Golden Experience

After traveling for a bit, right about when she could still make it back to the castle if she ran should the sun begin to rise, Blanc found a neglected cemetery. A little further ahead she could see what looked like a town, but seeing that it was completely dark, it had probably been deserted. All the residents must have moved somewhere else.

“Well, there are tons of zombies and stuff around, so it must’ve been tough living here…”

The cemetery was filled with zombies and skeletons, so the deserted town was probably in a similar state. Blanc started thinking it was about time she turned back.

“Not like I’m thinking ‘I gotta tame something today’ or anything… At worst, I thought nabbing a skeleton would be good enough.”

If she were going to [Subordinate] a skeleton, she was curious about how it might compare to when the count did it to her. If it simply turned into a Squire Zombie, she would wonder why it turned out different from her. Maybe it was because she knew six different elements of magic, or because her INT was high. Was one of them the condition for Revenant, or maybe did both things fulfill the requirements for Lesser Vampire? But since she couldn’t raise a skeleton’s INT or teach it magic before she tamed it, there wasn’t an easy way to experiment. She’d need to find some way for it to reincarnate after being tamed.

“The count said that after he tamed me and I became a vampire, it did seem like he could control me, so let’s ask him later.”

That being the case, then she might as well check out what was in the cemetery. Unlike out in the wild, the cemetery appeared to also have living monsters along with the undead. Like these bats that were attacking her.

“Wagh, that scared me!”

A bunch of bats swarmed her. She didn’t know what they wanted; probably food. If they happened to be vampire bats, then they must’ve wanted to dine on the blood of a vampire, e.g. Blanc’s.

The bats fell to the ground in a flutter.

“Phew. I’m glad that worked… I think I heard somewhere that it didn’t have a high success rate, but since I’m a vampire and these are (probably?) vampire bats, maybe it was super effective.”

The bats cowered on the ground, shivering. Seeing them like that, she started to feel bad.

“Or actually, since starting the game, all I’ve encountered are ants and undead… So these are the first living mammals I’ve seen…”

These creatures might not be so bad. They were pretty vampire-y, and with this many of them, even if they were kinda weak, they should be able to defeat a zombie. If it came down to it, they could be used as a smokescreen, and best of all, they could be used as spies just like what the count did with his rats.

“If I remember right, bats are also known as rats with wings, so as the count’s student, we’d match too!”

Blanc went to all of the prone bats around her one by one and cast [Subordinate] on them. She left out the [Control] part, but that was because, as the count had said, there was such a big difference in power between them. The taming succeeded without a hitch.

“So there are nine of them in all. Their race is… Desmodus? That sounds pretty metal.”

The bats all scampered over to crowd around Blanc.

“I didn’t know that bats could walk! And they’re also speedier than I expected!”

It would be hard for them to follow her like that, so she carried them in her arms.

“If this were in the real world, I’d have to worry about rabies and stuff, but whatever. Actually, even if something were to happen to me, I’m a vampire here, so yeah.”

Since Blanc achieved what she set out to do, she returned to the castle. Her new followers may not have been cool or strong, but she liked that they were plentiful.

“Well, at least they’re pretty cute, so whatevs. All right, let’s head back.”

Her trip back was a bit hurried, but she somehow managed to arrive at the old castle before the sun rose.

“I’m back~!”

“Hmm… What do you have there? Are those bats?”

“Aren’t they vampire-y? And they’re kinda like rats too.”

“I cannot say if they are inherently suitable for vampires or not, but bats and rats are different races.”

“Ehhh~”

Then why were they called “rats with wings”?

“W-Well, whatever. By the way, Coach, you said that after you tamed me and I became a vampire, you felt like you could control me too, but have you ever heard of a tamed monster reincarnating into a vampire?”

“Hmm. When special conditions are fulfilled, it is possible to have them to reincarnate by drinking a special kind of blood.”

“Special blood?”

“The blood of a high-ranking vampire. For example, if a Revenant were to drink my blood, it could be possible for it to reincarnate into a Lesser Vampire. I have not tested this, thus I can say no more than that.”

“So it wouldn’t work with my blood?”

“Indeed… You may need to increase your rank somewhat first. If it were for a Squire Zombie to reincarnate to a Revenant, yours may very well already be sufficient…”

“My rank…”

“It should not be too far off. See, you have already shed the [Lesser] rank.”

As they chatted, she checked her own status and found that it was true; she had changed from a Lesser Vampire to a Vampire.

“When did that happen…?”

“I imagine when you learned [Mental Magic] or [Subordinate]. Those spells command a considerable rank.”

In other words, earning and spending XP did the trick.

“But I don’t get that much XP from grinding the zombies around here anymore…”

The count thought for a moment before responding. “If you take the tunnels in the cellar, you will arrive at a water vein. If memory serves, a group of lizardmen made a nest there. They should prove to be more satisfying prey than zombies.”

“Lizardmen! So those exist too! And this castle has a cellar?”

“You first entered this castle via the cellar,” the count spat, exasperated. “Well, I am sure you just got lost and somehow arrived here while trying to make your way back… I shall write down simple directions for you. Go and see for yourself; the light of the sun does not reach there. It can serve as your entertainment during the day.”

“Yessiree!”

“Fuh hah hah. And about those bats, I do sense a connection with us. It is possible that with the right conditions, they could also reincarnate into something else. Raise them well.”

“Yeah—! I’ll do my best!”

When she had first met him, she saw him as a cringey, overdramatic older brother. Now that she had gotten used to the way he talked, though, she was starting to find it kind of cute, strangely enough.

“Here, a map. ’Tis simple, but it should keep you from getting lost after leaving the castle. You are able to use [Mental Magic] as much as you want on lizardmen. You should not have much trouble, so allow your bats to gain experience when possible.”

“What do you mean I can use it as much as I want on them?”

“Hm? Did I neglect to explain? [Mental Magic] does not work on undead. Therefore there is not much opportunity for its use around this castle.”

“I’ve never heard that before, for sure! But wait, when we met, didn’t you just blast me with [Charm] and other stuff?”

“Well, there are certain tricks. You shall learn in time.”

That piqued her interest, but since he said he’d show her someday, there was no need to worry about it now. She also wanted to hurry up and grind more XP.

“Okay then, I’m off!”

“Indeed. Be off.”

Blanc immediately went down to the cellar and headed for the underground water vein. She at long last found the place where she initially spawned, but it seemed to be blocked off now, so she couldn’t get there anyway. Her bats were under her cape, hanging off Blanc’s body. As long nothing crazy happened, everything should be all right.