A Month of Sword Practice, and This Is the Result?

Although it was a little embarrassing that the cheat system still hadn't finished unpacking a month after he'd crossed over, Murphy felt pretty good about himself.

He figured it might be some kind of damned "test"!

Maybe it was meant to give him a month to get used to being an "otherworlder" before he received a world-defying cheat, so he wouldn't suddenly gain overwhelming power, unleash his true nature, and become a "superhero" like Homelander.

Of course, maybe all that was just his imagination. Maybe the truth was simply that he was too useless.

"I'm back."

Murphy carried the food into the main house. The moment he opened the door, the strong smell of alcohol hit him.

Following the smell, he spotted a long-haired drunk curled up on a dilapidated sofa, surrounded by empty bottles, with another half-empty bottle clutched in her hand.

The battered mechanical clock on the wall ticked and clacked. A few scarlet women's robes hung over the shabby balcony railing. Outside the annoying, playful spots of sunlight, soft, rhythmic snores echoed through the old house.

The clean blanket on the sofa had been slept into the shape of a person, and a long-haired drunk woman lay sprawled across it in a deeply undignified pose, snoring away. Every so often, she scratched at her slender waist.

If she'd had a snot bubble, the room would've looked even more like the bedroom of a hundred-year-old shut-in witch.

Murphy was used to it.

First, he tidied the room and carried the day's empty bottles down to the basement. Then he rolled up his sleeves and got busy in the kitchen. Before long, he brought out a bowl of bread porridge with meatballs and duck blood.

In theory, vampires could survive on blood alone without eating anything else, and might even thrive on it. But given the way Murphy and Lady Triss lived, they couldn't afford blood slaves to provide their master with regular blood. Getting a sip of fresh blood now and then was practically a holiday.

See those plump rats roaming freely in the yard?

They were Lady Triss's "emergency blood supply," prepared before she started "living together" with Murphy!

Over the past month, she'd recommended this "energy-saving, environmentally friendly, self-sufficient" lifestyle to Murphy several times, but he'd politely declined every time.

He didn't mind being an oddball eater in a magical otherworld, but rats were a delicacy too far.

Honestly, before meeting Lady Triss, Murphy would never have imagined that a member of the Midnight Nobility could end up in such a state in a city ruled by vampires.

"Wake up, Triss. It's time to eat."

He set down a bowl old enough to be his grandfather on a table at least six times older than him, then bent over the sofa and helped his progenitor sit up.

"Progenitor" referred to the vampire who had given a mortal the Embrace.

In their culture, the word carried a meaning similar to "parent." Whether they belonged to the Blood Eagle Clan or one of the other clans, all had strict, ancient, and sacred rules about the Embrace. It was more than just a means of vampire reproduction, so the role of a progenitor carried considerable weight in vampire culture.

Unfortunately, Murphy's progenitor was so unusual that the newly arrived Murphy had developed a severely skewed understanding of the entire vampire race.

These nocturnal creatures had to be so unreliable because their long-term sleep deprivation and messed-up body clocks had thrown them all out of whack!

"Ah, little Murphy, let me sleep a little longer."

Lady Triss mumbled in her sleep. Like a cat, she rubbed against Murphy's broad chest and tried to go back to sleep, leaving him helpless.

"Mm, let me tell you, I dreamed about when I was young. I dreamed I was still a genius elder of the Blood Eagle Clan. Salokdar poured me wine himself, and the handsome Lord Paing invited me to a banquet.

"Damn old Edward always avoided me..."

To be honest, the drunken vampire's appearance was stunning. She had the air of a mature older woman, mixed with the Midnight Nobility's distinctive bewitching allure.

Her long black hair fell smooth as a waterfall, and her wasp waist and captivating eyes made her the center of attention in any gathering.

However, a horrifying scar, as gruesome as a centipede, ran from her slender neck into her bodice, then emerged again at her impossibly narrow waist and ended at her hip. It nearly split her body in two, like a regrettable crack in a piece of exquisite porcelain.

It not only marred her beauty, but also damaged the power a vampire relied on to survive.

Other vampires called her "cripple" without meaning it as an insult. Triss really had lost most of her strength. She'd never told Murphy how she got the scar, and he'd never asked.

After all, when two people shared a home, they needed to respect each other's boundaries.

"Wow, this tastes as great as ever! Making you, little troublemaker, my progeny with the Embrace was the best decision I've made in the hundred years I've spent in a daze."

Drunk as she was, Triss took a sip of porridge and immediately looked satisfied.

She sighed, half-drunk and half-awake, then was about to dig in when she noticed the luxurious velvet pouch on the table. It clashed with the "simple" surroundings.

The Blood Eagle badge pinned to the pouch made Triss narrow her eyes at once.

"What's this?"

She looked at Murphy and tapped her spoon, demanding angrily,

"Didn't I tell you not to deal with the other Blood Eagles? They're a bunch of lowlifes! Have you forgotten how their lousy summoning spell nearly got you and me killed? Why won't you listen? Are you trying to give me a heart attack? Hic~"

"It's not like I wanted to."

Murphy went out to the balcony to bring in the dry laundry and fold it as he told Triss what had just happened.

"I can't defy the clan leader's orders. Even if they send me to my death, I have to go with a smile, right?"

"This isn't as simple as sending you to your death."

Still fuming, Triss gulped down her porridge with no regard for propriety, then took the pouch and opened it. Inside, she found a slender scroll protected by a psionic encryption device.

There was also a seal used to unlock it.

She toyed with the two objects and said,

"Who sends an encrypted message with the decryption seal? Little Murphy, Salokdar is using you as bait."

"Hm? So the letter's fake?"

Murphy wasn't surprised. Triss shook her head at his question.

"No, the letter's real! But it definitely uses a code. If you can deliver it to the Midnight Hunters, they'll be able to decipher the real message. If the Witch Hunter kills you, the message on the outside of the order will be enough to mislead them into walking straight into the Blood Eagle Clan's trap.

"Pursuing two possible outcomes and profits at once. That's classic Salokdar.

"You're the only sacrifice, my poor, kind-hearted progeny."

Triss paused there.

She glanced at Murphy's back, then rolled her eyes and drawled,

"Still, you've already taken the job, so it's too late to back out now. As a famous useless progenitor, I don't have much to give you. Since you've served me for a year, there's a hidden compartment beside the third pillar in the basement. I've got some things I used in the past stashed there.

"They should come in handy.

"I need to sleep. My head hurts so much. Goodness, to think a dignified elder like me has been reduced to this by a drinking habit. It's disgraceful! Starting now, I'm quitting drinking!

"Uh.

"Never mind. I'll drink for one more day.

"I'll definitely quit tomorrow!

"And that's that! Little Murphy, give me some money! I'm going to buy booze!"

"...Get some sleep first. I'll buy it for you when I go out for a walk tonight."

"Wow, little Murphy, you're so sweet! Come here for a hug—wait! You're leaving tonight, so how are you going to buy the booze? You little liar! Don't run! I'll beat you up!"

The basement of Triss Manor was huge. It still bore the traces of the psionic meltdown that had blown it apart a month earlier. Broken bricks and rubble littered the place, and the floor was covered in shadows that seemed impossible to scrub away. Murphy felt a chill run down his spine as he stepped into the darkness.

After all, the real owner of this body had died here.

It was an ominous place.

"If you and I really did switch places, then you'd be sitting in an air-conditioned office during summer, squeezing the life out of your corporate drones, while I'd be stuck suffering here in your place—and supporting that monster girl."

Murphy clasped his hands and murmured,

"Maybe you, who never wanted an ordinary life, inherited the position I spent ten years fighting for in a world overflowing with resources. You've got a lifetime of comfort ahead of you, so don't come back as a ghost in a place with actual supernatural powers just to torment me. Otherwise, I won't be nice!

"You're a dead ghost, and I'm a vampire.

"Since we're both ghosts, who's afraid of whom?"

After performing that whole superstitious "ritual," Murphy followed Triss's directions and found the hidden compartment beneath the third pillar. He pulled out a bundle of gear.

There was a finely made set of dark crimson protective leather armor, including boots and gloves; a scarlet cloak embroidered with patterns; and a flashy gauntlet rapier. They were all exquisite works of the sort a Blood Eagle elder would own—probably the last mementos Triss had kept to remember her long-lost glory days.

So she'd really handed over everything she had?

"The psionic energy's faded pretty badly. Has this been without maintenance for centuries?"

Murphy picked up the rapier and gave it a practiced flourish. His lingering muscle memory already held a fragment of Blood Eagle Swordsmanship, but the weapon, once a psionic creation, had become nothing more than ordinary iron.

At least it was still sharp.

He put on the protective leather armor, fastened his cloak, then donned the matching black vampire mask and pulled up the armor's hood.

A mysterious vampire took shape at once.

There was no mirror, but he was sure he looked dashing.

After all, since crossing over, this handsome face—which let him feast on a warm, soft meal without lifting a finger—was the only thing Murphy could be proud of.

"True Otherworld" beta administrator system installation package unpacking progress: 100%! System installation beginning. Please wait!

Character Card module installing. Test permissions being released. Alpha database binding. Information resonance and psionic projection modules activating. Authorization complete. Personalized expansion mode embedded. Tutorial module activated.

The time of testing has come!

Just as Murphy finished changing, the translucent character card before him suddenly erupted in a flash of light, engulfing his entire field of vision.

For a moment, he felt as if he'd been thrown into a mysterious sea of stars. Starlight shimmered in every direction, and new modules kept being loaded into the character card, which had originally been so simple it was despair-inducing. It quickly became incredibly complicated.

It was hard to judge the passage of time in that situation, but it didn't feel unpleasant. It was like sitting in front of a computer, waiting excitedly for a newly downloaded program to launch.

As the starlight in the background dimmed, a completely revamped interface appeared before Murphy:

Name: Ravnos Murphy Lasombra

Race: Vampire, Blood Eagle Clan · Scion of Desire

Template: Dark Psionic Affinity · Ordinary Individual

Class: Blood Eagle Apprentice / None / None

Talents: Beginner-level dark psionic perception and manipulation, proficient in stealth and shadow walking, beginner-level expertise in close combat and physical attacks

Feats: Otherworldly Creature Summoning 0/2

Skills: Beginner Blood Vulture Swordsmanship / Beginner Psionic Impact

Equipment: Blood Eagle Elder Armor 6/6, Blade of the Desire Lineage—Psionic Energy Depleted, Scarlet Midnight Cloak

"Though I know I'm useless, this whole batch of 'beginner-level' stuff is still almost too much to bear."

Murphy looked at his full stats and covered his eyes, unable to look any longer.

He knew that he could improve his skills by practicing all sorts of things, and he'd been at it for a whole month. So why were his stats still so pathetic?

Could the rumor that even children in the city knew actually be true?

Since Lady Triss, the "King of Cripples," was useless herself, did every vampire she turned become a cripple, no matter how capable they'd been before?

Emmm, surely it wasn't that mystical?

And he'd waited a whole month for this. Was that really it?

Just an expanded character card?

Where was the world-defying cheat that was supposed to change his fate? With an opening this bleak, surely he deserved a skill that let him summon a dragon or a titan!

As Murphy scratched his head, trying to figure out the impressive-sounding "administrator system," he noticed a separate panel at the bottom of the character card.

Newbie Tutorial Mission (1/6): Complete your first summon and begin the testing plan.

Mission Description: Hah. Don't make that face. I know what you're thinking. Start summoning and master true power. Then you'll know I've given you the very best, Alpha.

"So cryptic. My name's Murphy. What the hell is Alpha?"

Murphy frowned as he read the mission description, then glanced at the "Summoning" feat on his character card. The 0/2 indicated that he could summon two "otherworldly creatures."

"Then let me see what kind of crap you've got in that broken gourd!"

The unlucky vampire gripped the hilt of his gauntlet sword with his left hand and spread his right hand in an elegant spellcasting pose.

He had no idea what he'd summon. But even if a burning Dark Titan charged out the next second, roaring and slashing at the world, he wouldn't mind.

On the contrary, he'd think it was incredibly cool, and he'd be ready to gleefully sneak a bite of the ashes after the world burned to a cinder.

After all, he was in such a miserable state that he was counting on this thing to change his fate. He couldn't afford to worry about anything else. And had this city treated him well?

Why should he care about those people who'd showered him with malice even while he smiled at them?

He didn't owe them anything, right?

Skill activated.

Murphy felt as if he'd been thrown into a millstone that squeezed out the little psionic energy he had. By the time he felt about a quarter of his dark psionic energy had been drained, two sparkling points of light had finally taken shape.

It was as though the most exquisite tailor were weaving clear outlines from nothing, using threads of light that represented psionic energy. As Murphy watched expectantly, two figures appeared before him, one tall and one short.

Average builds, average faces, ordinary life signs. Even a crippled vampire like Murphy could probably take on several of them.

What the hell!

They were just ordinary humans?

What use was that?

For a moment, the vampire's disdain for this cheat system reached its peak. But just as he was about to complain, a familiar language rang in his ears.

So clear that even a vampire found it horrifying.

"Holy crap, this game looks awesome! Check out the lighting! The details! The bricks! Damn, these bricks are really freaking bricky! But the application said 'True Otherworld' was still in development. From the looks of it, it seems finished."

"Shh, shut up! Look, that NPC's staring at us. Whoa, this pretty boy's character model is handsome. Why can't I make my face look like his?

"Hey!

"You can even take your pants off in this game!"

"...Fuck! Pants. Don't take them off!"

"...The NPC just swore, right? I didn't mishear, did I? He definitely said 'fuck,' right? Even the localization is this realistic? I love it."

Two chapters a day during the new-book period, then three chapters a day after it goes on sale. Monthly bonus chapters for meeting the monthly ticket goal, and the usual bonus chapters for tips. Hop on board without worry, brothers! And consider investing in the book. Trust me, I'm an experienced driver. We won't crash!