"Jayden. Gather everyone and prepare to go to the capital."
"The capital?"
"The Invincible 7 Palace has been renewed. We need to report this to the Subjugation Command."
"False reporting is a serious crime. You know that, Captain. If we're wrong, we could all lose our heads."
Sergei knew without being told what his intention was with those words.
He too wasn't confident enough to believe just the expedition team's words.
"If it's true, we won't have to risk our lives for a while. It's the Invincible 7 Palace, Jayden. Just the reporting reward alone would be an instant fortune."
"But nothing is more precious than life."
"I know what you're thinking, so don't worry. If we do cross-verification, there won't be any need for heads to roll on the guillotine."
Before Jayden could say anything, Sergei turned his head.
The expedition leader flinched at his piercing gaze.
"How many people know about this?"
"...Quite a few."
"Any subjugation parties?"
"None of those."
"I owe you one."
Ping! The coin flicked from Sergei's fingertip spun on the table.
Before it could stop, the expedition leader's hand moved swiftly.
'G-gold coin!'
When he looked at Sergei with a surprised face, he was running his finger across his lips. A gesture meaning to keep quiet.
The expedition leader nodded and similarly sealed his lips.
"If you guide us there, I'll add one more."
Was there even a choice? The expedition leader nodded several times.
Afterward, the subjugation party dragged out their other members who were drunk and left the tavern.
The members who were heavily drunk sobered up at Sergei's words.
"It's a dungeon that even an expedition team without weapons all survived. If we prepare well, we too can return alive. Remember. Our purpose is fact-checking and survival. We'll leave items that could hinder escape at the village hall. Focus solely on survival when we enter."
Even so, entering and returning from what might be an Invincible 7 Palace dungeon.
Their dungeon conquest experience was countless if you tried to count. They even had experience conquering a rank 30 dungeon by tagging along with an Imperial subjugation party.
But the Invincible 7 Palace was a completely different category.
The members' silence probably stemmed from fear. He understood that feeling completely. Even Sergei himself was hesitating right now.
Sergei added in a loud voice.
"I am the leader of this subjugation party. I take responsibility for your lives. Can you trust and follow me this time as you have until now?"
"How can you even ask that, Captain."
One member let out a hollow laugh.
"Everyone here owes their life to the Captain. If the Captain says he'll take responsibility, who would be scared? Right, guys?"
"That's right, brother!"
"You said survival is the goal. We're people who will definitely survive if we want to live."
"With the reward money, I could buy a house, right? I was planning to propose to my childhood friend when I go back home."
"Kid, you can buy a house and get a gold ring too. Just put it right on her ring finger and propose smoothly, she'll fall for you instantly."
Sergei chuckled.
Their attempt to shake off fear through atmosphere was clear as day.
Just like always, they trusted and followed him even in this moment.
"I take responsibility for your lives. You absolutely won't die."
==
They were still arguing about who should die, you or me.
Can't they assess the situation with their dying comrade right beside them? At this rate, she's going to die.
Unable to watch this tedious melodrama anymore, I approached Isabella.
"Don't you dare touch sister!"
He just had a fit as her brother but didn't actually try to stop me.
If they just sit there saying don't do it, as if I would really stop.
By the way, how do I trigger evolution?
In games you just click a button and it's done, but I have no idea how it works in reality.
Usually when evolution is complete, they often use the expression of shedding one's shell.
With that thought in mind, I placed my hand on Isabella's forehead and said.
"Shed your shell, Isabella."
[Evolving vampire Isabella.]
[All conditions are met, so 100% chance of success.]
This actually works?
It seemed to activate immediately upon physical contact and words carrying the meaning of evolution.
After the notification window disappeared, Isabella's deeply gashed side wound began healing rapidly.
Along with the wound healing, small horns also grew on her head where there was nothing before.
Vitality and color returned to her face, and even her fangs grew noticeably larger.
Since vampires' strength is classified by horns and fangs, this was already an expected result.
However, I hadn't expected her hair color to change from silver to crimson.
[MAX Evolution!! Isabella's evolution succeeded 200%!]
'The gacha is crazy.'
Crimson hair is rarer than the top 1% in vampire society.
That's because crimson hair is the bloodline of pure-blooded vampires.
I'm guessing Isabella was of pure-blooded vampire lineage, but for some innate reason, the pure blood had become diluted.
In the end, she almost died without awakening her potential that was at full gauge.
[Lv. 48]
...She's stronger than me now?
This is the first time I've seen someone's level triple from just one evolution.
Is this really lucky? I evolved a vampire who isn't completely on my side?
Isabella's tightly shut eyes opened drowsily.
"...Huh? It doesn't hurt?"
Isabella, who raised her upper body, looked around.
The fellow vampires who were looking back and forth between me and Isabella burst into tears.
"Sister!"
"Chief!"
"W-what is this! Why am I alive...?"
They cried and hugged each other for quite a while.
Only after calming down did the vampires all bow their heads to me at once.
They were quick-witted enough to know it was thanks to me without being told.
"Thank you. You saved our sister."
"My goodness! How could we ever repay this debt...."
Someone went to explain to Isabella who was still confused, and only then did she also bow her head along with them.
Rather than bowing, it would be more accurate to say she buried her head down.
"Thank you. Thank you so much. Though you look scary, you're incredibly kind."
Could we leave out that last part?
Though I like being appreciated, they kept expressing gratitude to an uncomfortable degree.
The vampires' level colors also changed to deep green. Meaning they had extreme goodwill toward me.
After contemplating how to respond, I opened my mouth.
"I saw a seed with hidden potential and merely helped it bloom."
Hmm. Speaking with weight befitting a Death Knight has some style to it.
Shouldn't every man live with at least one such romantic fantasy? Or maybe I just have chunibyou.
"...Potential?"
Isabella blinked her eyes.
Soon, as if sensing something, she touched her head with trembling hands.
Her fingers that were feeling the two horns then touched her fangs.
"My hair color!"
Finally noticing her crimson hair, Isabella's eyes grew as big as lanterns.
That gaze landed on me and the question within it was conveyed to me as well.
Though letting good things be good is fine, it was natural to have questions first.
How should I explain this?
Well, nothing to do but explain vaguely.
"It's part of my ability. You don't need to know more than that."
"...I see."
Though she hadn't comprehended it, she seemed to accept it, and fortunately didn't ask anything more.
Actually, Isabella's gradually rising corners of her mouth concerned me more.
She seemed to understand what her crimson hair meant.
Perhaps she was moved that a goal she had only dreamed of had become reality.
"To show such grace to someone you've never met before. You are truly a merciful person, my lord."
Since Death Knights were knights in their previous life, the title became 'lord'.
Suddenly I became curious about how the vampires ended up being driven here.
When I naturally asked, the answer came right away, but the story got long so I had to cut it off midway.
'So in the end, you got caught up in a territory dispute?'
I hadn't expected them to be beaten by monsters rather than human subjugation parties.
This means there are many monsters in this forest, which was also a different kind of shock.
The fact that monster forces are thriving despite a village being nearby.
I don't know the exact reason, but there was something I was missing.
'No need to know deeply about that.'
I'll be leaving here soon anyway. Probably to somewhere human feet don't reach.
"I want to repay this debt somehow. I wonder, is there a way?"
A level 48 pure-blooded vampire showed unprecedented goodwill.
Though I appreciate the sentiment, I didn't particularly want anything from her.
And you never know. A subjugation party might attack while we're wasting time like this.
"Hmm? About six humans are coming right now."
This is crazy. The bad feeling came true.
I wondered why that vampire kept paying attention outside, but there was a reason.
Thanks to vampires having bat-like good hearing. Thanks to that, we were given a chance to evacuate early.
"I hear the sound of weapons. Seems to be a subjugation party."
It was truly a series of worst-case scenarios.
A subjugation party's invasion meant unavoidable armed conflict.
Just trying to resolve things through dialogue with armed guys carried huge risk.
Moreover, seeing my current appearance, their blade tips would come before I could even speak.
In my chilling gaze, Isabella and the vampires caught my eye.
What goes around comes around.
"You said you wanted to repay the debt."
"Yes."
"Take care of the intruders."
I was about to tell her not to kill them but held back my words.
Showing mercy in combat against a subjugation party whose strength, strategy, purpose, and reinforcements were all unknown would be like offering up your own life.
Isabella looked around and nodded.
"By intruders... so you really were this dungeon's boss."
Why is this a dungeon and why am I the boss again.
Due to the urgent situation, I couldn't argue.
"I'm glad I can repay you right away. I'll finish this quickly."
Whether gaining confidence from evolution, Isabella led the vampire group as they whooshed past.
Though I wasn't sure about the others, just Isabella taking action was reassuring.
She's a pure-blooded vampire. A pure-blooded vampire who could massacre average subjugation parties single-handedly.
In a cave that's a vampire's territory, she should be able to stop even an A-rank subjugation party.
If there was any worry, it was that I didn't want to see too much bloodshed.
Since I too was human, I didn't want to see fellow humans die cruelly. If they must die, they should die cleanly.
Would it be too difficult to ask vampires not to spill blood?
...
'This is taking longer than expected?'
The situation that I thought would end in an instant continued without progress.
Strangely, there were no screams, only shouts and the sounds of spears and swords ringing out.
Even the occasional screams were women's voices.
For many reasons, subjugation parties rarely use female members. Meanwhile, half the vampire group was female.
An ominous situation with clear reasons.
I walked forward slightly to observe the ongoing situation.
No, it wasn't a situation I could just observe.
Contrary to expectations, the vampire group was at a disadvantage.
Even Isabella whom I trusted was only responding defensively. At this rate, it was just a matter of time before they all died.
[LV. 52]
The reason for their disadvantage made sense as soon as I saw the man's level.
The man who appeared to be the subjugation party's leader was pressuring Isabella. Level 52 means he's a semi S-rank expert.
His companions were level 30, and though not matching their captain, they were skilled swordsmen who could hold their own anywhere.
Saying they would win unless something unusual happened means, in other words, it's dangerous if the situation isn't ordinary.
How did such a top-tier subjugation party end up here, damn.
'They absolutely can't win.'
I guarantee they couldn't win even if I joined in.
Unlike my realistic thoughts, I couldn't just run away alone either.
Trying to break through forward was dizzying just to imagine, and going backward led to a dead end.
While the situation was urgent, my mind went blank and I couldn't see any way out.
If the vampire group dies, I'm next. Being a subjugation party, they would obviously advance inside after trampling the corpses.
'Fuck what do I do?'
I saw the man's blade faintly gleaming with light.
For some reason, that man was freely using aura, which was exclusive to knights.
Gulp.
The scene of my neck being cleanly cut off by that blade was vivid before my eyes.
That's when a status window notification appeared before me.
[Well-forged Superior Bastard Sword(A)]
[Durability: 90]
[Enhancement Success Rate: 8%]
[※Warning! If enhancement fails, it will automatically be destroyed!]
[If enhancement fails, cooldown will be reset.]
[Would you like to enhance the Well-forged Superior Bastard Sword?]
[YES/NO]
"Huh."
So I can enhance other people's weapons without even touching them?
And if it fails, the cooldown resets means.
'...If I just keep failing, I can destroy all their weapons?'