Plot Progression: 17%
I didn’t know where I was.
I didn’t even know who I was supposed to be.
Rank-S worlds—apparently—didn’t bother giving you proper introductions.
The System only flashed a single miserable progress bar at :
Plot Progress: 17%. Incomplete.
Identity: Selene Ashsnow.
Current Role: Human tribute.
Current Location: Vampire Empire — Blood Cells.
Blood cells.
Not the biological kind.
The "human cattle storage room" kind.
Aweso.
A start to my vampire adventure.
I slowly sat up, head pounding as if soone had reset my entire existence with a hamr. Around , iron bars glistened with frost, chains clinked with every shiver, and the sll of fear mixed with old blood hung thick in the air.
There were other won.
Huddled. Shaking.
Each one pale—not from beauty, but from starvation and terror.
At least I wasn’t alone.
Great. Group suffering.
The few fragnts of plot the System allowed to access hovered at the edge of my thoughts:
This world is gothic. Dark. Violent. Vampires rule. Humans exist to serve, bleed, or die.
The destined female lead is a helpless, innocent human girl adored by vampire royalty.
Sad to say: I’m not her.
Fantastic.
Also, judging from the fact that the plot was stuck at a pathetic 17%, none of the previous hosts managed to survive long enough to push it forward.
Translation:
Most of them died here.
Or got milked like cows until they fainted.
Or beca vampire juice boxes.
Rank-S indeed.
I took a deep breath. Panicked a little. Then forced myself
to think.
Step One: Stay alive.
Step Two: Avoid becoming soone’s midnight snack.
Step Three: Advance the plot without drawing too much attention.
...which was hard, because I was already in a cell dressed in a thin, torn chemise that practically scread, "Fresh blood donor available!"
I rubbed my temples.
"Gothic vampires, I said. Dark romance, I said. This will be fun, I said. Idiot."
A cough beside drew my attention.
A girl with brown hair and trembling hands whispered, "Y-you’re awake. Thank the moon... We weren’t sure you’d survive the drug."
The drug?
Oh right, the auction sedation.
Humans traded to vampires were kept half-asleep so they wouldn’t faint from fear before feeding ti.
"Where are we exactly?" I whispered back.
Her voice shook. "The Blood Cells under Lord Eryx’s manor. We’re... we’re waiting to see which vampire picks us for tonight. So get taken upstairs. So don’t return."
Lovely.
"So I’m Selene Ashsnow now?" I asked quietly.
She blinked at , confused. "We... we only know your na because the trader said it. You’re new. They brought you last night."
Right.
Identity confird.
I stood, testing my legs.
Wobbly but functional.
I still had my space ring — thankfully.
Though only a handful of human items remained inside, it was better than nothing.
The mont I regained control of this body, I imdiately hid the ring, slipping it beneath the hem of my torn chemise before any of the other girls could notice.
It probably appeared the mont I took over this body, the auctioneer would have stripped it away and sold it separately if it appeared before.
Good thing the transfer landed after the auction.
One less disaster to deal with.
As I approached the bars, I noticed black runes carved into the tal—binding sigils that weakened humans and suppressed abilities.
That explained why my limbs felt heavy, like I’d run a marathon in my sleep.
I touched one rune lightly—
Ssss— it burned my finger like acid.
Yep. Anti-escape.
Anti-rebellion.
Anti-everything-fun.
The cell door suddenly rattled.
Every girl froze.
So whimpered.
A few hugged each other.
Heavy footsteps echoed down the corridor—the slow, asured stride of soone who didn’t need to hurry because nothing alive dared to challenge him.
A chill crawled up my spine.
Could be a romantic lead or could be the guy who murders .
Fun.
A key scraped.
The cell door swung open with a screech.
A tall vampire guard stepped in, his skin marble-pale, his armor black and crimson.
"Line up," he growled.
The girls scrambled to obey.
I moved with them, careful, quiet.
A second vampire entered.
This one was different.
Sharp features. Silver hair that shimred like moonlight. Crimson eyes that glowed softly, not hungrily. White coat instead of armor. Gloves stained with ink instead of blood.
He looked more like a scholar—or a surgeon—than a soldier.
He stepped toward us, expression unreadable.
"Lord Eryx requires samples," he said mildly. "I’m here to collect."
Samples?
As in blood samples?
Or "samples" in the way ssy vampire romance novels describe?
My gut told : dangerous.
But also... oddly familiar?
He moved gracefully, stopping in front of each girl, inspecting them with detached, clinical precision.
When he reached , he paused.
His eyes narrowed.
And for a heartbeat—just one—his cold gaze softened, puzzled.
As if he’d seen before.
As if he were trying to rember sothing long forgotten.
My pulse spiked.
He lifted my chin gently with two fingers.
Too gently for a monster.
Too gently for soone trained to see humans as cattle.
"...Selene Ashsnow," he murmured. "You’re the one they brought last night."
"Apparently," I said dryly before I could stop myself.
His eyebrow twitched—like he was mildly offended but also amused.
Boldness in a blood cell was not normal. And not expected.
"I’ll take her," he said suddenly.
The guard blinked. "Two samples?"
"No," he said firmly, eyes still on . "She cos with ."
A murmur of fear-sympathy rippled among the won.
Being chosen ant two things:
You either survived... Or didn’t.
The guard unlocked my cuffs.
I swallowed.
Okay. Stay calm. Stay alive. Don’t stab the vampire scholar in the eyeball. Yet.
He extended his hand.
"Walk," he ordered softly.
And because staying alive required obedience—I placed my hand in his.
His fingers were cold, but deceptively gentle.
And from the faint smile on his lips, the sharp spark in his eyes, I knew imdiately— there was nothing kind about him.
If he was smiling like that, then he was plotting sothing.
Because really—what else would a vampire lord want with a human like ...if not to drain dry?
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