Kain, desperate enough not to care whether he lived or died, finally clicked the first option without hesitation.
[Solution to Your Problem #1]
[Climb the tower.]
[Solution to Your Problem #2]
[Climb the tower.]
Yep. That was it. He'd officially lost it.
A few nerves twitched on his forehead as a sarcastic smile crept across his lips—a smile sharp enough to send a chill down the spine of the King of Hell himself.
Once everything was ready, Kain carefully picked up Eren's lifeless body and headed toward the boat. Once aboard, he laid Eren down with gentle care, then took the helm and started the engine, steering the vessel back the way they had come.
...
The boat glided toward the shore of the port. Kain spotted the vessel's owner, an old man, waiting patiently.
"Boy! Why are you alone on this boat?" the old man's voice was rough but curious. His eyes quickly flicked to the corpse.
"Oh... I'm sorry for your loss," he muttered, tipping his hat with a somber nod.
"Don't worry, Old Man Darwin. We were just unlucky enough to run into *that.* My friend's gone. Now I have to mourn," Kain replied, shaking his head, his tone heavy with exhaustion.
"Boy, there might be something wrong with you. Make sure to see a good psychologist," Darwin said, turning away without waiting for a response.
Kain watched him go, eyes narrowing.
The changes from becoming a vampire were beginning to settle within him. This wasn't about survival anymore. He needed to become something greater. Not just a monster, but the one who ruled all others—the one who held every thread of fate in his grasp.
...
A day passed.
Kain had already held Eren's funeral.
No relatives came. Just empty condolences.
Back in City 01, Kain began planning his next move.
He would create a guild.
A guild—something humanity hadn't formed in thousands of years. The last guild, SilverSpiral, had existed three thousand years ago.
Even older were the ancient ones: Asur, StoneFiend, Hella's Abode. Each dated back eight thousand years or more.
The first guild ever? The Climbers.
A coalition of tower climbers, united by one goal: to ascend.
Thousands had died every day back then.
Kain packed his gear. He was ready.
Strength wasn't everything at the start, and if he needed it, he would build it along the way. Humanity's first trial had been faced without any strength at all.
But as he moved to leave, he paused.
"Oops. I forgot to evolve," Kain said flatly. "System, start my... Evolution Process."
[Host has accepted Evolution to: True Vampire]
[Evolution Process Beginning. Please be ready.]
Suddenly, a wave of searing pain crashed over him.
"Ugh..." he muttered, as black-red veins of energy crawled beneath his skin like ravenous roots.
He gritted his teeth, trying to suppress the agony.
His body convulsed violently, his blood rewriting itself, rejecting his humanity at the core.
[Purging Weak Blood...]
[Reconstructing Physiology: 9%...]
"I *really* should've eaten first," Kain groaned. His spine cracked as he twisted his neck, his eyes flickering—once red, now glowing molten silver.
Something ancient awakened.
[Activating Cardinal Trait: ???]
"Huh... surprise mechanic. Love that," he smirked.
A thick, dark mist began swirling around him, saturated with the scent of old blood and fire. His scream tore through the air as the pain reached a crescendo.
His muscles shredded and rebuilt, denser, stronger. Black veins pulsed under pale skin. Fangs burst through his gums. Bone spikes threatened to erupt from his back but retracted at the last moment.
[Reconstructing Physiology: 47%...]
He dropped to his knees. His claws dug into the ground, cracking the stone. His blood hissed like acid as it dripped.
His scream shifted into a guttural snarl, overlaid with a voice that wasn't fully his.
[Reconstructing Physiology: 89%...]
His shadow exploded outward, writhing like a living creature. The mist cocooned him in darkness, pulsed twice, then burst outward in a shockwave.
[Evolution Complete.]
[Title Gained: True Vampire]
Kain rose slowly, steam rising from his bare skin.
He looked into the mirror. He froze.
A tall, pale man stared back. Long gray hair fell over broad shoulders, tousled as if by a storm. His eye, once green, now burned a bright crimson.
He stood well over six feet five. Every movement was smooth. Lethal.
His bare torso revealed a stone-carved six-pack. His skin shimmered faintly, drinking in the light. Crimson veins glowed under the surface, rivers of power.
Kain stared.
"That's... me?"
The reflection didn't blink. He looked like a king. A monster.
And Kain smiled.
...
[A True Vampire cannot exist without a Family. A Vampire Family is blessed with the powers of the Seven Cardinal Sins.]
[Searching for Mr. Kain's Family Name in his bloodline... 1%... 50%... 90%...]
[!Ding]
[Family Name Found.]
[No Records Exist in the Tower of Evolution.]
[Creating New Records... 70%... 80%...]
[!Ding]
[Registration Complete.]
[Granting Family Name: Umbrosia]
[Registering User Name: Kain Umbrosia]
[Family Status: Extinct]
[Number of Members: 1]
[Title Granted: Family Head]
[Title Granted: The Last Survivor]
Notifications flooded Kain's mind. He read them all, grinning widely.
[System Prompt]
[Please choose one of the following Sins to cultivate:]
- Sin of Pride
- Sin of Greed
- Sin of Wrath
- Sin of Envy
- Sin of Lust
- Sin of Gluttony
- Sin of Sloth
[More Sins will be available in the future.]
After a few minutes, Kain chose the Sin of Greed. All Sins came with a price, but if he had to pay anyway, he might as well get something useful.
"System, unlock the Sin of Greed."
[Unlocking Sin of Greed...]
A warm, golden light erupted from Kain's chest, flowing like molten gold beneath his skin. The air shimmered with flecks of golden dust.
His eyes snapped shut, then opened, burning with a molten gold light. Chains of shimmering gold wrapped around his wrists, snapped, and scattered into sparks.
Faint images of coins and crowns swirled around him. Shadows reached from his feet, clawing at the air.
A sigil burned into his chest, pulsing with his heartbeat.
The price of Greed had been paid.
And Kain felt the weight of endless desire settle deep within his soul.
[The Cardinal Sin 'Greed I' has been unlocked.]
[Path 'Greed' Abilities:]
- Golden Touch (5 Minutes): Everything you touch becomes gold.
- Treasure Sense (15 Minutes): You can detect hidden valuables.
[More abilities will unlock with Path Level-up.]
[Next Level-Up Requirement: Quest will be assigned when the user is deemed worthy.]
[Penalty:]
- Slowly drains life force.
- Excessive use increases uncontrollable Greed.
[Vampire Status]
Name: Kain Umbrosia
Rank: True Vampire
Family: Head of Umbrosia
Titles:
- True Vampire
- Family Head
- The Last Survivor
Talents:
- Retain (Unique)
[Stats:]
Level: 2
Agility: 21
Perception: 15
Intelligence: 12
Strength: 10
Vitality: 100
Blood Points: 100 (used for Blood Magic)
[Path Abilities:]
- Sin of Greed (Level I, Unlocked)
- Other Sins (Locked)
[Bloodline Abilities:]
- Blood Manipulation (Blood Swipe)
- Blood Ritual
- Meditate
"Blood Ritual? What's that?"
[Blood Ritual: Turns humans or creatures into vampires. As Family Head, you have the authority to turn up to five beings.]
"Oh... alright," Kain replied.
'Meditate must be used to suppress the penalties,' Kain thought. 'I don't even know how much of the Sins I can use before the corruption kicks in.'
He sighed.
"Ugh. I need new clothes."
Kain bought a black coat, sunglasses, and a matching hat. To complete the look and help block the sun, he ordered a high-grade UV umbrella.
Thirty minutes later, a drone delivered the items.
Before getting dressed, Kain tested his sunlight resistance.
He stepped outside, slowly extending one finger into the light. It warmed instantly. After four minutes, smoke rose from it. Flesh melted away. Only bone remained, held together by black tendrils.
He pulled back and blew on it. The finger regenerated completely. A new, untouched finger.
He got dressed, opened the umbrella, locked the door, and left.
After the evolution, Kain was now ready.
He didn't feel the need to do any more preparations.
Soon, Kain decided to move out as he went to the towers secretly.
The World guild commission has decided upon a rule that at least a party of 10 is needed to enter the towers.
For what reason they did that, it is unknown; after all, the ancestors of that time had also been climbing the towers solo, so what was the need to force parties? Kain didn't know.
Hence, Kain decided to sneak into the tower past the guards.
After all, if Kain climbs the tower, he might never arrive at this dumpyard again.
Dumpyard.
Yes, that's what people call this place. The Humanity's Dumpyard, all of the exiles, all of the people who are of poor talents, were always kicked out of the towers.
Hence, this was what this place was called.
And that was why the dumpyard's Population was higher than the population of the towers.
Mind you, a single floor inside the towers is bigger than the total surface area of the Earth.
This means that these towers are connected to some different place, after all...All of these towers were connected.
...
Currently at the 02 tower.
The Tower was humongous. There were walls that were made around it, which made it hard for common people to get through.
The tower's radius was more than a few kilometers.
And its height was something which could not be perceived by the human eye, as it looked as if it were going through the clouds.
Yes, there were always used to clouds that surrounded the tower.
The tower was made of stones, having a design similar to Rome's Colosseum walls, but a bit different; There was nothing visible inside.
There were 4 Doors that allowed entry, People called them the North, East, West, and South Gates.
And yes, they all faced the correct directions.
Soon, Kain arrived near a wall.
'I hope there is nobody around,' thought Kain as he looked around.
Suddenly he heard a sound.
*crack* *crack*
Sounds of people walking over dry leaves could be heard.
"Here! I saw the man trying to climb the wall here!", came a voice.
Kain held his breath as he saw the man and two guards coming.
'it looks like someone saw me trying to climb the wall', kain gritted his teeths as he thought.
'i would need to rush in immediately or i will not be able to enter.' he thought.
"You both! look over in both directions, i will stay here so that he can't come back and jump through the wall.", spoke a guard as he ordered the guard and the man to look in two directions.
Luckly, the place where he his was not in the area these two were going in.
After they both started to Search, kain decided to sneak over to the guard.
Slowly. Steadily.
He sneaked behind the back of the guard, as he closed in, he made some nice on the leaves when he approached.
*creak**crack*
"Who-" the guard turned around as he was about to say something. But before he could say anything,
Kain Activated.
'Golden Touch!'
As he pressed his hand over the guard's mouth. The guard's area of mouth turned golden in color.
The guard tried his best to open his mouth, but it was just not possible.
His whole mouth, including his tongue, had turned into gold. Unable to do anything, he decided to attack Kain.
Kain dodged as he activated his ability again.
'Golden Touch!'
He touched both of the guard's legs as his Knees turned into gold, unable to bend or move in any possible way as he fell.
Kain then sprinted towards the wall as he extended his nails.
This was an innate Property of vampires, they could use their nails as blades.
It was something natural to them, so it didn't show up in the system.
He quickly used his nails to pierce into the wall as he quickly climbed over to the other side.
As soon as he jumped down, sirens rang.
*Trumm* *Trumm*
*Trumm* *Trumm*
As soon as he heard the sounds, he...