Kai woke up surrounded by darkness, the only source of light was the small fire of a feeble candle laying on a shabby desk by his head. Where am I? Kana… Where is Kana?

He tried to get up but was swiftly stopped by a sharp pain that covered his entire body, his muscles crying every time he moved an inch. I shouldn’t have done such a stupid thing… from the very beginning…

He lay on his back, silently inspecting the room he found himself in. The walls were made out of animal skins of different sizes sewed together, and the door was nothing more than a curtain. The ground was covered with a thick carpet made of animal fur and pelts.

He sighed softly, wincing in pain as the air escaped his lungs. Staring at the ceiling, he noticed that it was higher than the actual room he was in, and a faint light poked out from above.

“I-is anyone there?” He asked with a hoarse, weak voice.

There was no answer except for the soft sound of rapid footsteps. The curtain opened violently as Kana passed through it, worry plastered on her tearful face.

“You’re awake! Are you alright?” he winced in pain as she grabbed his wrist with trembling hands, tears streaming down her flushed face.

“Of course, I am…” he said as Kana helped him lean against the railing of the bed, putting a pillow behind his back.

“How are you *hic* how are you feeling?” she asked, hiccups disturbing her sentence, her big eyes staring at Kai as she continued “The old grandpa said you… you nearly died…”

“Grandpa? Who’s Grandpa?” Kai asked with a perplexed expression.

“That would be me.” A weak and tired voice resounded from behind the curtains as it parted, revealing a small and hunchbacked old man. His head was full of white hair, and a short beard as white as his head decorated his wrinkled face.

He wore an old, tattered black robe, and his small, piercing eyes stared at Kai, giving him the illusion of being seen right through.

He made his way to his left and grabbed his wrist as he checked his pulse. “It seems like your vitals are fine, however, your mana is in disarray and your mana veins are close to bursting, you won’t be able to use them for a few weeks.”

He said before letting go, a heavy sigh escaped his lips as he grabbed a chair from the corner of the room.

“You’re one lucky brat I tell you that… A few more seconds and your veins would have burst, followed by your muscles shortly afterward.

This method of absorbing mana is very dangerous, without your core refining it, mana becomes poison, and a very potent one at that. In the best case scenario, you could have become a cripple, and in the worst case…”

He lingered on his last words, unable to finish his sentence as he took a puff from a long, black pipe that suddenly appeared in his hands. The strong smell of mixed herbs caused Kai to cough lightly.

“However…” he continued “You can also consider this a blessing because your veins were tough enough to expand to twice their size, after they heal, mana will flow much easier and faster in your veins, therefore your cast speed and even meditation time could be reduced…”

He paused as he took another puff from the black pipe, the formless smoke rising up into the air before fading away.

“Don’t make a habit out of this, in fact, don’t ever try pulling such stunts, what would your parents say?”

The old man glanced at Kai before he could utter a word, the chair creaking as he got up. He stood opposite him and faced away from him, the pressure in the room increased greatly as he brought his pipe to his lips, and he once again took a puff as he turned his head, looking at Kai through the corner of his eye.

This… it’s even hard to breathe, what is this strong magic?!

His voice deepened as he turned toward Kai, asking “So what brings two little children in this accursed forest?” His oppressive voice sent cold shivers down Kai’s spine, whose body started trembling from head to toe.

He gulped, slowly parting his lips, he said in a feeble voice” We- I wanted to see… see the outside world a-and I… I brought Kana with me… I put her in danger!”

The old man nodded, a faint smile manifested on his face as he removed his mana from the surroundings. “Good, a man who knows how to take responsibility is a good man, even if you’re lying…”

“What?!” Kai looked with shock at the old man, who laughed and gestured toward Kana. “She already told me everything, it’s clear both of you are massive idiots. I just wanted to test you, to see what kind of child Ray and Elena have.”

Kai’s mouth was agape as he looked with bewilderment at the old man. How does he know my parents?!

The elder smirked, however, his red eyes reflected his inner thoughts - feelings of guilt and regret that haunted him since that fateful day.

“You did well against Obborik.” He quickly changed the subject “Although whatever you did could not be called fighting, as your attacks had close to no synergy, hell! You even completely canceled out each other’s spells a few times, I must say, you suck at fighting.”

Kai’s pupils widened as the old man’s words lingered in his ears. Was there such a thing? How come I never heard of that before? Magic synergy…

The old man gave Kai a red vial to drink and told him to rest for a few more hours before trying to move around. He left, taking one last puff as the curtains closed behind him, leaving Kana and Kai alone in the room.

The two didn’t say anything, silence descended upon the room as the two looked around the room, occasionally glancing at each other before looking away.

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Kai let out a heavy sigh, breaking the silence, and said. “I’m sorry Kana, we shouldn’t have left the kingdom, I never expected for there to be such a beast so close to the walls…”

Her beautiful blonde locks swayed slightly as she shook her head, a warm smile plastered on her face. “We both agreed, so it’s our fault, but you saved me, you saved us. Thank you.” She said, her soft voice bouncing against the furred walls, into Kai’s ears.

She helped Kai lay down on his back, reassuring him slightly, however the feeling of guilt and anger inside him did not lessen in the slightest. I’m the one that already lived one life, why is she the one comforting me?

He subconsciously sighed, wincing in pain as a wave of pain spread over his entire body.

“What is it?” Kana asked as he adjusted his pillow.

“Our parents are gonna kill us…” he quickly replied and he closed his eyes, leaving a worried and nervous Kana awake as he slowly fell asleep.

…

The next day he woke up drenched in sweat, and he frowned at the small amounts of pain in his limbs that appeared as he tried to move around.

Oww! Well, at least it doesn’t hurt as much as earlier. He carefully got up, moving slowly as he dragged his feed, he parted the curtains, observing his surroundings.

The small room he was in was located in a bigger tent-like structure, animal pelts covering the cold ground, and the occasional sunlight hit his skin through the torn cloth of the ceiling.

In the middle of the tent was a small firestone, constantly emitting a calming light, heating up the surroundings. Around it were a few shabby couches, on which Kana, who had a wide smile plastered on her face, and the old man sat, talking about who knows what.

He made his way over to them, the light slowly revealing his image as he greeted them before sitting down as well. The old man observed him carefully, letting out a sigh as he said “You really are their kid…”

“Kai took a deep breath, and his gaze met the elders as he asked, “Old man, how do you know my parents?”

The white-haired old man squinted his eyes, inhaling deeply as a hint of grief appeared on his face. “It’s a long story, one that is not mine to tell.” He said as he handed a string bracelet to Kai. “Give this to your parents, will you? Other than that, how are you feeling?”

Seeing that the elder refused to answer, Kai dropped the subject, accepting the bracelet with a curious expression, he replied with a faint smile “I’m better, as you can see. I can walk around but it does hurt quite a bit...

“That’s good then.” the old man said as he got up “Come, I’ll help you get home.”

He and Kana followed behind him, slowly walking toward the narrow exit. Kai dragged his feet, and his lips parted as he asked with uncertainty “Old man, what about the Obborik?”

The elder kept walking as he nonchalantly said “It ran away.”

“Why?”

“That’s simple,” he replied “It’s because I’m a Medium Core Five Star Magician, and the reason I knew what you were up to was because of this:”

He halted his footsteps as he swished his sleeve, and the small figure of a wooden bird appeared in his palm.

“It’s called a totem, it can be used to scare off monsters, protect a small area, or as a second pair of eyes, depending on the magic formula you used to carve them with.”

Kai’s mind reeled, and his eyes widened in shock as the first statement entered his ears. A five… five star? Five Star Magician? And the effect multiplied as another new magic item was presented to him. Totems? Magic totems? The books my parents let me read didn’t have any such things…

The tent’s curtains fluttered as they parted, the small amount of sunlight sneaking through the tree’s dense canopy and gently hitting Kai’s skin as a disgusting stench inundated his nostrils.

His eyes snapped toward the source - A few black and dirty water-filled cauldrons placed boiling over a fire, sickly vegetables and white bones cooking within.

Women surrounded the cauldrons, watching over them. Their skinny bodies and pale expressions sent shivers down Kai’s spine as a certain feeling of familiarity appeared in the back of his mind.

Small children of healthier complexions played around or waited patiently for the feed to be served, warming their sickly bodies by the bonfire.

The camp had a few dozen tents made from pelts and furs, supported by large wooden pillars and small branches. The one he just came out of stood at about ten meters in height, but the ones before him only measured about three meters.

What’s going on?

His eyes ran around the area, his pulse rising as he observed the dozens of sickly people, the men were only skin and bones, and blood seeped out of their skin as they lay under the cover of their tent.

The women were a bit better off, but the healthiest ones were the very young children, those that have yet to reach five years of age, as for the older ones…

“...Just, what is this place?” Kai unconsciously voiced his shock, and the old man turned to him with, his expression filled with grief.

“It’s the place of the banished, of those too sick to work, or of those who were thrown out of the kingdom, those who cannot afford the cost of living…” He explained as he slowly advanced through the camp.

“None of these people are of our race’s curse - The Blood Rotting. If vampires don’t drink human blood for a prolonged period of time, our bodies eat themselves from within, and as hunger grows, so do our instincts.

From time immemorial, our bodies were not able to properly develop without ingesting blood, we don't know the reason why but we know the consequences of not doing so:

In the best case scenario we die a painful death, and in the worst case…” He sighed before taking a puff from his pipe, his tender gaze drifting over the still-healthy children running around.

“In the worst case, we become Lytic, we lose ourselves, our body mutates and we will not stop until we get killed or simply die. Lytics search for food, any type - be it humans, vampires, animals, or whatever else, but their hunger is never sated, and will never be.”

“A Lytic?!” Kai exclaimed as the pieces in his head clicked in place, his breathing became slightly heavy, and he remembered the creature’s appearance. Doesn’t it look a lot like these men? Does that mean…!

The old man let out a heavy sigh once again, the heaviness of the subject weighing on his heart like a boulder tied to his feet as he drowned in an endless lake.

“Before any of us here turn into Lytics we…” his lips trembled as he paused briefly “We put a stop to it before it happens”

Kai and Kana gasped in shock, their expressions turned sour as the old man’s words lingered in their ears.

“Such a cruel illness, why?! Why does it have to be like this? Why do these people have to suffer?” Kana asked a half-rhetoric question with an anger-filled voice, her hands trembling as she clenched them into fists.

“It is as the king wills…” the old man replied “Before and during the war, human blood was abundant, we had slaves and could drink as much as we wanted, growing stronger and stronger with each passing day. Now, on the other hand, the king controls who gets to feed on blood due to the anti-violence treaty with the humans.

He distributed blood whenever needed, about seven years or so, and the people must buy it from him. Of course, the citizens can also trade with the humans for it, but…” he cut his sentence short, refusing to elaborate any longer but his eyes shone with a burning hatred before they snapped shut.

“Let’s go then, your parents must be worried.”