Acquired the Scam Rune in the Academy

The Land of Vampires, Beltane (6)

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We left Baroness Caroline’s domain and headed towards another territory.

Our destination was, of course, <Countess Ripley’s domain>.

It’s Ripley’s own territory that she owns and manages.

Fortunately, it didn’t take long to arrive.

We reached a nearby viscount domain from Baroness Caroline’s domain, then used the [Warp Gate] there to move.

<Beltane> is not an ordinary dungeon, but a residence for vampires.

Since there are adapters who are vampires deeply versed in magic, [Warp Gates] are naturally placed throughout the dungeon.

However, Baroness Caroline was a slightly lower-ranking noble among vampires, so her domain simply didn’t have a [Warp Gate].

And so we arrived at <Countess Ripley’s domain>.

“Wow… It’s well-tended.”

I exclaimed in admiration as soon as I saw the domain.

True to her symbol of ‘Seed’, her domain was blooming with various vegetation and flowers.

Gnarled stems, verdant leaves, and branches that could herald the seasons greeted us.

“Hmph. Is that all?”

“Yeah. I’d believe it if you said you were a gardener rather than an architect.”

“Hmph. You’re exaggerating.”

Ripley grumbled unnecessarily.

But I could hear in her voice that she was secretly pleased.

Moreover, as soon as we arrived at the domain, we could see the city, and various plants were also situated near it.

It was truly a domain brimming with vitality.

It doesn’t match at all with the nickname ‘Land of Death’ that <Beltaine> was called.

I doubted if this was really the same land as the other domains we’ve encountered so far.

Above all.

[You set foot in ‘Countess Ripley’s domain’. The symbol of ‘Seed’ is spread throughout the domain. A strong vitality dwells within your body. Your health temporarily increases.]

“The domain effect isn’t a debuff?”

I asked in surprise after checking the information window, and Ripley snorted.

“Debuffs are a defense system used by inferior nobles. Skilled nobles like me put buffs instead. Because we can control intruders even with that.”

Indeed.

It seems high-ranking vampires like Ripley consider it shameful to put debuffs in their domain.

But that’s not all.

The true value of the domain was revealed in the vampire castle.

Tall buildings and simply designed exteriors.

And old trees erected here and there, as if embracing the surroundings.

It didn’t have the majestic feeling you could usually see in other castles, but Ripley’s own soft and natural atmosphere was infused even inside the vampire castle.

It felt more like a neat palace than a castle.

I said with an admiring face.

“…It really is different.”

“Hmph. I told you so.”

I understood Ripley’s boasting back in Caroline’s vampire castle.

It definitely felt more luxurious, incomparable to Caroline’s castle.

Before entering the castle, even a Death Knight appeared.

-Welcome. We are pleased to welcome the Countess’s return.

It’s a completely different level of politeness from the ill-tempered Death Knights I’ve seen so far.

When I looked at Ripley as if needing an explanation, she said as if it was nothing special.

“It’s my subordinate.”

“A subordinate… Is a Death Knight?”

“I’m a Count-level noble, after all. Stop making a fuss and come inside. We need to talk about the neutral zone attack.”

After entering the castle like that, we were guided to Ripley’s bedroom on the 3rd floor following the Death Knight’s instructions.

…When I asked if it wouldn’t be better to meet in a reception room or something, it was dismissed with the simple reason that her room was more comfortable.

Anyway, we started to seriously strategize about the neutral zone attack.

“You can only apply for an attack on all neutral zones in Beltane once a week.”

“Is the interval that long?”

“Yes. From the challenger’s perspective, they might want to attack and take over quickly, but from the owner’s perspective, it takes time to defend and manage.”

“Ah… But Ripley, what do you mean by ‘applying’ for an attack? Don’t tell me there’s someone overseeing the whole process?”

Ripley nodded as if it was obvious.

“Not someone, but a vampire. Vampire judges from the Beltane Management Bureau receive applications and oversee the process. This applies not only to neutral zones but also to mergers between domains.”

“Wow, it’s quite formal.”

“Anyway, you can only apply for an attack on neutral zones once a week. Plus, even this gets pushed back if there are too many applicants.”

“Then there’s a chance we might not even get to apply?”

Ripley shook her head at that.

“Don’t worry. No one’s applying for attacks right now anyway.”

There are a total of 9 neutral zones where Ripley is in conflict with Countess Laculize.

All 9 of them are owned by Termen warriors who have migrated to <Beltane>.

In other words, Termen warriors who have contracted with Countess Laculize and related nobles have colluded to occupy their own neutral zones.

Given this situation, the number of applications for neutral zone attacks has significantly decreased day by day.

“…The Termen are too strong.”

“Right. The difficulty of attacks has become so high that other subordinates don’t apply for attacks at all.”

That’s because even the advanced warriors among the Termen warriors show the ability of S-grade monsters.

Each of them possesses tremendous combat power, and if they move up to the highest level, they sometimes show even greater combat abilities.

Who would easily try to attack when such beings form teams and occupy each area?

It was the reality that ordinary domain residents and subordinates couldn’t even dare to attempt.

“But Do Jae-hyun, you’re different.”

“Aren’t you overestimating me too much?”

“Hmph. What overestimation? I feel like I might lose if we fought properly.”

Anyway, in a state where there are no challengers at all, my attack application will be accepted unconditionally.

It’s not a problem that I’m human.

After all, <Beltane> is a place where various races come in and reside, and in fact, the Termen warriors occupying the neutral zones are also contractors of human origin.

‘Then it’s simple.’

In the end, the reason Ripley wanted me was straightforward.

Someone who can fight and win against skilled opponents in a full-scale battle.

And that was nothing less than my area of expertise.

I smiled slightly and asked her.

“Where should I start attacking?”.

***

Ippotranslation

* * *

“Argh! What on earth are you…!! Suddenly appearing with Kelbilid’s sword-!”

I hear words that sound like they could come from some third-rate villain.

What was that warrior’s name again?

Edred?

I don’t remember exactly, but anyway, the Termen warrior who owned the neutral zone <Sotton> was shouting.

Me, who suddenly appeared, applied for an attack, and single-handedly pushed through all of <Sotton>’s defense forces to get here.

He seemed quite surprised seeing that sight.

I smiled at him and raised my sword.

“Sorry. My contractor wants to keep their identity secret. Says it’s strategy.”

“Ugh, uaargh-!!”

The sword pierces the Termen warrior’s heart, and with that, the battle ends in my victory.

[You’ve won the duel! With the mysterious power of the Rune Hunter, you can replicate one of your opponent’s runes. Please select a rune to replicate.]

…

…

[Challenger ‘Do Jae-hyun’ has defeated owner ‘Edred’ and all his defense forces, and acquired ownership of the neutral zone ‘Sotton’! This is a proper result verified by the noble vampire judge ‘Chloe’.]

[Special achievement! You have acquired ownership of the neutral zone ‘Sotton’ in Beltane. Acquiring ownership of a neutral zone is one of the great honors for challengers. Your abilities resonate with this honorable achievement and grow.]

[You gain 1 point each in all general and special abilities, and resistance abilities.]

And then information windows pop up as if they’ve been waiting.

Actually, these are special pieces of information I’ve never seen in other dungeons before.

A system where an adapter within the dungeon acts as a judge for attacking a specific area, and if the challenge is successful, the result appears in an information window.

It’s a kind of siege system that you might only see in something like a game.

A completely new form of dungeon.

If this becomes known in the current world, it will probably have as big an impact as <Room of the Transcendence> or <Room of Deserters>.

As a reward for the attack, it’s not an ‘amazing achievement’, but you can even get a ‘special achievement’ that increases all abilities…

This would probably drive high-ranking Holders crazy for ability points.

“…I’m getting tired of this now.”

I sigh while wiping the blood off the holy sword.

This is already the fourth time I’m doing this.

It’s nice that my abilities are increasing, but repeating the same actions and hearing the same lines from these Termen guys is making me dizzy.

Although the types are slightly different, I can somewhat understand why Ripley hates the Termen so much.

“Challenger. You killed the owner of the neutral zone during the attack. In this case, the period for receiving attack applications from other challengers after you become the owner will be reduced to 6 days.”

The vampire judge Chloe approaches me and says with an expressionless face.

I wave my sword-wielding hand as if annoyed.

“Yes, that’s fine.”

This is also the fourth time I’m hearing this.

There are a few reasons why I kill the Termen warriors during the attack.

First, they’re so strong and tough that the attack doesn’t end with simple subduing.

And secondly, they were a group that committed evil acts in the other world.

From what I heard from Ripley, while not as bad as the Ludenark school, they were quite a famous evil group on the continent.

It’s not for nothing that the repentant Kelbilid became Sednilen’s proxy.

And thirdly…

‘If I want to prevent future attack applications, there should be no lingering threats.’

Anyway, once my promise is fulfilled, I’ll leave <Beltane> and return to the current world.

In other words, the neutral zones I’ve attacked will lose their ownership automatically.

So…

Ripley never intended to take over all the neutral zones from the beginning.

She just wanted to get back at the other nobles who pissed her off and return everything to square one.

“Whoever the contractor is, they’re really ruthless.”

I chuckle and move on.

Now it’s time to attack the fifth neutral zone.

It’s been only 6 hours since Ripley and I strategized.

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