Chapter 2: Master
"No... that can’t be..." Ronan shook his head in disbelief, but everything changed when he saw himself.
His skin was stretched and hairless, and it was already decomposing.
Ronan suppressed the urge to vomit as he quickly looked away, but by this point, his body was trembling.
He truly might be a Ghoul.
He looked back at the system notification and swallowed hard.
What was this?
Why...?
He had obviously transmigrated as a human. Wouldn’t it have been nice if he awakened this system, whatever it did, then gradually turned a weak Trait into an unbelievable one, conquered the world beneath his feet, and...
Heh...
Unless this system required him to be a Ghoul...
Ronan fought the urge to vomit again as he tried to accept his new body.
"Well, it doesn’t matter. I’m still a transmigrator with a cheat. There’s nothing I can’t accomplish," Ronan puffed out his chest confidently before walking toward the growls he had been hearing for a while.
Currently, he seemed to be in a vast open area filled with uneven terrain, giant trees in the distance, and rolling hills.
Ronan couldn’t help but shiver when he saw the hills, but thankfully, these were much smaller. As he turned a corner, he finally saw them.
A huge mass of flesh-eating beings growled like mindless beasts as they slowly walked along a single path.
Their skin was even more rotten than his.
For the first time, Ronan saw what Ghouls truly looked like.
He couldn’t hold it in anymore.
He vomited.
The sound immediately caught the attention of the horde as they stopped and looked at him.
"Shit..."
Ronan looked at what he had vomited and wanted to cry.
It definitely looked like a piece of human flesh that hadn’t been digested yet.
His head buzzed.
Then he was stunned by the silence.
"What happened...?" Ronan couldn’t help but ask as he looked at the black grass beneath his feet before gulping.
The Ghoul horde had completely stopped.
Every single one of them was looking at him.
Being stared at by that many Ghouls made Ronan feel every hair on his body stand on end...
Even though he was also a Ghoul.
"Rooar... Rooar..."
Ronan hurriedly stood up and let out a rough growl as he stretched his arms forward and staggered ahead.
Seeing this, the Ghoul horde finally turned forward and continued moving.
There were nearly thirty of them.
Ronan quickly joined the group, mirroring their movements.
After all, he still remembered the system’s mission.
There was a Vampire Castle up ahead.
Vampires...
Ronan couldn’t help but recall what he knew about them from this body’s memories.
They were one of the Abyssal Creatures, a sub-race beneath the true Demon race.
Just like Ghouls.
However, unlike their mindless, flesh-eating counterparts, Vampires possessed intelligence comparable to humans.
Not only that, they could create hordes of Ghouls using their blood and maintain absolute control over them.
According to what he knew, apart from the main Demon race, Vampires were one of the few sub-races capable of rivaling the major races.
The abilities born from their blood-sucking Trait were terrifying.
The stronger ones could even manipulate enemy commanders, causing entire armies to destroy themselves from within.
This made Ronan nervous.
After all, these undead creatures were incredibly perceptive.
The system’s mission was looking more and more like an impossible challenge, making Ronan wonder if this was really supposed to be a newbie mission.
Just as he was lost in thought, he suddenly bumped into the Ghoul in front of him as the horde came to a stop.
Caught off guard by the surprisingly sturdy body, Ronan nearly fell over.
Before he could get angry, however, his expression froze.
A colossal castle loomed before them, perched atop a mountain of black stone like a monarch overlooking its domain.
Countless crimson-lit towers rose into the dim sky, their sharp spires resembling fangs ready to pierce the heavens.
The walls, forged from dark obsidian, were polished to an unnatural sheen, while blood-red banners swayed gently despite the still air.
A massive iron gate, etched with grotesque carvings of Vampires feasting upon countless races, guarded the entrance.
An invisible pressure descended upon Ronan, making him feel as small as an ant.
"Come in."
A soft male voice echoed through the surroundings.
Ronan felt his heart pound in fright...
Or at least, he thought it did.
After all, he was a Ghoul now.
He no longer had one.
The horde began moving once more.
At this moment, Ronan felt that if he were still human, cold sweat would have been pouring down his face.
Silently, he followed the Ghoul horde as the massive gates slowly opened, revealing elegant courtyards and magnificent buildings hidden within the Vampire Castle.
Going in, the horde made a sharp turn to the left as they headed toward the last courtyard.
The closer they got, the more at ease Ronan felt, like a child returning home.
"This is..."
Just as they reached the entrance of the building, the horde stopped marching as Ronan felt a terrifying aura emanating from the mansion before them.
Yet, at the same time, he also felt strangely at ease.
He was amazed by it.
He remembered that, as a Ghoul, he was connected to his master, so the strange feeling could be explained.
Click...
They didn’t wait long before the door opened.
Ronan felt his breath catch.
Such elegance, handsomeness, and exquisite attire were unlike anything he had ever seen.
The beauty of this man surpassed even that of those on his former Earth.
Ronan had no doubt that if this being were brought to Earth, he would become a world-famous supermodel.
No...
A male god among models.
His beauty was simply out of this world.
Fortunately, Ronan was now undead, allowing him to snap out of his daze.
Now, only fear remained.
Just looking at this being had almost thrown him into a trance.
To Ronan, the man’s pale skin was like a glaring warning as he swallowed hard.
If he had still been human...
He would have definitely been exposed.
"You did well," the man spoke.
His voice was like a drug.
Ronan felt himself slipping into a trance once again.
"Damn it! I don’t swing that way... Concentrate!!"
Ronan shouted inwardly.
But the harder he struggled, the harder it became to resist.
"No..."
Ronan tried to fight back, but he felt himself being drawn in the more he resisted.
He knew that if this continued, he would most likely be exposed.
And his end wouldn’t be pretty.
Just as Ronan felt he couldn’t hold on any longer, a mechanical voice echoed in his mind.
[Ding! Mission Completed.]
[The system has been fully awakened.]
[Congratulations! Host has awakened the Origin Trait System.]
[Ding! Newbie Gift Available.]
[Does the host wish to open it?]
[Yes / No]