While Li De was engrossed in studying the magic that fascinated him, the sound of flapping wings came from outside the window.
A bat the size of a palm flew into the room through the half-open stained-glass window.
Li De narrowed his eyes slightly. This was a bat raised in the vampire’s ancient castle, serving the same purpose as homing pigeons for humans.
He extended his hand, and the bat, circling in the room, glided down and landed gracefully in his palm.
With practiced ease, Li De brought the bat to his ear, and a voice sounded.
"Your Majesty, the Progenitor, please return to the ancient castle as soon as possible."
A Tier 2 spell, Sound Retention.
A relatively rare spell that Li De hadn’t learned, as the Vampire Progenitor had little interest in such auxiliary spells.
Among the vampires, only two second-generation bloodline descendants had learned it. This voice belonged to one of them, a female vampire named Lucy.
Li De was also curious about the vampire’s stronghold.
As the Vampire Progenitor, it was time for him to return. After all, the vampires were now his foundation.
He glanced at the clock on the wall. It was already three in the afternoon.
Clocks had long existed in this world, but time wasn’t measured in hours. Instead, it was counted in sun-hours.
One sun-hour was equivalent to one hour.
It was a bit peculiar but not hard to remember.
Li De rang the magic bell in the room, its clear, melodious sound echoing through every corner of the mage tower.
A few minutes later, the sound of Vina’s shoes tapping against the floor grew closer.
The door opened, and the girl panted a few times before catching her breath.
Vina’s face was slightly flushed.
"Lord Li De, what do you need?"
Li De used the excuse he often relied on.
"I’ve gained new insights into magic and need to test them on some magical beasts outside the city."
Every vampire had to consume blood once a month. While ordinary food could provide some energy, it lacked the unique substances found in blood.
This was true for every vampire, including him, the Vampire Progenitor.
If a vampire didn’t consume blood, their life would be in danger.
The Vampire Progenitor would never prey on ordinary people within the city, so he returned to the ancient castle once a month to drink blood there.
The Vampire Progenitor’s bloodline was extremely mysterious. Even a transcendent mage couldn’t detect his true identity through normal means, so staying hidden in Green City wasn’t particularly dangerous.
He never engaged in actions that could expose his identity.
Thus, Vina was accustomed to Li De’s frequent outings.
"Lord Li De, please be careful. I’ll make sure your room is cleaned."
Li De nodded slightly and, after handling some minor tasks, prepared to leave for the ancient castle.
His innate talent granted him immunity to sunlight, so the sun, which was a natural enemy to vampires, posed no obstacle to him. He could leave at any time.
Vampires had an extremely poor reputation among humans and were seen as mortal enemies. If discovered, they would be hunted down by armies and mages.
To avoid having their stronghold destroyed, Li De’s ancient castle was located deep in the Far Mountain Range, five hundred kilometers from Green City.
After making the necessary arrangements, he descended from the seventh floor to the first.
Along the way, the dozen or so mage apprentices he encountered bowed respectfully to him.
These apprentices, recruited into the mage tower over the past three years, all had the potential to become mages, though their talents weren’t exceptional.
Mages were the most difficult and talent-dependent profession, and none of these apprentices had yet grown into full-fledged mages.
Li De acknowledged them with a slight nod. These apprentices had initially been recruited to serve as a cover for his identity, so the original Vampire Progenitor hadn’t taken their training seriously.
Of course, Li De also had no intention of focusing on teaching them at the moment. He would deal with them when he had the time.
In front of the Crimson Mage Tower, two servants had already prepared a carriage.
When Li De, dressed in a blue high-level mage robe, appeared on the street, the surrounding crowd immediately showed signs of fear.
Many commoners even lowered their heads, not daring to look directly at him.
Due to their reclusive nature and constant study of magic, most mages were known to have eccentric temperaments. It was common knowledge that mage lords could be unpredictable.
Mages, who wielded mysterious magic and possessed power far beyond that of ordinary people, were both admired and feared by the common folk.
Offending a noble might result in a few lashes, but offending a mage lord could mean facing a deadly spell.
Seeing the mix of envy and fear on people’s faces, Li De remained unfazed. Such scenes were all too familiar in his memories.
Even the nobles of Green City wouldn’t dare act presumptuously in front of a high-level mage with formidable power. "Magic is truth," the motto of the Goddess of Magic, was a creed all mages lived by.
The interior of the carriage was luxurious, with the fur of an unknown magical beast stitched with blooming irises.
The soft cushions were even more comfortable than a sofa, sinking deeply when sat upon.
The carriage’s windows were made of glass, shielding against the cold wind. Drawing back the curtains, Li De could see the scenes along the road.
Although Li De acknowledged the city’s rich, exotic charm, the level of filth and disorder made him, a modern man accustomed to clean and tidy cities, frown.
Clogged sewers, rats scurrying onto the streets, and even beggars relieving themselves in the alleys.
All these scenes highlighted the ignorance and backwardness of this era.
At the same time, they were so real that Li De couldn’t tear his eyes away.
Whether it was the haggling vendors on the streets or the occasional passing nobles, their expressions, body language, and behavior all indicated that this world was not a virtual game.
Every person had their own soul and was a living being.
It took a full hour and a half for the carriage to pass through the towering city walls. The city, with a population of over a million, was unimaginably large, especially without modern high-rise buildings. The land utilization rate was shockingly low.
Not far from the city gates, Li De had the two servants stop the carriage in a secluded grove of trees and stepped out alone.
The servants were already accustomed to his behavior. After bidding him farewell, they drove the carriage back to the city.
Li De entered the grove and cast a Tier 2 spell, Detection, to ensure no outsiders were present.
Opening his attribute panel with a thought, he activated the vampire’s racial talent.
Bat Transformation: You can transform into 100 small bats, each containing 5% of your power. As long as one bat survives, you can regenerate. You can also manifest bat wings to fly, with a speed equal to 50% of the small bats.
This skill could almost be considered the vampire’s strongest survival ability.
Transforming into 100 bats and scattering them meant that as long as one escaped, you could regenerate and survive.
Among escape skills, it ranked near the top.
It could also be used for travel.
Since it was a racial talent, Li De found casting it even easier than Small Fireball.
A puff of black smoke flashed.
Li De’s figure instantly disappeared, replaced by a hundred bats flapping their wings and taking flight.