Mission Changed

It was a triumphant discourse, with Keanu artfully demonstrating the way to kindle a revolution against oppression. Typically, such rebellions require two underpinnings: an inevitable sense of defiance amidst a gloomy society, and a figure worthy of leading the masses. Whereas the former organically exists, the latter needs to have a distinct manifestation of accomplishment.

The accolades Keanu got from his interactions with the silver wolf and the goblin chieftain, his pious exhibition at the church, and the invocations hedged under the name of God allowed him to earn respect. His passionate speech was crucial during this emotional ignition.

What followed was utterly astonishing for Anna—she observed that the inhabitants of Transylvania, who hadn't taken action for centuries, were suddenly sprung into preparative action. Building fences with giant trunks to counter the pack of werewolves and goblins was among their initial endeavors. Their local blacksmith commenced an around-the-clock operation manufacturing weapons of every kind: crossbows, bows, arrows, swords, axes, armors, and spears.

Each individual held Keanu in high regard, and in return, he gifted them with a surprise. Hailing from a background of precision machinery and advanced engineering, Keanu possessed an incredible knack for crafting raw tools. He taught the townsfolk how to forge more productively, assisted them in building new weaponry, and swiftly amassed an enforcement squad.

Shockingly, the newly formed squad was led by Gasken, the fellow from the tavern. This Viking descendant rather impressively handled himself. Keanu, with his abilities of spiritual exploration, discovered that Gasken's fundamental attributes were higher than his attributes, in addition to Gasken's mastery over two unique combat skills.

As days kept rolling along these lines, the weirdest part was that Count Dracula did not make an immediate move with his army. It seemed as though the silver wolf and goblin chieftain demises were not of concern to him. It was not until the 8th day when the emblem eventually gave a heads-up, "The devil hunter Van Helsing will arrive in Transylvania in an hour." The following prompt asked, "Would you require Van Helsing's assistance? As you agree, you will passively accept an optional mission, with failure resulting in half of your CP rewards and half of the item rewards being deducted."

Keanu was slightly taken aback. According to the emblem instructions, special narrative characters will also assist him in disposing of Count Dracula—the cost of accepting their aid is shifting an optional mission into a mandatory one, with consequential penalties for failure. Acceptance or refusal—what's his answer?

Without hesitation, he opted for acceptance. From the moment he formulated the strategy, he had no intention of sparing Count Dracula. Now, the emblem was merely handing him a reliable bargaining chip for his plan to gain higher assurance. Upon accepting Van Helsing's assistance, the emblem delivered another message:

"Optional Task 1: 'Slay the Vampire Count Dracula' has been escalated to a mandatory task. Failure will result in the deduction of half the rewards. Operation time will be included in the main task timeline; 49 hours remaining."

"Narrative Character Information 1"

Van Helsing, the devil hunter. Profession: gunner. Skills:

waveform jump shot

precise shot.

Passive effects:

firearms increase power by 25% and improve shooting speed by 25%.

Regular attacks have a chance of peppering multiple bullets.

Side Hand Skills:

Side Step Strike

Elbow Strike.

Basic attributes:

Attack 30

Dexterity 25

Vitality 50

SP 20

WP 20

Equipment: 'Aero Chain Crossbow Demon Hunting Gun'.

"Narrative Character Information 2"

Monk Karl. Profession: Primary Mechanic.

Ability to manufacture special items.

Basic attributes:

Attack 5

Dexterity 7

Vitality 5

SP 25

WP 4

Keanu was thrown into deep contemplation after reading through the character introductions

In the shadow of an overcast sky, two knights were making their way into Transylvania. The lead knight had his face largely obscured by a broad-brimmed hat, revealing only a lower jaw shadowed by a greenish stubble. Decked in a weathered leather duster and carrying a large package with him, he was followed by a young man with his head shrouded in a black hood, glancing around curiously.

These were the mission figures, Van Helsing and Karl.

Observing everything from the church bell tower, Keanu observes them carefully.

Van Helsing was arguably the most infamous devil hunter of the 19th century, appointed by the Church to hunt down zombies, vampires, and all sorts of undesirables existing in this world. The irony was that Van Helsing himself was a creature—a creature who had lived for thousands of years, yet had consistently retained the appearance and vitality of a thirty-year-old.

What's pitiful was that the poor guy had lost his memory—so much so, that he didn't even know what he was. His mind held onto merely the last few decades of his demon-hunting life out of thousands of years. Innocently oblivious to the fact that Count Dracula, before turning into a vampire, was actually slain by him.

Perhaps having sensed something, Van Helsing sporting a cowboy hat all the while, suddenly lifted his head. A pair of sharp eyes darted at Keanu from under the hat brim, piercing Keanu's heart like a dagger and eliciting an indescribable sorrow within him. Van Helsing was incredibly formidable—he was able to sense a distant gaze—Keanu remarked in surprise.

This, however, wasn't good news—if the assistance dispatched towards him happened to be this powerful, Keanu pondered, how mighty could Count Dracula be?

Now that Van Helsing had noticed him, Keanu decided to leave the bell tower and approach him. "Mr Van Helsing? I'm Keanu, sent by the Catholic Church to connect with you." He said, confidently extending his hand for a shake. It was not fabricated; instead, this was the identity the emblem had assigned him upon acceptance of the task.

Van Helsing shook his hand—a sturdy, muscular hand, thickened by robust callouses. His voice blandly echoed, "Your muck weaker than my expectation."

"Fighting the devil sometimes takes more than just force," Keanu replied with a chuckle.

A scoff was visible on Van Helsing's face, "Then what could we possibly rely on if not power?"

He had clearly noticed that Keanu managed to rally the entire town into making defensive preparations, but in his eyes, these efforts were all insignificant. Keanu takes a look at the young monk behind Van Helsing before slowly responding, "Power is essential, but it's not everything. I'm certain Mr. Karl will agree with my opinion."

The young monk smirked, "Hey, Van, he's got a point. I am not a person of force, but you can't deny you need me."

Upon hearing this, Van Helsing grunted audibly but quickly changed the subject, "Where will we be staying?"

Just as Keanu was about to respond, Anna approached from a distance, "In my house. My name is Anna Villares." Then turning to Keanu, she asked, "Are these the friends you referred to?"

"Kind of, although it's our first meeting as well." Keanu shrugged nonchalantly.

Upon hearing the name 'Anna Villares,' Van Helsing finally showed a slight change of expression. Protecting the last member of the Villares family is also one of his duties.

Having exchanged a few informal words, they all became acquainted. "Let's head back and relax for a bit before we discuss the vampire situation," proposed Anna.

"Perhaps we should consider that right now," Keanu suddenly suggested.

"What do you mean?" Anna questioned.

"Because they're already here," Keanu responded.

Suddenly, the air was filled with shrill screams, and three vampiric brides, each with wings on their backs and sharp fangs in their mouths appeared in the sky above the small town.

(In the original story, Count Dracula is an immortal entity, who only fears werewolves. But in this story, all entities, BOSS or non-BOSS, follow the attack damage model. That's to say, be they the vampire brides the Count himself, or even the werewolves or Satan—all sustain damage after an attack and can be killed with sufficient attacks. The items each fears are still effective, only that they don't lead to instant death, but merely amplify the lethal effects.)