Silence ensued in the dark alley. A good thirty seconds passed before the attacker became infuriated with the lack of response from his supposed prey.
"Are you deaf? Spill out the goodies with you! Surely, you don't want to die?"
The attacker pressed the knife firmly into Seth's throat. Meanwhile, there was a calm smile on Seth's face.
He cooly said, with hints of deviousness, "I keep thinking of what to say to you, but I can't settle on one option."
While he spoke, he raised his finger in front of the dagger and gripped the weapon. The dagger made many cuts on his skin, leading to ounces of blood spilling from the tiny slits, but Seth was not alarmed.
Snatching the dagger away from the attacker, he turned his body backward to meet the stupefied attacker and grabbed his body.
[Vampiric Drive] was already activated. His fingernails grew longer as they dug deep into the attacker's skin.
The attacker's body tensed. Fear radiated from him with such intensity that Seth could smell it.
The vampire brought his face closer and whispered, "I'm liking this face better. Do you want to see something interesting?"
Without waiting for an answer, Seth's eyes glowed and he revealed his fangs. From a close-up view, he reckoned he appeared as a nightmarish creature that was the bed night story of most children.
'That is more like it. Scream. Scream. Scream.' Seth delighted in the fright of his attacker.
Being extremely petty, there was no way he would let his attacker die peacefully after the nonsense he pulled.
A girlish scream pierced the silent night as soon as Seth flashed his vampire face in front of his attacker. The scream came from the mouth of the attacker. Such a feminine scream originated from an aggressive man.
Seth grinned with a thought. 'Now, I'm satisfied.'
Hunger was getting to him. He couldn't wait any longer.
Seth moved close to his attacker. His mouth opened as he went in for an instant bite. The attacker was too traumatized to make any sudden movements.
As foreign blood smoothly flowed into his mouth, he no longer looked sickly. His skin became paler than the moon and frigid.
The attacker lost the lights in his eyes. His life was in the process of waning. Seth lost control soon. He nonchalantly sucked in more blood, which caused the attacker to become immobile.
When Seth was finally, the body of the attacker slumped to the ground. There was no doubt that he was dead.
'Ahh, I feel energized. F*ck, this feeling makes me drunk.' Seth wanted to scream at the top of his lungs.
For a second, he was tempted to dash towards the street and grabbed someone else to feed on. He controlled himself by digging his fingernails into his skin.
The pain was a beacon. It brought his mind back to normal.
Clarity donned in his eyes and he left the dark alley. Seth decided to take a look around.
'Heh, it's funny. Isn't that the lie I told Darla?'
After roaming about, Seth decided to return to the inn. He spent a while before reaching the inn. As soon as he entered, he slipped past the customer and flashed a goodnight smile to Darla.
Seth went to his room, where he jumped on his bed and attempted to sleep.
Suddenly, the system panels appeared.
╔
Tutorial Quest: Camp Lostvale
Difficulty: Undetermined
Objective: Find Camp Lostvale.
Rewards: 20 Lunar Ryi-Bronze Coins
╝
Upon seeing this quest, Seth paused and skimmed the content.
He rolled his eyes. "Oh, yay! Another quest."
Soon, he concentrated on the quest and tried to understand it.
"The other one is a prologue quest. This one is a tutorial quest just like my first quest. Camp Lostvale, huh? What is special about that place?"
The price was enough for him to take the quest seriously.
Seth wondered, 'Just when it became dangerous for me to stay here, I got a quest telling me to travel to Lostvale. Coincidence or not?'
He couldn't reach an answer. However, he knew that the tutorial quests were focused on the traveller's adaptation. On the other hand, the prologue quests should only be concerned with introducing the main story of the game.
"I will find more about Lostvale tomorrow," Seth concluded.
He lay on his bed and closed his eyes. Sleeping came easily afterward.
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The next afternoon, Seth was summoned to Inn Owner's room.
He was seated on her chair while she lay on her bed. It had only been a few seconds since he entered her room, yet he couldn't shake off the feeling that something was wrong.
"Afternoon, Ma'am." Seth took the initiative and politely greeted.
The inn owner laughed at his polite attitude, "Please, no need for pleasantries. I can now see why Darla is so fond of you."
Seth didn't know how to reply to that statement so he kept quiet. He had noticed that Darla enjoyed talking to him, but he didn't think it was as serious as her mother made it seem.
"Haha, you can't take a joke. Ok, I will get straight to the point."
The lady straightened her face and continued, "Rhazien, you can't stay here any longer."
"What do you mean, Ma'am?"
"I am aware Darla told of the rumour about the Stygian Knights. Based on the movements of the town's guards, I'm afraid that it is more than a rumour. I don't know when these knights will arrive but it won't be good for you… and for me. If you are caught here, my family will be punished. "
"Ma'am, I'm not—"
"--I know you are not an elf, but what does it matter? Your appearance is similar to elves. The knights will see no difference when they come across you."
Seth frowned. 'The lady is not wrong. Most likely, the knights won't give me time to explain when they see me. F*ck!'
"When do I leave?" Seth sighed.
"I suggest tonight. Do you have any place in mind?"
Seth beamed at this question. He spoke his mind, "Actually, I do. Cam–Lostvale. I'm considering moving to Lostvale."
His reasoning was sound. There was a possibility his response would help him more than he intended.
"Lostvale? You picked the right place. I hear the town of Lostvale is welcoming to elves. It gives me hope that this world will become just as my husband imagined, a unified world. Hmmm… I remember now!"
"Huh?" Seth was curious about the lady's sudden burst of emotion.
"I know a party of adventurers that are headed towards that town. I can refer you to them. Gather your things. They leave tonight."
"I don't-" As he spoke, the lady walked to her cabinet and opened it. She brought out a coin pouch and threw it at him.
"--This is all I have." Seth pointed towards his clothes.
The lady was busy writing in a blank letter that she didn't hear him.
"....I hope you can do me this favour. Much appreciation." She accidentally voiced the conclusive part of the letter.
The lady wrapped the letter and handed it to Seth.
"Go to the Adventure Outpost. Do you know where it is?"
"Yes. I saw it yesterday."
"Good. The party leader is Caleb. You will find him there. Now go!"
Seth hesitated. All of this was too fast for him. He did not know how to respond to the situation, but he knew one thing…
Bending his body to form an arch, Seth said from the bottom of his heart, "Thank you, Ma'am. I will never forget this."
The number of times he had thanked people could be counted with one hand. Seth always found it hard to be appreciative, but the lady's act moved him and he would be eternally grateful.
"You don't need to do that. My husband… He would have wanted this. Now go."
"Yes."
Before he exited her room, the lady shouted, "Wait… don't you want to say your farewell to Darla."
Seth wryly smiled, "There is no need for that. Tell her I will come back once it's safe."
And he meant that. Most of the words that came out of his mouth were normally nonsense, but this was different. He didn't think he would ever feel comfortable in a foreign place after just three days.
"Heh, you are really weird. Anyways, off you go. I don't want Darla to catch you here."
"Yes."
He didn't waste time. There was no point going back to his room since nothing valuable was there. Seth stealthily sneaked out of the inn. His goal was the Adventure Outpost.