The smell, that damn smell, Marcus was sure he would never forget it. A pungent stench of rotting flesh and charred bodies mixed with a faint metallic aroma of blood. It was a stench that stood out among other horrors.

The scene before him was a true carnage: bodies scattered everywhere, forming a grotesque sight that revealed the most horrific massacre Marcus could imagine. He stood still among the corpses. His body trembled, and his breathing was labored. Such brutality would unsettle anyone.

Yet, the massacre was not what worried him the most. The semi-transparent screen floating before him was the true source of his unease — a screen he was very familiar with.

Name: Marcus Solomon

Level: 7

Class: Common Vampire

Health: 50

Strength: 20

Agility: 15

Dexterity: 13

Mana: 16

Spirit: 15

Skills:

Bite (Level 3): You bite a living being and drain its blood, recovering health equivalent to the amount of blood absorbed.

Vampiric Regeneration: Ability to regenerate abnormally fast; wounds fatal to humans can heal in a matter of days.

Vampiric Charm: Beings with weaker willpower than yours will have a slight favorable disposition toward you.

The status screen Marcus observed was a standard representation of the lowest vampire class in the universe of Hidden World, the most popular franchise of the moment, featuring 30 games, 20 books, two TV series, and a movie trilogy.

For over 10 years, the universe of Hidden World had been Marcus's life, the only thing that made him happy. He devoted all his free time to this universe. Among all the works composing the expanded universe, one stood out: the three-game series Shadow's Mystery, which followed a young detective who came into contact with the supernatural world, until then hidden.

The scene unfolding before him was recurring in the game: an overturned carriage surrounded by dozens of bodies. This image always returned during gameplay, appearing in various flashbacks; it was the event that changed everything: the attack on blood baron Bartolomeu Fiore.

The powerful vampire lord was ambushed and killed while returning to his domain after a visit to the theater in Yorfen. The attackers were the Holy Inquisition and the notorious werewolf clan, the Petrov family. At least, that was the vampires' version. The Petrov family and the Inquisition had their own narratives, but it was clear all three factions lost key members on that strange abandoned road.

"Damn." For a moment, Marcus was startled to hear his own voice, hoarse and heavy. He tilted his head and looked at his hands, an instinctive reaction. What he saw terrified him: calloused, large hands that weren't the ones he was used to.

Eduard Baltazar. Marcus couldn't help but recall the name he had read on the status screen moments earlier. He was very familiar with that name, though rarely used. Baltazar was also known by another nickname: "The Butcher."

Marcus cursed his luck. Baltazar was a mid-level boss in Shadow's Mystery; he had been the sole survivor of the massacre, saved by supernatural luck when he hid among the bodies. The head of the Fiore family saw some utility in him and turned him into the new ruler of Bartolomeu's territory. The problem was, after enduring years of physical and mental torture from Bartolomeu, Baltazar went mad and became a completely insane and brutal man.

But that didn't matter anymore. What concerned Marcus the most wasn't Baltazar's nature but the catastrophic fate awaiting him at the hands of the protagonist, who would give him a brutal death.

"Damn it, DAMN IT! If I was going to transmigrate, at least let it be as the damn protagonist!"

Marcus's mind swirled in turmoil every time he thought about his situation. He sat on the ground in a fetal position, taking deep breaths for a few minutes to calm himself. Suddenly, he stood up and shouted to himself:

"DAMN IT! I WILL NOT GIVE EXPERIENCE POINTS TO THIS BASTARD!"

His gaze quickly shifted from scared to determined. The decision was made: he would fight for his survival.

"Damn! If I stay like this, I'll end up dead. If I run, the vampires of that crazy clan will track me down and tear me apart. If I stay, that bastard will use me as XP fodder. To survive, I need to get stronger before the game begins."

Determined to find something useful, Marcus looked around. The scene was macabre: charred and mutilated bodies scattered everywhere. Despite this, his night vision, granted by his vampiric nature, allowed him to distinguish details in the darkness.

After several minutes of searching, a body caught his attention. It was a tall, thin man, appearing to be around forty years old. His skin was deathly pale, and crimson veins seemed ready to burst from its surface.

"Conrad Graut," Marcus muttered, feeling a wave of memories flood his mind. They were memories of Eduard Baltazar. Conrad had been one of two vampiric knights serving under Bartolomeu, a powerful vampire leader.

Approaching cautiously, Marcus crouched and placed his left hand on the chest of the lifeless body. He started when a glowing screen appeared before his eyes:

Black Dog OvercoatGreen Item

Description: Grants the ability to summon two level-15 black dogs to fight alongside the user. If the user is weaker than the dogs, they will attack him.

Marcus blinked, stunned. He never imagined he could access such a powerful item early on. Despite the unsettling description, it was an opportunity he couldn't afford to pass up. With steady hands, he removed the overcoat from Conrad's body, already feeling the pressure of time against him.

"If I want to survive, I need to use everything I can. This is just the beginning," he murmured to himself, his eyes shining with a mixture of fear and determination.

After removing the coat, Marcus moved on to search the other bodies. He didn't have much time — if the sun rose or someone arrived, death would be all that awaited him.

Despite his thorough search, Marcus couldn't find many useful items. He looted a repeating rifle, a revolver, and two ammunition belts with demon-slaying bullets from the bodies of the Holy Inquisition members. That was all of value.

After finishing his scavenging, Marcus's eyes locked onto the overturned carriage at the center of the sea of bodies. It was a large, old, and antiquated carriage, riddled with bullet holes as if a firing squad had unloaded their weapons on it.

Marcus's gaze revealed fear and apprehension. The being residing in that overturned carriage possessed enough power to wipe out an entire small town if given time to prepare.

Though considered one of the weakest, Bartolomeu Bella Fiore was a blood lord — a night master carrying the Fiore family's blood and a direct lineage to the vampire king himself.

Marcus gripped the revolver tightly, staring at the carriage. In the game, Baltazar had found his turning point by drinking the blood of Bartolomeu's dying body. Marcus knew this was his best chance. However, the idea of drinking blood was disturbing, and doing so from Bartolomeu seemed even more uncomfortable.

What worried him most was what Bartolomeu might still be capable of. Even on the brink of death, an animal was still an animal. Bartolomeu wasn't the ruler of a vampire territory by mere chance.

Bartolomeu's cruelty was legendary, and no other force dared confront him. Anyone who tried might return home to find their entire family dead and tortured.

"Damn it…" Marcus muttered, cursing as he advanced toward the carriage.

He struggled to climb it. He paused for a moment, staring at the door before him. With his right hand, he pointed the revolver at the door while slowly opening it with his left.

The creak of the old wood heightened Marcus's anxiety.

"Easy, Marcus… easy…" he repeated, a mantra to keep himself steady.

When he finally opened the door, what he saw was grotesque: nailed to the carriage seat was a short, fat, bald man with a long nose. His most striking feature, however, were the three spears impaling him.

The first pierced his throat. The second was lodged in his right shoulder. The third pierced his stomach. Bartolomeu's hands clutched the spear through his throat as if trying to remove it, but he lacked the strength.

A faint, almost invisible smoke emanated from the spots where the spears met Bartolomeu's body.

"Holy silver…" Marcus commented.

It was a metal imbued with divine energy, lethal against creatures of the night.

Bartolomeu's eyes slowly turned to him. The vampire attempted to move his head, but the spear in his windpipe prevented it. After a few moments of effort, he gave up, remaining still.

Marcus froze at the sight but was awakened by a hoarse and chilling sound that escaped Bartolomeu's mouth:

"You… bastard… get me out of here, you dog!"

Even in that condition, Bartolomeu's arrogance and despicable personality remained intact. A wave of uncontrollable hatred washed over Marcus as he realized this.

Memories of abuse, torture, and humiliation suffered by Baltazar at Bartolomeu's hands flooded his mind.

"YOU PIECE OF SHIT! HOW DARE YOU?!"

Without realizing it, Marcus screamed and lunged into the carriage. His fangs grew instinctively, and he tore Bartolomeu's throat with his own teeth.

Bartolomeu's eyes showed extreme confusion and surprise as Marcus shredded him like a wolf devouring its prey.

Marcus was lost in blind rage and only regained consciousness when Bartolomeu's head fell from his neck.

"What… what have I done?"

Before he could answer his own question, his attention was drawn to a semi-transparent screen that projected before him:

Superior blood detected.

Your level has increased by +8.

Your class has evolved.

Initiating transformation to Blood Knight.