THE LAST HOPE

THE SUMMONER'S FIRST COMMAND

Adrian stood in the middle of the bloodstained living room, surrounded by ten armored figures still saluting with impeccable discipline. Though their expressions were hidden behind their visored helmets, their eyes visible through reinforced lenses reflected a startling humanity. He blinked once. Twice. These soldiers looked too real. Not like digital constructs or NPCs from some game.

“Are they… human?” he muttered under his breath, suspicion curling in his gut.

A soft chime sounded in the air, and with a flicker of pale blue light, a new holographic screen materialized before his eyes:

[The Knights you summoned are military-trained human beings. They possess the knowledge, skills, and expertise required to perform their assigned tasks. As for their memories, they are created with none. Their only recollections will originate from the moment they are summoned. Additionally, being human, they experience hunger, require sustenance, can form interpersonal relationships, and most importantly… can turn into vampires.]

Adrian swallowed hard.

“Wait. They can be turned?” he said out loud, almost in disbelief.

“Sir?” a crisp, masculine voice cut through his thoughts. One of the soldiers had stepped forward, his tone laced with polite urgency.

Adrian turned, snapping out of his daydream. “Yes?”

“Do you have any orders for us, sir?”

Orders? Right. He was in charge now.

His gaze drifted to the dried streaks of blood smeared across the white tiles. Remnants of the vampire he’d killed earlier still lingered— an ugly reminder of how close death had come.

“Uh… can you guys clean?” he asked hesitantly.

The soldier didn’t flinch. “Yes, sir. Do you have cleaning equipment available?”

Adrian pointed toward the storage closet. “There’s a mop and bucket in there. Should be bleach too.”

Two soldiers moved immediately, retrieving the tools and setting to work without hesitation. Watching trained fighters scrub blood from the floor left Adrian oddly embarrassed.

“I feel like I just asked a SWAT team to do janitor duty,” he muttered.

Ten minutes later, the floors gleamed. The soldiers stood again at attention, awaiting his next command like statues forged from war.

“Do you have any new orders, sir?” another one asked.

Adrian opened his system, thumbing through the menus until his eyes caught the glowing [Mission] tab.

[Mission Tab: This is where you'll receive your missions. You have one available mission. Would you like to review it?]

He tapped yes.

A new screen unfolded before him.

[New Mission: Discovering the New Power

Objective: Now that you have activated the system and summoned your Knights, it’s time to put them to the test. Eliminate fifty Vampire Pawns in your area.

Note: Vampire Pawns are the lowest tier of vampires. They lack sentience, function like rabid animals, and seek to spread the infection.

Reward:

20,000 gold coins

15,000 experience points

Do you accept this mission?]

Adrian stared at the numbers. Fifty vampires. He inhaled slowly through his nose.

“Fifty pawns… that’s a lot of bodies.”

But he thought of his sister—somewhere out there, probably still at the university, possibly trapped or worse. He needed to grow stronger, fast.

He hit Accept.

A subtle glow pulsed around the mission screen, and it vanished.

“We’ve got our first job,” Adrian announced aloud.

“Mission parameters, sir?” a voice asked. It was another soldier—this one taller, voice deeper.

Adrian pulled up the mental map of the condo in his head. “We’re going to clear this building. Floor by floor. We’re on the twenty-fifth floor now. We’ll head to the top—thirty-first—and work our way down. Kill anything not human. Vampires only.”

“Do we stop once we hit the fifty mark?” asked another soldier.

“No. We keep going. Every kill gives us experience and gold. Plus, this place needs to be safe for everyone.”

“Understood, sir.”

The room buzzed with silent energy now. Everyone was keyed in, ready.

As Adrian stepped toward the door, a thought hit him. He turned back.

“Do you guys have names?”

The soldiers all shook their heads in unison.

“We were not given names, sir. But you are free to assign us identifiers.”

“I figured as much.” He scratched his head, glancing across the ten of them. “Okay. I’m terrible with names, and we’re on a clock, so… you’re Alpha 1 to Alpha 10, in order from left to right.”

“Yes, sir,” Alpha 1 responded, stepping slightly forward.

Adrian smiled faintly. “Good. Let’s move.”

He turned the handle and opened the door. The corridor outside was dimly lit, emergency lights casting a reddish colour. As they moved toward the stairwell, the sound of their boots echoed against metal and concrete.

Adrian reached for the door handle, but Alpha 1 halted him with a raised hand.

“Sir. Let me take point.”

Adrian hesitated, then nodded. “Alright. Lead.”

Alpha 1 opened the stairwell slowly, barrel of his weapon leading.

They didn’t get far.

From the shadows of the landing, a snarling blur launched forward—pale skin stretched tight over skeletal features, jaws agape, eyes dead.

“Contact!” Alpha 1 barked, his rifle snapping up.

PAP!

The shot rang through the stairwell. The vampire’s skull exploded backward, its body crumpling like a sack of bones.

“Tango down!” Alpha 1 confirmed.

Adrian stared at the corpse. “Damn…”

[Mission objectives: Kill 50 vampire pawn – 1/50]

[Reward: 250 gold coins, 20 experience points]

Adrian blinked. So each kill nets 250 coins and 20 XP?

“Continue upward,” he ordered.

The team advanced. At the top floor, Alpha 1 stopped again.

“Sir, do all floors share the same layout?”

“They do.”

“Then I suggest splitting into three teams for efficiency. Group 1: Alpha 1 through 3 and yourself. Group 2: Alpha 4 through 7. Group 3: Alpha 8 through 10.”

Adrian gave a nod. “Makes sense. Let’s do it.”

They opened the door to the thirty-first floor. The stench hit them first—rot, blood, and the coppery tang of recent death.

Then the growls.

A crowd of wild vampires turned their heads toward the door. Eyes red. Jaws open.

“Open fire!” Adrian shouted.

Rifles erupted.

Gunfire crackled like thunder in a narrow space. Adrian bent low, squeezing shots into their heads. The floor was chaos; figures darting, bodies dropping.

Blood splattered across walls.

[Mission objectives: Kill 50 vampire pawn – 15/50

Reward: 3,500 gold coins, 280 experience points]

“Reloading!” Alpha 2 called out.

They ducked behind overturned furniture and walls, changing magazines in smooth, practiced motions.

“Clear left!” shouted Alpha 5.

“Clear center!”

“Right’s down!”

[Kill count: 25/50

You received: 6,250 gold coins, 780 XP]

You have leveled up!]

Adrian glanced at his HUD. His stats were rising—he could feel the difference in his grip, his breathing, his focus.

“Solid work,” he said, wiping blood from his cheek.

But there was no time to rest. They kept moving.

By the time they reached the twenty-ninth floor, the kill count hit fifty.

[Mission Complete – 50/50

Total: 12,500 gold, 1,500 XP]

“Sir, we’re not done,” Alpha 6 said. “This place is infested.”

Adrian nodded grimly. “I know. We keep going.”

Then—bang!

A door flew open.

“Help!” a panicked voice cried.

Everyone turned, rifles raised.

A man stood in the doorway, hands raised, pale as a ghost. “Please! Don’t shoot! I—I’m human!”

“Lower your weapons,” Adrian ordered.

“We saw you fighting them! Are you with the military?” the man asked.

“No. But we’re clearing this place.”

“There are kids with us. We’ve got no food, no water. Please will you come back?”

Adrian hesitated. He exchanged a glance with Alpha 1.

“We don’t have supplies. But we’ll make sure this building is vampire-free. Stay inside. Lock your door. Don’t leave.”

“Okay… thank you, sir.”

The door closed.

Alpha 1 turned toward Adrian. “Sir, if each floor contains this many infected, we may run out of ammunition before we reach the bottom.”

Adrian opened his menu and smiled. “Then it’s a good thing I can purchase ammunition from my system.”

He turned back to the stairwell.

“Let’s conserve what we can. Aim for the head. We finish what we started. Shall we?”

“Affirmative, sir,” Alpha 1 responded, chambering a round.

And together, they descended into the dark.