It was the ultimate drink.
Like an oasis in the desert, it overwhelmed me with a thrilling tingle and an overwhelming sense of happiness.
“I thought cola was the best.”
Not even cola or coffee could compare to this.
The grip on my shoulder tightened, and I pressed down hard on something that was struggling against me.
Drenched in ecstasy, my pupils dilated.
“Ahh!”
It was the moment I leaned my head back and opened my eyes wide in sheer satisfaction.
“Ah.”
I came to my senses.
My body, which had been so starved of blood, was finally supplied with the utmost nourishment, restoring my sanity.
Erzebet, suddenly aware of her surroundings, turned her head and realized she was perched on top of a pale man, having forcibly sunk her teeth into his shoulder.
Instinctively, Erzebet knew who he was.
“Head of the Gallery?”
It was the manager of the Gallery, Head of the Gallery.
I got sucked dry.
No joke, I really got sucked dry.
[Title: Almost Became a Mummy, Upvote Please lol]
Author: Head of the Gallery
First, let me…
“If I post this, will I get some upvotes?”
The thought briefly flitted through my mind.
Of course, there’s no possibility of that.
They’d just tell me to eat and give me downvotes.
If I was still thinking such strange thoughts, it seemed I was still alive.
“Fortunately, I didn’t turn into a vampire.”
It seemed that getting drained here didn’t necessarily mean becoming a vampire.
As I trembled, looking completely drained and out of energy, a clear voice reached my ears.
“…Sorry.”
Turning my gaze, I saw a languid vampire sitting in an oversized throne that didn’t quite suit her.
She looked very hunched over, almost as if she were burdened by guilt.
“It seems I lost my sanity after not drinking blood for too long.”
She explained in a voice that felt like a meek excuse.
In short, all my previous disappearances and loss of sanity were due to nutritional deficiency.
“Why, though?”
Naturally, curiosity arose.
Why couldn’t a vampire lord even drink the stuff?
“Blood just doesn’t taste good…”
But surprisingly, it was a normal reason.
“It’s fishy and bitter… sticky too… and it’s not hygienic. Do you even know what’s in blood?”
“No, but you’re a vampire.”
“Hmph, that’s a prejudice.”
Disliking blood, Erzebet, therefore, found her solution elsewhere.
It was cola and coffee, which were of similar color but vastly superior in taste.
As proof, my refrigerator was stuffed with cans of cola and coffee.
But even that had its limits.
Eventually, malnutrition set in.
“But why my blood?”
“Your blood is different. I didn’t want to say this, but…”
Gordjukhub leaned in closer and whispered to me, as if about to reveal some crucial information.
“Your blood tastes better than cola.”
Is that a compliment?
I couldn’t help but feel I’d made a mistake coming here. It was then I decided to ask what had been on my mind.
“How did I know your location?”
The horn provided by Healthy God had never allowed a single trace of location to be tracked.
It could even chew through the magical tools of great nations like the Elves and Adrian.
And yet, that horn was still performing its function.
“I didn’t know where you were.”
“Then how did you open the portal?”
“It’s like an invitation. I sent one to you, but whether you come is entirely up to you.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“There’s a blood magic for that.”
Erzebet opened a thick tome that had been carelessly discarded in the corner, showing me the table of contents.
[Advanced Blood Magic for Vampires]
It contained all sorts of bizarre spells that only vampires could use.
1. Teleportation (Random)
2. Bat Transformation (Random bat species)
3. Mist Form (Random dispelling time)
4. Transformation into a Blood Pool (Must hold your breath. Beware of drowning)
“Wow.”
The problem was that they all seemed to have significant drawbacks.
Among them, however, Erzebet discovered the spell that had allowed her to find me.
444. Invitation Spell (Creates a portal to the current location of the intended recipient, cannot pass through)
“Isn’t it amazing?”
Looking at Erzebet, who seemed proud of herself, I replied.
“Now send me back, please.”
Since my life wasn’t in danger and I’d had my fill of blood, I no longer had business here.
I had no idea when Gordjukhub might change again.
So I took the initiative and mentioned it first, and surprisingly, she nodded readily.
“Alright.”
“Oh?”
She was granting permission easier than I expected?
Feeling relieved, I looked at Erzebet, who was also gazing intently at me.
Blink, blink.
About a minute had passed without any change.
I slowly shifted my gaze.
“So… the portal?”
“Of course I’ll create it. But…”
Hold up, Gordjukhub’s expression looked strange.
The focus in her eyes was fading as she tilted her head.
“Do you really have to leave right now?”
“No, ma’am.”
“Let’s stay together a bit longer. We have plenty of guest rooms prepared. About 312 of them.”
“My cozy home is the best.”
“Alright then. Let’s stay together for just a hundred years.”
This deputy was losing her mind.
Her gaze was hazy, and her skin had that strange flush, as if she didn’t want to miss out on something delicious.
When I snapped back to reality, the Gordjukhub had suddenly grabbed my shoulder tightly.
‘If I get drained again, I’ll really die.’
Instinctively, I grabbed her shoulder and pushed her away.
No, I tried to push her away, but how strong was that petite frame? She didn’t budge.
-Lick
Instead, she tilted her head and licked my hand as if tasting me.
Cold shivers ran down my spine.
“I said ‘no’! Don’t! Please stop!”
“Heehee… just stay still… I’ll drain you gently.”
Now she wasn’t even trying to hide it?
Her pale skin was gradually turning red.
There was no way to escape like this.
If I couldn’t refuse giving blood either, there was only one solution left for me.
“How about I draw it out for you instead?”
“Huh?”
“I won’t run away, so just wait a sec. If you really can’t trust me, then just watch from afar.”
It was up to me to draw out the blood myself.
If I ended up getting pinned by those fangs again, I’d surely be drained until the very last drop.
Gordjukhub looked at me for a long moment as if in deep thought before reluctantly backing off.
“Alright. I’ll wait.”
Fortunately, it seemed she still had some sanity left, as she returned to her massive throne and sat down at an angle.
“But I don’t think I can wait long. Please hurry.”
Sigh.
I had no choice.
Until I found another way, I could only draw my own blood.
[Shop/Medical Tools]
[Blood Drawing Kit] – 33p
I bought the blood-drawing tools from the Marketplace.
Who would have thought that seeing a self-blood-drawing video from a foreign doctor during the past internet era would come in handy?
Gulp…
As I hesitated, I heard a distant gulping sound.
When I looked up, I felt a pair of eyes boring into me as Gordjukhub lay across the throne, half-watchingly admiring me.
I tightly looped the rubber around my wrist, inserted the needle from the blood-drawing kit into my wrist.
It didn’t hurt that much.
I successfully drew blood more easily than I expected.
“Maybe it would’ve been better in the Rabbit Hole?”
The thought crossed my mind for a moment.
But upon reflection, that wasn’t true either.
In either scenario, I could only envision a future where I’d just be drained and turned into a mummy.
I gave half the blood I drew to Gordjukhub.
“Here.”
“Ah, finally!”
Though it was my first time and the amount was quite small, it seemed to satisfy her just fine.
Gordjukhub bounced with excitement as she received the tube I offered.
Then, she took it with all due caution, licking it like a cat might.
“Ah… this is the best. It’s crazily delicious.”
Once again, it seemed she was truly satisfied, her eyes tightly shut, displaying a happy expression.
“That’s great. Can you open the portal now?”
“It’s so delicious I can’t think of anything else.”
“Please open the portal…”
“If I could just kidnap you and keep you forever in my castle, that taste would be just perfect.”
I needed to go home and read all the messages I had missed.
During that time, she had already devoured half of what I had given her and was gazing at me like a cat with sparkling eyes.
“Hey, Head of the Gallery, do you have that thing you gave me last time?”
“What do you mean?”
“You know, the fruit covered in sugar… Tanghulu! Yeah, I think it was called Tanghulu.”
Gordjukhub was originally quite fond of sweets rather than blood.
Last time, I had only handed out Tanghulu to the deputies in passing, so why was she looking for it all of a sudden?
After some thought, I pulled out a Tanghulu that had once been a trend in the Marketplace.
“But what do you want that for?”
Was she just craving something sweet all of a sudden?
At that moment, Gordjukhub opened the tube containing the other half of my blood and carefully poured it over the Tanghulu.
“Done… the ultimate vampire snack!”
Just like that, sticky red blood was added as a topping on the delicious-looking Tanghulu.
“The ultimate vampire snack?”
“Blood Tanghulu.”
I found myself speechless.
*
Lying in bed, I read concept articles I had never seen before.
Life was nothing to envy.
There was an abundance of food, the bed was plush like a cloud, and I had no reason to be chased by time or work; I felt relaxed.
“What are you looking at? Let’s watch together.”
As long as I didn’t have a kidnapper clinging to me while staring closely at my neck, it would have been satisfactory.
Three days had already passed.
It was the night when I was trapped in the abandoned castle, unable to return home.
I shifted my gaze from the Gallery to see Gordjukhub, her long silver hair disheveled, staring up at me.
“Couldn’t you start sending me back soon?”
That’s right. I had been captured and confined by the silver-haired, red-eyed, smiling vampire deputy.
But contrary to the average kidnapper, Gordjukhub was being quite favorable towards me.
She was accommodating me as best as she could, promptly bringing me whatever I asked for.
“That’s not allowed.”
Except for the part where I asked to be sent home.
Ultimately, it was hard to hope that Gordjukhub would open the portal for me.
Instead, I had to diligently search for an escape route from this abandoned castle.
Unfortunately, Gordjukhub was still right by my side, so for now, I was trapped here.
– Post in the Head of the Gallery Marketplace!!!
– (A frog character, crying as it scratches the sky)
– The update time for the Marketplace has already passed by 3 minutes, we’ll all be dead at this rate!!!!
Before I knew it, the Gallery was nearing its registration deadline for the Marketplace.
With no choice, I settled for completing the Marketplace renewal.
– Yum~
– Camdasal lol
– Let’s go check out the food category~
As soon as the Marketplace opened, Gallums poured in as if it had never happened.
Just when things seemed to be progressing peacefully…
– Hey, what the heck, where did everything go?
– Are they gone?
– Head of the Gallery, all food items are sold out!
– (An elf character tilting its head)
As soon as they registered, all items were sold out.
“What? What’s with the speed?”
It wasn’t unusual for some items to sell out occasionally, but it was rare for everything in the food category to be gone!
– Come to think of it, didn’t this happen last time too?
– Yeah, it was the same all day yesterday.
– I haven’t seen any Tuna Can or even food in the Marketplace for several days now.
– Is it a resale scheme?!
– It’s not any resale scheme, since after Head of the Gallery warned about it, everything got cleaned out!
The issue was that this had been going on for days.
– Isn’t this stockpiling?
– I think it’s the work of dwarves.
– Yeah, it seems like it based on the posts and memes by the dwarves.
– But why are they bulk-buying only food and weapons?
– Could it be…?
– Oh my gosh!
It seemed that the dwarves were preparing for war.
