Kael watched in disbelief as the dust settled. The ambush had worked perfectly. The beast had appeared to panic, frantically searching for a way to escape. But then everything went wrong. It baited the heavy warriors, only to hit them with a powerful mana wave. Later in the fight, after throwing the light warriors aside, it went berserk, repeatedly using its stomping skill until the dust clouded everyone's view. And now, as the dust cleared, the beast was gone. How was this possible?
"Hey, did you see it run away?" Kael shouted to the two healers on the other side.
"No, nothing," Sophia replied, shivering in fear from the encounter.
"That was no ordinary beast," Sylas, the young mage, said as he stepped into the middle of the battlefield.
"Of course it was! You're just fucking useless!" Thorwald yelled, his face red with anger, as he stepped back into the clearing.
"No, it wasn't. It anticipated our movements," Sylas insisted in a calm voice.
Thorwald punched him in the stomach, causing Sylas to double over, blood spilling from his mouth.
"You think you know better than me?" Thorwald screamed, grabbing Sylas by the throat. "I fought in the military, protecting useless civilians like you, and now you talk to me like that?" Thorwald just hated it when people spoke to him like he was a normal person. In this new reality he was the strongest and his will should be law. If time comes even that fool Kael would see it.
"Let him go, Thorwald," Kael said, his voice steely.
Thorwald squeezed Sylas's throat one last time before releasing him. "Don't ever doubt me again, or I won't be so benevolent. And remember, Kael won't always be here to save you."
With that, he walked back to their camp with the last two surviving members of his original party, leaving the other two parties standing in the clearing.
Sophia hurried over and started healing Sylas. The rest began gathering the corpses, placing them in their spatial rings to bury later.
"We need to get back to camp and prepare for tonight. The orcs will definitely attack us again," Kael said deep in thought.
"Just keep me away from that guy," Sylas muttered as he stood up. The remaining nine survivors began their walk back to camp. "That guy is crazy."
Thalion watched the scene unfold from his perch in the tree, puzzled. Perhaps he had been wrong to attack them. The archer and the mage seemed like decent people. Reflecting on it, he wondered if his aggressive reaction stemmed from the fact that he had always been on the run, never attacking anyone, and suddenly they had nothing better to do than set up an ambush to kill him. What happened had happened, he couldn't go back in time and change his actions, nor could he let doubt take hold of him. The only reason he was this strong in his beast form was that the system shop hadn't opened yet.
The biggest difference between beasts and humans was that beasts couldn't wear armor or wield weapons as far as he knew. Instead, they had higher base stats. Without access to the system shop, humans had to rely on their starting gear. Maybe some had chosen a crafter class at their level 5 evolution, which could explain where the heavy warrior got his axe. Speaking of the heavy warrior, Thalion noticed him returning to the clearing, his face red as a tomato. Watching the heavy warrior attack his teammate, Thalion frowned. That guy really had a few screws loose.
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His ears perked up when he heard them talking about an orc attack. "Just how many survivors are in that camp?" he wondered. Intrigued, he decided to follow them, keeping a safe distance of about 20 meters up in the trees, blending in with the background. After a half-hour of silent tracking, he started hearing noises in the distance as they approached the camp. The sight was grim.
In the clearing, a small group of makeshift tents was surrounded by a flimsy wooden wall, which he doubted could even slow down an orc, especially not the ones they had seen on their first night. There were so many survivors, at least a hundred, though he didn't dare identify them to avoid exposing himself. Safe to say, they didn't look strong, most were probably around level 6 or 7. It made sense why they were attacked, with the system shop opening tomorrow, it was crucial to gather as many credits as possible. Even if you didn't gain much experience from killing lower-level individuals, you still gained all their accumulated credits.
He discovered this after checking his status screen, killing the three heavy warriors had boosted his credits to a solid 2,540. He could only hope that the orcs hadn't banded together like the humans here, because if they had, the attacks over the last two nights were likely just to test the defenders' strength. The realization hit him hard, whether he was right or not, many orcs would likely try to slaughter the humans tonight.
The trees around the camp had been cut down, at least preventing an attack from above. From his hiding spot, Thalion watched as the small wooden gate opened and five people greeted the returning group of hunters. All showed great respect for the archer and the healer who had tended to the mage earlier, probably their leaders. Thalion got a sinking feeling. That archer better had a second bow.
He didn't want these people to die, they probably had families. Not everyone was a social outlier like him, so he decided to join this ragged group of survivors. Well, and there would be a lot of orcs to slaughter, which should allow him to progress much faster than before. He was still wounded from the fight, his health at 70%. He could only recover fully in his beast form, but until now, he hadn't had the opportunity to do so. Maybe the healer would help him if his plan worked. So, he jumped down from the tree, transformed into his human form, removed his mask, and ran toward the wooden gate just as it was closing.
"Hey, wait for me! You're from Earth too, right?" Thalion yelled as most of the people passed through the gate.
They all turned around, and the archer stepped forward. "Who are you, and where's your party?"
"I am Thalion. I got separated from my party by an orc attack three days ago.. Do you know Mike, a Blade Dancer? Or James and Lukas, both Bulwark Berserkers?" Thalion asked hopefully.
He kind of knew they probably weren't in the camp, his former comrades had to cross the river to get here, and he doubted they would take such a risk. They were too smart for a mistake like that.
Thalion noticed a lot of nods from the direction of the camp. Were they all identifying him? As he answered, he kept walking and was now standing only four meters away from the archer.
"I'm also in need of a healer. I'm injured and out of healing potions," Thalion added.
"I don't know anyone who fits your description, I'm sorry," the healer said with sorrow in her eyes.
"This is a camp of refugees, after all, so yes, you are welcome. What class are you?" Kael asked.
"I'm a mage," Thalion lied, noticing the young mage before looking at him with interest.
"A mage, that's great! But I must inform you, we're likely to be attacked by orcs tonight. If you want healing, we'll need your help," Kael said.
"Of course, I'd like to get revenge on those orcs," Thalion replied. "But I should mention I'm also out of mana potions, and my mana pool is quite low. I might not be much help." That was not the truth since his mana had recovered pretty fast, but why not go for a bit more?
"That's not a problem. We have an alchemist who can make mana potions; we can stock you up easily," the healer said. "I'm Sophia, nice to meet you."
"Nice to meet you too. I haven't encountered another human in so long," Thalion answered.
"I'm Kael, the leader of this camp, and this is Sylas," Kael introduced himself and the mage next to him.
"Another mage, that's great! You're the first mage I've met," Thalion said, hoping to learn something about new spells.
"We need to get inside," Kael interjected. "Sophia, please heal him, and Sylas can show Thalion around afterward. We need to prepare for tonight, the sun is already sinking."
After a quick healing session, Sylas gave Thalion a little tour of the camp.
Thalion followed Sylas as the young mage showed him around the camp. They had over a dozen healers, but even more interesting was an alchemist capable of creating mana, health, and stamina potions that were more potent than the ones he had used before. There were also four weaponsmiths in the camp; one of their crafts was the axe wielded by the heavy warrior, whom Thalion learned was called Thorwald.
After a short walk, they arrived at the small hut where the alchemist resided.
"Hey, Sarah," Sylas said, "We're here to gather potions for the fight tonight, and this is Thalion, a new mage."
"Hi, you two. How did the hunt go? Did you manage to slay that moon berry eating monstrosity?" Sarah responded.
"No, it killed three people and then escaped," Sylas replied.
"How tragic. It didn't kill Thorwald by any chance, did it?" she asked, half-hopeful.
"No, that guy got lucky. The creature hit all four warriors with a giant mana wave, breaking their bodies, but Thorwald safely landed on a patch of soft grass," Sylas explained.
"Great, so that brute will show up tonight, demanding more healing and stamina potions than everyone else because he thinks his group of bullies is better and stronger than anyone else," Sarah replied, clearly annoyed.
"What exactly do you need the moonberries for?" Thalion asked, curious.
"Mainly for mana potions to hold the orcs at bay, but I can also use them to make an elixir that permanently increases intelligence," the alchemist answered.
"So, here are your health and mana potions. Be careful not to use more than two an hour, or they'll lose their effectiveness," Sarah added.
"Yeah, I know," Sylas nodded.
After a little more conversation, they left for the campfire, where all the stronger warriors were discussing the tactics for tonight.
"By the way, do those weaponsmiths happen to craft staves or something like that?" Thalion asked Sylas.
"No, they just arrived yesterday, and so far, they've only managed to build two weapons: the axe for Thorwald and a broadsword for one of his friends," Sylas answered.
"Are those guys really that strong that they get special treatment?" Thalion asked, though he already had a hunch.
"No. Thorwald is level 12, and the others are around level 10. That guy is power-hungry. Since he came here, Thorwald has been trying to become the leader of this camp, creating problems for Kael whenever he can."
"Sounds like a swell guy, but heavy warriors suck against orcs, at least from what I know. Maybe you'll get lucky, and the problem will solve itself tonight," Thalion said with a nod.
"Yeah, that's exactly why he and his guys will be standing back tonight, essentially doing nothing," Sylas retorted. "They'll only intervene when there's no other choice."
"Wait, the heavy warriors are standing back? How are you even going to fight tonight?" Thalion asked, confused.
"Well, normally, four to six groups of orcs attack during the night. The archers and mages try to hold them off, and when they manage to break through the wall, the warriors engage. Sometimes we jump down and fight them before they get close, but that happens rarely," Sylas explained.
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After a short walk, they arrived at the campfire, where over thirty warriors were already present. In the center stood Thorwald, loudly boasting to everyone.
"You should have been there. This beast was lucky I was the only heavy warrior out of my group who participated in the hunt," Thorwald exclaimed. "Those useless, spoiled children died after the first attack and left me alone against the giant glowhorn, which was six levels higher than me."
"The mages were useless, and after a fight, I couldn't contain it anymore, and it managed to flee. Somehow, Kael even let the beast stomp on his bow. Can you believe that? The weaponsmiths promised me two short swords for my dear friend Ethan here, but now they've canceled it to craft a bow for Kael," Thorwald continued, now furious, as he spotted them approaching.
"So, the useless mage shows up after all," Thorwald shouted, pointing a finger at Sylas. "You'd better not mess up like you did in the hunt today."
Then he spotted Thalion, who instantly felt an Identify spell on him. In turn, he also identified Thorwald, noting that he was now at level 13. He had gained a level, huh, Thalion thought.
"And who are you?" Thorwald addressed him. "You have quite a high level. I guess mages don't need as much experience as heavy warriors."
"Greetings, everyone. I'm Thalion; I just joined today," he addressed the crowd politely. Then he continued, "At first, I was worried about the orc attack tonight, but after hearing your story about the glowhorn, I don't think the orcs will even have a chance with you on the front lines."
Thorwald's eyes narrowed as he replied with feigned sorrow, "As much as it pains me, my class, the heavy warrior, isn't good against orcs, so we'll be the last line of defense."
Thalion considered embarrassing Thorwald by mentioning that heavy warriors aren't meant to watch others fight from the backline, but in the end, he opted for a more diplomatic approach.
"Understandable. In this new world, it's important not to take unnecessary risks," he said.
"Yes, indeed it is," Thorwald said, now with a satisfied smile.
Then Kael and a small group approached the gathering.
"Listen up, everyone, it's time," Kael said loudly. "With the system shop arriving tomorrow, tonight will be much harder than before. Tonight's fight will be different. Instead of just standing on the walls and rarely engaging the enemy in close proximity, we'll form groups of up to four people to quickly eliminate incoming enemies before retreating back to the wall," Kael announced.
"These groups will consist of our strongest fighters, so everyone under level 11 take your positions on the walls. The rest, stay here."
Thalion almost smirked as he watched Thorwald, and his men leave.
"So, it's time to form the groups for tonight," Kael announced. "Just to clarify, you won't be stationed in one area; instead, you'll move along the wall and provide help wherever it's needed. You need a movement skill of some sort to be part of these groups," Kael added, noticing that all the mages stood up except Thalion.
"You have a movement skill?" Kael asked him, surprised. "I know you're the highest level, but are you sure? We could use your firepower on the wall."
The main reason Thalion had chosen to join one of the assault groups was to collect as many corpses as possible for a potential big Devourer's feast later. When push came to shove, he could always transform into shadowstalker and escape. He wanted to help these people, but he wasn't willing to risk his life.
"Yeah, don't worry about me. I'll be fine," Thalion replied.
"Okay then, you, Kai, and I will be one team," Kael nodded.
After a bit of discussion, they had seven assault groups, mostly consisting of light warrior variants, and everyone set out for the wall to wait for the attack.
The light had noticeably dimmed as Kael, Thalion, and Kai made their way to the wall. It was probably more of a 4-meter-tall wooden fence than a true wall, but hopefully, it would be enough.
"So, what classes do you have, and how do you fight?" Thalion asked his group.
"I'm a hunter. I can fight in close range with my dagger or use a bow from a distance," Kael answered.
"Do you have a new bow? I heard from Thorwald that your bow was destroyed," Thalion asked the hunter.
"Yes, the weaponsmith made one for me, along with my dagger," Kael replied.
"I'm a light warrior," Kai added. "I'll move around them and try to slowly cut them down. How do you fight? None of the mages here seem to have a movement skill at the moment," Kai asked Thalion.
"I'll mostly throw fireballs and stop them with mana barriers. The other spells aren't good for fighting," Thalion answered, though the last part was, of course, a lie. Nothing good would come from telling them that he only had three spells.
After a short walk, they arrived on top of the improvised wooden wall. They sat down and waited for the attack.
While waiting, Thalion allocated his free points, as it had been some time since he last spent them while in his human form. He put 50 points into agility, bringing it to a solid 80, 30 points into endurance, bringing it to a total of 38, and the remaining points into intelligence, making it his strongest stat with 113 points. With 80 Agility, he was confident he could outrun the orcs even in his human form.
As time passed, it grew darker and darker. About two hours after they arrived at the wall, with the sun nearly gone, the orcs appeared. On their side, there were roughly 50 orcs, and from the other sides of the wall, alarm signals sounded.
"This is bad," Kael muttered. "Last night, only 20 orcs attacked at once."
The orcs slowly formed up, with archers wielding heavy bows and spear-like arrows, healers and mages in the back, most of them heavy melee warriors with giant weapons in their hands. The defender's biggest advantage was that not a single orc carried a shield, if they had one, it would probably have been game over from the start.
With a furious roar, the orcs began charging at the camp, splitting up as they ran. And with that, the disaster began.
Thalion channeled a fireball, making it as large as he could. With over 100 intelligence, the fireball looked quite powerful as he hurled it at the first group of orcs. The other mages followed his lead, launching fireballs, lightning bolts, ice shards, and even some rocks at the orcs. The first line of orcs was thrown back by the impact, bleeding from numerous wounds.
At first glance, the attack didn't seem to be going well for the orcs, but Thalion noticed that the badly injured ones were engulfed by a white glow and were rapidly healing. Thalion conjured another fireball and aimed it at the mages in the backline, who were now within range of his abilities. He hit one of the mages hard, sending him crashing into a tree while still burning.
The orcs in the frontline now looked like pincushions, with arrows sticking out of their flesh, but then the orc archers joined the battle. Thalion blocked one of the arrows with his mana barrier, which instantly shattered after absorbing the energy. The archer on his right side was hit in the shoulder and flung from the wall, probably near death.
Thalion held himself back, only throwing a fireball when his mana recovered. With plans to engage in melee soon, he didn't want to waste any mana that could save his life later. For the next few minutes, mages and archers bombarded the charging orcs until they drew close. Then, the gate opened, and light and medium warriors charged at the approaching orcs.
Among the orc archers, a giant orc with a broadsword stepped into the clearing—probably the leader of this clan. After a quick glance around, he also started running at the camp.
"Okay, let's go. We'll circle around to the left and attack the healers and mages," Kael said, jumping off the wall, followed by Kai and Thalion. They were fast; Thalion had to activate his movement skill multiple times to keep up with the hunter and the light warrior. The 50 points in agility were definitely worth it as he was now able to move a lot faster than before.
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The orcs either didn't notice or didn't care as the trio moved toward their healers, they all ignored them and continued charging for the wall. With all obstacles out of the way, Thalion conjured another fireball and threw it at the mage he had hit before, while Kael fired an arrow at a healer. The mage was struck in the chest and thrown to the side, clearly dead, he was only level 11 after all. One of the healers fell to the ground, an arrow sticking out of one eye.
The remaining two mages and four archers turned in their direction, channeling spells and nocking arrows. Fortunately, Thalion had already thrown another fireball at them and was conjuring a third one. Kael continued shooting arrows at the orcs, while Kai reached one of the mages, who tried to blast him with a lightning bolt. But at the last moment, Kai used his movement skill, appearing on the left side of the orc, completely dodging the attack.
Kai swung his two swords at the orc's legs to bring him down, positioning himself so that the other mages and archers couldn't get a clear shot at him because their own mage was in the way. This left the other two targets, Thalion and Kael.
Kael masterfully dodged the four arrows coming his way while shooting back and closing the distance. Thalion was completely ignored, so he used the opportunity to hurl more fireballs at the archers. Kai finished off his mage and turned to the next one, who also tried to strike him. But Kai was too fast and too skilled—the way he dodged was extraordinary. Not only did he evade every attack, but he also kept slicing the orc while simultaneously keeping the mage between him and the archers.
Not that the archers had time to deal with Kai, they had enough on their hands, like the fireball that hit the last archer, knocking him to the ground. The second threat was Kael, who was now in close range. Kael pulled out his dagger, dodged the arrow one of the orcs fired at him, and plunged the dagger into the orc's eye. Before the orc hit the ground, Kael was already on to the next one. After a short exchange, he jumped to the side, took out his bow, and shot at the last living archer, who was completely preoccupied with dodging fireballs.
"This went pretty well," Thalion thought as the last archer fell, and he finished off the fleeing healer with a fireball. He then looked back at the camp and saw that the first orcs had reached the wall and broken through with little resistance, toppling everyone on it. Over 16 orcs had already entered the camp.
"Shit, they've broken through," Kael exclaimed, worry creeping into his voice.
They sprinted back toward the camp, watching as more orcs continued tearing down sections of the wall. As they drew closer, they had to weave through a line of corpses, at least 21 orcs and over 34 humans. Thalion, of course, swept all the fallen orcs into his spatial ring as he passed by.
Thalion veered slightly to the left, using his telekinetic dash to leap onto the wooden wall. He quickly summoned a fireball and hurled it at an orc trying to tear down the barrier. His next fireball was aimed at a group of orcs engaged with the warriors, blasting them aside.
At the same moment, Kai rushed through the breach in the wall, swiftly dispatching the orcs still struggling on the ground. Kael was right behind him, shooting arrows at the orcs attempting to advance toward the center of the camp, where the few children and non-combatants were taking refuge.
In a matter of moments, over a dozen orcs were killed in the surprise attack. The remaining orcs turned to face the new threat. The orc leader roared and charged at Kai and Kael, but a fireball struck his feet, sending him sprawling. By the time he regained his footing, all his comrades were dead.
He screamed in rage, releasing a shockwave that knocked all the melee fighters to the ground. He then spun around and ran toward the center of the camp, away from Kai and Kael, who were still struggling to stand. The massive orc killed the last two human fighters who were trying to rise with a single swipe of his broadsword.
However, he didn't get far. A fireball struck the back of his head, sending him crashing to the ground. Another fireball hit him while he was down, ending his life.
"Where the hell is Thorwald?" Kael shouted angrily. "The defenders have all gathered on the east side!"
With that, they started moving. Thalion ran along the now mostly deserted wall, while Kai and Kael sprinted through the middle of the camp.
Thalion sprinted as fast as he could toward the east gate, gulping down a mana potion that almost fully restored his energy. As he neared the gate, he saw the carnage of at least 50 orcs still battling, with over 40 already lying dead on the ground. The human front was in no better shape, with a contingent of around 30 light and medium warriors struggling against the orcs, and at least 50 of their comrades fallen.
Thalion quickly positioned himself beside Sylas on the wall, who was hurling fireballs and lightning bolts at the orcs with relentless fury. Thalion joined in, launching fireballs whenever he had the chance, all the while waiting eagerly for his teammates to appear. He couldn't wait to jump into another melee and collect some orc corpses.
But where was Thorwald and his group of 19 men? Thalion couldn't spot them anywhere, but he noticed eight massive orcs slaughtering humans left and right. Most of the light warriors were inexperienced and far less skilled than Kai or Kael. They often pressed their attacks when they shouldn't have or misjudged the timing to dodge, resulting in severe injuries or instant death.
Thalion tried to help the unlucky souls who were attempting to keep the orc chieftains at bay by aiming fireballs at the orcs' heads. He managed to condense the fireballs, a feat he had attempted before but never succeeded at until now, perhaps due to his increased intelligence. These condensed fireballs hit harder, burned longer, and were hotter, though with a smaller explosion radius. He successfully blasted two orc chieftains in the head, sending them thrashing to the ground, their heads engulfed in flames. However, to his dismay, there were still six healers in the orc backline, much stronger than the ones they had faced earlier. In no time, the orc chieftains stood up and rejoined the fight.
After another round of fireball throwing, Thalion spotted his teammates, Kai and Kael, sneaking in from the sidelines, closing in on the healers. They needed a distraction. With a sigh, Thalion sprang from the wall and dashed along the left side of the battlefield, tossing occasional fireballs into the fray to draw attention. When a few orcs noticed him, he led them away, sprinting toward the healers. One of the large orcs bellowed, and four orcs began charging at him. Thalion quickly used his Telekinetic Dash to retreat, conserving his mana as best he could.
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw one of the healers drop to the ground, an arrow piercing his eye. His distraction had worked! Thalion conjured a fireball and threw it in a wide arc at the healers, not to hit them, but to create further confusion for Kai and Kael. But now, he had four orcs to deal with. The fireball had given them enough time to close the distance. The first orc screamed and swung his hammer, but Thalion's high agility allowed him to dodge easily. Another orc's weapon began glowing red, growing in size as the orc swung his now massive axe at Thalion's midsection. Thalion narrowly dodged with Telekinetic Dash and conjured a fireball, letting it grow before hurling it at the other two orcs who were closing in. The fireball distracted them just long enough for Thalion to retreat again using Telekinetic Dash. Suddenly, a giant lightning bolt struck the two orcs, sending them flying four meters away, twitching on the ground.
The remaining two orcs sped up considerably, forcing Thalion to fully focus on dodging, leaving him unable to conjure another fireball. In the backline, more and more orcs fell without the healers' support, who were now fleeing for their lives with Kael hot on their heels. It looked like they might actually win. For Thalion, today's battles had gone well, he hadn't been hit once and still had plenty of resources left. But for everyone else, it was a different story. They couldn't withstand the heavy blows and were too slow to dodge continuously, reducing the melee fighters to mere distractions for the orcs, allowing the mages and archers to take them down with spells.
But now, with the healers dead, the tide had turned. Two of the big orcs had already fallen. Then, suddenly, one of the big orcs screamed and started running toward the forest, with the other orcs following close behind. The only downside was that Kael had to stop chasing the last healer, who had managed to survive thanks to numerous mana barriers. Thalion saw his chance and chased after the orcs, casually collecting at least 20 corpses into his spatial ring while throwing the occasional fireball. As he turned around, he noticed something flying through the air from the other side of the camp, it looked like a blood spear. Cheers erupted around him as the survivors began jumping for joy and hugging each other. Thalion sprinted to the wall, collecting another seven corpses, two of which were the big orcs he had hit with a fireball earlier.
He used Telekinetic Dash to jump onto the wall, where a jubilant Sylas screamed at him, "We made it, man!" Thalion was still completly in the zone, pushed past him and activated his movement skill, heading toward where he had seen the blood spear originate. Shortly, he arrived at a scene where six medium warriors were fighting two vampires, with twelve warriors already dead on the ground while the vampires had minor injuries. The vampires probably wanted to take advantage of the struggle to gather some credits and blood. Thalion, still completely in tunnel vision, threw a powerful fireball at the two vampires. One vampire somehow sensed something and jumped to the side, but the other wasn't so lucky and got hit in the side, slamming into a wooden wall. The warriors seized their chance and stabbed the fallen vampire while the others pushed the second one back.
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The fallen vampire quickly recovered and, with inhuman speed, got to his feet, hurling a blood spear that hit one warrior in the leg. Then, he grabbed another warrior by the arm before getting hit by another fireball, sending him flying to the ground again, now badly wounded as it took him longer to rise.
"We'll take our leave now," the other vampire said while skillfully dodging swords, even more adept than Kai or Kael. Then, both vampires blurred into motion, sprinted to the wall, and jumped over it. Thalion wouldn't let them get away, he saw their strength and craved to feast on them with his Devour skill. One vampire was wounded, the other was strong, but it was a risk he was willing to take.
"Thank you," one of the warriors began to say, "without your help we..." He didn't get to finish as Thalion jumped off the wall, chasing after the vampires. As soon as he hit the ground, he quickly scanned the area, spotting no one except the two vampires, who weren't even looking back. He transformed into shadowstalker. The last time he had used shadowstalker, he had put all his free points into strength, now at 97, and agility at 90, with speed surpassing even the vampires. He chased them silently, not making a sound.
He could even smell the vampire blood, it had a very distinct scent, making it easy to track them. The vampires had turned slightly to the left; Thalion spotted them in the distance, seeing as clearly as day with his night vision. With full speed, he reached the vampires. One of them reacted fast enough, but Thalion wasn't targeting him. He went for the other one, biting off his head. The speed and silence of his approach were too much for the already heavily injured vampire. By the time he heard Thalion, it was already too late, and Thalion's jaws closed around his throat.
The other vampire didn't waste time, he exploded with power and speed, shooting some kind of blood thorn from his arm that hit Thalion's hind leg. The pain was severe. It felt alive, draining his blood. Thalion responded by speeding up and lunging at the vampire, blood dripping from his fangs. But the vampire was smart and shot a blood spear at his face, forcing him to dodge to the side. Not fast enough, though—Thalion was hit in the side, the force strong enough to completely penetrate his body.
With his health low, Thalion changed tactics. As the vampire drew his sword, Thalion transformed into glowhorn.
"What?" the vampire exclaimed, surprised. Thalion used the moment to activate tectonic slam. The vampire nearly avoided the spell by jumping, but he wasn't fast enough and lost his footing, falling to the ground. Thalion quickly cast a weak mana wave, knowing he didn't have time to charge a strong one. The vampire was thrown away, landing 15 meters away. As he looked up, he saw a massive fireball heading straight for his face.
"What the fuck," the vampire cursed, the fireball slightly off to the right. He easily dodged to the side, but then frowned. Where was that beast? Out of the darkness, the shadowstalker emerged with speed surpassing his own. The vampire tried to jump aside, but Thalion's jaws still managed to close around his leg. Thalion had known he couldn't take down the vampire normally, so he had changed form again, intentionally throwing a fireball to keep the vampire distracted and push him in the right direction. It worked, the vampire had dodged into him. Instead of dying instantly, he managed to jump to the right, but Thalion still got his leg. This was bad for the vampire. Thalion activated Savage Bite and bit through the entire leg, flesh, bones, everything.
The vampire screamed in pain, trying desperately to escape, but Thalion leaped on him, sinking his fangs into the vampire's face and killing him. Thalion was about to activate Devourer's Feast when the vampire's corpse began to dissolve, turning into red dust that was absorbed by a small, red bud located under his heart.
"What just happened?" Thalion thought as he transformed back into his human form. He quickly used Identify.
Bud of the Sanguine Thorn (Ancient): A symbiotic plant personally cultivated by the Vampire God Tenebrice for his most favored followers, making it exceedingly rare. This dark, crimson vine lives within the body of a vampire, enhancing strength, speed, and senses. As it feeds on blood, the Sanguine Thorn bestows its host with heightened regenerative abilities and a deeper connection to blood magic. Occasionally, its blood-red thorns will pierce through the skin, serving as deadly weapons.
Moreover, the Sanguine Thorn unlocks a unique skill set tailored to its use, allowing the vampire to masterfully wield its deadly thorns in combat and fully harness the plant's enhancements, making the host a formidable force on the battlefield.
"Wait, a vampire god?" Thalion exclaimed, good that the earlier fight had already exhausted them, or he would be the one lying dead on the ground.
Thalion knew that in this new reality, gods existed after all, he was enduring all this chaos with the goal of becoming one someday. But how did that vampire get an item from a literal god, and with an ancient rarity no less? Just how was that possible?
He stored the vampire's body and the Bud in his spatial inventory, but he had more pressing matters to deal with. First, he pulled out all the orc corpses and began Devourer's Feast. It took some time to consume all the orcs, but the payoff was substantial.
You have gained 36 Strength
You have reached Level 23
He wanted to save the last vampire corpse till after visiting the system shop. If that vampire had surprises in his body, Thalion didn't want to push his luck. Maybe he could also buy some information about vampires and their gods, which might shed some light on this situation.
Thalion ignored all the notifications about the orcs he had killed. It seemed that even if he only assisted in a kill, he still received a notification, though it likely resulted in less experience gained. The progress he made that night was remarkable; in his human form, he reached level 24, bringing him close to the crucial level 25. shadowstalker reached level 23, and glowhorn was at level 21. He wondered if he could evolve just one form or if he needed to evolve them all simultaneously.
He allocated his points, focusing on vitality in his human and glowhorn forms and investing more in strength as shadowstalker. After devouring the orcs, he was fully healed, though his leg still ached where the thorn had struck him.
With that, he made his way back to the camp in his human form. As he approached, he saw a group of over 20 survivors surrounded by Thorwald and his followers. The ground was littered with more human corpses than before he had left. Thalion spotted Kai and Kael trying to hold off the attackers while protecting the low-level survivors and crafters behind them. Sylas was also alive, but he didn't look good. Blood was streaming down the right side of his face as he struggled to hit the approaching heavy warriors with spells, which were being fully blocked by a shield skill.
It seemed Thorwald and his group had the same plan as the orcs: kill as many survivors as possible to maximize their profit from the system's store. Thorwald's group mainly consisted of heavy warriors, but they also had a few mages, one or two archers, some light and medium warriors, and one healer.
As the circle of survivors grew smaller, Thorwald spoke with a malicious grin on his face: "You've lost. Kill Kael, and I'll allow you to serve me."
"Like all the other low-level people you slaughtered? You even killed the children," Kael answered, disdain clear in his voice.
Thalion had made his way to the wall, where an archer and a mage from Thorwald's group were positioned. He downed a mana potion, then hurled three fireballs, one large one for the archer and mage, one for Thorwald, and another for Thorwald just to drive the point home.
Since they probably thought he'd been killed by the two vampires, his appearance was quite the surprise. The archer and mage were sent flying off the wall. The mage landed badly, breaking both his feet and crying out in pain. Thalion didn't want to hit any of his allies if Thorwald dodged, so he aimed a bit lower. The result was the big brute being flung to the side, with the second fireball missing entirely.
"You!" Thorwald screamed in anger. "Why aren't you dead? No matter, I'll personally end your life."
Kael and Kai were quick to seize the opportunity, using the distraction to their advantage and attacking the closest warriors. Unfortunately, Thorwald, though having traveled quite the distance and remained frustratingly out of reach for the warriors. Sylas and the nearby mage also sprang into action, putting pressure on the heavy warriors.
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Thalion responded to Thorwald with a mocking tone, "I'm so sorry for the interruption. Please accept this precious gift as my apology." With that, he began hurling fireballs at the furious Thorwald, who blocked them with his shield. However, the explosions were strong enough to make him slide a meter to the side.
Thalion watched as Thorwald looked around, then did something unexpected. The man shouted, "Retreat!"
With that, Thorwald and his goons began a slow retreat into the jungle, shields raised to block any incoming attacks. Of course, Thorwald kept screaming the whole time, shouting things like, "You'll never be safe," and "I'll come for you, you're all nothing," and so on. Thorwald certainly had creativity in that department, Thalion mused.
He jumped down and gave the survivors his last potion. He didn't need it at the moment, but they looked almost dead. Most of the fighters were lying on the ground, completely spent.
"Thank god you didn't take any longer," Kael huffed, fully exhausted. "What happened? They said vampires killed you—I should have known better."
"On another topic, do you need the orc corpses?" Thalion asked, completely innocent. He wanted the extra strength and today has shown him how ruthless humans could be when it came to survival, and he didn't want to waste anything.
"No?" Kael responded, still lying on the ground with Sophia helping him recover.
"Great," and with that, Thalion was off collecting all the orc corpses he could find.
After Thalion gathered all the orc corpses, the fighters had also recovered.
"We need to rebuild. They will come back, the orcs and Thorwald," Kael muttered. "I don't want to bring it up, but he's got more warriors now, and after killing so many of ours, they've probably got way more credits too. And they're not spending it on building structures or keeping the weak ones safe. If it comes to a fight, it doesn't look good."
"What else should we do?" Kael muttered. "Give up everything?" Kael was still completely down after losing so many people against the orcs and Thorwald.
"Well, you're not giving up much," Thalion said, trying to lend some emotional support. "What I suggest is to travel. It might be safer to move out in the next few days, maybe create another outpost somewhere else." Thalion also had a hard time focusing after all the carnage inside the base, but there were things he had to do and all the time he wasted would help his future enemies.
"You should start moving by early morning at the latest. I wouldn't be surprised if Thorwald comes after you the moment he gets his upgrades from the system store," he added.
"Right, that sounds like something that bastard would do," Kael answered, deep in thought. "Why do you speak like you're leaving us?"
"I'm close to level 25 and will probably advance to stage three soon," he said. "By any chance, do you know where the birds or Lumina Mantas live?"
"Not directly, but I saw blue birds with four wings always flying west after catching prey, so maybe you'll find them in that direction," Kael answered, puzzled. "When we were hunting for the last level, we killed a glowhorn. Killing that beast should give you enough experience to level up."
"Ah, I kind of like those creatures," Thalion replied. "I'd feel bad hunting them," he said, trying to come up with an excuse.
"Okay, that's weird," Kael retorted. "Who's doing the first shift?" he addressed the rest of the group. "I really need some rest."
After that, the group began discussing what to do in the coming days. They were all down from losing so many. The only good thing was that they didn't know anyone from before the system. Otherwise it would have been a lot harder to get over it and focus on the matters at hand. Thalion sat off to the side checking his status screen. He had a new skill. He didn't notice it before, but back then, he had been in a rush, so he read it now.
Morphic Adaptation (Rare):
This skill allows the shapeshifter to permanently transfer specific physical traits from one form to another, creating a lasting hybrid form. For instance, the shapeshifter can take the wings of a sky razor Hawk and graft them onto a Panther, granting the panther the ability to fly. In this process, the original creature, like the sky razor Hawk, permanently loses the transferred trait. This irreversible transfer allows the shapeshifter to craft unique, powerful forms tailored to their needs.
This skill looked powerful, though he had no use for it at the moment. When he found a promising beast, he would acquire its form, splice the attributes he liked most, then discard the form entirely. Also, he had no idea what to do. Adding wings to shadowstalker didn't sound like a good idea. It's better to keep the bird form for flying, if he would get one at all.
Well, hopefully, he would find a use for this skill soon. Another thing he hadn't noticed was his credit score, which had shot up to 21,080 credits. The vampires had probably contributed the most, but holy shit, this was massive. Before the fight, he hadn't even surpassed 5,000 credits, mostly because eating berries didn't reward any. He wondered what cool stuff he could buy with so many credits.
Thalion took the first night shift, eagerly awaiting the arrival of the system shop.
Divine Encounter(Sidestory):
Steven grew up in a small, run-downtown where opportunities were scarce, and hope was even scarcer. His father was a factory worker, and his mother juggled multiple part-time jobs to make ends meet. From a young age, Steven learned that the world was a harsh place where the strong preyed on the weak. The family's financial struggles and the constant stress of survival left a deep mark on him.
As a teenager, Steven became adept at reading people, he could sense desperation, fear, and vulnerability like a shark smells blood in the water. He realized that in a world full of struggling people, there was a twisted kind of power in being able to manipulate others. He started small, borrowing money from friends with no intention of paying it back, spinning tales of dire circumstances that tugged at their heartstrings.
As he grew older, Steven's schemes became more elaborate. He'd hang around outside payday loan offices and liquor stores, where people were often at their lowest points. He would approach them with a friendly smile and a story of his own, how he too was struggling but had found a way out. He'd offer them a chance to invest in a "sure thing" that would double or even triple their money in a matter of days. The "investment" was of course just a lie, but Steven's charm and apparent sincerity were hard to resist for those desperate for a way out of their troubles.
People would give him whatever little money they had left, hoping for a miracle that never came. Once he had their cash, Steven would disappear, leaving them worse off than before. He justified his actions by telling himself that if they were foolish enough to believe him, they deserved to lose their money. In his mind, the world was a place where you either took what you could or got taken.
Then everything changed with the system's arrival. He now had a chance to gain so much more, and he would get it all just as he had achieved everything else in his life. He had chosen the heavy warrior class, feeling it was the strongest for those who didn't know how to fight.
His starting group was quite competent. He had a healer named Caren, a warrior named Andrew, and a mage named Mila. Their first fights went extremely well, even with Mila still a child. They found a wasp nest and were able to easily farm the insects. Within three hours, everyone in his group had reached level 5 and was teleported to the next stage.
But something strange happened during the teleportation. Steven found himself in a giant hall, as vast as a cathedral, yet even more awe-inspiring. The ceiling was so high, he could barely make it out, studded with sparkling crystals that refracted the light, casting a white glow on the walls.
The throne was the centerpiece of the room. Carved from a single, enormous block of white marble and adorned with intricate gold decorations, it pulsed with soft, white magic shining brightly. The floor of the throne room was covered in a thick carpet of pure gold. On the walls hung enormous tapestries depicting scenes of ancient battles and victories.
The air in the throne room was filled with a solemn stillness. It was a place of power, authority, and history.
Then before him, a man stepped out of nothingness. Steven instantly felt that this man was not ordinary; he couldn't sense him, like the bugs before. The man radiated absolute power and ancientness.
"Is this a god?" Steven asked himself. Then the being spoke, and his voice echoed through the hall with determination and unbound power.
"I am Solarion, the Blazing Emperor. You have shown potential, so I will offer you the chance to join the great Solar Empire."
"Yes, yes, of course. Are you a god?" Steven stammered out.
"I am one of the first gods that emerged after the Apocalypse, over 500 eras ago," Solarion answered. "I will give you a legendary blessing. It will open new paths for you and give you the ability to baptize others, granting them access to classes related to me. From what I've seen of you, I assume I don't need to give you more instructions on how to benefit from this situation?"
"Of course not," Steven answered, now smiling. He liked where this was going.
"Now, since you are new to the system, I'll give you a brief rundown of what you need to do. First, when I send you back, you will have the chance to change your class, and you will choose the Solar Sentinel, it's the one that fits you best.
"Next, you will kill your comrades. You need solo experience to level up fast, and the credits and experience you gain from killing them should bring you up to level 9. For skills, take the Light Wing skill. Most at your level won't be able to fly, which will give you a big advantage. Use it to hunt for weak parties you can kill alone.
"I have already given my divine blessing. My Chosen is currently in another tutorial. I want you to dominate yours and gather an army for when you exit the tutorial and reunite with my Chosen on the newly integrated planet."
"Yes, of course, I will do as you desire," Steven answered obediently. "But wouldn't it be better to let my party live if my goal is to assemble an army later?"
"No. The most important thing is that you grow strong quickly. You can gather subordinates later when you find a strong enough group," Solarion answered coldly.
With that, the god raised his hand, which glowed white, and Steven felt power rush through his body. Then the god handed him something, it looked like a white crystal.
"Eat this. It will boost your vitality and strength, as well as your light affinity," the god said.
Steven did as he was told and felt another rush of power run through his body, though not as strong as the last one.
"One last warning," the god said. "Many gods will bless beings from the newly integrated universe. The competition will be fierce on the last floor."
With that, everything went black, and a system prompt appeared:
Through unique circumstances, you are allowed to change your class
Do you want to change your class now?
Steven naturally chose the Solar Sentinel, a legendary class, and soon after, he appeared next to Andrew. He immediately drew his sword and stabbed it through Andrew's head from behind, instantly killing him.
"What are you doing, Steven?" Caren roared, though there wasn't much else she could do as a healer.
Steven stormed toward Mila, who was too frightened to do anything. She pleaded with tears in her eyes, "Please don't kill me, please!" She couldn't say anything more before he plunged his sword into her left eye, ending her life.
"Why are you doing this?" Caren shouted. "How could you kill a child?"
Steven didn't bother to answer as he attacked Caren. She tried to run, but it was too late. He sliced her head off with a single stroke of his blade.
You have killed a human Level 5
You have killed a human Level 5
You have killed a human Level 5
You have reached Level 9
Skill selection available
He took the Light Wing skill:
The caster's body becomes suffused with radiant energy, causing a pair of luminous wings to sprout from their back. While granting flight, the wings also act as a conduit for powerful healing spells. The wings' healing power is directly proportional to the caster's mana reserves.
With a big smile, Steven activated the skill and soared into the air. That day, he reached level 14. He got lucky, the survivors were just easy prey, most not even surpassing level 5. The bad news was that he didn't get much experience from killing them, but that wouldn't stop him. They had around 500 credits, which was his main objective.
In six days, the system shop would appear, and he would make sure to buy the best for himself. He already had over 5000 credits.
So, he spent the days hunting low-level humans. In the last two days, many survivors had entered the second stage, which was great for him. The only downside was that he had to find the newcomers quickly before they had a chance to join one of the bigger camps of refugees.
Nevertheless, everything was going well for him. The night before the shop's arrival, he was at level 23 with 42,310 credits. He only had to flee a few times, once from a group of elves and another time from three vampires, but with his wings, no one could catch him.
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So, he sat in a tall tree, eagerly awaiting the arrival of the system shop.
Solarion sat on his throne, glaring into the vast multiverse. This time, he was lucky. He found a good Chosen on the first day of the tutorial, and not only that, but he also managed to enlist 13 new followers for his Chosen to fight the other Chosen for supremacy after the tutorial.
The reason gods were so adamant, at least the stronger ones, about giving out blessings was that with each evolution, the blessing would absorb a little bit of endless energy, which was a mix of vitality, stamina, and mana, but so complex and powerful that no god could recreate it.
The amount of endless energy that could be absorbed increased with the rank of the blessing, though the cost for the god also increased. It could even weaken them if their Chosen or higher blessed died.
The tricky part was that a god couldn't extract the blessing after four safe evolutions. No, it would remain with the blessed until they became gods themselves. Only then could the god receive their reward.
Until now, most gods had held back their blessings because the only opportunity to bless someone came when they advanced in stages. Also, the system didn't allow gods to see much, and most didn't want to make such crucial decisions with so little information. But that would change with the appearance of the system shop.
"Let the war for the 501st universe begin," Solarion said, deep in thought.
<--
The System Shop:
Thalion waited the whole morning until it happened.
System Shop is available for 11:59 hours. You can only enter once.
Finally, Thalion thought and entered the shop. Everything turned black, and then he stood in front of the voice of the system, in the same place he had been before the tutorial.
"Huh, a shapeshifter? Didn't see that one coming," the voice spoke in his head. "Anyway, I will also act as the shopkeeper for the tutorial."
"Can you give me information on this Bud of the Sanguine Thorn?" he asked, taking out the item that had consumed the stronger vampire, getting straight to business.
"I am not allowed to tell you anything this time. Everything you want here, even information, you'll need to buy with credits," the voice concluded. "I have an information scroll on the Sanguine Thorn. It costs 5,000 credits."
"Does the scroll provide more knowledge on the Sanguine Thorn than my Identify already did?" he asked, expecting the typical "I'm not allowed to give such information." To his surprise, the voice said: "Yes, the scroll contains very specific information about the Sanguine Thorn, as well as short but crucial details about vampires and the god Tenebrice."
Buying the scroll sounded appealing to him now, but first, he wanted to see what else the voice had in store, Thalion thought.
"How much time do I have to choose my purchases?" he asked. "Oh, and how much time do I lose in the tutorial?"
"You have around five hours to choose your items before you get thrown out. Then you must wait seven days until the next time. The good news is, we are currently outside of time, so no time is passing in the tutorial," the voice said, amused.
"Huh, that's great," he thought aloud. "So, can you give me a list of attack and healing spells for a mage?"
With that, a prompt appeared before him, showing a wide array of spells. He quickly skimmed through the options, marking those he was most interested in for later consideration.
Manablade (Epic): Summons a sword made of mana. [4,500 Credits]
Magma Ball (Rare): Fires a ball of magma. [2,500 Credits]
Shadow Mist (Rare): Summons a mist made of darkness. [4,000 Credits]
Shadow Shard (Rare): Fires a shard of dark mana. [2,000 Credits]
Rock Shard (Rare): Fires a rock that explodes on impact. [3,500 Credits]
Water Shard (Rare): Fires a concentrated orb of water at the enemy. [2,800 Credits]
Bubble Trap (Rare): Conjures a watery bubble that encloses enemies and deals damage. [3,900 Credits]
Tidal Wave (Epic): Summons a massive wave that engulfs nearby enemies. [5,000 Credits]
Lightning Strike (Rare): Hurls bolts of lightning at enemies. [3,900 Credits]
Electric Surge (Rare): Unleashes a surge of electrical energy, damaging nearby foes. [3,200 Credits]
Storm Burst (Epic): Conjures a storm of lightning around the caster. [8,000 Credits]
"Can you give me a list of spells for shapeshifters?" Thalion asked and glanced at a specific spell, which caught his attention.
Arcane Synergy (Epic):
Allows a shapeshifter to permanently transfer a spell from one form to another, merging the magical abilities of different creatures into a single, more versatile form. When this spell is cast, the shapeshifter selects a specific spell from one of their forms and transfers it to another, enabling the new form to wield the spell as if it were its own. The original form loses the spell in the process, making this a one-way transfer. [9,500 Credits]
This spell wouldn't help him at the moment, as each form needed its own spells, but for the future, he saw himself collecting the abilities of numerous creatures, transferring their strongest attributes to his other forms. He was already formulating a plan: buy the vampire scroll, acquire the Arcane Synergy spell for future growth, and add one or two spells to boost his human form, maybe even get some additional information if the shop offered it.
"Can I buy information on how I can upgrade the rarity of my spells, or even the rarity of a race?" Thalion asked. He had already seen how powerful an epic race could be with his two forms, so upgrading them further would be a significant advantage.
"Here's a scroll that covers both areas," the voice answered in its usual businesslike tone.
Novice's Guide to Skill Mastery (Uncommon):
An introductory scroll designed for beginners. It explains the fundamental principles of how to improve and enhance skills, offering simple, easy-to-understand instructions. The scroll also provides basic guidance on how to upgrade one's race, outlining the initial steps needed to evolve and unlock greater potential. Perfect for those just starting their journey, this scroll serves as a foundational resource for anyone eager to learn the basics of skill and race progression. [1,500 Credits]
"That scroll is also a must-buy," Thalion thought while reviewing his choices.
If he had done his math correctly, after buying the scroll on the Sanguine Thorn, Arcane Synergy, and Novice's Guide to Skill Mastery, he would have 5,080 credits left out of his initial 21,080 credits. Initially, he considered buying two weaker spells for around 2,000 credits, perhaps Rock Shard or Shadow Shard, but in the end, he discarded that idea. After some further thought, he decided to go with manablade.
For a moment, he thought about checking the armory, but with time running out, manablade seemed the best synergy with the Novice's Guide to Skill Mastery, potentially allowing him to upgrade the spell. He would likely need a weaponsmith to upgrade his staff or whatever weapon or armor he eventually bought.
In the end, he purchased the Scroll of the Sanguine Thorn, Arcane Synergy, Novice's Guide to Skill Mastery, and manablade for 19,500 credits, reducing his creditscore to 1,580 credits. He was satisfied with his choices. In the final minutes, he browsed the armory for heavy warriors and magical swords, just in case he had to face one in the future.
<--
Steven left the system shop with a wide grin. The slaughter of helpless survivors had paid off. He had been able to purchase a full set of armor, along with a shield and lance, all tailored to his class. He even acquired two additional skills, both linked to Solarian, the Blazing Emperor. This meant that no one else could access his weapons or skills unless they, too, were followers of Solarian, making them potential allies.
As a businessman, he had compared the available armor sets, and the difference between what ordinary people could buy and what he had access to was staggering. Even though the items shared the same rarity on the surface, his gear provided significantly more stats or came with special abilities. If he were to encounter his old self from just five minutes ago, it wouldn't even be a contest.
Looking ahead, Steven planned to start fighting stronger enemies now that he was well-equipped. Credits were no longer as crucial as gaining experience. He had also been tasked by his god to gather followers. While he would wait before baptizing anyone, if he encountered a strong group, he would try to impress them with his strength so they might eventually join him for safety. Either way, the time for killing the weak for credits was over—at least for now. He needed to present himself as a strong leader to attract others under his banner.
With a powerful beat of his light wings, Steven shot into the air, searching for a formidable beast so he could finally advance to stage three of the tutorial.
<--
Lucius Valendris stepped out of the system shop, feeling fortunate that he had chosen to focus on acquiring better equipment rather than advancing to the next stage. Shortly after entering the shop, he received an unexpected invitation to meet Malphas, the Crimson Sovereign, a vampire god.
Their conversation was brief but impactful. Malphas bestowed upon Lucius a rare blessing that immediately increased his stats. Additionally, the god gifted him a small pearl of darkness, which Lucius swallowed. This pearl not only enhanced his stats further but also deepened his affinity with shadows. It seemed that while Malphas couldn't directly provide physical items, anything Lucius absorbed was beyond the system's interference.
Malphas had expressed frustration over Tenebrice, the strongest of all vampire gods, who had cultivated a plant that empowered his followers with immense stat boosts, almost resembling a soul-bound weapon. Despite this, Malphas warned Lucius that more blessed champions from other gods would now attempt to conquer the tutorial. But Lucius cared little for that. His mission was clear, to become as powerful as possible and eliminate as many of these god-blessed challengers as he could.
That was perfectly fine with Lucius, he would have done it anyway. With that, the divine intermission ended, and he found himself back in the system shop, now with more and better options available exclusively to followers of Malphas, the Crimson Sovereign.
Now, standing under the sun, Lucius felt no discomfort, a testament to his newfound power. An aura of darkness surrounded him, further amplifying his strength. This power would be invaluable as he moved forward. So far, the third stage has been brutal. He had already lost the two other vampires who had accompanied him.
The beasts were formidable, difficult to kill, and any fight risked alerting nearby survivors, none of whom were pushovers, making the situation even more perilous. After losing his subordinates to an elven ambush, progress became even more challenging. But now, after investing 48,000 credits into new equipment, spells, and blood, Lucius felt confident that he could once again become the apex hunter.
<--
Thorwald's grin widened maliciously as he exited the system shop, his newly acquired items, were more powerful than he could have imagined. With 31,000 credits in his possession earned from slaughtering those imbeciles back at the camp, he felt unstoppable. Reaching level 19 in the process had only added to his confidence.
He had splurged on a full set of armor, a movement skill, and three new attack spells. If he had had those upgrades yesterday, he could have wiped out the entire camp single-handedly without breaking a sweat.
Thorwald scanned his remaining men. Each one of them was now equipped with new weapons and armor, their faces reflecting the thrill of recent victories. They, too, had reaped the benefits of yesterday's bloodshed, leveling up and becoming even deadlier.
"It looks like we've all powered up significantly," Thorwald growled, his voice dripping with anticipation. "I say we go back and finish the job we started yesterday."
His men roared in agreement, their bloodlust palpable. The thought of returning to the camp to eliminate the survivors and claim even more credits fueled their excitement. They were ready—armed, dangerous, and eager to unleash their newfound power.
Thorwald turned, his eyes gleaming with dark intent, and led his men back into the jungle, towards the camp that had no idea what was about to hit them.
Thalion opened his eyes, quickly scanning his surroundings. Most of his companions had already left to test the better equipment.
First, he pulled out the scroll titled Novice's Guide to Skill Mastery. As he held it, a monotone voice echoed in his mind, "What information do you seek, traveler?"
"That was unexpected," he thought, attempting to send a telepathic message back. "Can you show me what's required to advance my class and upgrade my race?"
It probably worked as the scroll answered him: "You can upgrade your class by permanently gaining stats that align with your class. Another method is to delay your evolution and continue honing your skills through actions like achieving notable feats, hunting, training others, or further refining your abilities, even if you no longer gain experience points. The more exceptional your performance while delaying your evolution, the higher the rarity of your class will become. This second method is the most commonly used."
Okay, so it looks like he had to stay at this stage for a prolonged time. The benefits a stronger class provided were just too good, and with the purchases he had made, he was already in for the long run.
It also made so much sense now why he had gotten a rare class. They had probably killed way more grasshoppers, and instead of getting experience, the system rewarded them with a better class.
Next question. "How do I upgrade my skills?"
"You can upgrade your skills by channeling more power into them, be it mana, stamina, or health. Methods like changing the form of the skill, for example, by condensing it or letting it grow, can lead to a permanent upgrade in rarity. You can also try to pour in more resources to make the skill last longer. Another way is to mix concepts like time or space, or affinities like light or darkness, just to name a few."
This scroll was definitely worth its money. Now he was even more interested in the scroll about the Sanguine Thorn.
He stored the scroll in his spatial ring and took out the Scroll of the Sanguine Thorn. The whole thing was crimson red.
As he touched it, a voice spoke in his head in the same monotone voice, "What information do you seek, traveler?"
"Give me all the information you have on the Sanguine Thorn and advise me on how to proceed with the bud of the Sanguine Thorn."
It took a while until the scroll answered: "The Sanguine Thorn was created by the strongest vampire god, Tenebrice. Its most well-known use is that buds of the Sanguine Thorn are imparted to special members of his order to strengthen them in all aspects. While it is characterized as a symbiotic relationship, it is far more than that. The plant enhances the purity of your blood with an effect better than most known body temperings. It can also function like a spirit weapon and can fight alongside you after a full awakening.
And that's not all. It grants you access to blood skills, not only related to the plant but also to Tenebrice himself.
The stronger the plant gets, the more skills you can unlock. The better the purification of your blood, and you even gain a massive stat boost in vitality, strength, intelligence, and wisdom.
The bud of the sanguine thorn will sprout after it has been fed with enough blood. The stronger the blood of the being, the faster the process. If you currently have a bud, bind it by spilling a drop of your blood on it, then hold it close to your heart. It will enter your body and start to enhance you."
This already sounded better than anything he could have hoped for.
"How do I feed the sanguine thorn, and what blood is best used?" Thalion asked the scroll.
"You feed it with a skill you will gain by bonding with the plant, called Crimson Harvest. The skill will let a vine emerge from your skin, entering the body of your victim and fully draining the blood from their veins.
The other skill you will gain is blood thorn. This enables you to shoot a thorn out of your skin with incredible speed and power. It also slows the healing of the target."
The last one was probably the attack he got hit with in the fight with the vampire. There was only one last question for the moment.
"Can I also feed the plant with my own blood?" If that worked, this thing was even more overpowered than he first thought. Purify your blood, then feed it to the plant so it grows in power.
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"Yes, that is entirely possible," the scroll answered immediately.
"Can I use it even without being a vampire?" Thalion asked the scroll. Here goes all or nothing.
"Yes, there won't be any negative effects if you do not belong to the vampiric race," the scroll answered.
Thalion had the urge to laugh right here, right now. This was just too good to be true.
He already had some kind of plan. First, he would bind the Thorn to his glowhorn form. Since it had the most stats and healed quickly when damaged, it should be possible to feed the Thorn while munching on plants. This should level the Thorn quickly. Then there were two options: he wanted to go for the best race evolution possible, and he kind of wanted to sacrifice his glowhorn form.
The spells and abilities it had were just too good. Mana Wave would be strong for his human form, and the healing could be used on the shadowstalker.
He also hoped that it would be possible to merge the two eating skills the beast had into one more powerful ability.
One last question he asked the scroll he was still holding in his hands: "Can the Sanguine Thorn be moved from one form to another with the spell Morphic Adaptation?"
"Yes, that is possible," the scroll quickly replied.
With that, Thalion decided to partially become a blood mage.
If everything went as planned, his human and shadowstalker races should be upgraded for sure. Maybe he could even evolve into a different race when it came to the Shadowstalker. He put the scroll away. These were all things for later, when he would part ways with the buddies he had fought alongside yesterday. But first...
"Hey, mages, wanna test out some new spells? I even bought information on how to upgrade one," he loudly asked the group.
"Yes, of course!" Sylas instantly answered.
A moment later, Elara, Vex, Sylas, and Thalion were blasting apart the last remnants of their camp. They would move on soon and wanted to destroy everything they couldn't take with them.
The hope was that Thorwald would think they got attacked again and maybe all died.
"Think you can condense it more?" Elara commented after Thalion had thrown another fireball. She was the first one who managed to upgrade a spell. "Just try to hold it longer."
Thalion did as she said and sat for the next five minutes on a wooden block with a fireball that grew hotter and hotter. After he had poured over 40 percent of his total mana into the spell, he threw it.
The fireball hit one of the last-standing huts, and the explosion was stronger than he had anticipated. The whole hut was ripped into small pieces that were flung over 50 meters into the air. The smaller pieces didn't even land on the ground because they were completely consumed by the flames.
"Holy shit!" Elara exclaimed. "How many skill upgrades did you get?"
Thalion answered as the message popped up on his status screen. The spell had gone from common to rare in one go.
"Wait, are all of your fireballs that strong now?"
Thalion tested it by conjuring another, but it was not nearly as strong as the last one. However, it was far more intense than a normal one.
After throwing it, the explosion was only slightly better than the common version, but the flames that burned afterward were much hotter and burned longer.
"Do you think we can make our spells curve mid-flight?" she asked, deep in thought.
"Probably. It could even be a requirement when you want to upgrade to a certain point," Thalion pondered.
"Did any of you choose the spell Mana Blade?" he asked the group.
"No, I saw it, but it was too expensive, and it's kind of a melee spell if I understand it right," Vex answered. "Did you buy it? That spell was crazy expensive."
"Yep, I did," Thalion nodded, then activated the spell. A blue curved longsword with runes on the blade appeared. He swung the blade toward a small tree trunk, and a sharp blue slash shot out from the sword, cutting the trunk clean in half.
That was so cool, he thought. Summoning the sword barely cost any mana, and the slash that cut the small tree didn't even use 10 percent of his total mana.
"Oh wow, that spell looks so cool," Sylas exclaimed with stars in his eyes.
"Hey Kai, can you come over? I need you for an experiment," Thalion said with a smug smile on his face.
"Okay, what do you need?" Kai asked, coming over.
"Try to cut through my spell. I bet you won't manage to," Thalion said while casting the spell.
"Oh, I bet I will," Kai said, now smiling too.
The next five minutes were spent with Kai trying to cut through the mana slash. Sometimes it cracked, but it took just a bit of mana to fully repair it. Kael and the warrior also came over and tried to cut it, but the effect was the same.
"Okay, enough testing. We need to move on and find a new spot for the night. I don't want to encounter Thorwald anytime soon."
"Will you join us, or will we part ways?" Kai asked Thalion with a sad look in his eyes.
"I can stay until you've found your new spot for the night, but then I have to go off alone for a while," Thalion said, also feeling sad. He would miss the group.
With that, they set out, and after three hours of walking, they found a nice spot for their new camp. This time, their camp was not in the middle of a clearing, easy to spot, but in the middle of the jungle, and not on the ground but on the branches of the trees, making it even harder to find.
Before parting ways, Thalion told them how to upgrade their race and class. Kael tried to repay him by teaching him how to fight with a sword, but it didn't work well. Sarah, the alchemist, gave him six healing potions and five mana potions.
Then, after a final goodbye, he disappeared into the jungle. He felt a bit bad to not help out a bit more or stay longer just in case that Thorwald guy would catch up. But the last night had shown him that in this tutorial it was all about strength. If he didn't want to get killed by someone like Thorwald, he needed to get stronger and couldn't waste much time.