Due to the pleasant experiences from previous collaborations, an editor flew directly from London, England to Romania and met with Liang En in the castle.
Upon meeting, the first discussion was about the sales of the previous book, "Polar Spirits," which had been published and introduced to the market. According to the editor, the book was performing well as a popular novel.
This performance was impressive, especially for a first-time novelist and publisher, even after some marketing efforts.
This is why the editor was willing to travel all the way from the UK to Romania, as a valuable author is certainly worth the journey for the publishers.
Considering certain reasons, Liang En did not hand over both books, but only "Dracula," as rushing things could be counterproductive.
"This is a novel with originality," the editor concluded after reviewing the book. As a professional, he could easily recognize its value.
"At least in my view, this book is very valuable, so we are willing to sign a distribution contract and release it."
Normally, negotiators wouldn't speak so directly, as it could disadvantage the publisher in discussions.
However, Liang En is not an ordinary author; he is a historian and archaeologist, which gives him significant leverage when choosing publishers.
Moreover, upon learning that Liang En was the owner of the castle, the editor immediately realized that Liang En was not short of money, giving him an absolute advantage in negotiations.
Thus, the editor was somewhat relieved that the publisher's instructions had been to foster a good relationship with Liang En and be willing to concede on some benefits, which clearly would facilitate a successful negotiation.
Because of past experiences and the fact that such contracts are standardized, the editor faxed a copy of the contract to his lawyer to ensure it was sound, and that very afternoon, Liang En signed the contract with the editor.
Interestingly, right after Liang En signed the contract, he received six cards, four of which were common cards, including two "Detection (N)" and two "Legend Power (N)."
The last two cards were a lower-level enhancement card "Blood Detection (R)" and a high-level skill card "Blood Manipulation (SR)," indicating their rarity from their names alone.
Indeed, these two cards possessed immense power, even appearing too powerful for Liang En's current supernatural level.
"Blood Detection (R): According to legend, vampires are creatures that subsist on blood, so they have a heightened sensitivity to blood, able to detect much information about the blood's owner.
Enhancement Card: Upon using this card, the user's sensory abilities are newly enhanced, permanently acquiring special blood-sensing abilities:
Whenever the user wishes, they can sense all blood within a 169m radius centered on themselves and determine the blood owner's gender, age, habits such as smoking or drinking, and whether their body is weak upon touching the blood."
Liang En felt this card evoked some intrinsic animalistic nature of humans rather than just relating to vampires, as many animals can sense prey from hundreds to thousands of meters away.
After securing the "Blood Detection (R)" card, Liang En quickly focused on the highest-level card he received. Upon examination, he realized it was far more powerful than he had imagined.
"Blood Manipulation (SR): Vampires originate from ancient Eastern European legends, initially depicted as corpses rising from graves to suck human blood.
However, modern adaptations through novels, movies, and pop culture have gradually evolved the common image of vampires as fantastical creatures needing to feed on blood to sustain life, active at night, and possessing supernatural powers.
This trend even reached China, where zombie films produced in the southern regions depict zombies moving at night and sucking blood with fangs, clearly inspired by European vampires.
Obviously, these legends contain abundant information pointing in the same direction, providing extraordinary abilities to the user even if only a portion is utilized.
Skill Card (Permanent) (Active), using Legend Power to transform those casting tools into cards, the card owner gains the ability to manipulate blood.
This skill can be applied to all blood, including blood placed outside of an organism and blood flowing within an organism, provided the blood is red.
Each time the skill is used, the user can choose one of the following effects: outputting blood, inputting blood, or changing the properties of the blood.
The skills of outputting and inputting blood need to be used in conjunction, where outputting involves adding blood to a target, a location, or an organism, and inputting involves retrieving blood from a target and storing it through the skill card.
The prerequisite for outputting blood is having sufficient blood, determined by the previously inputted amount.
The blood must be red, and upon using the skill, all blood becomes conceptualized, interchangeable regardless of type without any barriers.
The third effect allows the blood to change states among solid, liquid, and gas, whether it is placed in a container or directly in a location, and can also exist within certain organisms
.
When activating the skill, the user needs to lock onto a target and use the skill on that target, and each time the skill is used, it can only target one individual.
The initial efficiency of this skill controls up to one liter of blood within ten meters of the user, and for every additional ten meters away the target is, one additional Legend Point is required, rounded up to ten meters.
Additionally, when changing operations, every additional liter increases by one Legend Point, and if less than one liter is involved, it is rounded up to one liter.
And when storing blood obtained through inputting, each input is measured as a minimum of one liter, with any amount less than one liter unable to be stored."
"Hiss—" Liang En gasped after reading the second card's description, as it was evidently the most powerful card he now possessed.
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