Quinn woke at 2 PM the next day, his body still adjusting to the vampire transformation. The sunlight streaming through his window felt uncomfortable against his skin—not painful, but wrong somehow. He checked his status screen.
<20/100 exp>
[Sunlight Weakness Active]
Current Stats: STR 5.5, AGI 5, STA 5
The 50% debuff hit hard. His one strength point advantage was cut in half during the day. Quinn grimaced but reminded himself this was expected. The sunlight weakness was one of the biggest obstacles he'd face until he could afford resistance items from the shop.
Which meant his priority was clear: reach level 10 as fast as possible.
Quinn pulled out his notebook and began calculating.
Experience Needed:
Current: 20/100 (Level 2)
Level 3: 100 exp total
Level 4: 200 exp total
Level 5: 350 exp total ...Level 10: Approximately 2000 exp total
Experience Sources:
Daily water quest: 5 exp per dayIn 120 days: 600 exp (not nearly enough)Need additional quests and activities
Quinn knew from his previous life that the system generated quests based on his actions. Physical training gave exp. Combat gave exp. Completing system challenges gave significant exp bonuses. The key was to trigger as many quests as possible while staying under the radar.
He opened the quest tab and saw a new notification:
Quinn smiled. The basic training quests. He remembered these. They were repeatable with increasing difficulty, and they were one of the best ways to grind exp early on.
But there was a problem: he couldn't do intense training during the day without people noticing. His apartment walls were thin, and the neighbors would definitely hear someone doing hundreds of push-ups. More importantly, his debuffed stats made it much harder.
"Night training it is," Quinn muttered.
He spent the rest of the afternoon planning his training schedule. During the day, he would maintain his normal routine—the weak, unremarkable Quinn Talen that everyone ignored. At night, when his stats returned to full and the world was asleep, he would train.
Quinn also needed to address the daily blood requirement. The system had made it clear:
He couldn't attack a person every single day. That would leave a trail even an incompetent investigator could follow. Which meant he needed a sustainable source.
Animal blood.
Quinn knew from experience that animal blood satisfied the daily requirement but gave minimal stat bonuses. It was maintenance, not growth. For real power, he needed human blood from ability users. But for daily sustenance, animals would work.
At 6 PM, Quinn left his apartment wearing his usual worn clothes and broken glasses. He walked to a convenience store and bought supplies: a small cooler, plastic containers, and some basic camping equipment. The clerk barely looked at him.
Next stop was a pet store. Quinn purchased "supplies for a science project"—really just materials that would help him hunt and store blood. The store clerk was equally disinterested.
By 8 PM, Quinn was back in his apartment with everything he needed. Now he just had to wait for darkness.
11 PM - Night Training Begins
Quinn changed into dark athletic clothes and checked his stats. The sunlight debuff had disappeared the moment the sun fully set.
Current Stats: STR 11, AGI 10, STA 10
Much better. He pulled up the training quest and got to work.
Push-ups first. Quinn dropped to the floor and began. One, two, three... His arms burned by fifty, but he pushed through. Seventy-five, eighty... His previous life's muscle memory helped, even though this body was weak. One hundred.
Sit-ups next. Quinn's core screamed in protest, but he forced himself to continue. This body hadn't done real exercise in months, maybe years. One hundred sit-ups later, he was gasping for breath.
Squats were brutal. His legs shook by the end, and Quinn had to grab his desk for support.
Finally, the run. Quinn slipped out of his apartment building and into the dark streets. At night, with his vampire senses, everything felt different. Sharper. Clearer. He could hear heartbeats in nearby apartments, smell the various scents of the city, see in the darkness like it was twilight.
Quinn ran through empty streets and dark alleys, avoiding the few people still out. Five kilometers wasn't far for someone with his experience, even in this weak body. His stamina held, and he completed the distance in just under thirty minutes.
Quinn leaned against a wall, panting but satisfied. Twenty exp and a stat point. If he could complete this quest daily, he'd reach level 10 in... he did the math... about three months. That was too slow, but it was a start.
Quinn's eyes widened. The quests stacked. He could do Basic Training I, and then if he had energy, immediately start Basic Training II. The system was encouraging him to push harder.
But not tonight. His body was exhausted, and he still needed to handle the blood requirement.
Quinn made his way to the industrial district, moving silently through shadows. He knew from his previous life that stray cats and dogs often gathered near the old warehouses, feeding on rats and scraps.
It took twenty minutes to find a suitable target—a large stray cat that looked well-fed and healthy. Quinn felt a twinge of guilt, but he reminded himself he wasn't going to kill it. Just... borrow some blood.
He moved quickly, using his enhanced vampire speed to grab the cat before it could run. The animal hissed and struggled, but Quinn held firm. He made a small incision on its leg—barely a scratch—and collected blood in one of his containers.
Quinn released the cat and bandaged its leg with a small strip of cloth. The animal bolted into the darkness, likely confused but otherwise unharmed.
"Sorry," Quinn muttered. "But I need to survive too."
He disposed of the evidence and made his way home, his container of animal blood stored in his cooler. He had enough for several days now, which meant he wouldn't need to hunt every single night.
When Quinn finally collapsed into bed at 2 AM, he pulled up his status screen one more time:
Two stats gained in one night. It was slow progress, but it was progress. And Quinn had time—four months of nights to train, hunt, and grow stronger.
He opened his notebook and began planning the next phase:
Week 1 Goals:
Complete Basic Training I daily (140 exp per week minimum)Reach Level 3 (unlock first skill point?)Establish sustainable animal blood sourceResearch ability user targets for stat farmingMaintain weak public persona
Month 1 Goals:
Reach Level 5Unlock and practice basic vampire abilitiesIncrease all base stats to 20+Identify and memorize military school layout and key locationsBuild emergency fund (money will be useful)
Month 2-3 Goals:
Reach Level 10, unlock shopPurchase sunlight resistance itemAll base stats 30+Master Flash Step and basic combat skillsResearch future military school challenges and prepare counters
Month 4 Goals:
Final preparationsAll base stats 40+ (ambitious but possible)Combat-ready with multiple abilitiesSocial strategy finalizedReady to dominate from day one
Quinn smiled at his plan. It was aggressive but achievable. More importantly, it was smart. He wasn't rushing into situations blindly anymore. Every action had a purpose, every night had a goal.
His phone alarm was set for 1 PM—late enough to avoid the worst of the sunlight, early enough to complete his daily water quest and maintain his normal appearance to neighbors.
As Quinn drifted off to sleep, he felt something he hadn't felt in his previous timeline: control. He wasn't being swept along by events anymore. He was the one making the moves.
And that made all the difference.
Day 3 - Building Routine
Quinn woke at 1 PM and immediately noticed the difference. His body was sore from last night's training, but it was a good soreness. The kind that meant muscles were breaking down and rebuilding stronger.
He completed his water quest (5 exp), ate a simple meal, and spent the afternoon researching on his computer. Quinn was looking for patterns—ability users who abused their power, criminals who operated at night, people who wouldn't be missed or whose disappearance could be explained away.
He found three potential targets in his area:
Derek Chen - Level 3 speed ability user, suspected of multiple robberies but never caughtSarah Mills - Level 4 ice ability user, known for freezing people's belongings as "pranks" that caused serious property damageTom Richards - Level 2 enhancement ability user, bar fighter with multiple assault complaints
Quinn cross-referenced their schedules, habits, and locations. Derek worked late shifts at a warehouse. Sarah frequented a specific nightclub every Friday. Tom was homeless and slept in the same park every night.
None of them were as terrible as Marcus had been, but they were all people who used their power to hurt others. Quinn could justify what he needed to do.
But not tonight. Tonight was for training only. He needed to pace himself, establish patterns, avoid drawing connections between incidents.
At 10 PM, Quinn slipped out for his night training session. Basic Training I first—the push-ups and sit-ups were slightly easier this time, his body already adapting. The run felt smoother, his vampire stamina showing through.
Quinn decided to push further. He started Basic Training II immediately.
Two hundred push-ups. His arms screamed but he completed them.
Two hundred sit-ups. His core burned but he pushed through.
Two hundred squats. His legs shook but he finished.
Ten kilometer run. This one nearly broke him, but Quinn remembered battles that lasted for hours, remembered fighting while wounded and exhausted. This was nothing compared to what he'd endured before.
Quinn stopped running and leaned against a wall, gasping for breath but grinning. Level 3 already. And more importantly—a skill point.
He pulled up the skills menu:
Quinn didn't hesitate. He selected Dash immediately.
This was one of the most useful early abilities. In combat, those three seconds could mean the difference between life and death. For hunting, it meant he could close distances before targets could react.
Quinn tested it immediately. He focused on the skill and felt stamina drain from his body. Suddenly the world seemed to slow down, and Quinn moved—
He was fifteen meters away before the skill ended, having crossed the distance in a blur.
"Perfect," Quinn whispered.
He made his way to his hunting ground and collected blood from two more stray animals, storing it in his cooler. With that done, Quinn returned home at 3 AM, exhausted but accomplished.
Three days into his second chance, and Quinn was already making real progress. He updated his notebook with the day's achievements and adjusted his plans accordingly.
At this rate, he'd reach level 10 faster than expected. But he couldn't get complacent. The real challenges were still ahead—learning to fight properly with this weak body, practicing his abilities until they became second nature, and most importantly, preparing for the social minefield that was military school.
Because Quinn knew something that most people didn't understand: strength alone wasn't enough. You needed strategy. Allies. Information. The ability to manipulate situations to your advantage.
And Quinn had four months to master all of it.
He set his alarm and went to sleep, already planning tomorrow's training session in his mind.