Sunlight gently blanketed the land, yet there was not a trace of spring in the air.
A cold wind howled past, as though intent on blowing even the warm winter sun pale.
Fine, downy snowflakes scattered over the ground, unable to form thick drifts, only melting into icy water amid the damp soil.
On such a chilly afternoon, besides the low growl of the north wind, the angry roar of some terrifying creature could also be heard.
Ahead, a massive beast with sharp swords covering its spine faced off against an unarmed boy, needlelike bristles covering its gray skin.
It was a Class Three Danger Beast, the Sword-Spined Tiger.
Even a warrior capable of defeating a Class Two Danger Beast single-handedly could only steer clear of this bladeproof Sword-Spined Tiger.
Yet, even though the Danger Beast's shadow had already engulfed the boy's entire body,
the boy's expression remained as it always was, as though he had long grown accustomed to such enormous beasts.
[Alucard Template System] [Host: Lin Feng] [Experience: 3.96%] [Skill points: 0] [Skills: Vampire constitution, resurrection, shapeshifting, Level Zero: River of Death]
The unruffled boy-Lin Feng-could not help turning his awareness inward to his "system."
"How many points will I get after slaughtering this big guy...?"
The Sword-Spined Tiger would not tolerate its prey spacing out. Its face twisted ferociously, and its steel-ringed tail swept wildly toward Lin Feng like an iron whip!
"Level Zero: River of Death-!"
Meanwhile, Lin Feng remained unmoved, merely reciting those words coldly.
In an instant, a strange surge of blood energy welled up, and a violent collision produced a tremendous boom.
When the blood energy dispersed, the Sword-Spined Tiger's long tail could be seen striking not Lin Feng, but a beast slightly smaller than the tiger itself!
It had a long, rounded body, foreclaws as sharp as knives, and a groundhog-like head bearing a savage, vicious face.
This was a Class Two Danger Beast-the Earth-Splitting Dragon.
Lin Feng gently stroked the Earth-Splitting Dragon's hind leg, and the same blood-red hue as his rippled within its pupils.
This human boy could actually tame wild Danger Beasts and summon them!
However, there was an absolute gulf in strength between Class Three and Class Two Danger Beasts.
A single Earth-Splitting Dragon could not defeat the incomparably ferocious Sword-Spined Tiger!
The Sword-Spined Tiger threw back its head and roared, preparing to advance and tear both the Earth-Splitting Dragon and Lin Feng to pieces.
However, that Earth-Splitting Dragon was not the only one Lin Feng had just summoned.
Shadows gradually spread around the Sword-Spined Tiger.
Looking around, there was actually an Earth-Splitting Dragon in each of the four directions-east, south, west, and north!
The four beasts surrounded the Sword-Spined Tiger, their blood-red eyes proof that they were Lin Feng's familiars.
"Tear it apart, my servants..."
At Lin Feng's call, the four ferocious beasts launched a surprise attack on the Sword-Spined Tiger, leaving no angle uncovered.
Ramming, pouncing, gnawing-
Soon, the Sword-Spined Tiger let out a piteous howl and crashed to the ground.
As the blood-red gleam faded from Lin Feng's eyes, the Earth-Splitting Dragons he had summoned vanished completely along with the bloody hue.
This was the "Alucard Template."
At the age of eight, Lin Feng had transmigrated to this unfamiliar world with this peculiar template system.
Whenever he awakened the template system within his subconscious, a wash of blood-red would appear before his eyes.
He also seemed able to sense an incomparably powerful vampire king within the template, channeling his power into him.
Not only did he possess strength and speed far beyond ordinary people, but he also had extremely powerful self-healing abilities, allowing him to recover quickly from all kinds of injuries.
He could change his form, appearance, and build, turning into a shadow to pass through walls and attack enemies.
He could even turn the lives he had killed into servants and summon them!
It was only recently that he had truly mastered Alucard's power and learned to wield it proficiently.
As he was now, Lin Feng had yet to obtain Alucard's full power.
But he had discovered that as long as he increased his strength through battle,
the vampire king's power granted to him by the system template would grow stronger as well!
A blood-red soul surged out of the slain Sword-Spined Tiger, drawn into Lin Feng's body and absorbed.
[Class Three Danger Beast: Sword-Spined Tiger has been added to "Level Zero: River of Death"] [Level Zero: River of Death, current maximum number of summonable apostles: four] [Experience: 3.96 → 4.00] [When experience reaches 5.00, gain a skill point]
Lin Feng held his hands like blades, and his palms, wreathed in blood energy, immediately acquired a keen edge.
With these hands, Lin Feng easily carved up the Sword-Spined Tiger's body, stripping chunks of meat from its bones.
Then, Lin Feng dragged a wooden handcart over from the entrance to the dense forest and loaded the chunks of meat into its storage box.
The Sword-Spined Tiger was so enormous that even after Lin Feng selected only the choicest cuts, the meat still piled up like a mountain.
Lifting the wooden handcart's handles, Lin Feng headed back the way he had come.
Going out to hunt and gather ingredients for the restaurant was Lin Feng's daily work.
When he had first arrived in this world, Lin Feng, who knew nothing, had stayed in a small restaurant in one of the Empire's impoverished towns.
Thanks to the influence of the "Alucard System," he was extraordinarily strong and quick with his hands and feet.
The owner had therefore made an exception and taken him in, and he worked hard to make a living as a restaurant employee.
Unfortunately, there were not many kind people like the restaurant owner in this world.
The reigning emperor of the Empire where Lin Feng lived was merely a wet-behind-the-ears child.
The minister who deceived the emperor-Honest-was an utterly corrupt official who held all the power despite his outrageous excesses.
The minister advocated ruling through force, and violence and corruption were the hallmarks of this nation.
Robbery, murder, theft, illegal dealings. The military cared only about lining its own pockets and had always been indifferent to such things, while the people struggled to survive.
Even in a small restaurant, hearing a customer complain about his superiors, then seeing him meet a violent death the next day-Lin Feng had experienced far too many such incidents.
Having realized all this, Lin Feng always felt that his peculiar template ability could bring some kind of change to this world.
Gritting his teeth and exerting himself, Lin Feng walked faster and faster, his steps seeming to grow lighter.
Before long, he could see the red eaves of the restaurant's kitchen and the wisps of cooking smoke rising from its chimney.
In the distance, a lean man wearing a headscarf waved excitedly to Lin Feng from far away.
"Lin Feng! Back so early again! We're really lucky to have you!"
Every afternoon, once the large volume of lunchtime cooking orders had been completed, the restaurant's kitchen would send Lin Feng out to gather Danger Beast ingredients.
Lin Feng was the only person in the entire restaurant who could hunt Danger Beasts to replenish their ingredients, providing both quantity and quality.
The restaurant made a fortune thanks to Lin Feng alone, and he consequently earned the highest wages in the entire restaurant.
But everyone could see how capable Lin Feng was, so the employees felt only admiration for him, with little envy.
"It's nothing special. Come take a look at today's meat, will you?"
"You got it!"
The kitchen worker excitedly ran over to the storage box at the back of the wooden handcart. At the sight of so many chunks of Danger Beast meat, he was too astonished to speak.