The Power of an SSS-Class Monster
Discord Link: https://discord.gg/bgrFavafvR
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"Good evening, gentlemen. Now I know you guys are a tad bit below average when compared to inmate #5,453, but given your fighting experience, one of you can easily go up against ten of your kind." And two of you can take down one #5,453, which is worth 15 goblin soldiers. But, given that this is not your typical assignment, see if you can all survive a play session with our young master. Compliance will be rewarded with one day in the breathing chamber with a human girl of your choice if you survive this ordeal. If this were Allen, the only joy any of you low-breed goblins would have would be with another man in your cells, so go ahead, earn your spoils, and satisfy the young master; if you die well, you were just unfortunate."
"And for you, young master Merciless, enjoy them all to your undead heart content."
This was announced over the speaker by Olga, while Merciless grabbed up his whips. And he began folding it firmly around his palm, shortening the whip by holding the handle and thong together as if he were holding a belt, ready to hit someone with it. Merciless intended to get up close and personal with his adversary from this point forward.
The gang of goblins, on the other hand, looks at Merciless, who simply smiles at them as if they were all nothing more than an entertaining joke in his presence; in a messed-up sense, they were nothing more than a joke before the likes of Merciless. The goblins, on the other hand, began to gaze at each other and communicate with one another. Merciless had no idea what they were talking about, but something pretty unusual began to happen at that moment.
For some reason, the goblin words were becoming more obvious.
"This bad, big, ugly bat... scary... strong!"
"But female... reward... too good... must kill... need female."
"I say we jump, kill, then eat flesh... very hungry."
"Hey Gobuta, is it me? Is it me, or is the blonde bat looking at us? I think he understands us."
"Do you think so?" He does appear astonished. I don't suppose anyone can converse with our species other than faires and us fellow goblins, as far as I know, except that blind bitch and stupid ginger, of course."
Merciless, on the other hand, was bewildered as he pondered to himself.
'Why, why can I suddenly understand them?'
But just then, a familiar voice sounded in his head: it was his sire, the person who had turned him into a vampire in the first place, Michelle.
'Would you have a look at that? Aside from crystalizing blood and influencing other people's bodies through their blood, it appears you have another blood talent. Not as powerful as the first, but still very useful. From what I am seeing, your brain can decode information faster than the average vampire via our psionics. This can be useful in a multitude of ways. It's only been five or eight minutes since you were introduced to the goblin language, and now you can converse in it as well. It's intriguing, very interesting. I wonder if you have any more blood talent.'
'Michelle, is that you? What's the occasion for you to reach out to me?'
Merciless inquired of Michelle as he began to communicate with his sire through their blood bond. Michelle's response was as direct as his response to his Kilde was as follows:
'Remember, I can feel your emotions. You're perplexed. This new sensation, this new awareness, is perfectly natural. As previously stated, vampires have eight skills, and when we first transform after the embrace, we can have tiny modifications of one of our original powers. It appears that your natural blood manipulation ability isn't the only thing that mutates when you turn; it also appears that your psychic powers mutate when you turn as well.'
'No, it isn't it. This isn't a mutation; your body is changing n-NOOoo! It's evolving... I see, but why?!? Isn't that...I see... I see. That's all there is to it... I suppose the basic term for your power is biokinesis. Yes! So, my son, based on what I'm witnessing, your body is changing, and the root of this change is your heart. The special power within you appears to be gradually developing your body—a passive consequence. Absolutely fascinating If you hadn't been my kilde, I would have imprisoned you without even asking and forced Gersome to cut you open and study your heart myself. You can't even conceive the potential to modify in reaction to a response. Do you realize how strong the ability to transcend your anatomy is? Especially for a vampire, we are nothing more than a dead memory that survives to see the sparkle of the stars, but the one that shines the brightest is the one that sends us to oblivion the moment we turn our backs on the sun and step into the darkness. On the other hand, you have the potential to become considerably more than a vampire; a minor alteration can make a major difference, my child. I believe the ichor you have is a living power. If so, this is not a particularly powerful skill; rather, it is a power that only emerges once every million moons, a power that can move the present age into a new era.'
'I'm wondering... was that annoying woman pheraph... c-c-correct? No, she is; she has always been. Anything that comes out of that old hag's mouth becomes a historical fact.'
(Flashback)
[Michii, I expect a significant change in your life soon... I'm not sure when. But I can see flashes of chaos and glory approaching your people... good for you!?]
[What exactly are you saying? Oshun... my life has always been quiet—for the better, I suppose.]
[Hmm, who knows? After all, there are simply visions... but I see change, which is something we don't see very often.]
[Heheh... Simply fantastic. The last time you saw something, we were at war with the gods. *sigh* Here we are again. Your words are a curse, you know.]
[Who knows... curse or not? What occurs has always been destined to happen, and that is beyond my power. Then and again, all we can do is prepare for the inevitable, which can be tomorrow or ten thousand moons from now. Who can say?]
[Maybe you're right; there's no point in worrying about something I don't understand... in any case, life is sure to be both boring and amusing, especially if it lasts forever.]
(Flashback ends)
'That woman's comments always bite back... Hmmm... Chaotic and glorious change, ha?... Well, I can already imagine how this world will change when the top echelons hear for the first time in my life that I had sired a child of my own.'
Michelle reflected on himself; on the other hand, his own powers allowed him to observe how an Ichor reacts with its host as well as how an Ichor changes within its host. Merciless Ichor, on the other hand, was like a constantly changing entity. That constantly induces Small adaptions that build up bit by bit till a major alteration occurs with its master body, causing them to evolve.
As a result, he mistook the alteration in his kilde body for that of another blood talent, which it wasn't. However, with additional investigation, he discovered that it was his Ichor that was causing minor alterations within its host. Every second, Merciless adapts slightly. These changes are imperceptible, and his tiny reactions to larger stimuli allow him to evolve himself eventually; as a result, his natural abilities are constantly evolving, albeit slowly... one such magot change is the sudden understanding of another language simply by hearing it once or twice.
This was clearly a minor part of psionics; generally, teaching a vampire to use their psychic abilities takes a lot of training; as a result, most vampires aren't completely aware of the possibilities and power that exist within their psyche. Merciless, on the other hand, adapts and evolves to the point where he can grasp the goblin language well where he previously could not.
As a result, Michelle started to bring Merciless up to speed and spoke to him.
'What I mean is that, in addition to your active skills, your Ichor has a passive impact that requires a certain amount of expertise to fully utilize. Your unique power is also passively changing your body; these are subtle modifications, but they will evolve alongside you as well. The Neverlanders whip is a standard example; it merges with you, and your body adapts and evolves to maximize its biological properties.'
'I feel that the more biological properties you come into contact with, the less vampire you may be. No! I believe it is preferable to say. With your talent, I can already picture a future when you might transcend into something completely unheard of. I'm not sure what that is; after all, the vampire evolution tree only allows one to reach the level of an elder. With few exceptions, holding the certain evolutionary key to progress beyond an elder to one day become a progenitor if the preceding one dies, and even then, only clan heirs have that privilege.'
'So where this ability may take you is a place not even the likes of me can reach; to put it simply, you will experience things blindly. These minor changes may not seem significant at the time, but I believe you will reach a point in your evolution where no progenitor has crossed. If so, I really wish you the best of luck on your climb to the top; but, why don't we start part two of our lesson?'
Michelle asserted, leaving Merciless to his thoughts, but unlike before, Merciless didn't make a big deal out of it. He began to think sensibly and with a peaceful demeanor; after all, ever since he became a vampire, he slowly developed a level of calmness that seemed oddly reassuring. Merciless, on the other hand, was very composed as he replied calmly to the news of his sire.
'Is that so, then lucky me, and you're right, the smallest of modifications can make the biggest of differences. On that note, let us go on to the next lesson. I learned how to use intangibility and gravity defiance the last time we were together. So, what are you going to teach me this time around?'
Merciless asked Michelle, who responded to his inquiry.
"Agh... yes... yes... say, why don't we truly put your adaptability... if not your aptitude to the test... so first and foremost, we are going to learn how to generate fog... with the ability to call fort fog naturally?" But instead of blinding your opponent, I'm going to show you an advanced technique utilizing fog generation."
'Advanced... techniques?'
'... Yes, and an advanced technique based solely on fog creation. Techniques are the terminology for a vampire's fighting abilities and how we use them using our natural powers. There are normal techniques, uncommon techniques, beginning techniques, intermediate techniques, advanced techniques, ultimate techniques, clan techniques, family techniques, and even forbidden techniques..'
'Essentially, vampire variations of martial arts and fighting styles; as I already stated, there is much for you to learn, child. And if you're going to chase Dulce on the next moon, I believe some basic instruction and guidance are required; let us see how quickly you can learn with that newly evolved brain that is constantly self-adapting.'
Michelle called out to Merciless, who responded with.
'Interesting, very well then, father... please guide this one to greatness.'
'Of course, the technique I'm about to show you is called 'Vapor-Step,' and it's simple to grasp but extremely difficult to perform. You see, when we create fog, we may shape it to our liking, but shaping it to perform the vapor step is what makes this technique difficult. But it is only one of three roadblocks. You see, the vapor step is a technique that allows you to make various variations of yourself as you go forward to the point when there are so many variations of you. Your attackers have no idea where you are because there will be so many vapor clones of you.'
'First and foremost, you must gently call for the fog around your body. From there, you will manipulate and control the vapor within the fog that is around you to slowly create a flawless clone of yourself that is paused in your original position each step of the way. You have to keep doing this until there are so many of you that it gives the reflecting appearance of you constantly going about your adversaries while making so many of you at the same time. The reason this is difficult is that you must imagine yourself precisely while also recalling each action you previously took as you skulp yourself perfectly and rapidly with each stride you make. And that, my friends, is not easy; you must have tremendous concentration and creativity... to even perfect this move.'
Michelle informed Merciless, who was calmly listening while also taking the information to heart. His next question, however, would need to be answered before he could try as he said and asked.
'I see, well, I'll give it a shot, but how do you produce fogs in the first place?'
'Good question, my child, and the answer is fairly simple: our bodies do it naturally, at least to our will. Imagine farting without actually farting. With this technique, we can easily summon an expansive fog that can scale far and wide. I know it sounds strange, but that is exactly how it is done. The fog is analogous to an imaginary excrement, a part of our body that may be summoned at any time.'
'That's... an awful way to put it... but I'll give it a shot. It's extremely strange, but farting without... farting, ha?!'... Ugh... Can vampires even fart? I highly doubt it, but I guess what you're trying to convey is that you're releasing or summoning something into being, right?'
Merciless inquired, to which Michelle responded in kind.
'Basically, sure... you couldn't have stated it better yourself.'
'Hahah... okay, I'll give it a go.'
With that in mind, Merciless started listening to Michelle's advice as he attempted to grasp a nostalgic but equally strange sense of producing fog around the guidance of farting without really farting. The consequence was him imagining himself levitating in his own hair—the sensation one gets when water drops off their hair—in his case, an illusory waterfall that poured dense fog. It was like peeing through your hair in his situation. Merciless began to produce a dense fog from his hair around his body. And as soon as the fog appeared, Merciless proceeded to put Michelle's lessons into action, taking them extremely seriously.
To everyone's surprise, Merciles began to walk, using his third eye to peer at himself from above, creating a sequence of vapor clones one by one, literally framing his entire being with each step and action he performed. And then it happened; it wasn't perfect, but the result of his first attempt at the vapor stepping technique was fairly surprising.
The scene of the fog quickly morphing into a duplicate of himself could be observed as Merciles walked. Although the movements were not convincing, Merciless Walk could definitely nail the posture and action of framing. One clone, two clones, three clones, four clones, and six clones—albeit the sixth clone appears to be disfigured and horribly produced. Merciless knew his limit was six clones at the moment, and any more than that and he would make abominations of himself.
Even with the ability to create perfectly formed clones, it is difficult to create so many in such a short period of time and anchor them down at every spot he has traveled. This was not an easy task because Merciless stated that the image in his head does not last long with the clone he generated either.
However, when Michelle revealed the outcome, he was astounded; he never imagined Merciless would be able to create a single clone on his first try, and yet he is now at the level of someone who has been practicing this skill for years. This technique is difficult to learn because it requires concentration and a good memory, as well as influencing the design of the fog constantly and perfectly in sync with the time and the movement of one's body.
'My...my... excellent work, child, you just accomplished something that thousands of vampires before you could not comprehend in their entire lives. By the looks of it, you've already got the fundamentals down pat; just practice it on your own time so you can one day use this talent in a legitimate battle. Now with that out of the way, let me now demonstrate another fog-based technique to you. This one is rather simple, but also highly harmful... you know, my son, do you know why vampires of even the lowest rank are classified as S-class monsters by the church?'
Michelle inquired of Merciless, who, of course, had no idea, but humbly replied with the closest thing on his mind.
'It's extremely simple; the total number of vampires on Earth cannot surpass 100,000?'
'Wait a second... are you serious? But I assumed there were hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of vampires roaming the earth... after all, with a total population of 36 billion people on that planet, 100,000 is too modest of a number.'
Merciless was perplexed by the news, but what Michelle said next blew him away.
'As I've mentioned numerous times before, my son, there is so much you need to understand; you see, several factors are keeping us from reaching above a hundred thousand. The most important point is that under the system set up by the vampire king, no matter what we do, vampires as a whole cannot reach that number. For one thing, we can only sire once every century, vampires are pursued every night, and only an elder or a noble vampire may conceive and carry an offspring within their womb.'
'You see, Eos didn't want the food storage to run out under any circumstances, but the most important aspect of our international decline is to ensure that our numbers never actually dwindle more than they need to. Most peasant vampires are simply sacrifices to the church if they come into contact with one of its members; in essence, Eos gives the church what it wants: more vampires to pursue. In any case, as one vampire dies, several more are born, and the cycle continues. But, because vampire society is so obscured and has so many regulations imposed by the High Court it's hard if not rare for a vampire to be spotted. After all, if fellow Kinsmen do not follow our laws, we hunt them ourselves.'
'And it is due to this savage and brutal method of shared order, as well as our powers being distinct and comprehensive, that we have numerous skills and specialties through the unpredictability of our Ichor. When faced with our kind, the church can never truly be prepared.'
Announced Michelle surprising Merciless, who replied with.
'So it's because of our social system and Ichor that vampires are automatically S-class creatures, even if we're talking about a peasant vampire. If our species is truly that difficult to deal with, what rank 'would I be?'
'Hard to say, but a newborn true vampire like yourself would be at least an SSS-Class monster, the highest rank in the church that employs the generic old-school alphabetic ranging from as low as E+ to as high as SSS+. Monsters that are harder to deal with include great elders, progenitors, or possibly named entities such as demons from hell such as Mammon or Leviathan. Those are unique supernatural entities with a rank that exists in a realm of their own, with Calaminity being the lowest and Apocalyptic being the maximum danger rank one can obtain from the church.'
Michelle responded to the question Merciless asked him; on the other hand, he simply nodded his head in agreement. As a result, he goes on to say:
'Well, that's useful to say the least; at least I know where I am in the power hierarchy; but let's move on; you said you had another technique to teach me via fog generation, correct?'
'Of course, let's get started on the training; this one is rather simple; if you already know how to manipulate blood, using this specific vampire technique gets even simpler. "Jet snipe" is the term given to this technique. We use the water particles around us in our fog to hide and compress into water balls the size of a human head or tennis ball but containing a vast vat full of water condensing into a single point. At this stage, we aim the water ball at the opponent or chosen target and create a small hole in the center of the water ball housing the large quantity that is as hard as iron for being compressed, allowing the built-up pressure to move only one way. And when the water comes pouring out the exit, it is shot out at incredible speeds, capable of piercing and cutting anything in its path.'
Merciless was told by Michelle, and when he heard the approach for using Jet snipe, he immediately responded to Michelle, providing his feedback on the technique.
'Interesting, so it's using science and expertise to create a literal water jet to peirce the enemy. Hahaha.... I never wouldhave thought one could weaponize the likes of fog in such ways.'
Merciless responded.
'Of course, we can control everything in the fog, because the fog is like a personal domain of the vampire that cast it; once called, it can be considered a separate part of our body. We instantly know what's inside this fog since whatever it touches is pinpointed. Overall, fog masters can use the fog's ability to hide, follow, acquire intelligence, and, most importantly, assassinate anyone inside. As many different things can be done inside the regions of the fog, it's a very useful ability for a vampire to have.'
As he indicated, Michelle explained the various uses and natural capacity to summon fort and adjust the features of fog in a variety of ways. Merciless, on the other hand, calmly nods his head in agreement as he walks over to the goblins who are staring at him with fearful expressions on their faces, each still stunned by his usage of a fairly mediocre vapor step. The conversation within his head, on the other hand, seemed lengthy, but his perception of time when in a telepathic conversation with his sire is different from the flow of time on the outside. After all, merely a fraction of a second went by in reality, and as such all eyes were now on him.
Olga was the first to speak up, saying over the speaker that she was surprised to see Merciless perform the vapor step.
"When did you even have time to learn the vapor step technique, comrade, you're just a newborn, that's not a simple technique one so young should be able to grasp." So, how did you do it in such a short amount of time? When I began practicing with Lord Quincy, it took me ten years to reach the current level you are at, so how?"
Olga was perplexed by Merciless' mastery of the technique; if this was something that many vampires could not master, then his mastery of this technique, albeit subpar in many ways, was not something that could be accomplished in a single day; concentration, timing, imagery, and control at the highest level are required to perform a vapor step correctly. But Merciless, a newborn, executed it as if he had been rehearsing for years.
However, Merciless response was as follows.
"Ohhh... I'm talking to Father through our blood bond Olga... he's giving me some advice, apparently I'm just a quick learner... either way!?" "I want to play right now.. come on you bunch of ugly and inferior lifeforms... entertain me!"
Merciless remarked this while looking at the gathering of goblins who were surprised to see Merciless suddenly speak their language. But before the most sensible of the group could speak, one of the goblins went ahead of him and said.
"UGLY... me... no you ugly... me kill you... then r*pe... your cor...
However, before the goblin could even speak, he fell mute. This was due to the goblin's entire head suddenly exploding from the neck up, and being replaced with a gruesome structure of bloody crystalized ice spikes. This surprised everyone, including Olga, who began to ponder to herself as she felt the life of one of the goblins drain from the room.
'So that's his blood talent ha? Now that's frightening, a power that requires him not to touch you, but simply being in his presence is a death sentence. That goblin fell silent before he could utter another word, but when did he learn to speak the goblin tongue, was it the work of his ichor, or was it another blood talent?'
Olga thinks to herself, as the remaining four goblins watch with a scared expression on their faces. As one goblin began to panic, as they looked at their dead friend, who was instantly silent.
"Gwart... Gwart... oh my god, Gwart suddenly died."
One goblin abruptly stated, as he fell to the ground and saw the horrible spectacle unfold in front of him, that his cellmate Gwart was not the brightest goblin and acted solely on instinct or emotion. But then his own brain matter was weaponized to blast his head from the inside out causing blood from within to expand and transmute, causing his entire skull to be imploded from the inside out replacing his entire head with blood crystals.
On that note, everyone's attention was quickly drawn to Merciless, who began to talk in a very calm monotone.
"Now, gentlemen, let us not let our primal instincts speak for us now." You are all goblins, but you should also have common sense; you all are before the successor of the Elderblood clan, and as such, goblin or god you will show me some respect; if I say you are ugly, you are ugly. If I say you're inferior livestock, then you're inferior; you're all just throwaway palms here that exist to entertain me nothing more, nothing less. All of you will die here tonight at my hands, but what I propose now is at the very least an honorable death; forget sex, forget everything else; a lady is too good to pass on your lesser genes anyway. So, this is an order: shut up and pick up a weapom. And come and battle me, as you were instructed, and do nothing else; failure to cooperate will result in your immediate death, no questions asked. Now, as your owner commands, come and amuse me, you mogrels."
The goblins were an intelligent race, and they understood everything Merciless said to them, but how could they just stand by and take this contempt, especially since this guy had just ordered them to die?
"You can't expect us to sit here and die just because you to...
"BgraahhhhaAAAAAAA!!... wha~attt... izz Dis pwa~~aiNNNN!!.....
Gazbu, the group's second-in-command, started kneeling at that point. His body twitched, morphed, and bent in numerous directions. On his neck, a big veiny protrusion forms. The right top half of his face swelled fast, to the point that the goblin's right eye came out of its socket. Blood streams from the socket and into the air as if controlled by an external force.
From there, his entire body swelled fast, causing a large amount of blood to pour through his skin in numerous ways. Gabzu was a literal living bloody abomination meat bag of swelled flesh, ripped muscles, fractured bones, and different disigurations when you looked at him now. Despite these adjustments, the goblin remained alive, but even then the actual nightmare was about to begin.
Words that were once audible and easily understood became nothing more than cries of anguish as tears, blood, and other bodily excretions were juiced and filtered via the smallest means of exit such as pores and glands. The sight of Merciless raising a single left index finger in mute disgust caused the live gore meat to rise in the air at his command. The living gore began to follow Merciless's fingers as it floated ahead of him, and it wasn't long before Merciless came face to face with the rebellious goblin, who was shedding tears of blood while shaking profusely.
The room became silent when Meriless used his blood talent to bring all the goblins to their knees and torture Gabzu for stepping out of place. All eyes were on Merciless, who defied gravity and began to sit on literal air, crossing both legs, as if reality itself was his throne.
A strong, but equally silent pressure pervaded the room, best described as calm and oppressive. However, it was the voice of Merciless that made the pressure feel like carrying the weight of the world on your back.
Merciless sat comfortably looking down on the goblins, his voice calm and composed, evidently not willing to waste valuable energy shouting at the things bowing before him. And when he believed everyone was on the same page, he screamed loudly and clearly, although it was in reality a silent tone.
'This... my disposable creatures, is how it is supposed to be.... quiet. AGH! YESSS!! P-p-P-perfect utter quietness. I am your master, and you are in my house, so you are my property. Now that I have your full attention, let's keep this brief. All of you, will die cheerfully if I tell you to? Don't question my reason; after all, each and every one of you filthy disposable animals is inferior to me; the fact that you animals are even present in my company should be considered an honor. And yet, your disobedience dampens my mood. Talk back to me, threaten me, and, worst of all, question me. you know!!... This bothers me, this bothers, me greatly. Thus punishment is required: all I want is a good fight to kick off my night. And yet you, lesser lifeforms, came to ruin it. So here's what's going to happen: you'll be my entertained for the night... Olga?!'
Merciless said, catching Olga's attention as she responded to him.
"Yes y-y-Youngmaster..heheh..!?"
"How many goblins do you have down there, tell me the precise amount please."
"Well, dis-including the newborns, infants, and elderly we have 3,324 healthy female goblinas and 7,985 healthy male goblins down below, making it a total of 11,309 goblin tribesmen in total."
Olga responded, but the following words that came out of Merciless' mouth caught her off guard because what it implied was truly disgusting if you had a sense of morality.
"Hahaha... Olga comrade, I believe you misunderstood my question; I asked how many goblins we have in total, including newborns, infants, and the elderly." Oh, and don't forget the ones in the stomachs of the pigs they called mothers."