Val was standing in the middle of the carnage he had caused. He was surrounded by the dismembered remains of level 0 zombies. Murky scarlet puddles oozed from the mutilated bodies, forming dark crimson pools beneath them.
Their blood was something he was skeptical about absorbing using his 1st Bloodline skill. It could be, after all, infectious. He didn't know if absorbing the blood of zombies would transform him into one.
Chances were that it might.
Thus, he didn't dare try it.
The risk of absorbing the contaminated zombie blood held him back from absorbing theor yucky blood. The potential threat of infection or a far worse outcome, such as transforming into a dreaded creature of the undead, prevented him from testing whether he could absorb zombie blood without side effects or not.
The scent of the zombies' rotten blood wafted through the air, permeating the surroundings and spreading throughout the Devil's Throat region.
This scent was an intoxicating lure to the malign inhabitants of the Evernight Forest - the Horned Rabbits.
Stirred by the scent of blood that reached their sensitive noses, the Horned Rabbits arrived, lured from the depth of their dark burrows. Their mottled fur, varying from dark browns to unsettling grays, hinted at their adaptation to nocturnal hunts while their pointed horns glowed ominously in the dark. It was a wicked promise of the violence they were capable of.
*Shaa!* *Shaa!*
Standing roughly a meter high, each snarled fiercely, baring their razor-sharp canines in an intimidating display.
A horned rabbit was a beast that could go toe to toe with a Level 1 Bloodline User. A level 1 Bloodline User would never dare to confront a group of horned rabbits all alone. It was only a well-balanced triad of a warrior, priest, and spell caster, each honing their unique bloodline powers, that could stand a chance against such a formidable group,
The audacious thought of a Level 1 Bloodline User confronting a group of Horned Rabbits alone was laughably absurd. These menacing creatures could easily overpower a novice Bloodline User!
Their power levels varied between 2 to 5, with 5 being their uppermost limit. They couldn't advance beyond this level unless their bloodline was purified. The purification of a beast's blood was no easy feat, though. It required extremely rare treasures that were nearly impossible to come across in the Evernight Forest.
At the sight of them, Val felt smug. A grin could be seen tugging at the corners of his mouth.
"What a delightful turn of events! An EXP feast just walked right up to me."
He was surrounded by the remnants of his prey, and their blood was a tool that he could use to do his bidding.
The Horned Rabbits, oblivious to their impending doom, charged headlong towards Val, their insatiable hunger for human flesh blinding their judgment, making them throw all caution to the wind.
Val remained still, calculating, allowing them to wander into his well-crafted trap, which was set within the circle of defeated level 0 zombies.
As soon as they crossed the threshold, Val's grip on his sword tightened while his other hand ominously hovered over the pools of blood beneath the lifeless bodies.
"Blood Manipulation!" Before the horned rabbit could even blink, Val's command over blood took effect. Thick blood tendrils emerged from the corpse-laden ground, instantly entrapping the charging rabbits and throwing them into chaos.
Seizing the opportune moment, Val, without hesitation, launched himself at the closest rabbit ensnared by the dark, pulsating tendrils of blood. His sword, like a silver streak, tore through the creature with brutal precision, a clean, swift plunge. In a fluid movement, he pulled his weapon free, giving the beast another dose of bitterness, pain pouring over it like rain.
Thud!
Unable to bear the pain, the rabbit's life was extinguished, its gaze mirroring the lifeless zombies scattered around. A tangle of tendrils released their hold, allowing the lifeless form to slump onto the forest floor.
[Ding! Congratulation, Host! You have slain 1 level 5 Horned Rabbit. You get +3 EXP!]
The blood tendrils wouldn't keep them immobilized forever. He needed to kill them before they were freed. It was a race against time that Val had every intention of winning as he wanted to avoid a problematic battle that might force him to expend his valuable stat points.
Thus, Val immediately turned his attention to the next rabbit immobilized in his trap. His sword danced through the air, glinting ominously before making contact with the creature's neck.
With a singular, clean sweep of his sword, Val separated the head of the horned rabbit from its body.
[Ding! You have slain 1 level 3 Horned Rabbit. You get +2 EXP!]
Meanwhile, the cruel, inescapable grasp of the blood tendrils kept the remaining two rabbits in place. Just before they could break free from the brutal vice of blood, Val was already on them, his sword shimmering dangerously in the light of their horns, reflecting the inevitability of their end!
Whoosh! Whoosh!
Facing the two-horned rabbits, Val made his devastating strikes. Two swift flashes of steel sliced through the air, cutting through fur and flesh with gruesome efficiency. The powerful force behind each blow caused a spray of crimson to erupt, painting the forest floor a darker shade of red.
[Ding! You have slain 1 level 2 and one level 4 Horned Rabbits. You get +4 EXP!]
The horned rabbits could decimate level 1 bloodline users. So how had Val killed them so easily? Well, the horned rabbit's greatest strength was their agility. It was because of their extreme speed that it was hard for level 1 bloodline users to hit them or dodge their attacks. But Val had caught them off guard and immobilized them, rendering what they were proud of useless. That's why they seemed so easy to kill when in actuality, they weren't!
"Blood Absorption." Val extended his palm towards the slain rabbits, his fingers curled as if holding an unseen string. His normally white and smooth skin pulsed with a sinister red hue as the blood gushing out of the corpses of the horned rabbits began to quiver, drawing themselves away from the fallen bodies and towards his outstretched hand. They sank into his flesh.
With each drop of blood of the fallen he drew in, the glowing intensity of his eyes deepened.
His inky, black eyes had turned crimson!
They echoed the eerie dance of blood absorption, turning the grim battlefield into his personal banquet.
[System Notification: Blood Absorption successful! You've absorbed the blood essence of four Level 2-3 Horned Rabbits. Gained +120 units of Blood.]
After the Blood Absorption ended, his eyes returned to their normal color, and so did his hand.
His blood bar had decreased to 85 points after he used the Blood Manipulation Ability to deal with the horned rabbits. Now, after absorbing their blood, it had gone above 200. It was great to see how much it had grown. With such a huge Blood Bar, he could use his Bloodline skill while feeling more at ease.
Once again, Val refrained from absorbing the blood of the zombies, for it was widely known to bear an infectious quality.
Should it splatter onto one's skin, a variety of outcomes might ensue.
Depending on the strength of one's immune system, such an event could lead to the manifestation of painful rashes or grotesque blisters that burst upon the merest contact, dispersing foul, yellow pus across oneself that is so putrid that it might disgust one to death. For those graced with robust immune systems, there might be no discernible side effects of coming in contact with a zombie's blood.
However, if this tainted substance were to be ingested, the likelihood of a horrific transformation into a zombie was alarmingly high!
Val looked at his character screen.
Name: Val V. Whitemore
Race: Half-Human, Half-Devil
Age: 16
Class: Blood Devil
Level: 2 (19/30 EXP)
Unawakened Bloodlines: Whitemore Bloodline
Hidden Ailments: Whitemore Bloodline Suppression Poison
Trait: Unfeeling, Emotional Impairment, Nocturnal Vision
Stats:
•Health Points (HP): 10
•Strength (STR): 10
•Agility (AGT): 10
•Stamina (STA): 10
•Reflexes (REF): 10
Blood Bar: 205 units of blood
Mad Points: 10 (100 MP=1 SP!)
Bloodline Skills: 1) Blood Absorption 2) Blood Manipulation
'I'm quite close to leveling up.'
Dealing with the group of horned rabbits had netted him 9 EXP. On top of that 10 EXP he had made before, that made a total of 19 points. He was just 11 points away from leveling up!
He decided to get the remaining EXP by farming weak zombies in the Shadowfall Village!