The Land of Vampires, Beltane (6)
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We left Baroness Caroline’s domain and headed towards another territory.
Our destination was, of course, <Countess Ripley’s domain>.
It’s Ripley’s own territory that she owns and manages.
Fortunately, it didn’t take long to arrive.
We reached a nearby viscount domain from Baroness Caroline’s domain, then used the [Warp Gate] there to move.
<Beltane> is not an ordinary dungeon, but a residence for vampires.
Since there are adapters who are vampires deeply versed in magic, [Warp Gates] are naturally placed throughout the dungeon.
However, Baroness Caroline was a slightly lower-ranking noble among vampires, so her domain simply didn’t have a [Warp Gate].
And so we arrived at <Countess Ripley’s domain>.
“Wow... It’s well-tended.”
I exclaimed in admiration as soon as I saw the domain.
True to her symbol of ‘Seed’, her domain was blooming with various vegetation and flowers.
Gnarled stems, verdant leaves, and branches that could herald the seasons greeted us.
“Hmph. Is that all?”
“Yeah. I’d believe it if you said you were a gardener rather than an architect.”
“Hmph. You’re exaggerating.”
Ripley grumbled unnecessarily.
But I could hear in her voice that she was secretly pleased.
Moreover, as soon as we arrived at the domain, we could see the city, and various plants were also situated near it.
It was truly a domain brimming with vitality.
It doesn’t match at all with the nickname ‘Land of Death’ that <Beltaine> was called.
I doubted if this was really the same land as the other domains we’ve encountered so far.
Above all.
[You set foot in ‘Countess Ripley’s domain’. The symbol of ‘Seed’ is spread throughout the domain. A strong vitality dwells within your body. Your health temporarily increases.]
“The domain effect isn’t a debuff?”
I asked in surprise after checking the information window, and Ripley snorted.
“Debuffs are a defense system used by inferior nobles. Skilled nobles like me put buffs instead. Because we can control intruders even with that.”
Indeed.
It seems high-ranking vampires like Ripley consider it shameful to put debuffs in their domain.
But that’s not all.
The true value of the domain was revealed in the vampire castle.
Tall buildings and simply designed exteriors.
And old trees erected here and there, as if embracing the surroundings.
It didn’t have the majestic feeling you could usually see in other castles, but Ripley’s own soft and natural atmosphere was infused even inside the vampire castle.
It felt more like a neat palace than a castle.
I said with an admiring face.
“...It really is different.”
“Hmph. I told you so.”
I understood Ripley’s boasting back in Caroline’s vampire castle.
It definitely felt more luxurious, incomparable to Caroline’s castle.
Before entering the castle, even a Death Knight appeared.
-Welcome. We are pleased to welcome the Countess’s return.
It’s a completely different level of politeness from the ill-tempered Death Knights I’ve seen so far.
When I looked at Ripley as if needing an explanation, she said as if it was nothing special.
“It’s my subordinate.”
“A subordinate... Is a Death Knight?”
“Sorry. My contractor wants to keep their identity secret. Says it’s strategy.”
“Ugh, uaargh-!!”
The sword pierces the Termen warrior’s heart, and with that, the battle ends in my victory.
[You’ve won the duel! With the mysterious power of the Rune Hunter, you can replicate one of your opponent’s runes. Please select a rune to replicate.]
...
...
[Challenger ‘Do Jae-hyun’ has defeated owner ‘Edred’ and all his defense forces, and acquired ownership of the neutral zone ‘Sotton’! This is a proper result verified by the noble vampire judge ‘Chloe’.]
[Special achievement! You have acquired ownership of the neutral zone ‘Sotton’ in Beltane. Acquiring ownership of a neutral zone is one of the great honors for challengers. Your abilities resonate with this honorable achievement and grow.]
[You gain 1 point each in all general and special abilities, and resistance abilities.]
And then information windows pop up as if they’ve been waiting.
Actually, these are special pieces of information I’ve never seen in other dungeons before.
A system where an adapter within the dungeon acts as a judge for attacking a specific area, and if the challenge is successful, the result appears in an information window.
It’s a kind of siege system that you might only see in something like a game.
A completely new form of dungeon.
If this becomes known in the current world, it will probably have as big an impact as <Room of the Transcendence> or <Room of Deserters>.
As a reward for the attack, it’s not an ‘amazing achievement’, but you can even get a ‘special achievement’ that increases all abilities...
This would probably drive high-ranking Holders crazy for ability points.
“...I’m getting tired of this now.”
I sigh while wiping the blood off the holy sword.
This is already the fourth time I’m doing this.
It’s nice that my abilities are increasing, but repeating the same actions and hearing the same lines from these Termen guys is making me dizzy.
Although the types are slightly different, I can somewhat understand why Ripley hates the Termen so much.
“Challenger. You killed the owner of the neutral zone during the attack. In this case, the period for receiving attack applications from other challengers after you become the owner will be reduced to 6 days.”
The vampire judge Chloe approaches me and says with an expressionless face.
I wave my sword-wielding hand as if annoyed.
“Yes, that’s fine.”
This is also the fourth time I’m hearing this.
There are a few reasons why I kill the Termen warriors during the attack.
First, they’re so strong and tough that the attack doesn’t end with simple subduing.
And secondly, they were a group that committed evil acts in the other world.
From what I heard from Ripley, while not as bad as the Ludenark school, they were quite a famous evil group on the continent.
It’s not for nothing that the repentant Kelbilid became Sednilen’s proxy.
And thirdly...
‘If I want to prevent future attack applications, there should be no lingering threats.’
Anyway, once my promise is fulfilled, I’ll leave <Beltane> and return to the current world.
In other words, the neutral zones I’ve attacked will lose their ownership automatically.
So...
Ripley never intended to take over all the neutral zones from the beginning.
She just wanted to get back at the other nobles who pissed her off and return everything to square one.
“Whoever the contractor is, they’re really ruthless.”
I chuckle and move on.
Now it’s time to attack the fifth neutral zone.
It’s been only 6 hours since Ripley and I strategized.
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