Omniscient First-Person’s Viewpoint chapter 470

470 – Goryeo Pavilion

The food you eat when you’re most hungry is the most delicious, and sleep is the sweetest when you’re most exhausted. I lay down in the tunnel, covered in a blanket, but I was experiencing a comfort that I hadn’t felt in the world before.

Of course. My fatigue had accumulated for three days. Releasing it all at once, I could only feel refreshed.

Becoming light in weight is not about not carrying anything. It’s about lifting something heavy and then letting it go. Humans are creatures of adaptation, so they can only feel all stimuli relatively. I, who had become noticeably lighter, quickly stood up….

Oh. I feel light?

Strange. Hilde was definitely sleeping nearby yesterday. Why don’t I feel her solid presence?

The reason was simple. It was because Hilde wasn’t by my side.

You’re going out? Leaving me behind? What did you find that’s so good?

With a little anticipation, I picked up the blanket and looked for my clothes. There, I found a small scrap of paper tucked into my biomonitor. Since I didn’t put it there myself, it must have been Hilde. I unfolded the crumpled piece of paper and read.

[To Father. My snoring is too loud, so I can’t sleep with you anymore! The girl is leaving to find her own life. So, Father, live your own life. Don’t miss me. That’s all.]

Who said I snore? And why now, when I had been continuing the process of finding myself? Moreover, I’m not a father. And I don’t miss her either. There are so many errors in this short letter, which is only a few lines long.

As I coldly read the letter, scrutinizing each sentence, I suddenly had the feeling that I had missed an important fact. What is it? This letter sounds like it’s saying that we will act separately.

“Oh? Have I been abandoned?”

It definitely seemed that way. Reading the context of the letter, it contained the meaning that she would leave me and live her own life.

No way. It must be a joke. I’m ordinary and weak. I can’t even escape from Ain without a guard. I turned my head and looked towards the entrance of the tunnel.

It must be a prank. It won’t be long before she comes in and says, “It was a joke~,” as she comes in. As expected….

“Oh? It’s a mouse hole!”

Another girl came in. She was completely different from Hilde, from her facial features to her mindset. She was a country girl who was born and raised in a nearby village and had a strong determination to live on. The girl who had discovered the tunnel from over there shouted without approaching.

“Mister! I found a mouse hole! It’s really big!”

“Matilda! Don’t go any closer and stay still! Ballard said not to approach before nightfall!”

“Why? I can catch mice too!”

“A normal mouse wouldn’t enter such a big hole! Come back! We’ll be watching, so hurry!”

The girl seemed annoyed, but thankfully, she didn’t come any closer and just walked away. She’s alive. That means we’ll be safe until night….

No, that’s not right.

If it’s nighttime, I can’t guarantee victory even if the opponent is Eiling. When facing vampires, it should be during the day. This is already a predetermined rule.

If I want to escape, I should run out of the den right now… but there’s a problem.

I am weak in battles against multiple opponents.

In a one-on-one situation, I can stab at the opponent’s weaknesses. In a group fight, I can find gaps in their consciousness amidst the chaos.

But it’s different when it’s one against many. My fighting style is close combat. I want to stab at the opponent’s weaknesses with my hidden cards.

However, as you know, the most important thing in close combat is one’s mental strength. No matter how skilled a card player is, they can’t win if they don’t have good cards. It changes the number of cards you can play.

Moreover, the opponents are ordinary townspeople who have entrusted their safety to vampires. They are amateurs who don’t know how to fight. The ignorance of amateurs is scarier to professionals like me. It’s nearly impossible to escape from ten or twenty obedient soldiers who don’t even know where their spear is aimed. Especially if they are surrounding the entrance to the den.

In other words, I have only one option left.

“Up!”

Rather than going through the roof, I will break through the encirclement. That’s it. Fortunately, I don’t need to pass by Eiling’s cabin. I just need to move a little sideways with earth magic.

Earth magic is not almighty, so I can’t manipulate the ground like playing with sand. When I borrowed the power of Gezhan, I could split the earth, but without it, earth magic is just ordinary. I can only dig through the ground like a worm, as long as it doesn’t ruin the structure of the earth. Ironically, that is also quite useful. I created a passage leaning upward in this den. Digging the earth softly, I quickly crawled up the tunnel on my knees.

Perhaps because they sensed my movement, the thoughts of the vampire reached me from above.

“You’re digging through the ground and moving forward. Just like a rat. I never thought you had such rat-like strength.”

Humph. What can you do? Eiling, who can’t even exert her strength properly under the sunlight. She snorted and pushed the ground upward with earth magic. Morning sunlight peeped through the falling piles of dirt.

“If I thought that someone who has lived for five hundred years couldn’t handle such a small thing, that would be a mistake.”

Huh? What’s that?

I tried to read Billetere’s thoughts for a moment, but her reaction was faster than my psychic abilities.

“Argh, that’s why vampires are like this. Because you’re old, it’s difficult for you to read everything at once.”

No way, she must have controlled the building itself during all those years!

Eiling’s cabin had a log structure with leather covering to block out the sunlight. Billetere let the blood flow into the building. Although it was only Eiling’s hut, she could still move her house.

Creak. The cabin moved, scraping the ground. Suddenly, a huge weight came crashing down, pouring dirt onto my head. If I stayed still, I would end up being buried alive. I quickly pushed the piles of dirt above my head and sprang up.

In front of me, a girl in a dress emerged from the darkness, with crimson eyes shining.

“You’ve come out, little rat.”

She was Billetere Vilter, the chief of the village and a member of the Furspaw clan of vampires. I greeted the vampire who had suddenly become my ally in a friendly manner.

“Squeak, squeak.”

“You have time to joke around, huh? If you have the ability to swim through the ground, are you an alchemist from the Empire? Or a geomancer?… No.”

Chief Billetere reached out and picked up a weapon. It was more like cutlery than a weapon, a fork and a knife… but for the Furspaw clan, who saw fights as meals, there was no better weapon than that.

“Well, let’s put our crossbows away for now and have a conversation first, shall we?”

As I tried to stand up unsteadily, Chief Billetere approached with the fork and knife held in reverse.

“Alright. Let’s talk. But leave the hook hanging for now.”

Damn it!

The opponent is Yaeling, a vampire from the Peagoat clan, known for their powerful strength and immortality. Although his blood manipulation is somewhat weak for a Peagoat, he has complete control over the blood he has made, making him a formidable opponent even compared to the military.

Unlike the ki technique that surrounds the body, a vampire’s blood manipulation is inherently stable. In terms of instant firepower, a skilled practitioner who actively utilizes ki technique and equipment would be stronger. However, unlike a skilled practitioner who can die if they are taken advantage of, Yaeling cannot be killed.

Even the “Shadow” I fought in the military was much stronger than me, but I had to attempt a preemptive strike. It could be dangerous to approach without knowing my own strength. However, Chief Villitere doesn’t need to do that.

Because there is no danger.

“If you don’t resist, I’ll just devour one of your right arms.”

“This is also my right arm?! Why are there so many people obsessed with right arms in this world?!”

Ignoring my scream, the knife swung towards my exposed neck. He can read my thoughts, but his reflexes aren’t enough to properly respond. Until now, someone stronger than me has always protected me, but now I’m alone.

Damn it. How did I protect my right arm until now…! I have to find a way to stop it!

But my feeble body didn’t move as I wanted it to… Huh?

“Huh? It’s moving.”

Snap. My hand blocked Villitere’s wrist. I could feel his considerable strength, but my hand only moved back a little, and he was still resisting.

Following and reacting to the opponent’s thoughts is quite impressive. Until now, it has been difficult to keep up with their speed and strength even when I can read their thoughts.

It must be because of the elixir I drank. Now that I think about it, my body has been moving more comfortably lately.

“I guess you weren’t just all talk.”

“You should have been a little more talkative. We have plenty of time, so instead of standing here like this, why don’t we have a conversation with our mouths? Of course, I don’t mean to kiss, so don’t worry.”

I added a simple joke, but it didn’t seem to resonate with the vampire. Chief Villitere immediately twisted his wrist. Instead of aiming for my exposed neck, the knife targeted my arm and sliced through.

An attack that induces bleeding rather than a direct hit. And once bleeding occurs, it’s practically the end. The wounds caused by a vampire don’t heal easily.

I shook off Villitere’s hand and rummaged through my waist. I had a useful card, a steel wire, and something decent. Why are there no cards? I promised myself that I would supply them someday and threw the cards without hesitation. Although it was a desperate plea for him not to come near, like a vampire, he didn’t pay any attention even when the cards stuck to his body.

I have to run for now. I leaped over the vampire’s chair and headed towards the wall. The vampire leisurely followed behind me and spoke.

“Running away won’t do you any good. Until I allow it, this cabin will not open.”

“What thief enters a house with the owner’s permission and then leaves? Goodbye!”

Whether I said that or not, I pressed the card containing elixir against my palm and slammed it into the wall. The Golden Knot card turns everything into cards. It’s no different from the vampire’s cabin. This is the power of the elixir. Make sure it hits its mark…

At that moment, dozens of cards burst forth like a torrent from the spot where the wall and my hand made contact. It was the wall that had been transformed into cards. However, the result I wanted didn’t happen. The wall that should have crumbled and transformed into cards remained intact.

“Didn’t I tell you? You may have entered this cabin with my permission, but you will not leave without it.”

With overflowing energy in his hands, Villitere muttered under his breath. The blood that started with her began to swirl madly along the walls of the building. Although my cards transformed part of the cabin, at that moment, the blood gathered and filled the wall.

The abilities of the Peagoat clan are tenacious. Among blood manipulations, they are particularly difficult to project outwardly. That’s why I was a little careless… After reading Villitere’s thoughts right in front of me, I finally realized what he had done.

Chief Villitere had shared and contained his powers within him for a long time, making this cabin like his own body.

“It’s over the moment you entered the cabin. You’re inside my abdomen.”

The plates, chairs, and large pots and pans. Every utensil in this cabin began to move slowly. As if they were alive. Is this what a witch’s house in a fairy tale would be like? The furniture that has absorbed blood gradually pressed against me.