In a room covered floor to ceiling in a flurry of microscopes, computer monitors, and other science equipment, two blonde haired men in bright white lab coats were moving around handling different tasks. One was switching between a keyboard and scope while the other was fiddling with a machine which had multiple tests tubes filled with bodily fluids. On each of the machines a symbol could be seen. A golden gear fit inside a silver pyramid. Making any common person recognize the royal origin of the equipment.

“Genetic samples from Subject 5 are no different from the last clinical trial. Sending analysis to records division.” The man with the name tag, “Charles” clipped on to his chest pocket said.

The scientists blue eyes constantly shifted to the keyboard, the monitor and

“Waste samples from Subject 5 also show no indication of change after trial #19. Add that in your report.” The man who wore the name tag “Jim” spoke while messing around with the beakers.

“Affirmative.”

Suddenly a bell rang, signifying the long awaited time known as lunch break.

Charles and Jim both exited the room into the glass hallway where fellow coworkers and a few mages could be seen exiting their respective rooms.

“Gods. The workload has been increase tenfold ever since we were transferred here.” Charles spoke while slightly slouching down in a fatigued fashion.

The two buddies were considered “royal scientists” though that just meant that they were trusted enough to do shady military research without any blackmail or threats.

“At least we don’t have the worst of it. I heard some other the other guys in the Surveillance Department has seen some stuff that keeps them awake at night.”

The two long-time friends chatted while making their way to the cafeteria.

“Speaking of which, I wonder why the Royals want this project accomplished fast. No conflict has been near our Empire has there?”

Though the Empire is fairly advanced compared to some other countries, the looming threat of hordes of monsters or an angry god on a bad day continues to linger in the minds of many.

“Who knows. Maybe they just want a specialized toy they can play with. This experiment is just insane though.”

“Tell me about it. Wizards, scientists, and military from all over the country is in on this.”

“Only one of the experiments seems battle ready though. Number 45 was it? I’m not sure about the other subjects. Number 5 seems like its going to die soon.”

“Enough with this work talk. Did you hear about that murder that happened two days ago, Charles?”

“Yeah. Some terrorist killed a who bunch of people and robbed a bank dry.”

“How would someone be able to crack through bank chips? After all those chips usually have military grade firewalls and security since its in the possession of a bank.”

“That means the person who did the crime was confident in his or his accomplice’s ability to get financial information out of those chips.”

“Playing detective now, Jim?”

“Shush. I’m thinking. Yet”

“Lets just eat.”

The two made a turn and scanned their cards through a machine to access the cafeteria. Rows of mages, scientists, and engineers could be seen buying food tickets and getting their lunch.

Once they sat down on a small table for two, a man in a gray uniform with a name tag that had the words ”Secretary Mark” written on it walked up to the two men.

“Jim, Charles. Mail team has a package for your section in the Loading Room.”

The two navigated through two floors through an elevator to find their way to a large room with different last names attached to different boxes stuffed with letters and packages. In the corner with a desk was a man wearing a uniform of navy blue, denoting his occupation as the head of the Loading Room. The man in question was looking down at a checklist.

“Charles and Jim I presume?” The man looked as if he was expecting the two co-workers.

“Your package is fairly large so its in the back room.” The man pointed to a secluded area surrounded with concrete where multiple trucks were parked.

“Which truck is it in?” Charles spoke after looking inside the room.

“The one on the far right.”

Jim and Charles walked up to a truck which had its door closed. Jim spoke while attempting to pull the handle.

“What the he…” This words were cut off like his head from his body.

A man, no monster came out of nowhere, killing the scientist in the process. Clad in a cape covering his body, red in the interior and black on the exterior. A white mask with scythes as eyes and a crooked smile covered his face. To cover the rest of his head, a hood was worn, connected to his cape. In his gloved right hand, an eastern style sword could be seen, fresh with the blood of a Jim.

Charles turned around only to be frozen with fear. With almost no time to react he joined his friend in the afterlife after a gash through his chest. The opened the back of the truck with his gloved left hand and threw the bodies inside.

“Fanlus here. Two corpses are hidden inside the escape truck. Shall I proceed to the underground Surveillance Department?” The vampire spoke into an earpiece attached to his mask.

“Go ahead. The air vents are sealed off and protected with security so you are going to have to sneak through the direct hallways. Lunchtime only lasts for one hour so make it quick.” The voice of a familiar dark elf responded.

The vampire closed the truck door and proceeded into the Loading Room.

“Jion you better not get your self captured.” The vampire looked at the man who stole the blue uniform while he was comfortably flipping through papers.

“Relax, if anyone else here is like those guys then this will be an easy job. Plus I disabled the security in this room so no cameras or recorders could hear what happens here. I can’t say the same for the rest of the building though.” The con man spoke as he proceeded to sit back and read the conveniently placed papers sprawled upon the desk.

The vampire, using his better judgement decided to take the stairs down. Before doing that though, he chanted. “Possession: Goblin Shaman.”

A 4 foot goblin with a skull and a staff with a dark orb on top appeared as an glowing illusion behind the vampire.

Then Akiael chanted again. “Tribal Speed Boost.”

Tribal Speed Boost (Lvl.2)

Gotta fast!

Current Effects:

Overall body movement of nearby allies within a 10 foot radius faster by 2% for (5) minutes.

“Blind Mirror.” The vampire spoke once more.

Blind Mirror (Lvl.1)

Legends say vampires can’t be seen through mirrors.

Replace mirrors with glass.

Current Effects:

When activated the caster is unable to be seen through any type of glass for (4) minutes.

“Let’s go.” Neils spoke through the earpiece after hearing the different chants made to block any video recording of the vampire’s actions.

The vampire looked at the concrete stairs and ran down the stiff and bland flights.

“The Surveillance Department is on B4.” The dark elf spoke nonchalantly.

The painted images of numbers accompanied every doorway. 1, B1, B2, B3 then finally B4.

After experiencing no resistance whatsoever, the vampire found himself in front of the door to the fourth basement level. He slightly popped the door open to see heavily armed soldiers guarding each door. Clad in black helmets with a glass visor, and armor consisting of enchanted leather with pieces such as the neck and knees protected by metal. On their shoulders the royal insignia of the gear and pyramid are worn with high esteem.

Preparing to sneak pass the soldiers with the assistance of Blind Mirror, Akiael crept into the room slowly, making no sound unfamiliar to the movement of the guard. After walking three doors down and making a left through the eerie concrete hallway, the vampire found a door titled Surveillance that was guarded by two guards and was locked by a key card reader.

‘One minute till the spell runs out.’

The vampire calmed himself and chanted once more. “Possession: Slender.”

The grungy goblin shaman behind him flickered, then a faceless, pale man in a suit took its place.

“Departed Dreams.” The vampire spoke as the chant put the expertly trained militants to sleep. At this point the vampire was actively sweating under his mask. Even chanting, the easiest form of producing magic took a strain on one’s mental focus. In a similar manner to how a person’s body may feel cramps or pain during or after a fist fight.

Departed Dreams (Lvl.1)

A spell used to put people to sleep. Target will not wake up under any circumstances until time runs out.

Current Effects:

Target must not be able to see the caster. Does not work on magic users.

Time asleep (45) seconds

“For good measure.” The vampire ripped off one of the soldier’s helmet and moved his mask up to his nose. The unlucky guard got two holes in his cheek. Blood could be seen streaming down his face looking like tears, staining the insignia of his Empire. Akiael’s mouth was red with fresh blood and after he was finished he chanted. “Bloody Influx.” Akiael’s body glowed a faint red for a second before disappearing. All of his weariness and exhaustion seemed to dissipate in a moment.

While he was drinking the guard’s blood, he slipped his fingers into the man’s pockets. Finding a key card and his wallet. After swiftly putting the man’s wallet in a dimensional pocket and putting his mask back on, Akiael used the key card and the steel doors opened before him. Inside were two men staring at 5 columns of screens. All attached to a wall for maximum observation. The room was dark, only lite by the blue screens which spanned the who room. Buttons lined a dashboard and a fridge and microwave was spotted on a counter in the back. A conceal bathroom could be spotted on the back of the room which was clearly occupied. Akiael stepped inside and the shutters closed behind him.

“Yo, Bob.” One of the men wearing a t-shirt and a beanie spoke, with nothing to distract his job.

“Pass me the toolbox. The Loading Room camera is down.”

The man was unaware that the intruder was not his intern but instead a murderous vampire. Needless to say, that mistake literally cost him his life. With two strikes of a sword. The two men dropped to the floor motionless with their shoulders pierced. Broken Mirror lost its effect on Akiael after the bloody act. Then the vampire forced the bathroom door open and chanted. “Dark Ball.”

Dark Ball (Lvl.5)

The weakest and most common spell of the Dark element. Unlike most common spells of other elements, this spell has the ability to kill a regular person in one hit. The accuracy of the spell is horrid though.

Current Effects:

Does low dark damage. Insta-kills if the target is weaker than the caster and is a direct shot.

The before the bearded man could protest his invasion of privacy, he quickly departed from this world. His body received the dark energy and a hole in his chest was made by the dark purple orb.

Akiael then threw in his co-workers in the bathroom before locking it. He then stepped out and headed for the dashboard. A mess of wires, electronic equipment, and computers could be seen under the dashboard. Not caring about how much the whole setup actually costs, Akiael chanted again. “Bane of Technology.” In an instant, all of the monitors displayed a fuzzy gray before turning completely black. For safe measure Akiael tore out all of the wires keeping the setup together and put them in the fridge.

“Finally time to wreck havoc.” It was as if the crooked smile on his mask resonated with his actual smile as he pulled out a knife in his right hand to accompany his sword.