Vampire's Blood Ascension-Chapter 24: Ward of Life

Rudy stood within a hall full of other cadets. Before them, on a raised platform, were the enforcers.

As he looked around, a surprisingly familiar figure entered his vision.

"Trina..." he mumbled and focused on the enforcers.

There were a total of seven enforcers, each belonging to a different path.

As far as Rudy could guess, the enforcers were here to teach them about the seven paths of Sun, Moon, Night, Shadow, Nature, Dream, and Life.

Because each path functioned differently, each irregular had to be trained in their respective path.

Such as the path of nature, which was of the Nature God of Beasts, Fertility, Hunger, and Fury, required them to embody one of the god’s concepts.

So, those who chose the concept of fertility kept the realms from dying; their sole goal was to save the creation’s ecosystem.

While those who choose the concept of beasts had to become a beast themselves, however, that didn’t mean they had to forgo their humanity, as humans themselves were considered beasts — they only had to let go of their humanitarian restraints.

The others worked the same, and once the irregular obtained all of the thousand essence shards, they had to fulfill the task of their chosen concept to advance their rank.

Rudy stared at the enforcers with a bored expression. After all, there was nothing they could teach the lesser vampire about his path of blood.

A shallow sigh escaped his lips; he didn’t know if he should curse himself or his luck.

Before becoming an irregular, he couldn’t wait to kill the man who had crippled him, but only after becoming one could he understand the difference in strength between them.

’No wonder she had declined my request,’ he thought while remembering the day on which he had turned everyone against him.

"One day..." he mumbled with a determined glint in his eyes.

"Attention all cadets!" A loud voice boomed throughout the hall, and all of the cadets turned to look at the broad man standing at the center of the platform.

That man looked exactly as one would assume a military sergeant would look.

"I am Bram Malisin, the vice head of the Realm Diver Program and the one who holds the command over all your lives," he introduced with a strict expression on his face, his hands folded behind his back.

’What a light-hearted introduction,’ Rudy remarked in his head as he tried to remember if he knew anything about this Barm Malisin.

"You all must be scared, thinking that the diver program is nothing but sure death, and I agree," he stated.

Hearing him, Rudy blinked twice and thought, ’Aren’t these speeches supposed to raise morale? Why is he pushing it even lower...?’

Bram’s gaze studied all of the cadets.

"Any regular person should be able to understand that, but we are not regular. We are irregulars. We achieve what we wish, do not let yourself be bound by fear, as it is for the weak, and the syndicate only shelters the strong."

The hall descended into a heavy silence.

Rudy, unimpressed by the speech, looked at the other cadets from the corners of his eyes, and much to his surprise, all of them seemed ready to die.

"Today, all of you will be split into seven groups in accordance with your path, and from tomorrow, your training as a diver will begin."

Bram turned around, peeked at the tall freak standing between the other cadets like it was the most normal thing, and walked to the back of the platform.

One by one, enforcers walked to the front and announced the names that belonged to their group, and after three hours, all five hundred cadets had been grouped.

Because Rudy had lied about being part of the path of life, he was placed in its group.

The next day.

’Battle God of War, Life, Development, and Fortune... I wonder if the development is similar to the growth or evolution of the Blood God of Growth, Evolution, and Destruction,’ Rudy thought as he walked to the diver’s ward.

Upon entering the ward of life, his gaze fell on various cadets who had circled multiple round tables.

Each table had a designated symbol of the concept the cadets wanted to embody, and as per his wishes, Rudy walked towards the round table of development.

Other cadets stared at him with silent gazes, and just like always, Rudy ignored them.

A few minutes passed while the cadets looked at him and murmured under their breaths.

The sound of crisp footsteps echoed throughout the ward as the enforcer walked in with a thin smile on her face.

She was a buxom woman with silky silver hair that fell in loose waves to her shoulders, sharp grey eyes that carried the lazy confidence. Multiple gold chains draped her neck, and gold rings crowded her fingers. She wore the syndicate’s attire as if it were made for her alone.

She was someone Rudy had read about in the Moon Weaver’s files, and the only reason he remembered her was not for her strength but for her absurd acts.

’Gold Reaver, Elena Gold... path of life, embodies the concept of fortune, and to achieve her breaker rank, she had broken into the syndicate’s vault to steal the rings of the kings before the fall, she had also changed her surname to Gold because that’s the only thing that she cares about...’

When he had first read it, he had thought of it as some joke, but those who had met her told him that wasn’t the case.

"Hello, my sweet little divers!" She whispered as she stopped before all of them.

As she studied them, her gaze stayed on Rudy for a few moments longer than the others, and she added, "From today on, I will be teaching you the obsession you need as an irregular."

The cadets smiled, their eyes burned with clear determination, and seeing them, Rudy could only shake his head.

’I am sure none of you are ready for the level of obsession she operates on...’