ã€ŠThe Dawn of Bloodã€‹


 Chapter 1

    It was Saturday night when it happened. Normally I would be at home, playing video games or watching TV. But tonight was different.

    My best friend had dragged me to a party he was invited to, but this wasn¡¯t a normal party. It was a birthday party for the richest and hottest girl in school, Christina. The party was incredible, it seemed like every person there was a supermodel. I had never felt so out of place in my life.

    Groups of kids were talking and having fun, even my friend Bryan seemed like he was having a good time. I decided that if I had nothing else to do, I might as well help myself to all of the luxurious food.

    As I was sampling the fudge brownies, I saw her. She was tall with blond hair and exuded an unnatural type of beauty. She was quite clearly middle aged and seemed to be admiring the people in the room.

    Her eyes scanned the room until she saw me. Our gazes locked and for some reason, I felt as if she was looking at me as if I was nothing more than an item. The woman turned away, but I was left with a feeling of uncertainty.

    Before I could delve too deep into my thoughts, Bryan ran into me. Bryan had been my best bud since the first grade. I always wondered why a guy like him stayed friends with someone like me.

    Bryan was popular, athletic, and good looking. I on the other hand only really had Bryan as a friend and preferred to stay in the house instead of playing sports. The only thing that I really had going for me was my grades, which girls didn¡¯t find all that attractive, unfortunately. The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

    ¡°How ya liking the party?¡± He asked me. ¡°Oh, it¡¯s great,¡± I replied in the most sarcastic tone I could muster. ¡°Oh come on, you¡¯re such a downer. Maybe the singer Christina hired will cheer you up a little.¡± I could smell the scent of alcohol on his breath. ¡°Y¡¯know, you shouldn¡¯t be drinking with exams coming up so soon.¡± A look of exasperation appeared on his face as he replied somewhat angrily, ¡°Of course, only you would¡­¡±

    Bryan was interrupted by the sound of a woman speaking over the microphone. We both turned to look up at the stage. A look of surprise crossed my face, as the woman up on the stage was the same who had stared at me with those disturbing eyes not long ago.

    ¡°I would like to welcome all of you guests to the party.¡± The woman had the voice of an angel, beautiful, but at the same time, it had something else in it. There was a hint of arrogance in her voice as if she was speaking to nothing more than ants. Everything about her gave me a strange feeling.

    ¡°For the opening song, I have for you one of my absolute favorites. Although this melody has no words, I can assure you that it tells its own story.¡± And with that, the woman began to hum.

    Even I had to admit that it was a beautiful piece of music. Bryan turned to me, ¡°Is this not the best song you¡¯ve ever heard Wade?¡± He asked with awe in his voice. I nodded and turned back to the stage, once again focusing my attention on the woman.

    The entire crowd listened in silence until the song had finally ended. With it, the crowd burst into applause and commotion. As the woman spoke into the microphone, everyone fell silent. ¡°I hope that everyone enjoyed my opening act.¡±

    The crowd gave its unanimous approval through shouting and cheering, but I was an exception. It was strange, thinking back I just couldn¡¯t tell what had made us all enjoy the song so much. It was just an average melody, nothing to it. I just could wrap my head around it.

    The woman smiled and continued, ¡°As an opening act would suggest, I would like to welcome you¡­¡± She paused, the smile on her face contorting strangely, ¡°Welcome you to your nightmare.¡± And with that, darkness engulfed us all

 Chapter 2

    The feeling was indescribable. As we were being moved who knows where it felt as if my very soul was being stretched and torn along with my body. Once we had finally arrived at our destination, I realized that no more than an instant must have passed, even though the journey itself felt long and painful.

    There had to have been around a hundred of us there. The majority of the group was made up of high schoolers in the late teens, but with the odd party chaperone mixed in here and there.

    Everyone was sprawled across the ground, still recovering from whatever had just happened to us. As I was glancing around, trying to get my bearings, I noticed that the ground I thought I had been standing on wasn¡¯t there. Instead, it seemed as if we were standing on a platform of darkness, as impossible as that seems. In fact, we appeared to be completely surrounded by the darkness, yet somehow the area was illuminated enough for us to see.

    While trying to wrap my head around what was happening, I remembered the party. The woman, her song, and that terrifying smile on her face before bringing us here. I couldn¡¯t help but wonder who she was, and where she had gone. Luckily, I didn¡¯t have to wait long.

    The woman once again appeared, this time garbed in old-fashioned, beautiful white dress. ¡°Welcome my children, I hope that you all had a pleasant trip.¡± When the woman spoke, her words resounded within my mind, filled with ancientness and power. My head began to pound, gaining in intensity as I had no choice but to close my eyes and hold my head. From the belches I could hear nearby, I knew that several people were throwing up from the pain.

    ¡°Stand, stand you weaklings.¡± The pain continued in my head as she spoke, but my eyes opened, and I felt myself standing against my will.

    I could see others, forced to move through their pain as we were put into a line formation. The woman appeared in front of us yet again, and just like that the pain was gone.

    To my shock, I found that I was unable to move my body, only having the ability to swivel my eyes. ¡°Welcome to Shorath, your new home. I know that you all must have many questions, but they will all be answered with time. For now, just the basics.

    Just the basics, the basics of what?

    ¡°It started long ago with the Dawn of Blood. Do not concern yourselves with its origins, for even I do not know how or why it started. All you must know is that it is a gift. And with it, you shall gain unimaginable strength, or die trying. I have brought you all here for I am in dire need of power. I shall bestow upon you the gift of blood, in exchange for your worship. As you grow in strength, so shall I.¡± And without waiting for a response, she approached the first person in line.

    I turned my head to look and realized that I had gained limited mobility back, although still not enough to move my feet. I looked down the line to see who the first person was. I was surprised to see Christine, clearly scared out of her mind as the woman approached.

    She reached Christine and stopped in front of her, looking the poor girl up and down. The woman reached down and placed a finger on the girl¡¯s forehead. All of a sudden Christine¡¯s eyes shut and she visibly shook. The woman¡¯s eyes lit up as she said, ¡°A Spelldancer bloodtype! What a pleasant surprise.¡±

    Christine¡¯s eyes reopened, but they were different now. She was no longer afraid, as well as there being a certain amount of understanding and confidence in her eyes.

    The woman moved onto the next person, but this time they didn¡¯t provoke the slightest reaction from the woman as she moved down the line. I was near the end of the line, and could only watch as she did something to each person she touched, changing them.

    This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

    After what seemed like forever, she finally neared me. Since she had touched Christine, although a few people had gotten a response from the woman, no one had come close to her. I glanced at the person before me and was shocked to see Bryan. Due to everything going on, I hadn¡¯t even noticed that he was standing next to me.

    The woman came to Bryan and, just like she had to everyone else, touched his forehead. Bryan¡¯s eyes shut and he shook, but the woman did something different this time. For the first time since the party, she smiled. ¡°Yet another treasure, a Dragon Knight.¡± She looked at him with satisfaction for a moment as his eyes reopened, then moved on to me.

    She put her finger on my head and I felt my eyes close, but even though my eyes were closed, I saw something.

    System-Initiated.

    Welcome, your first class is Accursed. Remember, if yo-

    All of a sudden my vision went completely black and I once again felt the excruciating pain of being transported.

    Once I had come to, I once again found myself in some strange room. This place wasn¡¯t the same as the last though. The previous room had just been made of a strange, tangible darkness. This place was surrounded by a grotesque, moving sludge, which felt strangely solid as I stood on it.

    As I was looking at the walls of the strange room, I could have sworn that I saw an eye within the sludge. Staring shocked at the place I thought I had seen an eye, a voice interrupted my thoughts. ¡°It¡¯s been a long time since someone came to visit me.¡±

    I quickly turned around to see a man sitting up against the wall of sludge. As I looked at him closer, it seemed as if there were shadows wrapping around him, making it almost impossible to see him if you didn¡¯t already know he was there. ¡°Who are you?¡± I asked cautiously.

    ¡°Shouldn¡¯t I be the one asking you that, after all, this is my home that you so rudely barged into.¡± The man replied as he slowly stood up.

    I could see that he was quite tall as well as being handsome. For some reason he looked a lot like the Egyptians that I had been reading about in my social studies textbook.

    His eyes locked with mine and he continued speaking. ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter, names are of no importance here. The important thing is that you must have an Accursed bloodtype, otherwise you would not have been brought here.¡± I nodded. ¡°Excellent, sit down and I will explain.¡±

    I sat down and he began. ¡°The woman who brought you here is named Sebana. She is an Elder God, and is the reason that I am trapped down here. I have been trapped here since the Dawn of Blood in this world, but I have been slowly regaining my power, soon to break free of these restraints. That is why she summoned you here. If someone pledges to worship a god, then as that mortal grows in power, so will the one they worship. Although it is a small amount, with enough worshippers, that deity will increase in power quickly.¡±

    The man paused, a scowl coming over his face. ¡°That bitch is only able to gain followers through her lying and scheming! She claims that she is able to bestow those she brings over from other worlds with a Bloodtype. Bloodtypes are within someone from the moment they are born, she merely uses her power to awaken them before the ritual.¡± He paused again and took a deep breath, seeming to calm down. ¡°Luckily for me, you were within the individuals she took. If not for you, then with her many new followers she would gain so much power I would never have a chance to escape. But thanks to you, who shares the blood of the Outer Gods with me I now have a chance. With the strength that I give to you, you must become strong. Strong enough to free me from this prison.¡±

    I sat there for a few moments stunned, trying to comprehend what the man had just told me. Elder Gods? Blood of the Outer Gods? What the fuck! Why me, why couldn¡¯t I have just gotten a bloodtype like everyone else?

    ¡°Now now child, you did get a Bloodtype. Remember, you are Accursed.¡± I looked at the man in shock. Did he just read my mind? Instead of a reply the man just gave a smug smile. I was burning with fury, and just as I was about to explode the man spoke once again. ¡°I think that it''s about time you got your Bloodtype, since I had to interrupt you last time.¡±

    The man smiled and raised his hand, putting his fingers together. He snapped his fingers and a giant eye appeared in the sludge behind him. Before I had time to be surprised, tendrils of the black sludge wrapped around me from behind and yanked me in.

    I couldn¡¯t see anything while the black sludge seeped into my mouth, ears, and nose. I couldn¡¯t breathe, but just before I would have passed out, there was nothing.

    Literally nothing. I opened my eyes and looked around, there wasn¡¯t the slightest trace of sludge, there wasn¡¯t anything.

    No that wasn¡¯t right, there was a small dot off in the distance. It was getting larger, quickly moving towards me.

    As it got larger I realized that it wasn¡¯t moving, I was going towards it.

    As I got closer, the shape became more and more clear. Once I was finally able to make the shape out, my mouth went agape in horror.

    The next thing I knew, I was directly in front of it. Words can¡¯t describe what I saw. I began trembling and if not for me being suspended, I would have fallen. Trying to produce a scream I opened my mouth, but nothing would come out. Tears streamed out of my eyes running down into my mouth, but what I tasted was not tears, but blood.

    I felt as if my body was being crushed, weighed down on all sides. When I could endure it no longer, it all suddenly stopped, replaced with complete stillness. That was when it happened.

    An ancient voice, infinitely more powerful than Sebana echoed within my mind. I couldn¡¯t withstand it and blacked out, but only after hearing the one word that it had said.

    ¡°Azathoth¡±

 Chapter 3

    When I finally came to, I was once again in the strange sludge room, accompanied by the man.

    I thought I saw him moving his mouth, trying to tell me something, but at the moment I couldn¡¯t care less.

    Images of what I had just seen began coming back to me. A giant¡­ thing, so large that I couldn¡¯t see where it began or ended. Made up of tentacles, sludge, and an infinite amount of other things I couldn¡¯t even begin to identify them.

    All that I could bring myself to do was curl up into a ball, trembling as I relived that moment again and again.

    I¡¯m not sure how much time passed while I was in that state, but the trembling slowly grew less and less until it stopped all together. I worked up the courage to open my eyes, and the moment the cold air touched them, images flashed across my vision.

    Terrified, I quickly sprung up off the ground, only to find that my legs crumpled underneath me. I glanced down at my legs and saw that they had been reduced to mere twigs.

    In that moment I realized that my hair had grown down to my shoulders. My stomach felt as if it was devouring my insides and my throat was completely devoid of any moisture.

    Starting to panic, I finally focused on the things clouding my sight. They were murky red boxes with bright white writing in them. Now that I was focusing on them, they were completely blocking my vision, unlike before when they were just small blurs.

    Welcome, your starting class is Accursed. Remember, if power is what you desire, then your sole path is blood.

    You have gained the main class, Accursed: The blood of Azathoth flows through your veins, granting you access to chaos energy. Harnessing the power of chaos provides great strength, but caution is advised, as delving too deep into it shall result in madness. Gained skills: Madness, Comprehension, Tear in Reality, Blessing of the Outer Gods, and Arcane Strength.

    Madness: The realm of chaos beckons you with its power. Temporarily trade sanity for increased Mana strength. As you delve deeper into madness, your physical form suffers from increasing transformation into a Fallen God. Automatically activates if emotions are thrown out of control.

    Comprehension: You have seen the being that is Chaos, and lived through it. Your mind is now able to comprehend anything, resisting madness. (Status effects and emotions not included).

    Tear in Reality: In possession of dimensional power, you are able to tear the very fabric of reality, creating a hole in which a portion of Outer Gods'' power may be summoned.

    Blessing of the Outer Gods: You are blessed with the power of the outer gods, imbue weapons or yourself with the power of chaos.

    Arcane Blood: Your blood is strengthened with the arcane. You have no need of Strength or Endurance, for your arcane blood imbues your body with power. You are unable to gain points in strength or endurance, and have no access to stamina or stamina related skills.

    I carefully read over everything, stunned.Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.

    It¡¯s almost as if these are notifications, like from a video game.

    ¡°Exactly!¡± I jumped, surprised to hear another voice. I saw the man from before, looking at me with a satisfied smile on his face.

    ¡°Can you read my mind?¡± I asked, somewhat angry at the thought of it. ¡°Heh, you''re not nearly strong enough to shield your mind from me yet.¡± The man said arrogantly.

    ¡°But still, being able to recover from an experience like the one you just had, in the time you did, is quite impressive. I won¡¯t ask about the skills you obtained, for every moment is precious. I merely wish to give you one more parting gift, to help you on your journey.¡±

    He reached out to me, and much like the woman, whom the man had called Sebana earlier, he placed his index finger on my head. My vision went a bit blurry, but quickly recovered as I realized that I had gotten yet another notification. But before I had time to look at it, I was transported for the third time.

    The grueling pain enveloped me once again, but this time it was taking a while. The edges of my vision started to get dark, and before I knew it I had lost consciousness.

    ----------

    Bryan was ecstatic. He had just received his class as well as knowledge imparted to him by the woman. When the woman had given him a class, she had also given him a basic understanding of the way this new world worked.

    Brian had immediately recognized the resemblance this world had to a video game. He looked over to the person who would be going next and saw his best friend Wade. Brian smiled as he thought about all the time the two had spent playing games together, and couldn''t wait for Wade to get his class and realize the type of world they were in.

    Brian had gotten the Dragon Knight class, and couldn''t help but think about how its name and starting skills seemed dope as shit. He watched expectantly as the woman gave Wade a class.

    Wade''s eyes closed like everyone else, but instead of opening his eyes, he fell to the floor. Everyone, including the woman, stared shocked at Wade''s convulsing body on the floor. His skin started to boil and rot, while his veins bulged and turned into a black, writhing sludge.

    His entire person quickly began to turn into something you would see in a nightmare as black tendrils crept into his eyes. His eyes began to bleed and the convulsing got worse, but suddenly he went completely still.

    The woman recovered from her shock and reached down to feel Wade''s pulse. ¡°He¡¯s dead.¡± She said, sounding shocked and confused.

    The moment the words left her mouth, Bryan froze. Unable to wrap his brain around what had just happened, Bryan just stood there. Emotions flooded his mind, but unable to shout or cry he could only grit his teeth as tears formed in his eyes.

    The woman turned to him, ¡°You knew this boy?¡± Bryan nodded, rage and sorrow clear in his eyes. ¡°When we are finished here, you may take him with you. That way he shall receive a proper burial.¡± Bryan stared at her, the anger in his eyes lessened, but tears still began to run down his face.

    With no other choice but to accept it, he merely stared blankly ahead, waiting for the woman to finish.

    She continued on, with not many people left in the line. Once she had finished she once again turned to face the line. ¡°I have nothing more to say to you all, other than good luck. For the future of this world depends on it.¡± And with that, the group was transported.

    When they had come to, they found themselves in a small village, surrounded by rather simple looking townsfolk. An older man dressed in robes stepped forward. ¡°Greetings, it''s been a long time since Travelers appeared here in our town. Come with me, you have much to learn.¡±

    The confused group followed the man into what looked like a temple, where a statue of the woman who they soon learned to be the Elder God, Sebana, stood erected out in front of the temple.

    Bryan walked at the very back of the group, carrying Wade''s limp body with him. Inside the temple the older man organized the group and saw Bryan. He gave Bryan a look of pity and motioned for another robed man. He whispered something to the robed man, who then walked over to Bryan, motioned for him to follow, then left without speaking a word.

    Bryan followed him into what looked like a garden, filled with beautiful trees and flowers. The man walked over to an open patch of grass with a large stone. He placed his hand on the ground, and all of a sudden the ground started to move, compressing itself until a small pit had been created.

    The man walked away, still not having said a word, yet Bryan knew exactly what to do. He laid Wade''s body into the hole, then pushed the stone over it. Grabbing the chisel that was placed nearby, he engraved his final message to his best friend

 Chapter 4

    When I came to, I found myself in yet another dark space. But unlike the previous two which had seemed as if they were from a dream, this time it felt completely real.

    I felt around the enclosement I was in, feeling the top bottom and sides. From what I could tell, I was surrounded by tightly compacted dirt on all sides except the top, which seemed to be a rough stone. Trying to free myself, I started pushing on the rock above me.

    Starting off kind of slow, I started to push harder and harder. Panic began to build in my chest as the stone would not budge, no matter how hard I tried. Pouring all of my remaining strength into a last ditch effort, the rock still didn¡¯t move.

    I fell to the ground, panting, as I tried to focus my thoughts and consider my other options. Unable to come up with anything, I decided to look at the notification I had gotten.

    You have been gifted Blood Art: Blood of the Gods, by $%&!&$&!%$!&.

    Blood Art: Blood of the Gods (2/7) 1. Blood Explosion, 2. Blood Needle

    Blood Explosion: First skill in Blood Art, Blood of the Gods. Using the blood of enemies or your own, combust blood in a powerful explosion, spreading outwards from your body. Be aware that blood must be in contact with you. Blood not in contact will travel towards you, speed of travel and area of blood affected increases with skill level.

    Blood Needle: Second Skill in Blood Art, Blood of the Gods. Using the blood of enemies or your own, condense blood into a needle, firing it at your opponent with incredibly deadly speed and sharpness. Be aware that blood must be in contact with you. Blood not in contact will travel towards you, speed of travel and area of blood affected increases with skill level.

    ¡°Damn,¡± I said audibly. I couldn¡¯t help but think about how cool both of those skills sounded. Unfortunately, I was still stuck under this rock, and I wasn¡¯t so sure of using my own blood to create an explosion.

    I was left with my other skills, which all sounded quite strange, as well as not having any idea how they work. Of all the previous skills I had gotten, only Madness, Tear in Reality, and Blessing of the Outer Gods were active skills.

    I completely ruled out Madness, I couldn¡¯t afford to lose my mind in a situation like this. As for Tear in Reality, some sort of instinct told me that I wasn¡¯t able to use it without a weapon. That left me with Blessing of the Outer Gods, and since I had no weapon, the only option available was to use it on myself.

    Taking a deep breath, I instinctually activated the skill within me. At that moment, something changed. A blue bar popped up in my vision, and much like notifications, I could see a vague outline of it. When I focused on it, the bar grew larger and character appeared above it.

    Mana: 900/1000

    I had no way of knowing whether my mana amount was considered to be anything impressive, but the skill had obviously been activated from my missing mana. I didn¡¯t notice anything different about myself, but looking down gave me a shock. The skin on my arms had become rotten, with tendrils of black seeping down towards my hands, which were completely engulfed by the sludge. Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website.

    As frightened as I was by the sudden appearance of the sludge, nothing felt wrong. My hands felt completely normal, almost as if the sludge was a part of my own body. I knew that this must have been the skill I activated. Knowing that it was my only chance to get out of here, I thought over how I was supposed to use the skill.

    Not able to come up with anything, I tried pushing on the stone again. Still, nothing happened. In a moment of anger, I struck upwards at the stone. Tendrils of the black sludge rapidly extended from my hand, smashing into the stone with enough power to shatter it. Bits and shards of the rock rained down onto me, leaving nasty gashes in several places.

    Climbing out of the pit, I smiled at the sunlight shining down on me and the wind brushing against my face. It had been too long since I felt this type of sensation. Trying to get my bearings, I looked at my surroundings. It seemed I was in some kind of graveyard mixed with a beautiful garden.

    I heard a scraping noise behind me and quickly turned to face it. There was a tall middle-aged man, standing next to a crying girl. They were clearly paying respects to the grave nearest mine, but what surprised me was that the scraping noise from earlier had been the man drawing his sword. Unable to understand why he drew his weapon, I walked towards them while trying to explain. ¡°Sorry about the little commotion I caused over there. I was uhh¡­ trapped in the grave and had no other way to get out.¡±

    I was never very good at communicating, and realizing how strange I sounded, I stopped advancing towards them. The man didn¡¯t reply to me, merely standing there with a white-knuckled grip on his sword as the girl trembled, a look of fear on her face. Knowing that something must have been wrong, I started to back away. All of a sudden the man lunged at me, with a speed so fast all I could make out was a blur.

    Instinctively, I raised my hands to protect myself, but instead of hands, I saw giant black tendrils, forming somewhat of a shield in front of me. I felt a sharp pain in my arms as the sword cut into the tendrils, piercing nearly half of the way through before losing momentum. The tendrils swiftly swept to the side, wrenching the sword from the man¡¯s grip and throwing it away.

    The man faltered, unsure of what had happened. Knowing that this was my best chance, I reached my hand out in the direction of the girl. The tendrils of black stretched, grabbing ahold of the girl. Without a weapon, the man could do nothing as I held the girl hostage. ¡°Move and I¡¯ll kill her,¡± I said, as intimidating as I could muster. There was obviously no way that I could bring myself to kill the girl my age, but the man didn¡¯t know that.

    He stood there, clenching his fist as frustration and rage was clear on his face. Gritting his teeth, he finally spoke to me. ¡°What the hell do you want?¡± We were finally getting somewhere. I replied, ¡°Just let me go, I don¡¯t want anymore trouble.¡± ¡°Fine.¡± The man said, growling through his teeth. I didn¡¯t trust him enough to just let the girl go. Making up my mind, I willed the tendrils to throw the girl.

    As she flew into the air, the man quickly rushed to catch her. Immediately, I sprinted away as fast as my legs would take me, the black tendrils retracting back to my hands. I had no idea where I was going, but I must have ran for several minutes at full tilt. A notification flashed across my vision, but this time I had no way to ignore it, as if I was required to read it.

    Warning: Due to your body¡¯s inability to handle a skill, you will suffer from extreme backlash. You will only receive this warning once.

    The moment I had finished reading the message, I felt an agonizing pain throughout my body, especially in my hands. I quickly blacked out, not even able to process everything that had just happened.

    When I awoke, the moon hung in the sky. I must have been out for several hours, luckily that man didn¡¯t find me. I saw lights and heard faint noises through the trees. Hoping that it was some kind of civilization, I started to approach the lights. I came within a hundred feet of the edge of the forest, and could clearly make out that it was some kind of town.

    Just before I stepped out of the trees and revealed myself, I had a realization. That man had attacked me for no reason and the girl was clearly terrified of me. Hearing the sound of running water nearby, I quickly ran over to find a stream, and for the first in a while, I took a good look at myself.

    Frozen still, I stared terrified back at what I assumed to be my reflection. I knew why that man had attacked me and why the girl seemed so terrified.

    I was¡­ a monster.

 Chapter 5

    I started to panic. I didn''t know how I had gotten like this, or whether it was curable. I stared at my reflection, terrified of the bright yellow eyes and claw-like hands that belonged to me.

    Fear and panic continuously built up within me, as I watched my figure distort more and more, turning into some nightmarish beast.

    A rustling nearby brought me back to reality. I whirled around to face whatever had made the noise, only to see a rabbit, dashing away scared. Although I was relieved that it had just been a rabbit, the animal had reminded me of my incredible hunger, and there was no way that I could go into the town looking like this. I turned back to the stream, plunging my face into it and drinking my fill.

    With my thirst quenched, I walked tiredly into the woods. I searched for half an hour, the painful gnawing at my stomach growing worse by the minute. Once again I heard a rustle. Facing the noise, fully expecting to find another rabbit, I came face to face with an enormous, black wolf.

    I prepared to turn and run, but stopped as I realized that there was no way I could outrun this thing. Plus, I needed food, and I needed it fast. I didn¡¯t have much time to formulate a plan, as the wolf was quickly sizing me up. The only skill I had any familiarity with was Blessing of the Outer Gods, and there was no way I was suffering from that backlash again.

    Well, I guess it¡¯s time to try out that blood stuff.

    Still not willing to use my own blood in an explosion, I activated Blood Needle.

    There was a sharp pain in my right hand, and as I looked down I saw that my fingertips had been ripped open and there was blood coming out of them.

    The blood from each fingertip flowed like ribbons into the air, binding themselves together into a needle above my hand. The crimson needle floated above my hand, about a foot long and incredibly sharp looking.

    I made a flicking motion with my hand and the needle flew at the wolf at a nearly imperceivable speed. It hit the wolf squarely in the chest, piercing completely through it. I dropped to the ground, the blood loss from my hand taking its toll on me.

    At least I won.

    Smiling to myself at the thought of wolf meat, I propped myself up on my knees.

    As I was about to make my way over to the wolf, a black shadow ferociously lunged at me, silver claws gleaming in the moonlight. Without enough time to activate a skill, all I could do was strike out with my deformed hands.

    The wolf''s claw pierced my stomach as my hand stabbed into the side of its neck. The giant wolf collapsed on top of me, both of our hands buried within the other.

    I could hear the faint and ragged breathing of the wolf as I removed my fingers from its neck and took the claw out of my stomach.

    As blood seeped from both of our wounds, the wolf let out its final breath. Notifications popped up once again.

    You have slain Abyssal Hound (lvl. 9), Gained 342 Blood Essence.

    Fulfilled Blood Essence requirements. You are now level 1.

    Fulfilled Blood Essence requirements. You are now level 2.

    Fulfilled Blood Essence requirements. You are now level 3.

    Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

    You have been exposed to Blood Essence and gained your first level. Gained access to Status. You will gain 80 randomly distributed points across your attributes. Attributes available are as follows: Vigor (Increase total amount of Health), Endurance (Increase total amount of Stamina and Stamina Regeneration speed), Wisdom (Increase total amount of Mana and Mana Regeneration speed), Vitality (Increase Health regeneration speed and resistance to status effects), Strength (Increase physical power), Intelligence (Increase mana power), Agility (Increase speed and reaction time), Constitution (Increase bodily defense and stability).

    Randomly distributing stats¡­

    Status unlocked.

    Error: Due to certain circumstances, Strength points have been relocated to Intelligence, and Endurance points have been relocated to Wisdom.

    Wade Sanguis

    Level 3

    Class: Accursed

    Subclasses: None

    Attributes:

    Vigor - 11

    Endurance - Unavailable

    Wisdom - 25

    Vitality - 10

    Strength - Unavailable

    Intelligence - 23

    Agility - 11

    Constitution - 9

    Skills:

    Madness (lvl 1), Comprehension (lvl 1), Tear in Reality (lvl 1), Blessing of the Outer Gods (lvl 1), Arcane Strength (lvl 1)

    Bloodarts:

    Blood of the God (2/7) - Blood Explosion (lvl 1), Blood Needle (lvl 1)

    You have gained access to Status, and are now able to acquire Blood Essence and Experience. Obtain Blood essence from fallen enemies and use it to further empower yourself. With every level gain 1 point in Vigor, Endurance, and Wisdom, as well as 2 points which you may freely distribute. Experience is a term used to describe the improvement of skills. Gain skill levels through repetition and mastery over the skill. Speed of skill growth may increase or decrease under certain circumstances and environments.

    Although a ton of information had just been shared with me, I didn¡¯t really feel like trying to process it all at the moment. I had lost so much blood, from the Blood Needle as well as the wolf stabbing me in the stomach, that I could barely move a finger, much less the wolf over twice my size.

    Stuck under the wolf, there was nothing that I could do. And as darkness crept around the edges of my vision, I gave into the sweet temptation of sleep.

    I woke up to the sound of birds and the sun on my face. The heavy weight of the wolf still pressed down on me, making it difficult to breathe. My body still hurt all over, but compared to previously, I felt a lot better.

    It felt as if wounds were healing, not rapidly, but I could feel that my wound had closed partially and seemed to be getting better. Still unable to do anything, I laid there, staring up at the sky above me.

    After a time, I decided to look over the notifications I had gotten recently.

    All of the info about Blood Essence and Experience seemed pretty straightforward. Although, the part about increased or decreased skill growth speed was pretty vague.

    I think I understood most of the stuff about Skills and Classes as well. Any questions I had weren¡¯t extremely pressing at the moment anyway, and could wait for later.

    On to the biggest issue.

    I had played my fair share of games with Bryan, and no small amount of MMO¡¯s. With so many different Attributes to choose from, I knew I had to plan out what kind of build I was going to be.

    There was no way that I couldn¡¯t base it on magic, considering the stats I had as well as my skills. But, as I thought back to Blessing of the Outer Gods, I remembered going hand to hand with that man. As well that instinctual feeling I had, that with the proper weapon and power, Tear in Reality could become a powerful and useful skill.

    I came to a conclusion. I would use a combination of magic and melee; Specializing in speed, damage output, and most importantly mana. Constitution and Vitality would be secondary, with Vitaly the more important of the two.

    Once I had gotten my thoughts straight, and finished making the outlines of my build, I decided that it was time to free myself from underneath this wolf.

    Getting my arms into a position in which they would be able to push upwards, I took a deep breath and readied myself. Exerting all of my strength into a push, I shoved the wolf upwards and to the left, rolling to the right to free myself. Lifting myself up off the ground, I turned and looked at the large corpse of the beast.

    I smiled and turned towards the direction in which I thought that I had come.

    After trudging through the woods for hours, and getting lost multiple times, I finally heard the familiar sound of running water.

    I walked towards the noise and came across the same stream that I had before. Looking at my reflection, I was flooded with relief. My nightmarish state had gone away, and I now looked relatively like I used to, aside from being abnormally pale and sickly looking.

    I assumed that it was due to my loss of blood and that it would heal soon. I looked up towards the edge of the woods, where the town was located, and at last, made my way towards it.

    As I stepped out of the forest I whispered audibly to myself, ¡°God I hope they have somewhere to rest.¡±

 Chapter 6

    The town was average sized, but there were giant masses of people out on the streets.

    The citizens had formed into a mob, moving collectively in the same direction. I had nowhere to go, nor any idea what passed for money around here, so with nothing else to do, I slipped into the crowd.

    Moving along with the crowd, the people around me gave me sideways glances, looking at my tattered clothing and appearance. It was a bit surprising that I only got a few glances in the state that I was in, but I assumed that in a world with giant wolves, this might not be such a strange occurrence.

    As we made our way through the streets, the place which we were walking to finally appeared. I knew it from the moment I saw the building. Well, calling it a building is a bit of an understatement. It was a giant stadium, probably around 5 stories high.

    Admiring the incredible architecture of the building, I spotted an immediate problem. There were people dressed in green uniforms standing in front of the entrances to the stadium, taking something from each person going in. It didn''t take a genius to figure out they were taking tickets, or whatever people here used.

    The line was moving pretty quickly, so I figured that I might as well try to get in.

    Shuffling forward with everyone else, I got closer and closer to the entrance, until I felt a hand on my shoulder. When I looked at who had stopped me, I nearly jumped in shock. It was the man I had met at the cemetery, the one who had tried to kill me.

    How the hell did he find me?

    My fists clenched as I prepared to fight. I knew that I couldn''t beat all of these people, but I sure as hell wouldn''t go down without a fight.

    I stopped dead in my tracks as the man''s face broke into a smile. It wasn''t a smile of happiness, but one of pity.

    ¡°Can I see your token kid?¡±

    ¡°Sorry, but I don''t have one.¡± I replied, noticing that he too was wearing a green uniform.

    He looked me up and down, clearly feeling sorry for me. ¡°Tell ya what, I''ll let you come watch with me on one condition. You keep my daughter company while I work.¡±

    I quickly nodded my head at his suggestion, and he made a motion for me to follow him. We walked up to the entrance and stopped in front of the green uniformed guard. The guard glanced at us, then nodded as he let us pass through. As we stepped out of the short tunnel, I let out an audible gasp as my eyes went round.

    There were tens of thousands of people already seated in the stands, while thousands more streamed into the stadium. But, the truly amazing part was the large arena set in the middle of the stadium.

    There were two people in the arena, youths from the look of it, who were battling each other.

    Their fight was directly out of a fantasy novel. One contestant had a sword and was speeding around the other, constantly slashing and stabbing.

    The person receiving the sword held a large battleaxe, and was able to block most of the strikes, but was still hit occasionally.

    The man and I walked to our seats in silence, as I was trying my hardest to watch the duel while walking.

    I couldn¡¯t take my eyes off of the intense stalemate between the two opponents, until I was jarred back to my surroundings as I ran right into the man¡¯s back. This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

    We had reached our seats, as I recognized the girl occupying the seat next to an empty one. It was none other than my previous hostage.

    The man motioned towards his daughter with his hands, ¡°Kid, this is my daughter, Amy. And Amy, this is¡­¡± He glanced at me and I realized I hadn¡¯t mentioned my name.

    ¡°Wade¡±

    ¡°This is Wade. He¡¯ll be using my seat while I¡¯m working.¡± And just like that he turned to leave, but paused to whisper to me.

    ¡°Try anything and you''ll pay for it with your life.¡± And with that he left, presumably returning to patrol the entering crowds.

    I looked at Amy to see her intently watching the fight. She had only spared me a glance when her father introduced me.

    I took my seat next to her and focused on the fight as well. With my new position, I could make out the arena much more clearly, and saw that the nimble swordsman was in fact a girl, around my age.

    The axe wielder was a large brute, but due to the helmet he was wearing I couldn¡¯t see his face.

    During the time I spent getting seated, the brute had turned the tide, and was starting to push back his opponent.

    Although the brute had yet to hit the girl, he was attacking so aggressively that all she could do was evade. Everyone could tell that it was only a matter of time until the brute won. The girl was pushed further and further back, until finally her back was to the wall.

    Taking a stance, the brute readied his weapon and shouted what I assumed was the name of a skill. ¡°Devastating Cleave!¡± His axe seemed to glow as it struck towards the female with incredible power. Unable to dodge the strike, she tried to block, but her sword was nothing in front of the axe.

    As the axe cleaved into her side, she dropped her sword and fell to the ground.

    A bell rung from somewhere and people in robes rushed into the arena, no doubt healers. The brute pulled his axe out of the girl¡¯s side, and turned to face the crowds.

    He raised his axe with one arm above his head, then calmly walked out of the arena.

    The crowd burst into a mad cheer at the spectacular finish, while the healers worked crazily to save the girl. After nearly five minutes, all cheer had died down as everyone patiently waited for the healers to finish their work.

    Shortly after, one of the healers working on the girl stood up. He shook his head towards a group of people on a platform near the arena.

    There was a large bell on the platform, and I assumed that they must have been the referees or judges.

    A woman on the platform nodded back and signaled towards another on the platform. Two people garbed in black walked into the arena, bringing with them an air of somberness.

    The entire stadium fell silent for a moment, in honor of the fallen fighter, but only for a moment. As the people in black carried the girl out of the arena, commotion within the arena quickly resumed.

    It was shocking how easily all of these people had gotten over the death of a young girl, but after everything I''d seen up to now, I was able to get over it.

    With the fight over, the girl, Amy, and I were stuck next to each other, now with nothing to distract ourselves.

    I had never been good at making conversation, nor did I enjoy it, but this was an opportunity to learn more about this place.

    ¡°So, uhh, what''s this whole fighting thing about?¡±

    I cringed at how stupid I sounded. She turned to look at me, and when our eyes met, her gaze was ice cold.

    She stared at me for a few moments, then sighed and shook her head. Yet another person was pitying me.

    ¡°It figures a Scavenger wouldn''t even know what this tournament is for. This is the most important tournament in the entire region, it decides the hierarchy of the families. Each family puts forth its greatest warrior under the age of 21 to battle, and the results determine the family''s political power within the region.¡±

    ¡°Ok, but umm, why did you call me a Scavenger?¡±

    ¡°God, how clueless are you!?¡± She exclaimed somewhat angrily. I just shrugged.

    ¡°From your stupidity, someone might think you''re a Traveler. Especially since that large group of them showed up here.¡±

    She looked at the confused expression on my face and made an exasperated sigh.

    ¡°Travelers are people summoned from other worlds that are yet to have experienced the Dawn. They are brought by deities, and are oftentimes awakened to more powerful Classes. I heard that something went wrong with this group of Travelers and someone died during awakening¡­¡±

    I think that Amy continued speaking, but everything she said was tuned out.

    Holy shit! I died!

 Chapter 7

    I started to feel dizzy. There had been so many shocking things recently, but this topped the others.

    That explains why I was in that hole. It must have been a grave.

    I took a deep breath as I remembered Bryan and the rest of the people I had come with. I wanted to ask Amy about all of them, as well as what had happened to me, but I suppressed the urge. I had a feeling that people wouldn''t react too kindly if it was revealed that I was the Traveler who had died. I tried to make my face as neutral as possible and asked in a normal manner,

    ¡°So, uh, what happened to, um, the guy who died?¡±

    My awkwardness at speaking still brought out the nervousness in me. Amy turned towards me and gave me a strange look.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t say anything about the person who died being a man.¡±

    I froze as I began to panic.

    Shit, why am I such a retard.

    I furiously tried to think up some kind of excuse, but was having trouble in my panicked state.

    ¡°Sexist bastard.¡±

    Amy mumbled as she turned her attention back to the arena. I was surprised for a moment but quickly let out a sigh of relief.

    I may have overreacted, but I still need to be careful with stuff like that in the future.

    I turned my vision down towards the arena as well to see two more people entering from different sides of the arena. Unlike the previous fight, this time both competitors were males. One fighter wore light armor and held a spear, walking with dignity and arrogance. The other guy had no weapon and wore plain robes.

    From the way the crowd was cheering, it was clear that the spearman was the favorite to win this fight. Both fighters stopped, facing each other, and entered a fighting stance. The atmosphere grew tense, waiting for the fight to start as everyone¡¯s eyes were glued to the platform holding the gong.

    A man holding a large stick-like item approached the gong, and with a powerful swing, a piercing ringing was heard throughout the arena. The spear wielder sprung at the person who I assumed was a mage of some sort.

    Twisting away with speed nearly matching that of the spearman¡¯s, the mage dodged while simultaneously releasing a large cloud of smoke from both his hands.

    The smoke consumed almost the entirety of the stage, causing the audience to peer into the smoke looking for any signs of one of the combatants. Several moments passed before the field of smoke was suddenly split in half by a powerful wind.

    The smoke seemed to have been cut in half, with the spearman seemingly to have caused the great force. As the smoke dissipated, the audience as well as the spearman scoured the stage looking for the mage, but to no avail. Nearly a minute passed until the smoke had fully cleared, yet there was still no sign of the mage.

    The spearman let his weapon fall to his side and turned up to face the administrative platform, a look of helplessness on his face. All of a sudden, the stones beneath him burst open and two hands reached up and pulled the spearman into the ground.

    Bursting up through the hole came the mage, landing on the ground directly above the hole. Quickly reacting to the mage¡¯s trick, the spearman bounced off of the bottom of the hole, springing back up at the mage.

    Mere feet away from his adversary, the spearman¡¯s momentum was abruptly stopped as he was flung back to the bottom of the pit. At a closer glance, attached to the spearman¡¯s ankles were pitch black chains, completely binding him.

    With a quick smirk, the mage stretched out one of his hands towards the trapped spear-wielder. Heat flooded the arena as black flames spewed into the hole.

    If It¡¯s this hot all the way up here, just how strong is that fire?Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation.

    As I was in awe over the extreme heat, the mage put a stop to his flames.

    With a motion of his hand, a chain identical to the ones binding the spearman flew down and grabbed the spearman. Pulling him out of the hole, it seemed as if the previous chains had disappeared into thin air.

    Collapsed on his knees and unbelievably charred and injured, the spearman dropped his weapon onto the cracked stage.

    ¡°I surrender.¡±

    Although he didn¡¯t say it loud, the arena was so silent most everyone could hear it, and those who couldn¡¯t were still able to immediately grasp the situation.

    I was confused as to why the audience was in so much shock compared to when the most recent fight had ended with a girl dying. The spearman looked up at the mage with hatred and frustration in his eyes. Once again the mage gave a slight smirk.

    The mage tapped his foot against the ground and quite a large blade sprang out of his boot. With a quick motion, he swept out his foot in a kick towards the spearman. With a thud, the spearman¡¯s body fell to the ground, his head rolling away separately.

    Before anyone had a chance to react, the mage let loose yet another smoke cloud, this time filling the entire arena.

    It was pandemonium. There was shouting along with other noise as people panicked and tried to navigate through the smoke. I knew that there was no way I would be able to find a way out through all of the smoke, so I resigned myself to stay seated, and wait until it had cleared.

    Although I didn¡¯t feel as if I was in any danger, I couldn¡¯t help but grip the sides of my seat with white knuckles. The complete lack of sight made me feel utterly defenseless.

    There was a loud sound of wind, and nearly identical to last time, the air was parted. This time, the force was so great that the smoke disappeared nearly instantaneously.

    Standing on the administrative platform was a man holding a spear, clearly resembling the deceased spear-wielding youth.

    The amount of power that man must have to create a force that strong; God I wanted to have it.

    Although most people didn¡¯t know it, I was very competitive when it came to things I cared about. Well, maybe competitive isn¡¯t the right word to describe it. It had nothing to do with competing against someone else, it concerned my greatest joy in life, achievement.

    There was nothing I enjoyed more than pouring everything I had into something and watching myself improve.

    It was at that moment that I abandoned my previous life. I decided to devote myself to becoming powerful, no matter the cost.

    ----------

    Amy was pissed. Her dad had promised her that he would watch the tournament with her, but as always he had no choice but to ditch her and work. Not only that, but he had even brought some awkward and annoying Scavenger, as if to take his place in accompanying her.

    Amy was often called ¡°strong willed¡± or ¡°a bitch¡±, depending on who was talking, and at the moment she wanted to beat the Scavenger''s ass. As an attempt to calm herself down, she looked down at the stage to see who was participating in the next fight.

    Amy had a combat Class just like the fighter, only it was a basic Swordsman Class.

    No matter how hard she trained, she was always behind the talented people with powerful Classes and wealthy families. She looked at the competitors with envy until she saw the grand-looking spearman.

    The Lord''s son! This is bound to be a quick fight.

    She saw the pitiful looking mage and sighed, knowing that this would be a quick and uninteresting fight.

    The fight started, and as the spearman charged she knew that the fight was as good as over. Much to her surprise, the mage dodged and released a field of smoke. The events that came after the spearman dissipated the smoke were too quick for her to process.

    The mage completely overwhelmed the Lord¡¯s son, ending with him surrendering on his knees in defeat. As the audience stared in shock, suddenly a blade protruded from the mages foot, and with a quick motion, the spearman¡¯s head was relieved from his body.

    The mage released yet another smoke cloud, this time many times stronger and clouding the entire arena. Sitting still in the smoke, Amy tried to digest everything that had just happened.

    The Lord¡¯s son was the favorite to win the tournament, how the hell could he die in the preliminaries. Who the fuck was that guy?

    Pondering over unanswerable questions, the smoke was once again cleared, and as Amy looked around, she saw that it was in fact the Lord who had cleared the smoke this time.

    The method used was nearly identical to that of his son¡¯s, only much more powerful. Amy heard a noise to her side, and quickly turned to look at the cause, a bit on edge.

    The Scavenger, Wade had stood up. He turned and walked past her, quickly exiting the arena along with many others. As he walked past Amy, she noticed that the edges of his mouth were curled up very slightly. But he wasn¡¯t smiling from happiness. No, from the look on his face and the pace at which he was leaving, it was a smile of excitement.

    She watched as Wade became lost in the crowd, and soon after saw her father emerge, quickly making his way towards her.

    ¡°Where¡¯s Wade?¡± He asked urgently seeing Wade missing.

    ¡°What the hell! Shouldn¡¯t you be asking whether or not I¡¯m okay? Why do you even care about some Scavenger!?¡±

    A look of frustration and reluctance crossed his face as he paused, but only momentarily.

    ¡°You¡¯re right. I¡¯m sorry.¡± He said genuinely. ¡°Let¡¯s go home.¡±

 Chapter 8

    I was itching with anxiety. I wanted to feel the sensation of leveling up again.

    With a newfound purpose and excitement, I stood up from my seat in the arena and joined the crowds leaving the arena.

    I made my way along the streets with the still shocked masses, tracing the way I had come from the woods. Along the way, I was able to understand more about why everyone was so shocked through the conversations of those around me. Apparently, the spearman that had been killed was the son of the Region Lord. There were even rumors going around that it was an assassination, considering the manner in which he was killed.

    Although all of that was interesting, it really didn¡¯t concern me, nor did I care. At the moment I was completely obsessed with increasing my strength. The only thing on my mind was leveling up more.

    I smiled to myself as I saw the edge of the woods from where I had come, hardly able to restrain myself from running.

    Making my way towards the woods once again, I remembered my fight with the wolf. The pain and struggle I had experienced, as well as how helpless I would have been without my skills.

    I should try to find my way back to that wolf. If nothing has eaten or taken it, then I may be able to sell it for a good amoun-

    That was when it hit me. The amount of blood I had lost from using that Bloodart, and the aftereffects of using my Class Skills. There was no way I would risk going through those again. If I wanted to hunt more creatures like the wolf, I would need a weapon, only using my Skills as a last resort. Reluctantly, I turned back to the town.

    I searched the still slightly shocked and panicked crowd for someone who wasn¡¯t in too big of a hurry to give me directions. I spotted a woman, sitting on steps of what I assumed to be some shabby restaurant. As I approached her I could see that she was in fact quite beautiful.

    I stopped in front of her and noticed that she had a melancholy look on her face. Rubbing my neck, I made a coughing noise to gain her attention.

    ¡°You don¡¯t happen to know where the nearest, uhh, weapon shop is?¡±

    She looked up at me. ¡°You mean the blacksmith? Just head that way and take the first left. You won¡¯t be able to miss it.¡±

    I nodded my thanks and turned away. Surprisingly, I felt the woman grab my arm and whipped back around.

    ¡°Wait. Can I¡­ ask a favor of you?¡± The woman said with tears starting to run down her cheeks.

    I froze for a moment but was able to recover quickly. I felt bad for her, whatever had happened to make her cry like this must have been awful, but¡­

    ¡°Sorry, but I, uhm, really have some pretty important stuff to do.¡± \

    And with that I broke away and quickly walked in the direction that she had pointed out to me. Although I felt a bit bad about it, I tried to chase those feelings out of my head as I walked to the blacksmith. After all, I didn¡¯t know her, and it wasn¡¯t my problem.

    Turning the corner that the woman had pointed out to me, there was suddenly a large decrease in the amount of people on the road. It probably had something to do with the majority of the street containing rundown looking shops and homes. Fortunately, the lack of people meant the street was quieter as well, and with it I could hear a faint banging. From what I had seen in movies, I assumed that it must have been the sound of a hammer and made my way in the direction of the noise.

    I came upon a relatively large smithy, but unlike the other buildings on the street, it looked well kept. Walking into the blacksmith shop, I spotted the source of the noise.

    A boy around my age was hammering on an anvil. He was making what looked to be a large sword, around 2 meters in length. It was mostly black with touches of purple and green in some places. The most eye-catching part of it was the shape.

    It wasn¡¯t perfectly flat, looking somewhat rough, nor was it straight. The blade was curved, not like a scimitar, but more like a tooth. Although I wanted a weapon as soon as possible, I figured that it wouldn¡¯t be the best idea to interrupt him in the middle of his work. The sword looked near completed anyways.

    As I stood at the entrance, watching the boy¡¯s skill with a hammer, a thought came to me.

    I don¡¯t have any money. Or whatever currency they use here.

    As I was deep in my thoughts, trying to come up with something to do, I heard the hammering stop. Looking up, I saw the boy wipe his hands and proceed to inspect the finished sword. With a look of joy on his face, no doubt happy with the results, he retrieved a large sheath with a strap and placed the sword into it.

    Setting the sword and sheath onto a nearby table the boy then approached me. With a welcoming smile on his face he greeted me.Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author.

    ¡°Welcome to the smithy. The name¡¯s Blake, is there anything I can help you with?¡±

    He reached out to shake my hand.

    ¡°Hi, I was wondering what types of weapons you have here?¡±

    A slight look of suspicion crossed his face as he glanced at my ruined clothes and tattered appearance. Thankfully, he shook the expression off his face and resumed smiling.

    ¡°I¡¯ll go grab a few that I think might suit you from the back room. I¡¯ll be back in just a few minutes.¡±

    And just like that he turned around and started walking towards a door on the other side of the room. As I watched him leave, an ingenious idea struck me¡­ kind of. Hopefully I wouldn¡¯t end up dead.

    The moment the door closed behind Blake, I sprinted as fast as I could towards the table holding the sword.

    Grabbing it, I noticed that for its size it was surprisingly light. That didn¡¯t mean it was easy to carry though, as its size was quite a burden. A notification screen also popped up, but at the moment I didn¡¯t dare look at it.

    Holding the large sword and sheath in my arms I burst out the blacksmith¡¯s door and ran the path I knew towards the woods. Fortunately, the crowds were now much more diminished, allowing me to reach the forest line without incident. I ran through the woods until I had reached a point where I was sure that I was out of sight.

    Sitting up against a tree, I took a moment to catch my breath as well as take a glance at the notification I had received earlier, only the notification was gone. Confused, I picked the sword up off the ground and was once again met with a notification.

    Fang of Corruption: Epic

    A unique greatsword crafted from the fang of a powerful Corrupted Python. Created by a blacksmith with limitless potential, the sword possesses an inherent lightness.

    *Using the power of Corruption, inflict rapid corrosion with wounds

    *Summon an ethereal form of the Corrupted Python as a temporary ally

    *Bond with the sword, greatly increasing the sword¡¯s strength as well as user compatibility

    Woah! So that Blake guy must have been quite the talent.

    Greatly pleased with my ¡°harvest¡±, I decided to take the blade out of its sheath.

    As I drew out the sword, I couldn¡¯t help but marvel at how great the sword felt. It seemed perfectly balanced as far as I could tell, and I was able to swing it around with relative ease. As for the options at the bottom of the sword¡¯s description, I assumed that they must be skills and effects belonging to the sword.

    Eager to try out the skill concerning the ethereal snake, I stood still and focused on activating it. All of a sudden, the blue Mana bar popped up in my view once again, and as I focused on it I saw that I had used 20 Mana. I heard a hissing to my right and turned to see a ten foot long ghost-like snake. It was a mix of dark green and purple with pitch black fangs, and looked extremely tense and menacing, ready to fight at moment¡¯s notice.

    I thought for a moment before looking up at my surroundings. With nothing else to test the snakes power, I mentally commanded it to attack a large nearby tree.

    With vicious speed, the snake sprung at the tree, sinking its large fangs completely within the trunk.

    I was satisfied with the sharpness of the snake¡¯s fangs as well as its speed, but that quickly changed to joy as the wood around the puncture marks quickly began to corrode. The poison rapidly spread throughout the tree and within two minutes, some of the leaves had started to shrivel up and fall.

    Observing in bliss, I had the snake attack several other trees in the vicinity. After I had obtained my fill in testing out my summoned ghost-snake, I decided to un-summon it. With a thought, the snake dissipated, and I was once again alone in the woods.

    Perhaps that poison the snake used is the same as the corrosive power my sword has.

    Eager to experiment more I approached a healthy tree. Swinging the large sword with a moderate amount of force, I lodged it a fair distance into the tree. As I removed the blade, I readily looked for any signs of corrosion. Sure enough, the tree started to ruin just as, if not more quickly than with that of the snake.

    Beyond happy, I was left with one more skill attached to the sword. Having no idea what to expect, I activated the sword bond skill.

    All of a sudden, I felt something moving around my arm. Looking down I saw green vines so dark that they could be mistaken for black curling around my arm. The vines had originated from the greatsword¡¯s hilt, as they grew up the sides of the blade as well. As the vines grew thicker, they soon completely covered my hand and the hilt, leaving me no choice but to let go of the sword with my left hand.

    Much to my surprise, I found that even though I was holding it with one hand, the sword was many times lighter than before. It felt almost like an extension of my own arm. The feelings of fear and panic were quickly replaced with reassurance and excitement. My mana bar was gradually depleting by one every couple of seconds, therefore I quickly got to testing things out.

    Approaching one of the few remaining healthy trees, I once again swung the sword, this time much faster. The sword cut cleanly through the tree¡¯s trunk, slicing completely through.

    As the top part of the tree fell to the ground, both halves had already started to wither. This time, in two minutes, both sides of the tree had completely withered and died. Slicing through some of the nearby dead trees, I basked in the incredible power.

    After nearly 5 minutes of playing around, I was able to get myself together. Standing in the clearing I had created, I once again summoned the snake. Unlike previously, there was no small hiss to my side, as my mana decreased by a large 100. This time I heard the breaking of fallen trees behind me, and as I turned to look, became frozen in shock.

    There stood an enormous snake, so real and solid that I doubted it was ethereal at all. It had to have been at least 100 feet long, with fangs the same size as the sword. My shock turned to joy at the thought of controlling it, as I readily commanded the snake to attack the last remaining healthy tree in the vicinity.

    Instead of obeying my order, the snake instead bared its fangs and menacingly hissed at me. Trembling, I gave the snake no more orders and quickly un-summoned it. I breathed a sigh of relief as it dissipated away.

    That must have been the snake used to make this sword. That means it has a mind of its own.

    Still recovering from being on the wrong end of the snake¡¯s anger, I made up my mind not to summon it unless I had to.

    Having tested out everything to come with my newly acquired sword, I decided that it was high time I went hunting. I didn¡¯t know my way around the woods, therefore had no idea where any monsters would be.

    I decided I might as well try and find my way back to the wolf, so that I might recover the corpse. I deactivated my bond with the sword, having used close to 400 mana in total, and placed the now vine-less sword back into its sheath.

    Attaching the sheath comfortably to my back, I set off on my hunt.

 Chapter 9

    I had been walking for close to half an hour before I encountered any kind of beast. The trees had grown increasingly thick as I made my way through woods, and at the moment I was pretty sure I was in the center of the forest.

    There were 2 wolves standing opposite me, baring their fangs and ready to attack.

    Idrew my sword from its sheath and took on the best stance I could muster, as I had absolutely no experience in swordsmanship.

    Although my human instinct should have had me quivering in fear, Instead I felt quite confident. Not only did the two wolves appear lackluster compared to the Abyssal Hound I had faced, but after witnessing the terrifying Corrupted Python, these larger than average wolves just didn¡¯t seem like much.

    I summoned the ethereal snake to my left, and commanding the snake to attack, I ran at the wolf on my right while the snake charged the other.

    I readied my sword as I approached the wolf, and at several feet away, began my horizontal swing. As the blade swung forward, the wolf nimbly jumped outside of the swing¡¯s radius.

    Missing my target, I momentarily lost balance and stumbled. The wolf, seeing an opportunity, lunged at me with incredible speed. I screamed as a large chunk of my shoulder was ripped off.

    Randomly flailing my sword at the wolf, I was able to get off a small cut on its front leg as it once again evaded my attack.

    I ground my teeth at the pain as tears subconsciously leaked from my eyes. The wound hurt so bad, but I couldn''t help but smile.

    I looked at the wolf¡¯s leg where I had gotten a scratch in and my smile grew even wider, to the point of being maniacal. The cut was starting to bubble and turn purple.

    The wolf¡¯s snarling face quickly changed to one of pain as it yipped and changed its footing, taking pressure off of the poisoned leg. It shook its head, trying to dismiss the pain, but I could see that it was trembling. The poison was spreading quickly, and was already at the wolf¡¯s torso.

    I started to approach slowly, letting my sword drag in the ground behind me, as my good arm (My right arm) had been rendered near useless from the wound.

    The poison had spread to the wolfs torso, and with a pitiful cry, the wolf collapsed on the ground.

    I hesitated, standing over the wolf as it tried to get back onto its feet. When I had previously killed the Abyssal Hound, I was left with no other choice as it had attacked me with an intent to kill. Now, standing over the defenseless wolf, I felt guilty.

    I took a deep breath and tightly gripped my sword, firming my resolve.

    This is merely the law of nature. The strong prey on the weak, and the only absolute law is that of power. I may have been the lowest of the low on Earth, but now I have a chance to change things. I will become strong, no matter what stands in my way.

    I lifted my sword, and with a firm look in my eyes, I let the blade fall.

    With the sound of blood splattering and the piercing of flesh, I watched as the wolf was split in two.

    You have slain Wolf (lvl. 6), Gained 170 Blood Essence.

    Fulfilled Blood Essence requirements. You are now level 4.

    I once again felt the sensation of power flooding through me as I leveled up.

    Anxiously looking behind me, I checked on how the snake was faring against the other wolf. The wolf had two wounds, located on its shoulder and hind leg, that were quickly spreading poison to the rest of the wolf¡¯s body.

    With its breathing starting to become ragged, the wolf began to stumble, amd was no doubt about to fall. The ethereal snake saw its opening, and with a burst of speed the snake sank its fangs into the wolfs neck.

    You have slain Wolf (lvl. 7), Gained 216 Blood Essence.

    I expectantly waited for another level up notification, but unfortunately nothing appeared.

    Damn! I must have been close to leveling up when I killed the first wolf. Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there.

    I shook my head to dispel the disappointed feelings. After all, I couldn''t level up every time I defeated something.

    I quickly scanned my surroundings, making sure that nothing posed a threat to me. Seeing nothing, I un-summoned my snake and slid my sword back into its sheath.

    I sat down on the ground and was immediately greeted with a wave of exhaustion. It was nearing dark, and I had just spent a lot of energy fighting the wolf. Not to mention that I needed to let my wound heal.

    There was no way I would sleep on the ground out here in the open, so I looked around the area, searching for a suitable tree to settle down in.

    Spotting a mildly tall tree with plenty of thick branches to make for an easy climb, I shakily stood up.

    As I made my way towards the tree, I spotted a red glow inside of the wolf I had slit in two. I stopped and looked more carefully at the faint red light.

    It won¡¯t hurt to check it out.

    I walked up to the wolf¡¯s corpse and squatted down, observing the glowing object.

    It was a small orb, filled with a faint, glowing red mist. I had a feeling that it must¡¯ve been worth something, so scrunching up my face slightly, I reached my hand into the wolf¡¯s torso and grabbed the orb, pulling it out with a sickening pop.

    From its appearance, I had originally assumed that the orb was solid, as if it was made of glass. But now that I held the entire thing in my hand, not only was it not a perfect circle, but it also had a lot of give to it. I assumed that it must be some sort of organ for the monsters.

    I set the object on the ground as I drew my sword and walked towards the other dead wolf.

    I cut the wolf in approximately the same location as the other, and sure enough, yet another red thing was revealed. I slid my sword back into its sheath, and once again pulled the object out of the wolf¡¯s carcass.

    Retrieving the other red object, I realized that I didn''t have anywhere to put them, as my clothes, and subsequently my pockets, we''re in shambles.

    I carried the two items over to the tree I planned to spend the night in and set them at the base of the trunk. Looking around, I searched for and grabbed things I could use to cover the objects. Fortunately they were small and it didn''t take much to completely obscure them from sight.

    I glanced at the location I had hidden the two objects, and satisfied that nothing would be able to see the red glow, I began the agonizing one armed climb up the tree.

    Multiple times I nearly fell, but finally, panting and covered in sweat, I made my way to a large fork in the tree.

    Thankfully, the fork was so wide that I had a good chance of not falling off.

    Taking my sword and sheath off of my back, I hung it on a nearby branch and practically collapsed onto the wood. I knew that it wasn¡¯t a smart idea to go to sleep here, but at this point I really couldn¡¯t care less.

    ----------

    An earthquaking roar pierced through the air in a clearing located in the center of a forest.

    There was a group of 10 people, dressed in luxurious looking armor and clothing, fighting an enormous tree.

    The tree stood a couple dozen feet tall and had the figure of a human.

    The 10 people were easily evading the trees slow strikes and continuously inflicting wounds upon it. Although each attack hardly hurt the tree, there were so many that the tree was gradually being worn down.

    Suddenly one of the fighters, a girl wearing light clothing, began moving in an odd way. She was moving about in a strange, yet beautiful rhythm, incorporating consistent hand movements within her dance. Wherever her hands moved, a faint blue light would trail behind.

    Water began to rise from the ground underneath the tree, somehow piling up on top of the ground around the tree¡¯s legs.

    As quickly as it began, the girls movements ceased with a spectacular pose. Simultaneous with the ending of the dance, the water which had risen to the tree''s knees froze completely solid.

    Stuck in place, the tree began to wildly flail its arms, but several of the other people were still able to shatter the ice, and with it the tree''s legs.

    The earth shook as the tree collapsed to the ground, which resulted in the warriors relentlessly unleashing their attacks upon the creature.

    All of the participating parties in the battle we''re impressive, but one boy in particular stood out. Dressed in orange-red armor and armed with a brilliant red spear, the boy was repeatedly unleashing powerful attacks that were imbued with flames.

    Both the raw power in his strikes as well as the element of fire caused devastating damage to the tree compared to the other fighters.

    Even with all of the simultaneous attacks, it still took over half a minute to finish it off.

    Giving off a final moan, the tree succumbed to the attacks, with which the attackers were met with a notification.

    You have slain Treant (lvl. 28), Gained 3,207 Blood Essence. Blood Essence will be distributed among participating members.

    Smiles broke out on the group''s faces as they wiped the sweat from their faces and regrouped.

    ¡°Luke!¡±

    The girl who had performed the odd dance previously called out to a boy wearing grey and black robes.

    ¡°You should have finished your challenge with that one, right?¡±

    The girl had clearly taken the position of leader within the group.

    ¡°Yep, my Black Magician class Evolved into Necromancer.¡±

    ¡°Great! Now even the weakest member of our group has at least had their first advancement.¡±

    The boy called Luke frowned at the girl''s statement, but didn''t say anything out loud.

    ¡°Bryan! Did you get the Essence Core?¡±

    Without replying, the boy with the fire spear held up a large red, glowing object.

    ¡°Alright then. Let''s head back to town. It''s been almost a month since we left.¡±

    And just like that, the group swiftly left the clearing, heading down somewhat of trail through the woods with the occasional chatter breaking out.

 Chapter 10

    It had been 5 days since I started hunting in the woods.  Each night I would sleep in a suitable tree and continue hunting at daylight.

    Ever since I had first awoken to my stats, I felt as if my basic needs, like eating, drinking, sleeping, even using the bathroom, were needed much less. I had eaten my fill from an apple tree and drank from a clean-looking stream once each, as well as relieved myself once soon after the food and water, but that was all.

    The only reason for me sleeping in a tree all night was that I didn¡¯t feel near confident enough to wander the woods in the dark. Otherwise I would be able to get by, feeling well rested, with a meager 2 to 3 hours of sleep each night.

    Currently I was level 9, and since I started hunting I had killed dozens of creatures, improving greatly in the process.

    Most of the creatures were amped up versions of normal species, such as snakes, birds and wolves.  But on occasion I would find a completely abnormal type of creature.

    The monsters were part of a species I learned to be called Kobolds. They were small, humanoid figures, but with the skin and features of a lizard. The lone Kobolds that I had encountered were roughly 5 feet in height and wielded a club or wooden spear.

    Their levels were never more than 9, but the first one I had encountered still gave me a bit of trouble. Not only did they have weapons, but the Kobolds were also more experienced in battle than the average creature, making them more powerful and dangerous.

    On the bright side, some of the Kobolds wore rudimentary clothing, which meant that I was able to fashion a shitty bag out of it. Although it was displeasing to the eye and uncomfortable to carry around, it did its job in holding the red objects that I collected from everything I killed, Kobolds included.

    At the moment, I was facing a Kobold, with my bag of items dropped on the ground and my greatsword gripped tightly with both hands. Normally I would be confident facing a Kobold, as throughout these 5 days I had vastly improved in using my sword as well as overall battle experience. The difference was, this Kobold stood 6 feet tall and was well equipped, with proper leather armor and a metal spear. I probably would have stood a chance against him normally too, as in my hunting I had tested out and gotten the hang of Blood Needle.

    Curiosity had gotten the better of me at one point and I tried out the skill, using the blood of a creature I had killed.  Much to my delight, the skill worked without any backlashes, and through further practice I was able to control it.

    The problem was, the 6 foot Kobold wasn¡¯t alone. By his side were 5 more Kobolds, taller than the average Kobold and with better equipment, but not quite as tall or well equipped as the 6 foot one.

    Unfortunately, Blood Needle wouldn¡¯t work in this situation, as it had two drawbacks. First of all the blood took time to make its way to me once it was spilled, and second, I needed to draw blood.

    There was no way I could get close enough to draw blood myself without getting injured or killed. Even if I summoned the ethereal snake, the most blood it could spill would be enough for one or two Blood Needles, but would result in certain death for the snake.

    I could try out Blood Explosion for the first time, but I didn¡¯t know what it would do, and I had a better plan... to turn tail and run. I even had the perfect decoy.

    Although what I was about to do may have some serious repercussions in the future, I would have to deal with them when they came to be.

    The tall Kobold began approaching me, confident and menacingly.

    ¡°So, you¡¯re the one who¡¯s been killing off all the new recruits?¡± The Kobold asked, with a hissing noise interlaced within his words.

    I quickly backpedaled, grabbing my bag of the red objects while simultaneously activating the bond with my sword and summoning the Corrupted Python in front of me.

    Without looking back, I bolted in the opposite direction as I heard angry hissing, from both the snake and Kobolds.

    After only a few seconds of running, I got my first notification.

    You have slain Kobold Soldier (lvl. 13), Gained 627 Blood Essence.

    Shortly after, I received another.

    You have slain Kobold Soldier (lvl. 12), Gained 598 Blood Essence.

    Fulfilled Blood Essence requirements, you have fulfilled the requirements to obtain your first Class Advancement.  Please choose your path.

    <ul>

    <li>Class Evolution - ?????</li>

    </ul>

    I didn¡¯t bother reading the notifications, as at the moment I had more important matters.

    I tried to just focus on running straight ahead, but that¡¯s when I heard it.  It was a faint whispering noise that was quickly growing louder.

    It began to flood my mind, causing me to lose control over my own body as I subconsciously adjusted the direction in which I was running.

    I ran for what felt like hours, as whatever was controlling me pushed my body to run full speed, nonstop, with no sense of pain. Even with my enhanced physical abilities, I could still feel my lungs burning and legs aching.

    Just as I was starting to think that my body couldn''t handle anymore and I would collapse, I came to an abrupt stop.

    I was able to regain full control over myself, even though the whispering was still present, louder and closer than ever. I took shaky, hesitant steps forward, curious and scared as to what was going on, but when I saw it I completely froze.

    There was a gaping black hole in the ground, with the surface around the hole covered in tendrils of black sludge.  I recognized the area too. It was the same place I had fought the Abyssal Hound and won.

    I didn''t believe in coincidences, and knew that there must have been some reason I was led here. I walked up to the edge of the hole and peered down into it.

    There was nothing, just complete and utter darkness as far as I could see.

    Suddenly, several of the tendrils I was standing on came to life grabbed my legs.  Before I had a chance to even realize what was happening, I was yanked down into the endless Abyss.Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there.

    ----------

    18 years ago, Blake was born in this very town, with only a poor, disabled mother to rely on.

    As he grew up, his mother would tell him fantastic stories. She would tell about where she came from, an incredible world called Earth, filled with buildings that reached the sky and machines that did people¡¯s work.  She would tell stories of her adventures in this world, from seeing magnificent dragons, to exploring terrifying ruins filled with creatures of Chaos.

    Blake admired his mother more than anything else in the world and wanted to be able to experience the things she did, go to the places she went, and one day visit her home, Earth.

    Blake and his mother lived in a small house on one of the poorest streets in the entire town. Due to his mother¡¯s disability, it was difficult to work, therefore Blake would spend all day every day going around the town, looking for the odd job he could do in order to put food on the table. For several years he did this, patiently waiting until the year he turned 12, and could go to the temple to awaken to his Class.

    After years of waiting, Blake turned 12, with only 2 weeks to go until the annual awakening ceremony.

    Coming home from the town that evening, Blake was happily greeted by his mother. She had made a strange type of bread called cake. It was without a doubt the greatest thing Blake had ever tasted.

    As he lay on his small cot, Blake couldn¡¯t go to sleep. He was so excited to get a powerful Class that he just stared up at the ceiling, daydreaming about the adventures he would have.

    He dreamed for several hours until he heard a faint noise coming from the other side of their small house, where his mother slept. It sounded like sniffling and crying, but Blake dismissed it as nothing.

    Blake happily worked the remaining 2 weeks, until the morning of the awakening came.

    His mother took him aside and spoke to Blake, with tears leaking from her eyes.

    She said that she wouldn¡¯t be able to make it to the ceremony today, which Blake assumed was the reason as to why she was crying.  A disappointed expression overtook Blake¡¯s face, but after a moment he quickly resumed his joyful attitude, telling his mother that he would hurry home to tell her all about his Class.

    With a sad smile, his mother sent him on his way. As she watched him leave, his mother softly murmured that he would no longer be burdened by her.

    Blake ran to the temple, located on the edge of the town, only to find a large line of kids his age and their families in front of the doors. He went to the back of the line and patiently waited by himself until he was allowed to enter.

    After what seemed like forever, Blake finally reached the front of the line and was met with a old man in robes. Seeing Blake standing there by himself, the old man let out a sigh of pity and told the kid to follow him into the temple.

    The two arrived in an empty room, with nothing more than a life sized statue of a woman. The older man told Blake that all he needed to do was touch the statue to Awaken to his class, and so that''s what he did. T

    he moment he touched his hand to the statue, words appeared in his vision.

    System Initiated

    Welcome, your main Class is Demon of Flame.

    You have gained the main Class, Demon of Flame: The blood of a powerful Demon flows strongly through your veins.  Harness Demonic Power to produce and control flames. Gained Skills: Demonic Transformation, Fire Manipulation, Flames of Purgatory, Demonic Strength, Judgement

    Demonic Transformation: Although the blood of a Demon flows through your veins, you have taken on the physical attributes of a human.  Continuously consume Mana to transform your body into that of a demon. Gain increased physical and arcane strength.

    Fire Manipulation: Use mana to control and bend fire to your will.

    Flames of Purgatory: Summon large amounts of Purgatorial Flame for low Mana cost.

    Demonic Strength: Whilst in Demonic Transformation, consume continuous Stamina to enhance physical attributes even further.

    Judgement:  Consume all Mana and Stamina to bring down the almighty Judgement.  After activation, Mana and Stamina cannot be used or regenerated for 24 hours.

    Blake grinned from the moment he saw the notifications, as he knew that he must have gotten a powerful class.

    He turned around and was immediately greeted with the old priest asking him what Class he had obtained. Blake

    wanted his mother to be the first person to hear about his class, so he quickly made up a lie and told the man he had obtained the most common Class, Farmer.  The priest sent Blake on his way with a sad smile, as he knew the boy would never achieve anything great as a Farmer.

    Blake ran down the steps of the temple and continued towards his house as fast as his legs could take him. The entire time, Blake was absolutely beaming with eagerness as to how his mother would react.

    Blake quickly arrived at his house, and as he opened the door and stepped inside, he saw his mother sitting in a chair, facing the wall. Panting from the run, Blake shouted out to his mother, but was met with no response.

    Assuming she was asleep, Blake walked up and tapped her shoulder, but was still met with no response.  He grabbed both soldiers and lightly shook her¡­ nothing.

    Blake began to frantically call out to her whilst his shaking grew more and more intense.

    Eventually, he shook his mother so hard that both her and the chair she was seated in toppled backwards.

    Upon seeing his mother''s front, his blurry, tear filled eyes were able to make out red, covering her entire chest.

    Screaming, Blake bolted out the door into the empty street, crying for someone to help his mother.

    Across the street from Blake¡¯s house was a Blacksmith Shop. It was much larger than the other buildings on the street, but was just as rundown. Inside of the shop was an old man, pleasuring himself with alcohol.

    Hearing the cries, the man stood up and walked to the door, opening it and peering into the street.  He saw a kid, screaming and crying for someone to help his mother.

    The old man recognized the kid, as he had hired him to clean up the smithy on occasion.  Immediately he sobered up and walked over to the kid.

    Seeing another person, Blake sprinted towards the old man. The man tried to ask the kid what was wrong, but was unable to get any words out, as Blake grabbed him by the arm and hurriedly led him to his house¡¯s open door.

    Immediately upon reaching the entrance, the man saw a woman sprawled on the ground, soaked in blood with a knife sticking out of her chest.

    He forced Blake to leave the house and locked the door, then proceeded to observe the woman¡¯s corpse. She was clearly dead, as the knife had stabbed directly into her heart, but located in her hand was a piece of paper.

    Reaching down the man pried the paper from her grasp and read over it. His eyes widened as he read it, and after finishing he folded the paper up and tucked it into his trousers.

    Upon exiting the house, the man saw Blake sitting on the ground, trembling. He walked over to the kid and lifted him to his feet, telling Blake to follow him.

    Blake tried to inquire about his mother, but the man quickly shut him down, telling him to just be quiet and follow him.

    The man led Blake to his Smithy, where he had the kid sit down at a table next to a furnace.

    Blake and the man sat there for a moment, Blake trembling and crying while the man just sat there, observing the kid. Eventually, the man grabbed a half empty bottle of alcohol sitting on the table and told Blake to drink some of it.

    Still crying, he took the bottle and poured some of the contents into his mouth. Swallowing the alcohol, Blake placed the bottle back onto the table and began violently coughing.

    Within seconds, Blake passed out, falling out of his chair and onto the floor. The man picked Blake up and carried him to another room in the smithy.

    The room was originally intended for assistants and disciples to sleep in, but the rundown smithy was only occupied by the old man, therefore the room was empty. The man placed Blake down on one of the beds before leaving the room and exiting the smithy. He walked to the closest guard outpost, where he informed the guards that a woman had committed suicide.

    He led the guards to the small, rundown house that Blake and his mother resided in and explained the situation to them, failing to mention anything regarding the note.

    The old man told the guards about her son, as well as the fact that he would be taking him on as a disciple.

    Normally, there would be more processes to go through, in both the mother¡¯s death and the man taking Blake on as a disciple, but in neighborhoods such as this, nobody truly cared, so the guards merely turned a blind eye to it.

    They cleaned up the blood and removed Blake¡¯s mother before quickly departing.

    The old man let out a deep sigh as he returned to his smithy, sitting back down at the table and finishing of the rest of the bottle without batting an eye.