I heard their howls before I saw them.
My feet carried me as fast as they could through the forest, jumping over bushes and roots, ducking beneath branches.
Their steps were close behind me, the patter of paws against solid dirt and heavy breathing filling the air.
Wolves.
It was almost like the finalization of my tutorial quest had summoned them. I didn’t know how many there were but it was clear I was vastly outnumbered. My mind flashed to one of my weaknesses, [Hunted], and a slight panic welled inside me.
The first wolf came at me from the side. It jumped from the bushes, snarling with its jaw wide, and I just barely sidestepped it. I heard hastened steps behind me and preemptively rolled away, watching a second wolf attack where I had just stood.
My movements felt strange and clumsy. While this was my avatar’s body, which I’d spent countless hours piloting, there was a clear disconnect now that I was truly inside of it. Whatever errors I made in-game were probably corrected by the system; out here, I was a flopping mess.
There was too much power in my legs and my vision was too clear. I underestimated myself, jumping too far at times and crashing into trees or stumbling over roots.
I fled to an open space in the forest, free of bushes for the wolves to hide in and trees for them to outmaneuver me around. They were all in sight now, all six of them. Dark gray fur, jagged and mangy. Glistening ivory fangs. Steel blue eyes. The pack crept into the opening, wary. Some circled to my left, others to my right, a few remained directly in front of me.
I took this chance to identify them. Despite my weakness, if there was a large enough gap in our power there was a chance I could stand my ground and fight them.
Grey Wolf|Power: 36
I identified a few others and got similar results, power levels ranging from thirty-three to thirty-seven. Was the gap low or high? I had no way of knowing what a difference of ten power meant. It's all relative. If the limit on power was one-hundred, then a gap of ten would be quite large. But if the cap was ten thousand? One million? It would be negligible. But since they were weaker than me, [Supremacy] was in effect, almost negating my weakness for being outnumbered.
Getting lost in my thoughts was a mistake. I didn’t notice the wolf behind until it had already jumped at me. I spun, swinging my fist to hit it, and missed. A seventh wolf, which must have hidden in the bushes around the opening, lodged its teeth into my side and yanked hard.
My skin was tough and did not tear easily but the pain was like nothing I’d ever felt before. The wolf jerked its head, trying to tear off a chunk of my flesh. I heard the other wolves approach and felt my mind go blank. One of them jumped at my head and I blocked it with my arm, feeling its fangs tear into my forearm.
Shit, shit, shit.
I spun and whipped my arm, using the momentum to toss the second wolf to the side. The first still had hold of my waist, showing no signs of letting go. I punched it over the head and felt a crack beneath my fist. It stumbled backwards, wobbling and off balance, but there was no time to find my bearings. Three of them attacked simultaneously and it took everything I had to not fall backwards and end up a victim of their jaws.
They jumped and I swatted, they bit and I avoided, they feinted and I held my ground. Each movement made my heart jump from my chest. Two other wolves joined the fray and it was at that point I reached my limit. As I swiped at one of their faces, ripping a gash above its eye, I felt the fangs of another pierce my left calf. The wolf tugged at my leg, keeping me from moving or breaking free, and the others took advantage of my hesitation to topple me to the ground. My vision was a mix of blurry gray shapes and flashing teeth. They bit me all over, still unable to tear off chunks of flesh but strong enough to make my head weak with pain.
I yelled out and flailed but their numbers were too many. My eyes burned with tears. This was real. There were no pain dampeners or nullifies. This was raw, shock-inducing pain.
As I tried my best to keep their fangs from my throat, I felt something strange emerge from the pits of my stomach. Instinct? It spoke to me in the voice of death. Anger riddled its words.
Why suffer? It said. Why not fight with our power?
My shouts for help were cut off over and over as the wolves went for my throat. I swatted them and kept one hand over my neck, but I felt my grasp failing.
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You know what you must do.
I was barely conscious.
Cast aside your shackles.
My hand fell from my throat and in an instant one of the wolves sunk in their teeth. I felt their fangs wiggle in my neck.
Feast!
Something primal lit a fire in my chest. My vision went red at the edges. My breathing hastened. And without thinking, I opened my mouth and bit back. I heard the wolf squeal in pain but felt my senses dull in place of my heightened taste.
I knew what I needed to do next. Just as the desire to bite came from an unknown place, so too did the words I knew I needed to say.
[Blood Drain]!
I thought the words in my head. A surge of energy flowed through my body and into my fangs. They elongated, stretching deeper into the wolf's neck and drawing a fountain of blood into my mouth. The crimson liquid flowed over my tongue and down my throat, metallic and sweet, rustic and savory. My muscles tightened. My eyes widened. Every tendon and ligament popped and cracked as if they became anew. There was no more pain scoring my legs and arms or torso.
I felt powerful.
All the foods of Crossland that I once called delicacies were now a hate crime to my tastebuds. No island fruit or hundred-year-old recipe could compare to the nectar of life; the red beneath the skin.
I kept draining the wolf's blood until its flailing stopped and its body went limp.
Blood Shard Acquired {Gray Wolf|1/3}
The system notification might as well have not appeared. I paid it no mind. Nothing could drag me from my desire to feast.
With newfound strength, I flung the beast from my mouth and kicked myself free from the wolves onslaught. They howled and scattered. I was on my feet, staring them down with blood dripping from my mouth. Their eyes fell to their fallen ally and rage filled them. They went wild, gums bared and teeth glistening with my blood.
I wanted more. Even if I had to lose a limb to get it.
I dashed at the closest one and reached for it. My nails had become claws, long and pointed. They sunk into the wolf’s sides as I brought my fangs closer and pierced its neck. It squealed and its friends came to its aid, biting at my sides and tearing open new wounds.
It did not matter.
I used [Blood Drain] and that crimson delicacy graced my tongue once more. The wounds they’d inflicted on me closed as soon as they opened.
Blood Shard Acquired {Gray Wolf|2/3}
Power Level Increased: 45-48
I grabbed the now limp wolf and smashed it against one of the others. I heard bones crack and smelt blood leak from wounds. This was so much fun.
A wolf jumped from the bushes at my side and I caught it mid-air. Immediately, I plunged my hand through its chest, ripping out an organ and watching its body squirm. I drained it of all its blood.
Blood Shard Acquired {Gray Wolf|3/3}
New Skill Acquired: [Sharp Claw]
The details of the skill were added to my knowledge as soon as the notification went away. Two wolves ran at me and I felt it was the perfect time to test it out.
“[Sharp Claw]” I said, and just like before, a surge of energy flowed through me but this time gathered in my hand. My claws glowed with white light. I swung my arm upwards and four claw marks formed where I had swiped. They flew through the air towards the wolves, ripping across the ground. One of them jumped away in time but the other was too slow. The skill got it on the side and tore right through it, splitting its body into pieces.
Only three of them remained. I stared them in their eyes. All the rage that had filled them before was now replaced by fear. I’d stolen the wild from them.
“You can’t kill me. Even if you tear out my throat I’ll still live. As long as I drain you of every drop I’ll come back stronger each time,” the words came from my mouth like venom.
The wolves tried backing away but I had already sealed their fate in my mind. There was a hunger inside of me that could not be satiated, and it would be fed.
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I sat alone in the opening, blood coating my body like fresh paint. My eyes were no longer red. My heart beat normally. My mind was my own.
Power Level Increased: 48-50
I dismissed the message and put my face into my hands. What happened to me? I didn’t mind what I was forced to do, I needed to survive, but it was how I felt while doing it.
To feel so much joy hearing bones break and watching life fade from their eyes...It was monstrous. I stared down at my feet. What would become of me if this continued to happen? How long would it be before my sanity didn’t return after a rampage?
“I hate how good their blood tasted…” I mumbled. I wanted to cry but couldn’t. My brain said I should but my heart wished there were a dozen more wolves to fight. I sighed and looked up at the sky. The trees had blocked it before so it was my first time seeing it. Gray skies. Cloud filled and drear.
Better than the sun, I guess. I chuckled to myself.
“Fuck being a vampire.”