The System Awakens: Rise of the Champion - Chapter 75

Chapter 75: Chapter 75: Power Vs Pride – 1

Damian looked at his final opponent in the power ranking, the awakener he had to defeat to claim the number one position.

As soon as the awakener appeared, Damian felt a shift in the air, an overwhelming pressure unlike anything he had experienced before.

At the same time, he noticed the temperature in the entire battleground rising rapidly.

Narrowing his eyes, Damian observed his opponent.

The man had extremely pale skin, glowing blood-red eyes, and two sharp canine teeth shimmering under the sunlight.

Contrary to what Damian had expected, the vampire did not burn under the sun’s rays.

“Looks like this vampire has the ability to walk under the sun,” Damian pondered.

As an avid fan of fantasy lore, he naturally knew about vampires, probably the most famous mythical creatures known to Earthlings.

However, his interest went beyond mere curiosity.

Supposedly, werewolves and vampires were ancient races with unique powers and abilities that made them two of the most prominent species to ever exist in the universe.

He didn’t know how much of it was true, but he was determined to find out what they were truly capable of.

“You are interesting, to say the least,” the vampire suddenly spoke.

“Is that right?” Damian replied.

“Of course… You have not only fought and won 199 battles consecutively but also dominated your opponents with overwhelming strength. Even the top ten rankers of the power ranking were no exception. Even that damn dog, Silas Moonrend, lost to you miserably.” The vampire’s tone carried a strange sense of appreciation.

“Heh… Just like how you’re about to lose… miserably,” Damian responded, tilting his head with a wide grin.

The vampire didn’t lose his smile, but Damian could tell his words had struck a nerve.

The green veins popping on the vampire’s pale forehead were proof of it.

“…I have an offer for you,” the vampire said, attempting to ignore Damian’s taunt.

Though his anger was evident, he controlled himself impressively.

Vampires were known to feel emotions a hundred times more intensely than humans, especially fury, but this noble vampire seemed well-trained in suppressing his emotions.

“Not interested.” Damian shrugged, dismissing it without a second thought.

The same couldn’t be said for the vampire, however.

“Why don’t you hear me out before rejecting my offer? Trust me, it will be appealing to you.”

The vampire’s lips curled into a smile, though the veins on his forehead told a completely different story.

Damian remained silent, prompting the vampire to continue.

“I am offering you the chance to become something greater, a chance to finally shed the weak husk of humanity and ascend to one of the greatest races to ever exist… a Vampire,” the noble vampire, Aeron Brunnlith, declared.

Damian’s expression remained unchanged, but inwardly, he was considering the offer.

Becoming a vampire certainly had more advantages than becoming a werewolf.

If a person was turned into a werewolf by an Alpha, they would become a Beta, a mere subordinate, bound by an unbreakable chain of servitude.

However, when a noble vampire turned a human, they became a Plebian Vampire.

Plebian Vampires were the lowest rank within vampire society, considered commoners among their kind.

They possessed all the abilities of a noble vampire but at a much weaker scale.

They also gained attunement to a special energy called Blood Essence but lacked the power to turn others into vampires or wield the unique racial abilities that noble vampires possessed.

Compared to becoming a Beta werewolf, becoming a Plebian Vampire was certainly the better option.

However, it wouldn’t change the fact that he would still be nothing special among vampires.

That alone was a dealbreaker for Damian.

More importantly, noble vampires would always rule over Plebian Vampires, and Damian had no interest in being ruled by anyone.

He didn’t care if he remained human. He would find his own way to evolve into a higher being.

Besides, he had already triggered the [Evolution Mission] in his system and had nearly completed all the required tasks.

Soon, he would evolve into a higher-ranked existence of his own making.

After thinking about it for a few seconds, though in reality, his mind had processed scenarios worthy of fifteen minutes, Damian looked at him and simply shook his head.

“Nah.”

The vampire’s brows narrowed.

He did not like this one bit.

There was a reason he was trying to recruit Damian while maintaining as much politeness as possible because he had witnessed the brutal way Damian crushed his opponents, especially those from the [Lord’s Disciple] faction.

Awakeners like Silas Moonrend, who had threatened him, were beaten particularly viciously.

Even though the noble vampire, Aeron Brunnlith, was powerful enough to hold the number one position in the rankings for so long, after watching battle after battle for the entire day without a break, he had begun to doubt himself.

The extraordinary strength Damian displayed had shaken even him.

Did he really have what it took to fight this human-shaped monster?

That thought angered him more than anything.

He was a noble vampire, yet he was afraid to face a mere human in a direct fight.

A pathetic husk of flesh, one that should be nothing more than a blood bank for him.

And what infuriated him even more was that he had attempted to avoid the fight by being polite.

Polite?

He was a proud noble vampire! How could he act politely toward a lowly human?

Just thinking about it made his blood boil beyond comprehension.

Vampires felt everything a hundred times stronger than humans, yet never in his life had he felt such humiliation and rage.

He wanted to kill this human.

He wanted to hear him scream while he carved into his flesh with his claws, savoring the sight of his blood painting his hands crimson.

He wanted to watch as the human’s life drained away, excruciatingly slow.

But he couldn’t do that if he was the weaker one.

He could have simply declared his loss and avoided the fight.

But that would wound his pride.

Just the thought of being defeated by a lowly human he despised, in front of the entire arena, in front of all the people he had previously crushed, in front of his own legion of lesser vampires, was unbearable.

His pride would never allow it.

Even so, he had kept his mind clear enough to try and entice Damian with the promise of being turned into a vampire.

Surely a lowly human wouldn’t refuse, right?

At least, that was what he had anticipated.

But Damian had refused. He had actually refused.

That was the breaking point.

Every emotion Aeron had been suppressing erupted all at once.

“Who do you think you are… you lowly human? You dare refuse my offer? The offer to become a vampire? From me?”

The vampire’s aura exploded in response to his fury, and the temperature of the entire battleground began to rise rapidly.

Damian could feel the wind becoming hotter and hotter as flames engulfed the vampire’s body.

Damian raised an eyebrow, watching as the intensity of the flames grew alongside the vampire’s transformation.

Aeron’s height increased by a few inches, his long hair turned completely white before igniting into flames, and a pair of wings formed behind him as if they were being forged from fire itself.

His nails extended into long, crimson claws, his eyes burned like molten fire, and his frame became leaner yet more deadly.

With this transformation, his strength, speed, and regeneration all skyrocketed.

[You have entered the Partial Ancestral Form of the Noble Vampires.]

[All your physical abilities will increase by 100%.]

The entire battleground became a field of fire as the flames spread in every direction.

“This is where you shall die,” Aeron snarled, now completely consumed by his pride.

Every rational thought had been overtaken by his overwhelming desire to tear apart the lowly human standing before him.

And yet… that human still had that irritating smile on his face.

Aeron had just transformed into a form that only noble vampires could access, a form revered for its power, a form that every vampire aspired to achieve.

But not everyone could. Only ancient vampires older than a thousand years or those with extraordinary talent, like Aeron Brenlith, could attain it.

Every noble vampire had the potential to achieve this form, but very few ever did.

And yet, in the presence of such power, that damn human still had that same, infuriating smile.

There was nothing more enraging than that.

Damian didn’t say anything.

In fact, he didn’t care what form the vampire had taken.

Aeron had just transformed into a form that only noble vampires could access, a form revered for its power, a form that every vampire aspired to achieve.

He was just curious about the form the vampire had taken.

This form reminded him of the [Flame Avatar] he possessed, except that the vampire’s entire bodily structure had changed.

Damin could sense that the vampire’s presence had transformed as well; it was much larger than before.

…

[A/N: Come on, everyone! You’ve made it this far, so why not add my novel to your favorites? And if it’s not too much trouble, please leave a review or drop some POWER STONES!]