This is the first test.
Oh, and remember my name, remember the being who summoned you from the different world to this vibrant world.
My name is Murphy!
Reveno·Mo Fei·Le Senbula.
I am your guide, as well as your protector, your origin and your destination!"
Having said that, Murphy didn't wait for the two startled players to respond. He promptly vanished into the night, swift as a phantom, at the entrance of the basement.
The door slammed shut, leaving the masquerading NPC, an unfortunate vampire, panting heavily.
"Dropping the act and making a swift exit really gets the heart racing."
As he mumbled these words to himself, he crouched down on his haunches at the entrance of the basement, peeking through the crevices in the wall. The two small players had already begun a flurry of activity, searching around the immense basement.
Murphy wasn't lying to them.
This basement, like the manor it belonged to, was greatly antiquated, easily having 300 years of history in its stone walls. Of course, one wouldn't uncover any kind of valuable objects there.
However, their exploration would satisfy the requirement of Murphy's second tutorial task.
Murphy soon started to feel a headache coming on. How was he going to explain the origins of these two "creatures from another world" to the mistress of the manor, Lady Cui Si?
Should he just say they were his blood servants?
However, the players' unorthodox behavior and their language represented a significant challenge. Perhaps he should have them play mute?
Also, he realized, he hadn't yet asked them for their names.
How incredibly rude of him!
As an NPC, this was a pretty poor show. In theory, even if the players chose to name him Shet, he should still wear a radiant smile and praise it as a great name.
Well, he'll just have to make up for that later.
Murphy quickly went back to the main house, planning to tidy up. However, the moment he entered, he saw that Cui Si was not resting but instead standing by the window in a most uncharacteristic manner.
She looked like a statuesque figure, fixated on the scenery of Cardman City outside her window. She didn't even notice the sunlight shining on her fingers.
Grey smoke was emanating from her pale fingers, a prelude to the burns a vampire would receive from sunlight exposure.
"What are you doing? Have you finally accepted your many failures in life and decided to commit suicide in style, wish to start over? It's too late! It's been too late for five hundred years, so I beg you to live well."
Murphy rushed forward, pushing Cui Si away from the window and quickly pulling the blinds down. The room instantly fell into a gloom.
"Cough, cough"
Cui Si choked out a violent cough as Murphy picked up a handkerchief and began dressing her sunburned fingers, while asking softly,
"Does the wound hurt?"
"Not really."
Lady Cui Si seemed to care little, as if this level of pain had become something commonplace for her. She attempted to treat her wounds, but she was too weak and needed Murphy's assistance to finish the task.
Murphy understood the origins of Cui Si's weakness.
A month ago.
Refusing to remain as a worthless vampire, Murphy had attempted a dangerous spiritual energy summoning ceremony in the manor's basement, one he had discovered from who knows where. However, an accident occurred.
The tumultuous spiritual energy from the Star Realm he had summoned nearly shredded him.
Fortunately, Cui Si, who hadn't been drinking that day, managed to save him from the spiritual energy explosion at a great cost – her already terrible health condition took a turn for the worse.
However, to be precise, the Murphy who sought to change his fate and failed in the summoning ceremony was dead.
The one that Cui Si saved was someone else.
And if not for her, Murphy might have become the first ever vampire in history to die of soul hemorrhage on the very night he arrived.
Because of this, Murphy had dedicated himself over the past month to taking care of Cui Si with determination and commitment. He was a man who knew how to repay kindness, especially the kind that saved his life.
They say adversity breeds companionship. The "humble cohabitation" over the past month between the newly arrived Murphy and Lady Cui Si was enough for him to feel a peculiar sense of "mutual dependency" towards this unreliable superior. After all, even if the house was run-down, surely it was better than sleeping on the streets?
At this moment, the erstwhile Blood Vulture elder looked at Murphy, who was currently attending to her injured fingers in the dilapidated room. For a moment, everything fell silent.
One could almost hear their heartbeats.
Yes, even vampires had heartbeats, albeit much slower than those of regular humans.
After a few dozen seconds, Cui Si began to speak:
"I was just reminiscing about my life over the past hundred years, little Mo Fei. I've embraced so many people. Most of them were driven out of Transylvania and left to their own devices. A small percentage struggled to survive among the Blood Vultures, doing everything they could to distance themselves from me, a useless existence. But still, adversity always found them.
I remember there was a time when I used to exchange my embrace for a luxurious life from those who feared death. That's why they called me 'Money-eyed Cui Si'.
I've come across many different types of people, but you're the only exception.
Little Mo Fei, you're the only one who's always stayed by my side like a loyal blood servant, making me feel as if I'm living the kind of ordinary yet fulfilling life that those foolish mortals crave so much.
However, you should leave now.
You've grown up.
You should learn to stay away from danger, and also from misfortune."
"But how can you travel far in this condition?"
Murphy immediately caught the underlying message in Cui Si's words. However, the cunning man pretended to be oblivious. Glancing at Cui Si, who couldn't even manage to stand up by herself, he shook his head and said,