Wolf of the Blood Moon: A Blood Magic

Scarlet

As soon as I will the messages forward, they all come flooding at me like a tidal wave.

{Level 12 Demon Spawn defeated. Bonus EXP is awarded for killing a creature above your level.}

…

{Level 12 Demon Spawn defeated. Bonus EXP is awarded for killing a creature above your level.}

{Level 15 Demon Hound defeated. Bonus EXP is awarded for killing a creature above your level.}

…

{Level 15 Demon Hound defeated.}

{Ten Skill Points are awarded for killing over fifty demons total.}

{One Skill Point is awarded for killing a demon.} x26

{Congrats, you have leveled up to level 12. Two Free Points have been awarded to you and your stats have been updated.}

{Congrats, you have leveled up to level 13. Two Free Points have been awarded to you and your stats have been updated.}

{Congrats, you have leveled up to level 14. Two Free Points have been awarded to you and your stats have been updated.}

{Congrats, you have leveled up to level 15. Two Free Points have been awarded to you and your stats have been updated.}

{You have earned the inherent skill, ‘Life Drain’.}

[Skill ‘Blood Claws’ has leveled up to level 3.]

[Skill ‘Blood Siphon’ has leveled up to level 2.]

I grin as I watch my levels go up, and especially at the sight of the new skill. Now, of course, they were technically going up when I actually killed the demons. But still.

There’s just a certain satisfaction at seeing them shoot up at once.

Although sometime during this I started getting less EXP as I passed the demons in level.

I shift slightly in my position lying up against the window, wincing a little at the pain.

At this point, my entire body is covered in wounds. And my clothes were pretty badly shredded since I was trying to avoid using repair to save mana.

Doesn’t help that the moonlight can’t reach them if I have clothes covering the wounds. So I’m stuck with sleeves and pant legs left in tatters as I lie next to the window enjoying the healing glow from the moonlight.

Something I realized at some point during my hunt was that I could siphon the demon’s blood to use as a replacement for my own, making the small injuries not really matter beyond the pain. As long as I kept from getting any major and life threatening injuries, I could just heal from the moonlight at a later time.

Quite convenient when trying to rush through a floor of demons.

“I still say you shouldn’t be doing that,” Tar says with a huff as he appears in the air and floats down to lean up against the side of my leg, not going to my lap because of my injuries. “It creates bad habits.”

Says the one who entered me into a tournament for him that has me competing against people far beyond my level.

If I’m going to survive that, then I need to level up.

He stays silent for several seconds before saying, “Okay, understandable. But you do have to remember that the tournament isn’t for at the very least a century. Maybe even more than that.”

I know. But you also said that it could technically happen any day now as well. That the king can start the tournament whenever he wants. Just that he will most likely wait until each royal has a contracted Guardian deemed ‘fit for combat’ in the tournament.

And I really don’t like the idea of having a possible axe hanging over my head. So I’m going to give it all I can to level up. Especially considering that the System seems to reward taking risks.

Now then.

I open my status before distributing my free points and looking at my skills.

Let’s just hope Life Drain is a healing skill…

Name: Scarlet AsgerSpecies: Human/Blood Lycan HybridMagic: Blood Age: 19Level: 15SP: 44 Stats: Physical: 48Mental: 40Magical: 45 Physical/Level: 2Mental/Level: 1Magical/Level: 2 Free Points: 0Mana: 31/900Free Points/Level: 2 Active Skills: Blood ClawsSkill Level: 3Description Blood SiphonSkill Level: 2Description Life DrainSkill Level: 1Description Blood BoilSkill Level: 2Description CleanSkill Level: StaticDescription RepairSkill Level: StaticDescription Passive Skills: Predator IVSkill Level: StaticDescription

I focus on the description.

{Life Drain - Allows the user to drain the life energy of nearby creatures into themselves, healing them in the process. Costs mana to use.}

Yes! Finally!

“Congratulations,” Tar says, slightly amused by my enthusiasm.

I finally have a healing skill that doesn’t have me sitting for hours in front of a window.

After my enthusiasm fades a bit, I check out blood claw’s new description along with blood siphon’s, but the only differences are that blood claws now no longer said that it can drain my blood only when I’m out of mana, and there isn’t any difference in blood siphon.

Putting that aside for the moment, though, why is the System set up as it is anyways, with the statistics? What with balancing them out being the only real way to safely go forward.

“Was wondering when you’d ask that,” Tar says immediately, making me raise a brow from my spot lying on the floor. “There are a couple of reasons. The first being that there are some people – incredibly few – that do not require one of the stats. At all. Such as a ghost, which has no need for a physical stat with its body being ethereal.”

Oh. That makes sense.

And the other reason?

“A trap,” Tar answers, surprising me for a moment, “or at least, that’s what we believe. Because most species need all three stats to be balanced, even if one is higher than the others. So when someone who is initiated into the System decides to go with an unbalanced build? They fall into that trap and most of the time end up dead rather early in life.”

That’s brutal.

“Yes. It is,” he responds, his tone sounding rather dark. Making me wonder if he has a history with that.

Come to think of it, you probably had a different contracted Guardian before me, didn’t you?

He stiffens up at that.

An awkward silence falls over the room lasting for who knows how long.

Eventually he says, “I would rather not talk about that.”

Oh.

Okay.

And so, the awkward silence continues until I eventually hear a light tinker sound, kind of like the sound of a very, very thin piece of glass shattering. Then all of the demon sounds I hear from the other floors begin to vanish.

Guess Sylver will probably be coming over here soon.