As the *Cursed Prince* rampaged, the *Guiyoung Spear* lodged in his shadow was violently ejected.

At the same time, the head of the *Cursed Prince*, which had been rolling on the floor, flew toward his body like a magnet, attaching itself once more.

Suho immediately created some distance.

*‘Here we go.’*

The *Cursed Prince* was rampaging.

This wasn’t an unexpected scenario.

It was the next phase in the fight.

This was Phase 2 for him.

- *I will never... never forgive you...!*

A spine-chilling echo filled the air.

An overwhelming surge of magical energy erupted from the *Cursed Prince*.

Simultaneously, a *Blood Scream* was released in all directions, and just as Suho blocked it, a new notification appeared.

- *Enraged Cursed Prince* Lv.80

The *Cursed Prince*'s name and level had changed.

Level 80.

If it weren’t for the *Blood Golem* and *Hundred-Year Bat*, there would have been a 30-level difference between them right now.

Suho immediately drew his pure silver spear.

[ *Holy Power* is activated. ]

The Holy enchantment covered the spear.

Upon reaching level 50, instead of acquiring a new skill, all of Suho's healing skills had been upgraded to A rank.

Suho, now fully prepared, threw the enchanted spear without hesitation.

[ *Throwing Spear* is activated. ]

Swish!!

The A-rank *Throwing Spear* cut through the air, heading straight for the *Cursed Prince*.

The *Cursed Prince*, wielding a blood-colored whip summoned with a swing of his arm, deflected the spear away.

- *I will never... never forgive you...!*

The *Cursed Prince*, crying blood tears, muttered curses.

The blood-colored whip was his *Blood Weapon*.

*‘So normal weapons won’t work, huh?’*

Suho had covered the *pure silver spear* with an A-rank *Holy Power* enchantment, but it was still easily deflected.

No matter, though.

Just like the *Cursed Prince*, Suho now had his own *Blood Weapon*.

Suho raised his hand and activated the skill.

[ *Blood Weapon* is activated. ]

Whoosh!!

Suho’s blood began to pour from his body, forming a long sword in his hand.

The sword took on the shape of the one Suho had carried until the last moment, before his death—a sword that had once been his last companion.

Suho decided to call this weapon the *Blood Sword*.

*‘The attack power and durability of *Blood Weapon* scale with my stats,’* he thought.

This meant that the current *Blood Sword*'s performance was equivalent to the Red level stats.

Suho believed this was more than enough to face the *Cursed Prince*.

His stats included three Red level attributes, and the *Cursed Prince*'s level wasn’t even 100. This was a good balance.

Suho took a stance, and the *Cursed Prince*, now excited, swung his whip at him.

Swoosh!!

The blood whip sliced through the air toward Suho.

Just as the whip was about to strike, Suho moved forward, wrapping the *Blood Sword* around the whip.

Then, with the taut whip, Suho pulled.

[ *Holy Power* is activated. ]

With the *Holy Power* enchantment, the whip sizzled and burned as the tip was severed.

The *Cursed Prince*’s eyes widened in surprise.

Suho, grinning, spoke:

“Seems the quality of the weapon really matters.”

It was only natural, given that Suho had applied *Holy Power* to his *Blood Weapon* while the *Cursed Prince* was using a standard weapon.

Seeing the disparity in power, Suho didn’t hesitate to close the distance between himself and the *Cursed Prince*.

- *Where do you think you’re going?!*

The *Blood Scream* rained down again.

But Suho didn’t flinch. He spread his *Blood Sword* wide, blocking all the attacks, before narrowing the blade once more.

“Seems it works,” he muttered.

- *...!!*

Suho had learned plenty of tricks about *Blood Weapons* from *Blood Grandmaster*. One of the key tricks was that *Blood Weapons* weren’t fixed in shape; they could change their form and be used in different ways.

Returning his *Blood Sword* to its original form, Suho spun it to gain momentum, then swung it with full force.

Slash!!

The momentum of the blade, powered by acceleration, successfully severed the *Cursed Prince*’s arm.

- *Kraaahhh!!*

The *Cursed Prince* screamed in pain.

At the same time, a much larger and faster *Blood Scream* poured from his body, far surpassing the previous outburst.

*‘This is bad!’*

Suho quickly attempted to spread the *Blood Sword* again, but the *Blood Scream* came too quickly.

Suho’s body was pierced by countless blood needles. But—

*‘...Huh?’*

It wasn’t as bad as he expected... In fact, it didn’t hurt at all.

It wasn’t a bluff or exaggeration. It was real.

It was more like a slight prick, as if he’d gotten some thorns in his skin.

*‘What’s going on?’*

Was it because his health stat was higher?

No, that couldn’t be it.

Even with higher health, the change would only affect his HP and physical recovery. There wouldn’t be a dramatic difference in pain tolerance.

It was likely due to the *Dragon Skin* effect.

The second unlocked power of *Dragon’s Blood*, *Dragon Skin*, granted him the skin of a dragon.

*‘I didn’t expect it to work this well.’*

It wasn’t actual dragon skin, but Suho could feel that his body had been significantly strengthened—more so than ever before.

Now, Suho felt more confident facing the *Cursed Prince*.

Suho raised his *Blood Sword* high and activated his skill.

[ *Holy Power* is activated. ]  
[ *Decapitation* is activated. ]

Slash!!

Without hesitation, Suho brought the sword down.

The *Cursed Prince*’s neck was marked with a deep gash, and his body fell again, unable to withstand Suho’s blow.

Suho wasted no time, kicking the head away with full force.

Then, he summoned the *Guiyoung Spear* and aimed it at the *Cursed Prince*’s shadow.

Kwachik!!

The *Guiyoung Spear* lodged perfectly in the shadow of the *Cursed Prince’s* head.

[ *Shadow Seal* is activated. ]  
[ *Shadow Bleed* is activated. ]

- *Kraaaahhh!!*

The *Cursed Prince* cried in pain as his body, now separated from his head, flailed, swiping with his claws.

Slash!!

Phase 2 had begun, but losing his head and flailing around was all he could do. Couldn’t even deal with one head?

Suho began to methodically dismantle the *Cursed Prince’s* body.

- *Grrr... Grrr...*

With each strike, the head wrapped in the *Shadow Seal* continued to cry out in pain, though now it could only make muffled sounds.

Boom!

Finally, the *Cursed Prince’s* body fell to the ground.

A large pool of blood spilled from the fallen body, staining the floor beneath.

Now, there was only one thing left to do—smash the head.

However, Suho didn’t immediately crush the head. Instead, he reached for the fallen body.

[ *Blood Drain* is activated. ]

As *Blood Drain* activated, the blood pooled on the floor began to be sucked into Suho’s hand like a vacuum.

As *Blood Grandmaster* had said, while most vampires use their mouths to feed, the *Blood Drain* skill allowed Suho to absorb blood directly, without needing to bite.

[ The absorbed blood is stored in *Blood Prison*. ]

It was then that a translucent glass-like blood gem appeared in Suho’s view, gradually filling with blood.

It was a *Blood Prison*, visible only to Suho.

*‘So, this is how it works,’* he thought.

It was similar to the *Life Vessel* of a *Lich*.

As Suho continued absorbing the blood, the *Cursed Prince*’s spasms intensified.

The *Cursed Prince* could feel it.

He could feel his precious blood being drained in real-time.

But Suho didn’t care how much the *Cursed Prince* struggled. He absorbed every last drop of his blood.

When he had finished, Suho grabbed the head of the *Cursed Prince*, now barely moving.

- *You...!*

It was an amazing sight.

The *Cursed Prince*, having lost nearly all his blood, looked like a mummy.

Suho summoned the *Guiyoung Spear*.

Then, with *Holy Power* applied, he hurled the *Cursed Prince’s* head into the air.

And then, he threw the spear at the head.

Kwachik!!

Unlike the first time when the head had been deflected, the *Cursed Prince*'s head, now nearly drained of all its strength, was pierced by the spear and sent crashing into the wall.

The head trembled for a while before hanging limp.

At that moment, a flood of system notifications appeared.

[ You have defeated the *Cursed Prince*. ]  

[ The Gate has been cleared. ]
[ The MVP of the Gate clearance is 'Ahn Suho'. ]
[ Additional experience points are awarded for being selected as the MVP. ]
[ A bonus stat has been awarded for being selected as the MVP. ]
[ The Hidden Gate has been cleared. ]
[ You have successfully cleared the Hidden Gate by yourself. ]
[ Due to your great achievement, the system has gifted you 5 bonus stats. ]
[ Level up! ]
[ All stats have increased by 1. ]
[ You have earned 1 bonus stat. ]

The notifications were different from those during the Tower of Trials.

And of course, Suho leveled up again.

It was expected.

The Cursed Prince’s level had been around 80.

As the Guiyoung Spear's shadow absorption effect activated, Suho received another set of notifications.

[ The Guiyoung Spear reacts to the Cursed Prince's shadow. ]
[ The Guiyoung Spear absorbs the Cursed Prince's shadow. ]
[ The Guiyoung Spear has been enhanced. ]
[ The Guiyoung Spear has completely absorbed the Cursed Prince's shadow. ]

Suho had thought the Cursed Prince was a formidable foe, but unfortunately, his magical power wasn’t enough to unlock the next stage of the Guiyoung Spear.

It didn’t matter.

There were still plenty of other enemies left to feed the Guiyoung Spear.

Finally, a portal leading outside appeared in front of Suho.

But there was still one thing left to wait for.

At that moment, a final system notification appeared.

[ The system has finished evaluating you. ]
[ The system has carefully analyzed your talents and has decided to grant you a fitting trait. ]
[ You have acquired 'Newblood'. ]
[ You have obtained a unique trait that only you possess. ]
[ For achieving this great accomplishment, the system has gifted you 10 bonus stats. ]

It was done.

The trait had finally appeared.

But...

‘Newblood’? What’s that?’

Newblood.

It was a term Suho had never heard before.

Indeed, it was the first time he had encountered this term, even after thoroughly searching the Memory Library.

But still, his instincts told him this was something good.

The system had certainly recognized Newblood as a great achievement.

‘There’s no such thing as a great accomplishment in a bad sense. If the system recognizes it as great, then it must be something worthy of praise.’

Suho checked the information for Newblood with an excited heart.

Just as he was about to check it, another notification popped up.

[ Due to the effect of Newblood, the seal on Vampire Blood has been lifted. ]
[ Skill information has changed. ]
[ You have acquired Vampire Blood. ]

‘Huh?’

The seal that had been placed on the Vampire Blood skill, which Suho had wanted, was finally lifted.