Zane's eyes shot open. He immediately tried to move, but he realized that he was restricted and inside some sort of liquid.
'Where the hell am I? What's happening?' His mind raved with different questions. He couldn't see anything—it was pitch black.
All he could remember was the string of events that took place before he passed out. But the only thing that stuck out was the warning that he heard.
'Did I really get transferred into another world? No, that's not possible. That voice was definitely a prank.
But then where am I?'
He tried to turn but nothing worked, so he raised his hands, trying to feel for anything that could help. His hand managed to hit the top, and it shifted a bit.
Creak.
Hearing the creaking sound gave him hope. He immediately tried to push harder. The sound got louder, and he could feel that it was moving.
He kept going until he saw a ray of light enter through a corner. Hope filled him. He pushed harder, and the gap got bigger.
Soon, the entire top was off. It fell off. Bam. It landed on the ground; the loud sound echoed.
Zane pushed himself up, getting out of the liquid. His long hair swung as he did, the blood that he had been in sprayed all around.
The first thing he did when he sat up was look at what he was inside. A pool of blood sat beneath him inside a marble coffin.
Zane froze. He stared at the blood, eyes wide open, heart already racing.
'Blood? This can't be blood, right?' His mind raced. He was too shocked to even come out of it, so he sat there.
[Congratulations player, you have been selected to participate in the Realm of Bloodlines.]
A blue screen appeared before him, showing a message, but it immediately turned into a blood-red screen.
[Your Bloodline has awakened. You unlocked the hidden Bloodline: Cursed Bloodline of the Vampire Progenitor.]
'Wait, this bloodline—it was the one my game reset to... Does this mean I got transferred to the game?
Wait, that voice—it said all people from age sixteen to thirty. That means nearly half the world was sent to the Cursed Bloodline game.'
As the realization that he was really inside the game hit him, he paused for a few minutes, processing what this meant for him, trying to think about why he was sent here as well.
Then he recalled his bloodline—it wasn't something he had seen before.
'This bloodline... what is it? I've never heard of it at all.'
But one thing was clear here—from the game changing his bloodline, to waking up inside the game in a coffin of blood, and to getting his bloodline.
He was a vampire.
'A vampire, huh?' He stretched out his hands, looking at his skin. His arms were toned, slim and muscular, but very pale. His nails were pitch black.
'I should confirm this first.'
"Stat screen." He tried calling out, it worked in the novels he read after all.
[Stats Screen]
Name: [######]
Race: Vampire
Bloodline: Cursed Bloodline of the Vampire Progenitor
Mana: 10,000
HP: Immortal
Bloodline Level: 1
Exp: 0/100
Strength: 25
Speed: 30
Agility: 30
Defense: 20
Intelligence: 50
Charm: 100
'So I was right. I became a vampire somehow. There should be no vampires in the game. Wait, I remember a wiki saying vampires were meant to be a race in the game.
And also those blood mystery quests that high-level players could take—they always seemed suspiciously related to vampires.
Could it be that vampires were really in the game?'
Clack clack clack.
The sound of footsteps pulled Zane's attention. He immediately turned. He hadn't looked at where he was since he woke up, but it was a large hall with a hole in the roof that allowed moonlight in.
The hall was made of dark carved rocks, smoothed out perfectly. And there was only one door inside here. It was completely open, and someone was walking in.
And there he laid eyes on the most beautiful lady he had ever seen. Her black hair reached down to her waist, swinging side to side as she approached. Her pale skin shined under the moonlight and contrasted with her red lips.
Her eyes were sharp, her face was cold. She wore a maid's gown that stopped just before her knees, and black heels.
'Beautiful.' That was the only thing Zane could think at that moment.
The lady looked up, and when her eyes landed on Zane sitting, they widened. Her shock was evident—it was written all over her face.
"Master!" she called out and started running toward him, only for the back of her heel to get stuck in a crack, and she went falling like a tree.
Bam.
"Huh? Where did all the elegance go?" Zane muttered when he saw her fall.
She got up from the ground, and there was a bruise on her head, but it started healing immediately after. She rubbed her hand on the spot for a bit before running toward him again, almost tripping a second time.
'How the hell is she this clumsy? Shouldn't vampires be more agile or something?' Zane wondered.
She finally got to him and bowed her head.
"Master, it's so great to see you awaken. I'm sorry that I wasn't here the moment you woke up, and for that, I offer my life as sacrifice in repentance," she said, suddenly pulling out a knife from God knows where and trying to stab herself in the heart.
"No, no, no! Stop! What the hell are you doing?" Zane leapt out of the coffin and grabbed the knife—then he realized that he was naked.
"Ahhhhhhh!" he yelled and leapt back into the coffin.
"Arghh, this is too much stress for someone who just got here," he said.
"Thank you, Master, for sparing my pathetic life," she said.
"Uhm, yeah, can I get some clothes and something to wipe my body before we start talking?" he asked.
"Right away, Master," she said and ran out of the hall, almost tripping on her way out again.
"What the hell did I just get into?" Zane muttered, already exhausted.