Riviera felt dead quiet.

As Li walked the streets of the main square, he felt like was walking through a ghost town. The food carts had disappeared, and the shops had all closed. A few suspicious souls sauntered about, their heads covered in hoods as they shifted through the bare streets.

Strange. Riviera had a bustling nightlife, what with how many university students it had. There were plenty of taverns open, with the higher end ones using enchanted signs that glowed alluringly in the dark. Many of these establishments also dabbled in the illegal, and it wasn't uncommon for a tavern to supplement its income with tax-free 'labor' from its barmaids.

Some food vendors took advantage of alcohol-fueled hunger to set up their stands at dark, making sure the sizzling of their greasy wares was audible to all that walked by. It wouldn't have been surprising for Li, as he snaked through this and that path, to find a prostitute, or flower girls as this world called them, walking up to him, their hips swaying from side to side.

And yet instead of the bustle of night, there was an eerie silence. The type of nightlife out tonight was not that of students and fun, but professional criminals and business.

That was why Li had a smile on, his face uncovered by hood and out for the world to see. He would be easily recognizable, and sooner or later, someone would lead him to Black Vine. He had ensured that Old Thane was safe, putting both Zagan and the myrmeke in charge of the farm's defense.

Zagan was level 80. There would be precious little in this world that could challenge him: he seemed to be on one of the highest totems of power here, a being of legend that would require an entire army to stop. Li did worry that there might be existences out there that matched his own power, but he seriously doubted it.

There might be beings that were level 100. The four gods that this world worshipped came directly from Elden World and were all level 100, after all. But not all level 100s were made equal.

Elden World was unique among MMORPGs in that it possessed a New Game+ system. Once finishing the main campaign, a player could restart it all with much higher difficulty while maintaining the same levels, skills, spells, and items. Each new game cycle unlocked additional content to the campaign and even unlocked mechanics such as the highest tier of spells and items on top of unlocking the stat cap.

It could easily be said that a player at New Game +7, the maximum amount of times to replay the campaign before there were no new bonuses to benefit from, was a level 100 among level 100s. A concept like New Game+ simply just didn't fit with this reality. There was no way to restart a game when the game was real life.

And logically, judging by how beings like Zagan reacted to Li, he knew that he was at the absolute pinnacle of this world. Now, there was a question as to whether there was another player such as himself here, for after all, if he could be summoned, what stopped another of his kind from being here?

But a being of his power, unless they actively tried to remain unnoticed as he did, would have made powerful ripples across this world. And if that hypothetical player tried to be as incognito as Li, then there was little chance he or she would confront him.

That was why Li could wander around with absolute confidence, waiting for a Black Vine goon to accost him.

And as Li came by towards the alleyway that he had slaughtered the four thugs at, he found what he looked for. Two hooded men. They were kneeling at the alleyway, their heads turned down in concentration.

Li clapped. "Hey, looking for your pals?"

The two men looked up. Their eyes were blood red, glowing in the night with a luster not quite as fiery as Zagan's, but glossier, more organic.

Vampires.

"The foreigner, yes?" said the vampires in unison as they stood up warily, their muscles tensed for conflict.

"I didn't know vampires were nearsighed," said Li. "Yes, I'm a foreigner, as you can obviously tell, and most likely, I am 'the' foreigner. Now take me to your boss."

The vampires moved in a flash to Li's sides, flanking him. A trail of shadowy mist followed them and their fangs extended as they bared cruel smiles to Li.

"Come with us. No sudden movements, or else you die."

Li shrugged. "Sure, now let's stop the chit chat and start on the walking."

The vampires led Li towards the docks. Here, the smell of briny sea salt hung heavy in the air. The darkened silhouettes of caravels swayed as the water rocked them. In the distance, Lord Lys's galleon, the Azure Dove, loomed, dwarfing the small ships that dotted around it like puppies to their mother.

Li soon found himself in front of a pharmacy. It was a three-story building of white brick, built with a geometric precision that homegrown shops such as Li's would never quite have. Embedded in its great oaken double doors were the words 'Black Vine', a rune of sealing glowing with a lavender strength right underneath, as if underlining the words.

One of the vampires placed a ghostly white hand on the rune. The lavender glow faded, the rune deactivating as it become nothing more than a fancy symbol. The vampire opened the heavy door with a quick and easy thrust of his arm. His comrade pushed Li from behind, beckoning him to go inside.

"Easy now, you shouldn't be in such a rush to die," said Li as he came inside the building.

The vampires chuckled. "You're a funny one, foreigner."

"Strange, because that wasn't a joke." Li carried on, his nightvision scanning his surroundings.

The first floor was a reception area modeled much like that of the city hall's, except much smaller in scale. People would come here for their prescriptions of tell of their problems, and then a clerk would arrange a meeting with an herbalist or give them their medication.

But of course, the floor was barren. The reception counter was completely empty and bars of crackling magical energy sealed it off from the outside, preventing intruders from stealing the herbs and elixirs within. The only strong thing in there was the smell of disinfectant and herbs, their sterile stench lingering on every surface.

The vampires closed the door behind Li and the rune clicked into action oncemore.

"You ever heard of the Ripper Twins?" said the vampires. One of them stood in front of Li, arms crossed. The other had his back pressed to the door, blocking it off.

"Sorry, but the news bores me." Li went to a bench and took a seat, crossing one leg over the other as he leaned back. "I'm guessing that's your, uh, 'street name?'"?

"Some say the Ripper Twins are demons, clawing out the wombs from ill-fated wenches," the vampires continued in unison, ignoring Li, obviously eager to get their backstories out. "None know when they strike, but all know that upon every full moon, the gutters flow with the lifeblood of the innocent."

"Oh, I get it," said Li as he nodded. "That's why the city was so quiet. Because you goons were crawling around and disturbing the peace."

The vampires drew closer. Their arms were out to their sides and their fingers were shifting, elongating as they became bonier and the fingernails extended into claws.

Li nodded. "I thought I said to lead me to your boss. Did you plan on just executing me here?"

"You are not worth his time."

Li uncrossed his legs and leaned forwards. He put his fingers together, as if he was in deep thought. "Both of you are immortal creatures. You have an eternity to appreciate. So I was thinking – why waste it here? I'll give you one, and only one, offer. Lead me to your boss, and hopefully you'll still have an eternity to enjoy."

The vampires started on a raucous laugh, their clawed hands over their bellies, and Li joined them. In a split second mid-laugh, they swung their claws, aiming to sever Li's head from his neck.

The vampires stood back as their laughs faded and their smiles disappeared.

Li stood up as the shattered remnants of claws scattered around his feet. He cracked his neck. He thought he felt something, but he wasn't really sure. "I'm disappointed. Here I thought immortality opened up one's perspective."