Epic of Vampire: The Crippled Vampire Prince Is Actually The Strongest

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“Mass produce equipment?! Seriously?” wondered Chris. “How is that possible, though?”

“Well, you see, the Blazing Doppelganger Skill is pretty handy; they inherit a part of my Stats and can also use several of my Skills, they imitate my movements, dexterity, and everything else with almost 100% accuracy,” Paul explained. “So as long as I show them what to do, they’ll copy me and be able to reproduce it almost perfectly themselves.”

Paul pointed at the four Blazing Doppelgangers, who were working on the armor. One of them shaped their internal flames into a mold so the molten metal could flow seamlessly.

The fragments of the previous armor melted out and merged with mithril and other metals, creating a combination of deep black and purple colors that quickly took shape within the Blazing Doppelganger.

The other three were also doing the same. A full body armor had several parts to it after all; one of them was taking care of the chest plate and the shoulders, another of the helmet and the gloves, a third of the greaves and other leg armor parts, and the fourth was forging something larger and sturdier.

“Woah, this is pretty cool; they’re doing everything inside their own bodies,” said Chris. “You don’t even need to use a smithy.”

“Yeah, and because they can use my own Alchemy and other crafting Skills, they’re able to produce it within their own bodies,” Paul explained. “Hence, if I can make more of them, it’ll be possible to mass produce equipment very quickly, as long as we have materials for it.”

“Huh…” Chris nodded while rubbing his little chin. “We got a big stash of materials for not, but those are going to run out eventually. Where can we secure more, though?”

“The best bet would be to purchase them from a merchant,” said Paul. “There’s a large free market going on in the city right now. We should go visit it and see if we can make some deals regarding materials with the merchants. However, to even begin doing this, we need soldiers to wield the weapons. Loyal soldiers, and that won’t be easy to get... unless...”

“Unless?” wondered Chris, tilting his head cutely as he flew around the room.

“Unless I use those items from the Raid Shop, claim this place as my territory, and use the Territory Management System abilities to quite literally summon forces and heroes to protect the city,” smiled Paul. “Get it?”

“Right!” Chris became a bit excited. “If we could do that, we could easily improve the city’s defenses and security even more! …I mean, Argentia is there though; I guess that’s a lot of security by itself.”

"Yes, but he can’t be in every place at the same time,” said Paul. “He’s strong and big, but if the city is attacked again, he might only be able to deal with a single group; other groups coming from different areas won’t be easily stopped, and before he even gets to them, they might already trample half the city. Worse, they could bring someone strong enough to beat him. I mean, it’s not too hard either. He’s definitely stronger than the average NPC and Monster, but there’s certainly bigger fish out there.”

“True…” Chris nodded. “So what’s the plan then? You make your armor and shield then…”

“Then we go to the farms,” said Paul with a smile.

“The farms?!” asked Chris. “Weren’t we going to kill thugs?”

“I first need to secure the city’s own ability to feed itself,” said Paul. "Recently, from what I’ve learned from Vlad’s mother, food has become scarcer. Vampires have it easy because we just drink blood, but it’s not the same for the rest of the population. Did you know? Elderbridge is a pretty diverse city; it has a sizable population of Werewolves, Werecats, Night and Moon Elves, Imps and Devils, Dhampirs and Blood Elves, Orcs, and Goblins, and more. And what do all of these have in common? Unlike Vampires and Incubus they need to eat solid food. Potatoes, rice, bread, and meat.”

“Meat can be secured through hunting and cattle,” said Chris. “But yeah, those purple rice and the red potatoes… They can only grow on fertile soil, and I bet this place’s not too easy to make fertile.”

“Yeah, recently the soil had become very dry and unfertile,” said Paul. “The reason why I chose a Farmer Subclass was to solve this very big problem before a complete famine hits Elderbridge and our population plumets. We need to take care of our people; there’s only a bit over two thousand after all.”

“T-That’s a lot, though…” muttered Chris.

“The larger cities have hundreds of thousands; the capital has millions of citizens,” said Paul. “So it’s a big difference. Elderbridge is rather small in comparison. We have to quickly find ways to both feed our people and make them feel comfortable enough to make families and, therefore, create more population. Then we expand the city, the dungeon raiding, the products we can extract from it, and so on. Once the citizens are well fed and happy, the city can begin flourishing. Stronger armies, guardians, and even heroes protecting us. Then we began producing our own products. Armor, weapons, accessories, potions, elixirs… The economy will rise, and so will our position within the Empire.”

“Y-You’ve planned so far?” Chris gasped, unable to believe how insane Paul was. “All for just a game, dude… You’re such a weirdo, haha! But I like that! You’re smart; do you like civilization games or something?”

“I love them; I used to play them all the time a few years ago,” Paul said. “The only reason I stopped is because I ended up playing them all... But yeah, seeing how realistic everything is while still melding with magic and game-like mechanics makes it very fun to strategize a “golden road” we’ll take to improve everything. Also, wouldn’t investing in the city also give us money? If we can exchange items and credits for money, then if we can produce a lot and make the city rich…”

“W-We can become rich too?!” Chris finally understood one of Paul’s goals. “Right, thousands, no, tens, hundreds of thousands of dollars! If we produce so much on such a large scale... You’re right!”

“You’ve been helping me all this time so far,” said Paul, extending his hand towards Chris, who gently held it and quickly stopped flying.

Then he grabbed Chris hips and glanced into his eyes.

“I’m willing to share a part of all these earnings with you, of course,” the handsome vampire prince smiled. “I wouldn’t even hesitate to marry you; we could govern Elderbridge and the kingdom I’m planning to become together.”

“E-Eh?” Chris blushed as he felt the intense gaze of Paul’s vampiric eyes. “Really? But… Um, ah, isn’t this a bit too much role play?”

“It’s fun, though,” said Paul. “It could also bring several benefits so…”

“I-I’ll think about it, ok? But don’t get too ahead of yourself…!” Chris grew redder as he gently pushed Paul back. “B-But being the king of a kingdom… it wouldn’t be so bad. I could gain a lot of popularity too; imagine... The revenue from our videos and the community we could build too…”

“Yeah, it could become a big thing,” said Paul. “I might have started as a sickly prince, but a prince, nonetheless. A Lord of a Territory. This randomized Avatar might be the best ever… Incredibly unfair upbringing compared to other Players too.”

“You don’t say! Even mine is a bit weird too, the son of a brothel prostitute succubus, who is actually also the son of the Fairy King of another whole realm…” said Chris. “I might also have the potential to get into that spectrum of politics. It could really be useful…”

“Yeah,” said Paul. “Vlad is nobility, a prince, and technically, you’re also a prince of the Fairy Kingdom of Fantasia. Technically, if we get married and you’re raised into a Royal Status, you could ask a whole other Realm’s Kingdom for your birthright. A piece of the Kingdom for yourself. We could even expand to another Realm…”

“R-Really?” Chris gasped. “Paul, aren’t you way too ambitious?! Where did all that ambition and confidence come from? You’re such a cute and awkward guy IRL but what the hell?”

“A-Ah? Well, when it comes to games and other stuff, I do get pretty serious…” Paul became a bit embarrassed, blushing. “Is it weird? Sorry…”

“Hmm~ Nah! It's still pretty cool, I think,” Chris smiled cutely. “I like that cool side~ Come here.”

“Hm?” Paul felt embarrassed as Chris called for him and kissed his lips. “Chris…”

“I like that... Keep going; I love ambitious men,” Chris smiled. “You’re cute too, but... that other side is really damn hot. I’ll follow you then. Let’s see where your ambitions can take us. To a bright future... or maybe to the death of our Avatars.”

“Ah… It sure is going to be hard, but thank you,” Paul held Chris hands. “I know that if you’re by my side, I can accomplish anything.”

“Y-You bastard…” Chris blushed. “S-Stop flirting with me like that!”

“Hahaha! What’s wrong?” giggled Paul. “We’re going to get married, right?”

“I-In game!” cried Chris. “And it’s kind of just a roleplay thingy! A-And… I haven’t even decided! Ugh! Anyways! How’s your armor doing? One step at a time, dude. I doubt we’ll go to the farms right away, right?”

"Actually, yeah, it's still not too late, right?” said Paul. “So we should go check them out before bed.”

“Paul! Tomorrow we have college, and it's early in the morning too. Don’t stay until too late, ok?” Chris sighed, crossing his arms as if he were a concerned wife for her hard-working husband.

“I get it; don’t worry,” Paul smiled, patting his head. “You’re so cute when you worry about me... Please marry me already.” He hugged him.

“C-Cut it out with the marriage thingy already… How’s your armor doing? Answer my questions, geez!”

“Ah, right…”

The Blazing Doppelgangers were already taking out large pieces of armor from their bodies. Their own flames became less bright, cooling down the metals and then placing them over a barrel with cold magic liquid to magically enchant and cool down the armor pieces.

FRSSSHHH…!

Once they were cooled down, Vlad quickly took them all out. The shiny black and purple armor pieces were roughly 80% done; he had to do the other 20%, which included sharpening the edges, refining all the fancy decorations he wanted to add, and imprinting all the magical runes.

“Easy right? 80% of the entire work is done already,” Vlad smiled. “I’m just going to finish it off quickly; I’ll get it done in less than an hour.”

“Gotcha…” Chris nodded. "Then, while you’re at that, I’ll practice alchemy. You said I had to learn more useful Skills like that, right? I’ll follow this book…”

“Ah, good boy! I see you’re becoming more hardworking as well!” Paul was full of happiness.

“I-I’m just doing it to ease the burden; you can’t do everything!” Chris sighed.

As the incubus crafted potions on the large alchemy cauldron, he noticed the Blazing Doppelgangers already working on another piece, a huge shield.

“So how many can you summon? Do they cost Mana? How tough are they? You haven’t told me any of that yet,” said Chris.

“Right… Look at their Skill description.” Paul sent the system window to Chirs as the curious incubus checked it out.

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[Blazing Doppelganger (A): Lv3]

[Skill EXP]: [6.739/30.000]

Channel large quantities of Arcana and the blazing power of the Unending Crimson to conjure perfect copies of yourself made of Arcane Flames.

These copies will follow any orders you give them and can perfectly copy any of your movements and abilities. They can use up to five Skills from your Status and possess 50% of your Stats.

Their blazing bodies, made of Arcane Flames, can shapeshift at will and transform into various shapes to easily complete the tasks given. The temperature of their fire and what they burn can also be changed at will.

When their Durability reaches zero and if a foe is nearby, they will explode, dealing 300% Damage based on your Arcana Stat.

The quantity of Doppelgangers you can summon increases with each Level by +2.

Current Doppelgangers you can summon: 4/7

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“Huh…” Chris nodded. “It’s really good! I want this too! So unfair!”

“Hahaha, too bad; I ended up using that Skill Book,” Paul laughed.

Like that, half an hour passed, and Chris saw a new notification as he finished making his tenth Lesser Health and Arcana Potions.

Ding!

[Enough Skill Proficiency has been gathered; you learned the [Alchemy (D): Lv1] Skill!]

“Nice! I got it, Paul! Paul! I got it!”

Chris celebrated, annoying Paul as he just finished the armor.

“Okay, okay, well done; congrats, Chris.”

Paul gently patted the incubus head and praised him.

Chris loved being praised; he sought attention more than anything.

“Are you done?”

“Yep, done already. I’ll place the armor on my inventory, though,” said Paul. “It would be a bit intimidating to walk around with it; it’s even larger and heavier than the other. I think I might have gone too far…”

“Hahaha! Anyway, let’s go to the farms now! Dinner’s ready in like twenty minutes in my house, we’re eating sushi today!” Chris said.

“Huh, lucky you…” Paul sighed. “Alright, let’s go flying then.”

The two lovebirds flew into the sky with both magic and their natural wings, reaching the outskirts of Elderbridge, several kilometers of abandoned farms, and small villages where the farmers lived, who ended up moving inside the city.

“Woah, this place sure looks fucking desolated…” Chris looked around.

“Yeah,” Paul said. “Well, let’s try it right away with these skills!”

Without even waiting a single second, Paul kneeled and touched the soil.

“{Blessing of the Martial Spirits of Harvest}”

FLAAASH!

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