Reincarnated as a Vampire Who Acquires Skills Through Blood-Chapter 49 - The Golden Knight [1]

I stood in front of the massive, ancient double doors for a good while.

I was waiting to see if there were really no monsters or hidden traps lurking in the shadows. After looking around the area several times, I was able to confirm that there was absolutely nothing there except for the daunting room itself.

I couldn’t find any other way down to the next level, so the path was likely behind these doors. I even tried to lure some of the monsters from the previous floor over to this spot, but for some reason, they refused to come down here. It was like they were making a conscious effort not to enter a predator’s territory.

’I don’t know why they are acting that way, but this works out just fine for me.’

I thought of that as I looked down at the floor. Onyx was right there at my feet, fast asleep. I carefully took off my chestplate and placed it over his small body to keep him warm and somewhat protected.

My plan was to leave him here outside while I entered the room alone. I was definitely worried about leaving him, but it seemed like the safest bet I could make given the circumstances.

And so, with that settled, I turned my attention back to the double doors.

CREAK--!

I put my weight into it and pushed them open.

They were heavy as fuck. The entire room seemed to shake as I managed to create a small gap between the two heavy doors. Onyx somehow stayed asleep through the noise, which was a bit of a mystery to me.

I did not open the doors completely. Once there was just enough space for me to fit through— TAP!

I stepped inside the room without any more hesitation.

*****

Behind the massive doors, the space inside was actually smaller than what I had originally expected. It was about the size of a standard basketball court. The whole place was almost entirely empty, except for one thing.

There was a single knight.

He was standing right in the middle of the room, looking incredibly menacing.

His entire body was covered from head to toe in a suit of golden armor. It looked like it had once been a beautiful set of gear, engraved with some kind of royal crest, but now it was battered and covered in dents. There was also dried blood smeared all over the gold surface.

-...

The knight noticed my presence the very second I entered the room. He turned his body toward me, and then, without making a single sound— FWIP~

He raised a long sword in his right hand and a heavy shield in the other. In my opinion, that sword looked way too long to be used effectively with just one hand.

But I didn’t say anything. Instead— SWOOSH~ 𝑓𝘳𝘦𝑒𝑤𝑒𝘣𝘯ℴ𝘷𝘦𝓁.𝑐𝑜𝑚

I covered my whole body with [Black Scales] and unsheathed my own sword.

"..."

The two of us just stood there staring at each other, silently observing and measuring one another up. The heavy silence of the room was starting to make me frown.

I couldn’t see my opponent’s face because of his helmet, but I assumed he probably looked like the other monsters I had encountered on my way down here. If the other monsters were the common guards or knights of this castle, then this fellow standing in front of me was likely the knight captain.

It felt a bit weird, considering I was pretending to be a knight captain myself.

"Let’s see if my actual skills are up to the task."

I mumbled that to myself with a small smile. Then, without any hesitation— BAM!

I dashed forward, straight toward my enemy.

TAAAANG!!

I swung my blade down in a heavy vertical slash, but he was fast enough to block it perfectly with his shield. Then immediately— SWOOSH— he followed up with a quick thrust aimed directly at my side.

I originally thought about just ignoring the strike because of [Black Scales], but for some reason, my [Danger Sense] started screaming at me. So with a frown on my face— SWISH~!

I spun my body to the right and narrowly avoided the tip of the blade.

TIIING!

I used the momentum of my spin to counter with a powerful horizontal slash of my own, but it was blocked by that damn shield again. Then, from that very position— FWOOSH!

I saw the tip of his sword coming straight for my face! It was another lightning-fast thrust!

I jolted my left arm up, and using my vambrace— THUNK!

I managed to deflect the sword slightly upward, and I tilted my head to the side at the same time to avoid the point. But even with all those reactions— SLASH— a small cut opened up on my left cheek.

My crimson-red blood started to trickle out.

BAM!

I decided to jump backward for a moment to gain some much-needed distance. I looked down at the armor on my left arm, the part I had just used to block the knight’s attack.

The metal was broken wide open like it was made of cheap plastic.

’No wonder [Danger Sense] acted up like that... maybe even with [Black Scales], I will still receive a fatal wound if I am not careful enough.’

I thought that to myself in a split second as I looked back at the enemy in front of me.

WHOOSH—!

The knight was already rushing toward me again, holding his shield out in front as if he wanted to bash me into the wall. It was a golden circular shield, and it looked about as big as a car wheel.

I didn’t shy away from the charge. Instead— TIIIIIIINK!!!

I raised my sword high over my head and brought it down with everything I had. I could feel my arms trembling from the impact as my weapon and his shield collided with a deafening ring.

The knight was forced to stop his approach.

THUD!

I launched a heavy kick toward his stomach, but he managed to stop it by raising his knee.

SWIIISH—

I followed up instantly with a horizontal swing— TUNG!

But the shield just deflected my attack again. Then, as I found myself in a slightly awkward position— WHISH!

The knight swiftly swung his weapon down toward the top of my head, clearly planning to break my skull open!

I frowned as I watched the blade descend, but I stayed calm. FWIP— I twisted my wrist at the last second, aiming my sword upward— TANG!

Then I swung it as hard as I possibly could and blew the knight’s weapon and his arm up into the air!

FWIP~

I rotated my wrist again, this time aiming downward, and swiftly— SLASH- TINK!

I brought the blade down and smashed my sword directly against the knight’s helmet.

I didn’t seem to deal much actual damage because of that sturdy golden armor, but the force of the blow was still enough to make the knight stumble back a few steps.

-...

He just looked at me without saying a word after that.

"What? Is that really all you have got?"

I asked him, feeling slightly disappointed by the exchange.

Then, at that exact moment— THUNK!

"Huh?"

He simply dropped his shield. The sound of the heavy metal hitting the floor echoed throughout the empty room.

Then, with his left hand now empty— FWIP. He reached over and gripped his sword with both hands!

"...?!"

I immediately frowned when I saw that change in stance. After all— [Danger Sense] just started flaring up like crazy!

"Ugh, I knew that sword was way too long to be used with just one hand."

I muttered that under my breath.