"We need no repayment," Rowan said tiredly. "We just... we ask that you leave in peace. Do not... bring the hordes down on us."
"I'm not going to leave you as I found you," Vicky said. He stepped into the center of the small room. "You said you were rejected by this world's 'system.' What if I gave you a new one?"
Albert Cole gripped his pitchfork. "What... what do you mean?"
"I told you what I am. My blood... it's a curse. But it's also a gift. It carries my power. It can change you. It can give you strength. It can give you youth. It will make you like me."
Their eyes widened. Not in horror, but in a dawning, terrified hope.
"You... you would make us... monsters?" Lyra, the fourth, whispered.
"You'll be vampires," Vicky said bluntly. "You will hunger for blood. But you won't be mindless. You will be strong. Strong enough to fight back. Strong enough to live."
He held up a hand. "But there's a condition. My blood... it's different. You will not be my thralls. You will not be under my control. You will be the first of a new line, beholden only to yourselves. Your 'system' will be your own. I am offering you a choice. A new life. The one you have... or a new one. As predators."
Albert Cole was the first to move. He dropped the pitchfork with a clatter. He walked forward and fell to his knees in front of Vicky, his eyes blazing with a desperate, half-mad fire.
"We are rats," he hissed, his voice thick with self-loathing. "We hide in the mud. We listen to our friends and family get dragged out and eaten, and we just... hide. We pray we are not next. You offer us... teeth?" He bowed his head. "Do it. Curse me. I would rather die a monster than live as... this."
Rowan looked at Elara. He saw the strength returning to her spine. She nodded, a slow, deliberate motion. The old elder turned back to Vicky and, with great difficulty, knelt beside Albert. The other two followed, a silent, grim agreement.
Five people. The last of their kind. Kneeling before him.
Vicky felt a strange, cold weight of responsibility settle on him. He was about to play God.
"So be it," he said.
He bit down, hard, on his own wrist. Dark, potent blood welled up.
"Drink," he commanded.
One by one, they drank from his arm. Their reaction was immediate and violent. As the first drop of his untainted, Progenitor blood touched their tongues, they seized.
They screamed. It was a sound of agony and ecstasy. Their withered bodies arched in impossible, agonizing spasms. Vicky stepped back, watching the metamorphosis.
It was horrifying and miraculous.
Wrinkles faded like water evaporating on hot stone. Gray and white hair thickened, darkening to brown, black, and auburn. Frail, stick-like limbs swelled with new, dense muscle. Bent spines snapped straight. Their breathing, once wheezing and ragged, became deep, powerful gasps.
The air in the room grew cold, vibrating with a new, dark power.
Then, as one, they fell still.
For a moment, Vicky thought he'd killed them.
Then, five pairs of eyes snapped open. They were no longer the dull, faded eyes of the old and dying. They were sharp, clear, and glowing with a faint, crimson light.
Albert Cole rose first, not as a 40-year-old man who looked 160, but as a man in his prime. He was tall, powerfully built, his face sharp and angular. He looked at his hands—hands that were no longer gnarled and liver-spotted, but pale, strong, and tipped with claws.
Rowan and Elara stood, looking at each other in stunned silence. They were no longer ancient. They looked to be in their late thirties, vital and strong. Marcus and Lyra, too, were reborn.
They felt it. The power. The strength. And... the Hunger.
"It... it burns..." Elara whispered, her hand going to her throat.
"That's the hunger," Vicky said, his voice cutting through their daze. "It's your new life. You are predators now. And predators hunt."
He strode to the door and kicked it open, the flimsy wood shattering. "Your first lesson. You don't feed on humans. You don't feed on each other. You feed on the monsters. You take their strength. You take their blood."
He pointed out into the darkness. "It's time to hunt."
The five new vampires followed him out into the gloomy half-light of the plane. They were clumsy, their movements jerky. They were infants in new, powerful bodies.
"What... what do we do?" Albert asked, his new voice a deep baritone.
"Kill," Vicky said.
He didn't have to wait long. A pack of Level 3 Shadow Crawlers, drawn by the scent of new blood, skittered out from the trees. Before, these creatures would have meant death for the entire village.
The new vampires tensed, fear still a lingering instinct.
"Go," Vicky ordered. "You're faster. You're stronger. Kill them."
Albert was the first to react. With a roar that was half-rage and half-terror, he charged. He was so much faster than he realized that he overshot the first Crawler, stumbling past it. The creature lunged at his back.
Vicky didn't move to help.
Elara shrieked, but it wasn't a shriek of fear. It was a battle cry. She launched herself at the monster on Albert's back, her new claws tearing through its shadowy hide. It dissolved into black dust, and a notification none of them had ever seen before flashed in their vision:
[You have slain Shadow Crawler! +15 XP]
Seeing the message, seeing the monster die, something broke in them. The dam of generations of fear and helplessness shattered, replaced by a flood of predatory instinct.
Rowan and Marcus charged the rest of the pack. It wasn't a fight; it was a massacre. They were clumsy, feral, and utterly brutal. They tore the creatures apart, fangs and claws ripping through shadow and bone. They lapped at the dark, inky blood, and with every drop, their power grew.
[You have reached Level 2!]
The system message, appearing to all five of them, was a revelation.
"More," Albert panted, his eyes crimson, his face smeared with black ichor.
"More," Vicky agreed.
He became their dark shepherd. He led them from the village, finding bigger, stronger prey. He was still regenerating his own strength, but he was more than strong enough to handle cleanup.
He found a patrol of Level 5 Skeletal Archers. "Albert, Rowan, you're strong. You're the shields. Get in their faces. Elara, Lyra, Marcus, you're fast. Flank them. Shatter their spines."
The fight was harder. The skeletons were disciplined. Albert took an arrow to the shoulder, the bone shaft shattering on his new, supernaturally dense muscle. He barely grunted, ripping the archer's head from its shoulders and crushing the skull in his fist.
[You have reached Level 3!]
[You have reached Level 4!]
They were growing at an explosive rate. The 'newbie' gains, combined with their new vampiric nature, were staggering. They were learning, their movements becoming less feral and more precise.
Finally, Vicky cornered a Level 7 Gloom-Fang Wolf, a large, mangy beast with glowing red eyes and teeth of obsidian.
"Together," Vicky commanded, standing back to watch.
The wolf lunged at Rowan. Albert intercepted it, his body slamming into the beast with the force of a battering ram. The two rolled, a tangle of claws and fangs. The wolf snapped at his throat, but Marcus was there, driving his claws into the creature's flank. Elara and Lyra, moving with unsettling speed, attacked its legs, hamstringing it.
The wolf howled, and Albert seized his chance. He plunged his fangs into the beast's neck, and drained it.
The creature's howls died, its body withering as Albert fed, its dark blood fueling his power. He threw the dry husk aside and stood, roaring his triumph to the purple sky.
A pulse of energy rolled off all five of them.
[You have reached Level 5!]
[New Bloodline Trait Unlocked: Dimension Wanderer ]
[You have overcome the weakness of the Sun.]
[You have been granted the System of the Stat-Devourer Bloodline.]
They looked at themselves, then at each other. The changes were complete. They were young. They were powerful. And as they looked up at the sickly, dim light that passed for a sun in this plane, they felt no pain, no weakness.
They were reborn.
All five turned to Vicky and dropped to one knee. "Progenitor," Rowan said, his voice clear and filled with a fealty that was almost religious.
Vicky shook his head. "No. I told you. You are not my servants. You are your own masters. I gave you the gift, but the strength is yours to earn. Your bloodline is your own." He pointed back toward the village. "That is your home. 'Sanctuary.' Make it worthy of the name. Grow strong. Survive. Live."
He turned to leave. His debt was paid.
"Wait!"
Vicky stopped. It was Albert Cole. He strode forward, his new body radiating a confidence that was worlds away from the withered farmer with the pitchfork.
"You've given us a future," Albert said, his voice rough with emotion. "You've given my people a chance. But we are still Level 5. In this world... we are still nothing. We are still prey."
"You'll grow," Vicky said.
"Not like you," Albert countered, his crimson eyes sharp. "I watched you. Even tired and drained, you move like a god. You... you are not just a vampire. You are something... else. What you gave us is a miracle. But what you are... is power."
He knelt again, but not in fealty. It was the supplication of a warrior.
"Teach me," he said. "Let me follow you. I will be your sword. I will be your shield. I will carry your burdens. Let me see what true strength is. I need to get strong. Not for me. For them." He glanced back at his four comrades. "I need to become a protector they can truly rely on. I can't do that hiding in a village, hunting Level 5s. I need... more."
Vicky studied him. The man was driven. His loyalty wasn't to Vicky; it was to his people. That was a motive Vicky could understand. A companion... it could be useful. And this one was a vampire of his own blood. He would grow fast.
"I'm hunting the master of this entire region," Vicky said, his voice cold. "The creature that holds this plane in its grip. I'm going to kill it, or it's going to kill me. If you follow me, you will almost certainly die. For good."
Albert Cole smiled, his fangs glinting. "I died decades ago, Progenitor. Today, I was reborn. I don't intend to waste that life hiding in the mud."
Vicky held his gaze for a long moment. Finally, he nodded. "Alright, Albert Cole. Keep up if you can."
They left the village, the four remaining vampires waving them off, their faces a mixture of hope and fear.
"First rule," Vicky said as they broke into a jog. "Don't slow me down. Second rule: Kill everything you see."
They moved, Vicky following the dark, pulsing energy trail. The trail was hot now, and the monsters were thick. Hordes of them, drawn to the boss's inner sanctum.
Vicky didn't slow. He became a whirlwind of destruction. He was a Lvl 23 predator, and these Lvl 20-25 skeletons and ghouls were just... XP.
Albert, at first, was a complete liability. He'd engage a single skeleton, and three more would swarm him. Vicky would have to break off his own attack, appearing in a blur of motion to shatter the skulls of Albert's attackers. As the monster dissolved, a tiny, glowing cube of light appeared and shot into Albert's chest, which he absorbed instantly.
[Albert Cole has reached Level 6!]
"Stop trying to overpower them!" Vicky yelled, driving his fist through the ribcage of a Skeletal Legionnaire. "You're a vampire! You're fast! In and out! Target the joints, the neck! Use your speed!"
Albert took the lesson to heart. He stopped brawling and started moving. He became a crimson blur, weaving between monsters, his claws flashing. He wasn't as strong as them, but he was faster, and his vampiric-enhanced strikes shattered bone. With every kill he made, another "stat cube" would fly from the dissolving monster and merge with his body.
[Albert Cole has reached Level 7!]
[Albert Cole has reached Level 8!]
He was leveling at a dizzying pace, absorbing XP and stat cubes from his own kills and leeching assist XP from Vicky's wholesale slaughter.
They fought through a canyon filled with Skeletal Legionnaires, a disciplined phalanx of monsters. Albert, now Level 11, was actually helping. He'd draw the attention of a few, using his speed to avoid their blows, while Vicky smashed through their shields and ranks like a bowling ball.
Finally, after cutting down the last of the hundred-strong legion, a bright light enveloped Vicky.
[You have reached Level 24!]
[You have 3 Stat Points to allocate.]
Vicky didn't pause. His goal was balanced growth, ensuring no weaknesses. He dumped them immediately.
STR +1, SPD +1, END +1.
His exhaustion faded, replaced by a new surge of power. His muscles felt denser, his movements sharper.
"Come on," he grunted at Albert, who was panting, his new body pushed to its limit.
They didn't stop. They kept pushing, deeper into the dark lands. They were ambushed by a Lvl 28 "Grave-Lord," a skeletal mage wielding a staff of black-iron. It summoned a wave of lesser skeletons to protect it.
"Kill the minions!" Vicky ordered. "The big one is mine!"
Albert, now Level 12, roared and charged the horde. Vicky, ignoring the chaff, blurred past them, his target the Grave-Lord. The mage unleashed a bolt of necrotic energy. Vicky ducked under it, the air sizzling where he'd been. He was on the mage in an instant, his fist cracking its staff in two. The mage shrieked and tried to backpedal, but Vicky's hand shot out, grabbed its skull, and simply tore it from its spine.
[You have slain Grave-Lord! +8,000 XP]
Albert finished off the last of the minions, his body glowing.
[Albert Cole has reached Level 13!]
They kept going. The grind was relentless. Vicky's XP bar, now 8,000 / 38,000, continued to climb. The monsters were endless, a sea of walking XP. He killed, and killed, and killed.
[+250 XP]
[+300 XP]
[+250 XP]
His bar filled. 30,000... 35,000... 38,000.
Another flash of light, this one brighter.
[You have reached Level 25!]
[You have 3 Stat Points to allocate.]
Again, no hesitation. Balanced power.
STR +1, SPD +1, END +1.
He felt another, deeper well of power open inside him. His senses sharpened to a razor's edge. He could feel the very-wrong-ness of the plane, a pulsating knot of energy just ahead.
Albert, having killed and assisted and leeched XP from Vicky's rampage, felt his own final surge.
[Albert Cole has reached Level 14!]
He stood tall, his tattered clothes hanging off a frame that was now coiled with lean muscle. He was no longer a newborn. He was a warrior, forged in the crucible of a non-stop, high-level grind.
"Progenitor..." he panted, "I..."
"Quiet," Vicky said.
He'd stopped. The air had changed. It was thick, heavy, and pulsed with a malice so profound it was almost liquid. The ground was charred black, and the dead trees had been pulverized into splinters.
They crested a final, rocky ridge and looked down.
Before them was a vast, ruined coliseum, a structure of black, cracked stone that seemed to drink the light. In the center of the arena, a rift of pure, violet-black energy pulsed, a tear in the fabric of this reality.
And guarding it, was the boss.
It was a thirty-foot-tall behemoth of fused bone, black-iron armor, and shifting grave-dirt. Thousands of purple, spectral spirits writhed within its form, their silent screams a visible aura of torment. In the center of its massive chest, a giant, pulsating crystal—its core—glowed with an evil, hypnotic light.
[Necromantic Colossus - Lvl ???]
Vicky stopped, his new, heightened senses taking in the sheer, overwhelming power of the creature. Albert skidded to a halt behind him, his face pale, his hard-won confidence evaporating in the face of this... thing.
Vicky looked up. The dim sun was beginning its final, slow descent toward the horizon. A new notification appeared in his vision, the one he'd been waiting for.
[Warning: Final Boss Detected.]
[Time Remaining: 4 Hours.]
Vicky's lips peeled back in a feral grin, his fangs descending.
"Albert," he said, his voice a low growl. "Stay back. This one... is mine."
[Vicky's Stats -]
Level: 25
XP: 0 / 40,000 (To Lvl 26)
Stat Points Available: 0
STR: 31 (29 + 1 + 1)
SPD: 30 (28 + 1 + 1)
END: 30 (28 + 1 + 1)
Chi: 20 / 20 (Regenerated)