The Dread of Damned - Chapter 40: Thorns

In the year 2090, technology has advanced to the point where Simulation Boxes, (Sim Box for short) are common place, allowing for the user to link up their brain's neural network to a full dive Simulation. While initially used for educational purposes, recently a large gaming company, Averon, released a fully fledged immersive MMORPG simulation where users can become anyone they desire, level up, choose their class, and become a hero or a villain. The name of this simulation is The Shattered World Online.

Eli Winters had no interest in playing it. His father, a jobless bum who spent his entire life playing games in the hope of becoming a famous player or streamer, was able to use the release of The Shattered World Online to gain wealth and fame, quickly becoming the number one player and a household name as the game took the world by storm. He immediately abandoned Eli and his mother in favor of being with someone from his guild, despite his mother having worked two jobs to support them and raise Eli by herself. Eli had nothing but spite for his father and the game.

When Eli's best friend convinces him to try out the game, his father's fame begins to interfere, culminating in him being singled out and shunned by his peers, and his father offering to pay for his university tuition in return for Eli hiding their relationship and quitting the game. Instead of complying with his father's wishes, Eli decides to prove to everyone how useless a guy his father is by challenging him that if Eli is able to surpass him in the game world he must delete his account and quit his streaming career. His father accepts the challenge believing his son to be useless at games - but Eli will soon show him just how ambitious a spiteful person can be.

Vampire Slave Number 43, or the self-named, Azriel Ruinous, learned about the history between the humans and the Vampires and it filled him with rage and hatred.

Nonetheless, he was helpless to do anything.

After years and years of suppression, the Vampires have become the weakest race in the world.

However, lady luck seemed to be on his side as Azriel found an ancient jar filled with mysterious blood that will not only change his, but his race's destiny as well.

This, will be the story about the rise of the self-named, Azriel Ruinous, and the Return of the Forgotten Blood Empire.

...

“Have you heard about the rumour?”

“What rumour?”

“They say that there's a Vampire on the loose, he's out there killing humans mercilessly”

“Hahahaha! That's the funniest joke I ever heard! Vampires? Those Slaves? Hahaha!”

“Yeah, I feel the same! I think someone just started this rumour as a joke! Hahaha! How can those weaklings kill us, humans?”

“True True…”

In a bar, two middle-aged men talked and laughed as they discussed the recent rumour they heard.

Seeing those two, a drunk old man shook his head as he sighed.

“Ignorance is bliss indeed…”

“These younglings do not know what the real fear is…

The vampires may have fallen… but my old bones still remember the days when they were in their prime…”

The old man sobered up in an instant and his body shuddered in fear as the memories of the long-forgotten horror appeared in his mind.

He then took a deep breath as he patted his trembling body and muttered.

“I just hope that they are not back…”

In her previous life, she rose from a country girl to become a CEO, working diligently until she died of overwork at 38, only to find that she had been greatly betrayed by her useless husband, who even had a child outside their marriage.When she opened her eyes, she was back to being eighteen years old, facing grandparents who favored boys over girls, a father who was honest and kind but dared not resist his parents, her mother who loved them deeply but was easily bullied by others, and her brother who still loved her despite her coldness.In this life, she decided to take her family away from those greedy relatives, save her brother from a fate of disability, and stay away from her useless ex-husband.Unexpectedly, she saved an even more important person by the roadside.“Your husband is just a country bumpkin; he didn't even get into university. How could you live well with him?” her ex-husband said.One day, a Bentley stopped next to her. A driver got out and bowed to her, saying, “Madam, the Boss is waiting for you for dinner.”“I know that car! It belongs to a rich family!” someone exclaimed.“Did he just call her Madam?” another person asked....“Did you hear? He brought a country girl home?”“They say that girl is his wife. Isn't it funny?”“Madam has arrived!” said the steward.“OMG, it's the talented girl from the famous university!”“Dear lord! She is the legend of the A-shares!”“I'm just so shocked...”“Hey, guys, she is my wife,” he said.