Something suddenly woke him up. It was quite a strange sensation as he didn't feel the tiniest bit tired or lethargic. He has undergone multiple surgeries before, but never has he woken up so...Aware.
He felt completely clear minded and it was actually a bit off-putting, not even when he was awake during the day did he feel like this, especially so considering it was a drug-induced sleep.
Looking around the room and judging by the dull grey walls, and the fact that he had woken up at all, he must be in one of the recovery ward deeper in the hospital. He remembered hearing about it when his doctor had given him the rundown on what to expect after his bone marrow transplant.
He was expected to stay in the hospital for a few weeks so they could monitor his condition. Slowly getting up he felt a sharp sting on his arm and found that he was hooked to an IV giving him blood. Hopefully, that'll be the last time.
Erik slowly got up and made his way to the bathroom. He faintly recalled being told to ask the nurse for help if he needed anything, and that he shouldn't be moving around for a day or two after the operation, but he felt perfectly fine. Also, he hardly could bring himself to ask for help to use the bathroom.
Thankfully the machine infusing him with blood was on an IV stand which had wheels. He washed his hands after finishing his business and looked in the mirror. With short messy black hair, the white of his eyes and skin having a yellow tint, a skinny frame, and sickly green veins that bulge beneath his skin, Erik Hunter did not paint a pretty picture.
Pulling his hospital gown down allowed him to see him to see his chest, marked by scars from previous surgeries, and a big white patch near where his heart was. They removed his central venous catheter. For a moment Erik just stood in front of the mirror and stared at where it was supposed to be. It has been in him for well over a decade now. Sure, there were previous instances when it was taken out, but those were mostly because of complications occurring or him volunteering himself for experimental treatments. Those moments of reprieve never lasted long.
Reality struck him with all the subtlety of a brick to the face. His vision blurred as tears stung at his eyes. It didn't fully occur to him before now, but he was free. For once in his life, he was finally free. No more appointments, no more pity, no gagging down pills. He was finally like everyone else, normal.
Wiping his eyes on his sleeves he went to change into some pants and put on his shoes. Now that he was actually awake and the high of the situation was over he felt extremely hungry. According to his phone, he has been out for a day and a half, and while they probably gave him nutrients and fluid through his IV, nothing beats warm food.
Strolling his way through the familiar halls he went into the kitchen stock and microwaved himself some off-brand chicken noodle soup. For some reason he felt really cold, he couldn't help but shiver every few minutes. You would think that such a prestigious facility would be able to afford to turn on the heat. Grabbing a tray he placed his now hot soup and a few bottles of water on it before heading back through the lobby to his room.
Finding a nurse he managed to borrow a laptop and charger to bring back to the room. After all, he had just woken up and it was doubtful that sleep would find him anytime soon.
Successfully navigating his way back, he placed the tray on the table and started his late dinner. It was terrible. Everything from the chicken to the noodles, to the soup itself, seemed to have been drowned in salt. It tasted of salt water and old fast food fryer oil. He could hardly wait to get out of here.
Erik finishing his lackluster dinner and went online on the laptop to do some light reading, checking for the newest updates to his favorite mangas, web novels, and fanfics. Unfortunately, after a while, he found that he couldn't bring himself to focus no matter how hard he tried.
He kept shivering, his skin rippling into gooseflesh, and his heart started to race ever so slightly. He went anxious, but he didn't know why. Maybe he was going stir crazy? Perhaps it was because of the dark? He turned on the light in his room. Grabbing his phone told him it was 11:50. Just shy of midnight. It wouldn't be right for him to call his friends and wake them up just because he had too much energy at an ungodly hour of the night.
Reading required too much brain power, so he decided to just stroll through his Facebook and look at memes. Liking some, and saving others for later, the minutes ticked by. However, his sense of dread didn't disappear, rather it seemed to intensify. He right foot kept tapping the floor and he noticed that the "memes" folder he made now had 136 new saves. subconsciously he turned to look at the clock again 11:56.
It was almost time. For what? He hadn't the faintest idea besides a vague sense that something was coming. As much as he felt scared he was at the point of welcoming it. Anything would to be better than this constant feeling of impending doom, right? If he knew what it was then he could plan on it, come up with ideas on how to deal with the situation, the threat, but this invisible feeling of danger hounding him was eating at his sanity. Even a random terrorist attack right now would be preferable!
11:57 he felt like pulling his hair out, the seconds dragged on to what felt like hours.
11:58 he could barely keep himself from screaming, it felt like the walls were closing in on him and he couldn't breathe. A detached part of his mind wondered if this was what a panic attack felt like.
11:59 he took a deep breath in and held it in for a small eternity.
12:00 Midnight exactly. The sun has long since gone down and the moon reigned high in the sky. He waited. Waited with bated breath for...something. He peeked his head out the door and into the hallways, locked his door and looked out the window to the streets for anything odd. For aliens kidnapping hobos, suspicious men in long coats, and monsters stalking the night. Yet, nothing did. Letting out a long sigh he rubbed his eyes. Feeling cold sweat on his brows he went to wash his face. Feeling refreshed he left the bathroom and turned off the lights.
Suddenly, he felt a small draft. His blood thundered in his chest and rushed to his ears. Something was wrong. His senses were screaming at him to stay alert. His eyes subtly roamed around the room seeking all the information his eyes could get. His room had special air filters to lower the chance of infections and was well insulated from the outside. His brain was racing through possibilities.
He had made sure to close and lock the door to his room after he peeked outside. He was on the 6th floor and closed his windows tight. There was no possible way anyone could've opened his window. He was alone in his room.
He turned on the lights and as if a mirage the feeling disappeared. Perhaps he would've believed it to be all in his mind too, were it not for the fact that his window was ever so slightly cracked open.
"Hello?"
No response.
He waited. His room wasn't big so with the exception of the bathroom he just left he could see pass every corner of it. There was absolutely nothing here, not even a mouse. His heart gradually slowed back down and his tense muscles started to loosen up with the lack of a visible threat. Deciding he couldn't just stand there all day, he went to turn off the lights and close the window.
As he went to close it, he saw something strange. A blurred silhouette. At first, he thought it was merely a faint reflection of the room from the window, but as he walked closer to the window the image persisted with him every inch of the way. He sneaked a glance behind him while pretending to yawn, but nothing was there. His lips thinned to a harsh line.
What the hell is that? His mind raced furiously even as he kept up his ignorant charade.
It even moved when he intentionally slowed a step. He didn't know what it was, but one thing was for sure. He was not alone.
Keeping his face neutral he continued walking towards the window while putting up a casual front. He kept in mind the location of the shadow. It seemed to be avoiding what small rays of light leaks through the window. It walked past his laptop, not noticing that it was emitting a small amount of light from being charged in. The light had barely touched it, but it's toe seemed...more solid? He saw it was a cloudy and vaguely humanoid creature, but when the light touched it seemed to have a clearer outline. Perhaps that was its weakness? Whatever it was didn't show up when he had turned on the light.
For a brief moment he considered turning around and sprinting to the light switch, but it was too late. The thing was already positioned behind him. He tightened his grip on the medical stand as the creature approached him.
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Just as he closed the window, it pounced!
But Erik was ready for the beast. As soon as he saw it crouch down to jump he had already started to swing his stand like an oversized baseball bat. Timing his swing with every fiber of his being he managed to hit it right as it entered the moonlight.
With a loud crack, he sent the shadow slamming into the wall.
Not willing to give up the advantage of his surprise attack Erik quickly ran towards it and slammed down his pole. The top part of it containing the device for the transfusion broke off and slid into the bathroom until it's momentum was stopped by the toilet. His IV was forcefully yanked and splattered blood over him when it went flying away.
Seeing the shadow dazed Erik ran to flip on the light.
Slowly the shadowy mist surrounding the being started to coalesce into a clear shape. It was vague humanoid if merely for the fact that it was bipedal and had opposable thumbs. It stood around 4 feet tall, a slight hunch to it's back, with long arms with thick forearms. Its hand seemed almost metallic with no finger joints, just sharp claws. The rest of it was full of rough grey skin and a murky rusty brown, like a blood covered naked molerat had been left to dry in the sun. It had five beady red eyes around the edge of its head, each the size of an egg. In the center of its head was a gaping mouth full of needle-like teeth which took up half of its face.
It was a thing of nightmares.
The monster blinked it's many eyes at him before it charged with fury. All pretenses of stealth out the window.
Without the addition to the top, he couldn't build enough momentum to do enough damage to pin it down again. Hoping for the best Erik went for a horizontal strike.
It used it's right arm to knock away his improvised weapon before slicing down at him with its other arm. He did his best to tilt to the side but still got a deep cut across his arm. Voided of the extra reach of the pole, he couldn't effectively attack the monster anymore and it seemed to knew it too. It started being even more aggressive with wide and wild swings as he tried his best to dodge. Minutes gone by, he has had to make use of the tables, jumping over the chairs, even rolling under the bed, but he was running out of options. Throwing things doesn't seem to be able to damage it. Luckily it seemed to enjoy toying around with him, but how long will that last?
This wasn't looking good at all. He had just lost his weapon and the monster hardly looks like it's fazed. He was getting tired. His body wasn't in any condition for so much physical activity so soon after surgery and with how deep the cut is he was losing blood fast. He needed to put an end to this soon and treat the cut or else even if he beats it he'll end up bleeding out.
Deciding to take a desperate gamble he slowly maneuvered them so that the creature was facing him with it's back to the bathroom entrance. Then with a loud shout, Erik did something incredible stupid. He ran and tackled the monster into the bathroom and surprisingly he wasn't skewered by it!
The suddenly shout and attack by what it had presumed to be a easy kill had startled it enough that it gave Erik the oppertunity to pull of his suicidal rush. After all, Erik wasn't content to be prey waiting to be slaughtered. He was a raised better than that. A Hunter doesn't just roll over and die, they fight to survive, they fight to win.
They rolled around in the bathroom before he managed to throw it into the shower. With the more narrow space, it couldn't make full use of it's long arms and claws. Pinning it down on it's stomach with one of it's arms behind it's back, Erik started to punch the back of its skull with all his strength.
It was like punching a brick wall.
His knuckles started bleeding, and he was sure something in his hand fractured, but he didn't stop, couldn't stop. He kept smashing down with reckless abandon. Suddenly the creature buckled and dislocated it's own shoulder. Using it's newfound leverage it managed to toss him off it.
This was it. Erik was out of steam. His right arm was pretty much out of comission with it's fractures and torn muscles. At some point, the bandages from his central line and his operation must've gotten ripped off because he was covered in blood. There was a cut on his forehead from when the creature was flailing when he pinned it. He could barely see, hear, smell, or taste anything at this point thanks to hitting his head on the sink just now and blood running down his face. He swallowed the gunk in his mouth. A mix of blood, mucus, and likely a small piece of the monster for when he was desperate clawing and biting at it in an attempt to harm it in anyway.
The creature stood up without a sound and popped it's arm back into place. It didn't even flinch. Did he even manage to hurt it at all this entire time?
How troublesome. Judging by the fact nobody came to help him even with all the racket he has been making it was safe to assume this wasn't an isolated incident. Not that it matters anymore. With all the blood he has lost, he doubted he would make it even if someone came to help him right now. He wouldn't last more than a minute.
Erik was tired. He tried his best. He did pretty well for an anemic kid being ambushed by a monster if he did say so himself. It's ok for him to sleep now right? He was so cold, and sleepy. He earned himself a nap surely? He wonders where he'll end up? He was no saint but he wasn't evil, so maybe he'll luck himself into heaven? Or maybe his destination would be down under? It didn't matter at this point. At least it'll be warm in hell. Anything was better than this cold. He closed his eyelids. Just for a little bit. Just to rest his eyes.
Right as he was about to give up and let go he remembered what his grandfather told him, words he has lived by all his life.
Hunters don't go without a fight
We go down swinging, and take them down with us.
It'd be quite embrassing to meet his grandfather if he didn't at least take the head of this son of a bitch with him to present to him.
His eyes snapped open right as the creature was in mid jump. Grabbing the nearest thing to him, the blood transfusion machine, he swung with his only good arm. Thankfully, while the creature seemed to be supernaturally durable and strong, it's small stature coupled with it's relatively light weight and the fact it was mid air allowed his blow to slam it into the corner next to the toilet.
With his second wind he shoved the thing's arm and head into the toilet. Lifting the machine above his head he smashed it into the creature.
Again and again the sound of metal meeting flesh and the roar of a madman echoed in the bathroom. Blood pour all over Erik and into his mouth. He was completely dripped with it as the blood bag in the machine had burst. The toilet was overflowing, creating a red puddle as the blood has also soaked into it. He didn't know how long he had been at it, but he find himself woken out of his mad frenzy when the machine fell out of his hands.
He was too tire to maintain a proper grip on it to keep it from bouncing from the rebound of his blow. The creature had stopped struggling. He wasn't sure if it had either drowned, or if it was all the blows to it's neck. One thing for sure was it wasn't healing and it was a mangled mess.
He laid limply on the wet ground. He did it! He had won! Now if only he could stop bleeding. He wonders if there was such a thing as Fate or God. If there was, then surely they had a sick sense of humor. He has just won a fight to the death and now he was going to die from not having enough blood in him...While surrounded by his blood and a machine to tranfuse blood. If only he could still use that blood.
Congratulations on Passing Tutorial -
|Night Assault|
"What the fuck?" He was too tired and busy dying to question the blue screen floating infront of his eyes
Achievement: First Blood!
Calculating Reward...
Bonus to Reward for First Tutorial challenge!
Calculating Personalized Reward Based Upon Player's Style and History
Warning!!!
Player: Erik Hunter in Danger of Death
Tutorial Protection Protocol Activated
Calculating Most Suitable Reward to Save Player...
Reward Determined
Congratulations, you have met the certain parameters to unlock a Rare Class: Blood mage
-Kill an enemy using your blood
-Ingest enemy blood
-Bathe in the blood of your slain enemy
-Aqcuire 100 liter of blood from another
Name: Erik Hunter Level: 1 Class: Blood Mage DEX: 10 INT: 11 VIT: 7 STR: 11 AGI: 12 END: 5 Title: N/A Health: 8/100 Mana: 110/110 Regen 0.2/Min 0.61/Min
{Universal Recipient} Lv. 1- Allows the conversion of blood, regardless of origin, Health or Mana for the user.
Current conversion: 10 HP per pint or 5 Mana.
(Basic Blood Manipulation) Lv. 1- Allows the user to manipulate blood with limited control.
(Blood Letting) Lv. 1- A curse mainly applied to weapons and open wounds. This curse has the effect of causing wounds to bleed more profusely and for longer periods of time.
Erik had barely finished looking at his status screen before he passed out. After he had blacked out the system had activated its automatic response in order to save his life. Directly controlling him and his abilities, it boosted to a level that he was far from reaching as it gathered all the blood in the room. Tendrils of crimson wrapped around him into a cocoon, slowly infusing him with blood and life. When he woke up it'll be a to a changed world. One that will be forged in the flames of war and tempered by adversity. A world where the strong thrive and the weak die. A New World.