Malphegor
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MCIM Ch. 08
🕑 Added 2025-09-10 01:06:34 +0000 UTCMario stared at the I-beam burning in the furnace interface, watching the progress bar fill up slowly. Ten seconds felt like forever when you were waiting for something this important.
Pop.
The steel beam vanished from the input slot, replaced by three brand-new iron ingots.
"Damn, three at once!" He grinned and snatched up the ingots. "I need to find more of these."
For a moment, he considered sneaking into a construction site during daylight hours. But that was stupid, those places had security guards, and if he took too much, it would definitely attract unwanted attention.
Then inspiration struck.
"Doesn't New York have abandoned subway stations? I could borrow some rails." He made a mental note to ask Garcia and his crew when they showed up tonight. "Those guys are locals, they'll know where to find the good stuff."
He wasn't worried about whether the three thugs would return. People were motivated by profit, simple as that. And those three clearly weren't rich, after getting a taste of last night's earnings, they'd be back for more guaranteed.
Having locals to guide him through the city would make everything easier. Plus, anything that could be solved with money wasn't really a problem.
He chopped down the fully grown oak trees in his underground grove and replanted saplings in their place. In the farming area, wheat shoots had started sprouting, though they weren't mature yet. He gave them a quick glance before jogging over to the vampire hunter NPC.
Time to level up.
He opened the hunter's upgrade interface and placed five vials of Vampire Blood from his inventory into the slot, then clicked the "Train" button.
"That's it?"
Mario had been prepared for something anticlimactic, but after clicking train, he didn't feel any change in his body at all. It was honestly disappointing.
"Come on, at least give me some special effects. I'm not asking for earthquakes, but maybe a flash of golden light?"
He grumbled as he opened the hunter skill tree to check his progress. In the upper right corner, his skill points had changed from -1 to 1. He rubbed his eyes, not believing what he was seeing.
"Two skill points per level? That's fucking broken!"
Normally, hunters only gained one skill point per level up, with a maximum level of 15, meaning 15 points total. Since the hunter skill tree required 25 points to unlock everything, players usually had to choose just one or two specialization paths.
By the time he reached level 13, he could unlock every skill in the tree, becoming the ultimate triple-spec hunter.
The first hunter skill was [How to use a stake], which allowed the user to instantly execute vampire creatures with less than 35% health remaining.
After spending a skill point to unlock it, he nodded in satisfaction.
"Killing vampires just got a lot easier. But the next upgrade needs 10 bottles of Vampire Blood... looks like I've got work to do."
Now that he had iron ingots, he pulled out the flint he'd collected while expanding his base and crafted flint and steel. He walked over to the pile of "trash" from the vampire apartment, clothes, bedding, and other worthless crap, and aimed the tool at the ground.
Click.
A burst of flames appeared out of nowhere, and everything the fire touched instantly disappeared into nothing.
Mario was very satisfied with the effect. In Minecraft, both fire and lava could clean up useless junk without leaving any trace behind. Very environmentally friendly.
After organizing his belongings, he pulled out a New York map he'd bought from a newsstand and found his current location.
"Nearest subway line is to the north... no idea how far that actually is. Guess I'll start digging and see what happens."
He decided to use his free time to excavate a tunnel leading to the subway system. Smart hunters always had multiple escape routes, if some crazy superhero or supervillain ever trapped him in his base, he'd be screwed. Better to prepare ahead of time.
He pulled out his pickaxe, aimed at the northern wall, and began digging rapidly. To prevent cave-ins, he also replaced the ceiling blocks as he worked, creating a proper tunnel instead of just a hole in the ground.
---
"Time to head up. Wonder if Garcia and the boys made it yet."
Mario stretched as he got up from his comfortable new sofa. After an afternoon of hard work, his underground base could finally be called a proper network of passages.
Not only had he completed the northern tunnel leading to the subway system, he'd also created an exit beneath the lake in Central Park. Thanks to the presence of wooden doors, the water was held back by Minecraft's physics rules and couldn't flow into his base.
Using one of the new tunnels, he climbed to the surface in a patch of messy shrubs where hardly anyone ever came. Compared to his previous entrance, this spot was much safer and better concealed.
After leaving his base, he checked his watch, already 8 PM. He slowly walked toward the spot where he'd parted ways with the gang that morning.
After more than ten minutes of walking, he spotted a car parked at the park entrance. Its flashy, gaudy appearance was definitely Garcia's ride, the kind of vehicle that screamed "criminal" from a mile away.
Garcia, who'd been keeping watch, immediately saw Mario approaching and jumped out of the car to greet him.
"You made it!"
Mario smiled. "How was your rest today? You guys ready for another night?"
Following Garcia into the car, his casual tone made the gang leader visibly excited. Becoming partners with someone like Mario, who possessed special abilities, was more than enough to thrill him secretly.
"We three rested all day, absolutely no problem. Plus we prepared some new gear specifically for dealing with those monsters."
Garcia turned to Kerry, who was sitting in the back seat. "Show him the bat."
Kerry immediately pulled out a wooden baseball bat from under his feet. Wrapped around it were several silvery chains, on closer inspection, they were clearly silver necklaces linked together. The bat also had nails driven into it to keep the chains from slipping off.
Mario took the bat, quite impressed. "Garcia, you're a fucking genius!"
Their goal was to subdue vampires and make it easier to... ahem... "collect loot," so they'd chosen to use blunt weapons. If the objective had been to kill vampires outright, a silver-plated sword would have been the optimal choice.
Garcia grinned. "We can't afford custom silver bullets, but I did order some silver crossbow bolts. They'll take a few more days to arrive, though."
"You guys did great," Mario nodded approvingly. "Tonight we should expand our hunting area, maybe hit places with more homeless people. I've got a feeling the harvest will be much better there."
Vampires' favorite targets were homeless people, since their deaths or disappearances barely registered with authorities or the public. Basically, they were easy prey with no one to miss them.
---
Several hours later, among a series of inhuman screams, another vampire collapsed at the feet of the four hunters. Compared to their initial tension and panic, Mario and his crew had become much more experienced.
Through tonight's battles, he discovered that leveling up as a hunter didn't just grant skill points, his perception range had also increased. Though the boost was only five meters, it was enough to make him look forward to reaching Level 15, when he would essentially become a walking vampire radar.
He picked up the loot that had dropped to the ground and patted Garcia on the shoulder. "Alright, let's call it a night."
"Take a couple days to rest up. With so many vampires getting killed recently, they'll definitely notice the pattern. You all need to be careful and lay low."
Garcia stuffed the valuables he'd just taken from the vampire's corpse into his pocket, nodding seriously. "Don't worry, I'll be careful. We're gonna head to another city for a few days. If you need us, just call."
Mario was very satisfied with Garcia's plan. After pissing someone off, the first rule was to disappear for a while.
"Sounds good. Stay alert when you're traveling, and keep your weapons close." He paused, then continued. "You know of any abandoned subway stations or construction sites around here? I need to find some materials. Take me there if you do."
Garcia fell into thought, but Kerry interrupted from the back seat. "There's a place in Queens. I know about an abandoned construction site there. Something happened to the developer's company and the project got shut down."
Mario's eyes lit up. "That site... does it have lots of I-beams and construction materials?"
Kerry was surprised by the specific question but nodded. "The whole site's been sealed off, but when I saw it last week, there were plenty of materials just sitting there. Not sure what it's like now, though."
"Take me there."
No one asked what Mario intended to do with construction materials. Garcia was smart enough to know that if Mario wanted them to know, he'd explain it himself.
They returned to the car and Mario settled into the passenger seat. "Garcia, you really need to ditch this car. It's way too conspicuous. Buy something you can abandon without regret if things go sideways, like some old beater."
"Got it, I'll handle it."
Following Kerry's directions, the group drove toward the abandoned construction site in Queens. It was already 3 AM, but there were still a few pedestrians on the sidewalks, night shift workers, insomniacs, and the occasional drunk stumbling home.
That's when a black Mercedes passed them going the opposite direction.
Mario's attention was immediately drawn to the vehicle. Through Vampire Awareness, he could detect three bloodsuckers inside. And he could never forget that car's style, if he wasn't mistaken, it was one of those vehicles specifically designed for hunting prey.
"Careful, follow that car!"
Garcia pressed the accelerator, slowly tailing the Mercedes while maintaining distance.
Could it be that the underground nightclub wasn't actually the beginning of the Blade storyline? Even after that slaughterhouse got wiped out, they still have the balls to come out hunting?
He said seriously, "There are three vampires in that car. Find a secluded spot and force them to stop. End this quickly and don't hold back, forget about looting their bodies this time."
"Got it!"
"We know what to do!"
A few minutes later, the Mercedes turned onto a quiet side street. Garcia suddenly floored the accelerator, pulled alongside the other vehicle, and rolled down his window to make a provocative gesture.
The vampires inside showed no sign of anger, maintaining their cold expressions as they continued driving. Garcia quickly swerved ahead of them and shouted to his crew:
"Hold on tight!"
He slammed the brakes hard, then immediately gunned it again to avoid being rear-ended. After three consecutive brake-check maneuvers, the car behind them had slowed to a complete stop.
Both vehicles came to a halt. Kerry, gripping his silver-wrapped baseball bat, stepped out and walked toward the Mercedes. He raised the bat and smashed it against the car.
"Hey, get the fuck out!"
"Tonight I feel like borrowing some money from you assholes!"
He slammed the bat against the car again.
The vampires in the Mercedes, though initially patient, couldn't endure the repeated provocation. Three towering men in expensive suits stepped out of the vehicle. Compared to them, Mario's group seemed instantly outmatched in terms of physical presence.
Jesus Christ, did these guys eat steroids for breakfast? They're all fucking giants!
Mario craned his neck to look up at them. He'd always felt that his 6'1" height was pretty decent, but even the shortest of the three stood at least four inches taller than him.
Their black suits stretched tight over bulging muscles, they looked like professional enforcers straight out of central casting.
The three bloodsuckers strode rapidly toward Mario's group.
"You're looking for death!" snarled the one in front.
He couldn't restrain his fury any longer. Claws extended from his fingertips as he lunged toward Kerry, whose cocky attitude had provoked him the most.
BANG!
A gunshot rang out. Garcia had already drawn his pistol and pulled the trigger, the bullet slamming straight into the vampire's forehead. The bloodsucker hadn't expected these "street punks" to actually open fire without hesitation. One perfect headshot left a gaping hole in his skull.
Even with their supernatural resilience, vampires couldn't survive having their brains blown out. The creature collapsed to the asphalt, his body immediately bursting into flames.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
A flurry of gunshots followed as all three gang members opened fire simultaneously. The remaining vampires had reacted quickly, raising their arms to shield their heads and vital organs. Their inhuman durability showed itself here, bullets tore into their arms and torsos, wounds that would have incapacitated a human, yet both vampires kept charging forward.
Mario didn't hesitate. He materialized his stone axe and leaped into the air, bringing the weapon down in a crushing overhead strike. A critical hit landed, and a health bar appeared above the vampire's head.
Out of a maximum 100 hit points, only 72 remained. Regular bullets did little damage to these monsters.
"You three take that one, this bastard's mine!"
Mario shouted as he struck again and again, making the vampire scream in agony. On the other side, Garcia kept the second vampire suppressed with covering fire while Kerry and Gore stepped in with their silver-wrapped baseball bats, slamming them down hard.
After more than fifteen seconds, all three vampires had been reduced to ash and scattered bone fragments.
Mario stared at the abandoned Mercedes. He pulled out his pickaxe and began striking the vehicle repeatedly. The car shook and trembled under the impacts, then suddenly shrank down into a miniature item that was absorbed into his inventory.
If I can bring this car back to base and smelt it into iron ingots, that would be fucking amazing.
