"Next thing, tell me about my new blood skill," With Ben's command a new panel appeared on his screen showcasing various information and illustrations regarding the skill.
[Crimson Veins: Skill can be used to control blood aura in a certain part of the body which can cause temporary mutation, as a result increasing defense and attack abilities. ]
'I am a little confused, does it take any HP to use?' Ben pondered looking at the illustrations on the screen. He thought of trying it somewhere safe as he didn't know what could happen with the skill.
[ No host, this skill doesn't consume BE but affects your stamina directly. ]
"Alright, enough of the info dump; merge both the soul associates," Ben commanded as soon as he put the soul essence back into his neck.
[Do you want to merge the 'Fang of Wolf' necklaces?]
{Yes} {No}
"Yes," Ben said, and soon the merging process began.
The soul essence rose off his neck, hovering in the air, and soon, another Fang of Wolf necklace materialized alongside it. Both necklaces shattered into countless particles of light, which then merged into a single glowing pendant.
As the light faded, Ben noticed that the new necklace wasn't much different from the previous one, except that the yellowish part had turned whiter.
[Soul essence merged successfully.]
[Fang of the Wolf: Basic Tier Equipment] [Grade: 2]
[Attribute: The fang of the lunar guardian provides the user with a 6% boost to all stats when in the presence of a full moon.]
'Better than the previous one, I'd say." Ben sighed, putting his necklace back into the soul space. The time for his shift was almost over, so he decided to find Freya along the border and exchange shifts with Alex.
Ben turned around and began walking as soon as he bumped into something massive.
Ben fell back, and the expression on his face froze. Before him was standing more than 3 meters tall gigantic wolf. Its eyes gleamed in the golden yellow, matching directly Ben's eyes.
A constant stream of black thunder rolled on its body like serpents dancing on the water, while emitting a wrenching gurgling sound that hung cold in the air.
"It's been a while since I saw the last vampire. Tell me which clan you belong to." A heavy voice asked from an unknown source.
Ben, confused, looked around, trying to find something else, before he realized it was the wolf he was talking to.
"Eh!? Are you talking to me?" Ben asked, somehow not intimated by the wolf's presence.
"Do you see any other vampires around? Answer me, What is your name?" The wolf grunted louder, but Ben could clearly understand the meaning behind the deep grunting, possibly due to his all-tongue ability.
'This is giving me the vibe of Japanese characters who share names before killing each other,' Ben internally smirked, looking at the wolf before him.
'System, use the inspect skill; tell me what's his strength?' Ben asked.
[ Currently measuring host, the wolf before you bears the title of a leader.]
[It is strong enough to be put in a low-level, advanced-tier beast. ]
'That's strong as fuck; why am I not shitting my pants yet?' Ben asked himself, as he gulped the heavy lump down his throat.
"My name is Ben Franklin; it's nice to meet you." Ben introduced himself, offering a handshake. But as soon as his eyes landed on the other's claw, he diligently pulled his hand back with an embarrassing smile on his face.
"Grrrr" The wolf grunted again, his voice resonating through the air. "Franklin family, why haven't I heard it before? Is it perhaps a new family in the 13th?"
'System, do you have any clue what he is talking about?' Ben asked in his mind. But I didn't get any satisfactory responses.
[ No clue, host! ]
"In any case, Vampire, how would you explain killing my minions not once but twice since the past day? Did you perhaps forget about our pact from 700 years ago?" The wolf asked, and despite its demeanor of calm, anger was visible in his eyes.
Ben looked around at the wolves he killed, then he looked back at the wolf before him and asked, "Do you expect me to sit on standby if I am being attacked by a hoard of wolves? And I don't know about anything from 700 years ago."
"Beware, demon, you are only alive before me because we realize our mistake to attack you first." The wolf growled more intensely as it began to circle Ben. "Since my children were the ones who broke the vow first, I will let it slide for once."
"But remind you that this will be the only time I am doing it. The village is our territory, and if you were dumb enough to stay here for long, mark my words, demon, you will die!" The running intensified further as the wolf began walking towards Ben, each step at a time.
Its sharp teeth are now visible, and greenish saliva dripped down from the gaps of its fangs. With each passing moment, its calm demeanor was fading, as if it were barely controlling itself from attacking Ben.
'Holy fuck, why do I have to always put my ass inside other people's problems,' Ben almost cried internally. All he wanted to do was kill some wolves and level up. And there things go around again.
"Even though, I won't agree with the fact that this village is your territory. And hunting humans...sounds more like personal issues." Ben stated nodding his head.
"I have recently come to realize I should interact with others' problems. So I will avoid any conflicts if possible." Ben reassured.
'Honestly, who wants to fight someone stronger than me? I just came to stay here for a day, not because I want to step into the cycle of reincarnation again.' Ben thought.
[ An unknown entity, of high power, is watching over you]
[ Unknown entity is disappointed by your response. ]
"Ha ha ha, you think quite highly of yourself, vampire, but I don't owe you any explanation." The wolf side-glance him before looking at the moon in the sky. "Listen, vampire, at the night of the full moon, wolves take over this village. And I, won't be alone in this case."
"Call it a warning or a buff, but if you don't leave the village before the full moon, I will make sure you experience hell alive."
While the wolf continued to warn Ben, his attention was attracted by the sudden notifications he was getting on his system.
[ The unknown entity requests over AUTHORITY: An authority has been granted]
Ding!!
New Quest Activated: Cure the cursed.
» Receive the favor of the debarred god. [ Reward: Exp +500 ]
» Stop the wave of attacks, protect the village. [ Reward: Exp +1000 ]
»Cure the cursed: [Rewards: ??? ]
Failure conditions: Incarnation can't leave the village boundaries unless all three of the quests are completed.
[ Punishment: instant death. ]
...
'What in the fucking world is this?' Ben's smile froze on his face, he stopped himself from cursing out loud. He noticed a golden quest window, different from his usual red ones.
While Ben was taken aback by the new quest window that popped up on his screen, the wolf faded from his sight, disappearing into the darkness. Muttering a few last words.
"Courageous shall be fallen!"
"Holy fuck, no, no, no, I should have run away from the village," Ben almost shouted, pulling his hair from the frustration. I had very little idea of what Ben had involved himself in.
[ The entity watching over you, is giggling at your actions. ]