The sound of slurping could be heard as Lyle started drinking the blood of the dead Ilya. The body of the archmage had lost a fair amount of blood, but he was still able to get some from biting the carotid artery.
He only drank for a couple of seconds before there was no more blood, he rose and stared at the body, aware that this was not enough to satisfy the requirement for improving his bloodline.
He clicked his tongue before burying his face in the hole he had created in the old man's chest. The sound of slurping continued as he drank all the blood he could. Lyle's long black hair suddenly became a bit shorter as the wisps of red disappeared. His eyes lost their previous shine as the transformation had ended.
He, however, was unaware of it. He was completely engrossed in drinking all the blood he could.
Vampires in this world drank blood, but only those that possessed a low-ranked bloodline had to consume blood to survive. The higher-ranked vampires didn't need to do such things, but they still had urges and found it a bit difficult to control themselves when an opportunity presented itself.
Only the top vampires had complete control over their own urges. Drinking blood for them was the same as dessert. Drinking the blood of powerful beings would increase their strength and rarely ever would a noble vampire go on a rampage in order to find blood, although those cases existed.
Vlad the Cruel was a prime example. A noble vampire that loved drinking blood so much that in the end, he lost control. As one of the most powerful noble vampires, he stood at the top of the food chain and destroyed many towns, and even attacked cities and powerful monsters in order to satisfy his lust for blood.
It was only after multiple empires, together with the other noble vampire houses had allied themselves that he was stopped. He had drank so much blood that his power had risen to incredible heights and defeating him took over 100 people who were once at the same level as he was.
Most vampires would only drink the blood of their enemies, while there were those that would form a contract with humans or other beings that were willing to give their blood in return for power.
Those beings would become 'Adjutants', powerful beings that served the vampire they had formed a contract with. They were very powerful and could inherit a part of the vampire's power through the contract.
Even though the event happened hundreds of years ago, it created a large rift between the vampires and the rest of the world. Most kingdoms and empires prohibited the existence of vampires in their territory, but none dared attack the vampires as their strength was incredible.
Lyle had never drunk blood before, as someone that possessed a noble bloodline, he had no need for it, and since he was half-human, he resented the very idea of ever doing such a thing, even though it would benefit him and increase his strength.
He felt that if he started drinking blood from humans, he would slowly change and become more of a vampire than a human, and never did so.
It was only now when an opportunity to become more powerful and finally have a way to track down his father presented itself that he acted.
Ding!
[ The host has drunk enough blood, and the requirements have been met, does the host wish to evolve his bloodline now? ]
[ The system has done a scan over the surrounding area, and no threat has been detected, the system urges the host to evolve the bloodline right now. ]
"Do it," Lyle said as he took a couple of steps to the side. He suddenly stopped, his eyes widened to their fullest as blood started flowing from them.
His mouth, nose, and ears started bleeding as well as he fell down to his knees. He grit his teeth with all of his strength as an unimaginable pain assaulted him.
His hands were clenched in fists and blood could be seen flowing from them as his nails dug deep inside the palms of his hands.
Lyle felt as if his blood was boiling, and he wasn't exactly wrong.
To evolve a bloodline meant that his body would completely change from the inside. The old blood would be completely removed from the body before it started.
His skin cracked at multiple places as blood started flowing out, but the blood didn't fall down on the ground, it floated around Lyle and created a cocoon of blood around him. Soon, his entire body had been covered by the cocoon before he lost consciousness.
Lyle felt as if he was floating in water. He couldn't move, he couldn't open his eyes, all that he could do was simply feel.
The situation wasn't bad, but as time passed, Lyle felt tenser and tenser. He felt as if days, if not weeks had passed and yet he hadn't been able to move from the spot.
Months passed by, and Lyle was still stuck, floating in the water as his body didn't listen to him. He tried shouting in frustration, but he couldn't. Even moving a finger was impossible.
Years had passed and Lyle was peaceful, he had grown accustomed to the situation. His mind was blank as he simply tried not to think at all and sleep.
It wasn't until ten years had passed that Lyle finally opened his eyes. He looked around himself, only to find a sea of blood surrounding him. As for his body, it was on a large rock in the middle of the ocean of blood.
On the rock was an altar, an altar from which blood continuously came out and went inside the sea of blood. It was as if the altar was what had created the sea. On top of the altar was a statue of a woman.
Lyle didn't know why, but he felt drawn to the woman as if she was someone incredibly important to him.
Suddenly the statue came alive, the woman opened her eyes and smiled warmly at Lyle. Her hair was as dark as the night sky, her eyes red as a rose, and her smile as warm as the sun.
She reached out her hand at Lyle who simply stared at her in awe. Just as her hand was about to touch him, his eyes constricted as he backed away.
The woman looked at Lyle in confusion before giggling.
"An interesting one has appeared, this 'system' doesn't seem bad at all, I will be waiting for you, little one, come and find me once you grow up." The woman spoke as she smiled at Lyle for one last time before everything turned black.
The cocoon of blood in which Lyle had been standing inside shattered, and out came Lyle. His body was different compared to before, he was about 3cm ( 1.2 inches ) taller, his hair had grown a bit longer and his body seemed a little bit more muscular.
Most wouldn't be able to notice the difference, but Lyle could. It wasn't only his body that changed, it was his strength as well.
It was gone.
He felt as weak as he was back when he was still training to become an assassin. He could barely sense mana and his physical strength was miles away from what it previously was.
Ding!
[ Evolution has succeeded, the host has evolved his bloodline. ]
Ding!
[ The host has regressed from being a Tier II, level 169 being to level 1. ]
[ The host's bloodline has changed. ]
[ Vampire Noble – Vampire Lord ]
Ding!
[ The system has detected an anomaly during the evolution, traces of another powerful bloodline have influenced the evolution. ]
[ Vampire Lord has changed to True Vampire Lord ]
'Vampire Lord, I have actually become a vampire lord?!' Lyle thought to himself in shock as he had difficulty digesting the information.
Vampire Lords were incredibly powerful beings in the world of Corleon, they were at the very top of the food chain and only the most powerful beings in Corleon were above them.
In the vampire race, it was only the Empress of the Night, the ruler of all vampires that was above the lords.
Lyle didn't just become a vampire lord, but something different, however.
"What the hell is a pure vampire lord?"
Ding!
[ The system is unable to give information about the race, it is believed that the host might be the only being of the race currently existing, it is, however, certainly stronger compared to the race the host had previously evolved to. ]
"So, I didn't become a vampire lord, but something stronger?"
[ Correct ]
Ding!
[ Thanks to the host's powerful bloodline, a class has been given to the host before reaching the class requirements, the class 'Blood Lord' has been activated. ]
[ Blood Lord, description: a being that controls blood and can use it to not only create things but even force other beings to obey him. ]
[ Player has acquired 3 skills thanks to the class. ]
Ding!
[ The host has been marked by the Empress of the Night, it is advised that the host becomes powerful quickly in order to avoid being tracked down and captured. ]
"Huh?"