As night descended, and the moon had risen into the air, Teleka stood upon a rooftop that overlooked the alley where she had thrown the boy into.
"Interesting, I was keeping my eye on the city, but it seems not only did he live, but he moved without me seeing it" she muttered, looking around the city. He was either hiding, or he had left the city. There was a river that led to the ocean town of Parahi in the northeast, or further down south to the city of Sarta. There were also roads that went south, east, west, and north. If he somehow successfully left the city without her seeing, it would be significantly harder to find him.
Well, normally at least.
"His scent...it leads west. Oh you silly boy, I never forget the scent of blood once I have tasted it. You bored me for a moment, because of the hopeless look in your eyes, but to think you had this in you still...this much spunk. This much hope. I am going to love watching it be torn from you all over again".
She said that as she licked her lips, and flew off towards the direction of the smell. The chase was on.
She had no idea at that time though, someone else was spying on her.
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"Let us make the first wager now, shall we?" one of the gods said as a few of them watched a monitor, with the vampire that was hunting Rikuo. The picture started to get a bit fuzzy for a moment, but a good smack and transfer of some divine energy got it working again.
"Its a good thing they are outside. This doesn't work through buildings" another said. "Hey, what do you think? You think the death of one of their comrades will spur them along. You did set it up right, that they would know when one of them died?"
The god that asked that looked over to the young god, Ciel. Well at least young looking, he was actually older then all of them.
"Yes yes. Just be careful. I have no intention on wasting my own divine energy for this, so make sure you treat everything properly. If you break it, you have to pay for it. And this wasn't cheap".
The gods stiffened a bit hearing that.
"So, how long do you think that mortal will hold on for?"
"You know, he has an immortality skill right?"
"Compared to a god, he is still mortal" one of them retorted.
Ciel just shrugged. "Well, I guess that is true...that said, if I had to bet...Rikuo will survive".
He said that, drawing surprised looks from the other gods.
"Even as a Reincarnator, isn't this too much?"
Ciel just smiled though.
"No, I think given some fun I had with these Otherworlders, it will be fine".
"But none of them are outragously overpowered this time, since so many of them were summoned. Right now, the strongest of them should only be B-Rank existences in terms of adventurer Ranks, and their opponent is an SS-Rank. No matter how you look at it, this will end him and his companion".
"Certainly, Ranks are important, but..."
Ciel looked at them with a playful expression, but it held a serious aura.
"...rank and skills are not everything".
As the gods looked a bit confused, Ciel smiled and wondered how the others were doing.
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"I am home!" Rayheart shouted, as she walked into her modest family home like it was nothing, dragging the corpse of a large monster behind her.
"Sheesh. You sure were late tonight" her father, Rugard, mentioned.
"Haha. I accidentally fell down a cliff" she mentioned, as a boy came out from the back and hurled some scolding at her. It was her little brother, Kotori.
"Idiot. YOu should not get into so much trouble. One day you will get yourself killed".
"Now now, that is enough borh of you" their mother Rusia said, setting the table. "Rayheart, sweetie, please put that in the storage shed and make sure its properly draining or drained of blood".
"Right!".
Rayheart suddenly went back out, dragging the animal corpse with her. As she was approaching the shed though, suddenly her little brother came out after her.
"What is it, Kotori?"
"I had...another bad daydream" he muttered, causing her to halt for a moment.
She remembered those daydreams. At first, her second life self had written them off as a joke, but the last one was 'If you fall off a cliff you will die'. And in a way, that happened.
"But I am fine now..."
"Please dont lie. I can tell something is different...your pressence, it feels much brighter before, as if its doubled in size".
Can he tell? I knew his eyes were special, but this is something else.
"Relax, my darling cute little brother" she said teasingly. "My little mighty mage..."
"...I wish you would forget that, but it does seem like you...but, there is something different isn't there? Did our ancestral blood awaken or something...to save you?"
"Something like that. But your visions...they do seem to be getting more accurate. As descendents of the heroic bloodline, we should prepare ourselves in case the worst come to pass".
"I know...and actually, I had another one. It was a bit hard, but...in a few days, I think fire is going to rain down on our village".
Rayheart did not like the sound of that.
"I see...then, Kotori...we should prepare just in case. We should tell our parents too..."
"We cant...I saw it. If we tell them, they die..." Kotori said, crying a bit.
"...understood. Then, we will handle it somehow. In any case, a few days right? Then lets prepare like crazy".
"Right...and thanks, for listening. If people kept on not believing me, im not sure what I would do".
The author's narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.
"Haha. That is the job of older sisters after all! And of heroes!"
ANd like that, she confidentaly declared that whatever the issue, she would face it head on.
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At this time, the teacher, who had remembered her name in this world was Lutessa, had also finally brought up her Status Page.
And from that, she had also learned of one skill she possesses. Overseer. A unique skill that indicated it was able to bring up details and limited information about the 20 students that reincarnated with her.
Of course, she could only see their current names, not their previous names, which for some reason she could no longer remember, so she did not know who was who.
But certain people stuck out. For one thing, she saw some information that was supposedly hidden from normal checks. This included Rayheart's status as the Hero, and Raevin's noble status. She also saw that there were other various races others had turned into, including vampire. When she heard vampire, there was one student that she remembered. Although a bright kid and a good multi-tasker, he was often picked on for his short height and tendency to fall asleep in class. It seemed like there were a few people he got along with, but otherwise was socially distant and isolated.
He was a frequent target of bullying as a result. Although a few people seemed to go to him when asking about video games. She thought of this boy since he always seemed nocturnal.
There was a few others she was concerned about as well. One who typically liked to bully, push around, and abuse others, the one who bullied that boy the most even. He had behavioral problems, and she couldn't help but worry about him. There was also a girl who had issues fitting in and socializing as well. She seemed to be friends with the other boy to some extent, but she had this weird habit of disappearing or just not being noticed. And then there was that one boy who was timid and frightened of everything pretty much, as well as a girl who was always bossy and pushy.
Actually, there were a couple of problem students for sure in her class, but most of them were nice and seemed like good people. At least, that was what she believed.
But from what she remembered in her own memories, she had serious concerns for their safety.
First though, she had to go back to the campsite and rest, and then get back to the village. Even if her main priority was her students, she felt she could not just abandon the others here without helping them to some degree as well. Especially since she felt they should know about the dangers they might face.
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"It seems they washed off here..."
Teleka muttered that, as the scent had become diluted. However, she already knew which direction they were heading now, so it would be easier for her to catch up. The fact he now had a companion troubled her a bit, but it would be something she could handle easily.
Two other minions, loyal retainers who served her for hundreds of years, appeared by her side.
"We have confirmed. There are no high ranking adventurers missing from the city".
"Whoever is with him, its no one to worry about".
"Excelent. Then lets get going".
Wings suddenly appeared on their backs, through their shirts, as they took to the sky and flew off in the direction they had been headed in. No matter what they tried, it would certainly be impossible to outrun those rings with just their legs, especially since Rikuo had short legs since his growth was stopped when he became a vampire.
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"...I know this is improving our speed, but this is still really embarrassing" Rikuo said, as he held on for dear life.
"But this is the safest option right?"
"That is why I am going along with it".
Rikuo was right now being carried princess style by Arila, who was dashing at a speed much faster then Rikuo could have run even with Shadow Magic spells like Shadowshift. After all, Arila was physically stronger and better then him somehow. Rikuo was certain this level of strength was the result of a skill, and when he asked she easily admitted as such.
She had the Enhanced Body Skill at level 5. Meanwhile Rikuo was growth stopped the moment he became a vampire, and was malnourished beforehand, so unless he suddenly gained that skill and got it at a higher level then her, he basically could not resist her if she physically forced him to do something.
And while being carried princess style was embarrassing, he prefered it to being caught and mutilated and abused by a psychotic vampire.
"I hear something from behind...wings flapping? Its quite loud".
Unfortunately, it appeared they were not fast enough.
"Its them...it has to be her and her minions".
"Can you use Shadow Magic to hide us?"
"I can try...Shadowcloak".
He tried to mask and obscure them in the darkness, but a powerful magic bolt flew right by them and tore the Shadowcloak to pieces instantly.
"No way...no way, its impossible! Impossible!"
"Do you have any other skills?!"
"Found you found you found you!" Teleka said as she landed in front of them while blasting them with a pure magical bolt. The bolt was strong enough that even though Arila avoided the hit, the force of it hitting nearby knocked her off her feet and sent them both sprawling. "So desperate to run away, to think I could still have fun with you".
"If you have anyhting, use it now!" she shouted, as a vampire came from behind to try and restrain her. She quickly jumped to her feet though and released her sword, cutting through him. Normally, normal weapons are practically ineffective against vampires, but for some reason he was set ablaze where he was cut.
The other vampire immedaitely became wary, but Teleka used spacial magic to create a gravity zone, intensifying the gravity of the area around Arila times ten to pin her down and cause her harm.
"No! No, I wont go back! I wont let you hurt her!"
She was his first friend in this world, and with the memories of his previous life, he had more motivation then before.
And because of that, he ended up triggering a skill he had not used yet accidentally.
[Summon Familiar has been activated]
As that was said, a massive portal opened up above him. This surprised them all quite a bit, but what emerged afterwards was even more surprising.
After all, it was a Dragon, and the first thing he did was breath fire right at Teleka. It was a brilliant flame that boasted so much heat and power that it warmed up the air around them all, and even made Rikuo and Arila feel a bit stuffy with what they were currently wearing. She attempted to block it with a magic barrier, but it broke and she was instantly set ablaze. Vampires were weak to Holy Magic and Light Magic, but there was also a third that was rather nasty against them too. Fire magic. Nearly all vampires were weak to it, including Ancient ones.
"Quickly master, while the others are distracted, attack!"
Hearing that voice that felt familiar, he immediately unleashed a powerful ice attack, sending spears of ice that pierced the chests of the other vampires while they were still shocked at the sudden appearance of a Dragon. The two died on the spot, while Teleka seemed to somehow survive being roasted.
"Damnit...you bastards will pay for this!" she screamed, suddenly disappearing. It seemed she teleported somehow.
"Damnit...she got away" Arila mentioned.
"No, it was good" the dragon said, when suddenly it started to glow brightly. It then suddenly turned into a young boy, who fell to the ground in a collapsed state, looking exhausted.
"Are you okay?!" Rikuo asked, concerned.
"Ahhh....I used up all of my mana to make that attack extra powerful, since the opponent was an ancient vampire and was ridiculously strong...as a result, I used up all my energy".
In human form now, his voice sounded a lot cuter and so was his appearance. He appeared to be about ten years old in his human form, although he was lacking clothes at the moment. Perhaps since he was a Dragon, he wasn't bothered by it at all, but even Arila felt a bit concerned for him and put a blanket on him.
"So now what? That vampire, I dont think she is going to come again after that".
"...we can probably camp here, although...the sun is going to suck tomorrow..."
"Yeah...but, even with my strength and magic...I could use a rest after all that. Lets set up camp here for tonight...we will have to share a blanket though, since he is using my spare".
"Ah...alright".
And so, Rikuo was successfully able to escape the clutches of that vampire.
Still though, that was tough, his first day and his life was nearly over. He had to wonder, were the other reincarnators facing such hardship?
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"Where did she go?! Where did she run off to?!"
The guards were in a frenzy, searching everywhere for a girl.
"She had brown hair, and a blue outfit!" one of them shouted, searching a nearby alleyway.
And from the top of a wall that surrounded the noble district of the city, a young girl of thirteen years old sat, watching it all while also reading a scroll. She was also not human, but a cat beastkin, with cat ears on her head and a cat tail.
"I see, so there is a Hero Summoning ritual, but it seems like it doesn't change our race. The reincarnation method seemed strange though, and I didn't like waking up in a bodybag for sure. Well, once the people who learn the girl they betrayed and killed are alive, I will really need to watch out".
She said that, as she had been investigating all day. After all, she was a Reincarnator.
"Now then, I suppose I should find some allies I can rely on, but first...I cant count on my classmates being born into comfortable or reliable positions. So, I guess I will pull off a few more heists first".
The Thief, the Reincarnator known as Herra, said that as she stood up.
"And maybe if I make enough noise, they might even come to me".
And then, in the span of which one could blink their eyes, she was gone.