After collecting whatever they could, Vlad and Flint soon left the hospital to continue their trek to find a place where there were other people. Their current goal is just to find a group before the Blood Moon event so they can try and survive that day. Afterward, if it was not a group associated with Vlad’s friends, they’d leave them to continue the search.

The pair were currently walking down a desolate street in the city, devoid of all life yet filled with abandoned and destroyed cars along with debris and a blazing fire all over the entire area. The sound of the crackling flames was the only noise in the area, aside from the monstrous grunts and chittering sounds. While Vlad confidently strolled through the street, Flint was hunched over while frantically scanning the area, afraid that they’d get attacked at any moment.

“Try and relax a little, Flint,” Vlad advised. “Although we’re out in the streets, we’re safe for the moment.”

“I-I can’t help it. After what happened with that high-level lizardman, I’m certain that we’ll be running into more of them.”

Vlad nervously scratched his head. “Yeah, you’re not wrong. Still, if that were to happen, I feel that I can take care of it. With the new skills I’ve obtained, the fight should be a lot easier.”

After testing out his skills, especially his [Blood Dash] ability, the Blood Hunter felt confident in winning a fight. Of course, if he believed that he was way in over his head, he planned on running away. Although it hurt his pride, he wasn’t going to risk his life over it. At least not until he found his family. Aside from the [Blood Dash] ability, Vlad was also excited to gain more BP with [Hemophagia]. That and also unlocking its other abilities by increasing its rank.

Unlike [Blood Strike] or [Blood Dash], this skill doesn’t require Blood Points to use it, so he could abuse the ability as much as he wanted. And he planned to do just that.

“Hey, Flint,” Vlad spoke up. “Do you have any ideas as to where we can find a place where other players are?”

“No, not really,” He admitted. “I’ve been on my own for the past two days, and I haven’t heard of anything about a shelter for players.”

“Right…”

Back at the hospital, Vlad asked Flint if he knew anything regarding the past two days he had been gone during his Fable Trials. Sadly, the mage kept to himself during those days and couldn’t find any other players he could trust. Vlad doubted that there weren’t any players grouped together in a shelter, so all they needed to do was keep looking. The pair were bound to encounter someone they could trust before the Blood Moon event.

Of course, if they couldn’t…then their next plan was to find a place to hold out till the Blood Moon was over. Vlad thought about taking shelter somewhere elevated, like a skyscraper rooftop. They were pretty high and filled with a lot of stairs. With that, the pair could sabotage the staircases and prevent the monsters from swarming them. Though there were also air-borne monsters, they had to worry about, so they weren’t completely out of trouble yet. Perhaps they could conjure up a force field or something? Could there be a skill that Vlad could obtain to do that?

The vampire shook his head, realizing he was getting off track. He shouldn’t be thinking about his backup plan as if it was bound to happen. He needed to find a group to ensure their survival. Even if it meant his Vampirism would get exposed. There wasn’t much of a choice in the matter to begin with. Fending off against an entire horde of monsters with only Flint and himself was outright suicide.

Although Vlad didn’t know what was in store regarding the Blood Moon, he knew that it was going to take more than two people to defend against a large army of monsters attacking them. There was also the fact that the blood moon also boosted their abilities, making them even more formidable to handle. Doing this event solo was not an ideal plan, so it was a priority for them to find a group of players to join.

“We should be able to find someone if we keep looking,” Vlad declared. “So, try and keep your eyes peeled.”

“R-right…h-huh?!” Flint yelped in surprise while looking ahead of Vlad, his eyes widened in response.

Vlad was confused by his reaction and peered at whatever he was looking at. That was when his eyes also widened as the pair witnessed a group of monsters up ahead. They immediately moved and hid behind some abandoned cars to avoid getting detected. Vlad wanted to use [Stealth], but it would be a waste of BP since Flint’s presence would still be perceived, pretty much defeating the purpose altogether.

While behind the vehicles, Vlad raised his head over the roof and peered at the monsters ahead of them. Thanks to his vampiric senses, his eyes zoomed in on the group, allowing him to view his targets in fine detail. Seeing the creatures, he realized that they were a new set of monsters. Different from the goblins and lizards. They were large, humanoid brutes with dark green skin and muscles that would make body-builders green with envy. Unlike the goblins and lizardmen who barely wore any clothing, these monsters were fully clothed and armored.

They were decked out in bulky leather armor with shoulder pads and leather bracers. They also had long or short hair, giving them a more human appearance, despite the overgrown tusks protruding from their jaws as if they were walruses. From what Vlad saw, they appear to be some kind of warrior race, much like the lizardman, only a lot more brutal-looking.

The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

While peering at the monsters, Vlad finally managed to also appraise them from here, allowing him to know what they were and how strong they were as well. When he did, though, his blood turned cold in an instant.

[Orc – Level 10]

[Orc – Level 12]

[Orc – Level 12]

[Orc – Level 15]

[Orc – Level 12]

[Orc – Level 13]

“Oh, come on…” The vampire whispered a groan. “I know I wanted a challenge, but this isn’t what I meant, dammit…”

“W-what do you mean?” Flint asked nervously.

“See for yourself,” Vlad pointed his thumb at the Orcs ahead of them.

Flint did as he was told and peered his head toward the monsters, to which his face instantly turned pale as he moved his head back behind the cars. His face was filled with fear as his body trembled in response to what he just witnessed, while Vlad watched his reaction. Although he expected his enemies to be stronger, he didn’t think he was going to face another Red Lizardman Boss fight, along with its subordinates as well. He quickly hid himself away again, doing his best to avoid getting caught by the Orcs.

As for what he planned on doing, it was pretty obvious; He was going to try and take them down. Not only were they in Vlad and Flint’s way, but he also couldn’t pass up the opportunity to obtain more levels. And considering how all those Orcs were over level ten, he was in for quite a delicious feast of XP.

Before dining in, though, he had to take care of Flint. Vlad spun around and faced the mage for a second.

“Alright, Flint, I need you to hide somewhere while I take care of those Orcs. Got it?”

“Yeah, right…” Flint nodded, adjusting his glasses nervously.

While Vlad wanted backup, he wasn’t expecting it from the mage. According to Flint, he was only around level three, and only got to that level because he was left with no choice but to kill monsters since they were after him. And unlike Vlad, he was way more vulnerable than the vampire. That and Vlad couldn’t protect the mage while fighting the Orcs, so he decided to just deal with the threat himself.

“Go hide in that building next to us,” Vlad pointed at what appeared to be a diner right next to them. “There don’t seem to be any monsters inside, so you’ll be safe in there.”

Thanks to his [Blood Sense] skill, the vampire checked if there were any living creatures inside the diner. Thankfully, there wasn’t a single red silhouette, which meant it was more or less safe for Flint.

The mage didn’t waste any time either, instead of going through the door, he vaulted over the broken window. This was a smart move since a lot of diners had bells attached to their doors, so when they opened, the employees could hear the light bell chimes, signaling them that another customer had appeared. If Flint went through the front door, that bell would’ve likely rang, and given away their position to the Orcs, which was the last thing the pair needed right now.

Once Flint was in the diner, safe and sound, Vlad shifted his attention back to the orcs. He took one last look at the group of monsters while scanning the area, trying to locate a safe spot where he could get closer to them.

His eyes then spotted another grouping of cars situated right near the Orcs on the left side of the street. While crouched down, Vlad activated [Stealth] and cautiously made his way toward the vehicles. Each step he made was light and quiet, allowing him to smoothly make his way toward his destination. When he got behind a pile of building debris, he glanced over at the monsters as they continued to talk amongst themselves. Sadly, even with his heightened hearing, the Blood Hunter couldn’t understand a word they were saying. The orcs were speaking some incomprehensible language that contained grunts and snarls.

A part of Vlad wished that he could understand what they were saying so he could try and converse with them. He wasn’t planning on making peace with the monsters, but he certainly would like to gain information, like why they were invading his world along with what this system was. Unfortunately, communication was not an option for him. Which left him with only one choice; killing them.

One of the Orcs then started to move away from the group, and exactly where the vacant group of cars were. Getting an idea, Vlad made his way to his spot, determined to get there before the Orc, remaining silent and undetected. He maneuvered around debris that got in his way and kept a close eye on the Orc. Eventually, he finally arrived at the hiding spot first, and hid behind the vehicles, waiting for the monster to get close.

He stayed as quiet as possible, monitoring the creature’s every movement until it reached Vlad’s position. He was still crouched down as the Orc moved past the cars and was close to him. At that moment, once it was in Vlad’s field of vision, the vampire used [Blood Dash] and blurred over to it and pierced its neck with his spear. The Orc let out a slight croak while choking on its blood, but before it could signal its brethren to assist it, the Blood hunter dragged it to the ground, pinning it down with his knee.

Blood seeped out the wound of its neck while it also coughed up some of it from its mouth. It was still alive, if only barely. The Orc managed to turn its head, its eyes meeting his as they were filled with anger and hatred. However, Vlad was unfazed by its glare and bent down to get closer to its neck.

“You brought this on yourself, pal…” Making this declaration, he opened his mouth, revealing his fangs, and dug them deep into the Orc’s neck.

A light groan slipped out the creature’s lips, but it was so faint, that the other Orcs couldn’t hear it, thus leaving their brethren to its fate.

Vlad continued to drink its blood until he finally received his message panels like usual.

[Orc has been defeated! 825 XP has been obtained!]

[Blood has been consumed! 50 Blood Points has been obtained!

[Skill [Hemophagia] has been activated! 10 Extra Blood Points has been obtained!]

After killing the Orc, he pulled his fangs out of the monster. Blood dripped from his mouth, to which he wiped it off with his hand. While still crouched, Vlad looked back at the rest of the Orcs, relieved that they hadn’t noticed one of their own was killed yet.

While his eyes were trained on the rest of the monsters, the vampire slowly formulated a plan on how to take care of them, all the while eager to sink his fangs into his next victims while they helplessly call out for help, only to die in the end.

Although sadistic, this was exactly what Vlad planned to do to these Orcs.