There were two of them blocking the cave entrance. In the torchlight I could see the pale, blueish skin covering skeletal frames. The short one was squatting, resting a crude axe on his shoulder, and his companion, his head almost reaching the ceiling, was leaning on the wall, playing with the edge of a knife. The furs around their bodies smelled like a wet dog, and they wore trinkets made of bones and teeth around their necks.
Just like the hunter looked at the wounded prey at his feet, they threw me amused, cruel gazes. A sadistic smile was plastered on their faces, accentuated by the long tusks that protruded from their mouths.
“Why does a little human wander to the hunting grounds of the Vol’tir?” The short one leaped in the air, landing in front of me. He circled me slowly, his blue, icy eyes searching every part of my body. “Is he perhaps looking for treasure? Does he want to steal from us?” he barked in my face, the putrid smell of rotten flash hitting me with savage force.
I tried to take a step back, but he grabbed my shirt and threw me to the wall. My head hit the hard stone and my vision became blurry.
Warning! Critical hit received. HP below 30%.
The blood on my lips attested the message. I did not know who or what my enemies were, but the little one stared at me with mad fury. The system proved useful again, and a new text box appeared above the attacker.
Race Ice Troll Class Blood Hunter Rank Normal Level 8
Combat analysis:
Opponent surpasses current combat capabilities. Minimal chance of survival. Recommended action: Fleeing.
Yea, fighting this monster was not my first option, but I had a feeling they would not let me go so easily.
“My name is Astarias. I am a traveler. I was looking for shelter when I found this cave. I mean no har —” Snarling, the Ice Troll backhanded me, sending my blood to the floor. A crazed look appeared on his face, and he started licking it.
His companion came forward, his long legs covering the distance between us in four steps. “I am sorry for my companion, human. Jin’jin can be such a barbarian sometimes.” With a thin, bony hand, he wiped the blood off my lips before sucking his finger clean, a moment of pure ecstasy washing over him.
“Few speak our tongue, stranger. And your blood is the sweetest of any human I’ve tasted. What a curious creature you are.”
This one spoke with a calm voice, but his words hid a much more sinister feeling. He was smarter, but his face was devoid of any compassion and kindness.
Race Ice Troll Class Blood Shaman Rank Elite Level 19
Combat analysis:
Run
“Now, tradition dictates that prey” he took a cloth out and cleaned his knife “is to be offered to the village elder. He gets to feast on your flesh and drink your sweet blood, and I get the scraps.” He turned the blade in every way, looking for remaining stains. When he lowered it, pure lust transfiguring his face. “This time, I don’t feel like sharing.”
The knife flashed in front of me, and the blade bit deep in to my shoulder. He aimed the strike at my neck, but I dodged to the last moment.
He didn’t seem too bothered he missed, slowly licking the blood off the blade. The sight of my wound made Jin’Jin pounce on me. The Blood Shaman kicked him in the stomach, sending him across the room.
“What a magnificent taste! I will enjoy every drop of blood from you. I will drain you slowly, so it will stay fresh. And then I will carve out your body and feast for days.”
I didn’t need to look at the system to know that my quest was very close to a quick and tragic end. But I had to do something. The odds were grim, but I refused to be weak again. If I was to go down today, I would go down fighting.
I raised the sword, pointing it at the ice troll. And he laughed. Like they always did. In fury and desperation, I charged at him, madly swinging the blade. He dodged the first two strikes, and he deflected the third, sending my weapon cluttering on the ground.
“The human pup can bite, huh? Maybe he should learn how to behave.” His hand shot forward, griping my neck with ferocious power. He lifted me from the ground and he started squeezing. I tried to claw at his face, to hit his hand, but it was like fighting a mountain. Darkness soon covered the edges of my sight, and I could feel my grip on consciousness slip with every moment passed.
An animalic scream filled the room, and the ice troll, annoyed, looked back. Something struck into him, and he dropped me to the floor. Turning around, I could see an arrow stuck in his back. On the other side of the room, Jin’Jin laid in a puddle of blood, a knife stuck in his heart.
The shaman raised his hands, and crimson energy swirled around them.
“Run, quickly!” someone yelled at me. Judging by her voice, she was a girl, no older than me. The tall figure of the ice troll obscured her, and I would not ask him to move to the side so i could see my savior.
“You dare interrupt the feast of Kai’Jin, elfling? I will soak the earth with your spoiled blood!”
Now, I know running is not very hero-like, but neither is dying. So I heeded the advice of whoever saved me and ran. As Kai’Jin stood between me and the cave entrance, the only place i could go was down through the hole.
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I must have bled more than I thought, the stairs proving a competent adversary. I could still hear the sounds of battle as I’ve made my way through a long tunnel, the walls covered in the same symbols as the pedestal. My hand left a bloody trail on the left wall, every step a herculean task. With great difficulty, I reached the end of the tunnel. A small room, its walls covered with murals similar to those in the Great Hall. In the middle stood a stone tomb, decorated with many precious stones and materials that glowed in the light of the torches.
The moment I stepped into the room, the song filled my ears once again, drawing me to the tomb, entrancing me with its sweet words. Numb to the pain, I approached the open sarcophagus, looking inside.
I could see the remains of a man, his bones whitened by the erosion of time. A black sword rested at his feet, and a small crown stood atop his skull. But the only thing that mattered to me was the black ring on his finger. That was the source of the song. I looked at it like a mother looks at her baby. I needed it like a lost man in the desert needs water. I knew it was the missing part of my being, the last piece to become whole.
So I reached out and grabbed it.
Like a mountain, waves of power crushed into me, sending my body in terrible convulsions. I felt it devouring my soul, feeding from its essence. The room disappeared from my sight, and I found myself on the shore of a great lake, with the sun gleaning peacefully on its surface. Next to me stood the embodiment of perfection in the body of a young woman. Her raven black hair almost touched the ground, and her pale skin was devoid of any imperfection. Violet eyes glowed as she watched the sunset.
She wore a silk dress as black as her hair, and her feet were bare.
She raised her hand, and the black ring flew from my grip to her open palm. The pain went away, and I could feel myself breathing.
“He loved this ring.” Her voice was just as perfect as her whole being. “It was a gift. Something to protect him, and to have me close, wherever he would be.” She motioned with one finger and her power griped me, lifting me gently from the ground.
“This was where we first met, a long time ago. And this is where I first meet you, Astarias.” She turned her head at me, smiling. But watching her, there was no doubt in my mind that i was looking in the eyes of death.
“I am not death, though she is at my will.” a chair materialized behind her, and she graciously sit down. She left me standing.
“You’ve met the messenger. Annoying being. There would be a long stick up his ass if he would have one.” She looked glum “I see it gave you the ‘gift’. Did it also tell you about how I want to devour the world? How my children will drench the land in blood and scorch it with fire?”
Ok, we went straight to the point.
“A-are you?” speaking to the embodiment of destruction was no simple task.
“Well, yes. But that is besides the point.”
I tried to answer back, but no sound came out of my mouth.
“Listen, there is not enough time to explain everything. In a couple of minutes that awful troll will come in the room and do some things with your body that I won’t mention.”
With a wave of her hand, the surface of the lake turned black, a terrible scene unfolding in front of me. Mountains of bodies reaching the horizon. Rivers of blood and the screams of millions of people. Winged creatures filled the skies, raining white fire from above. The heaven itself was burning the ground, incinerating everyone.
I fell to my knees and threw up.
“This is just a glimpse of the wraith of the Masters. The protectors. The good guys.” Disgust plastered on her face. Disgust and hate.
“You are being deceived, Alex. This world is not black and white like so many would love to believe.” She opened her palm, revealing the ring.
“This belonged to someone dear to me. It grants a portion of my powers to the one who wears it. It is my gift to you, now. What you felt earlier was just a drop of power in an infinite ocean.” She suddenly appeared in front of me, our faces very close together. “Be warned. This much power comes with great dangers, Astarias. Show weakness, and it will devour you. Conquer it, and you will rule over kings and emperors.”
She stoked my cheek with her hand, great pain showing in her eyes. “We will meet again, Al’Sahir.”
And she kissed me and I was back in the underground room, next to the tomb.
I felt… different. Powerful. I looked at my left hand, the ring on one of my fingers. All my wounds gone, no scars left behind. Any trace of pain disappeared from my body.
“Little human! Where are you? I just want to drink your blood.”
Right, the blood junkie was still here. He came in to the room, dragging the girl that fought him by the hair. He badly beat her up, but I could still feel her heartbeat. Kai’Jin branded the same knife he used to cut me open. I hated knifes. With astonishing speed, I lunged at him, grabbing his face and crashing him into the wall. As he fell to the ground, a small crater formed in the wall.
“What the fuck have you done?” he yelled “you are tainted. I can smell it on you. Your beautiful blood. You robbed me How dare you!”
Crimson mist circled his body, and his eyes became red. His fingernails grew into long claws, attacking me with a flurry of swipes.
I dodged a few of them, but one or two hit their mark, tearing chunks of flash off my body. I felt nothing except hunger. He tried to kill me, now he will pay the price. I parried an upper handed swipe and planted my fist into his stomach. Black blood spurted from his mouth.
“I will drag you to the great ancestors with me, human. None of us will see the sun tomorrow.” Kai’jin took a small vial from a pouch and drank its contents. He shook uncontrollably, and his muscles exploded in size. His tusks became red, and his hair rose in the air.
Raw power. I felt the hunger in me growing restless. The ring begged me to free it. To let it feast on the enemy. I was done being weak. It was time for me to fight back. To take control of my destiny and be free from the shackles of a dark past.
So I accepted the power it offered me.
The earth trembled, and large cracks in the wall appeared. Kai’Jin plummeted to the ground, not capable of withstanding the spiritual pressure. I rose my arm, and I could see black lines of power slithering on my skin. My hair grew long, and its usual black color turned into pure silver. I floated to the ice troll, and I willed his body to arise. It obeyed my command.
“I am the beginning. I am the end. I am the infinite. My hunger will devour this reality and all will return to me.” It was my voice that I was hearing, but I didn’t speak those words.
Kai’Jin was squirming in terror, unable to escape my will. A puddle of piss formed below him.
“Kah’Er. Kah’Er, Kah’Er.” he kept repeating the same world. I didn’t know if he was cussing at me or praying, but it didn’t matter. The ring demanded a tribute for its powers. I touched his head with my finger, and i could feel his soul draining from him. His body withered and slowly turned into ash. Kai’Jin was no more.
But the hunger grew. It wanted more. It wanted everything. My hand reached for the girl, and I tried to fight it. Black tendrils were creeping her way, and my body screamed in pain. Fighting it felt like it ripped apart me my organs. But I knew I could conquer it. I was its master now. I would make it obey my commands. With a desperate howl, I reached with my other hand and I pulled the ring off.
Heaving, I felt to the ground, my whole being in excruciating pain. But I smiled. For the first time in my life, I was the victor.
Congratulations!
You gained a new level.
You gained a new level.
You gained a new level.
You gained a new level.
You gained a new level.
You gained a new level.
You now have [18] skill points.
For defeating the elite monster [Kai’Jin] you have gained the perk
[Predator]
You deal double damage to enemies with special status.
For defeating a foe who vastly overpowered you, you have gained the perk
[Big Game Hunter]
You deal 30% more damage to enemies that out-level you.
Turns out, I might actually have a chance.