A lonely crypt stood proud in the middle of a cemetery. It was lonely not because of the lack of other burial spots, in fact there were many surrounding it of various different styles. From stone urns to stone busks to simple gravestones.
It was alone in its grandeur. No matter how well designed the other graves, none could compare to the crypt.
It's pure white stone unblemished by sun or time, not a scratch or chip to be seen. It was utterly smooth. On either side of the doorway stood a pair of statues so perfectly carved, they almost seemed ready to move as if they were alive.
Both statues depicted cloaked figures, yet they were not the same figure. While both of their cloaks were so detailed in their carving that they seemed like they were made of real cloth, there were substantial differences between them.
The main difference being that one was a woman, while the other was a man.
The man's cloak was long, ragged and torn at the ends, as if it had been clawed or shredded. Above all It simply seemed… old. Utterly ancient, much like the being wearing it.
It draped over his entire form, shielding most of it from view and making it nearly impossible to see his true body shape. The only way it was clear it was a man was his strong hands which were visible poking out from underneath the cloak.
His face was not depicted, yet if anyone were to stare at the empty space underneath the hood they would feel the ominous sense of something staring back. He was like the personification of a wraith, of the figure that lurked in the dark and loomed in your nightmares.
The statue of the woman was less cold and ominous. For one her cloak didn't hide her body, instead it draped over her shoulders and parted in the middle. It was only thanks to the marvel of the craftsmen that one would be able to tell that it was a cloak made of something like hide or linen.
Worn from travel and use, rather than time and decay like the man's. Only half of her face was hidden from view, letting everyone see her delicate jawline and the mischievous smirk permanently etched on her face.
It was clear from looking at her - From her cloak, to her simplistic clothing and especially to her worn leather boots - that this woman was some kind of traveller, and a troublemaker.
Although it seemed like the type of building that should have a heavy, sealed door, there was none to be found. Instead there was just an open doorway and an inviting staircase leading into darkness below. It was from this staircase and open doorway, that a figure emerged. She climbed from the darkness, step by step, and finally emerged into the light.
Belladonna stretched herself out and took in the sight of the new world before her. A rustic village stretched out before her, with thatch roofed houses and a single stone building at the far end of town, which had smoke billowing from a chimney.
It was the fantastical, medieval village of everyone's Isekai dreams.
The chirping of birds tickled her ears, the scent of fresh bread and petrichor drifted into her nose.
The sun, oh the sun! It shone against her skin, basking her in its warmth. It was truly enjoyable, but she couldn't spend all of her time basking in sunlight. All the others would have been seeking out quests or grinding, trying to get a head start on the regular players for when the game was properly released to the public.
Even someone as casual as Belladonna had some form of pride to keep in tact, She couldn't be the one at the total bottom of the leader board, if there even was one.
Although, while they might have been finding quests in the town, she had already gotten one.
[Secret Quest: Awaken thy Potential
Your natural curiosity has drawn the eye of an expert in the mystic arts, who has promised to help you awaken your latent potential. Meet him by the lake within the forest, to discover if you are worthy of this honour.
Reward: To be discovered upon completion]
A secret quest, just as she thought. Along with the details of the quest were directions to the lake in question. Directions, not a map marker. Although her status screen and quests could be found in the crystal projection, there was no map.
Thankfully the directions were simple, telling her to leave through the west gate and go west for a kilometre.
With nothing better to do, she immediately set out. What was the worst that could happen?
***
Ten minutes later, Belladonna was stepping out of the spawn crypt with a miserable, ragged expression on her face. As it turns out, Wolves. Wolves were what could happen. The first few minutes within the forest had been a breeze, but as soon as she reached the five minute mark, she had been beset by slobbering maws and wicked claws.
It made her thankful that she had gotten used to death and pain, because those wolves were definitely intent on testing her limits on such things. A living, incredibly viscous wall that most players would have to overcome.
She had managed to limp her way back to the safer area close to the west gate before succumbing to her various wounds.
So after taking some time to tentatively recover the lost stats from her body, which she had to do from the single arm that was all that remained, Belladonna picked up her discarded bag and instead made her way to the east gate, on the suggestion of some guards.
The wizard would have to wait.
The east gate was much better, and much more popular. Many players, or Graceless, must have gotten the same suggestions from the guards or other NPCs within the village.
The other players were busy using their daggers to slaughter the rabbits that spawned her. Hunting them through the grass and lashing out at them with wide, wild swings of their basic noob dagger.
Stepping away from the crowds, Belladonna took out her own dagger and headed into the forest a bit. Just enough that she could get some privacy, but not deep enough that she would make the same mistake as before.
There were still some players she could see here and there, but much less than the open field directly outside the gate.
Her first victim hopped into view, its adorable button nose twitching as it sniffed at the ground. Its long, fluffy ears twitching as it listened for danger, as its tiny paws dug at the ground looking for a treat within the dirt.
Die foul beast!
Sneaking through the grass, Belladonna approached like the shadows before leaping on top of the adorable, fuzzy 'monster'. With one hand holding it down, the other plunged her dagger into its throat and pulled it out, slicing its throat in one swift movement.
[You have slain Juvenile Stonemuncher!]
Huh… That was easy. Obviously it wasn't supposed to be a difficult or deadly mob to kill, but still. The others seemed to be having much more trouble from what she had seen in the field. Maybe that really was the main difference between treating them like real, living animals instead of mobs to slash at.
In the other players' minds, a hit was a hit. It didn't matter.
Belladonna stood from the rabbit and lifted her dagger in front of her, her eyes twinkled as she gazed at the fresh crimson painting the bleach white bone dagger. Her nose twitched as the ferrous smell of iron drifted into her nostrils, tickling them with its intoxicating scent.
A droplet formed on the tip of the blade and, without thinking, Belladonna lifted the blade higher and let the droplet of blood fall onto her awaiting, salivating tongue before eagerly gulping it down.
The taste exploded across her taste buds as she eagerly brought the blade down, gliding her tongue over it as if it was the first meal she had ever tasted in her entire life. The taste was absolutely amazing, truly wonderful.
She needed it all, she needed every drop. No, every drop wasn't enough. She needed even more! She needed…
Snapping herself out of her trace, Belladonna pulled the dagger away from her lips, the bleach white colour having returned to it as she had quite literally licked even the stains off.
'What the hell was that? Is that… is that an effect from my race? Sanguine Maiden was a bit of a give away, but I didn't think it was going to be that intense.'
As if to confirm her suspicions, the crystal embedded in her hand glowed and projected a screen in front of her face.
[Sanguine Essence Absorbed. Stats have been temporarily increased based on blood purity.
Agility + 5
Vitality + 2
Consuming new Sanguine Essence will replace the current effect.]
Well now… That was interesting. Looks like it really was the right choice to hold out for a rare subrace.
Just from the name alone, she had a hint that Sanguine Maiden had some vampiric correlations, but she hadn't expected this bonus effect. The description never made mention of it. This would only become even more powerful as she grew and fought more dangerous monsters with better blood. Truly, the luck of subrace draws was going to be a game defining feature.
She could already hear the slot machine wheels spinning and the money pouring in from the competitive scene.
Turning her attention back to her kill, Belladonna held back the urge to lick the blood from the grass - although her mouth was already watering just looking at it - and simply picked up the rabbit.
At this point she wasn't surprised that there were no loot drops. This game was clearly all about immersion, which meant she would have to skin this thing if she wanted a pelt as loot. Considering she had no idea how to do that, she would instead hope there was some kind of butcher in town.
But there was no point in going back now. If she was going to bring back the loot, she might as well make it a good haul.
***
A pair of brown rabbits, with patches of dirt matted into their fluffy fur, were rubbing against each other. They nuzzled their button noses together, entwined their scents together and finally decided to do what rabbits did best. Each other.
One of the pair got behind the other and mounted the first, starting to move his little bunny hips like his life depended on it. But just as he was getting to the grand finale,
CRACK!
A stone bullet smacked into the side of the top bunnies head, cracking its skull on impact. It slumped to the side, finished but not in the way it had hoped. Its partner barely had time to mourn the loss, before a boot hooked under its adorable, fluffy body and it lifted into the air as it was punted like a furry football.
The hopeful mother bunny let out a soft squeak as it smacked into a tree and collapsed to the ground with a soft thump. However before it could regain its bearings, a pair of pale hands wrapped around it and twisted its head, until its neck let out a sickening crunch.
Removing her hands from the rabbits neck, Belladonna lifted the dead rabbit by its legs and stuffed its body into her bag, all the while regarding it with a guilty expression. Even when the screen triumphantly popped up in front of her to announce her kill, it didn't shift the guilty feeling knotting itself deep in her gut.
Plucking the other rabbit from the ground, she stuffed it into her sack, which left it bulging by her waist and barely able to close over properly. That was even with a few other kills dangling from her rope belt, so that she didn't bloody her bag.
GRRRRRRUUUBBB
As if her storage issues weren't bad enough, her stomach let out a resounding growl to tell her that she was in serious need of some nutrition other than rabbit blood.
Looks like it was about time she ended this grind session and find the butcher.