In the manor room, Mo Yu watched the clock, waiting quietly.
6:52.
The room door opened, and Mirror Image returned. He walked to the center of the room and stood still, unmoving.
Mo Yu picked up a glass dish and approached.
He canceled Mirror Image.
The instant Mirror Image dissipated, he held out the glass dish, catching the red blood suspended in midair.
This was his countermeasure.
Mirror Image was a Clone. Anything it ate could be digested normally, but the instant Mirror Image vanished, those real, physically existing things would remain behind.
Through this method, he had Mirror Image get bitten, then extracted Elise's blood from what remained.
There wasn't much blood, just a few drops.
Mo Yu began running tests.
Elise's blood was special. It congealed without dispersing, more like a colloid. It could spontaneously repel certain things, wouldn't gather dust, could be lifted with bare hands, and wouldn't be washed away even with water added.
After playing around with it for a while, he took out a small vial and sealed it inside, then hid the vial in a locket. With that, his disguise item was complete.
He put on the locket to test its effect.
He went to find Elise. Even when he got close to her, Elise showed no unusual reaction—she really couldn't pinpoint the blood's exact location.
After confirming the effect worked, he activated rewind.
He erased this stretch of the Timeline where he'd run the test.
Leaving no trace.
Once that was done, Mo Yu completely relaxed. He flopped onto the bed and rolled around, and while he was scrolling on his mobile phone, someone knocked on the door.
Rather annoyed, he got up to open it.
Standing outside was the maid.
Mo Yu asked, puzzled, "It's this late. Is something wrong?"
The maid pushed him into the room and locked the door behind them.
Mo Yu: "?"
The maid asked, "Young Miss's reaction was strange. What did you do this afternoon?"
"She didn't recognize me," Mo Yu explained simply.
The maid's mouth curled up, as if she'd confirmed something. "My guess was right. Young Miss really does like your type."
Mo Yu denied it. "I don't think that's it. It's probably just because I'm handsome."
The maid said, "You're the first one to successfully approach her. That's a good start. You need to seize the opportunity—even if you lied, you'll still be turned into a vampire and kept by Young Miss's side."
The maid took out a pair of latex gloves, put them on, stretched the edge of one glove, and let it snap back with a crisp smack.
Mo Yu had a bad feeling about this.
"What are you planning to do?"
"Let me check your body. If the size isn't sufficient, you'll need surgery beforehand—once you're turned into a vampire, it'll be too late. It's for Young Miss's happiness."
"?!"
The maid lunged at him, intent on using force.
Mo Yu countered move for move.
After the fifth time he pinned the maid down onto the bed with a joint lock, she got angry and flung him away with brute force, remarking:
"I didn't expect it—you've got some real skill. If you had a Magic Cultivation Method, along with a matching Spirit Tool and combat techniques, you'd make a decent Demon Hunter."
"Too bad you don't. Your concern is unnecessary. Don't come closer—if you do, I'll shout, and let the whole manor's vampires know about this."
Under Mo Yu's threat, the maid finally gave up and left.
After that, the night was quiet, with no one else coming to disturb him.
A little past 8 o'clock, the Monster Compendium's settlement arrived.
【Elite Vampire: A vampire that has undergone one Evolution. Greatly weakened under sunlight, greatly strengthened at night. Can easily lift a small car weighing 2 to 3 tons, and survives by devouring vitality. Fears ultraviolet rays of specific wavelengths and silver metal.】【Cumulative kill count: 14】【Reach 1 kill to earn a Bronze Trophy and gain 1 Attribute Point. Reach 10 kills to earn a Silver Trophy and gain 1 Attribute Point. Reach 100 kills to earn a Gold Trophy.】
【Knight-level Vampire: A vampire that has undergone two Evolutions. Greatly weakened under sunlight, greatly strengthened at night. Can lift a heavy road roller with one hand, and survives by devouring vitality. Fears ultraviolet rays of specific wavelengths and silver metal.】【Cumulative kill count: 2】【Reach 1 kill to earn a Bronze Trophy and gain 1 Attribute Point. Reach 2 kills to earn a Silver Trophy and gain 1 Attribute Point. Reach 3 kills to earn a Gold Trophy.】
He received 4 Attribute Points.
There wasn't much to agonize over when it came to allocating them.
He put them all into physical quality, bringing it straight up to 9.3.
Mo Yu ran a Power test. He took down a decorative sword hanging in the corridor—2 kilograms of iron—and when he threw it with all his strength, it produced a Sonic Boom and pierced straight through a wall. According to the Panel's information, his current physical quality could now match a Knight-level Vampire.
With his strength surging, Mo Yu's confidence rose right along with it.
The next morning.
Mo Yu got up early. When he opened the window to get some air, he spotted footprints on the ground outside the building at a glance—there were plenty of footprints and handprints left near this standalone guest building.
It was a strange kind of vision.
Like a survival instinct from a game, or something like hawk-eye vision, letting him pick out specific traces at a glance even in a complex environment.
This was the intuitive ability granted by the Monster Compendium.
After he'd killed enough vampires and earned two Silver Trophies, this ability had started taking effect, letting him spot traces left behind by vampires at a glance, even in a complex environment.
He opened the room door.
There were quite a few footprints and handprints in the corridor.
Mo Yu crouched down to examine them. As he studied them closely, he could sense how long ago each trace had been left, as well as tell individuals apart.
He made a full loop around the standalone guest building.
Footprints, handprints, urine, saliva—he could distinguish all these traces.
He tried wiping away footprints with a mop.
Even with the floor wiped spotless, he could still make out footprints left within the past 24 hours.
A rather practical ability.
Mo Yu tried to leave the manor, only to be warned off by several Bloodthirsty Bats. They landed in front of him, their black eyes staring straight at him.
Left with no choice, he retreated back.
Unable to leave the manor, he decided he might as well thoroughly explore it instead—after all, this was Elise's lair. He hadn't had the chance before, being brought here against his will, but now that he was here of his own accord, courtesy of Elise, he'd make the most of it.
The manor was cold and deserted. No other vampires could be seen during the day—it felt like walking into an abandoned place, with nothing but birdsong and the whisper of wind. Every time he entered a room, he activated rewind once. To the Bloodthirsty Bats keeping watch, it looked like he'd merely walked once down the corridor.
There was nothing particularly special about the manor's above-ground areas—a classic European-style Noble manor, with plenty of old items. Still, it was fairly interesting to look through.
After making a small loop, he discovered an underground entrance. Only upon entering did he realize there was a whole other world down below.
Vampires were hidden away in small rooms, lying in coffins in hibernation, waiting for the sun to set.
During his search, Mo Yu discovered a particularly valuable room:
A study room.
It was a study room located underground.
More precisely, it was a small Library.
The room was cylindrical, three stories tall, with a glass dome above that let sunlight illuminate a small patch overhead.
Wooden bookshelves lined the walls, stacked all the way to the top, packed full of books, layer upon layer, in every color. Reaching the books up high required the help of a nearby Ladder. At the center were a desk and chair, along with brushes, ink, and other office supplies, and quite a few books were piled up on the floor around them.
Mo Yu grew interested.
He casually pulled out a few books to look through, only to find he couldn't understand them—he didn't recognize the script. He probably should have brought Alpha along.
✦✦✦