Near Death

Instead of being taunted, the Ghoul kept a composed look and chuckled in ridicule.

Blake wanted to make him angry as that is the first lesson Salana taught him when fighting against opponents that has feelings. However, the Ghoul is not that easy to be taunted, he brushed the words off like nothing.

"Good... that's it, a Vampire should be arrogant" the Ghoul said raspingly.

In the next second, the Ghoul dashed once again, exposing his superhuman physique.

Now that he already experienced the power behind the Ghoul's attack, Blake is now aware that a couple of direct hits from the Ghoul are going to be very bad for him or even possibly end him on the spot.

On top of that, his body in the real world is also stiff.

Unlike the game world where he has the Body Control passive skill, he doesn't have it here.

Aside from regularly exercising, he does no training whatsoever.

Bam!!

Dodging the attack by leaping to the side, the Ghoul's claws missed and hit the abandoned warehouse's wall, ripping through it like butter. His claws were akin to a butcher blade, sharp and sturdy. Taking into account his monstrous strength, it's easy to understand the cold sensation of fear gripping Blake's body once again.

Shaking his head, Blake recovered and tries to use this opportunity to attack.

Focusing on his hand, he tries to use the Blood Lance skill.

Blake was shocked when he felt a connection between him and the blood coursing inside of his veins, and it didn't take long before the center of his palm slightly ripped open and blood slowly seeped out.

The blood levitates unnaturally, and it's quite a painful process.

Despite that being the case, it seems he could really use the Blood Lance skill for real.

On the other hand, the Ghoul looks at Blake and marveled at the sight.

Judging from his surprised expression alone, it seems the monsters in the real world couldn't use any kind of supernatural ability like this. Surely, there were no Vampires that he fought before that could do something like this.

"Hmm...? I see it now, this must be the game's effect. Fascinating, but..."

Noticing the danger from Blake, the Ghoul didn't sit still.

Jumping high up into the air, the Ghoul clasps his fists together and swung down powerfully.

Giving Blake time to cast the Blood Lance skill seems to be a dumb move even though the Ghoul is curious about it, he would be making a big mistake if turns out the supernatural skill that Blake is using will hurt him severely.

Swoosh!

Upon seeing the Ghoul above him, Blake was forced to stop casting the Blood Lance skill.

Leaping to the side in a desperate attempt to dodge the attack, a loud crashing sound soon followed. The Ghoul's hammer attack actually cracked the ground which is very scary to witness.

If Blake is a regular person, then he would've been obliterated by the Ghoul.

Considering that Maura's comrades, mercenaries that were definitely above the average in terms of strength and combat power died against the Ghoul, it's safe to say that the Ghoul would not lose through normal means.

'I don't sense any notion to win, I can't take him on. I need to flee'

Albeit he has never done any fleeing from a fight in the game world, he couldn't afford to be reckless here. It's obvious now that the Ghoul is stronger, have more battle experience, and also wasn't even taking the fight seriously.

Taking a brief pause in each attack shows that the Ghoul is playing around with him.

Blake doesn't even want to imagine what would happen if the Ghoul takes this fight seriously, he would stand no chance. In addition, he's still not accustomed to using his skills, so he's at a massive disadvantage.

Due to those reasons, he quickly gets up and decided to escape this place immediately.

Looking at this, the Ghoul smirked, "I will not let you off easy..."

Not wanting to allow Blake to leave the abandoned warehouse, the Ghoul chased after him from behind. Along the way, Blake and the Ghoul whipped their heads to the side hearing a couple of gunshots echoing inside the warehouse.

'It's definitely Maura, she's fighting those other weird people' Blake thought.

Just as he was pondering on how he could help Maura while he himself was being chased by the Ghoul like this, Blake's eyes widened seeing the Ghoul appear from behind a pile of cardboard on his left and lunges towards him.

A glisten from his claws can be seen, reflecting the moonlight that seeped through.

"You're distracted... that's not good"

Bam!

Crash!

"Huaahkk!"

Blake got hit on the side of his body hard by the Ghoul's claws, he could instantly feel blood climbing his throat before forcing its way out. He got sent rolling about ten meters to the side. It was a heavy attack, he was in excruciating pain, but it doesn't end there.

In an instant, before he could recover, he could feel the Ghoul standing beside him.

Not even being given a chance to recover, the Ghoul landed a powerful kick straight to his wounded body and send him crashing against the factory machine. A metallic sound rang as Blake's body crashes onto the machine.

The air inside his lungs got knocked out completely, forcing him to gasp for air in response.

'Ah... I can't hear anything, I think I hit my head. I need to do something...'

Due to the impact, Blake's ears were ringing and he couldn't hear anything at all.

Salana who was shouting at him from the side in panic has her voice muffled, he couldn't grasp what she was trying to say. But he could tell that he needs to get up, the Ghoul is already walking towards him slowly.

Additionally, the Ghoul is also saying something, but Blake couldn't hear him.

Even though his ears hurt like hell, he could tell that it was saying something nasty to him.

Blake tries to ignore the pain and stands up, he exerts everything that he has but the pain is too much for his body to handle and he fell back down to the ground. He couldn't do it no matter how hard he tries, the wounds on the side of his body is already created a blood puddle on the ground.

When the Ghoul reaches out his claws to grab Blake, he suddenly got flung to the side.

Bang!

Upon looking at this, Blake glanced to the side weakly and finds Maura.

Maura is holding a sniper rifle in her hands, and the muzzle is sizzling showing that she was the one that shot the Ghoul earlier. In a hurry, she ran to Blake and knelt beside him to check his wounds.

"Oh, no... the wounds are too deep" Maura mused seeing the grotesque deep wound.

If it's left like that, Blake would definitely die from loss of blood.

"B- Blood..."

Blake tries to grab Maura's hand weakly as he needs blood to recover from his wounds.

Since his voice was so soft, Maura couldn't hear what he was trying to say. But she was surprised when Blake used his last bit of strength to grab her left hand and pulled it towards his mouth forcefully.

Not even wasting a second, he bites the inner part of Maura's wrist.

Maura bit her lower lip when she felt the sting from Blake's fangs pushing through her skin, she then recalls that Blake is a Vampire and would only need to drink blood to recover from this kind of situation.

"Haarggh..." Blake pulls away and groaned in pain, he started to feel better.

Under the effect of the blood that he drinks, the deep wound on the side of his body started steaming. It didn't get healed completely, but it was healed enough to the point of him being able to stand once again.

Looking over to the side, Blake finds that the Ghoul is getting up once again.

"I already shot it right in the forehead with a sniper rifle yet he could still get up, what on earth is really going on with this world" Maura uttered in a cold breath as Blake pulls her to his back and the two started to step back.

While looking at the Ghoul, Blake breathed heavily, 'I almost died, he's too strong!'

"Blake, you're no match. Retreat for now, your body is too untrained to fight the Ghoul" Salana suggested from the side, there's clearly no notion of him winning in his current state.

Gritting his teeth, Blake grabs Maura's waist and carries her over his shoulder.

"What are you-"

"Shut up, I need to focus or we'll both die"

Closing his eyes to calm his breathing and also to bring back his focus once again, Blake takes a couple of seconds before he opens his eyes again. In the next second, he quickly dashed to the front entrance of the abandoned building.

Swoosh!

Using everything that he has, he sprinted away intending to escape.

Bang!

Not even wasting a single second, Blake kicked the entrance open and continues sprinting.

Albeit he's not as strong as the Ghoul, he's strong enough to kick the front entrance down, toppling it over with a loud banging sound. Reaching outside, he quickly made his way toward the alley once again.

"It's coming!" Maura exclaimed in horror.

Looking at the pair of yellow eyes that emerged from the warehouse, her body shivers.

Blake clenched his jaw so hard when he heard this, he kept his legs moving as fast as possible so that they could reach a crowded area. Even if the Ghoul is strong, he wouldn't dare to be public about what he actually was.

Despite sustaining a bullet to the head, the bullet managed to pierce its skull shallowly.

It's enough of a reason to know that the Ghoul can still be killed.

Maura's expression turned pale like a sheet of paper when the Ghoul chased after them like an animal. Even though Blake is already faster than the fastest man alive, the Ghoul is still even faster.

Growl!

Just like that, the Ghoul managed to reach them in a couple of seconds.

Upon sensing the malicious intent coming right behind him, Blake's eyes suddenly glowed red. It was what he was trying to do throughout his sprint, he wanted to evoke the Shadowblood to help him in this situation.

Feeling the burning sensation inside of him, Blake's body has gotten stronger.

"Cover your head..." Blake whispered to Maura subtly.

Maura was confused but she suddenly felt Blake grabbing her waist and throwing her forward. Instinctively, she covers her head with her hands and saw somekind of blood-red shadow coming out of Blake's body.

With the newfound strength, Blake turns around and faced the pouncing Ghoul.

Bam!

Thanks to the Shadowblood that made his body stronger, he managed to react and land an uppercut right to the Ghoul's jaw, stopping his momentum. Following that, Blake jumped and punch the Ghoul on the face with everything he has.

Bam!

Crash!

Receiving those attacks, the Ghoul got sent crashing back in surprise.

Although the punches were surprisingly hurt, the Ghoul didn't seem too put off by them. It didn't jumble him too much. But when he quickly gets up to continue his chase, Blake and Maura were already gone from the scene, disappearing in the shadow.

"Hmm... they got away" the Ghoul muttered.

Looking at the shadows in front of him, a frown then appeared on his face, "Although that ability he used must come from the game, how could he use it now when I couldn't? Or maybe..." Grinning nastily, the Ghoul's eyes flashed fiercely, "Is he a Privileged Player...? He doesn't seem to know about the treaty and our existence... So that's it, he must accidentally gets his hand on the Limited VR Helmet"