Omniscient First-Person’s Viewpoint-Chapter 470: Goryeojang practice

Food tastes best when you’re starving. Sleep is sweetest when you’re utterly exhausted.

Though I was lying on a thin blanket in a cramped burrow, I felt a level of comfort that I might never experience again.

Of course, I did. I’d accumulated three days’ worth of fatigue, and now, I was finally releasing it all in one go. There was no way it wouldn’t feel refreshing.

A body doesn’t feel light simply by carrying nothing—it becomes truly light only after bearing a heavy weight and then setting it down. Humans are creatures of adaptation, perceiving all stimuli in relative terms. So naturally, after unloading my burden, I felt remarkably lighter as I shot up from my resting position—

—Wait. Light?

Something was wrong.

Last night, Hilde had been sleeping right next to me. Why didn’t I feel any weight beside me?

The answer was simple.

Hilde was gone.

Had she stepped out? Without me? What could she have possibly found that was worth leaving me behind?

Feeling a faint mix of anticipation and unease, I pulled back the blanket and reached for my clothes—only to notice a small scrap of paper tucked into my biological terminal.

I hadn’t put it there in my sleep, so Hilde must have.

I unfolded the crumpled note and read its contents.

To Father,

Your snoring is unbearable. I can’t sleep next to you anymore!

This maiden is off to find her own life.

So, Father, please live yours.

Do not miss me.

That is all.

...Snoring? Excuse me?

And after all the soul-searching and identity-seeking theater she’d been putting on, she suddenly decided now was the time to find herself?

Also, I am not her father. And I absolutely won’t miss her.

A mere few sentences, and yet each was filled with factual errors.

I was mentally deconstructing each ridiculous line when an unsettling realization struck me.

Something about this note felt off.

Wait. This wording... it sounds like she’s planning to move on without me.

“...Wait a minute. Did I just get abandoned?”

The more I read, the more apparent it became. The note’s entire tone was basically, I’m leaving you behind, so take care of yourself.

That couldn’t be right.

This had to be a joke.

Updat𝒆d fr𝒐m freewebnσvel.cøm.

I was normal and fragile, damn it. Without a bodyguard, I couldn’t even hope to escape from a minor vampire, let alone an Elder!

Still dazed, I turned my head toward the entrance of the burrow.

This was just a prank. No doubt about it. Any moment now, Hilde would waltz back in and say, “I was just kidding~.”

Yes. Just as I predicted—

“Oh? A rat’s burrow!”

—Wait.

That wasn’t Hilde.

Instead, a different girl had entered the burrow—one whose face, demeanor, and everything else about her was fundamentally different from Hilde.

This girl wasn’t a wanderer or a performer. She was a simple mountain village girl, born and raised here, likely expecting to live here for the rest of her life.

She had stumbled upon the burrow, but rather than venturing further inside, she called out excitedly.

“Uncle! I found a rat’s burrow! It’s huge!”

“Matilda! Don’t go any closer! Stay right where you are!”

A man’s voice responded from outside.

“Elder Bilitaire told us not to approach strange burrows before sundown!”

“Why? I can catch rats too!”

“Any hole that big wouldn’t house an ordinary rat! Now get back here! We’ll keep an eye on it until nightfall!”

Matilda pouted but ultimately obeyed, backing away without stepping inside.

I was safe.

For now.

...No, wait.

Nightfall.

If they came back then, I wouldn’t stand a chance. Even against Bilitaire, an Yeiling, I couldn’t guarantee victory in the dark.

Fighting vampires required daylight. That was a fundamental rule.

If I wanted to escape, I had to do it now.

But there was a problem.

I was terrible at fighting against multiple opponents.

One-on-one, I could find openings to exploit. In a chaotic battle, I could slip through unnoticed.

But against an overwhelming group, it was a different story.

My combat style relied entirely on strategic deception—setting traps and catching opponents off guard.

However, the most crucial factor in a strategic battle was numbers.

No matter how skilled a gambler was, if they were the only one at the table, they wouldn’t win a single coin. The number of cards I could play was simply too limited.

And my opponents?

Ordinary villagers who had entrusted their safety to vampires.

Amateurs.

But in a way, that made them even more dangerous.

A professional like me could predict the movements of trained fighters. But when a dozen untrained men swung their weapons wildly, with no sense of control?

Dodging would be impossible.

Especially if they surrounded the entrance of the burrow.

Which meant—

There was only one option left.

“Up!”

Rather than trying to break through the front, I had to go upward—tunnel my way out and break through their encirclement from above.

Fortunately, I wouldn’t have to go near the Yeiling’s hut. I could shift slightly to the side.

Of course, earth magic wasn’t omnipotent.

I couldn’t mold the ground like sand in my hands. When I had Jizan, I could cleave through the earth effortlessly. Without it, my earth magic was more limited—it could only displace the soil without disrupting its structural integrity.

But that was enough.

I dug at an angle, forming an upward tunnel. The soil yielded as I crawled swiftly on my knees.

And then—

I felt a presence.

A vampire’s thoughts echoed from above.

‘Digging through the ground, are you? Like a rat... No, more than that. You truly possess the power of a rat.’

Tch.

What are you going to do about it?

An Yeiling like you, weakened in broad daylight, can’t do a damn thing.

Scoffing, I used my earth magic to push upward. The collapsing dirt above me shimmered with the glow of morning sunlight.

‘If you thought a mere five hundred years would make me incapable of dealing with this, you were mistaken.’

...Huh?

What?

I tried to focus on reading Bilitaire’s thoughts—

But the Yeiling was faster than my mind.

Tch.

This is exactly why older vampires were troublesome. Their sheer age made it difficult to read all their thoughts at once.

And now—

I realized, too late—

He had been here for centuries.

He hadn’t just been living in this village.

He had bound himself to its very buildings and structures.

The land itself had become part of him.

And now—

He was about to shut me in.

The vampire’s hut was built with a framework of logs, reinforced with layers of animal hide to block out sunlight.

Bilitaire, the Yeiling of the Blood Eater Clan, had been bleeding inside this very structure.

Though he was merely a Yeiling, moving a building was well within his capabilities.

Creeeeak—

The hut groaned as it scraped against the ground, shifting ominously.

Suddenly, an immense weight pressed down upon the soil above me. The displaced earth came crashing down, threatening to bury me alive.

If I hesitated for even a moment, I’d be entombed on the spot.

This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.

I forced the collapsing dirt upward and ◆ Nоvеlіgһt ◆ (Only on Nоvеlіgһt) launched myself toward the surface.

And right there—

A girl stood in the darkness, her crimson eyes gleaming.

“You’ve surfaced, little rat.”

Bilitaire.

The village elder, the Yeiling of the Blood Eater Clan.

I had no choice but to greet the vampire with... courtesy.

“Squeak, squeak.”

“You still have the luxury of joking? That ability to burrow through the ground... Are you from the Alchemists of the Warring States? Or perhaps... the Earthmother Cult? No, wait.”

Bilitaire stretched out his hand and grasped a weapon.

A fork and a knife.

Not exactly battlefield weapons—but for a Blood Eater, whose combat was synonymous with feeding, there were no tools better suited for the job.

“How about we put away the sharp objects and start with a conversation?”

As I cautiously tried to rise, Bilitaire flipped the fork and knife into a reverse grip and took a step forward.

“Sure. I’ll talk. After I hang you on a hook.”

Damn it!

This was bad.

The opponent was a Yeiling—a vampire with immense strength and immortality.

The Blood Eater Clan lacked finesse in their blood sorcery, but the blood they did control was completely subjugated to their will. By Military State standards, Bilitaire was at least general-class.

Unlike qi, which cloaked and reinforced the body, a vampire’s blood sorcery was the very essence of their life force, making it incomparably stable.

In terms of sheer explosive power, a Military State general, who wielded advanced qi techniques and powerful weapons, might be stronger.

But there was one fatal difference—

Generals could die if they made a mistake.

Yeiling could not.

The Shadow I fought back in the Military State had been stronger than me, but they still had to approach cautiously, testing my abilities before committing.

Bilitaire?

He didn’t need to.

He wasn’t in any danger.

“If you don’t resist, I’ll settle for just an arm.”

“Why is it always the right arm?! Why are so many people obsessed with my right arm?!”

My panicked shout was ignored as Bilitaire’s knife slashed toward my shoulder.

Even though I could read his thoughts, his speed was beyond my ability to react.

Before, I always had someone stronger than me watching my back.

But now?

I was alone.

Damn it! I’ve worked so hard to keep my right arm intact—I have to block this!

But my pathetic body refused to move fast enough—

Wait.

It’s moving?

I can move.

I moved!

Thunk.

My hand intercepted Bilitaire’s wrist.

His strength was overwhelming—I could feel myself being pushed back—but I was holding him off.

I had read his intent and reacted accordingly—

And my body had actually kept up.

Before now, I could read my opponent’s thoughts, but I had always lacked the speed and power to respond.

But now—

Was this the Demon’s influence?

Come to think of it... my body has been feeling more comfortable lately.

“Hah. So your mouth isn’t the only thing that’s quick.”

“I’d say you need to loosen your mouth a bit more. We’ve got plenty of time, so why don’t we settle this with words instead of weapons? Not that I’m suggesting a kiss, mind you.”

I even added a little joke, but it didn’t seem to amuse the vampire.

Bilitaire immediately twisted his wrist, shifting his knife away from my shoulder and angling it toward my forearm instead.

A cutting attack rather than a piercing one.

Aiming for bleeding rather than immediate damage.

And if I bled, even for a moment—

It would be over.

Vampire-inflicted wounds never healed easily.

Shaking off Bilitaire’s grip, I fumbled for something at my waist.

My available cards?

A skewer and two steel wires.

Why do I always have such useless options?!

I really need to restock.

For now, I hurled my weapons at him. It was a desperate attempt to keep him away, but—

As expected of a vampire—

Even as the weapons embedded in his flesh, he didn’t care in the slightest.

Time to run.

I leaped over the vampire’s chair and dashed toward the wall.

Bilitaire followed at a leisurely pace.

“Flee all you like. This hut won’t open until I allow it.”

“What kind of thief waits for permission before breaking into or out of a house? Farewell!”

Ignoring him, I slammed my palm against the wall—

Elixir of the Demon’s Card, activate.

The Golden Mirror’s card could convert anything into card form.

Even a vampire’s hut was no exception.

This was the power of the Demon’s Card.

Behold—!

—Wait.

What?

Instead of breaking down, the wall regenerated instantly.

Dozens of cards burst forth where my palm touched—

Yet the wall remained intact.

“You were warned,” Bilitaire murmured. “You entered with my permission... but without my permission, you cannot leave.”

Bilitaire’s blood aura surged through the hut.

The walls, the floor, the furniture—

Everything pulsed with a living presence.

My card magic had transformed part of the hut—

But the moment it changed, his blood sorcery sealed the gap.

That’s when I understood.

I had underestimated Bilitaire’s ability.

The Blood Eater Clan’s greatest power was devouring—a form of blood sorcery that was difficult to manifest externally.

I had let my guard down.

But now—

Reading Bilitaire’s thoughts—

I finally understood what he had done.

Bilitaire had spent centuries spreading his essence through this hut, pouring his power into it, making it an extension of himself.

This wasn’t just a house.

This was his body.

“The moment you entered this hut... you were inside my stomach.”

Clank.

Creak.

The plates shifted. The chairs trembled.

The giant cauldron and fire poker groaned as they began to move.

Every single object in the hut stirred—

As if coming to life.

Like a witch’s house from a fairytale, filled with eerie, animated furniture.

And each piece...

Was closing in on me.