Chapter 1

Rumor had it that the Forbidden Fruit was a mysterious fruit from the Abyss. Any creature that ingested it could gain the power it desired, but it would have to pay the necessary price.

Since the emergence of the Forbidden Fruit, human society had undergone a dramatic transformation. Some who consumed it became a blessing to mankind, while others wrought disaster for generations.

Some animals had even obtained the Forbidden Fruit and wreaked havoc on human civilization, forcing people to build high walls and retreat into fortified strongholds for survival.

Most creatures were unable to resist the temptation of the Forbidden Fruit and would consume it immediately upon discovery. And so, to most people, it was as far away and unattainable as an item of legends.

However, it wasn't too difficult to obtain the power that had come forth due to the consumption of the Forbidden Fruit.

…

Ray O'Synth wore a face mask and held a briefcase as he stood inside an old apartment unit in Silverwood City. He accepted the pen injector Bob Smith handed to him and asked, "Which generation does this blood belong to?"

"It's from a third-generation member of the vampire clan. I have to remind you that even though you can transform into a vampire by injecting a vampire's blood into your bloodstream, you'll be illegal and unregistered. In other words, you'll be a wild vampire.

"Once the vampire clan discovers you, you'll be public enemy no. 1, and the Sanctified won't rest until they've killed you," Bob said while looking at Ray.

Centuries ago, what we now knew as the Primordial Vampire had consumed the Forbidden Fruit, transforming from a human to a vampire. Since then, the vampire clan had become a potent force in human society.

Only those who passed the vampire clan's trials and assessments were deemed worthy of receiving the First Embrace and becoming a vampire. These vampires would be accepted and protected by the vampire clan. At the same time, they had to contribute to the clan in whatever way they could.

In the past, people had assassinated vampires and consumed their blood to complete the transformation as a means to enjoy eternal life. However, these people had all been taken out by the Sanctified.

Ray's problem was that he couldn't wait that long. Besides, he didn't have the patience to go through the vampire clan's lengthy trials.

He was nothing but an ordinary high school student who'd just taken over his father's small factory after the latter's death. He had some money, but that was it.

If everything went as planned, he would've managed the factory after graduation—just as his father had done. He would then hand the factory down to his son or daughter when he grew old.

Unfortunately, things had gone awry. A year ago, he'd been diagnosed with ALS, a fatal motor neuron disease!

It had been inherited. His father had passed away after receiving a similar diagnosis.

The disease was terminal, and only the transcendent world had ways of curing him. However, most of the treatment methods required astronomical sums of money. For instance, he could ask an Ascendant with healing powers to heal him, but it would cost a hundred million dollars.

Ray would only be able to gather a maximum of 20 million dollars after selling the factory—far from enough to get the Ascendant's help. There were other treatment methods, but the cheapest would cost him 60 or 70 million dollars. They would even come with weird side effects.

Finally, after spending a sum on investigating, he'd found this store that claimed to sell everything and anything. He'd sold the factory and a store to get enough money to purchase vampire's blood. At the very least, he had hope of survival.

Once he injected the blood into his veins and transformed into a vampire, his ALS would be cured. The only disadvantage was that he would have to survive on a diet of blood in the future. He would also have to stay away from silver and the sun.

Ray pulled out a silver ring and held it close to the pen injector to verify its authenticity. Once he was sure the blood truly belonged to a vampire, he placed the briefcase on the table. "Here's the balance."

Then, he left. Once he returned home, he drew the curtains and headed to his bedroom, where he sat down. He removed his face mask and carefully pulled out the pen injector. He looked at the blood inside, his expression turning almost manic with joy. He wouldn't have to die anymore!

Ray's world had essentially collapsed around him when he'd been diagnosed with ALS. He'd spent a month in a daze before mustering the courage to accept that he wasn't long for this world. After that, he'd done everything he could to save himself.

In reality, his hands often felt weak, and his legs would occasionally go numb. He knew very well that he was nearing death. Fortunately, he was in time to change that!

Ray took off his shirt. After calming himself, he slowly administered the blood into his body. Soon, he felt an iciness seep into his bones. Then, his consciousness became hazy, and it was almost impossible to fight against the fatigue.

He lay down and slowly shut his eyes. Right before he passed out, he felt his heartbeat gradually slow…

…

A day and night passed in the blink of an eye. Ray turned on his side in the midst of pure darkness. Something hit him, and his eyelids flew open. He shot up in bed.

"Did it work?" he mumbled. Then, he pressed a hand to his chest. After about a minute, he smiled. His heart had stopped beating; the vampire blood had effectively transformed him into a vampire.

A vampire's heart would only beat once a year. It was said that every ten beats granted a minor gift, while a hundred beats unlocked a major one. That was why vampires grew stronger the longer they lived.

Moreover, vampires could make their hearts beat every six months if they ensured they were well-fed. This would, in turn, accelerate their power growth. This was why all vampires would feed even when they weren't hungry.

Every newly transformed vampire would gain an innate gift. Ray recalled the information he'd found out and tried to sense the change in his body.

Firstly, he eliminated the possibility of having an active ability. Active abilities were generally like opening one's mouth and eating—one could easily utilize it upon sensing it, provided one wasn't an idiot.

Since his ability did not require him to channel it actively, that meant he had a passive ability. Now, that made things a little more troublesome. Passive abilities generally needed something to awaken them before one could discover what they were.

"I'm a little hungry. I'm glad I prepared some blood bags beforehand!" Instead of sensing his ability, Ray decided to address the hunger he was feeling. He got out of bed and habitually turned on the lights. Then, he froze.

His body was absorbing the light! No, to be more accurate, his body was consuming the light! How could this be?

Vampires were only afraid of sunlight; regular lights wouldn't harm them. However, they were still unfond of lights and would feel slightly uncomfortable under strong lights.

Ray didn't feel that, though. In fact, he quite liked the light hitting his skin.

"Could my innate gift be… light consumption?" He looked up at the white fluorescent lights, the doubtful look on his face slowly turning to exaltation. He strode to the window.

After deciding to become a vampire, he'd changed all his curtains to blackout drapes that completely blocked out light. He knew very well it was now daytime and that the sun was still high in the sky.

"I can't be wrong. The drapes are in the way, but the sun is shining on them. I can feel the warmth on them, but… I don't feel uncomfortable at all. In fact, I want more…"

Ray grabbed a fistful of the curtains and drew them after taking a deep breath. The darkness was expelled as the morning sunlight shone in through the windows. He bathed in it, clearly feeling his hunger dissipate. He was feeding on sunlight!

He was an abnormality among vampires—light was his sustenance. He was a Light Devourer!

Chapter 2

Ray lay on a chaise lounge on the third-floor balcony, his sunglasses on as he sunbathed. After thinking things through, he picked up his phone and called his homeroom teacher. "Hi, Mr. Chance. It's me, Ray O'Synth."

He'd previously dropped out of school with the excuse of running his father's factory. He'd even prepared himself for the prospect of never going back to school. But now that he knew how powerful his innate gift of light consumption was, he realized that being a student was a good cover.

Which vampire would run around in the day? Even if other vampires were to suspect he was one, they would dismiss their suspicions after a simple investigation.

Ray explained his circumstances to his homeroom teacher, Greg Chance, and decided to go back to school. Next Monday, he would once again be an ordinary student who could bask in the sunlight.

He felt his heart beat as soon as he put down his phone. He instantly pressed a hand to his chest, his gaze filled with disbelief. What happened to vampires' hearts only beating once or, at most, twice a year? He'd only been in the sun for half a day, after all.

He sucked in a breath. It looked like being a Light Devourer was a much more potent gift than he'd imagined. Thanks to the blazing sun, his rate of light consumption was much higher than the rate at which regular vampires drank blood.

Theoretically, he was better fed and more nourished than them. And so, he didn't need a year or even half a year for his heart to beat—half a day was good enough!

Hypothetically, if his heart were to beat once or twice a day, he would obtain a new minor gift every five or ten days. A hundred days would be enough for him to gain a new major gift!

Even if the Primordial Vampire had been alive for centuries, Ray figured he would be more powerful than the former in just over a decade.

All he needed to do now was stay alive. He needed to stay safe and quietly gain power.

…

Early Monday morning, Ray slowly walked to Silverwood Trinity High School in his school uniform. His bag bounced between his shoulder blades, and he bathed in the sunlight.

"Is that you, Rainbow? Didn't you drop out?" A plump young man ran to him, looking excited. He was one of Ray's close friends, Shane Jameson.

Ray smiled. "My problems have been resolved, so I came back."

He had to submit a request to resume his studies when he got to the school. Since he'd already spoken to Greg about this, all he had to do was complete the necessary paperwork.

He and Shane chatted on their way to school. Shane smelled the aroma of food from a nearby food stall and swallowed. He asked, "Do you want some kebabs? It's my treat."

Ray shook his head. "I've already eaten. You go ahead."

In truth, after becoming a vampire, he only needed to consume two things—blood and sunlight. The former was a staple in every vampire's diet, and the latter was due to his innate gift.

He could still eat regular food, of course. They would just taste like cardboard to him, and he wouldn't be able to digest them.

Vampires were Ascendants. Setting aside their innate gifts, they already had many special abilities such as night vision, an enhanced sense of smell, accelerated healing, and others. They were also physically stronger than regular humans.

Even without using any weapons, a vampire could easily wipe the floor with a dozen trained special forces. It had only been three days since Ray's transformation, so his body was slowly getting stronger. For the time being, he could only take on a couple of special forces. He'd probably suffer a beating if there were more.

Just as most vampires possessed striking and ethereal beauty, Ray's features would become increasingly refined over time. His figure would also gradually become more slender and elegant. That was one of the reasons why it was particularly difficult for wild vampires to hide.

Their features were too obvious, and they only moved around at night. There was also the fact that blood was their only sustenance. Thus, a simple investigation would reveal various traces.

If Ray didn't continue schooling, the vampire clan would soon come knocking once his features became obvious. However, things were different now that he was back at school.

After all, vampires weren't the only ones who were good-looking and slender. Humans who had transformed into part of the Fae after ingesting the Forbidden Fruit looked good, too.

Ray didn't have pointy ears, yet he could move around in the daytime. The way he saw it, the vampire clan would likely suspect he was a mixed breed of human and fairy. They would never think he was a vampire.

As Ray and Shane entered the school, they headed to their classroom on the fifth floor of the faculty building. By the time they reached their floor, Shane was panting slightly. When he saw how calm and unaffected Ray was, he asked doubtfully, "Have you been working out behind my back, Rainbow?"

"Look over there." Ray couldn't be bothered to explain. He pointed somewhere and switched the subject.

Diagonally opposite Silverwood Trinity High School was the Ascendant Academy. The schools were just a street apart, and they could see what was going on in the academy from their vantage point on the fifth floor.

It seemed the academy's security detail had been increased. There were men in suits patrolling every corner.

"Oh, are you talking about those security guards? I heard it's because Blood Princess was attacked some time ago," Shane said indifferently. He sounded like he couldn't care less.

Ordinary people and Ascendants who were born with superhuman powers were destined to have an insurmountable gap between them. Though Silverwood Trinity High School and the Ascendant Academy were only a street apart, its students didn't interact.

Blood Princess?

Ray looked at the academy as something occurred to him. Could it be the blood he'd administered had been extracted from her?

Truth was, the schools were so close to each other that even if the regular students didn't pay attention to the goings-on at the Ascendant Academy, they would still learn odd things about Ascendants.

Ray had no idea who was spreading the information, but it was thanks to them that he knew the Ascendants' fertility rate would rapidly drop once they were no longer ordinary humans.

Starting from the Primordial Vampire, many of the vampire clan's members had become infertile after being transformed via the First Embrace. Few of them had been born naturally.

The Ascendant Academy only had six vampire students. The one with the highest status was Nora Lexington, also known as Blood Princess.

Rumor had it that she was a mixed breed born of a second-generation vampire and a human. She was a constant subject of conflict within the vampire clan. Some people thought it was right to follow the Doctrine of First Blood, but some thought her blood was tainted and that she should be handled by the Sanctified.

Ultimately, her father had protected her despite the protests and objections. He'd sent her to Silverwood City, which was far away from the vampire clan's homeground, to study.

Her father had a high status in the vampire clan, so the people of Silverwood City had crowned her Blood Princess.

"Oh, right. What's Blood Princess' innate gift, Shaney?" Ray asked.

Shane thought about it and shook his head. "I've forgotten. I remember one of the gossipmongers in our class talking about it, though. Seems it's really special."

"Blood Princess' innate gift? I know—she's a Daywalker!" Just then, a female student walking ahead of them turned around and joined their conversation. "That's why she's such a subject of contention within the vampire clan. She's the only vampire who can roam freely in the day, after all."

Shane gave her a thumbs-up. "I have to admit you're definitely a pro when it comes to gossip, Lena!"

A Daywalker!

Ray jolted when he heard that. He was even more sure the blood he'd administered had come from Nora.

If that were the case, his identity as a student probably wouldn't be enough to protect him. What if the vampire clan suspected that a wild vampire had transformed through Nora's blood and was equally immune to sunlight?

Chapter 3

Late that night at a villa in Silverwood City, a dozen men were blindfolded and hung upside down in the dimly lit basement.

"You've got a big mouth, but you don't have the skills to match. You claim to be able to buy everything and anything, right? Can you buy your own lives?"

A long-haired man with delicate features wore a tuxedo with coattails. He stood before the impudent men and observed them, his murderous intent intensifying with every word he spoke.

If not for him needing them to give him answers on where Nora's blood had gone, he would've minced them and fed them to the dogs ages ago.

He was Keith Locke, Nora's protector in Silverwood City. Since she'd been attacked, he needed to bear the responsibility for that.

In truth, he felt wronged. Nora was a Daywalker and could move freely under the sun. He could only send human bodyguards to keep watch over her. What could he do when she'd been attacked during the day?

After Nora had been harmed, he'd immediately dispatched all the vampire forces he had in Silverwood City to capture the perpetrators. He'd managed to nab them before they left the city.

He had to admit that he was surprised by the culprits. There wasn't a single Ascendant among them. They were all ordinary humans.

"Now, tell me. To whom did you sell the blood you stole?" Keith approached one of the men and patted his face.

The man was obviously the group's leader. He'd used a silver weapon against the vampires who'd tried to capture him, almost harming them.

"I don't know the guy. He wore a face mask, and it's likely he had a disguise underneath it. Our line of work has rules—digging into a client's background goes against those very rules. I've told you everything I know." The man was still calm as he answered.

Keith sneered. Suddenly, he pierced the neck of the man hanging next to the one he was questioning. The guy howled in pain and writhed in mid-air. Then, the blood in his body flowed out of the wound Keith had created, forming a blade in Keith's hand.

"Since you insist on sticking to your rules, don't blame me for using mine against you. Let's see whose rules hold greater power," Keith said maliciously.

The basement became filled with blood-curdling screams and the horrifying sound of things being shredded.

Silence descended once again before the moon disappeared in the daylight. Keith emerged from the basement and took a white towel from his assistant to clean his hands. He said, "Brad, I want you to lead a team to investigate the matter.

"The thief who took Ms. Lexington's blood should be around her age and have some money. It's likely they've recently withdrawn over 25 million dollars. It shouldn't be hard to find them."

Brad Thompson said, "Yes, sir. I'll find the bastard and—"

Keith cut him off. "I want them alive. Bring them back so that Ms. Lexington can deal with them herself. Duke Lexington has indicated that it's time for her to shed some blood."

Logically speaking, Nora wouldn't have been so easily captured by humans even after her bodyguards had been assassinated. Vampires were Ascendants and physically more powerful than humans. It wouldn't have been hard for her to escape, even if her assailants had weapons.

However, she'd been scared out of her wits at the time, leading to the humans harming her with silver weapons before she'd realized what was going on.

There was no doubt she would already be dead if those people had been after her life.

…

Ray sat in the classroom of Senior Class 3 of Silverwood Trinity High School. His seat was in the fourth row by the window, so he basked in the sunlight while reading a novel.

The sunlight would stream in through that particular window once it was past 1:30 pm. Even with the curtains drawn, one could clearly feel the heat. In the past, Ray had hated the seat. Now, however, he couldn't be more satisfied with it.

Vampires didn't need sleep when they were well-fed. He would make the most of the sunlight at school so that he could pick up various courses through online classes at night.

He knew very well he'd stepped foot into the transcendent world. Whether he was willing or not, he would definitely come across situations where he would need to employ violence in the future. The only thing he could do now was prepare for that. It was better to be safe than sorry, after all.

Preemptive preparations were the only way to ensure he wouldn't panic when he needed to use violence against someone.

Ray was getting stronger, and things that had been impossible in the past were now beyond easy for him. For instance, he could now do a thousand single-finger pushups without his breathing even speeding up.

His strength was increasing exponentially by the day. One finger was all he needed to hang his entire self from the wall without falling, and a single punch carried the force of a ton. He could quite literally kill an animal with a punch.

He wasn't sure whether he was considered strong or weak among vampires. He'd never heard anyone mention anything about vampires being strong among Ascendants. Those who were known for their strength were the werewolves, the warlock kin, the knights, and the martial artists.

Ray shut his book and sprawled on his desk, enjoying the sunlight as he thought, "I wonder what sort of gifts I'll awaken."

His heart had already beat nine times. If everything went smoothly, he would have his tenth that day and awaken his first minor gift.

The minor gifts that could be found online—or at least those that the vampire clan had intentionally revealed to the public—included bat manipulation, vampiric fire, enhanced sense of smell, and dormancy.

To Ray, bat manipulation and vampiric fire were the best of the bunch. An enhanced sense of smell wasn't too bad, but dormancy was terrible.

Dormancy wasn't exactly a bad gift. It was what most vampires got as their first minor gift. It allowed them to largely reduce bodily consumption while they were asleep. It also helped stabilize injuries and aid physical recovery.

The issue with it was that vampires would basically be dead to the world when dormant. It would be extremely easy to launch a sneak attack on them when they were in that state.

In the past, there'd been a case of an ordinary human discovering a wild vampire's hideout and easily eliminating the latter while it had been dormant. The human had even gained the right to join the vampire clan because of this.

And so, to a wild vampire like Ray, even if he were to awaken the gift of dormancy, he wouldn't dare use it until he was sure he had a place that could guarantee his safety.

The noon sun was getting hotter. The students seated before Ray had already drawn the curtains—he'd left a small spot open beside him so he could continue sunbathing.

Their next class was history. He propped his history book open before him and sprawled on his desk to fully enjoy the sunlight.

Ray speculated that his teacher had an Ascendant ability when it came to teaching. He wasn't drowsy, but the teacher's voice was lulling him to sleep. He struggled to keep his eyes open.

Suddenly, his heart jolted, instantly dispelling his drowsiness. This particular heartbeat was much stronger than the others, and he felt like a force had burst forth from his heart. It charged through his veins and spread throughout his body, ultimately going to his brain.

He seemed to hear a thunderclap in the deepest crevices of his consciousness—some sort of power was forming within his soul through his blood.

In that instant, the realization dawned on him. He knew what his first minor gift was. It was an active ability called Argent Blood!

Chapter 4

Sunlight wasn't the only thing vampires feared. They were afraid of silver, too. It wasn't as fatal as sunlight but would restrict their self-healing abilities.

Generally, if a vampire was well-fed and not gravely injured in the heart, most of its injuries would soon heal. However, if the wound was caused by silver, recovery would prove difficult. In fact, many vampires had to enter dormancy because they'd been gravely injured by silver weapons.

…

Ray returned home after school and rummaged through his drawer to find the silver ring he'd previously used to check the authenticity of the vampire blood.

Rumor had it that vampires' skin would feel like it was burning once they touched silver, and prolonged contact would lead to skin ulceration. However, Ray felt nothing when holding the ring.

Was Argent Blood even considered a minor gift? Most ordinary vampires probably didn't even have major gifts that were this powerful.

Ray clenched a fist around the ring, twisting it out of shape with his force. He was sure that his new gift had granted him immunity to the restrictions silver placed on vampires.

However, that wasn't its main function. Argent Blood allowed Ray to consume silver, turning all his blood into silver, hence the name.

Once all his blood turned to silver, his physical abilities would be enhanced, and he could actively wield the silver blood to form whips or threads to attack his enemies. The immunity to silver was merely a bonus that came with the gift.

It was clear he hadn't just hit the jackpot with this gift—he'd hit several jackpots in one go!

Ray opened his mouth, and his vampiric fangs slowly appeared. He placed the contorted ring against his fangs and sucked on it, feeling like he was sucking on a pudding. The silver entered his body and mixed with his blood.

"It's too little." He could clearly feel the Argent Blood that formed after the silver mixed with his blood. Its temperature was slightly higher than his own blood, and it felt like a current flowed through him as it moved. It wasn't uncomfortable. In fact, it felt pretty nice.

Ray took some time to get used to it. Then, his desire for silver grew. Unfortunately, it was difficult to purchase large amounts of silver nowadays. With whatever money he had left, he couldn't buy much anyway.

This was mainly due to the vampire clan constantly purchasing silver. They raised the price so much that it was even more expensive than gold. Moreover, once they bought silver, it would never reenter the market, and nobody knew where they were hiding it.

A point worth noting was that the vampire clan had a rule—anyone who contributed more than ten tons of silver to the clan could instantly gain the right to become a vampire. They didn't need to pass any trials.

Though people who transformed via this method would never reach the core of the vampire clan's power, the promise of immortality was still enough to attract the wealthy, who were afraid of death. The vampire clan's affluence was largely due to the influx of billionaires who joined through this pathway.

Ray racked his brains for the rest of the night but could not think of any way of getting more silver. He thought about visiting Bob's store, but it was too risky. He didn't dare to have anything more to do with him now that he knew the latter had dared even to attack Nora.

Silver was important, but his safety was even more so. He would much rather slowly save up for it and search for silver products than visit Bob again.

…

In the morning, Ray sunbathed on the balcony as usual. For some reason, a stench would occasionally waft into his nostrils. It smelled like dead rats in a dumpster and made his stomach turn.

"This is weird. Where is this stench coming from?" He sat up and sniffed around. The stench suddenly appeared before disappearing in the next second.

Hold it!

He realized what had happened—the stench had only appeared when the Argent Blood had flowed to his nose. Did this mean it had enhanced his sense of smell when it flowed past? Was that why he could smell something he wouldn't usually be able to?

After that, he deliberately channeled the Argent Blood to his nose. Sure enough, the stench appeared again. He followed it and looked down. It seemed to come from downstairs.

The families in this area were generally middle-class, and he knew a family of three who lived below him. The man was a lawyer, and his wife owned a clothing store. They had a daughter who was in fourth grade.

Ray resisted the urge to vomit from the stench and thought, "They're not dead, are they?"

He'd run into them when leaving the house yesterday, though. Even if they'd all dropped dead overnight, their bodies wouldn't have started to stink so soon.

Whatever. He wasn't the type who liked to stick his nose in other people's business, so he soon stopped dwelling on the matter. Besides, it was almost time for him to head to school.

He grabbed his bag and left the apartment. Coincidentally, on his way down, he ran into the daughter from the family downstairs. He decided to take the opportunity to control his Argent Blood and gather it at his nose. Instantly, he was overwhelmed by the stench.

She reeked!

He hurriedly channeled the Argent Blood from his nose to his right eye. The stench disappeared, and through his enhanced right eye, saw countless red worms that were wiggling around underneath the girl's skin.

God. Ray felt like his trypophobia was going to act up.

Just then, the girl looked at him and greeted him. A silver glow flickered deep within Ray's pupils, and he seemed to be able to see countless worms writhing like tendrils within her mouth.

"Morning." He forced a smile. Then, he hurried downstairs and fled to school.

His brows remained furrowed on his way there. He could occasionally smell the stench coming from the people he passed.

A year ago, an incident that caused a nationwide sensation had happened in Thornton City. It was known as the Tragedy of Thornton City.

Basically, all the students and teachers at a middle school in the city had unknowingly had their brains emptied by a mysterious parasite. A student who'd secretly eaten a Forbidden Fruit had transferred there and discovered all the students and teachers there were zombies. If not for that, the consequences would've been unimaginable.

Arising from the incident, Silverwood City's authorities had organized a citywide medical checkup. That was how Ray had been diagnosed with ALS. He'd been in a daze for a month after that, so he wasn't sure whether anything else had been discovered through the medical checkups.

He didn't expect the parasites from Thornton City to have already invaded Silverwood City without anyone noticing. It looked like they were in for trouble.

He wondered whether he should report the matter. If he did, he was sure the authorities would have the power to eradicate the parasites.

The only issue was that there was bound to be a second round of medical checkups during the eradication. Once he went through that, his identity as a wild vampire would be exposed!

"Rainbow! Hello? Earth to Rainbow! What are you thinking about?" Just then, Shane's voice cut through Ray's thoughts.

Ray looked at him, relieved to see no parasites had invaded him. He said, "Nothing. I didn't sleep well last night."

Shane yawned. "Did you stay up the whole night trolling That Forum, too?"

"What forum?" Ray asked in confusion.

When Shane saw that he truly didn't understand, he explained, "'That Forum.' That's its name. You should check it out when you're free, especially the section on the Forbidden Fruit.

"Someone has recorded the history of its appearances and has a prediction of where it'll show up next. If it's ever predicted that it'll show up in Silverwood City, I'm definitely going to try to get it."

Not everyone was okay with coming second to someone. Even if one joined the vampire clan or any other power, it was basically impossible for them to surpass the progenitor.

Due to that, some ambitious people would focus their attention on the Forbidden Fruit. That was how That Forum had come about. The website provided information for these people.

Ray wasn't interested in that, though. He was more worried about the parasites.

Chapter 5

There was an assembly at school that day, and Ray took the opportunity to observe all the students. The outcome made his heart sink. It turned out that the parasites had invaded 30% of the students.

It was highly likely that the situation in Silverwood City was worse than that of Thornton City. It was only a matter of time before the truth was exposed. Once the parasites were discovered, his true identity would be revealed sooner or later.

This was an urgent matter—the fuse could be lit at any second. He had to do something!

Ray returned to the classroom and grabbed his phone. He read through various articles detailing the Tragedy of Thornton City.

Six months ago, the parasites had officially been named Warped Creepers. There was still no conclusion on how they began spreading, though.

According to research, once a Warped Creeper's egg was planted in a human's body, it would swiftly infiltrate the circulatory system and take root in the heart. Then, countless worm-like tendrils would burst forth from the shell.

The tendrils would secrete a liquid that could numb pain, allowing them to silently consume the host's flesh and blood through the bloodstream. It wouldn't stop until only the host's brain remained.

During this phase, the Warped Creeper's host would retain its self-consciousness but lose the ability to perceive the outside world. They would be trapped in endless darkness and left with nothing but fear and despair. This was undoubtedly an unimaginable psychological torment.

When the host reached the peak of their despair, the Warped Creeper would gradually eat away at the host's brain. Once it was fully consumed, the Warped Creeper would imitate the host's behavior in life. It wouldn't be any different from how the host had been.

This behavior allowed the Warped Creepers to disguise themselves effectively. In imitating the host, the Warped Creeper would gradually realize it wasn't merely the original host but an independent entity possessing the host's intelligence.

If the host was a human, the Warped Creeper would obtain human intelligence and turn into a sly, cunning creature that was challenging to deal with. That was the Warped Creeper's ultimate form.

Since a large number of parasite eggs were discovered inside this form of the Warped Creeper, it had been classified as the mature form.

In the Tragedy of Thornton City, several mature forms had been discovered. Many Ant-tier soldiers and a large number of special forces had been sacrificed in the process of eliminating them. Despite that, many victims were still classified as missing persons.

The authorities believed these missing persons were likely to be Warped Creepers in their mature form. To this day, they were still wanted.

"If she still has her self-consciousness…" Ray couldn't help thinking about the little girl greeting him that morning after reading everything he could find on Warped Creepers. He subconsciously tightened his fist, and countless thin cracks appeared on his phone screen.

"Fuck!" His phone screen had already gone dark when he returned to his senses. He hurriedly checked the device.

After selling the factory and store, his only source of income was a three-room apartment that was being rented out. If he didn't start spending frugally, who knew when he'd have enough money to buy silver?

…

There was a commotion outside the classroom at noon. The students inside strode outside at the noise and peered over the hallway walls to see what was happening.

"Big news, Rainbow! Blood Princess has transferred to our school!" Shane cried excitedly when he returned to the classroom.

Ray frowned. "This is just a regular school. What can she learn here?"

Ascendant Academy taught everything there was to know about the transcendent world, so it was completely different from regular schools. Could it be that Nora was there to assassinate him because he'd been exposed?

"I have no idea, but I know for a fact that she's here. She's gorgeous, you know! I have no doubt she's the prettiest woman I've ever seen!" Shane exclaimed.

Just then, Lena Clarkson entered the classroom. She asked excitedly, "Do you guys know why Blood Princess has transferred to our school?"

"Don't tell me you have the answer to that." Shane looked at her in surprise.

She held her head high, looking proud. She smiled and said, "Remember who I am—there's nothing in Silverwood Trinity High School that I can't find out."

"As expected of our gossip queen. Now, hurry up and spit it out. Why is Blood Princess here?" Shane asked.

Lena looked around and lowered her voice, saying, "The story starts with her being attacked. You wouldn't expect this, but it seems her assailants were all humans!"

"What does that have to do with her transfer?" Shane didn't get it.

Lena said smugly, "I'm best friends with Jamie Brown from the class next door. Her cousin works at the Public Security Bureau, and he told her that they discovered Princess' assailants didn't use any Ascendant methods.

"It seems they were just well-trained humans who used silver weapons against her. The news of this has spread throughout Ascendant Academy, so the students there have ostracized her."

"Well, it does sound pretty humiliating," Shane said. He would be embarrassed if he were in her shoes. She had Ascendant abilities, yet a bunch of humans had gotten the better of her.

Ascendant Academy's students thought highly of themselves and had yet to experience the dark side of society. They saw the fact that ordinary humans had defeated Nora as a disgrace to the transcendent world, and they naturally ostracized her.

Nora's status in the vampire clan was already an awkward topic to begin with. The students hadn't physically assaulted her but had resorted to psychological bullying and social exclusion—even the vampire clan couldn't do anything about that.

The vampire clan was powerful but wasn't the sole ruling force. Setting aside the authorities, which were powerful enough to oppress most other forces, even the Fae, the warlock kin, the cultivators, the martial artists, and other forces had the power to go up against the vampire clan.

The ultimate outcome was Nora's transfer out of the academy. Instead of choosing to transfer to any other Ascendant academy in a different city, she'd chosen to head to Silverwood Trinity High School.

This was mainly because the students at other Ascendant academies would find out what had happened after some digging and would still continue to ostracize her.

She was better off studying at a regular school. Vampires would grow stronger the longer they lived, anyway.

The bell rang to indicate the start of the next class, and Greg entered the classroom. As everyone watched, a young woman with blond hair and a bandaged right arm followed him. She exuded a cold, graceful air.

Time seemed to stop when she appeared. All the young men in the classroom instantly had a woman of their dreams. Even the young women were captivated by Nora's beauty. As an Ascendant, her beauty was breathtaking, and her features were exquisite.

Though Silverwood Trinity High School had never selected anyone as the school's belle, the young men all came to a tacit understanding that Nora undoubtedly held that position.

"Starting today, Ms. Nora Lexington will be studying with us…" Greg cleared his throat and started talking once the students returned to their senses.

Nora swept a gaze over the classroom before giving Ray a pointed look. It hadn't taken the vampire clan long to zero in on Ray. After all, 25 million dollars was a lot of money, and it was relatively easy to trace. Besides, his age and gender matched up.

According to the original plan, Brad should've led a team of men to capture Ray before Nora murdered him. However, Nora's father, Francis Lexington, had changed his mind after learning Ray's identity. He'd forbidden Keith and Brad from doing anything to Ray.

After all, Ray was a newly transformed vampire around Nora's age. He would make a good stepping stone for her. If she could hunt him down and kill him herself, she was bound to mature. At the very least, she wouldn't wait around for death to take her if she were ever attacked again.

In the vampire clan, there was no going against a father's orders. So, Nora had transferred to Silverwood Trinity High School.

The news Lena had found out actually consisted of the truth and some lies. There were indeed students in Ascendant Academy who'd ostracized Nora, but she didn't care about them. They didn't run in the same circles, and she had never felt the need to suck up to anyone.

After a self-introduction, Greg arranged for Nora to sit on the ride side of the classroom, the fourth row to be specific. She and Ray were in the same row.

Her innate gift was a Daywalker, while the second gift she'd awakened at age ten was vampiric fire. Though she wanted nothing more than to set Ray on fire because he'd turned her into Ascendant Academy's laughingstock, she didn't act rashly.

Her guess was that Ray was a Daywalker, like her. He probably had a higher resistance to light and flames, as she did. She wasn't sure whether her vampiric fire could instantly kill him.

If she failed to take him out in one go, there was no guarantee she would be able to handle him. She had to take into consideration a vampire's recovery speed as well as the strength advantage a male vampire had over her.

And so, she'd prepared a special weapon—a silver dagger.

What Nora needed to do now was mix with the students around her and make Ray let down his guard. Once he wasn't wary of her, she would stab him in the heart before he even realized it.

She was sure she could instantly take him out.