In Log, each race could develop their civilization through five Era divisions in total.
1st Era, the Primitive Era.
2nd Era, the Ancient Era.
3rd Era, the Medieval Era.
4th Era, the Early Modern Era.
5th Era, the Modern Era.
Of these, the 1st Era had only basic Factions, and even the unit classes were not properly divided.
At best, they were split into Worker Units or Combat Units.
And because of that, most battles that occurred during this period were decided by the basic specs of the units.
Therefore, players who had picked a race weak in the early game in Log had only one goal.
To advance to the 2nd Era as quickly as possible.
And paradoxically, to achieve this, Worker Units had to bustle about even more with scouting.
This was to procure Food, one of the resources needed to produce Worker Units.
“……Hoo.”
This was no exception even for humanity, who possessed the Farming Faction.
Because no matter how much humanity had the Farming Faction, its efficiency was by no means good.
If the efficiency of an ordinary hunt by other races was set at 100, the efficiency of a vegetable patch was only about 105.
It was an efficiency that, while not meaningless, did not make a very big difference.
Furthermore, since a vegetable patch was not a way of securing food continuously like hunting, but rather a method of harvesting a large amount of food at once, it absolutely had to be carried out alongside hunting.
That was the reason I was currently hiding my body in the bushes and aiming a javelin.
Aiming my spear at a deer leisurely grazing in front of me, I slowly pulled my arm back and threw it swiftly.
Swoosh! Thud!
“Groooan!”
The spear embedded itself exactly where I aimed—the eye.
It was thanks in part to the close distance, but also to having grown accustomed to the javelin through continuous hunting over the years.
Approaching the fallen deer, I drew a dagger and completely severed its life.
“I should wrap up today’s hunt around here.”
Hoisting the deer over my shoulder, I walked while scanning my surroundings with Omniscience.
I had already grasped the general layout of this forest area over the past few years, but it never hurt to be careful.
What if other races discovered me?
“Welcome back?”
“Yeah.”
When I returned home, the children greeted me.
It was now the 18th year since I had fallen into Log.
Two children had already been born between Lucy and me.
The first was a twelve-year-old boy named Adam, and the second was a seven-year-old girl named Eve.
Adam was a Combat Unit, Eve was a Normal Unit, and they had each inherited half of mine and Lucy’s appearances.
And fortunately, they had grown up well and healthy without a single illness.
“Were you good? How are your sister and mom?”
“I kept watch just like you said, Father!”
Adam puffed his chest out and spoke boastfully.
He probably thought he looked like a dependable man, but in my eyes, he just looked cute.
I chuckled and ruffled Adam’s hair.
“Yes, well done. Now then, let’s go to where your mother is.”
“Yes sir!”
We cut straight across the training ground and headed toward the vegetable patch behind the house.
In the vegetable patch, Lucy was hoeing the field.
But Eve, who had been playing with a toy, spotted us before she did.
“Daddy!”
“Ah! Welcome back?”
Lucy noticed me as well at the sound of Eve calling for me.
I caught Eve as she tossed her toy aside and rushed at me, lifting her up high.
“Oh my, our little princess! Were you good with Mommy?”
“Mom played with me before eating!”
“Oh, she did? That must have been fun!”
While I held Eve and went along with what she was saying.
Lucy put away her hoe and approached.
“You’ve worked hard today as well. You aren’t hurt anywhere, are you?”
“I’m fine. My body doesn’t get hurt that easily.”
“Still, I worry.”
Smooch.
To reassure Lucy, I kissed her on the cheek.
Though it was a familiar touch, Lucy blushed as if embarrassed.
“Really…… the children are watching.”
“It’s a good thing for Mom and Dad to get along. Isn’t that right, son?”
“It is a bit embarrassing.”
“What? You little—!”
I punished my impious son who dared disparage a god’s display of affection.
The punishment was tickling him mercilessly.
“Kuhuk! Hahaha! Ah, Father! I surrender! I surrender!”
“Not a chance! Behave and accept this father’s loving touch!”
While I was spending such harmonious time with my family.
I felt something caught by my Omniscience and cast my gaze that way.
“……Hm?”
“Father?”
“Honey, what’s wrong?”
My family expressed confusion at my demeanor, but I remained focused on that spot.
Because if my intuition was right, this ‘trace’ was the kind that must never be overlooked.
“……Lucy, pack your things.”
“……Yes, Lord Hyuma.”
I had already spoken to Lucy in preparation for such a day.
Thanks to that, Lucy hardened her expression to match my suddenly changed attitude and immediately began packing.
“Huh, Mother?”
“Adam, please hold this.”
“Dad?”
“Eve, go to your brother.”
The children were bewildered by our expressions that lost all trace of laughter in an instant, but there was no time to delay.
Because if they had come close enough to be detected by my Omniscience, I had to assume we were already discovered.
“Lord Hyuma……”
“Lucy, I know you’re worried. But you know as well as I do that this is the best course of action?”
Lucy looked at me with an expression as if she were dying of worry, but I deliberately turned away from her.
Because only Lucy and the children were to take the escape route.
I had to stay here and buy time.
“I’ll be fine. So go, quickly.”
“……Father.”
“Adam, I’m entrusting Mom and Eve to you.”
Lucy pressed her lips tightly together, then picked up Eve, took Adam’s hand, and left the house.
Inside the empty house, I began expanding my Omniscience to its maximum.
And at the vivid stench of blood transmitted through my Omniscience, I inwardly cursed.
‘Damn it, of all things, it had to be vampires.’
A race with an Evil alignment among the biological species, the Bloodkin.
In other words, vampires.
Their traits were the same as humans, but their Evil alignment was the counter-alignment to humanity’s Neutral alignment.
‘Hoo, but at this point in time, they must also be in the 1st Era. Then they wouldn’t have obtained the Infection Faction yet, so this is worth trying.’
The vampire Factions were two in total.
The Vampirism Faction, which could be used immediately from the start of the game like humanity’s Farming, and the Infection Faction, which allowed them to turn enemy units into their own with a certain probability when attacking.
Among these, the Infection Faction was a Faction that could only be used when civilization level reached at least the 3rd Era, so it did not need to be considered for now.
While standing still in the middle of the training ground like that.
I began sensing the movement of a group surrounding the entire house.
Even though I felt their encirclement tightening from all sides, I remained still.
And finally, I faced them.
“Grrrrk? Hiss, shaaack krrack?”
‘What? Are these some of those beast bastards from that time?’
“Shaaack! Grrrrk, kyaaack. Shh-shh, swaaaack.”
‘No, they’re similar but different. They don’t have tails, ears, or horns.’
It was not human language, but I could understand it thanks to Omniscience’s influence.
In that instant, I unleashed my Omniscience to its fullest, piecing together the words and meanings coming out of their mouths to rapidly acquire the ‘Bloodkin tongue.’
“Shhheek, kak! Grrrrk kweek, shhhit, shaaack?”
‘By beast bastards, do they mean werebeasts?’
The vampires were startled by the sudden emergence of their own race’s language from my mouth.
“What, was he a kin? Never seen his face before.”
“Don’t be stupid. He can’t be a kin! Can’t you see that bastard has no fangs and is perfectly fine under the sunlight?”
As they murmured among themselves, I shouted loudly to maintain the momentum.
“I am Hyuma, a member of the human race! I know full well about you vampires! So speak! For what reason have you come here?”
The vampires murmured for a moment, then sent one forward as their representative.
However, the one who stepped forward as the representative could not step out of the shadow of the wooden fence.
“It seems this will be a quick conversation if you already know about us and the beast bastards. As you may know, we have been at war with those scum for eleven years now. Thus, we must know if you are on the side of the beasts.”
“There is only one human here—me! My God created me and commanded me never to leave this place!”
I was not lying.
Was it not true that the GM had created my body, and that I was unable to leave this world, which had made me play Log in reality?
But the vampire scoffed at me.
“Stop talking nonsense and speak the truth if you value your life. Judging by the scale of the various buildings erected in this place, they are absolutely not a size one person could build and use alone. Where have you hidden the others?”
“We’re not getting through. I say again, there is only one human here! So if you have business with humanity, say it all to me!”
“Ridiculous…… krruk?!”
At that moment, something anomalous happened to the vampire representative.
He suddenly threw his head back sharply and began trembling all over.
When the trembling stopped, I realized through Omniscience what had happened to him.
“You…… you’re the god of the vampires.”
[Pleased to make your acquaintance, god of humans.]
The god of the vampires.
He had personally possessed the body of his creation.