Chapter 99 – Cad Dad Meets Vampire Elder
Essence of Life was a promising add-on skill. Ideally, Xiaomao should be using it every time the cooldown was reset. However, there was a problem.
Xiaomao couldn’t possibly recover his Life Qi without the dantian menu feature. He needed to find an NPC with a cultivator class to unlock for him, and he might need to consume some Life Qi to activate it.
Unfortunately, the third world lacked the presence of cultivators. Even though Xiaomao had future knowledge, he didn’t know the location of all cultivators in the third world.
He remembered that Siren City housed all types of NPCs, facilities, guilds, and services. However, the NPCs were weak, and their unlockable abilities were average. To get a better mentor, Xiaomao needed to take risks, and he knew of one clue – Most experts hid in small towns where players least expected!
Xiaomao missed his chance for finding an expert in Bit City and Seaside Town, but he wouldn’t ignore Xuan Town.
“Magdalene, Lucky, Shepherd, Andrew, help me look for a local cultivator, munya!”
While Xiaomao was proceeding toward the central market of the town, the group looked left and right, searching for a cultivator NPC.
He couldn’t ask Halal earlier because he wanted to keep his classes a secret. Sharing the story quest was one thing, but revealing his skills and classes was a shortcut to trouble. Thus, Xiaomao searched for the NPC with his trusty comrades.
Fortunately, Shepherd’s girlfriend came in handy. It didn’t take long for her to find someone. The fairy sensed something and pointed her finger at an alley between two houses, where a pale and skinny white-haired old man in a ragged grey robe was using it as his home.
Xiaomao and the gang got closer to the elder. They looked at his name and his level.
Fu De, Level (???)
Jackpot!
Everyone but Magdalene widened their eyes in astonishment. This homeless elder was one of the hidden experts that Xiaomao was looking for!
<Magdalene reveals that Fu De’s level is 777, and his aura smells like rotten blood.>
<Magdalene suggests that you should avoid him and find another expert.>
Xiaomao doubted it. He rechecked the elder’s name color again.
It was white, which indicated that he was not a criminal NPC. All evil or hostile NPCs had either red names or purple names.
“I’ll take my chances, munya.”
Even though Magdalene didn’t like the homeless elder, Xiaomao couldn’t wait that long. He needed to use Essence of Life skill to grow stronger, and he didn’t want to waste several days to find another promising NPC to unlock his dantian menu.
Xiaomao jumped off Lucky’s shoulder. He hopped toward the homeless elder.
“Hello, munya.”
Fu De slightly opened his eyes, but he used his hands to block the ray of sunlight.
“Shoo! Shoo! Go away! I want to sleep!”
“…”
Xiaomao pursed his lips. He thought of something to get the elder’s interest.
CLANK
The catopus brought out a handful of gold coins and placed them in front of the elder, but the latter only glanced at it and pushed the coins back.
“Get lost while I’m still in a good mood!”
Xiaomao sighed and gazed at the floating number and the elder’s name.
There was no quest marker. This elder didn’t seem to be troubled with gold coins, and he didn’t need help.
Xiaomao turned around and planned to leave. He activated the chameleon skill to hide his presence.
But as soon as Xiaomao used his skill, Fu De sat up and glared at the group. He pointed at Xiaomao as if he still detected the cat’s presence.
“You there!”
Xiaomao jumped in joy. He thought that he had fulfilled a quest condition, so he undid his camouflage skill.
“Yes, munya?”
“Not you. The virgin girl over there that you’re sitting on!”
Fu De pointed at Lucky instead.
Xiaomao was disappointed, but he was still being optimistic, “Her? Do you need her help, munya?”
Fu De narrowed his eyes when he noticed Magdalene’s presence. However, he pressed on with his desire.
“Give me her blood while I’m still being nice! I want her blood!”
Xiaomao, Shepherd, Magdalene, Lucky, and Andrew’s expressions changed. Their face darkened, and they brought out weapons, preparing for a brawl.
“Why should we, munya?!”
Suddenly, Fu De transformed into a hundred bats and charged at Xiaomao. They bit him, Lucky, Shepherd, and Andrew.
In just one bite, the four’s HP bars dropped to 1%!
Magdalene screeched in anger, and a hundred ice spikes pierced a hundred blood-sucking bats. They dissipated into black dust, but they reformed into the elder in the alley again.
The HP bar of Fu De didn’t even decrease by a tiny bit. On the other hand, Magdalene lost 80% of her HP because of a graze from a bat!
Fu De’s appearance changed. His formerly white hair turned black, and he looked 10 years younger. His color complexion was no longer pale. The skinny arms and legs gained a portion of muscle mass, but they were still thin and weak. Moreover, his ragged robe turned into a fancy black robe of a cultivator.
“Hahahaha! Blood of the virgin is the best!”
Ding
<You have been inflicted with [Vampire Curse].>
<Shepherd has been inflicted with [Vampire Curse].>
<Lucky has been inflicted with [Vampire Curse].>
<Andrew has been inflicted with [Vampire Curse].>
.
<strong>Vampire Curse</strong>
Whenever you are bitten by a vampire, you will be cursed and mutate into either a ghoul or a lessor vampire. Normally, it takes seven days to complete the mutation. However, it’s possible to neutralize the curse with certain spells or items.
<strong>Effect:</strong> In 7 days, you will become a vampire of your race, and your soul will be enslaved by the vampire that bit you.
.
<Magdalene complains that she knew it would happen one day!>
Mistakes had been made! Xiaomao was too optimistic and ran into a troublesome NPC because of his impatience. Now, he had to waste time and afford to remove the curse.
Xiaomao and the crew chugged potions and recovered their health. They glared at Fu De, who seemed to be enjoying himself.
Before Xiaomao and Fu De could exchange words or fight, the group suddenly heard a loud sizzling sound as if someone was having a BBQ.
The sound came from Fu De, and white smoke slowly came out from his skin.
“OW! OW! OW! God dammit! WHY!?!”
The vampire reverted back to the skinny white-haired old man. His fancy clothes turned into rags once more.
Ding
<Cernun’s blessing has purified the [Vampire Curse] on you and your comrades.>
The curse on Xiaomao, Shepherd, Lucky, and Andrew was instantly removed. They widened their eyes, staring at the notification panels in front of them and the dubious vampire NPC.
Magdalene burst into laughter. She cried and held her stomach.
<Magdalene says that Fu De’s level decreases to 666.>
<Magdalene believes that it suits him right.>
Xiaomao and the others were speechless. They were no longer in danger, and the tension was killed.
Ding
A gold exclamation mark appeared on top of Fu De’s head, indicating that the vampire had a quest for Xiaomao.
Fu De went down on his knees. He held his hands together in prayer and cried.
“Young heroes, I’m so sorry! This old man is wrong. This old man is repenting for his sins. Please forgive this old man and tell your god to stop bullying this old man, please!”
Ding
<Fu De is offering you a quest.>