The last thing I remembered was staying up until 3 AM, furiously typing complaints in the comment section of "The Academy's Fallen Hero".
A web novel that had just betrayed every reader's expectations with its terrible pacing and events. The initial plot and idea were amazing, but the author was clearly an amateur and ruined it.
"This is garbage! The protagonist is an idiot, the plot makes no sense, and don't even get me started on how they massacred the side characters!" I had typed, my fingers flying across the keyboard in anger.
As I typed, I felt pain in my chest. A frown appeared on my face involuntarily, and my teeth clenched uncontrollably.
I was losing my body's strength, and my left side was slowly losing control.
Then... darkness suddenly engulfed me.
When my consciousness returned, I found myself staring at a ceiling decorated with golden chandeliers. The bed beneath me was far too soft, far too luxurious for my studio apartment.
I started to panic. I was pretty sure I had suffered from a heart attack, immediately I bolted upright, taking in the room around me, expensive looking furniture, silk curtains, and oil paintings that didn't seem familiar.
"What the hell—"
[DING!]
A translucent blue screen flashed before my eyes, causing me to stumble backwards in shock.
[Welcome to the Daily Reward System!]
[Host: Adrian Blackwood]
[Current Status: An Extra. You have no benefit except becoming a stepping stone for the Mc.]
[Daily Login Available!]
[Would you like to claim your first daily reward?]
My blood ran cold. "Adrian Blackwood…This name is familiar…too familiar to my liking."
It belonged to a minor character in "The Academy's Fallen Hero," a novel I'd just finished reading. More specifically, it belonged to a disposable extra who died in Chapter 47 during the first major academy crisis.
"No way... this can't be real," I muttered, but the system screen remained stubbornly present.
I stumbled to the mirror across the room, and the reflection confirmed my worst fears. Gone was my average face and unkempt hair. Instead, I saw a handsome young man with a sharp jawline, silver hair and deep blue eyes, exactly as Adrian Blackwood had been described in the novel.
My mind raced. It seemed like I had died and transmigrated into that damn novel as someone who could only be described as an extra to be disposed of quickly.
Luckily, I hadn't transmigrated alone. I was bound to a system which would help me escape my fate of being the protagonist's stepping stone.
"If I'm stuck in this world, I might as well see what this system offers. Claim daily reward."
[First Daily Reward Claimed!]
[Congratulations! You have received the Supreme Vampire Bloodline.]
Eh?
[Initiating your transformation to becoming a vampire!]
Before I could process the absurd notification I had just read, pain erupted across my entire body, making my eyes dilate.
The pain hit me like a sledgehammer crushing very bone in my body. My muscles contracted uncontrollably as something began changing within me. It felt like fire was being pumped through my veins, rewriting my very DNA with each agonising pulse.
"ARGHHH!" I screamed, collapsing onto the luxurious carpet as waves of pain wracked my body.
My vision went white-hot, then blood-red, then darker than the deepest night. I could hear my heartbeat slowing, becoming more powerful. Each beat sent another surge of change through my system. My canine teeth elongated slightly, my nails grew sharper, and my senses exploded with intensity!
The scent of everything in the room became overwhelming. But underneath it all was something else... something that made my throat burn with sudden, inexplicable thirst.
After what felt like hours but was probably only minutes, the transformation finally subsided. I lay there gasping, my entire body trembling from the ordeal.
When I finally managed to drag myself back to the mirror, the change was immediately apparent. My skin had taken on a pale, almost snow-like quality. My features had sharpened slightly. My silver hair now had an almost ethereal quality to it, and my blue eyes had gained flecks of crimson that seemed to swirl in the depths.
I looked like a vampire.
"Supreme Vampire Bloodline...I don't know much about vampires in the chapters I've read, all I know is that they are a very mysterious race, and extremely powerful," I whispered, still in shock. "The protagonist Kyle had a Supreme Phoenix Bloodline in the novel. Supreme bloodlines are supposed to be the pinnacle!"
I knew the bloodline hierarchy from the novel: Common, Uncommon, Rare, Legendary, Mythical, and Supreme. The protagonist's Supreme Phoenix Bloodline was what made him so overpowered, giving him limitless potential and accelerated growth. But having a Supreme bloodline didn't make you instantly invincible.
It was all about your rank and the traits you awakened.
Panic set in as I remembered vampire weaknesses from every movie I'd ever seen. Bloodlies didn't just give you powers, they also had a weakness. The stronger the bloodline the more powerful the weakness is.
In the case of the protagonist, I still remember it very well. It had been an infuriating weakness. Of course, with that damn plot armor the author had given him, the weakness wasn't actually a weakness.
With his phoenix bloodline, the protagonist had been given regeneration traits, and various other traits and his weakness?
It was that death was permanent.
The author was stupid. He had tried to create some sort of phoenixes revive from the ashes scenario but then used that as a weakness.
I still don't get it to this day.
Shaking my head, I worried about my own weakness. Vampires, they had a few weaknesses I can think of.
Sunlight, garlic, running water…
I had to try them out. I needed to understand my body
I looked around the room and spotted an open window. The sunlight filtering through it wasn't in my direction.
With fear of being confined to the shadows in my heart, I moved towards the open window and cautiously extended my finger toward the morning sunlight streaming through. My pale skin touched the golden rays and... nothing happened. No burning, no pain, not even discomfort.
"Thank god," I sighed in relief. "At least I won't be confined to the shadows."
I spent the next few minutes testing other supposed vampire weaknesses. I found a small mirror.
My reflection was still there, just paler. I touched the silver picture frames, but there was no burning.
Whatever kind of vampire I'd become, it wasn't bound by the traditional folklore limitations.
"Status," I said aloud, and the system responded immediately.
The reason I was able to check my status was because everyone in this world could. It wasn't limited only to me.
[Host: Adrian Blackwood]
[Bloodline: Supreme Vampire - 10%]
[Rank: Noble]
[Traits: Blood Control (2nd Order, Lvl.1), Supernatural Physique (1st Order, Lvl.1)]
[Aspect: None]
[Echo: None]
My rank was exactly as I'd expected - Noble, the lowest tier in the academy's power system.
The ranking went Noble, Elite, Transcendent, Commander, Royal, and King. In the novel, Kyle had reached Royal rank by the second year, which was considered impossible by historical standards. That was where I'd stopped reading before my untimely death.
"Damn it," I cursed myself mentally. "If I hadn't been so busy complaining about every chapter, I might have read further and known more about what comes next."
But then I calmed down, realising I still possessed knowledge of the crucial early timeline events that could save my life.
I focused on examining my traits more closely.
[Blood Control]
[Order: 2]
[Level: 1]
[Details: Grants the ability to manipulate blood both within your body and external sources. Can form blood into weapons, enhance physical capabilities by accelerating blood flow, and influence the blood of others within range. Effectiveness scales with the user's rank and the target's resistance. Current range: 3 meters.]
[Supernatural Physique]
[Order: 1]
[Level: 1]
[Details: Your body has been fundamentally enhanced beyond human. Grants significantly increased physical strength, speed, agility, durability, and regenerative capabilities. Your stamina is vastly improved, and your reaction time is superhuman. All bonus attributes continue to grow stronger with rank advancement.]
Both traits were good, especially for someone who was supposed to be a disposable extra character. Blood Control was a second-order trait, which meant it had incredible growth potential. Most students at the academy were lucky to awaken even a first-order trait.
Naturally, I'm still not comparable to the MC who has a third-order skill before he even enters the academy, but then again, I'm not the MC, so it doesn't matter.
As for the second trait. Whilst it was a first-order trait, it was incredibly powerful. It was most definitely at the pinnacle of that order.
The Aspect and Echo didn't bother me at 'None'. I needed to kill a beast to get those, and that wasn't an issue.
The thirst in my throat reminded me that I'd probably need to figure out feeding soon, but that was a problem for later.
A gentle knock at the door interrupted my analysis.
"Young master, may I come in?" Came a soft voice from behind the door.