NOVEL NEXT WORLD In the pitch-black darkness where nothing was visible, I stood alone like a tall oak tree.
Had it always been this terrifying to have my sight completely cut off? Since gaining the night vision of a vampire, I had completely forgotten about this primal fear gnawing at my nerves.
Taking a deep breath, I shook off the hesitation.
Although I couldn’t see, I knew for certain that the enemy was nearby. The moment I showed any weaknesses, they would definitely go for my neck.
Then I heard a rustling sound behind me.
“Not yet.”
I resisted the urge to turn around.
Instead, I stayed alert, not letting any small changes slip by, waiting with determination.
I sensed a presence again.
This time it was on the side, a faint trace, but definitely closer than before.
“Still not it.”
Everything I could see, hear, and feel urged me to flee. But I ignored my senses’ warnings and held my ground.
The next moment, as I sensed a killing intent right behind me, I instinctively lunged forward.
“Ugh—”
A strong impact drove into my abdomen from the front.
A scream I couldn’t hold back escaped me.
It hurt. It hurt terribly.
But I couldn’t just take it and lie down. I swung my arms, trying to catch the foot that had kicked me in the gut.
But before my hand could even reach it, the kick was pulled back in an instant, my outstretched hand cutting through the empty air.
“Ugh—”
Before I could react, another kick dug into my side like mocking laughter.
I felt a horrifying crack as my rib broke. Immediately after, pain shot through me as a fragment pierced my insides.
I didn’t even have time to think about how to roll or protect myself.
Like a soccer ball that had been kicked too hard, I flew and slammed into the ground with my head. Unable to overcome inertia, I rolled for quite a bit. A sound that shouldn’t have been heard emanated from my neck, twisted at an unnatural angle.
If I took another hit, I’d die. The moment I instinctively sensed the precarious limit of my regenerative abilities, the darkness that had obscured my vision began to clear.
“That’s enough. You did alright this time, but the finish was sloppy.”
A calm voice without a hint of breathlessness.
As the darkness lifted, I saw Martini looking down at me. In stark contrast to my bloodied and dirt-stained appearance, her dress was neat and wrinkle-free.
I had known there was a difference in power, but I couldn’t even reach her in these conditions.
Even knowing that the comparison was misguided, I unintentionally clenched my fists in frustration.
“It was good that you didn’t let your senses control you. It seems you’ve grasped what it means to fight according to instinct. Although the last part was a bit clumsy.”
“What… should I have done?”
Every time I spoke, my crushed lung throbbed, and I gritted my teeth through the pain.
Martini thought for a moment before responding.
“Finding your position was good, but you shouldn’t have jumped in blindly. You should have anticipated my movements and then acted accordingly.”
“How would I know if I can’t see?”
I grumbled, still lying on the floor catching my breath.
It’s about predicting rather than knowing in advance.
Having my vision blocked by dark magic and being unable to trust sounds or smells.
All the information my senses gave me was false. In the midst of that, to ask me to predict my opponent’s movements solely through instinct and intuition? Was that even possible?
Honestly, just figuring out her position was lucky enough. I wasn’t confident I’d find Martini’s position again under the same conditions.
“You can do it. It’s because you’re uncertain about your instincts. When you lack confidence, you start doubting your judgment, and you dismiss any information you could have gathered as mere feelings. Remember, the instincts of a vampire are more refined than you think. Just as birds seem to know how to fly without learning, a vampire, born a natural hunter, never misses its prey.”
Her demands seemed entirely unreasonable to me, but Martini was resolute.
Trusting in instincts is the best course. It wasn’t an entirely incomprehensible statement, to be fair.
After all, the reason I managed to kill bandits or hold my own against the empire’s soldiers despite having no experience was probably somewhat related to this.
“Just as I’ve naturally learned how to drink blood, I guess.”
Still, I couldn’t shake the thought that this training was utterly reckless.
Given that she was asking me to read where the attack would come from while obscuring my vision with dark magic and interfering with my hearing and sense of smell, if it were that easy, I wouldn’t have gotten skewered by the imperial soldiers in the first place.
“Let’s call it a day for now. I’ll bring some blood, so drink and rest for a bit.”
“I’m still good for more.”
“Knowing your limits is important. Your regenerative ability has its limits, remember?”
“…….”
I tried to dig in my heels with a stubborn determination, but with one sharp remark, I could only fall silent.
It had been a week since my wounds from the imperial soldiers had fully healed.
Yet here I was, getting thoroughly beaten down by the strongest vampire, and the origins of this incident traced back a week ago.
“In the coming days, I’ll teach you how vampires fight. Also, some magic on the side.”
On the third day since our first meeting, Martini proposed out of the blue while I was picking food at the ranch.
Was she plotting to kill me under the guise of training, or was it genuine goodwill?
Of course, doubts immediately crept into my mind, but whether it was the former or the latter, I couldn’t think of a reason not to accept.
But even if I didn’t know the reason, if it were the latter, it would benefit me, so there was no reason to refuse, and even if it were the former, I didn’t really have the position to refuse, so I nodded. To be honest, I wouldn’t deny that the mention of magic intrigued me.
Thus began what was called training but felt more like violence, starting with an even split of hand-to-hand combat and magic lessons.
However, whether it was because I was still weak or simply lacked talent in magic, it quickly became clear that my ability to acquire dark magic was a total bust, leading to a revision of the curriculum.
Specifically, we decided to take it slow with the basics of magic and drastically increase the proportion of hand-to-hand combat.
Martini said it was impossible for the progenitor of vampires, which was practically an incarnation of the dark spirit, to lack aptitude for dark magic, so it seemed I simply had delayed magical potential due to my nature.
Her subordinates also split between those who were skilled in magic and those better at physical combat, and it seemed I was geared more towards the latter.
In any case, it didn’t mean that just because one was fast at learning magic, it meant they had a high ceiling, or that being slow equated to a low ceiling.
With a sigh of regret, training resumed.
From this point on, the training was distinctly different from before. One thing was clear: the philosophy that if you don’t have teeth, you must solve problems with your gums was heavily reflected in the combat course curriculum.
Why? Because since that day, I was beaten senseless every single day with ridiculous methods that made being beaten on a rainy day seem trivial.
If a pork cutlet had been beaten as much as I had, I swear its meat would have melted the moment it touched the mouth.
Anyway, while my magic was lacking, it meant I had to compensate with my body if I wanted to survive. So, initially, what had just been a light check of my status and posture correction escalated sharply.
It had only been a few days, but it felt like I had skipped several levels all at once.
Before I knew it, I was receiving instructions that involved using illusion spells to fight against things that were all “fake to see and hear but fight with instinct.” What even was this madness?
Additionally, I wasn’t just being metaphorically hit until I was close to death.
After being beaten day after day and still being alive, I half believed that Martini wasn’t planning to kill me anytime soon, but I wasn’t sure I wanted to consider that good news either.
“Don’t rush. You’re doing well enough.”
“… If you really think that, why not teach the basics a bit more kindly?”
“Anything more than that is martial arts. And vampires don’t need martial arts. Martial arts are combat methods forcibly created by the weak, unsuitable for battle. A predator born with sharp fangs doesn’t need to grind stones into weapons, right?”
Trust your instincts; it was something Martini emphasized repeatedly throughout the training.
Sure, I understood roughly what she meant. But when it came time to do it, there was really no analogy for how incomprehensible that was from the learner’s perspective.
I wasn’t a single-celled organism.
This wasn’t some witty self-defense claiming I wasn’t stupid; even though I may no longer be human, I was a thinking creature with intellect.
If I had no capacity for thought, I wouldn’t have had to struggle over what to worry about. In battle, all my feelings would stem purely from instinct.
But reality was different. Even if I suddenly had an intuition during a fight, I couldn’t immediately distinguish whether it was a signal from my instincts or a product of momentary judgment and subjectivity.
The instincts of a vampire didn’t announce, “I’m coming in now!!” as an advertisement.
It was a very vague and uncertain sensation, so no matter how much confidence I tried to hold in it, I found myself hesitating, unsure if this was the right way.
“…If I could use magic properly.”
At least if it were magic, there would have been visible achievements.
Investing time in something with no clear process or outcome was quite frustrating. No matter how hard I gritted my teeth and struggled, I still couldn’t reach even the tips of Martini’s feet.
I couldn’t help but feel anxious about whether I was doing the right thing or if this was the correct path to becoming stronger.
Even if it seemed that Martini had no immediate plans to kill me, that didn’t mean she sincerely wanted to teach me.
But no matter how I thought about it, I couldn’t understand. I voiced the doubts I had been contemplating for the past week once again.
“Why are you going this far for me?”
“You’ll find out soon enough. Yes, very soon.”
It was a question I had asked several times. The same answer repeated over and over.
When is soon? More importantly, how long will I stay in the duchy?
Unless the vampires of the Sahelrn Duchy guaranteed that they were on my side, the fact that I would eventually leave this place was certain.
No, it wasn’t just this place. Until I possessed the power to protect myself, I must not forget that there would be nowhere in this world for me to belong.
Regardless of what Martini was thinking or what plans she had, it didn’t matter.
Though it might be difficult at the moment, if an opportunity arises, I’ll escape. Until then, I would use what I could and obtain whatever I could.
Experiencing a fight with the strongest vampire wasn’t something you could come by easily. Today as well, I suppressed my fear of the uncertain future under that pretense.
As Martini walked away, leaving me behind with her words to rest for the day, I watched her retreating figure.
I still had no idea what she was thinking.