"Where am I?"
I suddenly woke up to find myself standing in front of what looked like a massive black stone gate in the middle of a city, with many creatures around me. Some of them felt familiar, while others felt dangerous.
"Who am I?"
I began following my instincts while trying to remember what had happened, only to realize that I had even forgotten my own identity.
"Should I enter?"
Without realizing it, I reached the black gate. I tried to stop, but my body didn't listen, and I stepped into the blue liquid at its center.
[Scanning challenger... complete.]
The compatible classes for the challenger are:
[1- Hunter 59%]
[2- Acid Caster 65%]
[3- Blood Mage 78%]
[4- Necromancer 82%]
[Please choose quickly, or a random selection will be made.]
"What is this now?"
I had been asking many questions since I woke up. I didn't know anything about myself. I was only following my instincts.
[No class selected... a random class will be chosen.]
[Class selected: "Blood Mage" with 78% compatibility]
Available difficulties:
1- Normal
2- Hard
3- Nightmare
[Please choose quickly, or a random selection will be made.]
[No difficulty selected... selecting randomly.]
[Difficulty selected: "Nightmare"... transporting challenger to Trial Grounds]
[Trial Grounds — Blood Mage]
[Difficulty: Nightmare]
[Objective: Slaughter all residents of Lagorth Village and bathe in their blood]
[Trial duration: 3 days]
[Reward: Unknown]
"How is the harvest, brother."
I was thrown out of the blue liquid into a green area, where I saw creatures similar to those I felt familiar with, speaking a language I didn't understand.
Hungry… I'm hungry…
As soon as I approached them and smelled them, hunger instincts attacked me and blinded what remained of my thinking.
I was merely a spectator as I watched my body leap onto one of them, tearing his throat apart with my teeth and feeding on his flesh. Blood sprayed onto my face, covering my vision, while the other creature ran away quickly, stumbling every few steps.
"So this is how things work."
After the meal, fragments of information began appearing in my mind, explaining some unclear things, such as why I was here, what I had to do, and the identity of these creatures, which were called humans.
"This is the monster that killed Calvino."
After some time, I saw that human return again, this time with other humans. I knew I had to kill them, so I didn't hesitate and rushed toward them.
"Erasuma, help me."
One of them called for help as I jumped on him, tearing his insides apart. When the other grabbed me from behind, he was already dead.
"Stab it now."
The human inserted a piece of wood into me, creating a large wound in my chest. I took advantage of him lowering his guard and slashed his neck using my claws.
I threw the last human behind me onto the ground and began devouring his flesh while his blood sprayed out, covering me completely.
Trial Objective:
[1- Slaughter residents of Lagorth Village: 4/30]
[2- Bathe in their blood: 1/30]
"So this is what bathing means."
After realizing this, I returned to the remaining corpses and began cutting their parts to release blood and pour it over my body.
"This feeling is amazing."
After completing the bathing, I felt a great energy flowing through my body, healing my wounds, and new knowledge imprinting itself in my mind.
[Congratulations to the challenger for acquiring the class skill "Blood Spears"]
[Congratulations to the challenger for acquiring the class skill "Rapid Regeneration"]
{Skill: Blood Spears Rank-1The user condenses surrounding blood into spears that can be controlled and launched. The higher the quality of the blood, the stronger the spear.}
[Quality: Rare]
[Mana Cost: 5 MP per spear]
[Cooldown: 5 seconds]
[Requirement: Blood]
{Skill: Rapid Regeneration Rank-1The user's body absorbs remaining vitality from nearby blood and converts it into energy to heal itself.}
[Quality: Very rare]
[Mana Cost: 20 MP]
[Cooldown: 2 hours]
[Requirement: Blood]
When I opened my eyes again, darkness had already fallen. Many humans carrying torches were approaching me from afar.
"It's time to test my new skill."
I sat among the corpses, where blood was abundant, waiting for the humans to come close enough.
"Take cover."
When they arrived, I began forming spears and throwing them. Blood rose from the ground and formed in the air into terrifying red spears about two meters long.
Before they could react, I had already thrown three blood spears, killing two humans, while the third spear was blocked by a shield held by a tall human.
"You two, surround this monster. Don't let it escape. We must avenge our fallen brothers."
The humans formed a circle around me to trap me.
I took advantage of their separation and threw the last two spears I could gather at the weaker humans. One was pinned to the tree behind him through his stomach, while the other spear struck the second human's head and blew it apart.
"Damn you, cursed monster."
In the blink of an eye, only I and the leader remained. He seemed to have lost his mind and charged at me quickly, striking me with his shield and sending me flying into a tree.
"Die, monster."
He pulled out a small metal rod and began stabbing me repeatedly. I truly didn't understand why humans loved putting things into me, then acting shocked when I slit their throats.
"Oh, you're not dead?"
After killing the leader, I began cutting limbs and bathing in the blood of my new victims until I reached the one pinned to the tree. He was still alive, but that didn't stop me from tearing his limbs apart and bathing in his blood as his screams echoed loudly.
Trial Objective:
[1- Slaughter residents of Lagorth Village: 9/30][2- Bathe in their blood: 9/30]
"Where are the rest of the humans?"
I waited until the sun rose and set again, but no new humans came, so I decided to go to them myself.
Humans… many humans…
After a long search, I finally reached where the humans were. Most of them were women or children, and I didn't feel any threat from any of them except two sitting on a tree branch away from the others.
"What do you think that monster is? It even killed Golietario."
While the two humans were talking, I seized the opportunity and killed one of the women who approached me before she could scream.
"All we can do is stay away from the farmland for now and pray it doesn't come to us."
I interrupted them when the blood spear I threw suddenly pierced one of their skulls.
"The monster is here. Everyone, to your homes."
The humans began fleeing toward their homes, while I sent another blood spear toward the second human. He created a transparent white wall to block it, then threw stones at me from thin air, injuring one of my arms and making me unable to move it.
"Damn it, does this monster's mana never run out?"
At some point, he stopped maintaining the barrier and started running to dodge the spears, but one of my spears hit his chest and killed him instantly.
"You evil monster, leave our village."
A small human stood in front of me, holding a metal stick longer than himself, waving it at me while shouting words I didn't understand. I sent a blood spear to silence him before beginning to bathe in his blood.
"This is amazing… this feeling… it's enjoyable."
After slaughtering everyone in the village, I continued cutting limbs and bathing in blood until the corpses formed a mountain and the blood flowed like a river.
"So this is how I look."
I saw my reflection in a pool of blood beneath my feet. My face was a bony skull with no nose and no eyes, only yellow teeth filled with blood and flesh.
Trial Objective:
[1- Slaughter residents of Lagorth Village: 30/30]
[2- Bathe in their blood: 30/30]
[Trial completed successfully… distributing rewards]
"What is this?"
A black mask decorated with red vein-like patterns appeared before me. When I put it on, it felt like part of me.
{Blood Mask: Rank-1 ArmorA mask formed from the flesh and blood of the pitiful victims of a Blood Mage. It grants a random special skill and is considered a signature item for all Blood Mages.}
[Quality: Rare]
[Effects: +6 Intelligence]
[Requirement: Blood Mage]
[Special Skill: Fear Art Rank-1 Causes biological creatures to lose rational thinking, instills fear in their hearts, and weakens their will to fight. It can affect multiple enemies at once.]
[Cooldown: 24 hours]
Suddenly, my vision turned black, then red again.
I found myself inside a world made entirely of blood. Rivers of blood, volcanoes of blood, blood rain, even the creatures were red like blood. Everything was made of blood.
I stood there, stunned by the beauty of this world.
[Rewards distributed… transporting challenger outside Trial Grounds]
When I was thrown out of the blue liquid again, I appeared in front of the black gate, and these words appeared:
[Name: ?????]
[Race: Undead]
[Level: 10 {800 / 0 XP}]
[Class: Blood Mage Rank-1]
[Mana: 36(+12)]
[Strength: 16]
[Stamina: 14]
[Vitality: 19]
[Agility: 15]
[Intelligence: 18 (+6)]
[Skills: Blood Spear (Lvl 1), Blood Shield (Lvl 1), Rapid Regeneration (Lvl 1)]
{Blood Mage Rank-1Dark mages who have awakened a superior aspect of darkness, "Blood." They possess a terrifying ability to manipulate blood and restore vitality, making them extremely difficult to kill.}
[Quality: Epic]
[Per Level: +3 Intelligence, +2 Vitality, +2 Endurance]
"What is this?"
I didn't understand any of the words or numbers in front of me, so I started asking questions, and whenever I thought of one, the answer appeared.
[Intelligence: A stat that measures brain capability, including perception, communication, willpower, mana gland function, and instinct.]
{Skill: Blood Shield Rank-1After enlightenment in the world of blood, the user learned how to shape surrounding blood into a protective shield. The higher the quality of the blood, the stronger the shield.}
[Quality: Rare]
[Mana Cost: 20 MP]
[Cooldown: 5 minutes]
[Requirement: Blood]
"Alright… what about giving myself a name?"
I don't know why, but I felt that a name was extremely important to me.
After thinking for a long time, I finally chose.
"My name will be Witness"