[WARNING! The Host's life is in danger! A vampire has detected your existence]
'WHAT?'
'SYSTEM! Deactivate the Gel Body skill, NOW!'
After hearing the system's warning, I instantly disabled my Gel Body skill and returned to my ghost body.
'System, can it still detect me?'
[Answer: Vampires are known to be experts at martial arts, carrying supernatural strength, but they don't have any mana, so the Host should be safe for now]
'Phew! That was a close one. So, where is this vampire guy?'
I tried looking around, but couldn't find anything out of the ordinary.
But then..
''What was that floating slime creature and how did it disappear into thin air?? It should be gone now, right?''
A voice came out of a nearby bush and after a few moments a figure emerged from it.
It was a small boy with jet black hair and a pale complexion, wearing a dark suit covered in holes and scratches. His eyes were red and he had 2 unnaturally long fangs coming out from his mouth.
'So that's a vampire, an expert of martial arts? He doesn't look that strong though?'
I questioned the system after seeing the fragile looking body of the child in front of me.
[Answer: The host shouldn't judge a book by its cover]
'...'
'Alright, it doesn't matter how strong he really is, since he doesn't have any mana, he can't hurt me in my spiritual body anyway.'
I assured myself that I was safe for now. But for some reason, something felt off to me.
My ghost instincts told me that I was not completely out of danger just yet.
'Inspect.'
I decided to inspect the small vampire to see if my gut was telling the truth.
=== {INSPECT} ===
Name: Isara Raven
Type: Half-Blood Vampire
Affiliation: ?
Health: 700/700
Mana: 22,500/50,000
Tier: Platinum (1)
Skills: [S+] Life Detection, [B+] Blood Shield
=== {INSPECT} ===
'...'
'System, you did say that vampires don't have any mana right…?'
[...]
[Oops]
'OOPS??'
[Answer: It looks like the child in front of you is a half-blood instead, which means that instead of being physically strong, he is extremely talented in mana]
'...'
'Welp, anyone can make mistakes, I guess. Haha..'
After remembering that the knowledge of the System was linked to my current strength level and the possibility of my soul exploding, I managed to not go on an insulting spree this time.
Besides, even if someone had a lot of mana, they were still not a threat to me if they couldn't see me.
But the child in front of me had a skill that was worrying me, Life Detection.
'Inspect'
=== {INSPECT} ===
Name: Life Detection
Type: Detection
Tier: S+
Mana Cost: 30,000
Description: A skill that is capable of detecting the presence of any living organism within a 5km radius.
=== {INSPECT} ===
'Uh oh, isn't this really dangerous?'
I worriedly looked at the inspect screen and then moved my eyes to the half-blood, who was standing over the sleeping bandits.
''Did that weird slime creature do all of this?''
The vampire was curious after seeing the aftermath of my guerilla warfare tactics.
'Well, I should be fine, the mana cost is a whopping 30,000, it's not like he can use the skill right now anyway..'
After making sure that I was not in any immediate danger, I decided to observe the vampire from a distance.
He was currently looking at the passed out bandits with a dangerous gleam in his eyes.
And then suddenly, his already unusually long fangs double in length and plunged into the neck of one of the bandits.
'Eeek! What the hell!'
I cringed while looking at the sight in front of me.
'System, why is he doing that?'
[Answer: Like I said before, each species has a different way to gather mana and Half-Bloods use blood to replenish it]
'So he is getting mana from that? Hmm... Wait! isn't this really bad for me then?!'
'I should probably get out of here!'
I decided to not risk anything and flee the area, but unfortunately..
''Finally! Now I can find out if my instincts were right or not.''
''Life Detection!''
A child's voice echoed through my mind.
'Crap.. why is he so paranoid..'
After knowing that the detection skill was activated, I sped up my escape and tried to frantically get out of the 5km radius.
I had made it around half way, but then..
BANG!
I ran straight into something.
[The Host has lost 2 HP, 20 HP left]
A blood red pulsating mass of energy was menacingly blocking my way.
'Crap, so that's what his other skill was, huh?'
''Greetings, Mr. Ghost!"
A playful voice sounded behind me.
'Crap!'
I knew that trying to escape was probably hopeless, I needed to confront the threat directly.
As I turned around I saw the child floating in the air with a red mass under his legs, similar to that which was blocking my way.
His face had a wide grin on it and his eyes were glowing red.
''I have never seen anything like you before, is this your true form? Or is it the slime I saw before?''
He asked me in a curious voice.
Since I knew that he could damage me in my spiritual body anyway, I decided to switch to my Gel Body.
''Woww! Something like this is possible? How interesting..''
The boy said while making his way closer to me.
Since I couldn't talk, there was no way I could communicate with him.. Or was there?
I tried shaping my Gel Body into letters and hoped that he could understand me.
''Ohh, what an interesting way of communication. What do you mean by ''Wait''?''
Jackpot! It looks like he could understand me, but even then…
'How the hell am I gonna get out of this situation?'
After thinking for a few seconds, he started to approach me again.
'Tch! I guess I'll just have to bluff my way out of this.'
I used my Gel Body to type out 2 words,
{Isara Raven}
''!!''
The boy took a few steps back, but still had a fairly calm look on his face.
''You, how do you know my real name?''
He asked in a cautious voice.
After not getting a response, he opened his mouth again.
''Everyone who knew my real name died 40 years ago, so who are you?!''
This time, the boy's voice had a sense of urgency.
'4-40 years? I guess I really shouldn't judge a book by its cover.. Anyways.. Let's hope he is gullible enough to fall for this..''
{Child, you have been through a lot}
I kept shaping words with gel.
{As to who I am..}
{You can call me Nemesis, the God of Divine Retribution}
''God of Divine Retribution, I have never heard anything about someone like that..''
The boy said cautiously.
{Child, I feel a strong fire burning inside of you looking for revenge, even when you know its beyond your limits}
''!!''
''WHO ARE YOU?''
The boy shouted while his glowing red eyes pierced my body.
'Phew! It looks like the gamble paid off'
After hearing that everyone that knew of his real name died a long time ago, I figured that there was a possibility that someone might have killed them and he was looking for vengeance.
Of course that was one of the many possibilities, but I had to choose one and it looks like I got extremely lucky.
{Child, it is not me that you should direct your anger towards, and you know that. I am here to help you with your goal}
''Help me?! I DON'T NEED YOUR HELP!''
Isara shouted, clearly under a lot of stress.
{You know that's not true}
''...''
The boy fell into silence, he appeared to be thinking deeply about something.
'This is too scary..'
I thought while looking at the red eyed vampire in front of me.
'System, how much mana would it cost to possess him?'
I decided to check just in case, even though I wasn't very hopeful.
[Answer: To possess {Isara Raven}, it would normally cost 200,000 mana. In a state of extreme fear, it would cost 30,000 mana]
'I don't know what I was expecting…'
Knowing that I couldn't use my possession skill, I decided to enhance my acting skill.
I morphed my Gel Body into a Wendigo and human hybrid. A tall and muscular human body mixed with the horned skull of a wendigo was a creepy sight to behold.
For the texture, I used mud again, which I secretly sucked up under me while communicating with the vampire.
I boldly approached the boy, who was still lost in his thoughts, and put my muddy hand on his shoulder.
''!!!''
The boy was surprised, but thankfully didn't take a step back.
My torso morphed into a sentence, this was my last trick.
{Child, I bestow you the Blessing of Vengeance}
"??"
The boy was clearly confused after reading the text in my torso.
The next second, I spit out all of the mud from my body and returned to the Slime's original color.
I morphed my body as large as I could, making an egg-shaped dome around the confused boy.
The boy inside was shocked, he had never seen anything like this before.
He was surrounded by a glowing light blue dome that was spinning around him.
After a few moments, something appeared on the dome's wall.
{Remember, I shall always be looking over you}
And then suddenly, the dome disappeared, only leaving behind a small boy with wide open eyes.
…
After switching back to my ghost body, I somehow managed to float away from the boy's skill radius without a massive blood wall appearing in front of me.
'I can't believe something that dumb actually worked. I got really lucky this time..'
As I was thinking about what had just happened, something really unexpected occurred.
[The Host has gained his first follower. You are now able to freely command {Isara Raven} until the day you die]
'W-what?'