“GET BACK HERE YOU SON OF A BITCH!” Nyrion screamed, his voice echoing through the forest. Despite the grand proclamation he told to himself slightly over an hour ago, he had not accomplished much so far.

Nyrion had planned to find some great beast to slay, signifying his journey’s beginning, but he had failed, in fact, the opposite happened, a group of hobgoblins all weaker than him had found Nyrion and kept pestering him ever since he entered the forest. Their constant attacks were annoying at most, yet they kept on attacking despite their lack of success, backing off whenever it looked like Nyrion was about to try something.

The scream was directed at a particularly brave hobgoblin who, heroically leaped at him from a tree stabbing its dagger right into the top of his helmet. The dagger shattered as if it were a stick, and the goblin, surprised by this development smashed its head into Nyrions, in essence headbutting him accidentally. It then fell to the ground unconscious.

Nyrion was about to swing the hammer side of his war-pick into the hobgoblin’s head, but before it could connect an arrow from a different goblin hit him in the arm, redirecting his blow and causing it to miss the head, and instead, it smashed into the goblins shoulder turning it into a meaty slop, the arm still attached but nonfunctional.

The goblin, woken up by the sudden pain, immediately started running as did the other ones, bringing us to the moment right after the shout ended. ‘Fuck. If I swung with the spike and not the hammer side it would have gotten stuck in its shoulder, instead of just destroying it, giving me enough time to put my shield away to smash its face in with my fist, and even if I didn’t get hit by the arrow and hit it’s head as I planned, it would have died regardless, using the hammer side of the war-pick was a mistake no matter how I spin it. Having to do the attacking is a lot harder than just standing there while holding a shield ey? Who would have thought? Everyone except me probably.’

He stood up and walked in the same direction as the goblins. By now Nyrion was sure that the hobgoblins wouldn’t attack him again, they saw that their weapons could not pierce his armor and one of them nearly died while attempting to do just that. He was looking for the cave or whatever abandoned village the goblins were using as a hideout.

Goblins and especially hobgoblins were very protective of any loot they collected, meaning if Nyrion played his cards right he might be able to force them into a direct confrontation in a closed-off area, giving him a better chance of actually killing them and getting to claim their hideout and loot, he planned to stay in the woods for a while so such things could prove invaluable. He continued walking through the woods, periodically checking after footprints and blood that the goblins were leaving behind.

After about half an hour of walking his attention was drawn to a large opening in the forest. ‘That must be it’ he thought looking at the blood trail leading to the entrance of a mine that was etched into a small hill near the middle of the opening. ‘Night’s gonna be here in a couple hours, but I don’t want to wait that long. I’m gonna wait half an hour and then gonna go in.’

While waiting his attention was drawn to the forest around a hundred meters to his right. Four hobgoblins came out of the forest 3 humans walking among them two male and one female. They had no weapons but wore battle-worn armor with fresh blood visible on it.

‘Adventurers, but what were they doing in the forest if they can’t even handle hobgoblins?’ Nyrion thought. Hobgoblins were on average level 6 creatures with normal goblins usually being levels 4 and below. There were exceptions like goblin shamans who upon discovering their magical abilities got special attention when it came to gaining levels, but those were rare with only about one in a hundred having the potential with even less living long enough to actually become one.

‘Wait a second. Goblins take human women to have them make more goblins, but why would they take the men? If there was a new shaman that needed life energy he would have come with them or the goblins would just cut off the adventurer’s arms to make them lose any hope of escaping, and only then would they make them walk here.

I can’t think of any reason to keep them alive like that. Something ain’t right. Hmm, something stronger than the hobgoblins probably killed the shaman and took charge of the goblins, ordering them to bring it humans.

It can’t be too big, an Ogre or Troll wouldn’t fit in the mine, and I doubt it’s something like a lesser dragon since these adventurers are just too weak for something of that level. I’m confident that whatever is in there is weaker than me.’

After waiting for the goblins to enter the mine, and an additional minute to make sure they don’t spot him by randomly looking around he proceeded to make his way to the mine. After carefully checking out the entrance he stepped in while trying his best to remain quiet, which well…

CRUNCH, some kind of bone just broke under his right foot, the sound reverberating throughout the cave. “I really need some fucking dexterity.” Nyrion quickly, well quickly for him retreated outside and hid behind a nearby boulder. Minutes passed but nobody came to check on the noise. After hesitating for a bit he stepped out, looked around, and continued walking forward, this time trying even harder to be quiet. But…

CRUNCH as he tried to walk past the spot where it snapped last time, he stepped on another bone hidden under the dirt, this one snapped even louder than the last. “Fuck this I’m already sure they are weaker than me why am I even trying to sneak up on them? Also, they’re goblins, why the fuck would they patrol anything? Why would they even care if a bone snaps? They eat bone marrow of course bones are gonna crack.”

He proceeded with a heavy step, throwing all caution to the wind. After about ten minutes of walking, SNAP, CRACK, a snapping, and then a cracking noise traveled through the air. This time, however, it wasn’t a bone but a bear trap hidden in the dirt that Nyrion had just stepped on.

The sound was made when the trap tried and failed to penetrate his Dwarven armor, followed by Nyrion simply lifting his leg and smashing it down, destroying the trap completely. “Traps huh? Means I must be close.” His steps growing excited, he proceeded deeper into the mine, until he came to a big open section.

The roof was over 20 meters away and the walls were around 50 meters apart, torches adorned the walls but there were barely enough making the entire cave dimly lit. ‘Tch, way bigger than I would have wanted. At least they have torches in here unlike in the tunnels. There is only one exit, so while not perfect it will have to do.’

After finishing examining the cave, his attention was brought to what was in its center, sitting around 40 meters away in the cave’s dim light was a young woman with alabaster skin, she exuded an ethereal, haunting beauty. Her deep crimson eyes burn with an intense, mesmerizing gaze that pierces through the shadows. Pure white hair flows down her back, contrasting starkly with the darkness around her.

Clad in a finely crafted set of dark, lightweight leather and iron armor, adorned with intricate patterns and reinforced for flexibility, the ensemble accentuates her slender, athletic form. Her lips were a rich shade of burgundy, and they were currently slightly parted to reveal the faint glint of sharp fangs, she sat with a predatory grace, embodying both mesmerizing beauty and lethal danger in the cavern’s eerie ambiance. A sword sheathe was visible hanging on her belt, which was way longer than any Nyrion had ever seen, or would have seen, if he hadn’t gotten distracted.

“Holy shit, they are massive.” Nyrion thought, his eyes drifting to her chest. Her armor did little to conceal her ample bosom, which strained against the leather. Despite her enchanting and deadly appearance, the sheer size of her breasts was an undeniable and captivating feature, drawing his gaze and momentarily breaking his focus. After admiring the sight for longer than he would like to admit, he shook his head and went back to analyzing the situation.

Two men were standing behind her, with the three new arrivals sitting on their knees in front of her. ‘Everything about her screams vampire, that explains why the goblins kept attacking me, if they didn’t bring anyone they would, probably, be the ones serving as her food.

I don’t see any human bones and there are only 5 people, 3 of which just arrived, she must have come here only recently, the vampire seems to be keeping them alive so they regain their blood, it’s smart, and in the shape of a human woman… Stop looking at her tits goddammit!’ After clearing his head he continued.

‘It’s not any of the lesser vampires such as the ekimmaras, maybe it’s one of the higher, but not true vampires? A true vampire wouldn’t prey on such weak adventurers and hobgoblins so I should be right. If it is a higher vampire, then she’s not nearly as weak as true vampires are to silver and the such, not that I even have any, but they also don’t have nearly as many powers and the few that they have are weaker.’

He decided to observe what she would do with the humans, if she is intelligent, he will talk to her first, and if not… A vampire would make good prey. ‘I’m definitely going to talk to her because she’s intelligent, no other reason… Am I seriously considering fucking a vampire? Have I been talking too much with Cassian lately?’ It has to be said that even if they had a falling out, Nyrion still considers his three past teammates friends.

“First of all, tell me your names, levels, and social status.” Said the vampire, interrupting his thoughts. “Why have you captured us and why do you want to know that?” said the man kneeling closest to her, his voice calm considering the situation. “Well unless you are stupid, you would have already realized that I’m a vampire, so obviously I want your blood,” she said with a neutral tone.

“I’m not going to kill you, all I want is for you guys to stay here for a month or so allowing me to gain some levels and then you’re allowed to leave. Oh, I won’t turn you into my spawn either.” The man was skeptical but he wasn’t stupid, he had lost to hobgoblins so a vampire strong enough to lead a small army of them was easily strong enough to kill him. “As to why I want to know those things, it’s none of your business if you don’t tell me I will simply kill you.”

“You two!” He said to the two men standing beside the vampire, his nervousness visible. “Is she telling the truth?” The two looked at each other, then at the vampire, who looked unbothered by the situation, and then back at the man who asked the question.

“I mean, I guess?” said one of them “She’s been sucking our blood every day, which sucks, but afterward she just ignores us, letting us do whatever we want. The only things we can’t do is escape and kill the goblins, not that we could even if we wanted to. We’ve been here for a week now and we didn’t turn into vampires.” the other one nodded after he finished.

‘Interesting. ’ Thought Nyrion, ‘I’m pretty sure she told the truth, as did they, but why a month? I know that vampires can gain life energy by sucking blood, so there’s no need to kill them, but she just got new prey and she’s going to not only let them go, but that soon too?

Maybe someone’s chasing her, and she needs to change location, so someone knowing she was here makes no difference? Eh, who cares, after looking at her I know she’s quite weak for a high vampire, I’d give her level 8 or 9 at most. If she sucked those five every day for a month and killed all the goblins, she would reach level 11 or 12, depending on her current level and how close she is to leveling up. Not the strongest on the island but definitely formidable.’

After considering his options he decided to confront the vampire directly. After standing up and taking a couple of steps he halted.

“Who’s there!” Screamed the vampire, while the 30 or so goblins present quickly ran up to Nyrion, encircling him in a way where they might as well have not done it at all.

“Master Bristlebrew! The dragon prince’s party has come to save us!” Said the woman from the 3 man party that was captured. While Nyrion wasn’t the most well-known person on the island, everyone knew of the dragon prince and that he had a dwarven warrior on his side.

With dwarves being quite rare in these parts, it wasn’t strange for her to recognize him or at least assume it was him based on his expensive-looking armor and massive shield. Additionally, the party’s breakup had occurred only a few hours ago, so assuming the entire party was here wasn’t weird.

Nyrion paused his mind drifting into thought. ‘Should I go with the flow? If they think the entire party is here everything might go over smoothly. But then again if things take too long it will become suspicious that I’m still alone. Also, bluffing to things weaker than me just to maybe gain an advantage isn’t my style.’

“No it’s just me, but trust me I’m more than enough to handle any threat present.” He said his voice confident and threatening. He could have simply not said anything, keeping the vampire guessing, which technically didn’t go against his convictions but he decided against it.

“And what’s your purpose here dwarf? Are you here to challenge me?” Said the vampire her gaze remaining steady, but her hand moved in a way that allowed for a quick draw of her sword.

“Challenge you? Pfft, were you a jester before turning? Either you are too stupid to see my power or too proud to admit it. No, I am here because your filth attacked me,” He said throwing a disgusted glance at the goblins. “If I can even call their pathetic efforts as such.”

The goblins all stepped back clearly scared. The vampire hesitated, weighing her options. She knew the dragon prince’s reputation and the prowess of his companions. Even if this dwarf was alone, underestimating him could be a fatal mistake.

“And what do you wish me to do? Do you seek compensation?” Said the vampire, this time she didn’t manage to hide her nervousness.

“Compensation? My time is quite valuable you know. What could you possibly offer me?” Said Nyrion not really meaning anything he said, his mind still wasn’t set on what he wished to accomplish. Saving the captives would probably earn him compensation from the city, but he didn’t care about them in the least, as such if a more profitable option showed up he would abandon or even kill them without hesitation.

Nyrion wasn’t a novice adventurer, he has been killing monsters for over a decade by this point, and whatever part of him wanted to save others for the sake of doing good in the world has died a long time ago.

“Then how about this, I will give you all of the treasure the goblins have amassed, and you can take the captives with you. In exchange, all you have to do is let me go.” She said, trying her best to hide her emotions, but it was quite easy to tell she wasn’t happy with the deal, even if she was the one who proposed it. She was scared but hopeful.

“What about the goblins?” Asked Nyrion who by now had a plan for the vampire.

“I don’t care what you do with them, my own safety is all I want.” She was tense, whatever decision the dwarf would come to could change her life, or end it.

“I’ve decided. You see, I value strength as one of the most important things a being needs to possess.” The vampire became so nervous even the inexperienced adventurers and goblins could see it, if they weren’t all looking at Nyrion that is.

“I will give you a choice. You can fight the goblins to the death, the winner whether it be you, or however many goblins are still alive, will be allowed to leave. Or, you and the goblins can fight me together having to kill me to earn your freedom.”

The vampire’s eyes widened in horror. She knew that fighting the goblins to the death would be risky—they were all weaker than her, but she would be severely outnumbered. Her other option was even worse; facing Nyrion, even with the goblins’ help, was nearly suicidal. The sheer audacity of his proposal was infuriating, but she had little choice.

“Very well,” she said, trying to steady her voice. “But I need a guarantee, how am I to be sure that you aren’t planning to weaken me with the goblins and then kill me?”

Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

“You want a guarantee? Fine, I guarantee that you will die if you annoy me any longer. Is that enough for you?” Nyrion said with an annoyed tone.

The vampire didn’t say anything, only staring at him. Then she turned to the hobgoblins.

Nyrion watched with cold amusement as the vampire readied herself, her pale face now a mask of determination. The vampire was right in a way, he knew this battle would be chaotic and that it would weaken the vampire significantly, making it easier for him to kill her if necessary.

The vampire stood with an imposing presence, her alabaster skin glowing eerily in the dim light. Her crimson eyes locked onto the hobgoblins with unwavering intensity. Clad in dark, flexible armor, she pulled her sword out of its massive sheathe. She then held the massive sword, which turned out to be an odachi, with both hands, its long blade gleaming menacingly. Her stance was poised and resolute, one foot forward, the sword angled downward in readiness. The elegance of her form masked the deadly precision she was prepared to unleash.

The goblins muttered amongst themselves, visibly panicking. They were used to ambushes and chaotic skirmishes, but facing a high-level vampire was beyond their comprehension. They began to organize themselves, making an effort to look more threatening than they really were.

As the battle began, the goblins swarmed around the vampire, their attacks mostly futile against her vampiric strength, with the few scratches she received quickly getting healed. The vampire, desperate, fought back fiercely, her blade flashing as she cut through her would-be subordinates. Despite her ferocity, it was clear that she was overwhelmed by the sheer numbers.

Finally, after a grueling fight, the last hobgoblin fell, leaving the vampire standing amid a pile of corpses. Exhausted but victorious, she turned her gaze towards Nyrion, who approached her slowly, his massive shield gleaming in the dim light.

Nyrion’s eyes gleamed with satisfaction as he watched the vampire stand amidst the slain hobgoblins, her chest heaving with exertion. Despite her victory, exhaustion was evident in her eyes.

“Wow, I must say your swordsmanship is impressive,” Nyrion said while looking at the hobgoblin corpses. “Congratulations, you get to live.”

“Can I leave now?” She asked, her breathing having mostly recovered by now.

“Before that, what is your name?” Nyrion said while inspecting the corpse of a cleanly bisected goblin.

After a couple of seconds of silence, her mouth opens, but she’s clearly reluctant. “Seraphina Blackwood.”

Nyrion looked up from the corpse, his eyes meeting hers. “Seraphina Blackwood,” he repeated as if tasting the name. “A name worthy of a skilled warrior.” He straightened up and looked at the 5 adventurers. “Since you guys didn’t do anything I have a job for you. Take all the goblins and put them into a pile, I’m gonna absorb the energy.” After finishing he looked at the vampire. “Seraphina, while they do that lead me to where the goblins were hoarding their loot.”

Realizing nothing she could say would change the dwarf's mind she stayed quiet and started walking.

After around 2 minutes of walking, they entered a small cavern. In it were all sorts of treasures, from swords to axes, armor, and small piles of gold.

“Tch, the equipment ain’t even worth taking to the city, and the gold could barely pay for a sword like yours. You tried paying me off with this?” Nyrion said, feeling disrespected.

Seraphina glanced around the cavern, her eyes narrowing. To her, this was worth a lot. “To you this might be nothing, but this much would set me for life. I thought it would be enough alongside those guys' lives. Also, you promised I could leave. When can i do that?” She said with annoyance.

Nyrion took a pouch off his belt and started putting the gold in it. While it might not be much, it’s still gold. After two minutes passed, he finished and said, “You can leave after I absorb the goblins. I don’t know if you have any friends, so I can’t be too careful. After that, you can leave. The goblins paid with their deaths, and you paid by giving me entertainment. The fight was quite fun to watch.” He said with a smirk.

Seraphina would have attacked anyone else for such disrespect if she wasn’t aware of the strength difference. She was almost there; as long as she didn’t anger this idiot, she would be free.

After getting back, they noticed the Hobgoblin mound near the cavern’s exit. Nyrion approached the mound of hobgoblin corpses with a satisfied grin. “Alright, time to get to work,” he muttered to himself. The five adventurers looked at the dwarf with envy. For him, it was barely enough for a single level, but for them, it would be life-changing.

Seraphina stood a short distance away, her eyes fixed on Nyrion. She could feel the power radiating from him, reminding her of the fine line she was walking. She wanted to leave, but she knew better than to interrupt him now.

The air grew heavy with the life energy Nyrion was drawing in, his form becoming more imposing as he absorbed the life force. The hobgoblins’ bodies became husks, their life force transferring into Nyrion and invigorating him.

After Nyrion absorbed around half of the life force, the cavern entrance suddenly filled with light, steps becoming audible. The adventurers turned, squinting against the glare, and saw a group of armored figures entering the chamber. The emblem on their armor marked them as hunters from the city, elite warriors tasked with dealing with dangerous creatures, and rogue adventurers. When Seraphina saw them her hearth almost stopped, had she been played by the dwarf?

“In the name of the city of Alum, I command all of you to stop what you are doing and to identify yourselves!” the lead hunter commanded, his voice echoing through the cavern. He was a tall, imposing figure with a stern expression, his hand resting on the hilt of a large sword.

Nyrion slowly stood up, the distance between him and the hunters a mere 5 meters. He turned to face the hunters, his eyes narrowing. “My name is Nyrion Bristlebrew, what could be the reason for the City Guards to come here?”

The lead hunter's eyes scanned the scene, taking in the withered goblin corpses and the tense expressions on the adventurers’ faces. His gaze lingered on Seraphina, recognizing her vampiric nature immediately.

“We received reports of adventurers going missing, along with sightings of a vampire,” The lead hunter replied, his tone measured but firm. “And it seems we’ve found both. Nyrion Bristlebrew, nicknamed The Wall, a member of the famed dragon prince's party. Could you tell me what exactly happened here?” He said, his body relaxing. The dragon prince’s party was well known on the island as reliable problem solvers and allies of the law.

“Well I got attacked by hobgoblins so I came here to deal with them, which as you can see, I accomplished.” He said while putting his shield on the ground. A plan had already formed in his head. “The vampire was cooperating so I planned to take her to the city along with the captives, but seeing a whole hunting team gathered I assume your orders aren’t to capture her?”

The Seraphina looked at him with a venomous look.

“Indeed, we had orders to rescue any humans we find and kill anything hostile.” He said while looking at the shield, not caring about the fact he just told his orders in front of the vampire. “But, how come you were casually leveling up in front of the vampire while she still has her weapon and untied hands? Even if you are confident isn’t that reckless?”

“I did nothing wrong, also, I was the one who killed the goblins, not the dwarf.” Seraphina proclaimed before Nyrion could say anything.

The captain of the hunters scanned her body once more, looking between her and Nyrion. She looked battle-worn with fresh blood still on her armor, while the dwarf looked clean.

Suddenly Nyrion started walking towards the lead hunter. Gesturing with his hand for him to come closer.

The captain, reluctant, obliged and also walked to him.

“I wanted to kill her after getting as much information as I could,” Nyrion whispered into the hunter's ear. “She’s quite weak for a high vampire which is why I was confident. Listen, let me kill her and allow me to take her body, while I do that you guys can take all the goblin loot and the captives back the city. You don’t even have to lift a finger.”

The captain of the hunters, intrigued by the dwarf's words, answered. “The deal is too one-sided, you didn’t even ask to finish absorbing the goblins. Why do you want the vampire so much?” his voice greedy but skeptical.

“I want her sword, not many people know this but I’m a collector, an odachi like hers will fit in perfectly. And about the goblins, I can simply absorb the vampires life energy to finish my level. You in or not?” Nyrion said with greed clearly audible in his voice.

“Fine,” The hunter said no longer whispering. “Squad one, go check on the captives, Squad two, go to the right cave, the goblin's stolen equipment is at the end.” Nyrion had already explained how to reach it.

The hunters spread out, now that they all entered the big space Nyrion could count them. Six went to the captives with another Six going towards the cave. 13 People in total, with average levels 8-10, the lead hunter being around 12. Easy.

Nyrion took out his war-pick and said a short Dwarven chant. The war-pick trembled, and after he finished speaking, the weapon started growing, until it stopped at 3.5 times its original size. One of the many runes embedded into the war-pick allowed it to grow up to five times it’s size. It stopped at a size slightly over a meter long. Right after he started another chant, this one longer and rougher sounding, it took over 10 seconds and after he finished, the weapon suddenly burst into flame, the heat emanating out of it immense.

The lead hunter, who was inspecting what Nyrion was doing, suddenly got blinded, he shielded his eyes from the sudden flare of light. “What in the—” but before he could finish he tripped, falling directly onto the hobgoblin mound.

After recovering he opened his eyes, but all he could see was light… And then darkness.

CRUNCH, splat

Everyone looked in the direction the sound was coming from, only to see a pike sticking out of the lead hunters head.

Nyrion lifted the war-pick, but the pike was lodged in the hunters head pulling his body up. He smashed his free hand into the body freeing his war-pick, its fire visible once again.

The six hunters who were checking on the adventurers reacted immediately, five of them created a shield wall with the last one running deeper into the cave to get the other six.

“GET HIM!” Nyrion screamed at Seraphina who, after only a second of hesitation, unsheathed her odachi and ran after the man. At the same time Nyrion started walking towards the shield wall, the war-pick gripped tightly in both of his hands.

“GET HIM!” Nyrion screamed at Seraphina, his voice carrying an edge of command. Despite her disdain for the dwarf, she couldn’t ignore the immediate threat. After unsheathing her odachi, she sprinted after the retreating hunter, who was heading deeper into the cave to alert his comrades.

Nyrion turned his attention to the shield wall. The hunters were well-trained, their shields locked together to form an almost impenetrable barrier. But Nyrion was undeterred. He lunged forward with his war-pick, the fiery weapon crashing against the shields with a resounding clang. Sparks flew as metal met metal, and the force of the blow staggered the front line of the hunters, forcing them to take a step back.

After recovering the hunters responded with practiced precision. As Nyrion swung his war-pick again, two of them jabbed their spears toward him, aiming for the usual weaknesses found in armor. Nyrion ignored their attacks continuing his own, the first one harmlessly slid across his neck, the second scraped across his armor, leaving a shallow gouge in it.

Nyrion pressed the attack. He swung his war-pick in a wide arc, forcing the hunters to take a step back to avoid the blazing weapon. Seeing an opening, Nyrion charged, slamming into the shield wall with his full weight. The impact knocked one of the hunters off balance, and Nyrion seized the opportunity, driving his war-pick into the man’s chest. As the weapon pierced through his armor, flames licking at the wound, the hunter unleashed an ear-piercing scream filled with terror which rang out through the cave.

Meanwhile, Seraphina was moving as fast as she could. Soon enough, she caught up with the fleeing hunter just as he reached the entrance to the deeper cave. He turned, raising his sword to defend himself, but Seraphina was quicker. Her odachi sliced through the air, cutting through his guard and biting deep into his shoulder. The hunter cried out in pain, dropping his sword as he fell to his knees. Just as the hunter started to recover, she finished him with a swift, merciful strike, his head started to roll.

Back at the main fight, the remaining hunters had regrouped. They advanced on Nyrion, their shields held high and their spears poised to strike. Nyrion roared a battle cry, swinging his war-pick with renewed vigor. He aimed for the edges of the shield wall, trying to break their formation. His attacks were slow but powerful, each swing of his weapon accompanied by a burst of flames.

Despite their discipline, the hunters were struggling. Nyrion’s sheer strength and the power of his enchanted weapon were overwhelming. One by one, the hunters fell, their shields splintered and their bodies scorched.

Finally, only one hunter remained, his shield shattered and his spear broken. He looked at Nyrion with fear. Nyrion raised his war-pick intending to deliver the final blow, but before he could strike, the hunter dropped to his knees, throwing down his broken spear in surrender.

Nyrion paused, breathing heavily. The cavern was silent except for the crackling of the flames on his war-pick. He looked down at the defeated hunter and finished the strike, turning his head into a bloody mess.

He didn’t feel bad; his decision was already made, and he knew it was too late for regrets.

“Kill those five, I’ll deal with the remaining hunters,” Nyrion said, not even looking at Seraphina.

She looked at the adventurers, they looked so weak, and scared. She never intended to kill them, but now it was too late. Just as she started walking towards them, one by one they all started running, terrified beyond comprehension they never looked back.

Zarga was the name of the one up front, he was first to run and his speed was always impressive, but never before had he run this fast, after about 10 seconds he could see the wall! He had reached it, the exit was just a bit to the right! Pain. That was all Zarga could feel. He didn’t reach the wall, instead, his legs were cut off and he slammed into the ground, his head cracking open on impact…

With a sigh, she turned back and started walking towards Nyrion, wiping the blood from her odachi with a piece of cloth.

After casually making her way to the cavern containing the goblin loot she noticed Nyrion sitting on too of a corpse breathing heavily. The aftermath of the fight made it look as if it was even harder and more brutal than the last.

Nyrions breathing slowed as he saw Seraphina approach. His eyes, fierce and burning with the remnants of the battle, softened slightly as he noticed the blood on her blade and the lack of further conflict. He knew she didn’t trust him, but attacking would be beyond stupid.

“Ask away, we have all the time in the world,” Nyrion said his breathing almost returning to normal.

“Why didn’t you hand me over and leave?” Seraphina’s voice was edged with a mix of curiosity and irritation. “You had no need to kill them all. You had no need to save me.”

“I did it because I want you,” Nyrion said surprising Seraphina. “As a vampire your potential growth is already high, but after watching and talking with you I can tell you have the intelligence and skill to realize that potential, your swordsmanship is amazing. My goal is power and for that, I need a party. I want you to be the first member of it.” His voice filled with determination.

“Wait. Didn’t you have a party? I thought you were with the dragon prince.” She was, quite confused by the situation, at first she thought he was hitting on her but then he dropped an even bigger surprise.

Nyrion explained what happened between him and his used-to-be party members, he could have made it sound like some great betrayal, but he didn’t feel like he needed to lie, for some reason he felt like Seraphina would accept his proposal. After he finished, Seraphina just stood there silent.

After a couple of seconds Seraphina’s eyes narrowed and she looked directly at Nyrion. “I get why you killed the hunters, but why the adventurers? They were unarmed and defenseless. Did we have to kill them?”

Nyrion shrugged, though there was a hardness in his gaze. “If you spared them they would talk. That’s a risk I can’t take. Survival of the fittest, and all that. You know how it is.”

Seraphina’s expression darkened. “You’re ruthless. How can you stand yourself?”

Nyrion looked at her, his expression hidden by his helmet, but Seraphina could swear he looked annoyed. “You killed them. I wasn’t there. You could have left together or alone. But you didn’t. You knew the risk and went through with it. Don’t blame me for your own decision.”

Seraphina glared at him, anger visible in her eyes. “Fuck. Sigh, you’re right. I know it was the correct decision, but I thought I was a good person. I was telling myself that there was no other choice, but you showed me that I’m more ruthless than I thought.” She looked up, her expression no longer visible to Nyrion.

“Fine, I’ll join you, but I want those corpses. If I’m to be of use I have to level up.” She looked down, determination was the only thing visible in her eyes. With a smile she extended her hand to Nyrion who quickly grabbed it, he then stood up with its help and started picking up the corpses.

“Happy to have you, now let’s put them all in a pile before the energy escapes. I still need a bit more but you can have the rest.” He proclaimed before picking up one more corpse and departing.

It took over ten minutes but eventually, they managed to pile all the corpses onto the goblin mound. They already had it, so why not use it? They then sat down opposite each other, closed their eyes, and began absorbing life energy. Quite a bit had already escaped but it would still be more than enough for what Nyrion had planned.

‘Fucking finally! It took me 8 months to get this one level.’ One level in eight months was quite slow for such an experienced hunter, however as the tank Nyrion had always gotten the least amount of energy, not because of any malicious intent, but simply said he was the tank and he was already good at his job. Why would he need to tank harder, when the damage dealers could level up instead? It was a sacrifice Nyrion was happy to make if it meant making the team stronger.

‘Not anymore, this time I will be the one becoming stronger. But first, she needs to catch up to me. I should buy her some equipment.’ He imagined himself growing faster and more nimble. Nyrion felt the life energy go deeper into his body until it eventually disappeared. He had leveled up.

If Nyrion went to any organization selling status scrolls or had such a spell cast on him, this is what he would see:

Level 17

Strength 25

Const 34

Dex 9 +3

Arc 0

He did some practice swings and jumped around a bit. ‘Hmm, I expected a bigger change, but I can still feel that I’m faster than before. Well, it does increase exponentially? I think that was the word Angar used. So, two more levels or so, and I’ll be able to fight guys on my level.’

Seraphina would take a while longer, so Nyrion took his helmet off, reduced his war-pick’s size, went to retrieve his shield, and sat down to guard the entrance. Morning would arrive in a couple of hours, and he had a lot to think about.

End of chapter 1