Blood Realms: Infinite Level
Episode 6 — Mark-Breaker
The forest bled shadows.
Each step deeper north felt like sinking into the throat of something alive. The ground had gone soft, squelching under my boots. The trees leaned inward, hooked branches arching overhead like ribs. Somewhere ahead, the heartbeat pulsed — slow, patient, daring me to come closer.
[Blood Sense] flared again. Nine signatures. All stronger than anything I'd fought since the hound.
[Entity Detected: Veyra Deathblade — Level 18]
[Entity Detected: Veyra Bone Warden — Level 17]
[Entity Detected: Veyra Bloodflayer — Level 19]
[Entity Detected: Veyra Stormfang — Level 20]
… and more.
The Clan wasn't just defending the caster. They were building an altar of corpses to welcome me.
The first to move was the Deathblade.
He stepped into the path like he'd been waiting there his whole life — armor black as tar, twin swords that hissed as they cut the air. His mask was carved from something's skull, the eye sockets burning with red light.
"You've killed too many of ours," he said. His voice was calm, even. "We'll bury you in the ground you've stained."
I smiled without humor. "You'll need more shovels."
⸻
He was fast — faster than the Shadeblade from before. The first slash cut air; the second almost took my head. I blocked with both forearms, claws catching his blades, but the force pushed me back into a tree hard enough to crack it.
He pressed in, attacks relentless, until I stopped blocking entirely. I stepped into his swing and took the blade through my shoulder. Pain flared — but it brought him close enough.
My other hand speared his throat.
[Critical Hit]
[HP -30%]
I ripped him open and drank deep before his body hit the ground.
[LEVEL UP: 17 → 18]
The Bone Warden charged before I could finish swallowing. He was huge, armor stitched from overlapping plates of pale bone, a two-handed hammer that looked like it had been made from a giant's femur.
The first swing hit the ground beside me, sending a shockwave through the forest floor. I used the momentum of his missed strike to leap onto his back, claws tearing at the straps that held his armor together.
It didn't matter — I wasn't trying to strip him. I was trying to get to the gap in his helmet.
One fang in his neck. One pull.
[LEVEL UP: 18 → 19]
The Bloodflayer came next. She was different — thin, elegant, with claws longer than my forearms, dripping something clear and oily. Every cut burned, and my HP ticked down fast.
[Wound Inflicted: Blood Poison — HP Decay -4/sec]
I had to end it quick. I feinted left, took a shallow cut across my ribs, then used the pain to anchor my focus. When she reached for my throat, I caught her wrist, twisted until I heard the crack, then bit straight into her chest where her heart should have been.
[LEVEL UP: 19 → 20]
[Blood Poison Cleansed]
The next four came at once.
Stormfang was a beast — literally. Half-wolf, half-vampire, muscles like steel cables, jaws big enough to bite through a tree. Beside him, a Veyra Ashweaver hurled burning nets of black fire, while a Hollow Priest chanted in a language that made my bones feel cold. A Snarefang lurked behind, twin hooks ready to drag me off my feet.
I didn't let them surround me. I charged Stormfang head-on, took the bite on my forearm, and shoved my other hand through his chest. His death howl rattled the leaves.
[LEVEL UP: 20 → 21]
The Ashweaver's net caught my legs before I could move, burning like acid. I dropped to my knees, grabbed the net with both hands, and pulled, yanking him off balance. My claws reached his throat before he could scream.
[LEVEL UP: 21 → 22]
The Hollow Priest tried to finish his chant, but I was already on him, snapping his neck.
The Snarefang hooked my shoulder, dragging me backward — mistake. I spun with the pull, ripping him in half at the waist.
[LEVEL UP: 22 → 23]
By the time the last two fell, my chest was heaving. My HP hovered around 40%, stamina deep in the red. And still… the heartbeat ahead of me hadn't changed.
Until now.
It sped up.
[Blood Sense Alert: Target aware of your presence.]
I stepped into a clearing. The trees opened into a circle of black stone, carved with symbols I didn't understand. At the center stood the caster — tall, cloaked, with a staff tipped in a shard of red crystal.
The Mark of the Prey on my chest burned.
⸻
"You've come far," the caster said. His voice was cold, patient. "Too far for a newborn. That makes you dangerous."
I stepped forward. "And you've been making me stronger every mile."
He lifted the staff. Power rippled through the air — the kind that made the hair on my neck rise. The ground cracked. Black chains erupted around me, dozens at once, wrapping my arms, legs, throat.
[Alert: Blood Bind — 85% Movement Reduction]
He smiled. "I end you here."
The hunger roared inside me.
I bit the chain at my throat. It dissolved. The others followed. I moved faster than I'd ever moved — claws cutting through the air, aiming for his heart.
He blocked with the staff, but my strike shattered it in half. The crystal shard fell, pulsing.
His eyes widened. "Impossible—"
I drove my hand into his chest and tore out his heart.
[LEVEL UP: 23 → 25]
Strength +4 | Agility +4 | Vitality +3
[Quest Complete: Blood Feud — Mark of the Prey Removed]
[Reward: Unique Bloodline Skill Acquired]
Skill Unlocked: Crimson Dominion
— For 10 seconds, all enemies within 20 meters suffer 50% reduced movement speed and 25% reduced attack speed.
— Kills while active restore full stamina.
The crystal shard dissolved into my skin, and the hunger inside me purred.
I stood in the clearing, surrounded by ash, feeling the weight of the new power in my blood.
If the Clan wanted war, I'd give them one.