*Stab!*
Guided by his hand, Seth's dagger pierced into the crystal ground. His eyes strained as he realized he could not find Vesstan!
'Where is he?'
Just where had Seth gone wrong?
His plan was flawless, and he picked the right timing. So, how did Vesstan escape from his vile net?
Just as Seth became paranoid, the surrounding air tensed. He felt a chilly breeze graze his chest. In the next moment, his body violently slammed into the crystalline wall.
*Boom!*
Seth fell to the ground. There was little energy in him. His body creaked like an old toy. Clearly, he was hurting.
He looked ahead of him and finally saw Vesstan. Vesstan's body glowed strangely. It prompted a smile on the face of Seth.
"I see now. You used magic."
Vesstan quickly entered another stance and responded, "Basic mana enhancement. You are a tough one. You forced me to do this. Now, let's see how long you can last. "
Vesstan's figure blurred once again!
He appeared just above Seth with his sword, dashing for a quick swipe. Before Vesstan could land this attack, Seth grabbed his body and slammed it on the wall beside him.
A few cuts got on his skin, but Seth could not care more or less. He had Vesstan where he wanted.
Summoning all his power, Seth curled his fist and delivered a cruel punch to the guts. He prepared his left hand for a follow-up, but was totally unsuccessful as Vesstan held his left hand!
The elf was quick with his moves. He grabbed Seth's head with his other hand and kneed him in the head!
Blood splattered on Vesstan's clothes. Just when he thought Seth was stopped, the latter smirked.
Grabbing the sword which had already left Vesstan's hold, he pushed it into Vesstan's body and watched as the elf squirmed in pain.
It did not seem like Seth was with injuries. Yet, he really was, but his rate of healing far surpassed Vesstan, and vampires were numb to most injuries.
Seth twisted the sword in Vesstan's body. The more he fought, the more he remembered his training as Rhazien.
'Always cause more pain. Use whatever you can to do that.'
He didn't master any martial art style or crazy combat tactics. His family raised him to be an effective vampire, and that he was!
Vesstan shouted. "Enough!"
His eyes brightened with green mana. The chamber shook and a great stream of light coalesced around Vesstan's right hand.
"Oh, sh*t!" Seth thought out loud as soon as he saw this.
But he was too late.
The stream of light exploded into a burst of energy that slapped Seth across the room. Even after the energy dissipated, a hole appeared in Seth's armor.
The patch of his skin revealed from the hole was brown, as if it was set aflame.
Seth went unresponsive for a while. He didn't notice when Vesstan ran up to him and called his name multiple times.
Suddenly, his brown skin transformed to a yellowish hue. Then, to a cool pale patch.
Vesstan observed all this with shock evident on his face. "What monstrosity is this? He could take all my base attacks and come out almost uninjured. Is this what it means to be a vampire?"
"D-Did I pass the test?" Seth asked as soon as he woke up.
"Uh, yeah! You passed it a long time ago. Hahaha, I just wanted to see how far you could go. Hahaha." Vesstan scratched his head awkwardly.
"Was it good?"
"Yeah… Based on what you showed, you are capable of fighting a mage with just mana enhancement abilities. However, you would need to play the external factors to your advantage."
Vesstan stripped his upper body and checked his wound. He tore a piece of his inner cloth. Using this piece, he wrapped it around his body, preventing his wound from bleeding further.
Finally, he paid attention to Seth. "Rhazien, are you okay?"
Seth had been shivering for quite a while now. He constantly looked at his fidgeting hand.
"I'm alright," Seth responded casually.
'So, this is the curse of vampires. Just one mana attack, and I feel so sick. I need to find a way around this.'
Seth put this thought in the back of his mind and focused on the current situation. "Vesstan, so what now?"
"You just have to complete a special mission. After that, you will be given a bronze adventure card. From there on, you are an adventurer."
"Ok… what is the mission?" Seth sighed.
Why was the entire process so complicated?
.
.
.
.
.
Frightened Woods.
Ryithh boasted of lots of forest ranges. Most of them were exceedingly dangerous and brimming with fiends. Out of all these forest ranges, a few of them were regarded as forbidden forests due to the danger they pose to the entire continent of Ryithh.
Frightened Woods bordered the town of Lostvale. Northwards of this forest was Reflecting Forest, a forbidden forest range. Most adventurers stray away from this location.
'The guild's plan is solid. By scouring Frightened Wood more and more, they will build the momentum necessary for conquering Reflecting Forest.'
Seth thought as he entered the location called Frightened Woods. His first adventurer mission took place somewhere here. It wasn't alright to call it a mission. In actuality, it was a bunch of missions put together.
However, Seth had to admit that the missions were a bit… soft.
╔
Adventure Rank Quest: First Time
Difficulty -> Four Stars
Objective -> Slay (5) Forsaken Howlers. Acquire (2) Basilisk Venom, and (10) drops of Shy Essence.
Reward -> Hunting Codex, Tome of Wisdom(Chapter One), 20 Lunar Ryi Bronze Coins
╝
The quest was written on a brown scroll, but as soon as he got it, the system offered him a quest with the same details as the adventure quest. Yet, different from the adventure quest, it had higher rewards.
The reward written on the scroll was merely 30 ryi-bronze. But the system's rewards were more diverse. Seth did not want to miss out on them.
'I can start with the first objective. The howlers. Where do I find them? Hmmm…'
'... Vesstan mentioned howlers followed the scent of dead corpses.'
The last time, he had chanced upon a howler. But this time, he was seeking one.
He reckoned it would be way harder to find it.
Seth checked himself first. 'Armor, check. Crossbow, check. Arrows, check. Daggers, check. Health, check.'
He got the light armor and weapons on loan from the guild. He would have to pay them after the success of his first mission.
Now, he was good to go. Before coming here, Seth had fed on an animal so [Vampiric Drive] could still be used.
Staying in the shadows, Seth searched for signs of dead animals.
After a while, he found a dead cat. The white cat's skin was stained with blood, and something appeared to be munching on its neck.