Without exaggeration, he had seen more fat rats in Lady Cui Si's dilapidated manor in the one month he had been there than he had ever seen vampires.
While Murphy rarely ventured out, he was somewhat well-known among the Blood Vulture Clan. Even the old Blood Servant auntie who swept the corridors and emptied the chamber pots in the Blood Eagle Corridor knew him, after all, Murphy was the first among the Cardman City to have remained loyal to "the incompetent Queen" Lady Cui Si.
From the moment he was transformed into a vampire, he lived in the decrepit courtyard of Cui Si as if he was serving a family member.
Such a heartwarming story was considered quite "legendary" amidst the vampire clans rife with intrigues and violence, so much so that it had already made its way into the "Cardman City's Seven Unbelievables" and other such spooky stories.
"What do you mean?"
Murphy's mouth didn't move but his voice still traveled back to the vampire in the shadow.
Onomatopoeia!
The preliminary use of the innate dark spiritual energy, a talent inherent in vampires.
[Effectively used a low-level spiritual energy technique once, proficiency in dark spiritual energy perception and manipulation increased, currently "Beginner".]
The prompt popped up the moment he completed onomatopoeia. But he was already used to this and merely felt once again that this skill leveling was truly difficult.
It's already been a month and he's still just a beginner.
"No particular meaning, just wishing you a pleasant 'journey'."
The vampire answered with an ambiguous tone.
Perhaps thinking that the mockery wasn't enough, he made a gesture and the Blood Servant in charge of food distribution obsequiously stuffed three more packs of relief grain into Murphy's arms.
What did that mean?
Murphy blinked, unmovably observing as he made a brief bow to the vampire, who also returned the respect in accordance with the Blood Vulture Clan's family rules.
On the way back to the manor, Murphy, looking at the five packs of relief grain in his arms, couldn't help but think:
'Does this mean 'eat up and hit the road'? They must be crazy! Even when I've kept such a low-profile I still make myself a target? These bloody vampires all need to be taught a lesson!"
Grumbling to himself, he quickly approached his "manor" by sticking close to the shadows cast by the walls. But every 100 meters or so, a prompt would pop up in front of him.
[Successfully completed Shadow Walk once, the proficiency of Stealth·Stealth Skills increased to "Skilled".]
Unknown to others, this was simply a force of circumstances. Who would choose to skulk along walls like a thief if they could walk in broad daylight?
By now it was almost nine o'clock, the sun was beginning to turn vicious. This was the toughest time of the day for vampires. To avoid being burnt by sunlight, Murphy, who could not afford expensive sunproof products, was forced to stick to the shadows.
Normal vampires wouldn't venture out under the sun, it is only when night falls that their day truly begins. But Murphy couldn't afford such an extravagant lifestyle.
On the one hand, his family was currently impoverished and survival demanded that he hurry early to collect food. Otherwise, both he and his useless matriarch would go hungry.
On the other hand, his vampire body was inhabited by a spirit from another world that followed a very stubborn schedule.
When he first "came over," he tried sleeping during the day and venturing out at night out of curiosity. The result was akin to a thirty-year-old man staying up all night in an internet cafe, he needed three days to recover.
He could stay up, but only for a little while.
"Sigh."
Despite it being early morning, Murphy had sighed for the seventeenth time today.
While gripping the food, he pushed open the "manor's" iron gate. He used too much force and the rusty, neglected gate fell onto the "garden" overrun by ivy and weeds, startling three fat rats into flight.
[Successfully performed a scene destruction, proficiency in Melee·Physical Attack skills increased, currently "Beginner"]
The familiar prompt popped up again, leaving Murphy feeling drained once more.
Half of his beginner-level melee skills had been gained from this pitiful iron gate over the past month. So, aren't you going to thank Uncle Iron Gate?
Murphy looked at the "manor" in front of him, which he had lived in for a month. Through the mottled buildings, one could vaguely see the splendour it had once embodied. It was a classic "quiet in the bustling" style mansion, with a meticulously arranged garden running through the entire yard, nearly a thousand meters square.
There was a hidden wine cellar and a tall observation deck, the main house was beautifully built and even had statues of unknown gods dotted around.
The pity was, that was all at least a century ago.
The manor was now a dilapidated house awaiting demolition, a place even homeless people wouldn't visit. It was hard to imagine that this would be the dwelling of a vampire elder who claimed to be 500 years old.
"Reveno·Murphy·Le Senbula!"
A harsh call suddenly sounded from behind.
While Murphy was in the process of propping up the gate as usual, he turned around to see a shadow gathering on the wall. Amidst the echoing sound of bat wings flapping, a slender silhouette appeared before his eyes.
Clearly, this was a high-level spiritual energy technique. But more important was the person standing before him.
It was a vampire clothed in a luxurious crimson robe, holding a short cane. The exquisite badge on his chest revealed that he was a Blood Vulture Guard who directly obeyed the Clan Leader's commands.
They seldom appeared, and each time they did, it represented the will of the Blood Vulture Clan's leader, Salockdale·Le Senbula.