Chapter 5 : Gear Items I

The interior of the station was just as dire as the exterior.

Collapsed stairs, shattered walls, blackened mold covering every surface, dented vending machines, and the remnants of a turnstile. Signs of a fierce battle that took place in the past were evident everywhere.

“Ugh…”

I groaned as I continued to walk.

Debris from the collapsed ceiling covered the twisted subway car, blocking the narrow tunnel.

After a moment’s hesitation, I approached the warped, dented subway car.

I peered through the broken window to assess the interior.

The space inside was extremely cramped due to the twisted, dented state of the car.

A typical adult male would find it difficult to pass through.

But for some reason, I felt I could make it through.

“Grr…!”

I reached out and pulled the warped subway door.

Though I wasn’t a character invested in strength stats, the vampire physique possessed much greater physical capabilities than a normal human.

Riiiip!!!!

With a chilling sound, the subway door was torn off.

It was like ripping a piece of paper.

I carefully squeezed my body through the narrow opening.

Tap….

Walking normally was impossible in the twisted and dented interior.

It felt like gravity was pulling sideways.

I stepped over decayed seats and walls, moving to the next car.

The door separating the cars was also dented.

Just like before, I applied force and easily tore it off.

Screeeeech!!!!!

Ripping through the solid metal plate, I continued to move forward, tossing it behind me.

I kept going until I reached the end of the debris-covered narrow passage.

While navigating through the twisted subway, I discovered a small glass bottle and bandage on the floor.

A stark white bandage, which looked out of place amidst the moldy surroundings.

And a luxurious-looking glass bottle filled with bright red liquid.

Both were consumable items commonly seen in Blood Carnival.

These were things that should never exist in reality, yet they were here.

I knew this phenomenon was normal due to absorbing Ravina’s memories.

Let’s not dwell on trivial things.

Now, I needed to hurry and achieve my initial goal.

I shook my head and moved forward.

Screeeeech!!!!!!! Thud!!!!!

It was the final exit.

Reaching the last car and tearing off the door, I was greeted by a somewhat intact tunnel.

“Are you planning to follow the tracks?”

“W-what!”

A sudden voice startled me.

I jumped in fright.

Turning my head, I saw Aurel standing a bit away from me.

I blinked and looked back.

The tunnel was blocked by debris from the collapsed ceiling, leaving the subway car as the only accessible path.

I moved closer, glaring at Aurel.

“How did you get here?”

“What? I… I transformed. I turned into mist and passed through.”

“Transformation…”

Aurel answered as if it was the most natural thing in the world.

Transformation skill.

It’s a skill all vampires can learn, but most players avoid it because it wastes skill points.

I, Charlotte, hadn’t invested in the transformation skill either.

Of course, if I had known the world would change like this, I would have.

In reality, the transformation skill would be extremely useful.

“Charlotte, you didn’t take the transformation skill?”

“It’s a waste of skill points…”

“A waste?”

Aurel blinked her shiny eyes, tilting her head.

He truly didn’t understand why the transformation skill was considered a waste.

I wanted to explain, but I closed my mouth.

Simultaneously, I averted my gaze from Aurel.

He seemed to be trying to tempt me with her cute demeanor, but it wouldn’t work on me.

I bit my lip and continued walking forward.

After walking for a while, I glanced back.

Aurel, who seemed like he would cling to me, was nowhere to be seen.

I squinted my eyes and looked around, but Aurel was nowhere in sight.

Was he really not following?

I did tell him not to follow.

But now that he was gone, I felt a bit disappointed.

The journey along the tracks was incredibly dull.

There were no hybrids or other survivors.

Only the occasional large rats scurrying around.

How long had I been walking?

I had passed over 20 stations.

Suddenly,

a faint smell wafted to my nose.

A mix of the animal’s musk and the sweet scent of blood.

I now knew what this musk meant.

Werewolf scent.

And a werewolf that had just finished a hunt.

In Blood Carnival, werewolves and vampires are adversaries.

In the general field, it was natural to draw weapons when encountering each other.

But things were different here.

According to Ravina’s memories, werewolves and vampires had signed a peace treaty.

Unless one side acted aggressively first, they wouldn’t fight like they did in the game.

Squelch! Crunch!

The sound of tearing meat and breaking bones was clearly audible.

I had no intention of disturbing the werewolf’s mealtime, so I moved cautiously.

However, something felt off.

As the sounds got closer, the smell of human blood didn’t intensify. Instead, the scent of werewolf blood grew stronger.

And soon, I understood what that meant.

Squelch-!

The first thing I saw was a fallen werewolf on the ground.

From the fur and sharp claws on his limbs, it was clear he was using partial transformation until his death.

Next, I saw a man swinging a sword at the fallen werewolf’s corpse.

He wore a black rider suit, topped with a black coat.

Inside his coat were various weapons like knives and guns, and his waist was lined with ammo belts.

A human.

Not an ordinary human, but one who fought werewolves and vampires in Blood Carnival.

Ravina’s absorbed memories flashed in my mind.

Unlike the vampires and werewolves who had signed a peace treaty, the human players of Blood Carnival hadn’t.

Squelch!

In that instant…

I locked eyes with the man swinging the sword.

A blue flame burned in his black eyes.

His gaze was filled with intense hostility.

Recognizing him meant he recognized me too.

He stopped swinging his sword and reached inside his coat with his left hand.

A smooth, unhesitating movement.

I didn’t know what that action meant.

Bang!!!

A sudden loud noise.

As his hand emerged from inside his coat, a flash of light and a loud sound erupted.

My thoughts slowed.

Gun, and firing. Hostility towards me.

Three words naturally led to one conclusion.

The person in front of me was my enemy.

Thud!!!

The bullet flying towards me was blocked by a shadow rising from the ground.

Just as he showed hostility towards me, I felt hostility towards him.

And my shadow moved in response to my emotions.

The thought of trying to talk disappeared naturally.

With a chilling sound, the shadow began to change shape.

What emerged was the form of a giant beast.

Unlike before, its entire massive body was revealed.

Bang!!! Bang!!! Bang!!!

The man didn’t stop attacking.

The gunfire continued.

The dark interior of the station lit up with each shot.

Thud, thud, thud-!

The bullets flying towards me were all blocked by the shadow.

As the blocked bullets fell to the ground,

the man put away his gun and drew a new one.

I frowned and commanded the shadow.

“Kill.”

The lightly spoken word was an order to bring death to the enemy.

There was no hesitation, no reluctance.

Boom!!!!

The heavy footsteps of the black beast started running.

At that moment, a new gunshot rang out from the man’s hand.

Bang!!!

Just one shot.

The same sound as before.

But the situation created by that one bullet was different from before.

Thud!!!!

A different, heavier explosion sound.

The fast bullet pierced through the head of the shadow.

But that one shot couldn’t completely stop the black beast.

The shadow, which had lost its form and staggered, quickly restored itself and jumped to the man.

Crunch!!!

Its gaping mouth bit into where the man had been standing.

I frowned at the sight.

The man wasn’t dead.

He quickly rolled to the side to dodge the attack, then drew a sword and started running along the wall.

A strange, unnatural movement for a human.

He was definitely a player from Blood Carnival.

Facing the man charging towards me, I kept my hand in my coat pocket.

As he got closer, he swung his sword wide.

A blue flash spread widely, covering my view.

Crunch!!!

A chilling sound was heard.

I blinked and watched the man frozen in midair.

His attack had stopped halfway.

His body trembled, and red blood burst from within.

His blue-flamed eyes still shone vividly, indicating he was alive.

He couldn’t move.

His entire body was impaled by shadows stretching out from all directions.

I pulled my hand from my pocket and touched the sword stopped before my eyes.

“Where did you get this…?”

I examined the man’s weaponry with a frown.

Many firearms that seemed hard to obtain in the game shop.

Most importantly, the sword in his hand wasn’t ordinary.

It was undoubtedly a shop item, [Matte Katana].

The design matched exactly with the one in the game, and despite being used to hack at the werewolf’s tough body, the blade was still intact.

In Blood Carnival, it was a cheap weapon easily bought from shops, but not here.

Equipment items exist here?

Ravina’s memories had no clues about equipment items.

But the man didn’t answer my question.

He just glared at me with a twisted smile.

The light in his eyes gradually faded.

He was dead.

I took the Matte Katana and tossed the remaining corpse to the shadows.