Vampire Abilities

"Where did the kid go?" A man asked in irritation after seeing the empty alley in front of him.

He and his two companions had been following a kid to rob him, however, the kid had suddenly accelerated his pace and entered this alley.

However, when they followed him into the alley, the kid suddenly disappeared.

"Damn!" One of the men kicked a stone with a displeased expression. "He seemed like a rich kid. His clothes were old, but his handsome face and the way he walked betrayed him. A stupid rich kid disguised as a commoner to tour the city."

"He did not even have guards with him. An easy target!"

"Shut up." The man that seemed like the leader of the three frowned. "Something is wrong."

He had survived in the underworld of the capital for a long while, and during that time, he had developed a good instinct.

When he first saw the kid, his first thought was that he was lucky. The kid seemed like someone from a good family, and he did not feel much mana from him. An obvious easy prey.

But now, it was obvious that the kid found out that he was being followed, and he even brought them to this place before disappearing.

Wait, did the boy bring them to a deserted place?

'… Fuck. We messed up with someone dangerous.' The hair of his entire body stood up.

"We should leave!" He shouted to his two companions and started to retreat, but in the next instant, he froze.

A pair of red eyes appeared suddenly behind him, glowing in the darkness like will-o'-wisps and observing them with a curious gaze.

"T-T-T-That!" One of the robbers shouted in panic and staggered backward.

Immediately, the will-o'-wisps moved.

In an instant, they moved past the robber, leaving behind a trail of wind that chilled the spines of the other two robbers.

Next, they watched in horror as the robber's body stiffened abruptly and he grabbed his neck with an expression of fear.

However, his hands could not stop the blood from gushing out of his gouged neck.

"M-Mons… ter…"

With a terrorized expression, the man's lifeless body fell to the ground, creating a puddle of blood that reflected the figure of the killer.

Seeing that, the other two robbers felt a chill on their spines.

They took out the knives in their clothes and held them in front of them, looking at the pair of will-o'-wisps in the darkness with terrified expressions.

"W-Who are you!?" The leader of the robbers asked while trying to hide the trembling in his voice.

However, what came back was not an answer to his question.

"What a surprise. It looks like my change to vampire is not as simple as just strengthening my body and my senses." Vlad said while looking at the blood on his hand. He then looked at the two robbers remaining. "And to think that the system also had this kind of function."

In his eyes, several characters appeared above the two robbers.

[??? – Human – Level 6]

[??? – Human – Level 8]

That was not the only thing strange. His blood-red eyes could also see a red hue around their bodies and if he looked carefully, he could see their beating heart.

That change happened when he decided to kill the robbers. When he focused his senses on them, the characters above their heads and the red hue suddenly appeared.

Moreover, his vision expanded, his earing cleared, his sense of smell sharpened, and blood circulated faster through his body.

It was as though his entire body had entered into battle mode. Vlad felt like he was a predator ready to hunt.

"So this is how it feels to be a vampire, huh," Vlad spoke and brought his hand to his mouth, licking a bit of blood.

Immediately, his body shivered in delight and the tiredness and hunger seemed to disappear.

But soon, a stronger hunger appeared.

Vlad's breathing became hurried and his gaze became hotter.

He wanted blood. More blood.

The two remaining robbers trembled in fear. The two blood-red eyes in front of them made them feel overwhelmed.

Their teeth clattered, and their legs stepped back involuntarily. Inside their heads, their minds were screaming to them to run.

But strangely, their bodies did not move.

They could only watch in terror as the monster in front of them approached.

"I wonder how your blood tastes." Vlad smiled.

The next instant, his figure fused with the darkness.

Like a shadow, he moved through the darkness, appearing silently in front of the two robbers and extending his right hand.

"S-Stop!" One of the two robbers cried out. He waved the knife in his hand clumsily, trying to intimidate Vlad.

But Vlad only narrowed his eyes as his body moved agilely, easily evading the knife and piercing his hand into the robber's heart.

He then pulled his hand out, tearing the heart out of his chest.

"M-Monster!" The last robber screamed in fear. He dropped his knife and ran away, trying to escape from the nightmare in front of him.

But–

*Spurt!*

Showing the back to a vampire was foolish.

With a cold but excited expression, Vlad pierced his back with his hand, killing him instantly.

He then pulled his hand out, and the man's body dropped to the ground.

"Amazing," Vlad murmured with an excited look. "So this is the power of a vampire."

He licked the blood on his hand until it was completely cleaned up.

After that, he looked at the bodies on the ground. His first instinct was to grab them and suck their blood out of their neck. But soon, he frowned and erased that thought from his mind.

"I'm not an animal."

Closing his eyes, Vlad took a deep breath to calm his excited emotions. He knew that these emotions were dangerous.

In his previous life, he was a powerful demon hunter, so he knew that one of the most important things in battle is to always be coolheaded and calm.

"It looks like I need to hurry to control my instincts. If I become like that every time I'm in a battle, someone will take advantage of that eventually."

At that moment, Vlad felt something cool running through his body.

The cool feeling calmed his excited mind. At the same time, it filled his body with a comfortable sensation, as though he was taking a bath.

Almost immediately, messages appeared in his head.

[Level Up!]

[Level Up!]

[Level Up!]

[You have reached Level 4!]

[You have acquired a new skill.]

[Vampire Instinct]

[Vampires are the supreme predators, and years of evolution perfectioned their instinct for hunting. When activated, all the senses and physical abilities are enhanced. In exchange, it increases the burden on the body and mind.]

"That is a lot of information." Vlad raised an eyebrow. "So that was what happened when I was in battle, huh."

Vlad closed his eyes and tried to activate the skill again. Instantly, he felt his senses sharpening and his blood pumping in and out of his heart.

After getting used to this strange state, Vlad deactivated the skill.

"Well, now I have an idea about my current strength."