Veronica DeLuca stared out at the skyline and grimaced, Austin had turned into a shithole the st fifty years before the towers emerged. She preferred Dals as opposed to the state capitol, and Dals had become a hub for Demi-Humans that had emerged with the towers and was the capital of the Midwest region of the North American Houses, which only increased the activity going on.
Marcus had refused to tell her why he was dispatching her to this shithole until she was on the pne and flying, the emergence of another Pureblood had rocked her. It would change everything and draw even more attention to the Midwest as no Pureblood had cimed the region as of yet.
Veronica turned towards the driver, "Any word from the guild?" it had been three days since the Pureblood had gone through the Intergration process, the man had survived but it had been a near thing.
While Marcus wanted her here in Austin immediately, she had been sent to Midnd to deal with a backwater House that had gotten out of hand, and eliminating the troublemakers had been a priority for every House in the Midwest region. "No ma'am, but they said his mental and biological responses have been getting stronger and they expect him to wake at any time they guild reported after we touched down." the driver reported.
Veronica grimaced and turned her focus back towards the looming tower that loomed over the city, she was eager to see this, Victor Bck. Her musings were interrupted as her phone rang and she picked up immediately, "Are you there yet?" Marcus demanded.
Veronica smirked, Marcus was a Runic Warden, a tanking Profession that was used to fighting on the front lines which made him want immediate results almost constantly. "We are ten minutes out. According to the locals, he isn't awake yet but is showing signs of coming around. Don't worry, I have a few spare pills so he won't go around draining everything he can get his fangs into." Veronica Deluca tried to assure the House Patriarch.
Marcus grunted, "Be on your guard, I have had word House Cruze has been made aware of an odd Intergration and they are sniffing around. I don't want them anywhere near the Pureblood and if they cause any trouble, you are authorized to use any means necessary to drive them off. I have already contacted House Lafoy and Degryse, and both have dispatched a squad towards the Austin Adventurers HQ, both Houses will support you although they are unaware of the Pureblood at the moment." Marcus reported before cutting the line before she could curse him out.
House Cruze had been exiled from Mexico by the Pureblood who ruled the Central America region, they had been constantly pushing Marcus for control of the region, but he was the oldest Vampire in the region and had deep roots with many of the nearby Houses. Worse, House Cruze was a descendent of a cartel that had been wiped out after the emergence of the towers, their tactics were brutal and drew too much attention which was why the Central American Pureblood had destroyed two-thirds of the House before exiling the survivors.
Veronica knew it was only a matter of time before House Cruze started a civil war for control of the region, if they got their cws into the Pureblood, it wouldn't matter that Marcus was eldest. Houses would flock to the side of House Cruze and the civil war would be short and brutal for any who resisted House Cruze, which meant securing the Pureblood all the more important. "Step on it, William, I want to be at the guild house as soon as possible!" Veronica snapped as she pulled up the number for their contact and started the call.
The sharp smack broke me out of the blinding rage I was feeling, the pain snapped me out of the mindset and stunned me as I blinked and looked around. I was in the stereotypical medical room, but it had been torn apart. The chairs, bed, and medical equipment had been scattered around, damaged, or outright destroyed, and I was facing three figures watching me wearily. Two of them were warriors of some sort, covered in leather armor, while the woman standing opposite of me was the most normal wearing a dress except it was hanging off leaving one delicious breast exposed which caused me to blush as I looked away.
"What is going on?" I called out as the two men chuckled at my response.
The ughter cut off as I assumed the woman snarled at them, "What is going on is that we were trying to contain you long enough to get a pill into you without hurting you." I gnced back and blushed again.
Her bronzed skin was slightly pale, "Sorry, but you are showing!" I told her as I went to take off my own shirt, but I noticed it was torn apart and not much better condition than their clothing. That was when I got a second shock as I brushed the hair that drifted in front of my eyes, I froze shocked at what I saw, "Why is my hair white?" I demanded.
The girl looked like she was about to explode but stopped as one of the armored figures shook his head. The girl turned her gre towards one of the figures crowding around the doorframe, "You, get me a shirt now!" she demanded as she moved towards the other door that I assumed led to the bathroom.
One of the men sighed and visibly rexed, "Sorry, it's been tense around here while we waited for you to wake up. Your hair changed, because your Intergration caused your Awakening, you are no longer Human. I suggest you go through the System Notifications, just focus on your HUD." the man advised.
I blinked and nodded as I remembered the advice I had received during my training, letting my eyes rex I noticed several things as my HUD came into focus. The expected Health and Mana bars were present, but the gleaming '!' icon outlined in a silver-purple color had not been expected. Various notifications had different priorities that were color-coded to indicate importance, white being the least with gold being the most important. Silver-purple had not been on the list, but according to the experts, the System was constantly evolving and changing based on our own experiences so this could just be the result of that.
I focused on the first notification icon causing a bck window with white text that was semi-transparent to appear in front of my eyes.
<<< Welcome Adventurer >>> Congratutions Victor Bck, you have survived the integration process and become an Adventurer. This irreversible procedure has forever changed you as your Body, Mind, and Soul have been integrated with the System and Mana that has been reintroduced to your world. Due to this process, your body has been revitalized, and any detrimental injuries or diseases have been remedied. You are now immune to common diseases, will age more slowly, and recover from injuries more quickly. As an Adventurer, you have been granted access to the Towers of Tribution, Labyrinth, and Dungeon Rifts. Dangers and Rewards await those who are brave enough to delve into these pces and face the hidden dangers within. We recommend that you seek employment, advice, and training with the nearby Adventurers Guild or one of the many Adventurer Companies that have been established all over the Earth. If you are not aware of it, you can only now gain Experience and thus increase your Level, by completing System generated Quests or through combat. Be aware, as an Adventurer you will have a mandatory Daily Quest that is issued to you at 12:01 A.M. local time that you must complete by 12:00 P.M. If you fail to complete the Daily Quest, you will be banished to the Pins of Perdition to live or die based upon your merit and willpower, for a minimum of 1 hour. Your punishment(s) will scale with the Daily Quest requirements and what you have accomplished towards them. Be aware upon reaching Level 30 you will be granted access to a Personal Dungeon to unlock a Profession. A Profession grants you access to Css-Specific Abilities, Skills, and possibly Traits. Personal Dungeons can only be completed by the person they are issued to. <<< Congratutions Awakened >>> Congratutions Victor Bck, not only have you survived the process to become an Adventurer, but the process has also Awakened your dormant heritage. This occurs in about 10% of those who undergo the procedure to become an Adventurer. Those who have Awakened, have left their Humanity behind and have been forever changed Mentally, Physically, and some even believe it changes the very Soul of a person. Each Awakened will have inherent strengths and weaknesses based upon their new heritage. You have been Awakened as a Pureblood Vampire, unlike a normal Vampire changed by the Vampire Virus, Pureblood Vampires need both blood and normal foods to survive and thrive. You can discover your Racial Information from your Character Sheet at any time. As you are the first of your dormant Bloodline to Awaken under the System, you must undergo a personal trial to recim your heritage and all that it entails. This will come in the form of a Personal Dungeon that can only be accessed once you have reached Level 40.I blinked disbelieving what I was reading, but my hair gave some credence that the System wasn't lying but I had no clue why it was calling me Victor Bck. I ran my tongue across my teeth and winced as I cut my tongue slightly, several of my teeth were slightly longer and sharper than they had been. "Be careful, until you get used to it, you can easily bite your tongue and puncture it." one of the guards warned.
I grimaced, "Do you guys know why the System would address me by the wrong name?" I asked them.
Both shook their heads, "The System doesn't get things wrong, if it doesn't know something it will acknowledge that fact, but the information it does give is never wrong." one of them responded.
"What do you know about your family?" the woman came back into the room wearing the shirt over her ruined dress.
I shrugged my shoulders, "My dad wasn't ever in the picture and my mom never really spoke of him, and whatever she knew died with her two years ago." I told her as all three eyed me. I chuckled, I had given up a long time ago about figuring out anything about my hidden heritage, "I assume you three are like me since you are here?" I inquired as I focused on the next notification.
<<< Quest Notice >>> Knowledge and Survival Description: You have succeeded with your Integration and become an Adventurer, more importantly, you have Awakened becoming a Pureblood Vampire a rare thing in this day and age. Yet this experience is not without dangers for your Awakening will have unforeseen consequences that you will not know of for years or even decades to come. You must discover everything you can about Pureblood Vampires to survive the coming days, thankfully a thoughtful Patriarch has dispatched several people to assist you. Veronica DeLuca is the right-hand woman of Marcus Aldbridge, a votile but knowledgeable Vampire who has what you need to survive. Speak to her, and discover everything you can about Pureblood Vampires, and while you are at it get a full meal, blood, and at least 8 hours of sleep because your body has been taxed beyond its limits. Quest Css: Daily; PersonalQuest Difficulty: ESuccess: Discover information about Pureblood Vampires and gain food, blood, and rest.Failure: Do not discover information about Pureblood Vampires and gain food, blood, and rest.Consequences of Failure: Face the Unknown, Unknown.Rewards: Knowledge, Necessary nutrition and rest, 1 Attribute Point, Unknown <<< Quest Alert >>>I blinked and gnced at the irritated woman, "Are you Veronica DeLuca?" I inquired causing her to tense in surprise. Clearly that Quest was right, "Is it normal for Quests to give personal information, like names, to other people?" I asked them as my stomach growled causing all three to chuckle.
Veronica smirked, "Come on, we can get some food in you, and you can ask the question you have." I sighed, following them as I wondered how deep in the shit I was.
