2026-03-19 19:13:32Adrian’s heart nearly jumped out of his chest when the front door burst open with a loud bang. He spun around, knife already halfway raised—but it wasn’t a vampire. Not yet.
It was a young woman, maybe in her early twenties drenched in sweat and trembling like a leaf in a storm. Her eyes were wide, wild with panic, and her pale hands fumbled with the lock behind her as if death itself was chasing her down the hall.
“Wait, what is going on?” Adrian snapped, his voice sharp with fear. He took two quick steps back, heart hammering as he raised the knife more defensively now. “Who are you?!”
The woman jerked in surprise at his voice. She looked at him as if she’d only just noticed he was there. Her eyes were full of tears and she was breathing heavily.
“I...please...I live next door,” she stammered. “I—I’m your neighbor! Apartment 3F. Please… let me stay here.”
Adrian blinked, as he finally recognized her. She was familiar; he had passed her in the hallway a few times, earbuds in, polite nods exchanged. He didn’t know her name, but this wasn’t a time for neighborly favors.
“No. No, no, absolutely not,” Adrian said firmly, pointing toward the door with his other hand. “Get out. Now.”
She flinched, pressing her back against the door like she was afraid it would vanish beneath her. “You don’t understand. I can’t go back out there. My brother… he turned into one of them. Right in front of me!”
Adrian’s eyes narrowed. “Wait. There are vampires in this building?”
She nodded rapidly, tears now streaming freely down her cheeks. “He tried to bite me. I barely got away. Please… I don’t want to die out there.”
Adrian cursed under his breath. His grip tightened on the knife. This was exactly why he hadn’t opened the door to anyone. Helping people got you killed.
“Look,” he said, trying to steady his voice, “I’m sorry, but I can’t risk it. You have your own unit. Lock the door. Hide.”
“You don’t get it,” she whispered. “I can’t go back there. The walls are thin. They scratch at them. They whisper. I’m alone.”
Adrian looked her over. She was shaking, blood on her sleeves, clothes torn, eyes moving quickly. Something wasn’t right.
Then he saw it—when she fell to her knees in front of him, sleeves slipped back, and there it was.
A bite. A raw, infected wound on her forearm.
Adrian froze.
“What?” he asked quietly, his tone turning cold.
Her eyes followed his pointing finger. She tried to tug the sleeve back down, but the damage was already done.
“It’s—it’s nothing,” she said quickly, voice cracking. “I swear. I was just scratched. Not bitten. Please, sir—please.”
“Don’t lie to me!” Adrian’s voice turned into a roar. He bolted into the kitchen, yanked open a drawer, and pulled out a knife longer than the first. “That’s a bite. I’ve seen enough horror movies to know what the hell that means!”
“No! I’m not turning—I’m not—please!” she wailed, inching backward, her body twitching slightly, fingers shaking.
Adrian saw her pupils dilate. Her skin grew visibly paler by the second.
Then came the crack.
A sickening snap echoed through the room as her arm jerked sideways, bone visibly bending beneath the skin. Another crack followed as her spine bent unnaturally. She let out a low, growling scream, so distorted it barely sounded human.
Adrian staggered back, knife trembling in his grip.
“Oh, Jesus…”
Her eyes went dead, completely black. Her fingernails elongated, sharp and jagged, as her lips pulled back to reveal fangs that hadn’t been there moments ago. Her jaw twitched, changing into something more… animal.
“I should’ve thrown you out the second I saw you,” Adrian muttered, but his voice was almost drowned out by the loud scream she made.
And then she attacked him suddenly.
Adrian swung the knife with raw instinct, slashing across her shoulder. The blade barely cut, slicing into skin but not stopping her momentum. She slammed into him like a freight train, knocking him backward. The knife flew from his hand and slid under the couch.
He hit the floor hard, air rushing out of his lungs.
She was on top of him, growling angrily, trying to grab his shirt with her sharp fingers. Adrian shoved her back with everything he had, teeth gritted as her slavering jaws snapped just inches from his throat.
“I’m not dying today!” he growled.
His eyes darted around in panic. Then he saw it.
The fallen knife, lying just under the edge of the couch.
With one hand still trying to keep her face away from his neck, he stretched the other out desperately. Fingers brushed metal. He grabbed it.
Adrian grunted and with a surge of energy, drove the blade up into her neck.
Once.
Twice.
Three times.
Hot blood spurted across his face and chest. He turned his head, gagging as it splattered on his cheek. But he kept stabbing, again and again, until her convulsing body finally went limp.
Panting, he shoved her off and rolled away.
Adrian lay there, chest heaving, limbs trembling.
He had just killed someone. No—something. A vampire.
Dragging himself to his feet, he grabbed the lifeless body by the arms and hauled it toward the door, leaving a dark, wet trail across the floor. With a grunt, he kicked it out and slammed the door behind her, locking it—twice.
Then he collapsed onto the couch.
His hands were filled with blood. His breathing heavy. His eyes blank.
He didn’t speak. Didn’t move.
Then, without warning, something buzzed softly in the air. A flicker of pale blue light shimmered in front of him, and a translucent panel hovered in the air.
[Congratulations on completing your mission: Kill a single vampire]
[Reward: Activation of the Templar System]
Adrian sat up, blinking at it.
“Oh my…?” he whispered.
He reached out cautiously. His hand passed through it, like mist touched by sunlight.
The screen shimmered again and transformed.
[Templar System Activated]
User: Adrian Richardson
Age: 21
Level: 1
Health: 100/100
Experience: 0/660
Skills:
Weapon Proficiency Lv. 1
Melee Proficiency Lv. 1
Driving Proficiency Lv. 2
Inventory: [Empty]
Shop: [Locked]
Summoned Troops: 0/10
Wheel of Fortune: Available
Daily Rewards: Available
Basic Survival Guide: Unlocked
Vampire Encounters: Tactics and Strategies – Unlocked
Adrian rubbed his eyes. “Is this a dream? No—no, this is real. This is just like those system anime…”
He reached toward the floating interface again. Still nothing, just mist.
But the knowledge, the data, it was being fed directly into his brain.
A voice, neutral and calm, echoed in his head.
“Welcome to the Templar System, Adrian Richardson. Survival begins now.”
He sat in stunned silence, covered in blood, staring at the glowing screen that promised power… and war.
Previous Chapter
Latest Chapter
BEFORE THE ACTION
The makeshift command room on the top floor of the high-rise was silent except for the quiet rustle of plastic and the hum of generators somewhere below. Adrian sat cross-legged on a steel table, surrounded by several neatly stacked boxes stamped MRE - SYSTEM SUPPLY. He peeled back the cardboard of one packet like it was an alien artifact.“So this is what the military eats during the end of the world,” he muttered, more to himself than anyone else.A few feet away, Mark stood alert, arms behind his back, waiting for instructions. His expression was calm, composed, with the distinct bearing of someone who knew what he was doing.“Mark,” Adrian called out, holding up a sealed brown pouch. “Be honest with me—how do you eat this thing?”Mark approached with a faint smile. “Is there something you need, sir?”Adrian raised the MRE as if it might explode. “Yeah. I’ve never touched one of these in my life. I’ve seen them in movies. That’s about it.”“Ah, understood. Allow me.” Mark took the
FROM THE UNIVERSITY
Several hours earlier...The sky outside had already begun to darken, a dusky purple bleeding through the clouds as evening crept across the city. The lights in the hallways flickered with inconsistent power, and the once-vibrant campus of the Technological Engineering Institute had become a place of fearful whispers and cold silence.Inside a third-floor classroom, the windows were barricaded with desks and metal chairs, and the doors were reinforced with what little furniture the students could find. The air was stale, thick with anxiety, sweat, and the quiet static of fear. A dozen university students, most still in uniform, clustered in uneasy silence around a single figure near the window.Raina stood tall, her long silver hair catching the weak light that filtered through the blinds. Her posture was graceful, though tense, like a dancer in the moment before a leap. She held her phone tightly to her chest after ending a call, her fingers trembling as she turned to face the others
FORTRESS RISING
Mission: Secure a FortThe air in the penthouse was thick with sweat and anticipation. Steel-clad knights lined the walls like sardines in a tin can, their helmets reflecting the pale flicker of ceiling lights. Adrian Richardson stood by the panoramic windows, arms crossed, watching the distant horizon where smoke curled from fires long lost to the dead.He turned slowly to face the assembled troops—summoned knights in formation, waiting on his word. "We’ve got a job ahead of us," Adrian said, voice firm. "This isn't just about killing vampires. It's about carving out a sanctuary."He stepped away from the window, walking across the hardwood floor, boots thudding softly. “This plan, this mission—was made with the first ten of you I brought into this world. You know how ugly things can get. The objective is clear: secure all three condominium towers. Every floor. Every unit. Every bathroom. Nothing lives unless I say it does.”A few of the knights stirred at his tone—less alarmed, more
STAY SAFE
The penthouse sat silent at the top of the thirty-second floor, its luxury ruined by the chaos below. Adrian stepped inside with urgency, barely sparing the lavish surroundings a glance before walking straight toward the towering glass wall that overlooked the city. He pressed a hand against the windowpane, cool to the touch, and looked down.What greeted him was no different from the horror he had witnessed hours ago—only now, it seemed worse. Smoke drifted like tendrils through broken streets, fire flickered in alleys, and the agonizing screams of civilians were muffled by distance but ever present. The Pawns—those twisted, mindless vampires still prowled the ground, chasing people like crazy dogs. He narrowed his eyes, scanning deeper.Odd. No sign of the mutated beasts from earlier. No towering monsters, no ugly spider-limbed freaks.“Could they have migrated toward more populated areas?” he muttered.A noise behind him made him turn. One by one, the Knights entered the penthouse,
TEETH OF THE BATTLE
The air was dense with the metallic scent of spent gunpowder and blood as Adrian Richardson, flanked by his summoned Knights, descended another floor of the tower. His boots echoed against broken tiles, each step calculated, deliberate. The flashing lights above barely held off the growing dark shadows moving along the walls."Clear," Alpha 3 announced, his M4 Carbine sweeping left to right.Adrian nodded, eyes sharp. “Move on. Keep formation tight.”As they passed through each floor, Adrian's system interface flickered with new information. His attention drifted to two tabs he'd previously ignored: Vampire Encounters and Basic Survival Guide.[Vampire Encounter Updated: Variant Identified – PAWN]A new entry materialized in the digital bestiary. Adrian paused at the top of a stairwell and brought it into focus.[PAWNLow-tier Vampire ClassAgile, aggressive, hive-minded. Weakness: decapitation or cranial destruction.Behavior: Predatory and relentless. Fast movers.Classification: Ur
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 importa
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