Chapter 1463: Chapter 1463

"Hold on, I'm sorry, did I just mishear you? What did you say? Choose someone to kill?"

Jenkins asked the old priest before him, a note of astonishment in his voice.

"Yes," the priest confirmed, his voice heavy. "It is difficult to understand, and terribly cruel, but the common folk need a way to vent their fear. I cannot stop them... And besides, it's the only viable method we have at the moment. We have no way of identifying the vampire. We can only hope to catch it by sheer luck."

The priest explained with a defeated air. According to him, it was winter, so the townspeople almost never ventured out. Their only public gathering was in the town square, on the day after the vampire killed. He mentioned that here in Black Town, besides himself, there were two other spellcasters. If Jenkins needed more clues, he could seek them out.

"In the forest east of town lives a diviner. She tried to find the vampire using her own methods, but the creature clearly has strong counter-divination measures. The diviner possesses a rare mithril dagger, and that blade protects her from being killed. The other is a witch who lives near the town graveyard. She's a master herbalist and once managed to save a poor soul who was attacked by the vampire. Unfortunately, that person was turned, so we had to kill him... Oh, and one more thing. The town sheriff met with an unfortunate end a month ago, so I'm temporarily filling the role. If you need anything, you can come to me anytime. But no matter how confident you are, it's best not to go out at night. It's afternoon now. You have three hours to visit the other two. Remember to get back early."

"A vampire that kills by night... a sheriff with the power to temporarily drive away monsters... a seer... a witch who mixes herbal remedies... Now that I think about it, why a vampire and not a werewolf?"

The old priest did not understand Jenkins's question.

The diviner lived in the forest to the east of town, while the witch lived by the graveyard to the west. The town wasn't large, but visiting both and returning would still take a considerable amount of time.

Jenkins decided to visit the witch first. Since the church was on the east side of town, he could use the opportunity to cross through the town and observe his surroundings with the Eye of Reality.

At the very least, he could still see the auras of human Enchanters. The witch's power was equivalent to that of a level-one Enchanter. She was a slightly plump, middle-aged woman:

"A vampire hunter? Oh, you must have used translation dust. I can smell it—my nose is extremely sensitive. Now, let me get a look at you. You're..."

The witch gave the visiting spellcaster a warm reception, welcoming him into her small cottage with a peculiar-tasting tea. The room was filled with hanging plant specimens, and the shelves were lined with bottles of strange liquids, reminding Jenkins of Old Jack's apothecary.

"You must have some elven blood in you!"

She declared suddenly, startling Jenkins. He was currently in disguise; there was no way she could have determined his ancestry from his appearance.

"Don't be so surprised. My nose is extremely sensitive."

She winked at Jenkins:

"I may not be able to draw power from an ancient bloodline like you, but I have my own strengths. Now, what is it you want to know? I'd be more than happy to help you take care of that damned creature."

The witch was incredibly enthusiastic, but she knew little more than the old priest had. Even her sensitive nose couldn't pick up the vampire's scent. However, in her capacity as the town's part-time coroner, she had gleaned some clues from the victims' bodies.

"That vampire isn't an ancient one. It's stronger than any of us, but it certainly isn't old. I can tell from the amount of residual toxin left in the bodies."

During a vampire incident several months prior, Jenkins had learned how to prepare a toxin fatal to vampires from both a Star Spirit and Old Jack. He had hoped the witch could help him brew a batch, but the different names for the ingredients left her powerless to help. Jenkins could translate ancient terms into their modern equivalents, but he couldn't translate modern names back into the language of this unknown era. Chapters fırst released on novｅlfire.net

Before he left, the witch gave him a few healing potions and wished him luck in catching his quarry.

In stark contrast to the warm witch, the diviner who lived deep within the woods was rather cold. She was a strikingly beautiful young woman, but she stopped Jenkins at her low fence, refusing to let him enter. She stood in her doorway and declared that strangers brought misfortune:

"I have already foreseen it! You are nothing short of a walking disaster machine, a mobile cataclysm, a magnet for sin! For the gods' sake, do not take another step forward!"

The diviner's power was equivalent to a level-three Enchanter, making her the strongest of the town's natives. Yet there was something odd about her. Despite being only level three, she carried herself with a peculiar air, one that Jenkins had only ever seen on the demigod diviner, Miss Brolignans.

This suggested she possessed remarkably advanced skills in divination and prophecy, and Jenkins felt certain she could provide him with meaningful help.

"I'm not a bad person!"

"I know you're not a bad person," she retorted. "Wait—please don't touch my fence. Oh, blast it, you touched it anyway! I'll have to burn the wood tomorrow. And since it's winter, I won't be able to install a new fence until spring."

The diviner grumbled in annoyance.

"I won't come any closer," Jenkins offered. "We can talk from here. Can you help me? I want to hunt down that vampire, but I can't find it."

"The vampire is among those ignorant townspeople! You should be searching among them, not bothering me!"

The diviner declared loudly.

"If I could find it, I wouldn't be here! Ma'am, be reasonable. Killing the vampire would benefit you too, wouldn't it? I doubt you want some strange, inhuman creature living so close to your home!"

"It doesn't matter. I've already decided to move away next year," she retorted. "What happens in that town is no concern of mine. Besides, I was forced to move out here to the woods because those same townspeople believe my divinations brought this disaster upon them. Hmph. A bunch of fools."

With that, the young woman stamped her foot impatiently, then turned to shut the door, clearly unwilling to waste another moment on Jenkins.