The Huntsman moves like a shadow through the forest, his footsteps impossibly silent. I struggle to keep pace, my bare feet leaving bloody prints on fallen leaves and exposed roots.
"Keep up," he hisses without looking back. "Every drop you leave is a beacon."
I grit my teeth against the pain. "I'm trying."
The forest grows denser as we push deeper, sunlight filtering through the canopy in narrow beams. Despite my exhaustion, I notice we're not following any path I can discern—yet the Huntsman never hesitates, changing direction with purpose.
"Where are we going?" I ask, my breath coming in ragged gasps.
"Somewhere they won't follow," he answers cryptically. "Those Purifier bastards are religious fanatics, but even they respect certain boundaries."
I open my mouth to ask what he means, but before I can, the Huntsman stops abruptly. I nearly collide with his back.
"Watch," he says, pointing ahead.
At first, I see nothing unusual—just more trees, more underbrush. Then I notice it: a slight shimmer in the air, like heat rising from sun-baked stone. A barely visible line that runs between two ancient oak trees.
"What is that?"
"Border to the Veil Lands," the Huntsman replies. "Not quite our world, not quite… elsewhere." He gives me a sidelong glance. "Most people can't see it at all. Interesting that you can."
He doesn't wait for my response, but strides forward and through the shimmering barrier. For a moment, he seems to waver like a reflection in disturbed water—then he's gone.
I hesitate, my heart hammering. Behind us, a distant howl rises, followed by another. The Purifiers and their trackers are gaining ground.
Taking a deep breath, I step through the barrier.
The sensation is… indescribable. Like being turned inside out and reassembled, but painlessly. Colors shift and blur around me, sounds become muted and then sharpen. For a moment, I feel weightless—then gravity returns with a vengeance, and I stumble forward into… somewhere else.
The Huntsman stands a few paces ahead, watching my reaction with interest. "Most people vomit their first time," he remarks. "Your blood serves you well, it seems."
I look around, trying to make sense of what I'm seeing. We're still in a forest, but not the same one. The trees here are impossibly tall, their bark a deep purple-black. Luminescent fungi grow in spiraling patterns up their trunks. The underbrush glows with faint bio-luminescence, and the air itself feels charged, as if before lightning strikes.
"What is this place?" I ask, my voice hushed.
"As I said—the Veil Lands. Places where the barrier between worlds is thin." The Huntsman gestures vaguely around us. "This particular patch is relatively safe, as such things go. The Purifiers won't follow—they believe these areas are tainted by demonic influence." His amber eyes fix on me. "Which, ironically, isn't entirely wrong."
I opened my mouth to ask the Huntsman what he meant, but before I could speak, a series of notifications flashed into my vision, cutting me off. My heart skipped a beat as the system's cold, mechanical voice filled my mind.
New Area Discovered: Twilight Veil Forest.
The words hit like a wave.
A region where the mortal realm and demon realm bleed together. Magical energies are amplified here.
Twilight Veil Forest. Of course, it had to be some place where magic ran wild. The tension in the air was palpable, thick with power.
Before I could fully grasp the significance, the next notification arrived.
Passive Ability Triggered: Blood Resonance.
My veins hummed with energy, as if my demonic heritage were alive inside me, responding to the charged atmosphere.
Your demonic heritage responds to the ambient energy. All attributes +2 while in Veil Lands.
The power surged through me, invigorating every fiber of my being. Strength, agility, intelligence—everything felt sharper, stronger. It was like I'd stepped into a different version of reality, one where I could feel the world at the edge of my senses.
And then—
System Tutorial Unlocked.
A small part of me groaned at the thought of more system prompts, but this one was different. It offered answers.
Would you like to begin now? Say YES or NO
Without thinking, I say "Yes" aloud.
The Huntsman raises an eyebrow. "Yes what?"
I blink at him. "You can't see the… messages?"
"What messages?" His hand moves to the hilt of a knife at his belt. "Are you hearing voices? That's not a good sign."
Before I can explain, the world around me freezes—the Huntsman becoming as still as a statue, a fallen leaf pausing mid-air. The forest's ambient sounds cease, leaving me in eerie silence. Only I can move, it seems.
A new window materializes before me, larger and more elaborate than the previous ones:
The system's words felt like they were pressing down on me, too much to absorb all at once. As the windows of information flooded my mind, a sense of awe mixed with disbelief filled me. This wasn't just some random power-up—this was a full-on guide to navigating my existence.
WELCOME TO THE BLOODLINE LEGACY SYSTEM.
The voice almost sounded... personal, acknowledging me by name.
Greetings, Aria. Your dormant bloodline has awakened, activating this System designed to help those of mixed heritage navigate their unique powers.
The weight of it all slammed into me. My bloodline. The strange, unsettling power that had always been part of me but never fully understood. And now, there was a system to guide me through it.
As a hybrid with both Demonic and Sorcerous bloodlines, you have access to abilities beyond normal mortals. However, your powers are currently unstable and undeveloped.
The System will help you:
Quantify and track your abilities, Learn to harness your dual nature, Discover hidden aspects of your heritage, Grow stronger through experience and challenges.
The system's explanation left me reeling. I wasn't just some random person stumbling through a magical world—I was something... else. A hybrid. But I still didn't understand what that truly meant. My thoughts collided with my emotions in a storm of confusion.
The next prompt appeared:
Would you like a brief overview of core system functions?
Without hesitation, I thought Yes, unsure what to expect next.
The information shifted before me, laying everything out clearly, too clearly for comfort.
CORE FUNCTIONS:
ATTRIBUTES
These represent your fundamental capabilities:
Strength: Physical power and carrying capacity
Agility: Speed, reflexes, and coordination
Constitution: Health, stamina, and resistance to physical harm
Intelligence: Learning capacity, memory, and magical power
Wisdom: Perception, intuition, and magical control
Charisma: Force of personality and influence on others
Every level gained provides 5 attribute points to distribute as you choose.
ABILITIEST: These are specific powers you can use:
Active Abilities: Powers you must consciously activate
Passive Abilities: Powers that function automatically
Blood Talents: Special abilities unique to your heritage
Every level gained provides 1 ability point. These can be used to learn new abilities or upgrade existing ones.
LEVELING SYSTEM: You gain experience XP by:
Completing quests, defeating enemies, learning new skills, discovering new areas and knowledge
Current level: 2XP: 100/400
ITEM AFFINITY: Your mixed blood allows you to attune to magical items, particularly those connected to your bloodlines. Attuned items may reveal hidden properties.
BLOOD RESONANCE: Your demon blood allows you to sense and interact with magical energies. As this ability develops, you may learn to:
Track magical signatures, manipulate ambient magic, create blood sigils for spell-casting, sense other beings' true nature
My mind tried to make sense of the overwhelming new information. The ability to track magical signatures, create blood sigils... I couldn't help but wonder how much power I really had in me, power I'd never understood before.
As the windows faded, I was left standing there, eyes wide and heart pounding. Is this common? I thought, struggling to wrap my mind around the idea of hybrids. Do others have this?
A new notification blinked in front of me:
SYSTEM RESPONSE:
The Bloodline Legacy System manifests only in those with specific mixed heritage of sufficient potency. It is extremely rare.
Most creatures with supernatural heritage receive some form of natural guidance—instincts and innate knowledge passed through bloodlines. However, conflicting heritage creates internal dissonance that would normally lead to early death or madness.
The System was created specifically for hybrids like yourself to prevent self-destruction and allow your dual nature to stabilize. The specific origins of the System are currently locked.
DATA LOCKED: Requires Bloodline Recognition Level 5
I stared at the final message, feeling a heavy sense of isolation. This was all… rare. So rare, in fact, that the system itself couldn't even fully explain its origins to me yet. And I was stuck in the middle of it, a hybrid, trying to make sense of everything.
"Great," I mutter to myself. "Even my internal magical system has secrets."
I blink in surprise as a small pulsing icon appears in the corner of my vision. It's subtle at first, but when I focus on it, it expands, revealing a detailed display of my status. I take in the information slowly, trying to make sense of it all.
My status screen flashes in front of me, the details a strange mix of power and confusion. I take in the information, feeling both the weight of it and the rush of adrenaline that accompanies everything I've just learned.
NAME: Aria (Unknown Family Name)
LEVEL: 2
CLASS: Unbound Hybrid
RACE: Human/Demon Hybrid
TITLES: None
I glance over my attributes, noting the changes. My body is growing stronger, but I can feel it—a mix of human limitations and the overwhelming potential of my demon heritage.
ATTRIBUTES:Strength: 10 (8 + 2)Agility: 14 (12 + 2)Constitution: 11 (9 + 2)Intelligence: 16 (14 + 2)Wisdom: 13 (11 + 2)Charisma: 15 (13 + 2)
The Blood Resonance is active. In the Veil Lands, my demon blood is responding to the magical energies here, giving me temporary boosts to my attributes. I can feel it—power crackling just beneath the surface.
ABILITIES:Chaotic Surge (Level 1): Release raw magical energy in an uncontrolled burst. Damage: 40-60. Cooldown: 23:42:18.Blood Resonance (Level 1): My demonic heritage lets me sense magical energies and beings of similar origin within 10 meters.Arcane Adaptation (Level 1): My mixed bloodline grants +5% resistance to magical effects.Observe (Level 1): Reveal basic information about targets. More information revealed as skill levels up.
I still have unspent points, both attribute and ability points. Five attribute points and one ability point to spend. The possibilities feel endless.
UNSPENT POINTS:Attribute Points: 5Ability Points: 1
I quickly glance at the available ability upgrades, knowing that these will shape how I fight, survive, and grow.
Blood Sigil Creation (1 point): Create temporary magical sigils using my blood as a catalyst.
Demonic Resilience (1 point): Increase physical damage resistance by 10%.
Mana Affinity (1 point): Increase spell effectiveness by 15%.
CURRENCY:0 Gold, 0 Silver, 0 Copper
QUESTS:Active: Follow the Huntsman (In Progress)
I stare at the screen, trying to process all the details. I've got 5 attribute points to distribute, plus 1 ability point. The options for ability upgrades are tempting, especially the ability to create blood sigils, but the mana boost also looks useful, especially given my chaotic surge ability.
As I continue to read through the status, it dawns on me how much of this is tied to my bloodline, to my heritage. Each attribute and ability feels like a key to something far larger, a vast web of potential that I have yet to fully understand. The temporary bonuses from the Veil Lands are also a reminder that this place, this Twilight Veil Forest, is affecting me in ways I'm still not entirely grasping.
The question lingers in my mind: How much power do I actually have right now, and how much more will I unlock?