The tale of Silas

(Silas POV)

I groaned as I opened my eyes to stare at the cracked and weathered ceiling of the castle. ‘So it wasn't a dream after all.’ I thought as a ra of light suddenly blinded me and lifted my hand to block it to see my hands were no longer skeletal but human, but I noticed that my fingernails were sharpened to a point and black.

“What am I no?” I said aloud and noticed I sounded different now, I sounded much more mature. I then stood up and brushed myself off before I saw I was wearing different clothes now I was dressed in what I think is some kind of green and black medieval noble attire. I rolled onto my side with a groan as I got on my hands and knees. My head was fuzzy, and banging but it soon felt clear. I stood up and stretched out my arms before I looked around. It looked like I was still in the castle but not in the room where I fought that woman. I took a step forward and felt something flapping behind me. I glanced back to see that I had a cloak attached to my clothes

“This looks familiar,” I said before I started looking for a mirror anything that could show me a reflection. I walked out of the room and started searching. I finally found a cracked full-body mirror and looked at myself in shock my face now had sharp features, I had long black hair tied back into a ponytail, and my eyes were now glowing green.

“What the fuck.” I said grabbing the edges of the mirror and realizing I had been turned into my V-rising character I had made for RP servers, but at this point, I honestly wasn't that surprised thinking back to all that had happened to me just recently. As I took a deep breath and looked at the mirror closer I saw stuck in my vest. Curious I reached into it and pulled it out to see it was a pair of green-tinted glasses. I took a closer look at them but they appeared to be just normal glasses. I put them on, but they appeared to be nothing special, so I decided to leave them on for now.

“Greetings player.” A loud female, but robotic voice suddenly said in my head. Making me double over in pain from the intensity. “Aploizies, Greetings player.” Said the voice again at normal volume allowing me to recover.

“Wha- who or what are you?” I asked as I looked around to see I was alone.

“I am a subsystem that was created to serve you, you may call me Pixel. Would you like to see your skills” Asked Pixel.

“Skills? Subsystem, what is going on?” I asked.

“You have been chosen by the administrator and brought to this world to become a player,” Pixel explained. “Now would you like to see your skills?” Pixel asked again.

I struggled to come up with what to say, I was so confused by what was going on. A system, and an administrative, and that I was chosen by whoever this admin is. “Fine, show me.” I said unable to come up with anything else to say. After I saw that a holographic scene appeared in front of me

Name Silas Bishop
Race pure-blooded vampire
Job-Novice Dungeon Master
Titles-none

Passive skills
Mental fortitude Lv 5
Poison resistance MAX
Disease resistance MAX

magic Skills
Blood Magic {Novice}
Chaos Magic {Novice}
Unholy Magic {Novice}
illusion Magic {Novice}
Frost Magic {Novice}
Storm Magic {Novice}

Racial skills
Blood regeneration
Immortality
Dominate being
Dominate mount
Shapeshifting
Enhanced senses
Sanguine sight
hypnoses
Hypnotic Allure
Unique skills
Sanguine Steal
Bound Resurrection
Daywalker

Weaknesses: holy magic x3, Silver x2

I looked the list up and down taking it all that it said, most of the skills seemed just like the abilities from V rising along with the weaknesses I guess, but there were a few skills that I did not recognize or understand, also my job as a dungeon master concerned me. “Hey umm, Pixel can I ask you a few questions?”

“Of course, I was created to serve you,” Said Pixel.

“I just want to ask about a few specific skills here, specifically hypnotic allure, and Sanguine steal?” I asked as I looked at those two skills again trying to think of what they could mean. When it came to hypnotic allure I already had an idea but wanted to know the specifics, but Sanguine steal was a mystery.

“Hypnotic allure is a pure-blood exclusive skill, which makes the opposite sex more susceptible to the wielder's words and after some time should they continue to seek the user company, they will fall deeper into the welder's control and unlike hypnosis which can quickly gain control of only a few weak-minded targets, it can be used as many people as the user see’s fit, and can not be so easily broken once the target is fully under the skills influence. However, should they figure out they are under the skill before they fall fully under its control, or should the target have a strong will the effect will be nullified, but should the controlled be turned into a vampire the user's control over them is absolute.” Pixel explained it seems like a slow-acting but powerful skill that requires quite a bit of patience to master.

“Sanguine steal is a skill exclusive to you and your bloodline, It allows you to steal the skills of another being after drinking their blood, however, the chances of the skill activating depends on the gap of power between you and your target, the weaker they are the more likely the skill is the activate but you can potentially take skill form those as or more powerful then you should you weaken them enough, but the skill can only be one the same person once per week and after acquiring one skill the chances and acquire more is cut by half.” Pixel explained, and it sounded like a broken skill.

“Ok then, what about my job Novice dungeon master?” I asked Pixel.

“In the eyes of the world dungeon masters are seen as the enemies of all, since you bear the job you can create a dungeon of monsters that best suit you, and can gain both wealth and territory, it is highly advised that you make a dungeon soon and make a coffin so you can utilize your unique skill bound resurrection in case the unfortunate happens however as with your job being novice dungeon master you will only be able to upgrade your dungeon to level 3 until you meet the conditions to rank up your job.” Said Pixel in a concerned manner.

“Hmmm, I’ve seen enough anime to know that things don't end well for dungeon masters, well most of them.” I said thinking back to a time I watched an anime about a certain overlord. “But I guess I don't really have much of a choice.” I said. I thought the situation would make me more stressed and panicked which I thought was odd before Pixel chimed in.

“Your lack of panic is due to your skill mental fortitude, this skill grants its possessor resistance to negative mental status effects, and protects you against mental attacks.” Pixel explained.

“I guess that explains my strange sense of calm,” I said with a sigh. “Anything else?” I asked.

“Yes, it is time you received the last of your rewards for helping to defeat Nightmare moon.” Pixel said.

“Nightmare moon?” I said. “Are you talking about that chick that almost vaporized me?” I asked.

“Yes, due to your intervention she was defeated and you have earned rewards most of which were skills that you were automatically bestowed once you were revived but one reward remains.” Pixel said with a congratulatory tone in her voice.

“Which is?” I asked with a raised eyebrow.

“You can choose one weapon from this list here and you will immediately receive it.” She told me before another list appeared with an assortment of weapons all of which were dark silver. I was surprised I was being given such a high-quality weapon from the start, but I had to be careful with my choice here. I looked through the list and all of the weapons seemed to be from the game, except for one, a poleaxe.

A pole axe is a versatile weapon, but do I really want to get it? I stroked my new beard in thought before I looked at myself again. ‘Vampires are superior to humans when it comes to physical strength so maybe it would be beneficial to use heavy weapon.’ I thought.

“Yes, vampires are stronger than most humans, but you are no ordinary vampire, you are pure blood, and you are the start of a new bloodline,” Pixel said, suddenly surprising me.

“Bloodline, I think I remember you mentioning it before, what is it?” I asked Pixel curious as to what it meant.

“Pureblood vampires are the pinnacle of the vampire race, they are not turned another, and the conditions for their creation are just as mysterious as how the vampires first came to be. You and other Pureblood vampires abilities are far greater than those beneath you as well as your physical abilities.” Pixel explained and paused for a moment before she continued. “Bloodlines are formed when a Pureblood turns a mortal into a greater vampire, bestowing onto them some of their abilities, and the greater vampires pass them on to a lesser extent to ordinary vampires, however, lesser vampires do not receive them.” Pixel explained.

“So vampires are not able to create vampires that are of the same rank as them?” I asked trying to summarize some of the information I was being told.

“Correct however vampires can evolve into higher ranks once conditions are met. But before I explain further, allow me to explain that Vampires don't truly solely drink the blood of mortals but also the life force that the blood contains and is vital to both vampires survival and evolution. Other factors separate the ranks other than just their strengths and ability, but also metabolism and how efficiently they absorb lifeforce. Lesser vampires are always in a starved and feral state because they burn off energy quickly and can't efficiently absorb life force, thus they must constantly feed to survive. In order for them to evolve into ordinary vampires they must consume a large amount of blood and lifeforce in a short period of time to break through the bottleneck that restrains them. After they evolve their sense of self returns as well as their appearance from when they were once human except for a few minor changes, and survive longer without drinking blood. For ordinary vampires to evolve into greater vampires they must first live for at least a hundred years then consume an even greater amount of blood and lifeforce than before, and as for greater vampires they are unable to evolve further but can go for long period of time without drinking blood even decades should they enter a dormant state.” Pixel explained and I was having a hard time sorting through all that information, but I soon looked back at the list and at the Poleaxe.

“Fuck it.” I said before I pressed on the poleaxe and it appeared in my hands. It was incredibly light, or I was just that strong. “Now that I have something to protect myself it's time I got out of here.” I said before I started walking and trying to find a way out of this place. It took several hours and I was pissed. I had walked into dozens of traps spread out all throughout the castle. I wanted with my all heart to raze this place to the ground, but I can do that later. I took a few breaths to calm myself before I looked around to see that this castle was located in the middle of a forest.

“Hmm,” I said, wondering where I should go. I eventually just started walking in a random direction and hoped for the best. I used my poleaxe to cut away the branches and brush in my way, it almost felt like a hot knife through butter, I hardly felt any resistance as I chopped through them.

“Hmm, I hope I can find a safe place soon.” I muttered as I cut through the brush. “At least I'm getting some practice with this thing.” I said to myself as I continued on my way, but I couldn't help but feel I was being watched. ‘This could be a time to check out my other skills, Sanguine sight.’ I thought. Suddenly it was as if all color had faded from the world turning everything grey, but I could see the blood of all living things in a tree nearby I could see a mother bird taking care of her babies. I could even see tiny hearts beat as they were fed by their mother, but that wasn't important right now. I looked around to see if I was begging followed, but I saw nothing except a few small animals running around.

‘Hmm, I must have been imagining it?’ I thought but as soon as I looked forward something lunged at me. I wasn't fast enough to dodge and it knocked me to the ground. From what I could see it was some kind of wolf, and before it could bite my throat I shoved the haft of my poleaxe into its mouth and pushed it off me.

“Damn it.” I said as I got to my feet and looked at the best, but something was off, I couldn't see its blood not to mention there were things sticking out of it… wait are those branches? I deactivated my Sanguine sight to see that this wolf was made from sticks and branches. “So that's why I couldn't see it.” I mutter pointing my weapon at it as it growled at me. The wolf started to circle me as if sizing me up.

“Come on mutt come get some.” I muttered on my breath as I made sure to keep the thing in front of me. The suddenly it lunged again and I stabbed the spike of my pole axe into its mouth but it seemed unfazed as it tried wresting the weapon from my grasp but I kept a firm grip on it.

“Fuck you!” I shouted before I kicked the creature in its sending sending it flying into a tree before it shattered into sticks and branches. “Wow, I didn't expect to be this strong.” I said but my train of thought halted when I saw the pile of branches and sticks start to float off the ground and begging to reform into a wolf. ‘This is going to be troublesome.’ I thought as I decided not to give it time to full recover. I swung at it with the axe side of my weapon chopping through it with relative ease. However, even though I chopped through it the branches merely mended themselves.

‘This will go on forever unless I can find a more permanent solution.’ I thought as I continued to chop away at its head and limbs to keep it from attacking me but then suddenly a second one jumped at me from the shadows. I jumped back to dodge it and it stood between me and the other wolf allowing it to recover but as it reformed something caught my eye. It was only for a moment but I saw some kind of foreign object or something inside the wolf.

"What was that, debris?” I thought as I formulated a plan in my mind. I took a deep breath before I lunged at the wolf with astonishing speed surprising the pair of wolves hell it even surprised me. But I used the chance to cleave the new wolf in half, and as I flew by I was unable to quickly stop. I glanced at the wolf to see that same object hidden within the branches.

“Can't be a coincidence.” I said under my breath as I thought about this calmly due to my mental Fortitude skill.

After I managed to stop the two were fully recovered and were charging me. I threw down my weapon before I started sprinting forward to meet them heading on. The first wolf lunged aiming for my neck but I sidestepped it going for the second one. As the second wolf was about to lung I grabbed it by its neck before I extended the fingers of my other hand and shoved it into the wolf’s chest cavity.

The wolf whimpered and yelped unlike all the other times I had cut them in half then I wrapped my hand around something before I forcefully pulled it out. It was some kind of so where with a glowing green energy emanating from it.

The wolf in my grasp slowly resisted less and less before it started to fall apart into a pile of sticks. I then crushed the sphere in my hand before turning to the other wolf to see it running off now that its friend was dead.

“So these things function like golems.” I said looking at the remains of the sphere in my hand. “This must have served as their core. I looked around to see if there were any more wolves before I cast the remains to the side.

“Those were timber wolves servants of the timber king the ruler of the everfree forest, it would be best to avoid him till you are strong enough to face him” Said Pixel in my mind

“You're saying I have to get stronger, aren't I strong enough right now?” I asked Pixel.

“Not even close, you are far stronger than you were but your strength pales in comparison to the other purebloods and you must hone your new skills.” Pixel told me. I couldn't argue that all my skills except mental fortitude were novice-level, so I continued on my way after retrieving my poleaxe. Eventually, I found a small mountain with a plateau at the top. With my new strength, I climbed up there with ease and looked around. It was a very spacious perfect place to defend should it come to it and gave me a good view of the forest which seemed to stretch for as far as the eye could see.

“Ok Pixel so how do I do this?” I asked with my arms crossed.

“All you must do is declare this place as your dungeon, and also since you are a novice you will receive a start-up to help you get going.” Pixel explained.

“It's that simple, alright then, I declare this plateau as my dungeon,” I said and the entire mountain started to shake as a window appeared in front of me.

Location has been designated as dungeon of Silas Bishop, the system is choosing the best monster type for the dungeon master….. The monster type chosen for dungeon master is Undead

“Wow,” Struggling to keep my footing as structures started to rise up from the ground, the first one that was erected was a castle followed by a wall that went along the entire plateau. I looked around in astonishment.

“Well I wasn't exacting this much as a start up but I’m not complaining.” I said, before a new screen appeared.

Contruction complete, now you must choose three facilities to help you grow your dungeon, progress will be saved if dungeon is destroyed and a new one is created.

Available facilities
Mine (Recommended)
Lake
Mutative oz lake (Caution)
Garden
Library
Laboratory (Caution)
Smithy
Tailor
Crypt
Workshop
Jeweller's Chamber
Prison
Graveyard (Caution)
Crypt

“What are the cautions for?” I asked as I stroked my chin.

“The caution serves to warn that these facilities can spawn enemies not under the control of the dungeon, thus using those specific features of those facilities can be a risk but can provide a wide range of materials and benefits, however, the mutative oz lake can not be controlled as it randomly generates mutated creatures that will attack everything they see,” Pixel explained and most of these seemed to have come from V rising which gives me a good idea of what to get.

“And what of the mine? Does it have some sort of significance?” I asked.

“Yes it is a vital facility able to generate random ores, and the highly coveted Mana prisms, Mana prisms are hyper-condensed crystals of mana that can be used for many things such as creating powerful enchanted weapons, creating new facilities, and monsters to protect your dungeon and can be used to rank up your dungeon heart, expanding your facilities and giving you access to more monsters to defend your dungeon, however, your dungeon is a tad more different.” Pixel explained as I started to walk towards the castle.

“Different, explain?” I asked

“You can use blood essence instead of mana prisms to create monsters however a greater amount would be required to create monsters than it would with mana prims,” Pixel explained as I opened the door to the castle. When I walked inside I saw that the front foyer was decorated with fine statues, paintings, and decorations that you would expect from a high-ranking noble.

“I see, that could come in handy,” I said. “I guess now I should pick the facilities,” I muttered as I looked back at the list. “Well, I guess I have to choose the Mine, Laboratory, and garden. Hopefully, the recipes are the same as in the game, but the next facility I will get will have the graveyard.

I felt the mountains shake again but there were no visible changes, at least from what I could see.

“The facilities have been built inside the mountain so they do not take up too much room on the surface,” Pixel explained, I nodded grateful that the castle wouldn't become too cramped. “Alright, so do I get some start monsters and what monsters do I have access to right now?” I asked.

“You can only create skeletons and zombies for the moment, and you start with 10 of each.” Pixel told.

“Zombies and skeletons uh, from my world those are pretty weak monsters at least individually, is it the same here?” I asked.

“It is the same but both have their strengths and weaknesses. Skeletons, while not physically strong, and are not very durable, but they are light and agile, and zombies are stronger but slower.” Pixel told me as I continued looking around.

“Well, that makes sense,” I said. “So is there a consol or anything I can use to control the monsters or do I have to give vocal orders,” I asked.

“You can pull up a command console that you can use to issue orders from afar but you can also give them orders vocally be warned that unintelligent undead like skeletons and zombies will follow your orders to the letter, once you start to create monsters which posses intelligence they may disobey order should they think their way is better,” Pixel informed me.

“So more powerful monsters possess intelligence and free will, I see.” I said stroking my beard as got to work figuring out all the ways I could control my dungeon.