Theos approached the crimson light. Every step he took he had to squint more, to the point where his eyes were practically closed.
But the warmth emanating from the light, a pleasant warmth, the complete opposite of an aggressive heat, guided him toward the object he had been searching for.
"This feels like... A heart," he murmured, his hands roaming over a heart-shaped object.
The particles of darkness covering Theos' body suddenly dispersed, as did the markings on his body, which shrank and finally returned to their original state.
Theos felt a pleasant sensation coursing through his entire being, an unimaginable satisfaction as if he were lying on a cloud itself.
But he didn't let this feeling and satisfaction take over him, instead, he had an unimaginable happiness... He had found it!
"The Vampire Heart," he finally said, grabbing the object with one hand and extending it into the air.
The crimson light immediately diminished, revealing a kind of heart-shaped crystal the size of a fist.
[The host has contact with the Vampire Heart.]
The system notified what Theos already knew, but Theos did not let it distract him. He immediately brought the vampire heart to his mouth and...
He ate it!
*Burp*
Theos burped after swallowing the vampire heart, at first he didn't feel a single difference from his previous state.
"Agh," but suddenly Theos winced and fell to the ground, clutching the heart area.
His body had begun a transformation!
Theos' skin began to stain in a transparent tone, anyone who saw him would have seen all his bones and organs.
And if that wasn't enough, his crimson eye glowed brightly, causing blood to spurt out of the eye.
[Transformation has begun, Transformation to the Vampire race.]
Still, his body felt extremely weak and tired, as if he couldn't bear to walk more than 10 steps and fall.
Theos had a speculation as to why this was.
'It's daytime, where vampires are weaker, that's why vampires are so weak and couldn't give me battle, and that's why I was able to defeat the king,' Theos remembered clearly.
Like all fantasies, the Vampire race is very weak in the daytime, weakening their strength by almost 50% if there is sunshine, and for Theos, a "new" Vampire, basically his strength was weakened by 99%.
"I should get back," Theos muttered, clutching his aching head.
His mind was spinning, but still, he found a way to get out of the palace and walk. To recover faster, he pulled out A-rank potions, swallowing one immediately.
Instantly there was an improvement in his body, he didn't feel as weakened, but still, he felt his body weak and strange.
"How are they doing?" asked Theos as he approached one of the guards.
The guard turned to give a bow and speak. Fixing his vision on Theos, the guard was surprised by his incredible physical change in such a short time. "Sir, what happened to me?"
"I didn't ask you that," Theos narrowed his eyes in annoyance.
The guard quickly gave several bows in apology. "Forgive my boldness, sir." He continued speaking under Theos' nod. "Everything is in order, every single vampire is doing their job, even the children."
Theos nodded with a satisfied expression. "Good, let them keep it up, let them bring at least a third of a ton of those black stones."
"Understood."
The guard walked away to inform his companions what his master wanted. Theos, on the other hand, was getting more and more used to his body.
With an indifferent and cool expression, along with a straight and noble posture, no one suspected that he was in a weakened state.
'It's time to make my army strong,' Theos thought as he approached one of the vampires.
~