Chapter 24: A choice...

[[True sight Lv 1] has been activated]

[Name: Nicolas Hailblood]

[Level: 287]

[Class: Blood mage(Master)]

[Race: Vampire(Viscount)]

[Rank: Rank 4 , Awakened]

[Blood core: 7/13]

[Personal traits: Nightdweller, Feaster of Blood, Elegance]

[Hp: 5,620/5,620] [Energy:4,000/4,000]

[Mana:10,730/10,730] [Blood:14,200]

[Demonic:1,000/1,000]

[Strength:320] [Agility:690]

[Endurance:150] [Vitality:90]

[Mana:1,073] [Intelligence:482]

[Dexterity:458] [Blood control: 490]

[Charm: 482] [Perception: 690]

[Stealth: 400] [Demonic: 100]

[Comprehension:8.01]

[Spirit:3.59]

[Elemental affinity: Darkness]

[Techniques: Blood core strengthening(Master), Duskhunter(Advanced), Platinum skin cultivation(Advanced), Soul cleansing(Advanced), Mana recovery meditation(Advanced)]

[Unique skills: Blood control [Master] Lv 2, Bloodthirst [Master] Lv 1, Bloodkeep [Master] Lv 1]

[Passive skills: Magic Sense [Master] Lv 10, Regeneration [EX] Lv 10, Enhanced Strength[EX] Lv 10, Enhanced Agility [EX] Lv 10, Enhanced Sense [EX] Lv 10, Charm [EX] Lv 3, Stealth[EX] Lv 1]

[Active skills: Sprint(Master) Lv 10, Dash(Master) Lv 9, Eye hypnotism Lv 10, Slash Lv 10, Bite Lv 10 ]

[Abilities: Blood manipulation(Master), Shadow magic(master), Illusion Magic(Advanced)]

[Resistances: Pain nullification Lv 10, Toxin nullification Lv 10, Bleed nullification Lv 10, Physical attack resistance Lv 10, Heat resistance Lv 10, Cold Resistance Lv 10, Fire resistance Lv 4]

[Status: normal, excited]

'I'm fucked.' Aster thought while observing the Vampire's attributes.

'I can't see the details of his soul membrane and I can't use my skills because of it. At least he's not out for my blood… yet.'

'I can't beat him, even if I get lucky I can't. Unless.'

'Oi, System! Is there a way to trigger that emergency mode thing? Can you hijack my body and mince him to pieces with divine energy like you did with the succubus?'

[No, that is impossible.]

'What is even emergency mode in the first place if it can't help me out in an emergency!???'

[Emergency mode is activated when the system is endangered, not the host]

'Oh… I'm truly fucked.'

'Say, what threatens the syste-, I mean you?' Aster thought hopefully, looking for ways he could exploit the emergency mode to his benefit. He needed everything he could get.

…

'Not gonna answer me ehh? Fine, I will put my high comprehension to use then!'

[[Parallel thought Lv 3] has been activated]

[Maximum amount of parallel thought: 3]

[Comprehension lowered to 1.93]

'Parallel thought is a useful skill that can help me multitask. It's only downside is that it also divides my total brain power hence my comprehension gets divided equally amongst the currently existing thoughts. I think I can focus brain power into one specific parallel thought but I don't need it as of now.'

Being able to think different things at the same time was a surreal experience similar to controlling aura or mana. With the extra 3 from the skill, Aster currently had 4 'him' inside his brain.

One of them closely monitored the Vampire, trying not to be allured by his extremely high charm attribute. Thankfully, Aster experienced being 'Charmed' by the succubus so he could tell his attraction towards the Vampire was fake and it helped him stay straight.

The other paid attention to his surroundings. Can't risk another demon jumping on him. A way to escape would be a plus as well.

The third controlled the body and stayed vigilant, ready to unleash a hurricane of wind slashes at any moment.

[[Hasten thought Lv 7] has been activated]

The fourth used hasten thought on himself and brainstormed what could have triggered the emergency mode.

Soon, he found it.

'Soul! The succubus tried to drain my essence by doing some shit but then the emergency mode activated! That means the system has a physical… more like a spiritual body inside my soul and is susceptible to attacks. Then wouldn't that mean the system would also die if I die? Then, why can't I activate emergency mode on my own since you're being endangered when I get in danger???'

Aster was starting to feel frustrated at his system for the first time. However, he had an unlikely theory.

'The system is referred to as soulguide. I evolved my soulguide by chucking cosmic energy soup at it. Now, is it still a soulguide? Or is it something else now? It gained a voice and semi consciousness after all.'

'Wouldn't that mean the system is… alive to an extent? Wouldn't that mean I am its father since I created it? Then would the mother be the universe that threw that cosmic energy at me or is it vice versa??? I'm getting side tracked.'

'Nevertheless the system is alive. Let's think it that way for convenience, then that would mean it's a newborn, a newborn who hasn't learned the way of the world yet. A newborn who hasn't learned to care yet. Then the emergency mode would be its self defense mechanism, it acts on its primal instinct of self preservation.'

'That would mean I have to be an exemplary parent right? If the system can grow… then it could also get stronger or at least more cooperative, then I could unlock more of its hidden features. I don't want to negatively influence it so all the more reason to stay sensible and not succumb to negative emotions or the power I guess. I shouldn't cuss as much as I do too… Fuck, being a parent is hard.'

'Alright, that's enough theorizing. Time to stay alive.'

[The skill [Charm Resistance] has leveled up to Lv 3]

[The skill [Conceal] has leveled up]

[The skill [Stealth] has leveled up]

[The skill [Curse resistance] has leveled up]

'My charm resistance is leveling up like crazy because of this dude. HAHAHA, I will get stronger right under your nose, take that you glorified mosquito!'

[[Parallel thought] has been canceled]

[Comprehension increased back to normal]

Aster kept following the Vampire through the entire ship. The interior was nice, it was simple yet cozy. The hallways were made out of some metal and there were a lot of people, around half a million.

Inevitably, a lot of gazes were directed at the Vampire due to obvious reasons. His weird fashion sense, the way he walks and the weird aura of power and elegance around him. But the thing that gathered the most gazes was his face.

From what Aster's parallel observed, he treats humans like shit but he enjoys their attention. But he was forced to lower the output of his charm skill when a line of fangirl and fanboys clogged the narrow hallways.

He was so proficient at handling his skills that he went from handsome god to a relatively handsome man in a second, Aster did not know that was possible at all.

Due to this, some gazes found their way to Aster. He had a relatively handsome face before but due to the effect of [Charm], he looked noticeably better.

Although most people who saw Nicolas wouldn't even glance at his way because they were already charmed, few who didn't see Nicolas before occasionally stared at Aster.

And everytime they did, he saw a notification.

[Class: Seductor has gained 1 proficiency]

[Class: Seductor has gained 2 proficiency]

[The skill [Charm] has leveled up]

'I don't really want to improve this class at all. Sure [Charm] was a nice bonus but I'm not aiming for a harem.'

Contrary to his wishes, the class proficiency kept rising. And when the proficiency level increased, more and more people started to stare at him, making the proficiency increase even faster.

[Class: Seductor has advanced to (Beginner)]

[Class Bonus: Charm attribute unlocked, +10 charm, [Hypnotism gaze Lv 1], [Charm] level up]

A bit annoyed but feeling a hint of curiosity, he saw his charm attribute and the skill.

Passive skill:[Charm Lv 6]

[Description: +30 charm]

[Charm: 44]

Aster immediately felt his self confidence waiver. He got 10 from his class, +30 from the skill which totals to 40. Which meant that his original charm attribute was 4. An average person has a charm attribute of 3 so although it was quite good, it was miniscule compared to the Vampire.

'Snap out of it! This jealousy is surely an effect of his charm! Unless you're a cute vampire queen then I won't allow myself to be charmed by anyone! On second thought, after that succubus incident, I don't think I would accept anyone charming me!'

With that thought, he released a bit of his aura and activated [Intimidation] with [Bloodlust] simultaneously mixed into it with no clear target.

The surrounding people felt it a bit hard to breathe along with an unfounded sense of crisis so they quickly left.

"Hmm, excellent. The council does not allow me to be hostile to humans unless I need to feed, you see, so I couldn't put their ants to their places who keep thinking they have the qualifications to be my spouse." Nicolas spoke for the first time since they left Aster's room.

They were walking for a solid 10 minutes now and Aster could not come up with any solid plan to escape. One unlikely plan he found was to risk it and blow a hole through the window and jump out of it, and try to get a gliding skill or a flight skill while falling to his death.

This plan had a few downsides. The vampire could kill him or incapacitated him before he could even reach the window. Not to mention, blowing up a hole in a ship while it's flying could have disastrous results. Even then, the possibility of him successfully destroying the window is not 100%. There could be a chance that the window is sturdier than he thought and his firepower can't destroy it or he would be stopped before he could do it.

He felt scared. He saw some undead, lesser demons and vampires patrolling the ship. Even one of them could be a tough fight.

What scared him even more was the malicious aura he felt a couple of minutes ago and the vampire was leading him straight to its core.

The aura had a malicious purple color with some different colors mixed in with it. It was thick and felt like gel, it was hard to move through it. It constantly felt like it was trying to force its way into his body and destroy him from the inside.

[-10 hp]

He even took some damage. This was the first time pure aura hurt him.

'It's not even aura at this point, it's miasma.'

With great dread, they stopped in front of a giant steel hatch. It opened and Aster saw a silhouette of a person amidst the humongous swirling purple cloud.

He wore a military uniform, he had pitch black eyes and a stern face. He had a pair of goat horns on his head.

"Thanks for your warm greeting, Carl" Nicolas said to the demon with disdain clearly visible in his eyes

"He's my prey, he belongs to my liege, the demon of pride. You can't charm him into becoming her drink, that's against the rules!" The demon said with some strange accent. Almost as if he wasn't used to talking.

"Rest assured, I would never do that. Let us step inside and then talk, is that alright with you or is the demon of pride too stupid to allow such an opportunity like this pass?" The vampire said, his eyes now glowing red.

"Hmm, demons are extremely territorial and nasty creatures." Nicolas commented.

"Don't badmouth the main lineages, vampires are not that different." Carl spoke again. Aster seriously hoped he would talk anymore as it was quite literally a torture. It did not help that his right hand was stained with dried blood as well. Aster could bet his system that it was his blood.

They stepped inside the captain's room and the demon and the vampire took a seat beside each other.

Aster was left there standing, their gazes felt like needle probing his brain. He did not take long to figure out that they wanted something out of him.

"What… what do you want from me?" He asked, almost choking on air.

"It's simple, we want you to choose one of our lineages. You see, the demons have 13 families, each led by a demon of great strength. There are the 7 natural demons, led by direct descendants of our progenitor and then another 6, no lesser than them." Nicolas explained.

"Each of the demons have a title, Demon of pride, demon of greed, demon of lust, demon of gluttony, demon of envy, demon of sloth and demon of wrath. That is the original 7 demons. And then the rest are subspecies, hybrids, mongrels if you will."Carl commented.

"You dare call my queen a mongrel!?" Nicolas suddenly stood up.

"I will kill you! I WILL KILL YOU!!!"

"And those 6 are the banshee of precognition , werewolf of the lunar moons, vampire of blood, lich of the dead, king of the spectres and the chimera abominations." Carl continued without a care.

"These 13 have been the leader of the demon race for millennials. Demon kings and lords have existed in the past but we prefer federation now."

"What we want from you is to pick one of our leaders to be converted.We have been instructed that if we find a suitable candidate, we should put them through the selection process where they are picked by the families and join their lineage as a demon. However, with a soul that shines as brightly as yours, surely a ravenous darkness will be born. I will disregard the rules this time, even if I die, I must recruit you to become my brethren." Carl confidently declared.

Aster understood it now except that there was a tiny little problem.

"What if I don't choose either of you?" He asked but regretted it as Nicolas calmed down and Carl's pitch black eyes locked it with his.

"Your potential is unprecedented, enough to bring one family above the rest. If you won't join us then I will make sure you can't join nobody else either."

"Oh…"

***

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