But this step was necessary before he entered the Military so he too was without a choice if he wanted to build a solid foundation for himself.
The Beseecher sneered inwardly. Normally, people would bow down and some would even fall on their knees when in his presence but this young vampire displayed an indifferent decorum as if he was a nobody, making him feel displeasure right from the start.
He too had an ulterior motive here. The Temple of Blood God was also the 3rd most powerful institution in the kingdom of Svalka. To maintain their power and authority, they too needed strong warriors. Hence, the young child in front of him was a diamond in the rough who would definitely turn out to be a great warrior.
"Child, why don't you rethink your choice?" he spoke with a benign smile, hiding his hidden intentions.
"Blood-Dash Agility stigma.
Blood-Reinforcement Endurance stigma
And Blood Shadow Stealth stigma." Vlad spoke again, listing the types of stigmatas he wanted, paying no heed to the Beseecher's advice.
Thud!
Thud!
At this very moment, a golden-haired vampire in a scholarly getup walked inside the testing room and spoke!
"Don't listen to him, kid! He's trying to get you to join their ranks!'' shouted this new arrival.
"Zingos, don't interfere! This is the temple's grounds… you people aren't allowed to recruit here!'' exclaimed the Beseecher with an incredulous expression.
"And by the same laws, you aren't allowed to dissuade people from their choices of stigmatas either!'' rebuked the vampire named Zingos.
However, before their drama could go on…
"Am I getting the stigmatas or not? Or do I need to contact my uncle?" spoke Vlad in an overbearing tone.
"Who is your uncle?" asked the Beseecher to gauge Vlad's backing.
"Lieutenant Marcellus Whittaker of the 4th Battalion." responded Vlad, using his Godfather's name to deter these two fools from try any underhanded means.
Both these people and those who were present in the room were shocked and felt a sense of dread.
Obviously, Dracula was already aware of the temple or someone else trying to meddle in or try to recruit him forcefully when he displayed his potential. Hence, he already planned to use this card.
At this moment, Military officers were highly respected and his uncle Marcel happened to be one of the 5 lieutenants of one of the 6 battalions that protected the entire stronghold. Just his name was enough to stop these pesky morons from creating any trouble for him.
Both Garmon and Zingos were stupefied and also bewildered. Because someone of such a background was not easy to subdue or make use of.
Even if they held high positions in their own institutions, military ranks wouldn't treat them the same way.
Finally, with an indignant expression… Garmon took out 3 specified stigmatas asked by Vlad and using a ritual, he marked them on Vlad's body.
The Blood-Dash agility stigma was imprinted on his right leg like a tattoo.
The Blood-Reinforcements endurance stigma was placed on his chest while the Blood-Shadow stealth stigma was imprinted on his entire back.
Hum!
Hum!
Humming sounds echoed in the room and all these stigmatas suddenly glowed and then disappeared inside his body.
Dracula could also feel his body feeling lighter, his agility increasing by a considerable margin and his vitality improving by a lot.
And at this moment… he wasn't even a Level 1 Apprentice warrior.
When his strength rose in the future, so would the effects because the base value itself was changing and the stigmatas would enhance him based on the predetermined percentage of that aspect.
The Temple of Blood God registered his name and results as part of the process.
The reason?
People like Vlad were rare and would turn into formidable warriors when nurtured right.
So although Garmon aka the Beseecher was currently unable to make any move, he would definitely pass this information to the higher-ups from the 4th and 5th layer.
Zingos on the other end was dejected, Vlad's stubbornness left a bad taste in his mouth.
Because with the talent of 3 gold tier stigmatas, he could've basically fooled Vlad into getting the ones he wanted in the name of advice.
Then, he could send him to serve as a particular Noble's personal guard/soldier units.
For his 'recommendation'... He would've received a good amount of Lazik.
[Author's Note : Lazik is Svalka's official highest tier currency/denomination.
Do remember key names and info of this kingdom because I won't be explaining these terms again and again.]
However… Zingos wasn't easy to scare since he too had his connections within nobility unlike Garmon.
"Hey kid, you should come with me." he spoke.
"Not interested." replied Vlad with lifeless eyes as he started to walk out of the testing room.
"Hey! Do you know who I am, brat?!" fumed Zingos and grabbed Vlad's shoulder from behind.
However, the very next moment…
BOOM!!
A visible blood-red aura erupted from Vlad's body as he released his killing intent.
"Who said a petty ant like you is allowed to touch me?" he asked with a murderous gaze.
Horrified!
Zingos was horrified and instantly fell on the floor, his body trembling in fear while his face revealed a terrified countenance.
"Feel yourself lucky that people are watching. Otherwise… this moment would've been your last." spoke Vlad in a grim voice as if he was an inch away from killing Zingos.
Soon, in front of everyone… a stream of hot water emerged from between Zingos' legs and spread over the floor.
The golden-haired vampire on the other end felt like he had just died a thousand times under that monstrous killing intent.
Vlad didn't stand for long and left the temple. He had no time to play around with ants and their squabbles.
Finally by evening, Vlad was done enlisting at the military base in the 3rd layer that trained new recruits.
He showed his stigmatas and joined, instantly garnering many people's attention.
Vlad aka Dracula promised to start from tomorrow.
Since all recruits started at the same base level of training, he was also going to start from the bottom.
As for his first day of training…
Everyone was in for a show.