Exactly 90 gold coins.
This was the income Dylan received after selling all the Parasitic Tree seeds he brought out, and this was the result of a low-priced package due to urgent need for money.
He could still remember the gleam in the eyes of the goatee merchant when he deliberately lowered the price.
If he could have spent more time, it wouldn't be surprising if it were doubled.
But what he lacked right now was time.
This was the largest sum of money he had ever held in his life, and he spent it without hesitation.
After purchasing the Rejuvenation Potion at a premium of 55 gold coins, Dylan rushed off to Finrad—a frontier village where all the residents had been relocated, transformed into a place to treat wounded soldiers.
After being poisoned by blood, Bella was sent to the church in Finrad, along with other victims, being suppressed daily with Holy Light by the Priest to slow the conversion process.
But even so, it was only sustainable for three months at the most, and by the time Dylan got the news, a month had already passed.
Now with the deadline approaching, Dylan dared not delay for a moment.
It was uncertain if it was due to being parasitized, but Dylan found himself needing less and less sleep lately.
It should be considered a good thing, as it gave him more time to hurry along the road.
Thanks to the extra gold coins, he could keep changing horses and travel day and night.
Although he encountered some dangers, he arrived at the border earlier than expected.
Dylan dismounted early on a path; there was still some distance to the village, and he didn't plan to ride in ostentatiously.
The half of his face covered in mycelium looked like it couldn't withstand inspection; he could only sneak in quietly to see his daughter.
With a slap on the horse's rump, he untied the reins and watched the horse trot away into the distance, reflecting on how he never thought he'd become so extravagant one day.
With the sun already set, he could slip in under cover of night.
Clutching the package containing the potion tightly, the closer he got to the village, the more nervous Dylan's heart became.
It's nearly three months—has Bella really held on until now?
Would the Rejuvenation Potion he held still work?
Or could there be something else...
"Bella, you must be alright..."
Suddenly, Dylan wrinkled his brow and sniffed vigorously.
A mixed bloody and burnt smell drifted into the air, unbeknownst to him when it started.
He froze for a moment before dashing to the hilltop—seeing the whole of Finrad village engulfed in flames.
Silhouettes flickered within the dancing firelight, and faint cries and sounds of slaughter, wrapped in the clash of metal, reached him.
What happened? Have the Vampires attacked?
No, it's an ambush. An army that came like this couldn't be held back by such a small outpost.
Where's Bella?
Dylan immediately noticed the direction of the church; thankfully, it wasn't on fire, but it was also in imminent danger.
I have to reach Bella as soon as possible!
The instant Dylan stepped into the village, it felt as if he had entered hell.
Thick smoke and embers rolled in the night sky, blood stuck to his boots, and the thatched roofs on both sides were burning and collapsing.
Three fleeing soldiers burst out from a house, their soot-smeared faces full of terror, and after brushing past Dylan, fled towards the village outskirts.
Yet soon after, terrified wailing sounded from behind.
Turning back, he saw one of them fallen on the ground with his chest ripped open, convulsing with no chance of survival, while the other two soldiers had vanished without a trace.
Beside him, a figure that seemed neither human nor beast was devouring the still-warm flesh like a wild animal.
"Bloodsucker..."
The Bloodsucker seemed engrossed in his feast for the moment and was oblivious to Dylan.
Dylan didn't want to get entangled here either and turned to leave, only to find another one standing before him.
The Bloodsucker, in the form of a young girl, stared fixedly at Dylan with scarlet eyes full of ravenous hunger.
Upon closer inspection, protruding keratin grew from her skin, making her look even less human than Dylan.
This Bloodsucker didn't seem inclined to let him pass easily, so Dylan had no choice but to draw the Longsword from his waist.
This Fine Steel weapon was of much better quality than the one he lost in the Underground City, but whether it could deal with the Bloodsucker in front of him, he wasn't sure.
The Bloodsucker bent her knees slightly and suddenly rushed toward Dylan.
So fast!
[Parry Level 4]
Dylan barely managed to position the sword in front of his chest before the attack arrived. Sparks flew as claws clashed with the sword's edge, and the immense force sent him and his weapon flying several meters backward.
Dylan hit the wall heavily, a mouthful of blood mixed with mycelium spewing forth as his insides churned.
Formidable—with just one strike, he realized clearly the opponent's Attributes far exceeded his peak condition.
The Bloodsucker's strength was directly proportional to the strength of the converted individual.
In his heart, Dylan cursed. How could the frontier be so negligent, allowing so many powerful individuals to be poisoned by blood?
The Bloodsucker had no intention of giving Dylan a breather and lunged for his neck a second time.
In the face of the crisis, Dylan drew a Scroll from his body and used it on the Bloodsucker.
[Blinding Technique]
"Gaaaah!"
Knowing he was heading into danger at the border, Dylan couldn't have come unprepared.
A 5-gold-coin Scroll temporarily blinded her.
Despite this, Dylan didn't expect the Bloodsucker to stop; instead, she became even more frenzied, stabbing at him based on instinct alone.
"Ah!"
The claws initially aimed at Dylan's neck pierced through his left arm, pinning Dylan to the wall behind with overwhelming force.
At that moment, the Bloodsucker revealed a bloodthirsty smile.
One of her other claws blindly groped towards Dylan's body.
The claws traced marks on the wall but failed to touch the body's whereabouts!?
"Die!"
A roar came from behind the Bloodsucker; Dylan had made his move with all his might.
[Fury Level 3]
[Vortex Slash Level 5]
The Fine Steel Longsword slashed against the Bloodsucker's keratinized neck, slicing two-thirds of the way through before the Bloodsucker narrowly blocked it with her claws.
The Bloodsucker couldn't understand how he ended up behind her when she had clearly pinned him to the wall before.
She wanted to push the Longsword away, but after having most of her neck cut open, she couldn't stop the blood from gushing out, and her body's strength was rapidly depleting...
"Die with me!"
After a brief stalemate, with Dylan's roar, the Bloodsucker's head and hands were severed completely.
"Haa... haa..."
Blood-streaked and gasping heavily, Dylan gave the headless corpse on the ground a venting kick.
He moved forward to pick up his self-torn arm.
Using a bandage, he crudely bound the severed limb back, feeling the slow mending wriggle of mycelium at the wound site.
Dylan felt increasingly used to this mutated body of his.
It's just difficult to tell how much of his flesh has melded with mycelium, as fewer parts of him remained entirely human.
The other Bloodsucker showed no concern for its companion's death, continuing to feast on the half-eaten soldier.
Dylan was sincerely grateful for that soldier's sacrifice; he couldn't face another Bloodsucker right now.
After gulping down a whole bottle of Magic Potion, which helped the mycelium within repair his internal injuries, Dylan trudged heavily toward the church.
He didn't know if it was an illusion, but the surrounding noises seemed to be gradually fading.
Was the battle nearing its end?
He hoped it wasn't the Bloodsuckers who won and hoped he wouldn't see his daughter turned into a Bloodsucker.
If Bella really had converted...
Dylan tightened his grip on the Longsword in his hand.
Then let him personally release his daughter...