Chapter 2: The Anomaly in the Archives
The sun had long since dipped below the horizon, surrendering the sky to the twin moons of this world—one pale white, the other a bruised, distinct violet. For the inhabitants of the manor, night was a time of rest and vulnerability. For Serafina, it was like breathing pure oxygen after holding her breath all day.
Her muscles hummed with a potent, kinetic energy. The lethargy of the afternoon sun had vanished, replaced by the +20% nocturnal augmentation she had hypothesized. She moved through the dark hallways silently, her feet making no sound on the hardwood floors. Her destination was not the kitchen, but the library.
It was a large room, two stories high, filled with the smell of old paper and leather. It was the only gift from her father, King Aethelgard, that seemed to hold any genuine value. If she was to survive the Queen's next assassination attempt, she needed to understand the variables of this experiment. She needed to understand the world of Solara.
She lit an oil lamp—flinching slightly at the smell of the whale oil—and set it on a large oak reading table. She began pulling books from the shelves, her movements precise and systematic. Geography. History. Biology. Arcane Theory.
She opened a massive, leather-bound tome titled The Atlas of Solara: Cartography and Geopolitics.
I. The Geography and The Premise
Serafina traced her pale finger across the yellowed parchment map. The world was not spherical, or at least, the known world was comprised of one massive super-continent surrounded by a treacherous, storm-wracked ocean known as the Abyssal Expanse.
The continent, Aethelgard, was divided into distinct geopolitical zones, dictated not just by borders, but by the density of "Mana Veins" in the earth.
** The Central Plains (The Kingdom of Aethelgard):** Where she was currently located. A massive human territory, fertile and rich in agriculture. It was the breadbasket of the world but lacked high density ambient mana.
The Northern Frostlands (The Iron Pact): Home to the Dwarves and hardy human tribes. It was a mountainous region rich in mineral ores and heavy metals.
The Emerald Expanse (The Elven Dominion): A massive forest to the East, saturated with so much mana that the trees grew hundreds of feet tall. Humans were generally forbidden from entering without permits.
The Scorchlands (The Draconic Roost): To the South, a volcanic region inhabited by Dragons and reptilian Beast-kin.
The Deadlands: A mysterious, grey patch on the map to the West. The text described it as a place where "Mana stagnates and twists."
The Core Premise:
As she read, she realized this world operated on a resource called Aetherium.
Centuries ago, massive subterranean structures known as Dungeons had erupted from the earth. They weren't just monster nests; they were ecological organs. These Dungeons absorbed ambient mana from the atmosphere and condensed it into solid crystals—Aetherium.
Aetherium was the oil and electricity of this world. It powered the streetlights in the capital, it heated the homes of the wealthy, and it fueled the "Mana-Rails" (trains) that connected the major cities.
"Magitech," Serafina whispered, her eyes gleaming. "A localized industrial revolution powered by crystallized magic. And the Dungeons are the mines."
This explained the economy. Whoever controlled a Dungeon controlled the wealth. The King's power didn't come just from lineage; it came from the fact that the Royal Family held the keys to the three largest Dungeons in the Central Plains.
II. Societal Structure: Mages vs. Warriors
She moved to the next book: The Anatomy of Power: A Treatise on Mana and Aura.
Here, she found the answer to why she had been reincarnated into a world of swords and sorcery.
In Solara, magical affinity was genetic and rare among humans. Only about 1 in 1,000 humans possessed a "Mana Core" capable of processing atmospheric mana into spells. These individuals became Mages. Because they were so rare and essential for refining Aetherium and maintaining technology, Mages were the elite. They were scholars, researchers, and artillery.
However, evolution is adaptable. The majority of humans, lacking Mana Cores, had evolved a different biological system to compete with magical beasts. They couldn't pull power from the outside, so they cultivated it from the inside.
They used Aura.
Aura was the condensation of physical vitality and life force. Through rigorous training, humans could harden their skin to steel, move faster than the eye could see, and project shockwaves with their weapons. These were the Warriors.
The Ranking System:
The book outlined a strict, universal hierarchy used by the Adventurer's Guild and the Military to classify threats and individuals.
Human/Sentient Ranks (Mages & Warriors):
Rank F (Novice): The average soldier or apprentice.
Rank E (Adept): Capable of fighting minor monsters.
Rank D (Expert): Veteran soldiers. Captain level.
Rank C (Master): The elite. Can destroy a small building with a strike or spell.
Rank B (Grandmaster): General level. Strategic assets.
Rank A (Saint): One-man army. Only a few dozen exist in the Kingdom.
Rank S (Demigod): Legends. Capable of altering maps. (The King was rumored to be a peak A-Rank Warrior).
Creature/Monster Ranks:
Class 1 (Low Threat): Slimes, giant rats.
Class 2 (Medium Threat): Goblins, Wolves.
Class 3 (High Threat): Ogres, Trolls, Wyverns.
Class 4 (Calamity): Dragons, Hydras, Demon Lords.
Class 5 (Catastrophe): World-ending threats.
III. Nobility and Governance
Serafina picked up a scroll detailing the Peerage of Aethelgard. If she was to navigate the court—assuming she survived—she needed to know who held the leashes.
The Kingdom was a feudal monarchy, but with a capitalist twist due to the Dungeon economy.
The Royal Family: Owners of the "Prime" Dungeons.
Archdukes: Rulers of the four cardinal regions. Usually related to the crown.
Dukes: Overseers of major cities.
Marquises: Defenders of the borders (Military commanders).
Counts: Administrators of trade hubs and minor Dungeons.
Viscounts & Barons: Local lords, landholders.
The lore indicated that 500 years ago, there was a "Great War of Races." Humans, Elves, and Dwarves had fought over Dungeon rights. The war ended with the Treaty of Glass, establishing the current borders. However, tensions remained high. Human nobility often enslaved beast-kin (half-human, half-animal hybrids) as labor, considering them "sub-species."
Serafina looked at her own pale hands. "In a world defined by hierarchy, being an illegitimate child places me at the bottom of the nobility, but being a 'human' places me above the beast-kin. A precarious middle ground."
IV. The Biological Anomaly
Finally, she opened the book she had saved for last: The Encyclopedia of Mythical Biology and Aberrations.
She needed to know about her own kind. She needed to know the weaknesses, the history, and the culture of Vampires in Solara. If there was a Vampire King or a Council, she needed to find them for protection.
She flipped to the index.
Valravn... Valkyrie... Vargouille...
She frowned. She flipped back.
Undead... Ghouls... Liches... Zombies... Skeletons...
She scanned the entries on "Blood Drinkers."
The only entries were:
The Sanguine Bat: A small mammal found in caves.
** The Red Leech:** A swamp parasite.
** The Blood-Root Plant:** A carnivorous flora.
"Strange," she muttered. She turned to the section on "Regeneration."
The entry focused almost entirely on Trolls.
The Troll is a Class 3 beast known for its high vitality. It can regrow severed limbs over the course of several days. However, its regeneration is halted entirely by fire or acid, which cauterizes the cells.
She read further. Hydras.
Class 4 Beast. Regrows heads. Weakness: Fire and Holy Magic.
She frantically flipped through the entire book. She looked for "Pale Skin," "Sunlight Sensitivity," "Coffins," "Fangs."
Nothing.
There were legends of Liches—mages who stored their souls in phylacteries to achieve immortality—but they were skeletal, decaying things. There were stories of demonic possession. But there was absolutely no record, in history or mythology, of a race of beautiful, immortal, blood-drinking humanoids who feared garlic and sunlight.
Serafina sat back, the heavy book thumping shut. The silence of the library felt heavier now.
"The hypothesis requires adjustment," she whispered, her voice trembling with a mix of fear and exhilaration.
In her previous world, vampires were fiction. In this world, they were non-existent.
"I am not a member of a race," she realized. "I am a mutation. An anomaly."
She stood up and paced the room, her mind racing, connecting the dots.
Magic vs. Aura: Humans split into Mages (Mana) and Warriors (Aura).
Serafina's Physiology: She had checked her 'core' earlier. She didn't have a Mana Core like a mage. She didn't have the Aura pathways of a warrior.
The Third Path: She used Blood.
"My blood is my mana," she deduced. "I don't need to draw from the atmosphere, and I don't need to cultivate life force. I steal life force directly from others and convert it into power. I am a predator in an ecosystem that has no defense against me because it doesn't know I exist."
She thought about the Trolls. They feared fire. She had held her hand over a candle earlier; it hurt, but her skin didn't stop regenerating. She wasn't a Troll.
She thought about the Mages. They ran out of mana and became helpless. As long as Serafina had blood, she was infinite.
She walked to the window. The twin moons bathed the garden in silver and violet light.
"If there are no vampires," she said to her reflection in the glass, "then there are no vampire hunters. There is no garlic in the stores to ward me off. There are no wooden stakes prepared. The church has no prayers designed for me."
She grinned, and the sight was terrifying.
"I am the patient zero. I am the Progenitor."
She looked down at her hands. If she was the first, that meant she had no teacher. She had no ancient elder to guide her. But it also meant she had no ceiling. The limitations of 'vampires' in fiction might not apply to her here.
"I need to test the limits of this 'Blood Energy'," she planned, pulling a fresh piece of parchment. "If Mages use spells and Warriors use techniques, I must develop my own arts."
She wrote down a new classification for herself, separate from the Guild's ranking system.
Subject: Serafina
Class: Unique / Variant
Power Source: Vitality Theft / Hemomancy
Current Threat Level: Estimated Class 2 (Due to physical weakness of a 10-year-old body).
Potential Threat Level: Class 5 (Catastrophe).
She blew the ink dry.
"The King thinks he hid a shameful secret in the woods," she murmured, blowing out the lamp and letting the darkness embrace her. "He has no idea he just planted the seed of a new apex predator."
Tomorrow, she would begin her physical training. She couldn't rely on magic alone. If this world had Warriors who could move faster than sound, she needed to be able to see them coming. She would use the knowledge of the "Warriors" to temper her immortal body, and the knowledge of "Mages" to refine her blood control.
She would become the hybrid this world had never seen. The World's First Vampire.