SSS Awakening: Rebirth of the Strongest Vampire God - Chapter 649

Chapter 649: Once upon a time
Sylvara quickly prepared tea for the both of them and served. Damon sighed with impatience. He watched the old guy calmly pick up the cup and take a sip. His face twitched. Just spill all the secrets already, damn it!

“So you know about the nine hidden families in our world? The nine main families who pretty much rule everything from the shadows?”

Damon nodded furiously. Yup, he was fully familiar with those assholes.

Artimius smiled. “Patience. Patience. Blood God. I will not hold back the truth from you anymore. These nine families are not normal families in any way. In fact, they might not even be entirely human.”

“What?” Damon straightened instinctively, every muscle in his back going rigid. “What?” he repeated.

“You heard me. Not entirely human.”

“…Explain.”

Artimius folded his hands in his lap, looking almost grandfatherly, right up until the temperature in the room plummeted three degrees.

“These nine families,” he began, “call themselves human. They present themselves as human. They reproduce like humans. They pretend to follow human laws, human politics, human limits.”

Then his smile vanished.

“But their origins… belong to something far older. They are not native inhabitants of your world. They came from outside.”

Damon stared. What the fuck?

“Their Gods sent them here a long, long time ago because of some sort of prophecy by a famous oracle. I do not know the details, but I know this… There are two sides to all those nine hidden families.”

“The side they have shown the world, shown the game, shown you, but there is also another side to them. A side where an old monster from a long time ago is still alive and breathing. Brat, I am pretty young when compared to those guys. You can call me a child, even.”

Damon went still. A full second passed. Then another. Finally, he managed, “I’m sorry. WHAT?”

Artimius chuckled. “Yes. Compared to them, I am a child. Barely a couple hundred years old. They? They have lived through eras that don’t even exist anymore. Think dinosaurs. They are from clans that have millions of years of history. In fact, they were probably not even the best members of their clan to be sent to this remote world. However, they are in no way ordinary.”

Damon’s jaw opened, closed, opened again. “You’re telling me those nine families have… what? Ancestors still alive in a basement somewhere?”

“The individuals you have seen, the heads of their families, the prodigies they send into politics, the ones who play at business and control nations, those are merely extensions. Offshoots. Vessels. Fragments of the true beings.”

“The real ones haven’t yet shown themselves. The real ones possess knowledge, experience and expertise we cannot even fathom. Even their direct descendents are nothing short of shocking individuals. Though they did not have the ancient clan background and mana while growing up, they had their own techniques and advantages. They cannot be underestimated.”

“Each family has ten monsters like that or at least thats what the rumor says. And above those ten is the ancestor. Apart from these old guys, there are also other powerful hidden figures, exceptionally talented ones.”

“Suffice it to say that one of the duties of the old ancestors was to procreate and they did that plenty well, resulting in many talented individuals.”

“The skilled players, the top players, the guild masters and the powerhouses you have seen so far are nothing when compared to those real monsters. Just like me, they haven’t even stepped inside the game world yet. There is a reason for that.”

“But beware, it won’t be long before they reveal themselves to this world and their presence becomes known. Everything will change then.”

“I don’t understand. Why haven’t they entered the game then? It’s not like there is mana on earth.” Damon asked.

Artimius’s expression turned solemn, almost grim, as he leaned back against his pillows. “Simply put. There is no reason for them to.”

“Huh?”

“Tell me. How strong were you before you entered the game?”

Damon frowned. “Well, I was not really anything before I entered the game.”

Artimius nodded. “What if… You were already an E rank or D rank before you entered the world?” The old man raised a single brow, watching Damon carefully

Damon’s frown deepened. “If I were already an E rank or D rank before entering the game? Then… I guess I wouldn’t care much about the early levels? I’d just breeze through everything.”

“Exactly,” Artimius said softly. “And now imagine you were not E rank… but C rank. Or higher. Born with a body that could crush mountains. A soul that could tear space. A lifespan so long that centuries feel like coffee breaks.”

Damon’s heart thumped. “…So you’re telling me those ancient freaks don’t enter the game because they don’t need to?”

Artimius chuckled. “More accurately, they don’t benefit from it. Not yet.”

“Think, boy,” Artimius continued. “Why would a being who can slaughter armies with one finger bother grinding slimes in the beginner village? Why would someone whose soul is already vast risk binding it to a system that restricts them?”

Damon opened his mouth, then slowly closed it. “…Because they’d get nerfed.”

Artimius snapped his fingers. “Exactly.”

He leaned forward, his aura pressing down like a glacier settling.

“The system world, Earth Online, is built to raise mortals. To elevate the weak. To provide a path for those without power. But ancient beings? The moment they try to log in, the system clamps down on them. Forces them into lower templates. Restricts their soul layers. Caps their attributes.”

“If anything, the system heavens are fair. Well, to a certain extent. So the moment it senses disparity, punishment would be doled out. Especially inside the game.”

Damon’s brows shot up. “Wait, so they’d be forced into a newbie body?”

“Precisely.” Artimius’s eyes gleamed. “And that, brat, is something those old monsters hate more than death itself. Weakness.”

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