The first vampires among the players were about to be born. Naturally, it was a big deal.
So nearly all the little players who had nothing to do at the moment had been invited to attend this "Embrace and Psionic Weaving Ceremony."
A lot of people were discussing whether vampires or humans were stronger, but those were topics that interested new players. The veterans had already gone back and forth over the question on the forums countless times.
It was basically a "monthly" thread. Someone brought it up every few days, almost like clockwork, and the moment the topic appeared, a crowd of idle "helmet-waiters"—players with nothing better to do—would rush in and start arguing tooth and nail.
As for the veterans, if they were here tonight, they had certainly given it serious thought. No one had just gotten carried away on a whim.
Murphy was already waiting in the Hall of Progeny, ready to preside over the first Embrace ceremony.
The hall was arranged much as it had been when Maxim received his Embrace, but the little pool of blood that had served as a decoration at the front had been replaced by a golden goblet filled with crimson liquid.
It wasn't blood!
Or rather, it wasn't purely blood.
Triss's research into the players' unique form of existence had reached considerable depth. At Murphy's request, she had adjusted the proportions of the Primordial Blood potion used in the previous experiment, striving to make the players' Embrace more closely resemble the way the "NPCs" were transformed.
Although their bodies truly lacked the blood needed to change their form of life, that didn't stop Triss from using alchemy to simulate the entire process.
In fact, according to the theories of certain ancient schools of psionics, blood was what flowed through living