Tower of Truth, Thirty-Eighth Floor.
Mike, Dracula, and Vladimir moved slowly through the thick black mist. According to the Eye of Truth, there wasn’t much danger around. Before the floor was corrupted by the black mist, it had been a relatively peaceful area, where people could complete daily tasks and fight some monsters.
Joseph had even set the record for the fastest conquest of this floor. Most powerful humans could conquer it, and if anyone got stuck for too long, a golden Piggy would appear to help them out.
Now that the floor was corrupted, there were naturally more monsters.
Mike had just changed classes, and not only did he need to level up, but he also needed to get used to his new class. In addition to the six basic elements, Mike had gained a new class: [Soul Element].
“The effects of Soul Researcher…” Mike muttered as he casually conjured a fireball and hurled it at a nearby monster.
The monster, struck by the fireball, let out a painful wail and rolled on the ground in agony. Soul Researcher allowed Mike to convert elemental skills into soul damage.
As the first test subject, this monster, which had the strength of a Chief, was tortured by Mike’s casual fireball, suffering immensely.
After a moment of thought, Mike came to a conclusion.
“These monsters were originally creations of the Tower of Truth, but after being corrupted by the black mist, they turned into what they are now. In other words, their souls were always their weak point.”
It was like a character with Lord-level physical strength but soldier-level soul strength. With this example, everything became much clearer.
Soon, the black mist monsters fell one by one under Mike’s relentless experimentation. “You’ve obtained [Ghost Race Soul Fragment (B-grade) *1]!”
A transparent fragment, about the size of a fingernail, floated in front of Mike, spinning slowly.
[Soul Fragment, an exclusive item for the SSS-class Soul Researcher]
[Main uses include…]
1. Healing ghost race and demon race soul injuries
2. Crafting items, weapons, and equipment, and enchanting them with ghost race souls
3. Developing Soul Element skills targeting the ghost race
4….
Soul fragments could only be obtained by completely killing a target. For beings like Dracula and Vladimir, who could resurrect, killing them wouldn’t yield any Soul Element fragments.
“Healing ghost race and demon race injuries… I don’t need that right now. As for enchanting weapons and equipment, I’ve already got plenty…”
Thanks to Thunderclap Fate, Mike’s current equipment enchantments were incredibly luxurious!
His Thunderclap Hammer was enchanted with the fragmented soul of the Seventh Demon God.
His Force of Nature was enchanted with the potential Supreme Being of the dragon race, the Golden Divine Dragon of Greed.
Even his shield was enchanted with Dracula, a powerful being from ancient times.
A mere B-grade fragment wasn’t worth enchanting for Mike.
“Skill development!” Mike crushed the fragment, and tiny lights merged into his palm. A progress bar appeared before his eyes.
[B-grade skill development progress: 15%]
If Mike wanted to develop higher-tier skills, he could raise the difficulty.
As a professional at grinding for high scores, Mike cranked the difficulty to the max!
[SSS-grade skill development progress: 0.0001%]
The beginning is always the hardest, but even though the progress was only one-millionth of the way there, Mike was confident he could complete the development of an SSS-grade skill!
“Let’s keep going!”
Now that Mike had a clear goal, his enthusiasm surged. To obtain soul fragments, enemies had to be killed with Soul Element skills.
Mike had tried using Charge Up, but its bonus only applied to traditional lightning. Once the lightning was converted into Soul Element damage, the bonus no longer worked.
As a result, his efficiency in killing monsters had slightly decreased.
But that didn’t stop Mike from slaughtering everything in his path, and the progress bar quickly climbed!
In just one hour, he had reached 6.5% progress!
“Whew-” Mike wiped the sweat from his forehead and calculated, “At this rate, I’ll have the skill developed in another 16 hours! Let’s keep it up!”
…
While Mike was busy developing his ghost race soul skill, deep within the thirty-eighth floor,
on a patch of grass, a golden pig paced back and forth, clearly anxious.
The powerful being hidden in the black mist found this behavior strange.
“It’s just Dracula. Is there really any need to be so scared of him?”
This powerful being was once a potential Supreme Being of the angel race, Gabriel’s predecessor. After failing to break through, she had turned to the ghost race, becoming one of their potential Supreme Beings.
After the invasion of the Tower of Truth, she was responsible for floors thirty-one to forty. Another entity, the Elf Ancestor, was in charge of the other floors.
To the powerful being in the mist, Dracula posed no real threat.
“You don’t understand, you don’t understand!” The golden pig trembled all over, her fear palpable. “Dracula is the most terrifying guy in the blood clan. He’s scarier than you can
imagine…”
Clearly, the fear of Dracula had been etched into Piggy’s very DNA.
The black mist had no choice but to ask, “So what do you suggest we do?”
The golden pig gritted her teeth and stomped her four hooves. “Let’s run!”
The black mist agreed. “Alright, I can take you to the thirty-ninth or fortieth floor.”
Piggy: …
Dracula’s true body was on the fortieth floor. Going there would be like walking into a trap!
“That’s still a death sentence!” Piggy was furious, starting to question her entire existence as
a pig.
“I let you call for help, and I’m willing to help you escape. What more do you want?” The black mist sighed helplessly. “I can lift the restrictions and bring in a powerful human. Will
that work?”
“That’s perfect!” Piggy nodded eagerly. “Please bring Supreme Being Apollo here, thank you.”
The black mist: …
“Why don’t you just go die already!” The black mist added a restriction. “Nine-star Lord
only!”
“What’s there to hesitate about?” Piggy had a good relationship with the humans and knew exactly who was strong and who wasn’t. If she was going to call for help, she’d call the
strongest and most well-connected!
Luckily, Piggy knew the perfect candidate among the humans.
“I choose Maxen!”
…
Tower of Truth, Thirty-Eighth Floor.
After nearly five hours of work, Mike had cleared out most of the monsters in the black mist.
[SSS-grade skill development progress: 32.5%]
[Current Exploration Rate: 100%]
“Whew-” Mike put away his Thunderclap Hammer and looked into the distance.
The Eye of Truth had already informed him that the black mist, which had escaped from the
Supreme Abyssal, was on that patch of grass. Piggy was most likely there too.
Mike didn’t know how many surprises awaited him.
“This floor is pretty much cleared,” Mike said.
Dracula and Vladimir were also feeling a bit tired. During Mike’s earlier battles, they had been
responsible for security, essentially just tagging along while Thor fought. Now, the main
event was finally about to begin!
They had spent a fortune, running around and paying a steep price, all for this pig!
For a moment, the two vampires felt a bit emotional.
“This next enemy is pretty strong. We need to be cautious,” Mike said, clearly seeing that the
powerful being in the black mist was at least level 989.
He casually summoned Gabriel from his private space.
Dracula and Vladimir: ???
They had each paid 500,000 Lord merits as an entry fee for this opportunity. And yet, Gabriel
got in for free!
*This isn’t fair!* Vladimir screamed internally.
Gabriel appeared, scanned the area, and spotted the enemy. he looked at Thor, waiting for
instructions.
“Come a little closer,” Mike said, motioning for he to stand behind him. Gabriel complied, his
face calm and expressionless.
Mike cleared his throat. “You can begin.”
This cryptic statement left Vladimir looking confused.
*Begin what?*
Suddenly—*shing!*-dozens of red dots appeared around Vladimir. The moment they
appeared, they connected with red lines!
Dracula had secretly made his move, using a blood clan secret technique!
These red lines were incredibly dangerous. Even the slightest touch could cause severe injury
or instant death!
The lines sliced through the air, cutting Vladimir into countless pieces in mere seconds!
In less than two seconds, Vladimir was dead!
But the battle wasn’t over yet! Vladimir’s body, now in pieces, lay scattered across the ground.
“Is this… a puppet?!” Gabriel’s pupils contracted. he had been fooled by an illusion?
Vladimir’s body began to melt, forming a Blood Sea, and the laws of the sea god appeared,
sealing the space.
Blood Sea Puppet!
This was one of Vladimir’s rare, openly known trump cards.
Dracula’s sneak attack had failed, but he remained calm. Having made a name for himself in
ancient times, Dracula had been through countless battles. His combat experience was vast,
and his techniques were unparalleled!
Most importantly, he was fighting a fellow blood clan member!
In a battle between kin, Dracula couldn’t lose!
With a low chant, countless dark red bats flew out from under Dracula’s cloak, crashing
through the Blood Sea.
A massive bat rose behind him, hanging in the air and transforming into a bright moon!
Under the moonlight, Vladimir’s true form was revealed, and Dracula quickly found him.
With nowhere to hide, Vladimir charged out of the Blood Sea, ready for a final showdown with Dracula.
Under the moonlight, a vampire’s power was at its peak!
*We’re both vampires. What’s there to be afraid of? I’ve got the advantage. Let’s go!*
Just as Vladimir rushed out of the Blood Sea, Dracula flashed a wicked smile. The bright moon
above him flipped over, transforming into a blazing sun!
“You despicable-“Vladimir’s words were cut short as the terrifying sunlight melted him
into nothingness.
The sunlight was extremely effective against vampires. Even Dracula was severely injured by
this move!
The battle between the two powerful vampires had started suddenly and ended just as
abruptly.
Gabriel hadn’t even fully processed what had happened.
But the result was clear: Dracula had won.
“Brilliant, brilliant,” Mike clapped his hands, impressed. “Your reactions never disappoint
me.”
This battle had gone exactly as Mike had expected.
In fact, both Vladimir and Dracula had known this would happen.
They had paid a steep price to follow Thor to the thirty-eighth floor in search of the pig, who
was suspected to be the Blood Ancestor.
If Piggy really was the Blood Ancestor, it would trigger a series of chain reactions.
How would they deal with the Blood Ancestor?
What would happen to the blood clan next?
Who would benefit the most from killing the Blood Ancestor?
These were all major questions the two vampires had to face.
Rather than waiting until the end to fight each other to the death, they had chosen to strike
first!
Even if there was only a 1% chance of finding the Blood Ancestor, the two would inevitably
turn on each other!
Mike had predicted this before bringing them along.
“You’ve fought, now clean up and get back to business,” Mike said as he walked ahead,
Gabriel following closely behind. Dracula tidied himself up and trailed after them.
As they approached the grassy area, Mike casually remarked, “Keep an eye on the time. This is
your last chance.”
Dracula remained silent.
Mike was giving Dracula a chance to come clean.
The earlier battle had seemed dangerous, with Dracula holding the upper hand. But in reality,
if Thor had wanted to intervene, he could have tipped the scales at any moment.
Thor’s message was clear: *Whoever I support, wins!*
This battle had never really been between Vladimir and Dracula. The true decider of victory
was the outsider-Thor!
When it came to pleasing their master, Vladimir had always been shamelessly eager. As his competitor, Dracula… was now forced to try and please Thor as well!
After a moment of silence, Dracula finally spoke again. “She’s not the Blood Ancestor.”
This confirmed Mike’s suspicion.
Before seeing the target, the Eye of Truth couldn’t provide an analysis. The earlier fight between the two vampires had been more like a rehearsal, a performance… for Thor.
And Thor, the audience, gave it a five-star rating, while demanding the actors pay 1 million
Lord merits for the privilege of performing.
The grassy area ahead was now in sight.
Dracula hesitated for a moment before adding, “The Blood Ancestor’s twin sister, a lazy good-for-nothing, the shame of the blood clan…”
After a long string of insults, Dracula finally revealed her name.
“Lilith.”