A Dream...

By gathering space particles in the air and compressing them, he could increase the mass of that space. Mana would fuel it until it became unstable and gravitationally collapsed inward by itself.

This results in an extreme phenomenon, leading to a creation of a black hole replica.

A black hole that shreds everything into pieces until all that was left is that one tiny atom.

"HAAAAAAHH!!!!" Acula screamed in agony after seeing his escape skills could not bypass the space.

It seems like the black hole is interfering with the signals and making the space around its radius distorted.

Slide—

The two vampires plunged their claws onto the ground, attempting to resist the pulling force of the black hole.

"HAAAAAHHHH!!!" Ocula roared.

Slide—

Even though they powered the ground with their mana, their feet still slid and were getting closer to the event horizon of the black hole.

Slick—! slick—!

Blood created chains protruded from the ground and wrapped around the two vampires' bodies, preventing them from being sucked further. From head to toe, these chains bound them like a prisoner.

But although it stopped them from getting sucked in, their mana is not infinite.

Stretch—!

"Acula, give me some of your mana and I'll hit the caster!!!" Ocula yelled.

He didn't receive a response but blood-red streaks of mana shot through his forehead increasing his mana reserves. The sudden intrusion of familiar yet unfamiliar mana created a turbulent magic flow inside his source.

'We only have one shot.'

The exact location of Gab could be predicted by tracking where the gravitational pull was almost close to nothing. Although the surroundings were obscured by the whirring winds and torrential rain of dirt, Ocula could sense Gab hiding behind the black hole itself.

Slide—, stretch—!

"!!!"

His foot slid an inch once again. He leaned himself backwards and used his two feet as a brake. With this, propelling himself would be easier.

However, in case he failed…

'I will die.'

…But it's better than not trying at all.

Steeling his mind, Ocula gritted his teeth and raised his trembling hands.

After conjuring a few hand signs, his turbulent mana flow returned to calm.

At that moment, a burst of mana leaked out of his body.

BOOOM—!

[Blood Ritual: Blood Sacrifice…]

Vines of blood shot out from the ground and entangled Acula, who was still immersed in resisting the gravitational pull.

However, the moment the vines touched his body, his blood began to diminish.

"OCULA!! WHAT ARE YOU DOING!!!?"

Even though he didn't listen to the teachings of the Emperor back then, he knew what this skill is.

'This is a Blood Sacrifice!!!'

A blood sacrifice that uses a target's blood to summon one of the 12 Counts of the Vampire Empire. Then, the caster could order the Count to do one thing for him.

Of course, the favor should not be too excessive. This is not a servant skill after all. Any time, the summoned Count could reject the caster's favor.

"Y-YOU!!! W-what h-ha ha have yo—!?"

The loss of strength causes his body systems to malfunction. Acula tried to resist it but the extreme gravitational force made it hard to concentrate.

Shu—

"Arrrgghhh!!!!"

Hearing Acula's painful screams, Ocula closed his eyes.

"I could only do this, Acula."

Then, he ignored him and just focused on the otherworldly aura streaming down his body.

He could feel it.

The mana in the surroundings also became chaotic. The weight of a Count could be said to be atrociously massive. However, with his body, the Count wouldn't be able to fight with his full power.

But…

'That's enough.'

Even though the Count would be weakened because of his lack of body strength, it should be enough. This black hole wouldn't be a problem either.

Preparing the final call, Ocula slammed his hands together.

[Summon Count Vlad.]

Creak—, creak—

Starting from his chest, Ocula's muscles began to contract until his muscular figure was reduced to a mere fit physique. His black clothes also changed into that of a long velvety coat above a black suit.

His face bulged. Thick veins popped out of his face before the transformation began to happen.

Creak—, creak—

His face changed to that of the handsome pale face of Count Vlad. No signs of blemishes or scars could be seen. When his entire body fully changed in appearance, Ocula's eyes turned flaming red.

However, his consciousness began to be pushed away by an enormous force trying to occupy his body.

The Count is finally here.

Then, a gentle yet cold voice echoed in his head.

"I sense a call from the outside. Why have you summoned me, little bat?"

"C-Count Vlad! Help me!!" Ocula screamed in desperation.

"Slow down, tell me what happened."

Ocula explained all that has transpired starting from Hans' abrupt invasion. The Count didn't say anything and just nodded his head as a response.

After telling the Count what happened, Ocula heard a click of tongue.

"For these mere humans, you two really destroyed your honor as a vampire huh?"

"W-we have no choice! The enemy is too strong!" Ocula reasoned.

However…

"Are you… shouting at me?" Count Vlad's cold voice crept upon his subconscious.

Although they were talking in soul forms, Count Vlad's presence could even penetrate the physical and spiritual barrier.

"N-no, sir!!! Hmpp!!" Ocula answered in a loud tone. Immediately, he covered his mouth with his hands.

"So you are really shouting at me huh?"

At that moment, Count Vlad stretched out his hand.

Crack—

His hand felt as if it grasped his soul, sending shivers crawling down in his imaginary heart.

"C-Count Vlad, please have mercy!!" Ocula kneeled onto the ground. They were inside his mind conscious but Ocula could still feel his physical body's fear.

However, his begging turned out to be futile.

"Even a Count won't yell in front of my face and you…"

Count Vlad grabbed Ocula's head and slowly crushed it onto his palms.

"...a mere Vampire Lord dared to? Who do you think you are!!!?"

Crush—

"Arrrghhhh!!!!"

Crush—

A small shockwave rippled around Ocula's mind but Count Vlad contained it before it could even damage the body. Shards of broken souls fell onto the ground until they vanished like they didn't exist.

"What a waste of time…"

At that moment, Ocula's body opened its eyes. This time, the one in control is Count Vlad. Ocula was dead. After he leaves, this body would be left with mere bones.

His eyes swept around the vicinity.

"...but since I'm here, I should at least fulfill that guy's wish."

The wish is to help them kill the two humans. With Ocula's memory, Count Vlad immediately identified who Ocula was talking about.

"Humans? Harisan?"

On this planet, 5 Empires ruled the whole land.

The South is ruled by the beast— Beast Empire.

The East is ruled by ferocious monsters who managed to gain intelligence— Monster Empire.

The North is ruled by the demons— Hell Empire.

The West is ruled by the vampires— Acuilan Empire.

And finally, the Central Land. It is a massive land that connects all Empires around it. To this day, the Harisan Empire still ruled it.

If a human ever came here, that means they came from the central land. After all, the other 4 Empires rejected humans from entering their lands.

The reason was unknown. Even he didn't know it. The moment they were born they were taught that humans are the sworn enemies of all races and the Harisan Empire is their legacy.

Count Vlad felt the gravitational pull as he lifted his legs. He raised his head and stared at the black hole in front of his eyes.

"Blackhole?" After a brief pause, he shook his head, "No, not even close to the real one."

If it's a real black hole like the one 500 years ago, this world would be fucked up once again.

"Well, it's weak."

He could even see a scythe twirling around it.

If that's the case…

"...then this should be enough."

Count Vlad spread his arms and muttered. Mana overflowed outside his body.

[Blood Pool Manifestation:]

Slick—, slick—

An enormous amount of blood manifested around a large area. The sound of the bubbling liquid entered Gab's ears and his eyes furrowed.

Count Vlad focused his magic on the skill and surrounded the black hole itself. Then, after the pool of blood became stable, he whispered.

"Swallow."

Bloop—, bloop—!

The waves of blood rose onto the sky, covering the entire black hole. Gab, who was currently maintaining the black hole's stability, felt a breath of danger and he immediately scurried out of the blood pool's radius.

Shruuum—!

Bloop—, bloop—!

Seeing the gravitational pull vanish, Count Vlad stretched his hand and crushed his palms.

Crush—!

The now humongous orb of blood shrunk until all that was left was a pint of blood the size of a pellet gun bullet. It flew towards his hand and Count Vlad quickly gulped it down.

"Ahh, as expected it's just mana."

Count Vlad sighed in dejection. His eyes scurried around until it halted in the direction of a human holding a chained scythe in his hand.

A smirk formed on his lips. His razor-pointed fangs revealed themselves.

"Now that the black hole is gone…"

Count Vlad pulled his collar up and smiled.

"...why don't you introduce yourself? I'm Vlad, by the way."

...…

Deep in his sleep, Hans floated in the boundary of nowhere and anywhere. Although he's conscious, his sense of time is already gone. He didn't know if a day had passed now.

Maybe, he was already trapped here for years.

He was like a ball of light trying to venture into the endless darkness. He tried speaking to Plundy but to no avail, it seemed like his connection with Plundy was also turned off.

'Did I die perhaps?'

After seeing that unknown memory, he felt a bit of sympathy for that man. He must have been chained by fate and was trying to find a way out.

Then, he's trapped here with nowhere to go and nowhere to see. He even had no idea if his eyes were just close or the surroundings were just black.

His ears couldn't hear anything but somehow he could hear the deafening silence ringing in his head.

At this rate, he would go insane. The only thing keeping his sanity is the face of that man and his family. He could still vividly remember how lovely their family is, something he also longed for.

At that moment, his visions seemingly began to have colors.

The surrounding darkness has become a familiar place akin to an ordinary room. Lightheaded, Hans clutched his head only to feel the sweats oozing out of his forehead. Sunlight streamed through the window gap and shone on his face.

"Where am I?" Hans rubbed his eyes and his gaze wandered around the room. After a brief recall, his eyes widened.

"This is my… room?"

Indeed, this is his room back in New Jersey. The ceiling wall, the messy clothes, and the familiar picture frame, all of this are still vivid in his memory.

Hans immediately lowered his head and realized that he was sitting on the small mattress he bought at a low price.

"Plundy, are you there?"

No response came.

Hans repeated over and over again but in the end, it was futile.

Cold sweats oozed throughout his body. His heart charged through his chest like a raging volcano about to erupt. His hand trembled. His breathing became rugged.

'Calm down, Hans!'

This was not the time to panic. First, he has to observe the situation. Hans sprang out of the bed and walked towards the window. He spread the curtain apart and streams of light entered his cramped room.

Wooosh—

Hans looked outside. The warm breeze hit his face while the scent of flowers tickled his nose. Even then, he just ignored it and inspected the neighborhood.

'This is our neighbor's house.'

Was he hallucinating now?

If that's the case, why could he see this?

[Name: Hans Luther

Age: 23 Level: 1

Race: Human

Potential: No potential

Strength: 2

Agility: 1

Stamina: 2

Mana: 1

Skill: No skill]

His stats that he possessed for almost his entire career as a porter was here. Immediately, Hans faced the wall beside the window, clenched his fists, and punched it.

Bam—!

"Hisss!"

Hans hissed in pain. His eyes stayed on the concrete wall.

Although his fist did a little damage to it, the rebound caused enormous pain in his hand. The strength he previously possessed which was enough to level down a huge meteorite was gone.

"What's happening!?"

Out of the blue, Hans bolted out of his room and saw the familiar house interior he used to live in. Although it looks cramped and narrow, it was more than enough for him.

"What the…"

At that moment.

Hans clutched his head once again and began to recall things. His memory of his potential measurement and failed dungeon streamed down on his mind.

It vividly played inside his head like a movie. The memories buried inside his subconscious started to well up outside.

After a long silence, Hans flopped down to the wooden floor. Mist formed in his eyes.

His memories of awakening Plundy and the memories after that seemingly began to crack.

The escape in New York…

His first level up…

His first boss monster kill…

Meeting his friends…

Meeting Freya…

Meeting Urs…

His memory that seemed to fit on an entire stack of albums cracked like a fragile glass.

Crack—

"Haah—, haah—"

Hans held his chest as tears trickled down his face.

"Ha, haha, hahaha, was it all... a dream?"