The scent of blood became stronger and stronger, and not long after, Theo’s ears picked up sounds of crunching and tearing. Although he heard it, he was nowhere near close, at least half a kilometer away, but not knowing the strength of the beast feasting on its prey, he decided to increase caution.

The artifact caused him to enter a state of utter focus, distinct to predators closing in on their prey. His movements unnaturally quiet and nimble. Entering the proximity of 100 meters of the beast, his eyes flashed around, locating the most suitable path to a high ground.

His nails extended outwards and sharpened, an ability rare to see in civilized vampires, normally only found on ferals who give in to their instincts and only crave blood, or those with great control of their bodies and bloodline.

Using his claws, he climbed a giant tree around 6 meters in diameter up to the first branch, used it as a foothold to propel himself to another branch more than 4 meters above the first one, and dug his claws in its bark. He lowered himself on all fours, a position distinct to feline-type creatures preparing to launch themselves, and charged forward, jumping to a branch of another tree with nimble movements.

After a couple more calculated jumps, he reached a spot that allowed him to gain a visual on his pray. What he saw was a cat-like creature, a little smaller than a tiger, yet bigger than an average dog. It feasted on a corpse of what he could only assume was some type of raccoon creature from the patter on its tail.

Searching around in his memories, he luckily found the identity of the feline beast. It was a barkfur puma, a creature commonly found through most forests in the surrounding kingdoms. Its fur resembled bark, which the beast used to camouflage itself within the forest to catch prey off guard. Although some individuals of their race can reach second order without evolving, it is quite rare, so most of them are in the level 15 range upon reaching adulthood. The fur was its most defining quality and not only had the appearance of bark, but also hardness comparable to it, so it was a common material for crafting low-grade defensive equipment.

Now that he thought about it, equipment would really come in handy, but he had no time for wishful thinking.

[You have received a new quest!]

[First pray]

[Your first mission in this realm is also your first pray. Kill the brakwood puma lvl14.]

[Reward: ??? (As this is your first true mission in this ream, there will be an additional reward upon completion)]

Theo quickly glanced at the quest that appeared inside his mind, but then ignored it, as it was currently only a distraction. Even when he got the exact information about the creature's level, which was almost triple his, there was no way he was backing down, the smell of blood clouded his reason.

His pupils dilated, taking in every small movement of the beast, his irises flashed with faint red light, unknown whether it was the doing of his physique, bloodline, or the artifact, maybe even a combination of them.

He slowly moved closer through the tree’s canopy with precise and calculated movements, from an outsider’s perspective, it would look like a feline praying on another feline, even though one was a flesh-hungry vampire possessed by a wolf spirit.

The puma happily feasted on its catch, though it was still wary of its surroundings, it had no idea of the predator lurking up above.

The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

Positioning himself on a branch 6 meters above the puma, Theo dug his claws into the wood of the tree and flexed all his muscles to the limit. Waiting for the moment when the overgrown cat’s head lowered to tear off another piece of meat, he released all the built-up power and catapulted himself towards it.

Just as the feline's teeth pierced the tender meat, its instincts kicked in and it quickly tried to doge, but it was too late.

Theo’s left hand clawed straight at the eyes, the other pushed at the creature’s torso to break its balance, while his jaw went straight for the jugular.

The claws on his left hand managed to precisely puncture both of the creature’s ocular organs, but that’s where the plan deviated.

His other hand barely moved the creature because of the vast difference in attributes, and while his vampiric fangs did successfully penetrate the bark-like fur, it did nowhere near enough damage to be fatal.

The creature retaliated with full force, its intense reaction knocking Theo to the side, sending him rolling on the ground.

Although it wasn’t an instant kill, he managed to rob it of its sight, but he still didn’t let down his guard. Lifting himself off the ground, covered in dirt and dried leaves, he put his best effort into making as little sound as possible. He circled the beast, who now stood at full alert, trying to locate its aggressor.

The dark forest suddenly turned quiet, with one beast fighting for its life, while the other waited for a moment of weakness to deal another strike.

Finally getting another opportunity after approximately a dozen seconds passed, Theo struck his hand full of sharp nails with full force against his opponent’s throat, right where he bit it the first time.

The beast gave out a yelp of pain and retaliated with a claw strike which grazed Theo’s shoulder. Although his attack made a noticeable wound this time around, the difference in level showed again, as even his strike with full power barely broke through the beast’s fur.

Unlike its eyes, the wound on the feline's neck started bleeding profusely. Although it would be less risky to just let it bleed out, Theo understood that the more time he spent here, the more likely it was for the scent of blood to attract more attention. But he didn’t mindlessly charge in, he waited for another opportunity to present itself.

He did not have to wait long as the beast was already on its last legs. The strike landed at the same wound he inflicted last time, but without the protection of its fur, it did a lot more damage.

By the time the creature reacted and attacked the spot where Theo attacked from, he already retreated a couple of meters back.

Just like that, the creature fell after a few of seconds, not able to support its body any longer. For the sake of caution, Theo struck the wound again, this time reaching the spine and ending the beast’s life for good.

A wave of euphoria suddenly hit him, making him release an uncontrollable howl, which traveled further through the forest than Theo would’ve liked. But the euphoria subsided along with the howl, like it never even happened.

[You have gained 7 SP]

[Congratulations!]

[You have completed the quest ‘First pray’]

[You have received the following rewards:

-Barkwood Puma Artifact

-1000 SP

-Item Crate

-Bite Force skill]

Theo didn’t bother to look at the notifications as he had his attention wholly on the body. But even when he completed his objective, the instincts gained from the artifact didn’t let him relax, he was just about to pick up the carcass, when a coin materialized from the lights flowing out of the beast’s body. He quickly picked it up along with the dead body, which he put over his shoulder and climbed the nearest tree as fast as he could.

What he didn’t know, however, was that a person witnessed the whole scene. Boisterous laughter could be heard in an area a couple of kilometers away from where Theo currently was.

“Ulfred, oh Ulfred, what kind of monster did your little girl fuck to spawn such a demon… Haahhaha…”

Behind him, a whole hill of beast corpses, each with its own arrow could be seen.