Van Helsing

Keanu found himself standing amongst towering peaks and expanses of snow. The mountains glittered with a fresh dusting of white, the harsh, biting wind cutting through the quiet. Underfoot was an unexpected forest, stretching out in every direction, adding an eerie silence that hung heavy in the air. Turning around, he found that the peculiar light portal that had delivered him to this place had vanished; he was alone in this new world.

Suddenly, a soft beep rang out in the quiet. It was from the emblem, his guide in this unfamiliar place.

"Mission World: Van Helsing," came the voice from the emblem.

"This mission is an entry-level mission. As a beginner, you will receive a gift package. Please choose your difficulty level. This choice will determine the level of your gift and your reward for the mission."

Shortly after, an energy screen materialized before Keanu. On it were three options, each representing a different difficulty level:

Beginner level, which would reduce the mission's difficulty to 25% of the original level. Intermediate level, which would halve the original difficulty level to 50%. Standard level, maintaining 100% of the mission's original difficulty.

Keanu squinted at the screen. It appeared beginners were offered special privileges—the gift package and the ability to dictate the difficulty of their mission. Considering he had found himself in a world reeked of bloodshed and brutality, he wanted to rise to the challenge. Keanu could've easily justified choosing the easiest route, but it wasn't his style.

Without faltering, he chose the hardest path—Standard Level, 100% difficulty. The reckless choice of a man with nothing to lose. If Scar face knew about his decision, there would be hell to pay. Based on Scar face's explanation, newbies tended to perish under 50% difficulty. 100% difficulty essentially meant no mitigation of the challenge and more rewards. Only the seasoned adventurers dared to face such a mission. Novices barely survive those are odds—less than five percent make it out.

This was a problem courage and determination alone couldn't solve.

"You've chosen Standard Difficulty. There will be no decrease in difficulty for this mission. Newbie gift package is now delivered."

The gift package contained:

A chance to learn from three random skills. A chance to use one out of five random tools. A temporary double-up of all your attributes.

Following the announcement, three skills manifested before Keanu's eyes:

Skill 1: Impact. A powerful jolt, causing 30 solidified points of damage in a straight line—requiring one sword for the execution. Skill 2: Poison Mist. Creates a poisonous cloud that drains HP by three every second for a whole minute— poison erosion continues for another four seconds even after leaving the area. Skill 3: Spiritual Exploration. Gleans information about a specific target—a support skill.

Among the three, two were battle techniques, and once was a support skill. Additionally, Impact Skill needed a sword that he didn't possess, so that was out of the equation. Poison Mist seemed handy, but he decided against it. Spiritual Exploration seemed more valuable, even though it wasn't directly applicable in battles. It would allow Keanu to understand this world and his enemies faster.

After choosing Spiritual Exploration, Keanu felt his mind buzzing as if something had been implanted into his brain. A wave of familiar images filled his mind— the emblem annunciated again.

Skill acquired. Battle skill function unlocked.

The screen automatically came to life, on his character's data stream, and a new row appeared— the skill line.

Beside it, a note read:

You currently have five skill slots and one learned skill. "Skill: Spiritual Exploration— You can deploy your spiritual power to scout a particular target. This ability can gather information about the target, dissecting their battle data if they are a fighter, or background information if they are a non-combatant. The degree of detail in the information depends on the difference in spiritual power between you and the target, your skill level, and the target's will power. The greater the difference, the richer the data obtained, including the identification of the target's weaknesses. Using Spiritual Exploration consumes 3 points of spiritual power each time, and the skill lasts for ten minutes. There is no cooldown time. Skill's priority: 12."

Innate Skill - Unavailable. Disciplines - Unavailable. Martial Arts - Unavailable. Bloodlines - Unavailable.

Character's attributes opening to digital display: ID E5371, main attributes:

Attack: 4 (8), Dexterity: 7 (14), Vitality: 5 (10), Spiritual: 12 (24), Will: 10 (20).

Below the attributes, there is an explanation: Attack determines your powers of damage dealing, carrying strength, and damage resistance. Vitality mainly determines your HP, endurance, and your ability to withstand damage. Every 1 point of attack increases damage by 1 point, and every 1 point of vitality increases HP by 10 points. Every 4 points of either attack or vitality increase your defensive power by 1 point.

Dexterity primarily enhances reflexes and running speed.

Spiritual power is an essential influence when using skills, while will power has a special resistance to control, and cognitive skills attacks, as well as negative state attacks. It increases HP and SP speed recovery.

When the database attribute bar opens, all adventurers automatically cancel fatal weakness. This includes positions like the head and heart, which are no longer death spots, and instead become key points. When key points are hit, it doesn't result in immediate death, but double damage, and it can be recovered.

The numbers in parentheses are the character's temporary buffed attributes. After the attributes were doubled, Keanu noticeably felt his SP boost. Even his vision seemed broader, enabling him to see further, hear clearer, and move more steadily and robustly.

As he moved around, testing his abilities, all his movements and speeds had noticeably increased. With a bit of training, he felt as if he could compete in the Olympics. This sensation was both exhilarating and freeing.

Above his character, there were two bars, one red, and one blue, indicating 100HP and 24 SP respectively. Keanu didn't need to ponder too long to understand that these represented his HP and SP. Every 1 Vitality corresponds to 10 HP. His original HP was 50, but due to the temporary doubling of his attributes, it's been boosted to 100.

Having chosen his skill, Keanu turned his attention to his equipment rewards.

Next to it was a note: "You currently have possession of a holy magazine that can deal special damage to undead creatures. Cartridge capacity: 100 rounds. Bullet weight: 3.02g; Basic damage: 12; Extra damage to the undead: 50, which isn't affected by the defense. 150 CP."

This first reward made Keanu unable to take his eyes off of it. The offering was practically tailor-made for his situation.

Apart from the holy magazine, there were four other items: Five slices of wheat bread capable of healing HP, three flame bottles that create a burning area and cause continuous flare damage when tossed, a bottle of holy water with lethal effects on the undead, and a valuable piece of jewelry that could be exchanged for 200 CP.

Keanu selected the holy magazine without hesitation. When it came to value, the jewelry probably held the highest worth. In terms of practicality, the other three could also be handy. However, the perfect fit is always the best, and for Keanu, whose weapon of choice was a gun, the ammunition was the most suitable.

After choosing all the gifts, he felt his mind hum chaotically once again.

First, his mind was bombarded with numerous symbols. They represented the Romanian language, a tongue he'd never studied before, but now, miraculously, Keanu understood it.

He was then flooded with various scenes from the movie Van Helsing. The story went like this:

"Deep in the mountains of western Romania, in the 19th century, lies the legendary town of Transylvania. It's a place where good and evil are reversed. As it sinks into twilight, evil unfolds, and demons run amok from the depths of nightmares…

Count Dracula rules here, possessing destructive allure, extraordinary attacks, and numerous subordinates including his three vampire brides, werewolves, and dwarf races.

Van Helsing, the monster hunter, sent by the Catholic Church, heads to Transylvania to exterminate Count Dracula, thus, igniting a battle to the death...

Keanu, it appears, needed to prepare to battle vampires.

Now he had a general understanding of Infinity City's existence. The city was obviously crafted by an entity with a perverse fascination with death games. This entity collected humans and sent them into its city to compete in deadly games every month to survive.

Unfortunately, or fortunately, Keanu was chosen by Infinity City, which resurrected him after his physical death and brought him here. If he failed to utilize this opportunity, he knew that when he died again, Infinity City would no longer be interested in giving him a helping hand.

In essence, Infinity City resurrected him to kill him again. Given this fact, Infinity City had a twisted sense of amusement. Keanu, however, wasn't scared. On the contrary, he was enveloped with an intense sense of excitement.

Before arriving in Infinity City, Keanu had a delicate mind and a daring spirit which allowed him to plot his revenge for years and eliminate countless targets single-handedly. This seven-year period finally culminated in the fulfillment of his revenge despite his heart gradually turning cold under the long shadow of vengeance. He conditioned himself to not relent when committing murder and not to fear the face of death, learned to brush aside life, and how to calmly face all crises.

However, once his revenge was complete, he lost his purpose in life, leading to his subsequent death wish. But now, he suddenly felt that he had found a new direction in life. He could continue to participate in this death game in Infinity City indefinitely, either dying in failure during a task or gradually becoming stronger in the bloodshed, finally finding his lost soul's beacon.

With these thoughts, Keanu could feel his blood begin to boil. A soft ticking sound emitted from the emblem.

Mission prompt:

Main mission 1: Escape back to the town of Transylvania with Anna Villares. Reward: 200 CP for completion. If failed: Eradicate. Main mission 2: Kill at least ten dwarfs and a dwarf leader. Reward: 500 CP for completion. If failed: Eradicate. Main mission 3: Kill at least one Vampire Bride. Reward: 1000 CP for completion. If failed: Eradicate. Optional mission: Kill Vampire Count Dracula. Reward: 4000 CP for completion. No penalty for failure. Other requirements: Complete all main tasks within ten days.

Keanu had barely finished reading the task when a loud, resounding roar sounded nearby.

Turning to look, he spotted a young woman running his way. She was clad in a red leather vest and tall boots. About twenty meters behind her, an enormous wolf was on her heels, its body as big as a young calf, and it looked terrifyingly fierce. It was running fast, and the distance between it and the woman decreased significantly.

Keanu was given no time to think as the mission unfolded immediately. On instinct, he rushed towards the gigantic wolf. Unexpectedly, when the woman saw Keanu approaching, she changed her course yelling, "Stay away! It's dangerous!" as she ran in the opposite direction.

"You should've told that to him!" Keanu scoffed.

He raised his gun aiming at the giant wolf. Bang!

He shot the wolf, splattering a few droplets of blood.

Keanu used spiritual exploration and a row of numbers along with an HP bar appeared above the wolf's head: "Ordinary Werewolf, Damage: 6-10, Defense: 3, HP: 76 out of 80. Undead, vulnerable to divine attacks. Predominantly Attack. Weak spot: head."

Having been hit, the wolf didn't even falter but continued to charge towards the woman with a ferocious howl.

The woman skillfully evaded the wolf's attack and latched onto a vine, swinging herself out of the way. Her agility was comparable to that of Tarzan. The wolf's initial pounce proved empty as it quickly spun around to face the woman up in the tree and let out a harsh growl. Its strength was enormous and enough to shake the entire tree.

Meanwhile, Keanu quickly positioned himself and continuously shot at the wolf's head, aiming for the highlighted 'weak spot' that would result in double damage.

Having been struck in the head twice, the wolf became completely incensed.

Swinging its monstrous head towards Keanu, it let out a fierce roar and charged at him.

Keanu held his ground, swiftly ejecting the used cartridge and loading the holy magazine into his gun before aiming slowly back at the charging beast.

The woman in the tree shouted out, "Move away! You can't kill it!"

"Well, I beg to differ!" Keanu retorted, his gaze fixed on the approaching wolf.

The instant the beast lunged at Keanu, he pulled the trigger.

Bang!

With a resounding echo of the gunshot, the wolf's HP bar depleted in an instant.

The lifeless body of the wolf fell heavily from midair, landing right in front of Keanu.

All in all, Keanu had fired six shots, only inflicting a third of the damage to the werewolf. But with the holy bullet, a single shot stripped away more than half of its life.

No wonder the price of a single Holy Bullet was equivalent to a box of regular bullets. Using quality items really did leave one feeling considerably satisfied.

As a notification sound chimed, the dead wolf began to morph, incredibly into a completely naked human man.

The woman jumped down from the tree, her eyes filled with surprise, "Thank you for your help. But, how did you do that? Your bullet, how could it have such a huge effect? Who are you? What are you doing here?"

"You ask too many questions," Keanu replied calmly, "Before you ask others, you should introduce yourself first."

"Anna Villares, I apologize for my rudeness earlier."

Sure enough, it was her: Anna Villares—the last member of the Villares family, sworn to exterminate Count Dracula. According to the dying words of their ancestor, the spirits of the Villares family could not rest in heaven until Dracula was eliminated.

Keanu feigned surprise, "I'm Keanu, wait, Villares? Do you mean to say you're Princess Anna of the Villares family?"

"There are no princesses now; I'm the only one left in the family," Anna replied, heading forward.

Keanu followed behind, "But I heard that you had a brother."

"He's dead. He died in a battle with werewolves 2 months ago. My family bears the mission of eliminating Count Dracula but even after hundreds of years, we still haven't achieved it. The souls of my ancestors cannot ascend to heaven. All because of that damned vampire! He enslaves us, like slaves! You shouldn't have come here, stranger. Go away as soon as possible. This is not a safe place. When night falls, this place will be occupied by the souls of the dead." As Anna spoke, she swiftly navigated through the jungle.

"That's exactly why I came here. I'm a devil hunter, I make a living hunting monsters. If you can afford it, I can help you."

"Don't think about getting rich here, stranger. Count Dracula is the embodiment of the Grim Reaper, not the source of your wealth."

"I am willing to die for wealth, but I fear you can't afford my help."

Anna abruptly turned around, "Die for money? Did you see the werewolf just now? It was an innocent villager who was bitten and transformed. Here, death is not the most terrible fate. The most dreadful thing is that your soul will never rest, and you'll be enslaved by the devil!"

With that, she turned back and continued, "In consideration of the help you offered earlier, I'll buy you a drink once we get back to town and give you some money to leave. I don't want you to die unnecessarily."

Keanu shrugged his shoulders but said nothing more. He realized from Anna's previous reluctance to lead the werewolf towards him that she was a kind-hearted girl.

The emblem did not notify him of mission completion, which meant he would have to wait until he got back to town with Anna.

At that moment, a thought crossed his mind: Something seemed wrong.

He read the mission prompt again: Escape back to the town of Transylvania with Anna Villares.

Obviously, Infinity City didn't specifically demand him to kill the werewolf, merely to escape back to town with Anna.

Did this mean, according to Infinity City, just making it back to town was a severely challenging mission?

With this realization, a chill ran down Keanu's spine.

He called out, "If I hadn't saved you just now, could you have escaped?"

Anna responded, "There's a cliff to the south of here with a river below. As long as I can jump into the river before the werewolf catches up, there's a chance to escape alive. I'm the last warrior of my family. Every time I leave to hunt werewolves, I need to find a way out for myself. I'm not afraid of death, but I fear that with my death, the oath my family made to god will never be fulfilled."

"In that case, we'd better prepare to jump into the river, shouldn't we?" Keanu abruptly suggested.

"What?" Anna looked at Keanu in surprise.

Then, she followed his gaze to the dense jungle behind them.

Numerous pairs of glowing green eyes were becoming visible in the darkness.

"It's a pack of werewolves!" Anna shouted.

"Run!" Keanu hollered, grabbing Anna's hand and taking off.

Dozens of gigantic werewolves leaped out from the forest, charging right towards them.