As the sun sank, painting the skyscrapers of Veros in shades of orange and violet, Vicky Thorne stepped into his new life. His first loyal follower, Marcus Keller, had worked with fanatic efficiency. The five million dollars was swiftly converted through Nightwatch Holdings. Vicky's first purchase was a safe, secure habitat: a luxury penthouse high in the Financial District, complete with triple-layered glass and remote-controlled blackout shades—a vampire's perfect modern fortress.
But safety wasn't enough. He needed a symbol of his power, a declaration to the world that the old Vicky was dead. He found it in a black, aggressive McLaren 720S. He paid cash, the raw power and speed of the machine mirroring the blood-power surging through his veins.
The next afternoon, Vicky drove the McLaren right onto the campus of Veros University. He parked it strategically where it couldn't be missed. The difference between the current Vicky and the one who had disappeared two weeks ago was monumental. He walked with a smooth, almost predatory confidence, the result of his augmented Strength (8) and Speed (7). His clothes were now sharp, expensive, and fit his newly sculpted frame perfectly.
His friends, Ethan and Maya, were the first to find him, their faces slack with shock.
"Vicky! What the hell happened? What is this car?" Ethan stammered, running a hand over the supercar's hood as if confirming it was real. "You missed half our module!"
"It's a long story, Ethan," Vicky replied, his voice calm and resonant. "I started a private investment firm. A massive opportunity came up. Everything moved fast."
Maya looked skeptical, but the evidence was undeniable: the thousand-dollar suit, the watch, and the sheer aura of effortless wealth. "You, an investment tycoon? You couldn't balance a checkbook last month!"
Vicky just smiled, a hint of his new, cold nature showing. "The old problems are gone, Maya. Sometimes, all it takes is a little push—or a miracle—to change your destiny."
The moment climaxed when Seraphina and her new boyfriend, Damien Vance, walked into the hall. Seraphina's eyes immediately locked onto the McLaren, and then tracked back to Vicky. The shock was quickly replaced by a raw, naked flash of regret and confusion. She yanked Damien's arm, pointing at the car. Damien's usual sneer froze on his face, replaced by a tight-jawed fury as he realized the scorned boy was now effortlessly superior in status.
Revenge Phase 1: Humiliation and Psychological Warfare. Confirmed.
Night Hunt and Level Up
Night fell, and the thrill of wealth gave way to the need for power. Vicky was at Level 4 (5/400 XP). He needed 395 more XP to hit the crucial Level 5, which would grant him immunity to the sun's debuff.
Marcus Keller, already proving his worth, had secured new intelligence on the Veros Foundry complex.
"Master," Keller reported via the secured line. "The Brutes are cleared, but a new, more organized threat has emerged. They call them Skirmishers—mutated humans trained with crude weapons. They operate in packs of three. Threat assessment is higher."
Vicky, fueled by the rush of his Level 4 stats (STR 8, SPD 7, END 8), sped back to the Foundry.
He found the first pack of three Skirmishers lurking near a collapsed structure. They were faster than the Brutes and attacked with rudimentary iron rods, striking in coordinated patterns.
Vicky realized this wasn't just about power; it was about skill. He used his superior Speed to dodge the first two strikes, but the third hit his Blood Shield with bone-jarring force.
Blood Shield absorbed 120 damage. 5 HP cost/sec.
He dropped the shield and retaliated, using his Level 1 Blood Arrow not as an attack, but as a blinding distraction, hitting the leading Skirmisher in the eyes. As the creature screamed, Vicky lunged, his Blood Claws tearing through the less-dense hide of the other two, prioritizing the kill to reduce the enemy numbers.
It was a tough, close-quarters fight that lasted nearly a minute—an eternity in combat time. When the dust settled, all three Skirmishers lay dead.
Mid-Tier Skirmisher defeated x3. +100 XP per Skirmisher. XP Acquired: +300 XP. XP Total: 305/400 XP.
He had gained almost a full level in one encounter, but the fight had been draining. He retreated to his McLaren, the scent of blood thick in the air, and raced back to his penthouse to allocate his Stat Point from the Level 4 promotion. He put the point directly into Speed, knowing he needed more evasion against groups.
VICKY THORNE: STATUS (Debuff Inactive)
Level: 4 (305/400 XP)
HP: 130/130
Strength (STR): 8
Speed (SPD): 8 (+1)
Endurance (END): 8
Stat Points: 0
Skills:
The Task Force
Across the city, in the sterile, fluorescent lighting of the Veros Central Police Precinct, Detective Mila Torres was building a case nobody else believed. She was meticulous, sharp, and intensely focused, pushing a group of reluctant officers into forming the ad-hoc "Veros Anomaly" task force.
"Let's stop calling it a miracle," Mila declared, stabbing a stylus at the projector screen. "Marcus Keller's spontaneous recovery is a crime scene. A crime that left a Red Flash energy signature at the point of origin."
Her partner, Detective Frank, sipped his cold coffee. "Mila, we've got nothing. No forced entry, no witness, just a blurry photo of some red light and a rich guy who got lucky."
"We have more than luck," Mila countered, her brown eyes blazing with intelligence. "We have a pattern. The cure of Keller, the disappearances in the old Foundry, and the simultaneous rise of Vicky Thorne, a twenty-year-old college dropout who now owns a multi-million-dollar shell corporation. He's the common denominator."
Mila pulled up Vicky's college ID photo next to his new, confident corporate headshot. The contrast was stark—a transformation almost as unbelievable as Keller's cure.
"He's running a scam, Frank, but it's not a financial one. This is something alien. Something that grants impossible power and demands absolute loyalty," she stated, her voice lowering with grim certainty. "And this kid, Vicky Thorne, is the source. The target is the university. I want surveillance footage from the second he showed up in that sports car. I need to know who he talks to, and when he leaves."
Mila Torres was not just chasing a criminal; she was hunting a myth. And she had just narrowed the search to Vicky's classroom.
{Notes for Readers : Based on the intelligence provided by Marcus Keller, the Veros Foundry is described as an old military facility that has fallen into disuse. It is now being utilized for black market genetic experiments. This illegal activity has resulted in the creation of hostile, mutated creatures, which the locals refer to as 'Brutes' and later the more organized 'Skirmishers'.}
( We will upload chapters weekly, maybe 15 or 20 chapters, it also depends on the amount of support we get from readers. Thank you everyone for reading. )