Blood Realms: Infinite Level
Episode 2 — First Kill, First Level
Somewhere Else
The first thing I noticed after stepping through the portal was the silence.
Not the absence of sound — no, there were sounds everywhere — but none of them belonged to New York. No car horns. No subway rumble. No sirens.
Instead, I heard a distant wind that carried the scent of iron and ash. Leaves rustled overhead, thick and wide like they belonged to no tree I'd ever seen. Somewhere far off, something howled.
The ground beneath me was blackened, cracked, as if fire had scorched it for years. The sky was the color of bruised skin, streaked with red clouds that pulsed faintly, like veins.
I turned slowly. The portal behind me had already closed.
I was alone.
Then the voice appeared in my mind again.
[Welcome to the World Vein Interface.]
Current Realm: Blackfang Plains
Threat Level: D-Rank — Dangerous to Low-Level Entities
Species: Mutant Vampire (Unique)
Level: 2
HP: 210 / 210
Blood Energy: 150 / 150
Strength: 28
Agility: 31
Vitality: 29
Intelligence: 16
Bloodline Skills:
• Blood Sense (Lv. 1) — Detect life within 30 meters.
• Essence Feed (Passive) — Regain HP and Blood Energy from kills.
It was like reading a video game character sheet, only this wasn't a game.
I barely had time to process the numbers before Blood Sense triggered on its own.
Something's here.
It wasn't sight or sound. It was… awareness. The shape of a life, moving toward me from the east, low to the ground, fast.
I turned just in time to see it burst from the brush.
It looked like a wolf, if wolves were seven feet long, starved to the bone, and covered in matted fur that hid gray, cracked skin. Its eyes burned with a dim yellow light. Its jaw unhinged too far, revealing rows of needle-like teeth.
[Entity Detected: Lesser Direfang — Level 5]
Status: Hostile
It hit me before I could think, knocking me onto my back. Hot breath and rot filled my nose as it snapped at my face. I shoved my forearm into its mouth to block the bite — teeth sank into my flesh, tearing skin and muscle.
Pain flared, but with it came something else — the same hunger I'd felt in the alley. The wound healed even as the beast chewed on me, flesh knitting itself back together in seconds.
I grabbed its jaw with both hands and wrenched sideways. Bones cracked, but it only yowled and thrashed harder.
Strength 28… wasn't enough.
The beast lunged for my throat again. I rolled us both, ending up on top, straddling its chest. Its claws raked my ribs, shallow cuts that closed almost as fast as they opened.
My instincts whispered the answer.
I didn't just need to kill it.
I needed to feed.
⸻
I slammed my hand into its neck, claws I hadn't realized I had slicing through its fur and skin. Blood gushed — thick, black, and steaming.
I bit down.
Its essence poured into me like molten iron. My vision sharpened; my muscles surged. The beast spasmed under me, its yellow eyes going dim as I drank it dry.
[LEVEL UP: 2 → 3]
Strength +3 | Agility +2 | Vitality +3
Blood Energy Restored. HP Restored.
When I let go, the Direfang's body crumbled into ash that scattered into the wind. Not a trace left.
I wiped my mouth and stared at my hands. They were steadier than they'd been in years. Stronger. The hunger had faded, replaced by a low hum in my veins.
But the satisfaction was short-lived.
[Blood Sense] flared again — and this time, it wasn't one life I felt. It was four. All closing in.
⸻
They emerged from the dead brush like shadows peeling away from the ground. Four more Direfangs. Each bigger than the one I'd just killed. All of them Level 5.
My mind raced. My current stats meant I could handle one, maybe two, before I was overwhelmed. But I didn't have a choice.
The pack spread out, cutting off every direction.
The first lunged. I sidestepped, grabbed its tail, and slammed it headfirst into the cracked ground. Bone shattered. Before it could recover, I ripped its throat open and fed.
[LEVEL UP: 3 → 4]
The other three pounced together. Claws tore into my back, teeth sank into my shoulder. Pain exploded, but my healing kept me on my feet. I spun, tearing one off and slamming it into another. My claws sank deep into the second's belly, pulling its insides into my grip before I bit down.
[LEVEL UP: 4 → 5]
The last one was smart — it didn't rush me. It circled, growling low, waiting for me to tire. I could feel the strength from my new levels pumping through me, but also the drain of constant healing.
I baited it — pretending to stagger, dropping my guard. It took the bait, lunging for my neck.
I caught its head mid-air. With one clean motion, I wrenched until the spine snapped. The corpse hit the ground, and I finished the job, drinking it dry.
[LEVEL UP: 5 → 6]
⸻
The clearing was silent again. Only the wind moved, carrying the ash of the dead away. My body felt… different. Stronger than I'd ever been in my life, every sense alive and razor-sharp.
But more than strength, I felt possibility.
I'd started this night as a tired human. Now, I'd killed five monsters and leapt from Level 2 to Level 6 in minutes. And if the interface was telling the truth, there were over four million worlds out there, each with enemies to kill, blood to drink, and power to take.
A sound broke the silence — not the wind, not another Direfang. This was… voices. Human voices.
I turned toward them, slipping into the dead brush, letting Blood Sense guide me.
Through the tangled branches, I saw them: three figures in black armor, carrying weapons that looked forged from bone. Their skin was pale, their eyes faintly red.
Vampires.
One of them sniffed the air, his gaze narrowing in my direction.
"Fresh blood," he said. His voice was low and eager.
Another grinned. "The Clan will want him alive."
Alive? I thought.
Not if I get to them first.