- After School
Taufik rushed home the moment the final bell rang. As soon as he stepped inside, he kicked off his shoes and tossed his school bag carelessly onto the floor.
The house felt quiet, too quiet, but that was normal. His mother was still at her boutique and wouldn't return until around eight or nine at night.
He headed straight for his room, closed the door, and sat on his bed without even bothering to change out of his school uniform.
"System, I want to claim my reward"
[Yes]
The System's monotone voice echoed inside his mind.
A glowing screen materialized in front of him, its soft blue radiance casting gentle highlights across his face. On the screen was a simple prompt:
[Claim Reward?]
[Yes] / [No]
Taufik instinctively reached out, his finger hovering over the [Yes] button, but he hesitated.
He swallowed.
"System… is this safe? I mean, will there be any side effects or... something?"
[There will be no side effects, Master]
The answer eased his mind, but only slightly.
[However, during the merging process, the Master will experience a small amount of pain as your race transforms from human to vampire. Not just any vampire, but a Progenitor Vampire]
Taufik blinked.
"…Oh, so just a little pain?"
He let out a breath he didn't realize he was holding and cracked a nervous grin.
"That's acceptable. Considering the power I'm about to gain, it's definitely worth it!"
With that declaration, Taufik lay down on his bed. He took one last look at the glowing screen floating above him, inhaled deeply, and pressed [Yes].
He closed his eyes.
At first, nothing happened.
No burning sensation.
No tingling.
Not even the slightest discomfort.
Just… silence.
Taufik opened one eye, staring up at the ceiling. The corner of his mouth twitched into an embarrassed smile.
"…Seriously? I psyched myself up for that?"
And then-
Pain.
Not a sting.
Not an ache.
Not even the "little bit of pain" the System promised.
But a catastrophic, bone-shattering, soul-crushing eruption of agony that slammed into him so violently it forced every muscle in his body to convulse.
"ARRRGHHH!!"
The scream that tore from his throat didn't sound human. It resembled a dying cow being butchered with a blunt machete.
Panic surged through him.
Instinctively, he grabbed the nearest object, his blanket, shoved a fistful into his mouth, and bit down hard to muffle the noise.
If any neighbor heard him scream like that, they'd call his mother... And that scenario was worse than dying.
His body writhed uncontrollably as the pain intensified.
It felt like his skeleton was being shattered and reconstructed over and over again.
Like his blood was emptied, replenished, then emptied again in an endless cycle.
His organs twisted, reshaped, and reformed with each agonizing pulse.
'This is what you call a LITTLE PAIN, System?!' Taufik shrieked internally, but of course, the System remained utterly silent.
Seconds crawled by at a snail's pace, each one stretching into an eternity of suffering. His vision darkened at the edges, his breath came in ragged gasps, and eventually his mind, unable to endure any more, did the only thing it could to protect itself.
He blacked out.
"FUUUUCK-"
His final scream was cut short as consciousness was ripped from him like a computer shutting down from overheating.
--------
- Three Hours Later.
"…Ughh…"
Taufik groaned weakly as his eyes blinked open. His body ached faintly as if he'd been hit by a truck, but at the same time… he felt strangely refreshed.
Almost renewed.
He pushed himself into a sitting position, running a shaky hand through his hair. The first thing he noticed was his skin.
It wasn't corpse-pale like vampires in movies, but it was definitely lighter, smoother… almost unnaturally flawless.
Other than that, there were no drastic changes, no horns, no wings, no glowing symbols. Nothing monstrous.
But as he continued inspecting himself, he realized the transformation wasn't superficial.
His height had increased, from 5'8" to 5'11".
His muscles were more defined, sculpted like someone who exercised daily, but without looking bulky.
His posture felt lighter, natural, balanced.
More noticeably…
He felt power.
A soft thrum beneath his skin.
A warm, pulsing energy flows through him like a glowing river.
'…Is this magic? But… how do I even use it?'
Taufik frowned. The energy swirling inside him felt tangible, alive, yet completely unresponsive. It was like having a brand-new limb but no idea how to move it, or what it was meant for.
The feeling was unsettling.
"… *Sigh* I'll ignore it for now. I'll figure out how to use it later." His frustration eased as he stretched his body again. "But damn… my body feels so refreshed. I feel like a completely new person. It's… actually nice"
He pushed himself off the bed, only to freeze the moment his eyes landed on the clock hanging on the wall.
8:23 p.m.
"…Oh shit"
Panic jolted through him. His mother could walk through the front door any minute now.
Then he glanced at the bed.
It was drenched in sweat. Completely soaked, as if someone had dumped a bucket of water onto it.
"…Mom will definitely misunderstand if she sees this mess…"
The image flashed in his mind: His mother opening the door, seeing the drenched bed, staring at him silently, drawing her own conclusions.
"Nope. Not happening"
He stripped the bed cover in record speed and sprinted to the bathroom, throwing everything into the washing machine before slamming the lid shut.
While waiting, he decided to shower as well.
A few minutes later, he stepped out wrapped in a towel around his waist, another draped over his shoulders as he dried his upper body. When the machine beeped, he transferred the bed cover into the dryer. The remaining laundry? He would let his mom handle the rest, at least that could be explained normally.
Finally, he walked over to the full-length mirror.
And he stopped.
His breath hitched.
The boy staring back at him still looked like Taufik but also… didn't.
His features were sharper. His skin is smoother. His posture is naturally straighter. His entire aura radiated something… inhuman.
But the biggest change... His eyes.
They were no longer blue.
They were now a vivid, mesmerizing, glowing crimson, like two polished rubies lit from within.
"… Wha… wai- Wait! WAIT! WAIT!!SYSTEM!? WHAT HAPPENED TO MY EYES?! WHERE'RE MY BEAUTIFUL BLUE EYES?!"
His voice cracked halfway through the sentence, full panic setting in.
[Master's eyes have changed due to the influence of the Vampire Progenitor Bloodline]
The System answered in a tone so casual it sounded like he was the one asking a stupid question.
"… B-But I thought you said there were no side effects!"
The System did not answer.
"…"
[... There are no side effects, Master. This is the natural appearance of a Vampire race]
"…"
Taufik stared blankly at the mirror.
Somewhere deep inside him, he felt like the System was gaslighting him... but the explanation was logical, so he couldn't even argue.
He pressed his forehead against the cool mirror surface and let out a long, weary groan.
"…How am I supposed to explain this to Mom…? She loved my blue eyes…" His voice softened, barely above a whisper. "…She'll definitely be shocked. Or sad. Or both"
Taufik closed his eyes, letting the weight of it all settle on his shoulders.
Things had gotten complicated.
Very, very quickly.
Like his mother, Taufik had inherited the same striking blue eyes. She always said looking into his eyes made her feel less alone, like a part of her lived on in him.
Blue eyes were rare in Asia, especially in Indonesia, where almost everyone had dark brown eyes. Growing up, Taufik secretly loved his unusual eye color too. It made him feel special.
"…System, can I turn them back to blue?" Taufik asked desperately.
[Yes]
"Really? H-How?'
His excitement only lasted a heartbeat before the System continued:
[Master can use magic to create an illusion over your eyes]
"But… I don't know how to use magic yet!"
[Master's magic is based on imagination. With only a thought, Master can immediately use magic]
"…Really?"
[Yes]
"Alright… let's try it"
Taufik closed his eyes again, focusing on the strange new power inside him.
A warmth, soft, tingling began to rise within his body, spreading from his chest to the tips of his fingers. He concentrated, imagining the color blue.
And then-
*Click*
The sound of the front door unlocking shattered his focus.
"…Shit!"
He bolted out of the bathroom, head lowered, towel draped over his hair like a makeshift hood. But his mother was already in the living room. She looked up immediately, her gaze sharp and curious.
"…Huh? It's rare for you to shower this late," Her eyebrow lifted. Then, with the kind of teasing smirk only a mother could weaponize: "What were you doing in your room? Something naughty?"
"No!!"
Taufik shot back, voice cracking slightly as he hurried past her and slammed his bedroom door shut. He turned the lock with trembling hands.
Through the door, he could hear her laughing, light, amused, completely unaware of the chaos going on behind the wood.
After a moment, her voice carried down the hall: "Come out when you're done dressing! We're having fried chicken tonight!"
"Y-Yeah!" He shouted back automatically.
But behind the safety of his closed door, Taufik pressed a hand over his chest, feeling the leftover warmth of that almost-activated magic.
---
Back in his room, after he finished dressing, Taufik returned to his earlier task... turning his eye color back to blue.
"…Huuuft~"
Letting out a long breath, he closed his eyes once again. He repeated the steps he had attempted in the bathroom, focusing on that strange, gentle warmth inside him.
Slowly, the sensation began to rise again, gliding up from his chest, through his neck, and toward his face.
This time, Taufik didn't let anything distract him.
He pictured the color blue, his blue. The soft, cool shade he had seen in the mirror his whole life. The eyes his mother always loved.
He imagined the crimson fading, washing away like paint in the rain, replaced by the familiar color he knew so well.
The warmth shifted, concentrating around his eyes. A faint tingling followed.
And then... He felt it.
A subtle snap, a tiny shift. Like something inside him had clicked into place.
Taufik's eyes flew open, and he rushed to the mirror.
The moment he saw his reflection, his breath hitched, then a wide grin broke across his face.
His blue eyes were back.
"Ahaha~ It worked! It actually worked! Thank you, System!"
He laughed softly, joy and relief mixing in his chest. The System didn't respond, of course, but Taufik didn't care. The silence didn't bother him, he was too busy staring at his own reflection, too happy to question anything.
Without wasting another second, he left his room and headed out to meet his mother, blue eyes shining with renewed confidence.
....
...
..
.