As Lyle and Adam were leaving the city, Iodel was watching them from afar.
His right-hand man, Ulon, the Golden Knight that spoke to him before, was next to him.
"My lord, why give them something as valuable as the family crest?"
"Call it my intuition Ulon, that kid is no ordinary person, and I'm not saying that only because of the flaming cross," Iodel said as he glanced at Ulon and gave him a smile.
"Don't worry, I know what I'm doing, if the family gets angry that I have given the crest to some random person they have never heard of, I can just make something up, he does have the flaming cross after all, that gives me quite some leeway," Iodel said as he patted Ulon on the shoulder before entering his mansion.
Ulon stared at the city gate where Lyle and Adam were located before turning around and entering the mansion as well.
'Not human, a flaming cross and such a powerful bloodlust, even though you keep it inside, I was still able to sense it, Shade.' Iodel thought to himself as a smirk appeared on his face.
'I hope we can become good friends in the future, after all, I might need the help of someone like you for my plans.' Iodel said as he walked to his office after glancing at the direction of the city gate for one last time.
Sometime later, inside a dungeon.
( Author note: This part will be narrated in the first person, I don't often do this, so here's hoping you like it. )
Clang!
Clang!
The enemy in front of me wielded a sword with great proficiency.
Each strike was aimed at my vital spots, and the only way I could block the attacks on time was by using the metal spikes and plate on the back of my glove.
My breath turned heavy, my legs already starting to tire out from the constant fighting inside the dimly lit dungeon master had brought me in.
The kobolds were the monsters that made this dungeon their home.
Unlike the kobolds that I fought in the forest outside Olswan, these were bigger, faster, and fiercer.
Master said they should be around level 30 to 40, and that with the bonus I gained from being a vampire, I shouldn't have any problems against them, especially during nighttime when we are stronger than usual.
'Tch, master made it seem like this would be a walk in the park.' I complained in my head, fully aware that master would give me an even harder task if I was to complain to him.
The kobold wielded a curved sword, but that was not all, his tail was also a dangerous weapon that could deal significant damage to me.
It was only a bit more than a week ago that I was just a normal farmer, I lived with my parents and brother, did work out in the fields, and made sure our animals were safe.
Now, I have stopped being human.
I could no longer see them, at least not until much later.
Master promised that to me, but I'm unsure of how true his words were back then.
Swish
The tail of the kobold came from the left, forcing me to crouch down in order to evade it.
This wasn't the first time the kobold had done this, and neither was it the first time I had evaded in such a way.
His sword was lifted high up and was ready to fall down and cut me.
But he made an error.
My fist, which was enhanced by mana, arrived first.
From a crouching position, I might have seemed like an easy target, but I could explode upwards from that position and strike first.
My fist connected with the monster's jaw.
The mana that covered my fist exploded and struck the fierce enemy.
I heard the bones break, I felt the spikes on my fist penetrating through its skin and tearing it away.
The blast had forced the kobold's head to violently move upwards, and I was able to see the damage that I had caused.
The jaw of the enemy was gone.
The skin around it was torn away and I could see the flesh and bones.
Some of its teeth were visible as well.
The glowing crystals inside the cave did little to create light, but as a vampire, I didn't need it, and neither did my master.
"Argh!"
The monster was still alive, a sound was heard from its destroyed mouth as it tried to attack me once again.
It was useless.
My previous blow had done enough damage and disoriented the monster.
It could no longer threaten me.
I used my other fist and struck the sword, this time activating my ability and knocking it away.
The enemy was now just like me, bare-handed.
The sharp claws the kobold had come out as it tried to tear my armor away.
Again, it was useless.
I caught the kobold's hands.
It had a slight superiority when it came to physical strength, but I wasn't planning on competing in strength anyway. I channeled mana to my hands before using my ability once again.
I held the hands with full strength before blasting them.
The scales and tough skin of the kobold were gone.
The flesh was mostly blasted away and only a bit remained. I could see the bones of the kobold's hand and part of the forearm as it shrieked in pain.
Once again, I channeled mana.
The following blast broke the bones, destroyed the claws, and made the kobold unable to do anything to me.
That was my thought until it spun around and hit me with its tail.
I had dropped my guard, master will not be pleased with that.
I quickly got up, only to see the wide-open mouth of the kobold in front of me.
The monster had charged with everything it had in order to deliver a final blow that would take my life. But I wasn't going to let it do that. I wouldn't lose my life, my master would save me, but what kind of a servant would allow his master to save him each time?
He had saved my life, saved the lives of my friends, and given me power.
I didn't ask for power, but it was the only way I could have survived, the only way that I might see my family one more time.
I grabbed the open mouth of the kobold.
I was successful at grabbing the upper lips, but because of me blasting its jaw away, there was little space on its lower lips.
My hands grabbed its teeth, and pain immediately assaulted me.
The razor-sharp teeth of the kobold managed to pierce through the leather of my gloves as I was still using the ones master had bought for me back in Oswald. I had received good battle gloves and armor from the commander of the royal company, but the master would only let me use them after reaching Tier I.
It was for my own good, master told me that relying on powerful armor and weapons would only bring me so far. I would never reach the true height of power.
I didn't understand what he exactly meant, but I would never doubt him.
I channeled mana once again.
I only had a little bit left, but it would be enough.
I unleashed another mana blast that destroyed the kobold's mouth.
The upper portion of the mouth was gone, its teeth were broken in pieces and it fell down to the ground.
It was still breathing, but not for long.
I took out a sword from the spatial ring that was on my hand.
It used to belong to master, but he had given it to me so that I could carry some of my equipment and items by myself. I shouldn't always be relying on him.
I grabbed the sword and stabbed through the head of the kobold that was having a spasm on the ground.
The sword wasn't a particularly good sword, but against a monster that was half-dead, it was more than enough.
I took it out before wiping off the blood by using a small rag I had before returning it to the spatial ring.
I almost collapsed on the ground after that.
The battle had taken a greater toll on my body than I expected.
My legs were weak and I could barely move them right now.
The blood that was flowing out from the kobold seemed incredibly delicious at this time, but I wouldn't drink it.
I still remembered what happened when I drank blood the first time back when I was with master inside the forest. To be more specific, I still don't remember any of the things I have done, and only have master's words as a memory of that event.
I had gone crazy, intoxicated by the blood, and master had to knock me out before spending a couple of hours in the forest with me.
Step. Step.
Steps were suddenly heard further inside the dungeon.
I looked up and saw him.
A black suit covered his body and a silver shirt was visible from underneath the suit jacket.
Fair white skin could be seen between the gaps of the suit while long black hair fell down to his shoulders. He had black eyes that seemed to be able to take your very soul with a glance.
He was the person to whom I owed everything, my master, for now, and for the duration of this second life that he had gifted me.