The atmosphere of Grammun was rather eerie, but for some reason, Lucifer felt a sense of excitement but didn't know why. Was it the stealing of the Hero's chance, or maybe the fact all his attributes were now that of his true power?
'Where are you, damn rat!'
Lucifer's body moved along the grey mist slowly, his red eyes shining since the darkness became eternal; he could see quite well, but the annoying tint of red was horrible, like a monitor set to sepia tone, but you cannot change it.
Several beast-shaped outlines, their hearts were a vibrant red with white outlines, beating slowly as they sniffed the ground, probably looking for food.
'It's strange; why do these beasts not get attacked by those roaming skeletons?'
He felt lucky because, normally, in games, vampires could only see living enemies or those with a heartbeat, but his vision illuminated anything that moved in the dark with a white hue; it was blurry but allowed him to make out the target's shape and size.
100 metres from the boars were four skeletons, they seemed to be carrying swords and shields, but accurate judgment was a little hard, as they were hidden behind some broken carts.
'If only I had complete x-ray vision... maybe look into Gwen's panties...'
Lucifer's body moved slowly, like a rogue waiting in ambush, his body almost squatting as he slid his feet through the murky mud and gravel towards the main entrance of the tomb while keeping his eyes fixated on the beasts that began to bite each other.
The skeletons moved at the sound, triggering his curiosity about how they could hear the sound without ears.
Slowly, his body was almost within Serpent Strike range, a low posture and stance, likely dealing less damage, but he needed to keep the element of surprise to deal with the beasts quickly.
He imagined Gwendolyn cooking, thinking back to the x-ray idea, her smooth rear swaying as it gradually became transparent...
Glorious!
Then it dawned on him that she would probably show him if he asked.
'Tsk... I could just ask her to take them off, idiot...'
Lucifer's nerves were now calm, thanks to the image of Gwen, the driving force to get this ring would also allow him to mess with the game's future events if needed, but then using the ring, nobody would ever know it was him.
Because no one could identify the ring except the master and its abilities would only show as a basic stat boost to anyone that used [Identify] or the guild special [Identification Tool]
Toshiro often used This item to avoid issues when visiting the non-human kingdoms that didn't worship the Hero or goddess Celestia.
'Let's go...' His lips moved, trying to spur himself on.
Despite the novice spear skill giving him the talent, ability and knowledge, Lucifer needed the practice.
Thus, this high-intensity situation was perfect for his growth.
Swish!
Like a snake charging through the grass, his body lunged forward, the beautiful spear shimmering in the eternal moon as its blade glistened before penetrating the rear of the crag beast.
Inelegant.
Nevertheless, it completely tore apart its insides. It landed a critical blow, the red overkill message written in strange mana swaying in the air before Lucifer pulled back his spear.
With an elegant twist of the wrist, he slashed across the eyes of the second beast, the disgusting pop causing his mouth to form a slightly twisted smile.
With each attack, his spear glowed red along the tip, like a strange bloody mist, seeming to drain part of the boar's life.
Crack!
The sound of bones moving from the east, snapping his neck towards the sound; two of the skeletons were walking over, their steps strange and stiff with blue light glowing from their eye sockets.
'Have they found me?' He wondered as the pleasant purple and red mist entered his body, causing his tired limbs to recover slightly.
It seemed that now he was channelling the Vampiric Drain skill when his blade pierced enemies; not only did their Anima drain from their bodies, but the last of their vitality also entered his body.
Lucifer didn't want to let the skeletons take advantage, his spear spiralling around his hands, now the blade facing the east rather than the west.
His muscles bulged as the last seconds of Serpent Strike remained; his body vaulted over the crag beasts, lunging his spear into their skulls, an easy instant kill in the game.
He hoped it was true for reality, and indeed it was, as their bodies crumbled into bone dust, the blue light instantly fading as his spear cracked the back of their skulls with a fierce thrust and then a wild sweep to smash the second skeleton.
"Hmph... it worked... this might mean more of the game knowledge can be slowly tested..."
The sky was always dark here, but thankfully the little grimoire and its cute voice were always hovering around his wrist; each time 30 minutes passed, she would act like a newsgirl and give him the actual time.
5:45 pm
He still had some time before the evening started.
Thankfully, he met with Jake and Mike because Gwen had a shift this evening for the night watch; they would surely tell her where he was and help her from worrying too much.
'Let's fuck that damn rat and get the ring; for some reason, the mere thought of seeing her sad or crying... Makes my ever-still heart feel so much pain.'
Gripping his spear, he forgot the feelings that marred his mind. Instead, his spear began to shimmer in the darkness, piercing, maiming and reaping the lives of countless monsters.
"You levelled up, handsome!" The female's voice sounded from the grimoire.
Ever since he began to fight more, it was like the grimoire was also taking part of his purple essence to become more aware or upgraded.
'The lore of the game did say grimoires were the unfortunate souls that could not be born, tied to a person until one day they might be reborn.'
Lucifer found this a little upsetting; imagine the grimoire was your unborn child or sister that passed on early into your life.
The only thing he was curious about was, did his grimoire link to the previous owner of the body or him in his previous life.
Something she did well now was holding off the orgasm-like effect of his levelling, but the way she worded it...
"Do you want to cum later or now?"
Despite knowing only he could hear her voice for now, sometime in the future, what if Gwendolyn heard these words...
He couldn't stand it, knowing that usually, you get a grimoire of the same gender; what if her opinion of him plummeted like he asked this girl to make it sound so suggestive?
'Wait... I want to level up now; give me a second to gather all the cores and fur...'
"Shall I turn on the player function?"
'Hmmm? What's that?"
"I am not sure... it's just a grey box in my list of actions... It seems to allow me to absorb the cores, useful materials and proof of subjugation without any useless actions."
Her voice was sweet; come to think of it, did he ask her name? Or should he give her a nickname?
"Ah~ but you need to skin and butcher them yourself, don't worry! Herbs are included, except ones that need special collection methods; no cheating here!"
Happiness came in three! The ring, delaying that pleasure and finally, no more running around to collect the damn hand-ins and low-level herbs!
'Please collect 4 sets of all herbs for the basic healing, mana and antidote potions and 1 set for me to hand in for the quests; thanks, and I want to increase my Strength by 1 point; let me level up."
Instantly, his body dropped to his knee while tingling pleasure filled his entire body; the muscles under his skin writhed, causing his veins to bulge.
A strange sense of euphoria as many herbs from around him vanished like magic.
The range was around 8 yards, but one or two were left as she didn't take all of a bunch.
[Name: Lucifer]
[Level: 8]
[Race: Vampire]
[Status: Healthy]
[STR: 7]
[AGL: 4]
[STA: 3]
[VIT: 3]
[INT: 4]
[CHA: 8]
[Spells]
[Vampiric Drain(Novice)]: Drink the health from target enemies and heal the caster simultaneously; suck those enemies dry, you filthy creature of the night!
[Vampiric Bite(Novice)]: Bite down on your foes, drinking their blood directly from their body to restore health and drain them rapidly. Warning, old man! It causes Estrus when you bite the opposite sex.
[Skill]
[Serpent Strike]: Strike with an elegant and lunging thrust of up to 4 metres, avoiding deadly attacks while countering with a brutal killing bow.
[Gather Herbs]: Automatically collect designated low-level herbs, 8-yard range.
It seemed that ignoring pain didn't stop him from feeling pleasure... as several minutes passed, he was sure a soft hand was stroking his white hair, the slight scratch of fingernails before the blissful moment ended and focus returned to his eyes.
Lucifer looked forward; two yellow orbs glowed in the deep dark.
The lord of rats, or so the game would fool you into believing, as dozens of little red eyes began to appear.
'I hate rats...'
He cried in his mind while grasping his spear and moving forward with his muscles tightly controlled as the swarm of rats, like a tide, surged towards him.
Ravenous, Relentless and
"Dead!"
Lucifer shouted as his boots stomped the life out of several rats; his hand pushed forward as it made them pop in seconds, their little hearts only lasting a moment under his vampiric drain; the glowing red eyes met the beady red orbs.
A vampire began his massacre of rats.