At 6:00 PM in the evening, Reign opened his eyes to the darkness of the cabin basement.
He had chosen to sleep here because he was more comfortable in dark, cold places. After all, a year in a tomb could really mess with one's housing preferences.
'I should double-check my stats,' he muttered to himself.
He had hurriedly allocated his stats during the fight with Anna, but even so, he still wasn't able to fight back.
The gap in their power was evident, and he guessed that he needed to first reach Level 15 to evolve further before he could even contend with her.
But, even then, victory was far from assured, as he was still unsure about her true capabilities.
"Status"
============
Name: Reign
Level 12
Age. : 18 (+1 year)
Race: Blade Hunter
Strength :C
Agility. :D+
Stamina :F+
Endurance : B
Intelligence: C+
[Skill]
Bite - Level III
Undead Eye - Level I
Night Crawl I
Clawer : I
[Points]
Attribute Points 5
Skill Points : 10
Evolution Points : 0
============
His strength had been upgraded from E to C-, however, after reaching the C rank, the necessary attribute points needed to increase the rank had doubled from 5 to 10.
As for his speed, it had now increased to D+ after evolving into a Blade Hunter.
'What should I do with my skill points?' he sighed.
He wanted to save more skill points for the future when he acquired a more valuable skill.
If skill points functioned similarly to attribute points, then it was only logical that the cost of leveling up a skill would increase as well in the future.
It wasn't that he was being stingy; rather, his system only provided a fixed amount of points per level up.
He had hoped that it would increase alongside his level, but his system proved to be a tough nut to crack.
With no better option, he decided to increase his Night Crawl and Clawer skills to level III, spending 4 skill points in total.
This way, his chances of escaping would be much higher during the night.
'Alright, time to escape this place,' he muttered to himself as he slowly got up and crawled towards a door leading out of the cabin basement.
However--
BOOOOOOOM!
A loud explosion suddenly reverberated outside, and he could see an orange light seeping through the gap in the woods.
"What the hell is happening now!" he exclaimed in shock.
***
Outside
"So you're the demon that's been going on a killing spree?" Dominic spoke in a calm manner.
The wind gently stirred his red kimono in the moonlight as he stared the demon down, his tone filled with confidence as if the demon in front of him were nothing but air.
He reached across his body with his right hand, gripping the handle of his katana just below the guard.
With a swift motion, he pulled it out and drew it forward until it pointed directly at the demon.
"Grandpa, why are you hurting little Anna?" Her voice quivered, her eyes welling up with tears as she looked at him with a hurt expression.
She had a habit of referring to herself in the third person from time to time. It was her way of speaking in a cute manner.
The old man just unleashed a flame wave a few moments ago by waving his sword.
Normally, she would be interested in beings with powers. But she knew instinctively that he was different. He was no monster at all.
"A demon mimicking the face of a girl. How wretched. I despise demons like you the most. Taking advantage of human emotions," Dominic replied with a serious tone.
Seeing George, Dominic realized he was just a regular human. He figured George must have been tricked into following her.
"Young man, don't waste your life. Lower your gun. The girl in front of you is an evil demon," Dominic declared.
"SHUT UP. She's my daughter," George declared, locking and loading his shotgun, ready to shoot.
BAM!
He clicked the trigger, and the shells scattered towards Dominic.
However, in an instant, Dominic vanished out of sight, dodging the hail of bullets.
He had actually moved before George was able to pull the trigger, a testament to the reaction time of a veteran Demon Hunter like himself.
Dominic moved really fast, utilizing a foot technique that made it appear as if he had teleported.
But Anna, far from being a normal human, understood the secret behind this technique almost instantly: timed blinking.
Dominic had timed his movement to coincide with the moment her father blinked, creating the illusion of teleportation.
However, for Anna, whose reaction time was equally high, she could see him clearly.
With her ability, sharp blood tendrils sliced through the air, hurtling towards Dominic with the intention of killing him.
CLANG!
CLANG!
CLANG!
The clash of Dominic's blade and Anna's blood tendrils echoed loudly, filling the air with the sound of metal meeting metal.
Their battle intensified with each passing moment. Dominic quickly blocked Anna's attacks with his swords, while Anna's blood tendrils aimed to overpower him.
'A middle rank demon?' Dominic clicked his tongue in frustration as he realized he was dealing with someone problematic.