1 I Became the Progenitor Vampire

Grimm, the largest southern city in the Norland Empire.

A tower the height of 25 rhents1 with walls painted in crimson alchemic materials stood tall in the eastern part of the city.

Aside from its slightly-conspicuous scarlet facade, compared with three other mage towers that were the height of 50 rhents, it was not particularly eye-catching.

Inside the mage tower, the study on the third floor.

The space, which could house five long-nosed elephants, was packed with oak bookshelves that were filled with all kinds of precious tomes like The General History of the Norland Empire, The Basics of Alchemy, The Basics of Magic Arrays and the Light of God, and so on.

Even the magic tomes that were considered by civilians to be exclusive to the aristocracy filled an entire bookshelf.

However, at that moment, over by the oaken bookshelf to the far right and beneath a thick tome called Secrets of Magic, a young man in a black magic robe lay unconscious on the gray velvet carpet.

He was a mage...

A young mage.

His complexion was a little unnaturally pale as if he had never seen the sun before.

Due to his unconscious state, his slightly opened mouth revealed a pair of sharp fangs. Plus, his handsome and alluring face possessed a charm that was beyond words.

If an outsider were to enter, that person would have definitely screamed "Vampire!"

These dark creatures who feed on human blood had always been considered the incarnation of evil in the Norland Empire.

If these fearsome creatures were discovered by the priests and clerics of the various great temples, the troops would definitely be mobilized to round up and exterminate them.

Hence, it was surprising that a vampire who had long been hunted by mages would appear in a mage tower that had always represented orthodoxy.

It is important to note that a vampire's body consisted of precious magical materials. Their blood could be used to draw magic arrays, their finely-powdered bones could be used to create alchemic traps, and even their teeth had great use.

As such, even a Level 10 senior mage would still be excited about hunting a vampire.

Therefore, the unconscious vampire clad in a mage robe issued by Grimm's Lodge of Mages was truly a strange sight in the mage tower.

Buzz...

Reed, who had been lying on the ground, suddenly woke up as his mind seemed to be flooded with all kinds of things. It was extremely painful.

"How long have I been asleep? Today's been a god awful day."

It was the weekend, and Reed, who had just quit his job at Blessings 996 had gone to the Wonder Mall at the city center to experience the first virtual online game, Glory. It was jointly launched by five major game developers.

Unfortunately, no one had expected the game pod to encounter a malfunction.

There was an electrical leak, and it happened just as it was Reed's turn after he stood in line.

Not only did he not get to experience the first virtual game, but he also received a special treatment courtesy of Electric Shock Madman Yang2. He was extremely deflated.

While it did not cure his Internet addiction, it now made him afraid of experiencing the game, which claimed to have ninety-nine percent realism.

He did not pursue the matter after he received $2,000 in compensation from the staff.

Reed felt a little dizzy after he left the mall, and the moment he got home, he lay down for a while to recuperate.

However, right when he lay down, his mind was filled with countless inexplicable images and memories that gave him a massive headache.

In the end, the pain became so unbearable that he passed out.

Reed rubbed his eyes as his distress slowly faded away, but his vision was still blurry, and he was unable to properly see what was around him.

He only heaved a sigh of relief once he sensed that his head was not ringing anymore.

"Thankfully, nothing too serious happened. I better visit the hospital to get things checked. If there are any aftereffects, it'll definitely be a bloody headache."

Just as he was about to stand up, his expression abruptly changed.

The pain returned all of a sudden, and this time, it was even worse because it felt like countless ants tearing into him.

It hurt so much that he stopped and clutched his head with both hands.

Along with the pain, a strange memory appeared in Reed's mind as scenes and images flashed across his eyes like a movie.

Elves, Giants...

Mage, Warrior...

Baron of the Norland Empire, member of the Grimm's Lodge of Mages...

Vampire...

Numerous memories poured into his mind.

Reed, who could just passively absorb everything, gritted his teeth and accepted them.

Half an hour later, when Reed thought that he was at the brink of his limits, the whole ordeal suddenly stopped.

It looked like he had finally digested all of the bizarre memories.

Reed was so pale that he looked gaunt, but right then, he did not even yell. Instead, an odd expression began to form on his face.

"Did I just walk inside Glory and also become the Progenitor Vampire who's hidden in human society?!"

He had directly taken over the progenitor's body as a result of the game pod's electrical leakage, straight-up removing the body's original soul.

Based on the unknown memories that just flooded his mind, the body had a pretty big background story.

He was currently a member of the Lodge of Mages in Grimm, the largest southern city in the Norland Empire, and he was a Level 10 high mage.

He was also part of the empire's nobility class, having the rank of a baron.

His public identity was already a prominent one, but his hidden identity was even grander.

He was the Progenitor Vampire.

His real name was Reed Kaschar, and he owned an ancient castle up in the far mountains beyond Grimm. Reed had more than two-hundred vampiric kinsmen!

After he combined the memories in his mind with his understanding of Glory, he was extremely sure that he had somehow traveled into the unreleased game.

As a gamer, Reed's attention had already been piqued when Glory was first promoted three months ago, and he had studied the official information an uncountable number of times.

If the game were not scheduled for release a year later, he would have already been a part of Glory.

Glory was a virtual online game jointly launched by China's five major game developers.

The developers claimed that the game's realism had reached ninety-nine percent, but time in the game did not flow like time in the real world. Three days in the game was equal to one day in reality.

This epoch-defining masterpiece rocked the entire world as soon as it was publicized. While it had not been officially released yet, players who were lucky enough to experience it early expressed great surprise regarding the game.

It could even be considered the greatest black technology3 in the last thirty years.

The game was set in a magical world with over a dozen races including gods, giants, dragons, elves, demons, dwarfs, humans, and the like.

Vampires were also one of them, but because the game had yet to be launched, there was barely any official information about the vampires.

He was so sure that he had entered the game world because the memories he gained told him that he was in the city of Grimm.

Grimm was a metropolis located in the south of the empire. It had a population of over one million, and it was one of the few human cities mentioned in Glory's official sources.

The key thing was that the memories in his mind were completely consistent with all of the information on the official website.

"What's going on? Am I an NPC now? Or is this a real world in itself, and I just happened to cross over?"

Reed was at a loss.

His worldview, which had taken much effort to establish, was shattered.

"Can I go back, then?"

His heart tightened. Earth was his home, and no matter how wonderful the game world was, it could not compare to home.

Just as the thought occurred to him, he opened his eyes again, and everything around him was different.

The luxurious but slightly gloomy study was now a brightly-lit room, and a laptop next to him was playing the latest variety shows.

Obvious surprise instantly materialized on Reed's face.

 "I really came back?! It's not one way? I can actually come back!!"

So how do I get back into the game?

The second he thought of it, his eyes turned dark, and the scene of the study in the mage tower reappeared once again.

Reed could no longer contain his excitement, and he laughed out loud.

He could traverse back and forth; he was godlike now.

For the next half an hour, Reed continued to carry out all kinds of tests.

In the end, he came to several conclusions.

Firstly, he could travel from the world of Glory to the real world and vice versa at any time.

Secondly, once he was in the game world, his body would be in an unconscious state in the real world. He could only traverse between worlds mentally, but if his real-world body encountered any form of stimulation, he would feel it in the game and wake up in time.

Thirdly, the number of times he could traverse between worlds was related to his mental strength. With his current mental strength, he could only enter and exit five times at most in half an hour. The moment he exceeded five times, he would suffer extreme pain.

Once Reed managed to get a grip on things, he began to slowly explore other things.

What delighted him the most was the game interface that appeared in his mind.

Reed Kaschar

Race: Vampire (Progenitor)

Level: Mage - Level 10 (103/5000), Warrior - Level 5 (level cap reached)

Mana: 652/652

Talents: Progenitor Vampire (Unique), Bloodline Shackle (limited), Magic Affinity (Ultimate)

Abilities: Bat Transformation, Blood-sucking Recovery, Powerful Physique (passive)

Spells:

1. First Circle of Magic: Fireball, Lightning Bolt, Puppetry, Mage's Hand, Mana Shield, Waterfall, Meditation.

2. Second Circle of Magic: Detection, Greater Fireball, Thunderstorm, Puppet Master, Mana Surge, Haste, Strengthen, Charm.

3. Third Circle of Magic: Teleportation, Voidwalking, Pyroblast

The interface showed a series of skills that could be categorized as magnificent and stated that his primary mage class was as high as Level 10 while his secondary class had reached Level 5.

He never thought that even after he became an NPC, he would still be able to see the attribute panel, which was only visible to players.

A final message suddenly appeared on the interface, and it froze Reed's excited expression.

There are still 1,095 days before the coming of the Chosen One from another world...

The coming of the Chosen One?

Public beta?

Players?!