Elsewhere in the cave, Rosa wandered alone, with no clear direction.

  “Where am I…? I can barely see anything…” she whispered to herself.

  Suddenly, her eyes began to glow with a faint light.

  “N-no… don’t go out…” she murmured, squeezing them shut.

  A sound echoed in the distance.

  “W-who’s there?” she asked, raising her staff toward the darkness.

  “Rosa? Is that you?”

  The voice made her turn instantly. Dash and Luke emerged from the shadows.

  “Good. We found another one,” Luke said, clearly relieved.

  “Is Velt with you?” Dash asked right away.

  Rosa shook her head.

  “That’s bad…” Luke muttered, rubbing his chin. “If the three of us are here and safe, it means the vampire went after Velt first.”

  “We have to find him,” Dash said, already moving forward with determination.

  Luke followed, and Rosa walked behind them.

  “Velt… please be okay…” Rosa thought, pressing her hands against her chest as she prayed in silence.

  Meanwhile, Velt continued facing the vampire, though the situation was far from favorable.

  “Hey, hey… if you keep dodging like that, it takes all the fun out of it,” the vampire said, clearly annoyed.

  “You think I’m stupid? I know you’re trying to get close enough to bite me,” Velt replied, keeping his distance.

  “Haha… you noticed,” the vampire laughed. “The others always rushed in and fell straight into the trap.”

  “It wasn’t hard to figure out. You didn’t even try to injure me once,” Velt said. “You just wanted to get close.”

  “What an intuitive human,” the vampire admitted. “Tell me… what’s your name?”

  “And why would you want to know?”

  “I’d like to remember the name of someone so peculiar.”

  Stolen story; please report.

  “Velt. And you?”

  The vampire raised an eyebrow.

  “Well, how polite. When I was human, my name was Puller. You may call me that.”

  “Then, Puller,” Velt said. “You claimed Rosa has royal blood. How do you know that?”

  “So that’s her name…” Puller murmured. “I can smell blood and recognize lineage. Her scent is sweet, refined. She was raised in abundance. That only happens with royalty.”

  “An interesting ability,” Velt admitted.

  “Not all vampires possess it. I developed it over centuries.”

  “Impressive,” Velt replied.

  Puller smiled, revealing his fangs.

  “But we’ve talked long enough. Wasting time with you means the girl might escape.”

  “Then I suppose we keep fighting,” Velt said, gripping his sword.

  “So be it.”

  Puller lunged.

  “He’s too fast… I can barely keep up,” Velt thought. “Cero, do I stand a chance?”

  “Vampires vastly surpass humans in strength and agility. Use of holy artifacts is recommended,” Cero replied.

  “Then I’ve got nothing like that…”

  “Not entirely,” Cero interrupted. “If you allow yourself to be bitten, you may acquire a superior vampiric form.”

  “And I won’t fall under his control?”

  “Negative. Vampiric charm only affects pure humans.”

  Velt took a deep breath.

  “Then… I’ll let him bite me.”

  “You just going to stand there?” Puller mocked as he leapt forward.

  Velt deliberately lowered his guard. He felt the fangs sink into his neck.

  “Haha… it was only a matter of time,” Puller laughed. “I’ll use you to lure Rosa out.”

  In that instant, Velt grabbed Puller by the head and slammed him into the ground, jumping back immediately.

  “DNA acquired. Form: Vampire,” Cero reported.

  “Transform,” Velt ordered.

  His fangs grew, his nails lengthened, and his eyes shone with an intense yellow light.

  “Doesn’t feel that different…” he muttered.

  “W-what…?” Puller staggered to his feet. “You must obey me!”

  “Sure, sure,” Velt replied calmly. “Didn’t you want to fight?”

  Puller charged in fury, but Velt dodged effortlessly, driving a kick into his stomach and smashing him into the ground once more.

  “Damn you—!”

  Velt kicked him hard, sending him flying.

  “Let’s end this.”

  He leapt and brought down a crushing kick, but Puller barely dodged.

  “This makes no sense… he’s a vampire, yet he doesn’t obey me…” Puller thought in desperation.

  “Now you’re the one running,” Velt said.

  “Shut up!” Puller screamed. “I’ll tear your head off!”

  The vampire attacked again, but Velt slipped past him and drove a punch into his stomach. Puller managed to strike back, but Velt slid aside and slammed a knee into his back.

  “Son of—!”

  Velt grabbed his arm and snapped it with a dry crack.

  “One less.”

  Puller tried to attack with his other arm, but Velt knocked him down, pinned him, and without hesitation, sliced his neck with his sword.

  The body stopped moving.

  “It’s over…”

  Velt returned to his human form, but a sharp pain pierced his head.

  “Warning: skill evolving,” Cero announced.

  “Damn it…” Velt muttered before losing consciousness.

  When he woke up, he was inside a cave. Dash, Luke, and Rosa were sleeping nearby.

  “What happened…?” he whispered.

  “Your ability has evolved. ‘Forced Evolution’ unlocked,” Cero explained. “It allows your base form to temporarily evolve.”

  “How did that happen?”

  “Vampires and humans share a genetic lineage. You registered two compatible DNA samples.”

  Velt looked at his arm.

  “The bite… it’s gone.”

  “Sacred magic. Rosa Cofert healed you.”

  Velt fell silent.

  “Cero… next time, ask before forcing me to evolve.”

  “Understood.”

  It was still night. Velt closed his eyes.

  Thus ended the group’s first mission.

  It hadn’t gone as planned, but they were alive…

  and Velt had gained a new power.