Arthur awoke to a familiar dripping noise, something that brought back many memories from the past.
He was lying on a wooden bed, wrapped in dirty, torn blankets.
As Arthur tried to get up, he heard a metallic noise and felt his left arm being pulled back.
He was chained.
"Shit…" Arthur tried to force his body backward, using his newly acquired strength to try to break the chains, but it was useless. All his struggling resulted in nothing but noise and unnecessary fatigue.
"Ah…" He finally gave up and, with a heavy sigh, let his body fall backward. He was stuck in an empty room that looked more like a prison cell. He didn't have his equipment, and his captors didn't seem to be anywhere in sight.
With nothing to do, his mind wandered about the masked figure while a new burst of questions invaded his head. - What was that figure? What was that liquid he forced him to drink? And above all, what was that bloodline he had just awakened? -
All those questions always led him to the same person: Hel. Arthur didn't know if he could even consider her a person, but just by the texture of her hands and the shape of her eyes, he could at least deduce that she was a humanoid being.
Unfortunately, no matter how many crazy theories he tried to form in his mind, no clear answer was within reach.
"It's pointless…" Arthur muttered and decided to bury his questions. Whatever it represented, he would only know if he ever met Hel again.
{-STATUS-}
[PERSONAL INFOS]
Name: Arthur BloodRose
Sex: Male
Birthday: 07/02
life expectancy: 19/150
Age: 19
Race: Human (Temporary)
Lineage: BloodRose (lvl 1) 0.1%
Faction: None
Class: None
Prestige: 0/10 [Plebeian 1]
[ATTRIBUTES]
Stage: 1
Level: 8/20
XP: 16/20
Free attributes points: 4
Hp: 256/256 (210 Base, 46 by vitality x2)
MP: 100/100 (90 Base, 10 by intelligence x 1)
body state: 100%
physical attack: 9.2 (2 Base, 7.2 by Strength x 0.4)
magical attack: 7 (2 Base, 5 by intelligence x 0.5)
physical defense: 10 (10 Base)
magical defense: 10 (10 Base)
Strength: 18 (Average of a normal adult male: 7)
Intelligence: 10 (Average of a normal adult male: 9)
Vitality: 23 (Average of a normal adult male: 8)
Agility: 12 (Average of a normal adult male: 6)
In his previous life, Arthur could only be considered as a human with far above-average strength. But now, he could even be considered someone who had transcended human limits by a small margin.
Taking a good look at his statistics, Arthur smiled slightly before allocating all his free attribute points to intelligence. Now that he had acquired a skill that allowed him to imbue mana into his weapons, MP would be an essential stat for him.
Once again, overwhelmed by the refreshing sensation, Arthur felt his mind speed up—not in a stressful, unnatural way, but rather as if his own view of the world had become clearer.
After that, Arthur began to observe his newly acquired abilities. Imbuing mana and novice swordsman were concepts he was already familiar with, but what really caught his attention was the kiss of the Blood Rose Queen.
[Skill: The Kiss of the Blood Rose Queen.
Description: Blessed by the Blood Rose Queen, you are a special being even among those who share your bloodline. Within you, the power of your ancestors cries out for the blood of your enemies.
Type: Lineage Skill
Level 1 (Will improve with the purity of your bloodline)
Grade: SSS
Effect: You can absorb the blood of your enemies and use it to regenerate your HP. Base Strength +5, Base Vitality +10, Base Hp +50, Base Mp +10,]
The mere stat bonuses were already absurdly strong, but what really elevated this skill to another level was the ability to absorb blood and use it to regenerate HP. Arthur wasn't sure how this worked, and the lack of clarity in the system regarding the functionality of this ability certainly didn't help.
*Creeeak*
The mighty metal door that sealed the room Arthur was opened with a long, loud creak, immediately capturing the young man's attention. On the other side of the door stood a tall, burly, balding figure. On his slightly aged face, he sported a long, well-groomed black beard.
[?????? (Weakened)
Race: Human
Age: 48
Stage: 2
Lvl 60
Hp: 1200/1200]
"Ugh," Arthur was shocked to see the man's status; he hadn't expected to encounter someone of this level so soon.
Smiling as he observed Arthur's reaction, the man walked through the door. He carried a small bowl filled with a thick, creamy substance in one of his hands and a small bottle filled with clear liquid that Arthur could only assume was water.
"Drink," the man offered the bottle to Arthur. Arthur naturally hesitated for a second, but eventually gave in to his own thirst and grabbed the bottle before drinking it in large gulps.
"Uf... Who are you?" Arthur questioned, watching the man with a cold gaze.
"You can call me Conrad. And you are?" Conrad replied as he retrieved a chair from the corner of the room and brought it closer to Arthur.
Seeing him more closely, Arthur realized that beneath his smile, there was a pale, slightly sickly face.
"Arthur"
"That's a good name..." Conrad sat down in front of Arthur. "Judging from the steel used in your armor, I assume you are from the Albrid Empire, correct?"
Arthur hesitated for a brief second before answering, "Yes." He had heard that name before in one of the many posts about Tales of Aelynn.
"What part of Albrid?" Conrad continued to push, his smile fading as he recognized the uncertainty in Arthur's voice.
Arthur hesitated once more and managed to answer only after a memory popped into his mind.
"Hordon. It's a town that lies in the south-"
"I know where Hordon is," Conrad interrupted Arthur, his gaze intense. "You're a long way from home, kid... how the hell did you get here?"
Arthur's shoulders shook as he tried to find some plausible explanation in his mind. In the end, he decided to make up a story, hoping that Conrad would believe it. "I fell into a spatial trap and was teleported here..."
To his relief, the moment he heard that Conrad's stern expression softened, replaced by a smile.
"Hm... I see," Conrad said. "You're very lucky, kid. This kind of trap usually leads straight into the mouths of chaos demons."
Hearing this, Arthur lowered his head. He used a simulated state of shock to conceal the smile he was suppressing.
It worked!
In that instant, doubt gripped Arthur's heart, prompting him to ask, "Have we left the dungeon yet?"
"No," Conrad shook his head. "I don't even know if we'll get out. We were attacked by a bastard who killed most of my team members."
"A tall, masked man?" Arthur asked, surprise evident in his voice.
"Yes, you saw him?" Conrad's eyes widened at the short description given by Arthur.
"He was the one who left me in the state you found me in," Arthur replied, deducing that Conrad was the one who saved him.
It all made sense to him now; there was no way that group of Goblins could have slain so many people on their own.
Conrad let out a melancholic sigh, his aged lips parting. "I fought the bastard to try and buy some time for my people to escape, but I only managed to hold him off for a few seconds before I was forced to retreat as well..."
"Badly wounded, as you can see..." he concluded with a bitter smile.
"I understand..." Arthur replied. "You mentioned that I'm far from home... where exactly are we?"
"The Central Continent."
...
An awkward silence filled the room, and Arthur observed Conrad quietly. He had no idea about what the Central Continent was.
"Ahem," Conrad cleared his throat. "It's natural that you don't know about it. It's a newly discovered continent and little is known about it by most of the population."
"All you need to know is that we're on a new and unexplored continent," Conrad concluded before getting up from his seat and looking at a device that looked like some kind of ancient watch on his wrist.
"I have to leave now." Conrad handed the bowl he had been carrying to Arthur "Eat; you must be starving."
After that, Conrad exited the room, leaving Arthur alone.