Chapter 16 : Open Fire I

“Eek!”

“Gasp…!”

Aurel and Hwanggu were clearly startled by the recent explosion. They sat on the ground, mouths opened.

I squinted and scanned the surroundings.

The smell of human blood was strong, and a trap had been set at the entrance.

It was obvious who the target was.

They were likely waiting for a vampire or werewolf.

The situation was dire. There was no human scent in the air.

The cold wind carried only the  smell of gunpowder.

I quickly helped Hwanggu and Aurel to their feet.

“Charlotte, this is…”

“Yes, it’s the work of human players.”

I nodded in response to Aurel’s words.

If it wasn’t humans, who else could it be?

Vampires and werewolves didn’t have skills to set bombs.

Even if they did, they wouldn’t use them.

At that moment, the wind direction changed.

As the scent carried by the wind changed, Aurel, Hwanggu, and I sniffed the air, tense.

It wasn’t just one person.

Two, no, at least three or more.

Humans were surrounding us.

When did they arrive?

From the beginning? Or after the explosion?

One thing was certain: this situation was very bad for us.

And as if to confirm my thoughts, a silent flash erupted from afar.

Flash-

Pop-!

A small light burst first, followed by a delayed sound.

It wasn’t a loud gunshot. The sound was muffled by a silencer.

As soon as I registered the light, I moved the shadows.

Swoosh!

The shadows that had been swirling at my feet spread towards Aurel’s front.

A sniper bullet from a human user flew overhead.

Pop-!

A dull sound accompanied the scattering light.

Underneath the scattering light was the faint shape of a bullet.

The sniping had begun.

And it was aimed directly at the weakest among us, Aurel.

From the outside, we all looked like little girls, yet they targeted Aurel first?

It wasn’t certain, but the enemy might have had some way to measure our strengths.

Pop!

Another dull sound from a silenced gunshot was heard, this time from the opposite direction.

This time, I was the target.

The moment I sensed danger, the shadow naturally rose to protect me.

When the wide-spread shadow barrier intercepted the new attack, it happened.

Splash!

The moment the shadow barrier absorbed the light, the shadows burst abruptly.

The light broke through the shadow barrier and grazed my arm.

Sizzle!

A chilling sound followed.

Fearing the worst, I lowered my head to inspect my arm.

The wound from the sniper bullet was bubbling violently.

As if it had been exposed to sunlight.

“Silver bullet…?”

I murmured absentmindedly while holding my arm.

Ordinary bullets couldn’t inflict significant damage on a vampire.

If my skin was bubbling like this, it meant the human enemies were using specialized silver bullets.

Silver bullets [Ammunition crafted by humans to combat monsters.]

Silver bullets are highly effective against vampires and werewolves, and even against hybrids of the two.

The presence of silver bullets implied the existence of a supply store.

I bit my lip and quickly ushered Aurel and Hwanggu between the buildings.

“Ah! The bicycle! Charlotte!”

Now wasn’t the time to worry about a bicycle.

I grabbed Hwanggu, who was trying to dash out, and shook my head.

After a brief struggle, Hwanggu sniffed the air and settled down.

Hidden in the rubble of the building, we were out of the sniper’s line of sight.

I could sense the humans’ scents moving.

Aurel and Hwanggu sniffed as if tracking the scents.

Sizzle-

I looked down at my arm, which was emitting white smoke.

Despite only being grazed, the wound wasn’t healing.

It showed how dangerous silver bullets were to vampires.

In a game, I would have drunk a potion from my hotkeys and ignored it…

Of course, I still had potions.

I reached into the shadows and pulled out a red potion, pouring it over the wound.

My arm healed instantly, becoming smooth and scar-free.

Aurel, who was watching, joyfully touched my arm.

“Thank goodness! There won’t be a scar!”

Ignoring Aurel, I pulled a katana from the shadows.

The black blade, tinged with darkness, absorbed the moonlight.

There were four humans identified by scent.

Two of them were snipers.

We had to move now.

Just because the enemy had numbers didn’t mean we would sit back and take it.

Furthermore, they had initiated the attack despite our lack of hostile intent.

We couldn’t let this slide.

“Aurel.”

“Yes!”

“Find a good hiding place. If it gets dangerous, use your transformation to escape.”

“Understood!”

“Hwanggu.”

“Yes!”

“You…”

I trailed off, looking at Hwanggu.

She was crouched down, her eyes shining in anticipation of my command.

To be honest, I felt uneasy.

What level was Hwanggu?

How strong was she?

Could I trust her with an important task?

Judging by the power of her punch, she was at least level 15.

But still, my unease remained.

“What should I do!”

“Protect Aurel.”

In the end, I decided to keep the two of them together.

Hwanggu nodded confidently at my command.

It felt like entrusting an important item to an unreliable puppy.

“Hmm…”

After checking on the two girls, I darted out from the half-ruined wall.

The shadows swirled around me, aiding my movement.

I glided through the darkness of the ruins.

To keep Aurel and Hwanggu safe, I had to draw all attention to myself.

I leaped onto a building.

It was as if I emerged from a pool of shadows.

The shadows that had been swirling around me fell down in long tendrils.

I sighed.

The moment I revealed myself, I felt hostility from all directions.

I had to face four enemies alone.

Given Aurel and Hwanggu’s limited strength, it was inevitable.

Escape wasn’t an option.

With snipers using silver bullets at our backs, there was no way we could escape with Aurel and Hwanggu.

The moment had come to give it our all.

Pop-!

Another shot rang out.

This time, I didn’t block it with shadows.

The moment I recognized the light and sound.

My body moved on its own.

As I swung the katana in my hand.

The shadow blade fell.

The katana’s blade extended, drawing a black crescent moon towards the streak of light.

Swish-!

A precise shot aimed at my head.

The light split in two, following the crescent moon.

At that moment, my vision split as if the world itself had been cleaved.

My left eye burned.

Not from an attack, but from using a special skill.

[Magic Eye Unleashed]

Whoosh-

Blue particles burst from my left eye like flames.

Carried by the wind, the scent of blood reached me.

Savoring the emotion in it, I smiled.

The display of skill must have been quite impressive.

But I too was surprised.

Because the skill [Magic Eye Unleashed] wasn’t supposed to have such capabilities.

The skill [Magic Eye Unleashed] can only be used by vampires who reach level 20 and clear an epic quest.

This skill merely served as a buff to increase the character’s stats.

It didn’t change the way the world was perceived.

I covered my right eye with my hand and looked around.

I viewed the world solely through my left eye, which had activated the Magic Eye.

The entire world was engulfed in a blue glow.

Perceiving objects posed no problem.

Just.

[Stone]

It’s a stone.

[Ruins]

Remains of a building.

[Weed]

Nameless grass.

Not edible.

The amount of information conveyed through the Magic Eye was overwhelming.

It wasn’t ordinary information; it was like examining an item’s details in a game, with every surrounding detail flooding my mind.

I glanced at the katana in my hand.

[Matte Katana]

Level Requirement: 0

Attack Power +15

Durability 92%

A commonly found katana in stores.

It has a matte finish.

This was no different.

The katana’s details, as though from a game interface, filled my mind.

At that moment, a red line appeared on my body.

The red mark predicted where the attack would come from.

I had read these red marks earlier to move out of the sniper’s way.

Pop-!

Pop-!

Two dull gunshots rang out.

I moved effortlessly, knowing the direction of the snipers.

Sliding over the buildings as if gliding on the shadows beneath me.

Two white flashes brushed past my body.

I turned to look in the direction of the sniper shots.

[Slayer Chunsam]

Level: 15

Race: Human

Health: 100%

Mana: 72%

Emotional State: Fear, Excitement, Anger, Tension

It felt like looking at a character’s information in a game.

Even the status of their equipment was visible.

I almost laughed at how absurd it was.

This time, I turned my head in the other direction.

To check the information of another user who had shot at me.

[82 Seowang Nosik’s Last Strike]

Level: 18

Race: Human

Health: 97%

Mana: 40%

Emotional State: Fear, Excitement, Tension, Panic

Again, an information window appeared.

The nickname was cut off by a 14-character limit.

The Magic Eye recognized and highlighted the target’s outline.

It meant hiding among the buildings was useless.

I spread large wings from my back.

Flutter!

At that moment, a swarm of black bats rose from beneath my feet.

Whoosh!

As the bats scattered into the air,

I propelled myself towards the sniper, 82 Seowang Nosik’s Last Strike.