I Became the Progenitor Vampire

Chapter 210: Chapter 211 Overwhelmed by the NPC’s Intelligence
 

“Respected Lord Draco, we are willing to join the Dark Contract, to protect President Ilo with our lives, to protect the glory of the Dark Contract…”

Hun Yuan, with a solemn face, knelt on one knee before a rugged-faced, level 9 warrior to swear allegiance.

Behind him, Thunderclap Hand and Cheng Kun also knelt on one knee.

The surrounding area was a large room that was somewhat dim due to the small windows.

Along with the three of them were more than thirty NPCs, all of whom had been selected as talented individuals chosen by the Dark Contract.

As the Dark Contract regained its vitality in the West District and its territory stabilized, under Lord Stanley’s orders, the Dark Contract began recruiting new members to replenish its ranks.

By chance, the brazen, shameless, and fearless trio of players, Hun Yuan, Thunderclap Hand, and Cheng Kun, succeeded in joining as members.

The level 9 warrior Draco, responsible for recruiting, was very satisfied with the three of them after a seven-day assessment.

While others would sometimes avoid trouble and danger, it was only these three who would crazily rush forward no matter what they encountered, always fighting on the front lines, which pleased him greatly.

However, during this process, Draco had also discovered the trio’s remarkable qualities.

In a battle with the cultists, he had witnessed these three being torn to shreds by a level 10 berserker’s giant axe, dead beyond any doubt.

However, the next day, they appeared before him unharmed, the only difference being a slight weakness in their aura from the day before.

Other than that, they seemed no different from regular people.

That incident startled Draco, and under his watchful eye, he deliberately arranged two deadly battles for them to face together.

As expected, although they were killed, they would resurrect a day later.

This astounding discovery put Draco on high alert, and he immediately reported the news to Lord Stanley, who was currently in full control of the Dark Contract.

Stanley, once a devout follower of the Evil God, was a seasoned being of evil who took the news very seriously upon hearing it.

Having an undying body capable of resurrection was simply unimaginable.

Eventually, after much probing, the three indiscreet players revealed the “truth”: they were from the Lost Plane and indeed possessed the ability to resurrect indefinitely.

However, the difference was that they needed to wait a day between each resurrection, and their strength would diminish somewhat; their resurrection was not without a cost.

Yet even so, this sparked the highest interest from the upper echelons of the Dark Contract in the trio of Hun Yuan, Thunderclap Hand, and Cheng Kun.

Stanley instructed Draco to keep a close watch on these Undead who could resurrect, and to report immediately to him if there was any unusual activity.

Stanley was hardly a kind man; he was very interested in the players and had already devised a series of plans in a short period.

These included, but were not limited to, sacrificing everything about them on the Evil God Altar,

taking them to the territory of the Undead Mage to be transformed into the Undead,

sending them into the Abyss for soul-devouring demons to consume their souls,

dissecting their bodies to research the secrets of resurrection,

controlling their souls with magic…

However, these plans were temporarily shelved later because according to the three adventurers from the Lost Plane, the first batch that came to the Main Plane of Glory amounted to 100,000 people, with possibly more to come later.

This gave Stanley an altogether different idea.

A group of people with undying bodies arriving on the Main Plane of Glory, what could this bring to them?

Stanley felt a brewing crisis.

Being vigilant about this matter, he decided to report to the Ancestor Crown upon his return; this issue demanded attention.

The trio of Hun Yuan, Thunderclap Hand, and Cheng Kun had no idea that because of their brazen actions, they had caught the eye of the Dark Contract’s leadership these past days.

Right now, they were still excited about becoming members of the Dark Contract.

Lately, with players leaking information on the forums, they also knew the benefits of having a large faction as support.

Take the last robbery incident, for example. They had robbed a fruit shop merchant on the street and were nearly chased down by the people of the Mists of Oblivion.

Thankfully, they were rescued by members of the Dark Contract, or else they might not have been so leisurely now, and might not even be able to remain in the city.

Moreover, after allying with a faction, not only was their livelihood secure, but they also had people help them switch professions for free.

All three were now Warrior Apprentices, which was infinitely better than the players who had to go through a series of apprentice missions to change professions.

Speaking of missions, this is the eternal pain in the hearts of all players.

“Glory” is too perverse, with a mission system that is entirely different from other games; the rewards given out by NPC-determined missions are uncontrollable, whatever NPCs think is given.

Some players have even been directly killed by the NPCs after going to great lengths to complete their missions.

Passionate players deeply felt the malice of this world, beaten over and over by the NPCs of “Glory.”

Also, the experience gained from completing ordinary missions was pitifully little. Nearly ten days had passed in the beta test, and no one had heard of any player reaching level 2.

Yet despite this, there were few players willing to quit, continuing to enthusiastically dive into this infinitely charming world.

Cursing the game designers as twisted on one hand, while exclaiming their delight on the other.

“Ding~ Congratulations, you have successfully joined the Dark Covenant and become a peripheral gang member, earning 20 Experience Points.”

After taking the oath, Hun Yuan heard the system’s prompt.

At that moment, he couldn’t help but be overjoyed. He exchanged looks with Thunderclap Hand and Cheng Kun, and a happy expression appeared on his somewhat expressionless face.

“Third brother, fourth brother, have you gained any experience?”

“We got it, hahaha, it’s really exhilarating. We did dozens of quests over the past few days and only got a dozen or so Experience Points, but we just earned 20 points by merely joining the Dark Covenant—such a stroke of luck…”

Thunderclap Hand’s face broke into a wide smile, then suddenly, as if he remembered something, his expression froze.

“Mmp, what am I so happy about? These damned designers really aren’t humane. Can you imagine completing a quest and getting only 0.1 Experience? I *&%…*&%#$*,

I’ve roamed these games for so many years and this is the first time I’ve encountered such a measly 0.1 Experience—it’s inhuman!!”

Discussing this issue, the three of them couldn’t help but grind their teeth in frustration.

In other games, leveling up relied on quests and monster kills, but this game was peculiar. The quests they undertook gave pitifully low Experience Points, with some rewarding as little as 0.1 upon completion.

To level up from 1 to 2 required 100 Experience Points. If they continued to complete these low-level quests, it might take months to level up.

Killing monsters for leveling, completing quests for leveling—these were the gamers’ biggest complaints. But in Glory, these two approaches had been decapitated, inflicting a great psychological wound on players.

Hun Yuan looked around at the NPCs who had already stood up and led the two to a secluded spot, pondering.

“The experience earned by joining the Dark Covenant is more than what we’ve worked hard for the entire week. It seems we’ve been looking in the wrong direction.

No, it’s not that we looked in the wrong direction.”

Seeing Hun Yuan talking to himself, Thunderclap Hand and Cheng Kun were somewhat at a loss.

Among the three of them, Hun Yuan had always been the brains, deciding the strategies and quests for the game.

This was an intellectual suppression; the other two couldn’t compare.

“Second brother, what are you talking about?”

Hun Yuan looked at the two confused faces and frowned, “Do you remember the Level 3 mutated rat we killed at the sewer entrance the day before yesterday?

Each of us earned 2 Experience Points from that.”

As he spoke, Hun Yuan’s face slowly revealed an understanding, “It appears that ‘Glory’ has many methods of gaining Experience Points and it’s not limited to the traditional game mechanisms of leveling up by killing monsters or completing quests.

It took us a tremendous effort and over ten hours to kill that Level 3 mutated rat.

In any other game, we would’ve received a hefty amount of Experience for tackling an enemy above our level.

But each of us only gained 2 Experience Points. By this logic, it’s virtually impossible to level up by killing monsters in under a few months,

and on the other hand, the Experience we gain from quests is also minimal.

This leads to the conclusion that ‘Glory’ must have an open Experience acquisition system.”

Thunderclap Hand and Cheng Kun looked at the self-talking Hun Yuan, somewhat muddled, “So what?”

“So?” Hun Yuan shook his head, “So, we need to explore more ways to gain Experience Points, and not hang our hopes on one tree.

Joining a power affords Experience Point rewards, let’s try joining a few more powers and see if we can gain more Experience.

If killing monsters yields little Experience, let’s raise one and see…

If quests don’t offer much Experience, let’s try if we can issue quests…

If we gain little Experience from combat, then how about from lifestyle aspects?”

Hun Yuan’s words suddenly opened up a new world for the two of them.

They hadn’t thought of that—a real eye-opener. Both looked at Hun Yuan with newfound respect.

“Second brother, tonight I will help you clean up our third brother and send him to your bed.

Third brother, why are you looking at me like that? Doesn’t second brother deserve a reward for his great contribution?”

“You son of a… why don’t you sacrifice yourself?”

“Cut the crap, I’m afraid of pain, and you don’t mind…”

“Hun Yuan, Thunderclap Hand, Cheng Kun, come with me.”

While the three were discussing, their boss, a Level 9 warrior named Draco, called them over.

Why do I always feel these three guys’ names are from one person? Hun Yuan Thunderclap Hand Cheng Kun? What a bizarre Lost World.

“Lord Draco,”

The three immediately bowed respectfully upon seeing Draco. The most profound lesson they had learned during this time was to never be disrespectful to NPCs.

These NPCs had the power to kill them, and the three had already suffered enough for their past impertinence.

“Do you have any tasks for us to complete?” Hun Yuan looked at Draco’s strange expression and felt a nudge in his heart, taking the initiative to ask.

Draco, clad in grey armor with a stubbled face, cast his doubts about the three names aside and shook his head slightly, “No task, it’s Lord Stanley who has summoned you.”

Stanley?

The three exchanged glances, all somewhat surprised.

Stanley was the vice president of the Dark Contract, a super-powerful Dark Boss, and they couldn’t even check his level. Why would such a personage summon them?

“Lord Draco, does Lord Stanley want something from us?”

Upon hearing Hun Yuan’s question, Draco’s brows furrowed slightly, “Hun Yuan, you talk too much. As subordinates of the Dark Contract, the orders from the higher-ups are absolute.”

After finishing, he shrugged and spread his hands, “The key is, I don’t know either.”

The three had a face full of confusion: If you don’t know, then what are you bragging about??

“Follow me,”

The three hurriedly followed, seizing the opportunity, Hun Yuan turned his head slightly and whispered to the two, “No matter what happens later, leave it to me to handle.”

The two, understandingly, nodded their heads. With their intelligence, they’d probably struggle to cope in such a situation.

“This little matter doesn’t warrant our intervention.”

“Exactly, the least we should face is the true leader of the Dark Contract—President Ilo, only then it’s our turn to take action.”

Hun Yuan couldn’t be bothered to respond to these two fools.

The place where they were situated was a luxurious estate, divided into a front courtyard and a back courtyard, covering an immense area.

Yet, most of the time, they were not qualified to enter the back courtyard.

Because this was where the higher-ups of the Dark Contract resided, and they were only newbies who had just transitioned to become Warrior Apprentices. Not to mention them, even Draco, a level 9 Warrior, wasn’t qualified to live in the back courtyard.

Turning and winding, the enormity of the estate was like a palace; with its various luxurious and precious buildings and exquisite reliefs everywhere, the trio’s eyes opened wide in amazement.

Ten minutes later.

Hun Yuan and his companions looked at the tall figure sitting in front of them on an elegant armchair, slowly sipping red tea from a lacquer-gilded white porcelain cup, with indescribably complex emotions.

Strong, mysterious, terrifying.

That was their first impression of the man before them.

Even though the man dressed in a black priest’s robe hadn’t said a single word, his mere gestures resonated with an aura that deeply impacted the three of them.

At that moment, they realized that something as unreliable as “aura” truly did exist.

Stanley…??

Level: ?????

?????

Quietly closing the attribute panel he had opened, Hun Yuan’s eyes inadvertently drifted.

Stanley, the vice president of the Dark Contract, was too strong.

Even though he was a player, he still felt immense pressure in the face of a big boss from whom no information could be obtained.

“Hun Yuan, Thunderclap Hand, Cheng Kun, citizens of the Lost World, your names are indeed strange. I didn’t expect the Lost World to forget the traditional names of the Main Plane of Glory.”

Stanley slowly sipped the red tea in his cup, elegantly placing the lacquer-gilded white porcelain cup down.

Originally a noble priest of the Late Bell Church, his noble temperament became even more pronounced after he became a member of the Bloodline.

The three exchanged glances with a touch of embarrassment—damn, if they had known, they wouldn’t have chosen such idiotic names as Hun Yuan Thunderclap Hand and Cheng Kun; even an NPC was making fun of them.

“What intrigues me more is your resurrection ability,”

Stanley’s scarred face looked extremely ferocious. When he became part of the Bloodline, he could have used his Bloodline Power to eliminate the scar, but he deliberately preserved it.

Because the scar was self-inflicted with his own knife, it was his choice; he did not wish this mark to vanish.

Hun Yuan looked at the elegantly poised Stanley and took a deep breath.

He felt an overwhelming pressure from this dark big boss—one that could not be described in words, as if he were facing an Abyssal Giant Beast.

A level 1 Warrior Apprentice in the face of a level 15 Dark Priest, who also happened to be a mysterious member of the Bloodline.

The two were no longer beings of the same dimension; the three players felt a pressure that hit their souls.

Even with Stanley not releasing the slightest bit of aura, it still made them feel like they were conversing with a giant dragon.

Any casual action from him seemed capable of annihilating them.

“Lord Stanley, the resurrection ability is a gift from our world; it is something that all the warriors of the… Lost World possess,”

Hun Yuan was not reserved about this. With so many players around, these intelligent NPCs would eventually find something amiss.

He had long stopped underestimating these exaggeratedly smart NPCs; whatever they did would not surprise him.

Stanley nodded, a thoughtful look crossing his bloodshot eyes.

“As far as I know, to achieve immortality and even continuous resurrection ability, only Divine Power could accomplish this.

Divine beings escort their believers into the Divine Country, where they leave behind a Soul Imprint of the believer’s soul.”

“Divine beings send their Believers to wage war, and after the Believers die, the divines use their Spiritual Imprints to resurrect them.”

After saying this, he shifted his gaze onto the three from Bloodline, “But I do not sense the presence of faith in divine beings from you, so your method of resurrection is not like this.”

Stanley’s words sent a chill through the trio, but none dared to speak. They could only continue to listen intently to what the Dark Boss had to say.

“All power cannot escape the constraints of rules. Your ability to resurrect must be due to the rules of the Lost Plane that have captured some of your Soul Power.

After your deaths, the Lost Plane uses the captured Soul Power to grant you life anew.

The limitation that requires a period of time before you can resurrect is undoubtedly the Lost Plane gathering power for you.

The power you lose after resurrection is simply the cost of regathering this strength.”

Stanley’s eyes held a hint of envy as he spoke, “Your Plane must possess tremendous power, you truly are a fortunate bunch.”

Cold sweat drenched Bloodline’s back.

Could this NPC be too intelligent? Though he hadn’t guessed correctly, the operation mode of the players entering “Glory” seemed to nearly match his deductions.

If this NPC could be given more information, could he actually deduce Earth and the players’ true situation??

Damn, there are truly deep waters here.

Just as he thought to speak up, Stanley’s next words sent another chill down the spines of the three players.

“Though you can be reborn incessantly, to become a true power, you still need to have a heart of perseverance.

Immortality may seem powerful, but there’s no Talent in this world that cannot be broken.

You may regard your ability to be reborn continuously as a Talent, but are there truly invincible Talents?”

Stanley shook his head, “No, not necessarily. Not to mention every time you die, you lose a portion of your Experience. If there’s a chance, your growth can be continually suppressed.

Even if your bodies were confined, preventing you from dying, there are countless ways this can be broken in this world.

And since you resurrect at the fixed Life Temple every time, what if someone were to ambush you outside your Life Temple each time you resurrect…

Or if a group of adventurers, also from the Lost Plane, were hired to confront you…

Thus, while you have Tendencies that are not bad, there are ways to deal with them.

Youngsters, let go of the arrogance and disdain in your eyes.”

Stanley’s tone was sharp; as a follower of the Evil God, he had committed all manner of heinous acts and naturally knew things far beyond the understanding of these novice players.

If one were to talk about evil, in the entire western district of Green City, few lives could compare to the followers of the Evil God, not even the Abyss Demons.

The conversation was tightly controlled by Stanley, to the point where the trio, who thought themselves well-versed, felt powerless against this Dark Boss like children.

Stanley’s piercing words continued.

“Although you joined the Dark Contract, I am certain you’ve never cared for this place.

You merely see the mighty power that rules one-third of the Underworld in Green City as a stepping stone.

You believe yourselves unkillable, showing superficial humility, but deep down you’ve never regarded the people of the Main Plane.

Not even I, the Vice President of the Dark Contract.

Am I right, Undead from the Lost World?”

That sharp gaze seemed capable of piercing the heart.

The players felt their backs break out in cold sweats.

They glanced at one another, each feeling a sense of trepidation.

This NPC was damn near sentient, too clever for comfort.

As players, they indeed hadn’t taken NPCs seriously — isn’t every player convinced that they are the true protagonist?

What’s an NPC? The only reason we respect you now is due to your strength, but just wait until we level up — we won’t stop until we have you begging for mercy!

But unexpectedly, this boss was so shrewd.

They had only joined the Dark Contract for a few days, and without showing anything, they were seen through as if they were transparent, like little goldfish next door.

Stanley, observing their expressions, understood that his deductions were spot-on. A glint of cold indifference flashed through his eyes as he considered some interest.

As a former priest of the Late Bell Church, now a Vice President of the Dark Contract who has survived in the Underworld for decades without dying, he possessed a formidable existence.

He had seen all walks of life; how could these novice players escape his machinations?

“Lord Stanley, may I inquire the true purpose of calling us here?” Bloodline asked gravely, his eyes filled with solemnity.

At that moment, he set aside his inner pride as a player because he realized that in the face of this NPC, exceptionally intelligent and powerful enough to crush them at any moment, he could think of no way to counter.

Right now, he felt ashamed; truly bringing shame upon players — being dominated by an NPC.

Damn, this hardcore game… I don’t want to deal with such NPCs…

Stanley shook his head, his piercing eyes fixed intently on the three players.

The words he spoke next made their hearts beat violently.