MMORPG: I was BUGGED-Chapter 235: The Secret Prisoner

[Lord Valerian Duskborne asked you to leave!]

[LEAVE]

[STAY]

Xin sensed that this moment was crucial, a turning point in his journey. A hunch told him that if he stayed, Elysia would face the final boss on his behalf.

There’s no way that he would fight the Lord of the Mansion alone and without Golems to summon.

Wait . . . a realization struck him. He should have waited for the next day to enter the hall, allowing his golems to reset. But his curiosity had gotten the better of him.

Xin felt an overwhelming urge to facepalm himself. How could he have overlooked such a crucial detail?

Was it because of Midnight Duchess’s sudden betrayal? His mind was in disarray, even if he pretended otherwise.

"I shouldn’t have trusted that woman." Xin sighed inwardly, regret coursing through him.

After a few minutes of internal debate, Xin sighed and shrugged.

". . ." There was no use dwelling on what could have been. It had already happened.

With resolve, Xin pressed [STAY].

When Xin pressed the option to stay, a twisted smirk curled upon Lord Valerian’s lips, his aristocratic features contorting into a grimace.

His eyes, crimson as freshly spilled blood, glinted with a sinister brilliance. Shadows danced upon his pale, marble-like skin, accentuating the sharp lines of his vampiric countenance.

"I see that you’re fearless; I’ll give you that," Valerian sneered, his voice dripping with scorn. "But your fearlessness will be the death of you."

While Valerian continued to speak, his words resonating with an eerie echo in the icy chamber, Xin’s attention was on his screen.

[WARNING! You have engaged the Lord of the Mansion, Valerian Duskborne!]

Xin swiftly retrieved the [Shell of Oceanic Powers] from his inventory, his fingers tightening around the precious item. He was determined to end this fight swiftly.

Prepared for battle, Xin stood ready, but Lord Valerian continued to speak, lost in his own words.

"Allow me to regale you with the tale of my transformation into a vampire," he began, his voice weaving a sinister melody in the icy silence.

"No thanks," Xin said, but Lord Valerian didn’t stop talking.

"Long before the annals of history were inked, I was but a humble merchant traversing the Dwarven continent a thousand years ago," Valerian began, his voice carrying the weight of centuries.

"One fateful night, beneath the shadowed canopy of an ancient forest, I stumbled upon a peculiar girl. Her presence was ethereal. Her eyes glowed like rubies in the moonlight."

The air seemed to thicken with suspense as Valerian continued, his voice laced with a mix of fascination and dread.

"It was then that I realized she was no ordinary girl. No, she was the very first of our kind, the progenitor of all vampires –– the queen herself, Evangeline!

"Her power was beyond comprehension, her allure, irresistible. And so, I made a choice," Valerian’s tone turned darker, his eyes narrowing. "I craved her, her power, her essence, for myself alone."

He paused for effect, the silence in the room amplifying his words.

"But greed blinded me. I attempted to claim Evangeline for my own, to imprison her within a stone that would weaken her, rendering her captive."

Lord Valerian’s voice grew colder, a glacial chill seeping into his every word. "I will not allow you to stand between us!" he declared, his eyes ablaze with an unholy fire.

"And you, insignificant mortal, are nothing more than a meal to sate my hunger! Now that you know my secret, you will not leave this place alive!"

You’re the one who suddenly narrated your backstory. Xin mused and thought, ’So the prisoner was the vampire queen.’

Xin’s eyes flickered towards the child encased in the crystal, curiosity getting the better of him. Then he suddenly shivered when he thought that the Vampire Lord was a pedophile.

The movement didn’t escape Valerian’s notice, and the vampire lord growled with anger.

"Don’t you dare look at her! She’s mine!"

Evidently consumed by madness and frenzied possessiveness, Valerian’s sanity seemed to teeter on the edge. He lunged forward, his fangs bared, prepared to strike at Xin with lethal strike.

However, Xin was quicker. With a swift flick of his wrist, he summoned the elemental powers contained within the [Shell of Oceanic Powers].

A roaring wave erupted from the [Shell of Oceanic Powers], a torrent of water that seemed to materialize out of thin air.

The force of the wave crashed into Lord Valerian, catching the vampire lord off-guard.

Valerian’s composure shattered as he was sent hurtling backward, his limbs flailing in the air before he crashed against the icy wall with a resounding thud.

Amidst the chaos of the water, Xin called out Elysia’s name, his voice echoing through the chamber.

In response, the sea elf materialized before them, her ethereal form shimmering with aquatic energy. With a graceful fluidity, she navigated the water, her eyes fixed on Lord Valerian.

"Lord Schrödinger," Elysia said in a serious tone, her voice cutting through the turmoil in the chamber. "What are you doing, facing a creature like this?"

Xin was surprised to hear Elysia sounding serious. For once, she wasn’t happy to see him.

"It’s part of the dungeon," he replied. "Can’t you defeat him?"

That couldn’t be, he thought. Even though the Vampire Lord’s stats were high, higher than the Bloodcountess, Elysia’s stats were on a whole different level.

She was akin to a world boss!

Elysia sighed, her eyes never leaving the vampire lord, who was still under a rubble of snow and ice. "It’s not that I can’t defeat him, but I can’t kill him."

Xin was utterly confused. "What do you mean?"

"He is programmed so that only his creator could kill him. If he dies at my hands or yours, he would only turn into blood and reform back to his body."

Realization struck Xin, and he turned his attention to the child encased in the giant ice.

"I will aid you," Elysia said, determination flickering in her eyes. "I will keep that vampire occupied while you destroy the ice and wake whatever is inside there. But hurry . . . I can’t stay long in here."

"Understood," Xin replied. Without wasting another moment, he dashed towards the ice, the thought of ending the dungeon fuelling his every step.