Chapter 10: Gluttonous Vampire

"So that's him?" An old grumpy voice asked.

It belonged to a tall, old man dressed in a white uniform with a strange crest embedded into it. He seemed to be in a higher rank than the others demonstrated so far.

The man stared at the image of the young man displayed on the screen. His arms and legs were chained to a reinforced steel chair.

Despite being fast asleep, he was showing signs of waking up.

[The trial will begin soon, what should I do?]

'If we get most of the other higher ups involved, this will definitely end with a simple execution... All they care about is looking good.'

"As I said before, question him, and if he shows signs that he's a vampire, you may kill him."

'He looks young... Around my daughter's age?'

'Let's hope my choice isn't wrong.'

[And if he passes the test?]

"Recruit him."

'If what they said he did was true, imagine how much stronger he'd become with our training? To have a monster like that on our sides is a must especially now that we're going to war.'

[Understood.]

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Trial room in the hidden base of operations.

*Drip* *Drip* *Drip*

The sound of water dripping into the distance filled the room.

A young man tethered to a chair occupied the room. While fast asleep, his skin was wrinkled and devoid of fat. Dark circles covered his eyes, emphasizing how bad his health was.

*Drip*

He opened his eyes.

'...?'

"W... Where am I...?" He questioned in a dry tone.

Trying to understand where he was, he glanced around. In the dark, his blurry vision quickly adjusted to allow him to see everything around him.

The room was large and empty, with nothing but countless lamps overhead.

As the young man tried to get up, he halted as he seemed to be bound by something.

*Katchunk!*

His expression grew even more confused as he looked down.

"Chains...?"

The metal chair implanted into the floor was wrapped in large metal chains. It seemed excessive for just one person.

'What the hel-'

"Looks like you're finally up." A voice echoed ahead of him.

The young man's eyes grew wide. When he looked up to search for the voice, he saw the edge of a blade right before his eyes.

A tall, black-haired man with dark eyes was holding onto the blade. His gaze was directed at the young man.

"Xavier Trigger, Age eighteen, transfer college student from America... Currently enrolled in Crimson Booking Academy."

"You are now being put on trial by the Imperial Vampire Opposition Corps."

"I'll ask you one question... Answer wrong and you'll be executed."

His neck was immediately pricked by the blade, pressing against a vital point.

"Are you a Human... Or are you Vampire?"

Xavier had awoken, and now he was being interrogated in the room of trials.

"I'll ask you one question... Answer wrong and you'll be executed."

His neck was immediately pricked by the blade, pressing against a vital point.

"Are you a Human... Or are you Vampire?"

"..."

Xavier stared blankly at the man before him, his face expressionless.

'I'm hungry... My belly hurts... My throat feels dry...'

Xavier looked at the man's neck once more, and his eyes flashed a crimson glow. Every throb could be seen as their veins pumped blood throughout them.

Every beat of his heart could be heard.

Through his much more sensitive nose, he could smell the strong, masculine scent of the cologne.

With each passing second, Xavier felt a growing hunger. Slowly but surely, it became less and less tolerable as he stayed up.

'Hey... System... Where am I?' He thought to himself.

[After completing the quest, getting the rewards, leveling up, and receiving the rewards, the User fell unconscious.]

[The group in white uniforms took the user's body into a secret base while he was unconscious. ]

[Upon being brought to the base, you were separated from the female students and put into a room where they are now conducting a trial to determine if you are a vampire. ]

It was just as Xavier had imagined.

'So that's the situation...'

"Answer the question." He demanded.

As he moved the blade closer to his neck, blood trickled down.

[You are under the affliction of a curse from the blade.]

[Your vampiric healing power is rendered ineffiecient in the injured zone.]

Xavier's eyes widened as the notification echoed throughout his mind.

'...What's the meaning of this system?'

The instant he asked that, the status screen opened up before his eyes.

[Name: Xavier Trigger.]

[Race: Half Chronos & Vampire Fledgling Hybrid.]

[Level: 4]

[Level UP options x 2] (Available.)

[XP: 160/800]

[Coins: 100]

[HP: 30/30]

[Energy: 113/200]

[State: Exhausted]

[Strength: 12]

[Agility: 20]

[Stamina: 10]

[Sense: 10]

[SP: 3]

[Skills]

-[Rewind: Level 1]

-[Gluttony: Level 1]

[Shop]

[Quest]

[Daily Quest: Uncompleted.]

Xavier's eyes scanned the status screen in disbelief.

'My stats have all doubled... I got one hundred coins and most importantly... My race... What the fuck is a Chronos?'

[Half Chronos.]

[The Chronos is a race of higher humans that traversed the boundaries of time. Their appearance and traits are similar to those of regular humans.]

[A Half Chronos is the resultant race from a union between a member of the Chronos race and a Human.]

[Vampire Fledgling.]

[The Vampire race, an immortal race which feeds on the blood of humans. Their appearance and traits are similar to those of regular humans.]

[Vampire Fledglings are newly created or turned Vampires through the digestion of Vampire blood.]

[You have evolved through DNA samples from both races.]

'That's a lot to take in... How did this all happen in the first place?' Xavier questioned.

[The option become available after the User Levelled up.]

[Both blood samples detected within the User's body.]

[The system went through with the option as it was in the User's best interest.]

In that moment, Xavier's forehead bulged with a vein.

'I'm cool with you doing what's best for me... Truthfully, I might have chosen the same option... But system, this is the last time you make changes to my body without my permission.'

[Affirmative.]

A sigh escaped Xavier's lips.

'Where did the blood samples come from? Was it from one of the Vampires I killed?'

[Negative, the sample was detected in the User's body prior to the system's synchronisation.]

[This means the user already had both samples before the incident.]

It all began to make sense to Xavier as his eyes grew wide.

When he looked down at the ring in his hand, he discovered that the gem had been shattered. His recollection was that a synchronization had happened right after the issue occurred, so it was quite likely that the system came from that.

That was how he had acquired the system.

Xavier then felt a sting on his neck and remembered the dream. This Vampire girl bit him in his dream, thus leaving him with the mark.

'What if... It wasn't just a dream? Does that mean she left a sample of her blood within me? Who even was she?'

No matter how hard he tried, he barely remembered her or the night of the dream if it had actually happened.

Xavier's expression grew confused.

'I'm guessing I became a Half chronos because i was born with it...? Then that means...'

'Bir-'

*WHAM!*

In an instant, Xavier snapped out of his thoughts as a fist hit the side of his face.

With an impatient look on his face, he found the man standing still before him after a momentary haze.

"Are you deaf!? If you don't talk, you'll die."

"Oh, you're still here?" Xavier asked.

One more time, he looked down to see the blade still there and covered in a tiny amount of blood.

Xavier sighed.

"There's barely any blood. Move the blade a bit more to the right or you'll miss an artery again. If you're going to kill me, do it efficiently." Said Xavier with a bored expression.

'What...?' The man in the white uniform questioned inwardly.

"But make it as painless as possible. From what I've seen in movies, a bullet to the head might be sufficient. Swords hurt."

'What the hell is he talking about?'

"You... Do you not fear death?" He asked with a surprised expression.

To his question Xavier did not respond.

"I may look innocent but I'm one to hold a grudge... My family, something that I didn't realise was the only thing keeping me sane is gone..."

"If you kill me now..." With cold and dark eyes, Xavier said, "I don't know what I might do.".

A surge of bloodlust burst out from within him in the following second as he continued.

"The Vampires and ghouls I killed were unrelated to the incident... I can't rest until I find the right ones... The ones who murdered my family. I will not interfere with your work, so do what's best for both of us and let me go." Xavier said.

'He's gone crazy to try and threaten me in this situation, It's pointless to try and talk to him. But I can see a genuine hate for Vampires within him.'

"All I wanted was a simple, I'm a human. If you won't talk, so be it. We'll figure out if you're a vampire with this next move." He murmured as he removed Xavier's ring from his finger.

"Hey, give that ba-"

*FLASH!*

Suddenly, a purple light blazed down on him, illuminating the room. He was almost blinded by the bright light.

He felt the lights prickle against his skin like tiny needles; they were uncomfortable, but that was it.

[You are directly exposed to UV light.]

[All stats are restricted.]

[Strength: 8] (-30% Restrictive)

[Agility: 14] (-30% Restrictive)

[Stamina: 7] (-30% Restrictive)

[Sense: 7] (-30% Restrictive)

'I'm guessing UV lights are a vampire's weakness. is it supposed to kill me? How will they figure out that I'm a vampire from this?'

[Due to a lack of information, unable to answer that question.]

*Growl*

Xavier's stomach grumbled.

'Fuck... I'm starving... When is this going to end?' Xavier wondered.

The lights continued to shine down on him for a minute before suddenly going out.

"Looks like you're still alive..." Muttered the tall, black-haired man with dark eyes before him. "Alright, you pass."

After putting the blade back into his sword's sheath, he handed Xavier the ring before freeing him from his shackles and giving him a tissue to put over his wound to prevent blood loss.

'Huh? Just like that?' He thought to himself with a confused expression.

*Beep* *Beep*

The man input the code on the door with but a beep, the gears of the engine turned and the door opened.

Instantly, his eyes widened as he was overloaded with information from his senses.

Suddenly, the faintest smell and sounds bombarded his brain, leaving him dumbfounded. The sounds coming from all the way down the hall, which he would not have been able to hear before, resonated in his ears.

"Hey... They didn't kill him? It's obvious he's a vampire."

"Yeah... I agree... No regular human would have been able to take out a vampire after just awakening... Whatever he is, he shouldn't be left alive..."

This was one of the effects of his evolution, the senses of a Half Chronos & Vampire Fledgling.

After a few seconds, Xavier was overwhelmed with a new feeling that overpowered all the others.

Hunger.

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- Next Chapter preview

[Skill: Gluttony is active.]

[Effects of the skill are chained with the User's Vampiric thirst, leading to an even greater hunger the before.]

[The User must consume, otherwise, the User will become a ghoul.]