The Hunt for Blood

Inside the building, on the first floor in a quiet dining hall, the sound of cutlery echoed. On the head of the dining table, a man with blonde hair and a stern expression sat.

On either side of him was an empty chair, and right beside it, Zack and Lyla sat across from each other quietly, focused on their food.

Mr. Anderson brought the piece of steak into his mouth with a fork and chewed it slowly.

He washed it with a sip of red wine. After he put the glass back down, he wiped his mouth with a handkerchief ending the meal.

He nodded to his right, where a butler stood who cleared the table.

As the butler left the dining hall, Mr. Anderson looked at his son and daughter, who had their heads lowered and eyes peeled at their plates.

"When is your military exam?" he inquired with his thick voice.

Zack and Lyla raised their head at the same time and looked at their father.

Lyla replied with a smile, "It will be on 21st March."

Zack, on the other hand, remained quiet, his eyes trembling a little.

Mr. Anderson looked at Zack, his eyes narrowing, "Zack! Did you finish your daily training?"

Zack replied like a soldier, "Yes, Father!"

He nodded and continued looking at both, "You know we're the biggest weapon-making corporation. We are the Holy Empire's backbone, but we don't have any power."

He paused and looked at his son and daughter, his blue eyes piercing them.

He continued, "We need power. We can only get it when you enter the Military and awaken at least the class of a Paladin. Any lower class is unacceptable."

In the world of Neero, people blessed with the system get to choose one class after they reach level 20.

He paused again, rising from his chair. Zack and Lyla followed, standing up in respect.

"There's no chance for mediocrity." He left the last words hanging in the air as he stepped out of the hall.

Lyla and Zack slumped on their chairs.

Lyla looked at Zack and asked with a frown, " Did you bully Victor again?"

Zack snickered, "That trash deserves it."

Lyla scowled but didn't say anything; her eyes went back to her food.

After a little pause, she asked with curious eyes, "What level did you reach?"

Zack replied with a smug smile, "I'm level five, and I have three skills. There's also one unlocked skill I got when I awakened the system."

Lyla's smile widened, and pride filled her eyes. "I'm level six and I have already learned four skills."

She looked around with cautious eyes, leaned closer toward her brother, and whispered, "I have finally unlocked my bloodline skill, it's a Paladin's Holy Smite, and it says I will be able to use it after level 20."

Zack stood up in disbelief, exclaiming, "You'll be a Holy Paladin!"

Lyla looked around with wary eyes and shushed Zack. "Keep your voice down, you moron. I'm going to surprise Father."

Zack calmed down and slumped back in the chair with a defeated sigh.

I wish I had that skill... I should be happy for my sister. He thought.

A little while later, both of them left the dining hall and went to the second floor.

Outside of the Anderson house, in pale moonlight, Victor jumped from one roof to another.

As he reached the Anderson house, he stopped, his chest heaving, as his dim, glowing eyes searched for the entry inside the building.

At the door of the building, several guards stood alert, with a wide road separating them from the small houses.

Victor circled it and reached the back of it.

Here, it was only separated by a few feet wide street.

He spotted a balcony on the second floor, a little higher than the roofs of the small houses around.

He circled the building again but didn't find any other way to enter it.

Click!

The glass door to the gallery opened.

His eyes widened, and without any delay, he lay down behind the slope of the roof on the other side. Hiding in the shadows.

He moved his neck sideways and stared at the balcony.

His eyes widened, and there stood Lyla in a white night gown, the light of the moon falling on her face directly.

She looked like an angel.

Victor shook his head, reminding himself 'She is a witch, that's already proven. I tasted it myself. Appearance is like an angel, but she is rotten to the core.'

Lyla took a deep breath, her chest heaving up, and muttered to herself, " I want to become a famous Holy Paladin, the one they tell stories about."

After looking at the night sky and a moon little while, she went back to her room, leaving the door to the balcony open.

Victor kept hiding in the shadows. After some time, he stood up.

He can feel it; the Chaos energy has spread more than 20% now.

He looked at the balcony; it was a wide jump, wider than any jump he had before.

Victor stood up and looked at the balcony, his eyes filled with resolve.

[+3 agility]

He added all his free stats to agility.

He felt it, the energy coursing through his lower body muscles, making them more agile and leaner. The muscles became leaner but packed with more power.

He stepped back, at the edge of the roof, looking at the balcony, and he ran toward it.

Tuck, tuck tuck….

 Gradually, his speed increased.

The cold air hit his face, muscles in his legs tensed as he came near the edge of the roof.

With a burst of speed.

He jumped.

Swoosh!

Arms wide, reaching for the balcony railings in the air.

Clank!

His fingers touched the iron bars. Without wasting the momentum, he gripped them.

Thud!

His lower body swung forward, striking the wall.

"Kukk," a groan escaped from his lips.

He clenched his teeth and pulled himself upward.

Slowly, he climbed the balcony and landed on his feet.

Thud.

His eyes wary, he scanned around.

As the wind swept the white drapes, he saw Lyla sleeping on the bed, hugging her white pillow.

He moved his eyes away from her and slowly crept inside the room.

He scanned around, trying to find a door leading outside.

Victor's eyes lit up as he found the door. He moved slowly on his tiptoes without making any sound.

A creaking sound echoed in the room as he opened the door.

Victor froze.

He looked back, and Lyla was still sleeping soundly.

He took a relieved breath and crept through the door's small opening and closed it behind him, keeping a little open to not get locked in.

He stood in the dimly lit corridor and looked around, searching.

'Where can I find that trash's room?' Victor asked himself in his mind.

Right at the corner of the corridor stood another door similar to Lyla's.

Victor moved toward the door without making any sound.

He tried to open the door and turned the door handle.

Click!

It opened, Victor smiled.

He slowly opened the door a little and peeked inside.

His smile widened.

He slowly crept inside and locked the door behind him.

On the bed, Zack slept, hugging a pillow like his sister, and he was wearing white pajamas.

As Victor slowly stepped toward his bed, a thought struck him 'How should I drink his blood? Should I pour it into a glass first, then drink, or directly slash his wrist and drink from it?'

As the thought kept circling in his mind, something happened inside his soul, fangs grew from his gums, and his eyes glowed.

Like an instinct, his eyes drifted toward Zack's neck, the pulse moving under the skin.

Zack's eyes snapped open, he jerked upward with speed, and looked toward the intruder.

Victor backed away at the sudden change.