Vampires—
They originated from a single, ancient family of necromancers who possessed a desperate, driving wish to achieve true immortality.
For generations, they dedicated their entire existence to achieving this goal, pouring over every available resource to find a way to cheat death. They spent decades researching obscure texts, studying forbidden magics, experimenting with various life forces, and doing a bunch of other dark stuff in the shadows.
Then ultimately, just like the tragic families in the fantasy stories I used to read— they one day finally resorted to the ultimate taboo of human experimentation and ritual sacrifice.
They began kidnapping people to fuel their rituals, doing a lot of unspeakable things to innocent villagers, desperate beggars, and even defenseless children.
Later on, as their greed for life grew, they started capturing members of other races and creatures known to have naturally long life spans to see if they could steal that longevity for themselves.
And by doing all of this— they actually managed to achieve their twisted goal.
They gained bodies that would no longer age once they reached a certain point of maturity, and they discovered that their life span would keep on extending indefinitely as long as they drank fresh blood to refill their waning life force.
But after they achieved the eternal life that they craved for... They were cursed by the gods and labeled as demonic beings.
And they were called [Vampires].
Vampires are actually considered one of the very first demonic beings. In terms of hierarchy, they are ranked just behind the original sinners— the demons— and the clan that once tried to seduce the gods— the succubus.
And as soon as they were officially labeled as demons by the heavens, the [Sun God]— the deity who was said to love every living creature in this world more than any other god— cast a terrible curse upon the vampires.
He abandoned them completely, treating them as nothing more than heretics because of the cruel way they had treated the lives of others just to satisfy their own selfish goals.
Because of this divine curse, every single time a vampire is seen by the sun, a massive and debilitating debuff falls upon them.
The Sun God was intentionally weakening them so that his mortal followers would have an easier time hunting them down and killing them. He also commanded his followers to purge them from the land.
The family that had become the first vampires went into deep hiding because of this persecution, and eventually, they disappeared from the eyes of the world entirely.
Until to this very day, no news of their whereabouts or their fate has been known to the public.
Nobody knows for sure if they were all wiped out, or if they are still alive somewhere in the dark corners of the world.
Nobody even knows if vampires really existed.
That is the only information recorded in history regarding the [Vampires].
*****
"Well, I already expected something like this after hearing that voice tell me I was a 'Demonic' Vampire... But I really am an enemy of humanity, huh."
I mumbled to myself after finishing the section on vampire history.
In the end, the book simply said that after they disappeared, they were never seen again.
'That means there is a possibility that I am the only and last vampire currently alive... Or maybe the others are still out there somewhere. They might even have repopulated and lived quietly among the humans until now without being noticed.'
I thought as I closed the book and put it away on the bedside table.
"I'm just glad the people in this village aren't very knowledgeable about vampires. I have red eyes and pale skin; those characteristics are pretty obvious indicators that someone is a vampire."
I don't know why, but that's just like common sense back on Earth for some reason.
Anyway, I might be classified as a demonic being by the gods, but I don't really feel, well... demonic.
My mind is entirely to myself.
'I mean, I might be craving blood all the time, but I can supress it and I don't feel the need to kill for it... Huh?'
Now that I'm thinking about it... [Hunger Supression] is probably the reason for this. I just thought it's a slightly useful skill, turns out it might be the only reason I'm keeping my sanity right now.
I frowned upon realizing this. But after a while, I got up from the bed and shrugged my shoulders.
'Whatever. I'll just live however I want, just like I usually do. But at least now I know for sure that I have to hide the fact that I'm a vampire from the rest of the world.'
I decided on that for my own safety.
I closed the book for good, then looking at the bunch of stuff piled up at the end of the bed— the various gifts that had been given to me by the grateful villagers— I started going through them one by one.
"There is a lot of delicious-looking food here. Might as well have a bit of a feast."
*****
After going through all the gifts I received and eating my fill— Fwish~
I unsheathed my sword, the metal glinting in the light of the room.
I concentrated my mind, recalling the specific movements and knowledge that had been drilled into my head through the [Crude Swordsmanship] skill— SWISH—!
Then I started swinging my sword through the air.
A straight horizontal slash was followed quickly by an upward diagonal one— FWISH!
I performed a spinning strike— SWOOSH!
I followed up with a swift, lunging thrust— FWOOP!
Then I finished with a straight, powerful downward swing— SWOOOO-!
I trained those moves over and over, combining them to try and create a smooth succession of attacks. I swung my sword once, twice, thrice... I kept going.
I had nothing else to do, and I really wanted to clear my mind of all the heavy history I had just read.
That's why I decided to just drown myself in swordsmanship training. I mean, this was already part of my original plan anyway. I told myself that I would practice to strengthen my skills so I could protect myself even during the day.
"Hah...!"
A small smile appeared on my face as I swung my sword; it was actually quite fun to feel the weight of the blade.
I enjoyed the training so much that I started to completely lose track of time. And just like that— I ended up training with the sword until the sun began to rise in the morning.
*****
A few days had passed after that...
My days in the village were relatively normal and peaceful.
I spent a good portion of my time socializing with the villagers, studying their habits and observing how they acted on a daily basis. I paid attention to their traditions and their general mannerisms. This actually allowed me to adapt quite quickly to the social norms of this world.
When I was traveling with Hans and the others on the way here, Noah mentioned that I talk a bit weird. The others seemed to think so too, and they assumed I was from some far-off foreign land or something.
I told them it was just a specific way of speaking I had picked up from my hometown, which was now destroyed. They were respectful enough not to mention it again after that.
Anyway, I have now adapted to their specific way of speech— almost everyone here talks like old people for some reason. Except for that, they act pretty much the same as people back on Earth.
I just think of it as being sent back into the past during medieval times, but with a heavy mixture of fantasy elements.
Moving on— I spent the rest of my days training with the sword. I even started sparring with Lenard and the other village guards to gain some hands-on experience. I won every match, of course, but with each session, my techniques became more fluid and much better.
I made sure to stop sparring with them shortly before the sun set, right before the restrictions on my strength would disappear.
At that time, I would go back to the room I was given, and there— all alone— I would continue swinging my sword. I don't know why, but it seems like I've become addicted to the feeling of getting stronger.
Each time I swung my sword, I could actually feel myself getting better at the movements. And honestly, it is one of the best feelings I've had so far.
I repeated each swing hundreds of times until the motions stopped feeling foreign to me. I carefully picked the moves that felt natural and discarded the ones that didn't fit my style.
I had originally learned how to swing using [Crude Swordsmanship], but after a few days of non-stop, dedicated training—
My movements started connecting much more smoothly than before.
There was now less hesitation between my actions.
Muscle memory was slowly starting to replace the borrowed instinct I got from the skill.
The techniques I had learned were finally adapting to my own unique physique.
And before I even knew it... [Crude Swordsmanship] evolved into [Integrated Swordsmanship]!
But at the same time, just like that— a full week had passed by.
It was time for me to leave the village as well.