Free Web NovelChapter 37: Chapter 37: The Journey Begins
"Lucian."
Ryan’s voice was quiet.
They were in the hallway of the Chevalier mansion, the evening light filtering through tall windows. Clara had gone to check on Rose, and the house felt empty without her.
Ryan leaned against the wall, arms crossed, glasses catching the light.
"Can we talk?"
Lucian nodded.
They moved to the small sitting room at the back of the east wing — a quiet space with two armchairs and a window overlooking the garden. Ryan sat. Lucian sat across from him.
Silence.
Then Ryan exhaled.
"I’ve been an asshole."
Lucian said nothing.
"I know why you did it. You saved Clara’s life. I know that. But watching my sister... become something I spent my whole childhood hating..." He pushed his glasses up. "It messed me up. I took it out on you. I’m sorry."
Lucian studied him for a long moment.
"You don’t have to apologize. You lost your father to vampires. Then your sister became one. That’s a lot to take in."
"It’s not an excuse."
"No. It’s an explanation." Lucian leaned back in his chair. "I didn’t turn Clara to hurt you. I turned her because she was dying and it was the only way. If there had been another option, I would have used it."
Ryan nodded slowly. "I know. I knew it even when I was screaming at you. I just..." He trailed off. "Needed time."
"Are you done needing time?"
"Yeah." Ryan managed a weak smile. "I think so."
"Good." Lucian reached into his pocket and pulled out two small containers — one pale blue, one pale gold. He set them on the table between them.
Ryan frowned. "What are these?"
"Neophyte Breakthrough Pill. Guaranteed breakthrough to Late Neophyte if your mana is sufficient. And Comprehension Pill. Helps with understanding your element. Good for igniting a star in your Star Palace."
Ryan stared at the pills. Then at Lucian.
"Where did you get these? These are worth a fortune."
"Does it matter?"
"Lucian—"
"Take them." Lucian stood. "You’re the smartest person I know, Ryan. But you’re stuck at Mid Neophyte because you don’t have the resources. Now you do. Stop wasting time being sentimental about it."
Ryan looked down at the pills. His jaw tightened.
"Thank you."
"Don’t mention it."
Lucian walked out.
The bedroom door closed behind him.
Lucian sat on the edge of the bed and pulled up his status.
╔════════════════════════╗
║ ETERNAL NIGHT SYSTEM ║
╠════════════════════════╣
║ [ HOST ] Lucian Grimaud ║
║ [ RACE ] Vampire ║
║ [ AGE ] 16 ║
║ [ TITLE ] Zombie Slayer ║
╠═════════════════════════╣
║ CULTIVATION BASE ║
║ └─ Neophyte Realm (Late) ║
║ MANA: 5,850 / 5,850 MPU ║
╠═════════════════════════╣
║ PHYSICAL STATS ║
║ Strength: 228
| Agility: 80 ║
║ Durability: 195
| Dexterity: 74 ║
║ Constitution: 210
| Perception: 185 ║
╠══════════════════════════╣
║ VITAL RESOURCES ║
║ HP: 100%
| MP: 100% ║
║ Stamina: 100%
| BE: 100/100 ║
╠══════════════════════════╣
║ BLOODLINE: THE ANCIENT VAMPIRE ║
║ Seal: 89% LOCKED ║
║ STAR PALACES ║
║ [LIGHT OF DAWN] A-Rank ║
║ Stars: [★★★☆☆☆☆☆☆] 3/9 ║
║ ├─ Light Blade (Novice) ║
║ ├─ Light Shield (Novice) ║
║ ├─ Flash Burst (Novice) ║
║ ├─ Light Pulse (Novice) ║
║ ├─ Light Steps (Novice) ║
║ ├─ Light Prism (Novice) ║
║ └─ Light Bolt (Novice) ║
║ [CRIMSON ORIGIN] ?-Rank ║
╠═══════════════════════╣
║ SYSTEM CREDITS: 16,200 SC ║
╚═════════════════════════╝
He opened the system shop.
The interface spread before him — pages and pages of items, resources, techniques. He scrolled through the pill section first.
Expensive. Everything is so expensive.
Pills ranged from 50 SC for basic mana restoration to tens of thousands for legendary-grade items. Techniques were worse — B-rank movement skills cost thousands. Combat skills varied widely.
He found what he needed and started purchasing.
╔════════════════════════╗
║ PURCHASE CONFIRMED ║
║ Body Tempering Pill x2 — 1,600 SC ║
║ Spirit Cleansing Pill x2 — 3,000 SC ║
║ Basic Sword Mastery Manual — 500 SC ║
║ Upgraded Daywalker Ring (B-Rank) — 1,500 SC ║
║ Phantom Walk (B-Rank Skill) — 3,000 SC ║
║ TOTAL SPENT: 9,600 SC ║
║ REMAINING: 6,600 SC ║
╚══════════════════════════╝ freēwēbnovel.com
Six thousand six hundred. That’s it.
He stared at the number. He’d spent nearly ten thousand credits in one session and barely scratched the surface of what the shop offered.
Things are so expensive.
The Body Tempering Pills and Spirit Cleansing Pills went into shadow storage for later use. The sword manual’s knowledge flooded his mind instantly — stances, strikes, parries, footwork patterns, all downloading into his muscle memory at the Adept level. The upgraded Daywalker ring replaced his old one, stronger and more efficient. And Phantom Walk settled into his mind like a new limb — the ability to leave an afterimage that could absorb one hit.
Three days passed in the Chevalier mansion.
Lucian trained.
He practiced Phantom Walk in the garden at night, leaving afterimages that confused even his own senses. He ran through the sword manual’s forms with the Sword of Aikis until the movements felt natural. He took the Body Tempering Pills — one on day one, one on day two — and felt his durability climb from 195 to 205. The Spirit Cleansing Pills flushed his mana channels, and cultivation speed increased noticeably.
He also pushed toward Peak Neophyte Realm. The barrier was still far — he could feel the mana compressing, the liquid state forming — but not quite there yet..
The aircraft was a sleek black shuttle that hummed through the sky with barely any turbulence.
Rose sat by the window, quiet, watching the clouds roll beneath them. Clara sat beside Lucian, her hand on his thigh where no one could see, her fingers tracing small circles. Ryan reviewed notes on his tablet, muttering about research department requirements.
One hour later, the English Channel passed beneath them. And then the academy appeared.
It was massive.
A self-contained city surrounded by walls thicker than anything Lucian had seen — thirty meters of reinforced mana-stone, topped with guard towers and mana turrets. Inside, buildings sprawled in organized districts: training halls, classrooms, dormitories, a research quarter with distinct laboratory buildings, a Hunter Guild annex with its own independent walls, residential zones for staff, and beyond everything — a vast walled territory of forests and terrain that served as the Garden Zones for training.
Students in white uniforms moved through the grounds like ants in a colony. Hundreds of them. Maybe thousands.
This is bigger than I expected.
They landed at the arrival pad. Thirty applicants gathered near the examination hall — Lucian’s group plus twenty-six others.
Lucian’s eyes shifted gold.
A young man was standing apart from the crowd, flanked by two sycophants. Handsome, sharp-featured, with an arrogant smirk that seemed permanently etched onto his face. His dark hair was styled back, and he wore expensive clothes that screamed money.
╔═════════════════════════╗
║ Julian Renard | 17 ║
║ Peak Neophyte | A-Rank Lightning ║
║ From: Minor noble family, Belgium ║
╚══════════════════════════╝
Julian noticed Clara immediately.
"Well, well." He approached with a predator’s grace, his entourage hanging back. "And who might you be, beautiful?"
Clara’s expression didn’t change. "Walking away."
She took Lucian’s arm and moved. Julian’s smirk faded into something colder as his eyes tracked from Clara to Lucian.
Interesting. Another toy for me to break.
The examination coordinator — a stern woman in her forties, Mid Core Realm — stepped onto a raised platform.
"Attention. I will now explain the examination structure."
The thirty applicants fell silent.
"There are three parts. First, Ability Assessment — we will test the rank and nature of each applicant’s abilities. Second, Combat Examination — you will enter Garden Zone 7 and kill fifteen F-rank beasts within four hours. Third, Cultivation Base Verification — we will confirm your realm and mana capacity."
She paused.
"Note: While the academy has specialized departments — Combat, Research, Support, Forge, Shadow Operations — all students, regardless of department, must demonstrate basic combat capability. This is non-negotiable. The world does not care if you are a healer or a researcher. Monsters will still eat you."
Her gaze swept the crowd.
"Good luck. The exam begins tomorrow."
