[Sally’s PoV]
It’s dark, lonely. I’m floating here, no one with me, surrounded by the darkness of myself. Grabbing my knees and curling up into a ball, I wanted to stay in this darkness, it was comfortable. I don’t know why, I just wanted to sleep here forever.
I noticed someone else was here with me. No, not someone else, it was me, I was here with myself. Staring at the other me, it was ugly. Two horns, silver in colour, coming from its forehead, a pair of bat-like wings spread out behind it, two long sharp fangs peeking from their top lip, pale white skin and long claws coming from its fingers. So that’s the other me, the monster that I lost control to. It was staring at me as well, just staring. Is this what Alisha went through when she transformed? Thinking back to everything that has happened, I felt joy, sadness, anger, and so many different emotions that I never knew existed. I've experienced so much in these short few weeks since we escaped the humans. Closing my eyes, I think about those days, the days of my childhood, or whatever you want to call it.
***
“Get out monster!” A loud bang reverberates throughout my cage. Opening my eyes, I look up at the human standing over me as they throw open the cage door. With not enough space to even sit up, I crawl out of the cage. Once out the human grabs my collar and drags me out of the building. Going past other cages holding other hybrids, all too small to move and dozens just stack on each other, I see others looking at us with dull eyes. Some were lifeless, hybrids that had died due to starvation, thirst or by outgrowing their case. We were thrown in here from the moment of our birth until we turned ten, we were deemed adequate if we survived in this place and were brought out, just like what was happening to me. Those that died were just left there, the smell from their corpses was so rancid but you get used to it, just like the darkness of this place. We only knew there was more to this place because the humans wouldn’t shut up about it. Thanks to the System and hearing the humans talk, we knew how to read and talk, but we rarely did in fear of being punished.
Being dragged into a new area, somewhere new, it was a large room, with hundreds of other hybrids sitting around, making things. They kept dragging me until I was thrown to a certain spot. Without a word, the human turns and leaves. Looking around, I see hybrids pretending that I wasn’t there, except for one. With dark brown hair and curious pink eyes was a girl the same age as me, looking at me like I was something new. I saw her name through the System. The one gift we were given by the System when we were born.
[Level 1 Monster, Chloe]
Looking down, I sit near her and wonder what I was meant to do. Seeing others making strange items with their hands, I saw there were pieces of objects near me in a box. Watching what the girl, Chloe was doing, she was taking a piece of wood that had a cut in the middle at one end and a strange pointy rock. She put the strange rock on one end and then put the combined item into another box that had heaps of them in it. Mimicking her, I tried to do the same but the pointy rock wouldn’t go on.
“No no, like this.” Whispering to me, she shows me again. There was a small gap on the other end of the pointy rock, putting the stick into it, it came apart again. “Push it a bit harder” upon doing so, I managed to attach it. Turning away from me, Chloe does the same thing. Without a word, we keep doing this until the box fills. Once it was filled, a human came over, grabbed the box without looking at us and placed an empty one there. Everytime the sticks or rocks ran out, they would replace them with a full box. For hours we kept doing this, my hands hurt and were bleeding from cutting myself on the rocks or sticks. If we bled onto anything we had to throw it away if we couldn’t clean it, Chloe whispered to me that if any blood was on them the humans would punish all of us.
Soon a bell rang out and a new box dropped near us. A mouldy smell came from it as Chloe reached in and grabbed some bread, the same type they would feed to us in the cages. It had all types of green spots on it and bite marks, Chloe passed me one of the bread pieces and we ate silently. After eating, Chloe drops her head slightly and sleeps. Again I mimic her and do the same, and sleep. An hour or so later, a bell sounds out, waking me up, and Chloe keeps doing the same thing as before, I too follow her steps and we silently work like this.
***
And like that, a few months passed. Many had been replaced around me, some dying, some being dragged somewhere else. Chloe was still here, we’d talk sometimes, she was nice and the only one who ever talked to me. We had to be careful, others had been punished for talking or not making these pointy rock sticks. We didn’t have much to talk about, we usually talked about the outside world and what it was like. Neither of us had seen it but it must be amazing, no buildings or sticks to make. Today was a day like no other, however something new happened.
There was noise coming from the doors that lead out of this building, and looking up, I saw a group of humans paying attention to a certain human. He was walking around, inspecting us. Slowly he made his way to us, stopping every now and then with a strange look in his eyes. Soon, he arrived before us, and the strange look was very clear in his eyes.
“Good, these ones will do. Pack them and take them to the usual spot.”
Before I knew what those words meant, another human grabbed me and put something over my head. I tried to struggle but was hit in the stomach, going limp I stopped struggling. Hearing sobbing from Chloe’s direction, we’re dragged out, not being able to see where we’re going. Soon, I felt myself thrown at the ground, the thing still over my head.
“Be glad, filthy hybrids, you have a new job! If you don’t do a good enough job or are too slow, I’ll make sure to whip you into shape!”
Feeling a burning sensation on my back followed by intense pain, I scream. Hearing laughter, the same voice speaks again “That’s the sound I love you hybrids making. Now, get to it.” Feeling the thing around my head come off, I see where we are through my teary vision. In front of me was a big piece of wood with a curved piece of metal on it. Looking around, we were in some kind of dark hole, there were others swinging the same metal tool at a block rocky wall, causing smaller rocks to fall off. Getting up and picking up the tool, I mimic what the others were doing. At some points others would stop, pick up those rocks that were coming off the wall and putting them into a big box behind us. I start swinging my tool at the wall, feeling it vibrate through my hands, not breaking anything off. I knew I would be struck again if I didn’t get any rocks, so I kept going.
Chloe was next to me, doing the same thing. I didn’t dare look at her, in fear that I would be struck. Finally, on my fifth swing, I broke off some pieces of the rock. I continued as I slowly got a bigger pile, scooping it in my hands, ignoring the cuts and splinters from the rocks and from swinging that tool, I moved and dropped the rocks into the box. Without a word, we keep going. We were only given small breaks, not enough to sleep and the food was only given once a day, the same mouldy bread.
***
Years have past in this dark hole, at times we would be tortured for the entertainment of the humans, at other times they would kill the hybrids who were to weak to keep swinging this pickaxe. My back has long since scarred over with dozens, maybe even hundreds of marks from being whipped, sometimes from punishment, sometimes because the patrol was bored.. The years have been a blur, I only have Chloe as company. Someone I suppose was a friend in this dark and horrible place.
Scooping up a pile double the size as usual, to hide the fact that Chloe was sleeping while swinging her pickaxe, I deposit it again and see the human patrol coming. Moving to Chloe again, I shake her shoulder and see her eyes open quickly, as she starts swinging into the rocks again. “Thank you.” Muttering this, we wait till the humans pass by. Ten minutes is the sleep Chloe got in that time. We’ve had to learn how to swing the pickaxe while sleeping, the humans can’t tell from a distance but when they come by we’d wake each other. Being my turn, I’m about to take my turn to sleep when Chloe whispers “Not now. Wait.”
Listening out, I hear new footsteps coming. Without turning, I keep breaking rocks off as I hear the humans speak. “We need to fill a batch of hybrids for a dungeon exploration. The death rate has been higher than usual this year.” “Take your pick, it doesn't matter if they’re young or not, they’re destined to die at some point.”
Hearing them walk around, I heard one of them speak “That filth there will do. She looks old enough.” Feeling a lash on my back again, I drop my pickaxe. “Good news filth, you get to go outside!”
Turning around with my head down, I step forward and wait. Chloe was still swinging her pickaxe. Suddenly being grabbed by the hair, I’m dragged out before I can look at Chloe once again. “Hopefully you don’t die too soon inside of the dungeon! Haha!”
Not knowing what a dungeon was, I desperately tried to look for Chloe again, not knowing that this would be my last chance. I would never see her again.
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***
Opening my eyes, not wanting to remember anymore of my past or what happened afterwards, I look back at the creature in front of me. So, that’s me then, not just another me or the other me, but me. Someone I’d need to accept to truly accept myself. Alisha is terrified of her monster side, but me…after what happened that day of being dragged into my first dungeon and what happened to Chloe, I wasn’t afraid. I’d welcome my monster with open arms. I knew I couldn’t do that though, after all I now had two others I wanted to protect, to make sure they didn’t follow Chloe’s cruel fate. Alisha and Gray…they were the ones I could truly trust and call friends, maybe I should open up more to them.
Feeling a tug, I knew I was waking up. I want to stay here longer, it is comfortable and without the pain of the outside world, but I have to wake up if I want to see those two again. Closing my eyes, I start stirring.
***
[Alisha’s PoV]
“We’re hybrids, specifically hybrids bred between monsters and humans. We were created, bred, for the sole purpose of being slaves to humans. Growing up, we’d be forced to work away, making various things, some hybrids got thrown into the mines or sent to ”guard“ the outside of the walls. Others were given to certain humans for them to torture for entertainment. Our main purpose was ”protecting“ humans in dungeons when we reached sixteen years of age…well, by their estimates. We three have managed to get away from the humans and got lucky with a mutated dungeon.”
Looking stunned, Olivia doesn’t say anything for a while. Staring at me with wide eyes, she eventually mutters out “T-that’s terrible…I’m sorry for asking…” Shrugging, I didn’t want pity about our past, I’d rather we just moved on. With that in mind I take my turn to ask her a similar question.
“Who are you?”
“I am Olivia Annarrgeal, an Elf from the village Ithil. I am seeking a way home, I’m not sure how I got here, nor do I know exactly where I am. I’m proficient in archery and healing magic, and I have all F Stats with no minuses!” Saying that last part with some pride, she sticks her nose up a bit. “Ok! My turn again. Why did you guys come out here?”
Biting my lip, I wasn’t too sure if we should trust this girl too much. She did save us, but she said she came from a village, the only one I knew was Crater, but that was called a city. Now that I think about it, I’m not sure what a village is. Turning to look at Gray, he also looked unsure. Taking a moment to think, Olivia didn’t seem to mind, I figure it wouldn’t hurt to share since Olivia might join us. Nodding, I keep it short.
“We’re heading to a dungeon called Temple of the Blood God, a level 15 dungeon in this area. We’re also likely to set up this place as a safe place for our kind in the future since it’s far away from humans.” Seeing a flash of understanding for a second, her expression then turns grave.
“You’re going into a dungeon?! Don’t you know how dangerous dungeons are, you only have four people!”
“Yes, we’re going in. My turn now, wha-”
“Hang on, I haven’t asked my question!”
“You just asked if we were going into a dungeon.”
“Ah! That doesn’t count! Not fair.”
This girl was strange. Shaking my head, I spoke before she could as I put a piece of smoked meat on my head for Alice. “How long have you been here for?”
Pouting a bit, Olivia responds “I don’t know, over a month at least. What is that monster on your head?”
“Alice, a Dark Raven that hatched from an egg. How have you survived?”
“Trade secret! And a lot of hiding. Why is there a human with you if they enslaved you?”
Gray spoke before I could. “Elizabeth i-isn’t one of the bad ones, s-she saved us and i-is helping us.”
As if taking this moment to wake up, Elizabeth stirs. Sitting up while grabbing her stomach, she sent me a complaining look. “A bit gentler next time, Alisha.” Sitting up slowly, she looked dead tired. Looking at Olivia, she nods and looks at the orb, smiling.
“I’m going to go wash at the lake over there, you guys should hunt the few monsters up here for food later.” Seeing Elizabeth get up and stumble away slowly, Sally started to stir next, and there was a bloodthirst coming from her.
[Sally’s PoV]
[Your inner monster has awoken.]
[Race changed: Vampire and Human Hybrid]
[A Hidden Condition has been met.]
[Blood Magic acquired. Use your blood to cast Magic. You will have no need for mana.]
[You will require blood in order to regain energy.]
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Sally
Vampire and Human Hybrid
Level 15
Health: 5000
Experience: 3,200/25,000
Class: None
Class Level: Not Available
Experience: Ineligible
Skills: None
Magic: Blood Magic
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Stats:
Strength: F Agility: F
Intelligence: D Toughness: D+
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I feel hungry. I must’ve been out for some time. Opening my eyes, I slowly get up and look around. First thing I noticed was someone new, a young girl with blonde hair and very light green eyes, looking at me. The second thing I noticed was the way she was looking at me, on guard like she was facing a monster. I finally saw Alisha and Gray also staring at me, on guard as well. They were okay. With relief I slowly got up on my feet and smiled as I walked over to Alisha. At first she looked concerned, and as I approached her she started frowning. Was something wrong?
“Sally, are you okay?”
Nodding, I reply “I’m fine.” As I hug her tightly. Tensing up at such a sudden thing happening at first, Alisha returned the hug. I turn to Gray and hug him too. Turning to the Elf, I ask who she is. After filling me in on what happened and learning she was called Olivia and she had saved us, Alisha then said something that surprised me.
“You’ve got the same feeling a monster has when they’re attacking us.”
Thinking, I share the truth. “Seems like my monster side awoke, maybe it’s because I’m hungry?”
Thinking, Alisha says “Then we’ll need to hunt some monsters and get food prepared. We have little daylight but we should be safe because of the orb. Though we don’t know what it means by weaker monsters.”
Taking this chance, the Elf, Olivia, spoke. “The Blessed Orb of Salus usually keeps most monsters away, you said it was a lesser orb meaning it should keep those level 50 and below away from this area. I think. Oh, maybe Guardian-Class monsters above level 25 can still come here.” Level 50? Monsters can be that high level? That’s a scary thought. Then again, we’d just need to level up that high too.
“Let's wander around separately, we can bring one or two monsters back ourselves. Alisha, can you gather wood as well? If we’re truly safe we have time, so no need to rush. Let's hunt what we can.” Nodding, Alisha grabs Alice and puts her on Gray’s head, who nods. I watch as Alisha picks a direction and runs off, Gray and Olivia do the same. I don’t know where Elizabeth is but I also picked a direction and started walking. I wasn’t in a rush, I wanted to take in the scenery, I never thought I could see a sight like this. I could hear insects, smell the grass and flowers, it was a stark contrast from what Crater was like.
After walking for about ten minutes, I finally spotted a monster in the distance. Making my way over, I take a glance at its System information and see it’s a level 14 Alpha Panther. It seems distracted, like it was trying to get something. No matter, I can handle this fine. Grabbing the shield off my back, I slam the bottom of the sword onto the shield, a habit I really need to stop in case I break the shield. The panther snaps its attention to me, it’s a feline with a long body, purple fur with black stripes down its body.
Pouncing at me, it extends its claws and swipes at me. Blocking with my shield, I deflect the strike to my left and swing my sword at its neck, easily decapitating it. The smell of its blood floods my nose, entrancing me, I have a craving to drink its blood. Remembering the System message about needing blood from now on, I look at the body and decide to just try.
As I opened my mouth, I felt two of my front teeth extend as I got closer and bite into the flesh of the panther. I felt the blood flowing into my mouth and just like I was drinking, I gulped it down. This…this tasted amazing, was blood always this amazing?! I keep drinking faster, faster, I can’t get enough of this. Soon, I felt the blood flow slowing before it stopped. Gasping, I free my teeth from the flesh of the panther. I want more, I need more. Looking around for another meal, I hear a yelp near me. Looking at what made the sound, I see a small puppy, that must’ve been what the panther was hunting. More food…no, I can’t think like that. It had white fur, with silver fur along its back, a black snout and cute blue eyes, similar to Alisha’s.
[Level 1 Silverback Pup]
Barking at me, the puppy starts wagging its tail. Was it hungry? Looking at the now blood drained panther, I unsheathe my sword and cut a small piece off and put it down in front of it. The pup starts eating excitedly, wagging its tail. Cute. Looking at the panther, I consider whether or not to keep hunting or to bring this back. Once we hunt all the monsters around here we’d need to venture outside of the protection of the orb to hunt more, and we don’t have a good way of storing a lot of meat, we still need to prepare for the dungeon too. Deciding to call it there and leave any remaining monsters to hunt later, I grab the panther under my arm and start walking. Hearing another yelp, I look down and see the pup walking with me, having already finished its meal. It was looking at me with excitement and curiosity.
“Do you want to come with me?” Yelping again, the pup runs around my foot. It must’ve been left behind, abandoned here or its family was hunted by this panther. “Well, come on, we need to head back.” And like that, the pup followed behind me, back to our makeshift camp.