Vampire Cultivation System in a Hidden World of Monsters

"Thank you, Margaret. This phenomenon that people are calling "dungeon breaks" is happening all over the globe. It's like a plot out of a Japanese anime. Back to you, Tom," said Daniel.

"Thank you, Daniel. Now with Samantha, we have the weather," said Tom.

"Thank you, Tom. Tomorrow will be—" said, Samantha.

I turned off the TV and Johnny's men collectively said, "Ahhh." Joey said, "Hey, man I was watching that. I wanted to see if I'd need to wear a jacket tomorrow."

"Just bring a jacket in case you get cold," I said. "Now. Any questions?"

"Yeah! Uh, so, my theater group has to go out and perform with that going on all over the world? By ourselves? With no protection?" Alice said.

"If you need protection, wear a condom," I said.

"That doesn't—" Alice said.

"I'm just kidding. How about this? Johnny, his men, Victoria, Midas, and I are going on a road trip to who knows where. What if we tagged along with you and protected you on and off the road? And I could hit various dungeons along the way to quell the monster outbreaks," I said.

"Now, that sounds like a plan," Alice said.

"Who's Midas?" Victoria said, looking around.

"Midas is my dog. Sort of," I said.

"Where is he? Can we see him?" Victoria said.

"Yes, you can see him. Midas! Come here, boy," I said as I manifested Midas in his little suit and tie

"Aww! He doesn't have a head. That's so cute." Victoria said.

"His little bow tie! That's so adorable," Alice said.

"Yes, Midas is my soul beast. He is a magical creature made from the essence of my soul essentially," I said.

"That's so cool!" Alice said. "I wish we had cool sh*t like that. Us actors just have to pretend to have cool sh*t. You actually get to have it." Alice crossed her arms and made a pouty face.

"That's all very nice, but who's gonna pay for my door?" Marco said.

I handed him another $20,000 and he quieted down immediately. "We're going to have to hit a pawn shop before we leave town, because I am running out of spending money. I gave nearly all of it to Marco."

"On second thought, I should probably hit a few portals before we leave here. Just to reduce the monster attacks since we're already here," I said.

—

I opened up the factions tab in the system menu. I figured it was about time I started a new faction and began building ourselves up.

[New Faction Started. You begin and Tier 0. Choose a Name and Faction type]

I chose the "Hired Muscle" faction type. I wasn't sure on a name though. After some thought I came up with the name "The Deadbeats."

["The Deadbeats" faction created]

It listed my faction's relationship with other factions.

[Johnny's Boys: relationship: Family (+4)]

[Theater of Dreams: relationship: Friendly (+2)]

[The Vampire Association: relationship: At War (-3)]

There were other factions listed but under the relationships section it said "N/A" probably because they didn't know we existed as a faction yet.

[Reputation calculating…]

[Reputation Established: Unknown]

That seemed like all I could do for now.

—

As I was preparing to head down into the underground, Alice came up to me. "Why are you so… good?"

"What do you mean?" I said.

"Why are you so kind and understanding? I'm not used to men like you," Alice said.

"I had a hard childhood. I know what it's like to be broken and have flaws. I accept them in myself, so I accept them in others. It's just the way things are," I said.

"You're a good man. I can see why she loves you," Alice said. "I'm a little jealous of your relationship, but it's a good one, and I would never get in the way of that."

"Thanks, Alice," I said. "You're actually pretty great. I'm happy to have met you."

"Me too," Alice said.

—

I gathered everyone into main dining area of Bella Luna Cucina. I needed to talk to all of them at once.

"All right everybody! I'm going to be heading down soon to take care of the monsters for tonight, but I hope I can count on you to help me in the future. I offer free training to anyone who wants to get stronger. And I guarantee I can make you stronger. Maybe not as strong as me but many times stronger than you are now," I said.

"Oh and if you go down into the dungeons with me and complete them, you get cool stuff tailored to you specifically. That might mean guns for Johnny's Boys or acting or performing stuff for Alice's Theater of Dreams! If you're afraid of battle though, there is no pressure whatsoever to go.

"I won't be responsible for forcing anyone into danger. Alright, I'm off! Wish me luck! All that said, Victoria and Chad, you two come with me. We're going to fight some monsters!"

I handed Chad the shiny sword I got from the disciple exam so many weeks ago. Victoria was already armed with… uh, her arms. There were some enemies and monsters wandering through the street that we killed right away.

Although, Chad needed some help with a zombie. An unintelligent one. Not like the ones that robbed the train in the monster underground. There was a huge hole in the street where the monsters had burrowed up from deep underground.

I jumped down and slid on my butt and back down the hole like a really dirty slide. Victoria and Chad followed after me. When we were all at the bottom of the hole, we looked around and saw a group of portals all near each other.

I looked at Chad and decided now was a good time to have a conversation I'd been meaning to have with him for a while.

"Hey, Chad. Buddy. How are you feeling that I completed your revenge for you and you're free of that awful ex girlfriend of yours?" I said.

"Kind of empty. Aimless. The idea of adventure excites me, but I just don't feel as confident about my decisions as I did before. Chelsea sort of took that away from me. I was so sure she was the one. She was not only not the one, she was the worst one," he said.n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

"I get that, buddy, but that's just depression talking. You have a purpose. To save the world! With me and Victoria. You have a special gift! You can come back to life infinitely!

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That makes you strong. You should feel confident that you can do this, because I'm confident that you can do this. Understand?" I said, putting my arm around his shoulder and looking him in the eyes.

"Yeah! You're right! I can do this. Let's kick some monster ass," he said.

"That's the spirit!" I said. I randomly picked the middle portal and walked right through, pulling Victoria and Chad along with me. There was a white light, and then darkness.

It got brighter as my eyes adjusted to the darkness. The three of us were shackled and chained in what appeared to be a ship. I could smell salt water and grime, and hear yelling above deck. I smiled. This was going to be a fun one.