20 - Chapter 19
"You're brave," the vampire hissed, her voice like silk laced with venom. "But bravery won't save you."
Tasha shifted her stance, planting her boots firmly in the soft earth. "Neither will your arrogance."
Without warning, the vampire lunged, her speed inhuman, a blur of shadow and malice. Tasha’s instincts took over, and she raised her katana in a defensive arc, the blade catching the vampire’s clawed strike with a metallic screech. Sparks flew as the vampire’s nails, sharper than any knife, raked across the katana.
Tasha shoved her back with a grunt, creating distance. The vampire hissed, her face twisting into something monstrous, fangs glinting in the moonlight. She darted forward again, this time feinting left before twisting mid-air to attack from the right. Tasha anticipated the move, sidestepping just in time and countering with a sweeping slash aimed at the vampire’s torso.
The vampire twisted unnaturally, her body bending like a reed to avoid the blade. Still, the edge nicked her side, and a thin line of dark blood welled up. She growled, her predatory gaze now filled with rage.
"You're better than most," the vampire sneered, licking the blood from her fingers as if savoring it. "But not good enough."
Tasha didn’t respond. She knew words would be wasted here. Instead, she advanced, keeping her movements measured and deliberate. Her katana was her lifeline, and every motion was calculated to keep the vampire within striking range while guarding her own vulnerable points.
The vampire lashed out again, this time faster and more erratic, a whirlwind of claws and shrieks. Tasha deflected the onslaught with desperate precision, her katana becoming an extension of her arm. Each parry sent jolts up her arm, and she could feel her muscles tiring under the relentless barrage. The vampire’s claw caught her shoulder, tearing through the clothing and drawing blood. Tasha gritted her teeth, refusing to falter.
Using the momentum from the strike, she spun on her heel and brought her katana around in a wide arc. The vampire leaned back to avoid the swing, but Tasha followed up with a quick thrust aimed at her heart. The vampire dodged, but not quickly enough; the tip of the katana grazed her chest, eliciting a scream of pain.
Seizing the opportunity, Tasha pressed her attack. She drove the vampire back with a series of powerful strikes, forcing her to retreat toward a fallen tree. The vampire snarled, her movements growing more desperate and wild as she realized she was being cornered.
Tasha saw the moment of hesitation—the vampire’s split-second glance over her shoulder, calculating escape. Tasha didn’t let her act on it. She feigned a high strike, then pivoted low, sweeping her katana in a deadly arc aimed at the vampire’s legs. The blade bit deep into her thigh, and the vampire stumbled with a howl.
Before the vampire could recover, Tasha was on her. She kicked the creature in the chest, sending her sprawling onto her back. With a feral growl, the vampire clawed at the ground, trying to rise, but Tasha’s boot came down hard on her chest, pinning her in place.
The vampire glared up at her, defiant even in defeat. "You think you've won?" she spat, blood dribbling from her mouth. "A human hunting the syndicate will never be allowed to…"
Her taunt was cut short as Tasha raised her katana high, the blade catching the light one last time. "I’ll deal with them when they come," Tasha said coldly.
With a powerful swing, she brought the katana down. The silver edge sliced cleanly through the vampire’s neck, and her head tumbled to the ground. The body went limp, disintegrating into ash within moments. The forest grew eerily silent, as if holding its breath.
Tasha stood there for a moment, breathing heavily, her katana still poised. The fight was over, but she knew this was only the beginning. She still had a quest to complete.
Tasha made her way back to the clearing, hoping against hope that the blood servants were still passed out from their drugged stupor. Her shoulder ached where the claws had left open deep cuts. As she approached the clearing she took out her phone to check in on the clearing and its occupants. It looked like all six of the blood servants were still passed out, eyes open, in the clearing. As Tasha had no idea of what it would take to bring them out of their stupor, she planned out her attack. She intended to target them in the order they had consumed the blood to maximise her chances of the blood servants remaining in their current state.
The forest clearing was unnervingly quiet, the air thick with the metallic tang of spilled blood. Tasha stood, her gaze cold and unyielding. Her sword, slick with dark crimson, gleamed faintly in the light. Ahead of her, six blood servants lay sprawled in various states of disarray, their unnaturally pale skin and gaunt features marking them as thralls of the vampire she had just vanquished.
They were in a vampire blood stupor, their chests rising and falling slowly, oblivious to the death that had come for their mistress. Tasha's jaw tightened. She had no pity for them. Blood servants were willing participants, humans who had chosen servitude to the vampire for power, immortality, or whatever twisted promises they had been offered. They were predators in their own right, feeding off the innocent and perpetuating the cycle of death.
One by one, she approached the first of the unconscious thralls. His slack jaw and vacant expression might have made him seem pitiful in another light, but Tasha knew better. She raised her sword high, the silver edge shimmering like judgment itself, and brought it down swiftly. The head separated cleanly from the body, rolling onto the forest floor as the corpse twitched once before laying still in death.
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Tasha didn't hesitate. She moved to the next, her movements efficient and unflinching. The second blood servant met the same fate, her blade slicing through flesh and bone with grim finality. The soft thud of the head hitting the ground was the only sound in the clearing.
The third and fourth fell just as easily. Their deaths were quick, merciless, and devoid of ceremony. With each swing, Tasha felt no satisfaction, only the grim resolve that came with eliminating a threat. She would offer no compassion for those who had thrown their lot in with monsters.
As she approached the fifth servant, her keen ears caught a faint rustle from the sixth. He was stirring, his eyes fluttering open as the haze of the vampire blood began to wear off. Tasha didn’t pause, dispatching the fifth servant with the same brutal efficiency before turning her attention to the awakening man.
He blinked groggily, confusion clouding his features as he propped himself up on one elbow. His bloodshot eyes widened in horror as he took in the scene—the bodies of his fallen comrades, the bloodstained woman standing over him, sword in hand.
"No," he croaked, his voice hoarse and weak. "Wait … please! Don’t!"
Tasha’s expression remained impassive as she stalked toward him. He scrambled backward, his limbs trembling as he tried to crawl away. "I-I didn’t have a choice," he stammered, tears streaking his sallow cheeks. "She made me … she made all of us …"
"You chose this," Tasha said coldly, her voice cutting through his desperate pleas. "You chose to serve her. You chose to prey on others."
The man shook his head frantically, his back hitting the base of a tree as he realized there was nowhere left to go. "I-I can help you!" he begged. "I know things! I can …"
Tasha didn’t let him finish. She lunged forward, her sword arcing through the air with deadly precision. His head separated from his body in one clean stroke, his eyes still wide with terror as it hit the ground. The body slumped lifelessly, and like the others finally silent in death.
The clearing was silent once more, save for the soft rustling of leaves in the breeze and crackling of the fire in the clearing. Tasha stood there for a moment, her chest rising and falling with the exertion.
She looked around at the bodies that she had so callously cut down. Even as she watched, the bodies began to wither, over the course of a dozen minutes turning into desiccated husks. It seemed that the power granted by the vampire blood was fleeting and fled after death.
Tasha took the time and slowly dragged each corpse and head over to the fire. The dried husks were akin to adding paper into a fire. They were quick to burn, turning the small bonfire into a raging inferno as it consumed the bodies, leaving nothing but ash behind.
It took Tasha a while to calm down. She didn't have to worry about the vampire, as her whole body, clothing and all had turned to ash. Popular fiction had gotten some things right at least. As she sat there she opened up her quest. She wanted to see the rewards of this wanton slaughter.
Quest: First Hunt
In search of answers about your family's accident, you find yourself alone in a forest. The forest area is frequented by a vampire and her blood servants. Kill them all and learn about the hidden powers in your world. Be aware, the vampire and the blood servants can only be killed by decapitation. Anything else will allow them to survive and recover.
Reward: (Quest Points 200, Bonus for first kill 800, Experience gained, New Quest available.)
Status: Complete
1000 Quest points, some experience and a new quest was less than she had been expecting, but it was still a decent reward. Knowledge about the existence of the Syndicate, a collection of creatures from popular horror come to life that fed on humanity was another reward. Tasha expected the system had wanted to ensure she would not be able to rationalise her way out of ignoring the implications raised by the knowledge.
The system had ensured she had been strong enough, trained enough and then dropped her with warning into a life and death situation. She wasn't sure she liked the fact that it had led her here with so little forewarning, but could she really blame it. What would she have thought if the system had told her about the existence of vampires in advance. It has at least warned her before she had to face the creatures. From the systems perspective, it hadn’t forced her to complete the quests either, she was free to ignore them and live on in her ignorance.
Though that did leave the question that what else did the system know about her world that she did not, and what would be the cost to learn those secrets.
Once the fire had died down and she had ensured no evidence was left in the clearing, she climbed the trees and recovered her cameras. Even if more vampires and blood servants came to this clearing, she had no reason to stay and hunt them at the moment, though that may change in the future.
She made her way back to her temporary tree camp, and climbed up into the sheltered branches. She made sure to secure her equipment and then tied herself in place to rest. If she fell asleep then she did not want to fall out of the tree. Even though the fight had been brief, she was bone tired from the exertion. Had she not increased her stats, she had no doubt that the fight would not have gone so well for her. The vampire was strong, fast and tricky. It was only the intense training and her stats that allowed her to fight at parity against the damned thing.
Feeling secure she decided to check her messages and new quest. First she opened up her messages. She found she actually had two messages, somehow she had missed one of the messages.
First Kill - experience gained.
Class: Rouge (Tier 2) level up
Class: Rouge (Tier 2) - Level 1
All stats +1
First Investment - experience gained.
Profession: Technocrat (Tier 2) level up
Profession: Technocrat (Tier 2) - Level 1
All stats +1
As she read those two messages, she received a third message
Race: Human (Tier 0) level up
Race: Human (Tier 0) - Level 1
All stats +1
And then a 4th message popped up.
Apply all rewards?
24 stat points - will require 2.4 hours to assign.
Please ensure you are in a safe space and a comfortable position before proceeding.
Assign now? Yes / No
Tasha left the message pending, she had no intention of applying the stats in the middle of the forest. She decided to rest a little longer, then make her way back to the drop off point. She should be able to make it back in 2 hours if she pushed herself, having got a lot more familiar with her new capabilities. She could sleep in the car on the way back to the hotel.