Chapter 23 : Family

In the game called “Blood Carnival,” nicknames are not duplicated. Since there is only one server, the nickname “Cheonhwi” is definitely someone I know. I stroked my chin and looked at the man lying on the floor.

“Do you know him?”

Aurel cautiously asked when I showed no reaction.

I didn’t answer.

I knew who it was. But that was only a connection within the game.

It wouldn’t be accurate to say we were close friends.

“Uh, Charlotte…”

“Yes?”

I turned around at the voice calling me. There stood a big hairy guy. A male werewolf, Bongcheondong Hamfist.

“Thank you for your help!”

Hamfist bowed his head to express his gratitude. Looking around, I saw that other werewolves were also bowing to me.

Surely, my help was a great strength to them. I crossed my arms and nodded.

“Hmm…”

Suddenly, I noticed two humans lying behind Hamfist. Their arms and legs were torn off; all their limbs were missing.

If their chests weren’t rising and falling with breaths, I wouldn’t have recognized them as humans.

“Those are…?”

“Ah. They are captured humans.”

I nodded at Hamfist’s words. It was unfortunate for the humans, but for the werewolves, it was a justified retaliation.

How many werewolves had died in this fight? I looked at the corpse covered with a white cloth.

“Should we give this one too?”

“No? That’s…”

I pointed at Cheonhwi, whom Hwanggu had brought. Even though it was a small acquaintance, we knew each other.

The thought of interrogating or killing someone I knew made me uncomfortable.

If I could, I would rather leave it to Hamfist. But Hamfist politely declined. It was a part of the werewolves’ culture that had formed in a short time.

“Charlotte! Can I eat the arm?”

Hwanggu wanted to tear off Cheonhwi’s arm and eat it. I wondered what it would feel like to have an arm torn off while still alive. I shook my head.

“Wait.”

“Yes!”

Tearing off arms or legs could wait.

First, we needed to show that the body was intact and interrogate to get more information.

It was a group attack by 20 people. Surely, they weren’t the end of it.

Leaving the werewolves who were cleaning up the camp behind, we dragged Cheonhwi to a secluded corner of the camp.

“Wake him up.”

“Yes!”

Aurel nodded at my command. She stretched out her dainty leg and kicked Cheonhwi’s face.

Thud!

“Wake up!”

Thud!

Although Aurel is a level 12 vampire, her physical abilities far surpass those of an ordinary human.

Even with such cute kicks, she could easily crush a person’s head.

However, the opponent is also a level 19 human user. He would be as tough as a solid rock.

Aurel diligently kicked the opponent’s head with her black-shoed foot. After several dull thuds, Cheonhwi finally opened his eyes.

“Ugh, ugh…”

His blurry vision gradually began to focus. I called Aurel and Hwanggu to stand beside me.

“What, what is this…”

Cheonhwi blinked and looked around. He seemed to be trying to move his arms and legs, but his limbs, twisted in bizarre directions, wouldn’t move properly.

“Ugh…!”

Cheonhwi’s face contorted in pain as he finally felt it. He half-raised his upper body and checked his limbs.

“Ah, ah…”

A sigh of despair escaped his lips. He realized how serious his condition was.

I crossed my arms and cleared my throat to get his attention.

“Ahem…”

“You, who are you…!”

Cheonhwi finally looked at us with a horrified expression.

I would have been surprised too if I woke up to see three little girls standing in front of me.

Anyway, I furrowed my brows and put on a scary expression.

“I have something to ask. If you answer honestly, I’ll let you go unharmed.”

It didn’t seem believable, but it was the best I could say.

Cheonhwi, who had been staring blankly with his mouth open, soon realized there was no other option and nodded.

Good, he was cooperative.

“What’s the reason for this attack?”

“To rescue captured humans.”

“And besides that?”

“To exterminate the disgusting monsters.”

I activated my evil eye to check his emotional state. He didn’t seem too disturbed, so it didn’t seem like a lie.

“Are there any other comrades?”

Cheonhwi didn’t answer. Instead, he clamped his mouth shut and glared at me.

“How rude!”

Aurel, who was standing beside me, shouted. I raised my hand to calm her.

“Shh…”

“But, Lady Charlotte…!”

At that moment, Cheonhwi flinched at the mention of the name “Charlotte.” He looked up at me with a questioning gaze.

“Charlotte…? Could it be, that Charlotte…?”

“Hmm, do you know our Lady Charlotte?”

Aurel smirked proudly as Cheonhwi acted like he knew me. His reaction to the name Charlotte meant that the person in front of me was definitely the Cheonhwi I knew.

“Charlotte…! It’s me, Cheonhwi! You remember me, right? We added each other as friends during the monthly match!”

Cheonhwi seemed to remember the day we added each other as friends.

Of course, I remembered that day too. As Cheonhwi shouted loudly and reacted this way, Hwanggu and Aurel began to watch my expression.

I understood what the two girls were worried about. They were probably afraid that I would scold them for treating someone I knew this way.

I smiled faintly and patted the heads of the two girls.

“It’s okay.”

With those words, smiles spread across Aurel and Hwanggu’s faces.

“Cheonhwi.”

“Ah, uh…”

“If you answer my questions honestly, I’ll let you live.”

“Really? I’ll tell you everything!”

I was worried he might be stubborn, but Cheonhwi began to pour out information without me even asking.

He revealed that the group he belonged to operated under the name “Human Liberation,” and that not only human users but also a few vampires and werewolves were providing them with information.

“Is that true?”

Cheonhwi nodded vigorously.

“Are there any here?”

“There are…!”

“Tell me their nicknames, or rather, their names.”

“Kim Sotteok.”

That was the werewolf’s name that Cheonhwi revealed. I signaled to Aurel. Aurel, being quick-witted, would understand my intent and find the werewolf named Kim Sotteok.

“I’ll be back!”

Aurel answered energetically and ran off. How much time passed? Just as Cheonhwi was about to speak, Aurel came running back.

“Did you find him?”

“I did!”

“Did?”

“Yes! Kim Sotteok is missing!”

I patted Aurel’s head and looked at Cheonhwi. He said he was missing, so we couldn’t verify the truth of his words. Cheonhwi, darting his eyes around, hastily opened his mouth.

“He, he ran away!”

I nodded. That could be the case. For now, I’ll let this slide. Just as I was about to ask the next question, Aurel tugged at my clothes.

“What?”

“Are you planning to let this person live?”

Aurel looked up at me, genuinely curious.

I hesitated, slightly troubled, unsure of how to respond.

Although we knew each other, it was just a thin connection from the online world.

It wasn’t enough reason for me to spare him. Yet, the thought of killing him felt strange. I couldn’t bring myself to do it.

Seeing my hesitation, Aurel smiled brightly and spoke.

“Then let’s make him a servant.”

“A servant…?”

“Yes!”

I tilted my head at Aurel’s suggestion.

The [Servant Transformation] skill.

It’s a skill used by vampires who reached level 15, often utilized in PVP.

Typically, it was used to turn common street animals like cats or dogs into servants to gain a broader view.

That was the usual way of using the servant transformation skill.

“Using it on a human…?”

“Yes!”

Using the servant transformation skill on a human? While I had tried it in the game before, it couldn’t be activated on another user.

“If we make him a servant, he won’t lie to you, Lady Charlotte!”

“But Aurel, the servant transformation can’t be used on other users.”

“What…!”

Aurel was greatly surprised by my words. As a level 12 novice, it was understandable she didn’t know this. I chuckled lightly and patted Aurel’s head.

“Shall we give it a try anyway?”

What did we have to lose? I reached out towards Cheonhwi with a light heart.

Thud-

“Huh?”

Cheonhwi stared blankly with his mouth open at my sudden action. At that moment, a shadow rose from the ground as if writhing.

“This, this is…!”

“Oh?”

“Wait! Charlotte! This is different! You said you’d let me live!”

Cheonhwi screamed and struggled, but he couldn’t escape the shadow.

The shadow swallowed Cheonhwi’s body as if a beast had opened its mouth wide.

Then, the shadow began to form a large sphere, resembling an egg. As I stared blankly at the black egg, it started to shrink.

Thud-!

Thud-!

Thud-!

“Gasp…!”

Hwanggu looked at the suddenly appearing egg with a surprised expression. How much time had passed? About 10 minutes, as we examined the large egg.

Crack-

The black egg suddenly cracked. The cracks grew larger over time.

Crack!

I watched the scene with Hwanggu and Aurel. At that moment, the cracked egg split open, and a girl emerged from inside.

“Ah…”

As if she had no strength, she collapsed with a small scream. Her long silver hair barely covered her white naked body.

“W-what is this…”

The small girl sat down and began to look at her hands. I activated my evil eye just in case. At that moment, the girl’s information was transmitted to me.

[Cheonhwi] Level: 15

Race: Vampire (Charlotte’s Servant)

Health: 100%

Mana: 100%

Emotional State: Anger, Confusion, Shame, Surprise

Overall, she resembled my character, Charlotte.

Cheonhwi had become a vampire girl.

The servant transformation skill had successfully activated.