The moment their eyes locked, the vampire grinned a giant, toothy smile.

  “There you are, what a delicious specimen,” the vampire whispered loudly.

  In an instant, he was in front of Morgan. A crushing weight pushed down from the air above, pinning Morgan to the roof tiles. The vampire made a long, drawn-out sniffing sound. Snatching Morgan off the roof in one hand, he held him up, admiring him. Rotating Morgan back and forth, he chuckled. The scent from the vampire was that of old stale air and fresh linen of his clothes.

  The hand around Morgan’s throat was a cold clamp just tight enough to hold him steady, but unwavering in its strength. If it had wanted to, it could have crushed his throat with barely a twitch. There was more to the vampire’s touch than normal cold. It drained the ability to think or move from Morgan. As the lethargy encompassed Morgan, Sophia screamed at him to fight back. His thoughts swam. He couldn’t focus on any one thing. His arms hung at his sides like weighted gloves were pulling him down. He thought, finally, ages later, to do Threat Scan.

  ::Threat Scan Complete - Invader - Vampire Champion - Threat Level: Moderate::

  Moderate threat level? This thing would have killed him carelessly, just like everyone else. As if sensing his thought, maybe she was, Sophia said, “As I expected, your skills have skewed your power level ratings. Your regeneration ability is that of an almost maximum-level Berserker, requiring at least level 109. Your actual stats do not match. I also sense that he is using multiple items to augment his abilities.”

  Oblivious to the conversation going on in Morgan’s head, the vampire was talking with Johansen and the other two while floating back down to the ground. Morgan, still clutched in one slightly elevated hand, was fighting the lethargy but couldn’t focus on both Sophia and the vampire.

  “… Then once I have converted you to familiars, you will be stronger than you ever dreamed,” the vampire was saying to the three kneeling people.

  Sophia continued her conversation.

  The vampire turned his attention back to Morgan.

  “Let us see how deep this wellspring is,” it hungrily said. Opening its hideous mouth, it pulled Morgan close and clamped onto his neck. He raised his hands in a pathetic attempt to fend off his inevitable attack. His hands rested uselessly on the vampire’s neck as it greedily syphoned his life. He could feel his vitality being drained. Just below his sternum, there was an empty hollow feeling growing. His neck burned, and it felt like a river of blood was being pulled through the arteries leading there. He could feel his heart beating a staccato against his ribs. Then it was over, and the vampire slowly lowered a feeble Morgan to the ground. His legs collapsed under his own weight. The oppressive, extreme gravity that had crushed him early was no longer present.

  “Marvelous,” the vampire purred, “I can feel the power.” Then it turned and looked at him with a piercing gaze, “And already filling back up.” It was true. Morgan could feel the strength returning to his limbs. His heartbeat was back to normal, and the hollow pit in his stomach was filling rapidly. The vampire clucked and waggled a finger at Morgan, then the mountain was back on his shoulders, pressing him to the ground. He strained as hard as he could, but couldn’t even lift his face off the ground. It was almost too much for him to be able to breathe, but just almost.

  Ignoring Morgan, the vampire walked to Johansen.

  “Stand, mortal, and receive my gift,” the vampire commanded. Johansen stood, trembling. The vampire latched onto his neck just like all the others, draining him almost dry. When there was but a flicker of life left, the vampire removed his fanged maw and regurgitated nasty, viscous black fluid into Johansen’s face and slack mouth. It crawled on its own across his pale face and was absorbed almost immediately. Then Johansen collapsed, panting heavily. The vampire repeated the same process on the other two guards.

  “You will be weak for a few hours, then you will feel a portion of my power and be unstoppable in this pathetic world,” the vampire gloated, then turned back to Morgan, who had just had a hint of a plan flash in his mind. “Ready again so soon?” the vampire questioned, licking its lips. “What a treat, and this is going to be a perfect place to establish my lair,” he said, taking in the gothic manor. “I will need to see about a dungeon to store my new bottomless blood bag, but that can wait.”

  He approached Morgan and lifted him again. Just like before, as soon as his skin touched the flawless pale skin of the vampire, Morgan lost the will to fight. He had to fight hard just to think about what was happening. Sophia screaming at him helped a little, but he was still barely able to move his arms. He hung there, suspended as the vampire salivated over its next meal, staring at him with dark, bloodshot eyes that glowed with anticipation. The vampire brought him in again, and he barely raised his hands to the vampire’s neck, where they rested, unable to even grab at the vampire’s collar.

  This time, as the vampire began to drain him, Morgan fought to hold onto a plan he had. It was there, just on the verge of his consciousness. It swam back and forth. If only this things damn teeth weren’t buried in my neck. Then it struck him, teeth! He had a tooth of his own. It took an eternity for Broken Fang to be summoned, but when it did, its handle materialized in Morgan’s hand. The hand was resting uselessly on the vampire’s neck, then it was holding a weapon, the blade of which was barely pressed against his pale skin. Morgan had tried to summon it into the vampire’s neck, but was not able to. It left a slight cut that blackened at the edges.

  Out of reflex, the vampire returned the crushing weight to Morgan’s body. This caused Broken Fang to be slammed down, rending the vampire from neck to thigh as the weapon was torn from Morgan’s hand. Its bloodshot eyes stared in shock at the blade that absorbed its black, viscous blood with a thirst almost as deep as its own. The weapon began to thrum with energy. The vampire fell into almost two pieces, attached at the hip. His head and half his chest went one way with a thundering geyser of black blood. Then a wave of system notifications streamed across the bottom of his vision.

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  ::Congratulations! You are the first person in this world to kill a Champion. Title Granted::

  ::Title Granted - Apex Predator - You gain +5 to all attributes. Additional Level received. Skill Point granted ::

  ::Your current attributes are Str - 31, Dex - 26, Con - 23, Wis - 18, Int - 22.::

  ::Congratulations! You are the first person in this world to kill a Champion before they establish a lair. Title Granted::

  ::Title Granted - Pre-Lair Slayer - Additional Level received. Special Ability Granted ::

  ::Ability Granted - Inner Vault - You have internalized a spatial storage.::

  ::Congratulations! You are the first person in this world to kill Champion Solo. Title Granted::

  ::Title Granted - Loner - When no allies are within 50 feet, damage, damage resistance, and magic resistance are doubled.::

  ::Congratulations! You are the eighth person in this world to kill a vampire. Title Granted::

  ::Title Granted - Buffyed - Immune to vampire suggestion and infection ::

  ::Would you like to activate Absorption?::

  ::Absorption complete. You gained Invader Core Champion (x2). Contents: One Rare. Two Epic. One Legendary.

  ::You gained 18ET, 6LT ::

  The wave of energy Morgan felt rushing through him made him stagger. Broken Fang stopped thrumming as it finished absorbing the ichor on the ground.

  ::New Trait Unlocked - Broken Fang - Epic - Material: Obsidian Steel - Weight: 3lbs. Properties: Wounding, Zone of Silence, Midnight Edge, Blood Drinker (1/200)::

  The vampire’s body dried up into dust after Broken Fang had finished. Left behind were a black leather belt, a ring, a small glowing crystal, and two small wooden boxes that shimmered slightly. Examine revealed the belt and two rings as:

  ::Clinch of the Shadow Kin - Epic - Material: Shadeleather - Weight: 1lbs. Properties: Kinetic Burst::

  ::Ring of Static Heart - Legendary - Material: Iron - Weight: - lbs. Properties: Disruption, Numbing::

  ::Ring of Ebon Chains - Legendary - Material: Silver - Weight: - lbs. Properties: Gravity Anchor, Shadow Arm::

  ::Lair Crystal - Mythic - Material: Unknown - Weight: - lbs. Properties: Creates a Lair in the specified Area (only usable by invaders)::

  The small chests, however, were:

  ::Dungeon Loot Chest - Epic - Loot from a dungeon requires Dungeon Key (purchasable) ::

  The three men were writhing on the ground. The death of the vampire had caused them to start vomiting and clutching at their stomachs. The vomit was the same dank-smelling dark blood they had just ingested. Without any fanfare or ceremony, Morgan dispatched each of them with Broken Fang. He received three more human cores, 3205 CT, 40 UT, and 12 RT. This brought his wallet to 4136CT, 122UT, and 68RT, 24 ET, 6 LT. It appears Johansen wasn’t able to spend the money he stole before they had moved the kiosk.

  Morgan held up the vampire’s gear.

  With a shrug, Morgan replaced his wide belt with the sleek black one and immediately felt like his world was slowing down. The effect only lasted about five seconds.

  Morgan nodded, understanding that the feeling of complete despair and helplessness could be useful. Sophia continued,

  Morgan took a minute to review all the notifications. He had also gained a level from killing the champion vampire. He now had four attribute points and five skills to select.

  Sophia trailed off.

  Sophia was astounded, “

  Sophia continued to rant about the unfairness and absurdity in the back of his mind as he placed the rings on a finger from each hand. There were no immediate changes. Then he concentrated on making himself heavy. He felt a weight on his shoulders, nothing as forceful as the vampire, but still noticeable. He clenched the hand with the ring on it, and the force crumpled him to the ground, breaking a few of his bones.

  Sophia chided.

  The broken bones knit themselves together as Morgan lay panting on the ground.

  Sophia replied. Morgan’s vision flickered, and then a small 90% above a bar about 10% full appeared at the bottom of his vision. On the other side was a capital letter G with a 1 next to it.

  Concentrating, Morgan thought about increasing his gravity and saw the number increase to 1.2. At the same time, he felt a push toward the ground. It worked. He practiced with the ring for a bit, getting more precise at being able to direct the pull. He tried to concentrate on a tree branch.

  ::Your Intelligence and Wisdom are not sufficient to affect external objects. Increase these attributes to increase the range of your ability.::

  A thought struck Morgan.

  Morgan took everything he could get his hands on and stuffed it into his storage. The entire library? Check. The chairs, carpets, and paintings? Check. After ransacking the Academy and getting everything from the storage room, he prepared to leave for good. Strapping the glider to his back, he leapt into the air as high as he could, about 35 feet, and extended the wings. They helped him glide about 150 feet. He did this a few times. It wasn’t faster than his leaping method from before, but it was much less painful.

  Then, smiling and cursing himself for being an idiot, he adjusted his gravity and sprang into the air. He flew up hundreds of feet, and then glided along following the railroad tracks disappearing into the east.