The four Fragment Wanderers (Level 15) did not make a sound. They glided over the cracked, shifting, hexagonal ground, their obsidian bodies cutting through the eerie purple light. They formed a perfect, silent circle around Vicky, their movements less like living creatures and more like a high-level combat program.
Vicky's heart hammered, but his training and new instincts took over. He was Level 13. They were Level 15. In a one-on-one fight, this would be tough. Four-on-one was a death sentence.
He didn't hesitate. He didn't wait to see what they would do.
"System, Blood Shield!"
A dome of crackling crimson energy flared to life around him, painting the dark ground in a violent red light. In the same instant, his hands lit up, Blood Claws (Lvl 2) extending from his fingers, sharp and bright.
The instant his shield appeared, the Wanderers attacked.
It was coordinated. They struck at the same time from all four sides. Vicky couldn't dodge. He had to take the hits. Three of the creatures' long, blade-like arms smashed into his shield.
BOOM!
The impact was like being hit by a car. The sound was a deafening CRACK as the energy dome struggled to hold. Vicky felt his own energy reserves plummet. The shield held, but it wouldn't hold against another attack like that.
These things were strong.
Vicky knew he had seconds, not minutes. He had to break their formation. He had to eliminate their numbers.
He dropped his shield, the energy imploding back into his body. As the shield fell, the fourth Wanderer, which had been waiting, lunged for his throat.
Vicky used his Speed (18). He wasn't fast enough to escape the circle, but he was fast enough to pivot. He ducked under the killing blow, the creature's sharp claw grazing his shoulder.
He was now inside the creature's guard.
"My turn," he snarled.
He activated Titan's Strength (Lvl 2) and poured all his Strength (19) and Chi (20) into one devastating counter-attack.
His Blood Claws didn't just slash; they exploded forward. He punched his claws straight through the Wanderer's chest.
There was a sound like a thousand glass plates shattering. The creature's obsidian armor, which looked like it could stop a bullet, completely disintegrated. It didn't even have time to register the attack before its body dissolved into purple dust.
SYSTEM
Fragment Wanderer (Lvl 15) defeated.
Trial Bonus (XP Multiplier) active.
XP Acquired: +600 XP.
XP Total: 6,000 / 9,800 (To Lvl 14).
One down. Three to go.
The other three Wanderers didn't pause. They didn't show fear. They simply re-calculated and attacked again.
Vicky had no room to move. He was in a cage of their making. He roared, channeling his power. Instead of his claws, he held out his hands and unleashed a point-blank Blood Arrow (Lvl 2) barrage.
It wasn't an arrow. It was a shotgun blast of pure, vampiric energy. The blast hit the closest Wanderer in the head, sending it staggering backward.
Vicky used the opening. He burst forward, his Speed (18) a black blur, and slammed his shoulder into the staggered monster, sending it crashing into the third.
The second and third Wanderers were tangled for a split second. It was all Vicky needed. He turned on the first monster—the one he had staggered—and drove his claws into its head. It dissolved.
SYSTEM
Fragment Wanderer (Lvl 15) defeated.
XP Acquired: +600 XP.
XP Total: 6,600 / 9,800 (To Lvl 14).
Two left. They were on him instantly. One swiped at his legs, the other at his chest. Vicky jumped, his Speed allowing him to twist in mid-air. He avoided the chest strike, but the swipe at his legs connected.
The pain was sharp and blinding. The Wanderer's claws tore through his pants and deep into his thigh. He landed hard, his left leg buckling.
But he was a vampire. The pain was just a signal. His Endurance (18) and his natural healing were already working. The blood flow stopped almost instantly.
The two creatures lunged, sensing he was wounded.
Vicky smiled, his fangs extending. He was waiting for them. He let them come, then activated Blood Shield at the last possible second.
The two Wanderers smashed head-first into the solid dome of energy. They were stunned, their bodies reeling from the impact.
Vicky dropped the shield and attacked. Two quick, brutal thrusts with his Blood Claws, one for each creature. It was over in a second.
SYSTEM
Fragment Wanderer (Lvl 15) defeated. (+600 XP)
Fragment Wanderer (Lvl 15) defeated. (+600 XP)
XP Total: 7,800 / 9,800 (To Lvl 14).
Silence.
Vicky stood breathing heavily in the empty, purple-lit space. His leg throbbed, but the wound was already closing. He had survived his first encounter.
He checked his timer. 70:55:00 remaining.
He looked at the Orb of Retreat in his inventory. It was tempting. This place was a death trap. But the rewards... Race Evolution: Blood Dragon. He couldn't leave and miss it.
"This is a grind," he whispered to himself. "This isn't about honor. It's about XP."
For the next eight hours, he changed his strategy. He was no longer a warrior. He was a hunter. He used the insane, broken landscape to his advantage. He climbed the side of a floating, upside-down building, his vampire strength letting him grip the broken concrete.
From his high perch, he used Blood Sense. The plane was crawling with Wanderers, usually in packs of two or three.
He found a lone Wanderer and dropped from the sky, landing on its back and shattering its core in one blow.
SYSTEM
Fragment Wanderer (Lvl 15) defeated.
XP Acquired: +600 XP.
XP Total: 8,400 / 9,800 (To Lvl 14).
He found another pack. He used a basic Blood Arrow to "pull" one, shooting it from a distance. The creature, sensing the attack, broke from its pack to find him. Vicky ambushed it in a dark alley between two shifting crystal plates.
SYSTEM
Fragment Wanderer (Lvl 15) defeated.
XP Acquired: +600 XP.
XP Total: 9,000 / 9,800 (To Lvl 14).
He needed one more. He found it. Another clean, silent kill.
SYSTEM
Fragment Wanderer (Lvl 15) defeated.
XP Acquired: +600 XP.
XP Total: 9,600 / 9,800 (To Lvl 14).
"Almost," he hissed. He was getting tired. His energy was low from using his skills so many times. He hunted one last creature.
SYSTEM
Fragment Wanderer (Lvl 15) defeated.
XP Acquired: +600 XP.
XP Total: 10,200 / 9,800.
A wave of pure, golden-red energy surged through his body. It was the most powerful level-up he had ever felt. His wounds, his fatigue, his drained energy—all of it vanished. He felt stronger than ever, his body humming with new power.
SYSTEM: LEVEL UP!
Level 14 achieved.
Stat Points Available: +3.
XP: 400 / 11,200 (To Lvl 15).
All attributes strengthened.
Vicky didn't even wait. "System, allocate all points. One to Strength, one to Speed, one to Endurance."
VICKY THORNE: STATUS
Level: 14
Stat Points Available: 0
STR: 20
SPD: 19
END: 19
Chi: 20 / 20
He felt the power settle into his bones. His Strength (20) felt like he could punch a hole in a mountain. The Level 15 Wanderers were no longer a threat. They were just food.
He spent the next few hours farming them, moving with his new, incredible speed. He was a blur of death, shattering creature after creature, his XP bar climbing steadily.
Then, at the 12-hour mark, the plane changed.
The low, crystalline hum stopped. The purple sky flashed with angry red lightning. A new sound echoed across the shifting plates—a wet, sickening, slurping sound.
Vicky instantly dropped into stealth, hiding behind a massive, floating piece of a bridge.
He used Blood Sense. A new, powerful energy source was approaching. It was strong.
A monster, easily twenty feet long, dragged itself into the open. It looked like a gigantic, oily black slug, but it was covered in pulsing, glowing, green pustules. It had no eyes, just a giant, circular mouth filled with razor-sharp crystal teeth. It was a Rift-Leech (Level 18). A Miniboss.
The Leech slithered over the spot where Vicky had killed a Wanderer. It opened its mouth and inhaled. The purple dust, the leftover energy, was sucked into its body. The green pustules on its back glowed brighter. It was feeding on his kills.
It turned, its eyeless head somehow sensing Vicky. It let out a high-pitched screech that vibrated in Vicky's skull.
Then it spit.
A glob of glowing green acid shot out, aimed right at Vicky's hiding spot.
"Move!" Vicky yelled. He used his Speed (19) to dive out of the way just as the acid hit the metal bridge. The thick steel hissed and melted into slag, like it was made of wax.
Vicky's blood ran cold. One hit from that, and he was dead. Blood Shield might not even be enough.
He fired a Blood Arrow. The crimson bolt hit the creature's oily black hide and... sank in, doing no damage. Its skin was too thick.
The Leech screeched again and charged, moving way faster than a 20-foot slug should be able to.
Vicky ran. He couldn't fight this thing head-on. He looked at the glowing green pustules on its back. "Weak points," he guessed. "They have to be."
He led the beast on a chase through the broken city, climbing and dodging, the Leech smashing through everything behind him. He needed a plan.
He found a narrow gap between two floating chunks of a skyscraper. He ran through it. The Leech, being so large, had to squeeze to get through.
Now!
While the Leech was stuck for a moment, Vicky ran up the side of the building and leaped, landing hard on the monster's slimy back. It was like landing on a wet mattress.
The Leech thrashed, trying to throw him off. Vicky held on, his Strength (20) letting him dig his fingers into its hide.
He raised his Blood Claws and infused them with Chi (20). His claws glowed, no longer just red, but with a white-hot, burning core.
He roared and stabbed his super-heated claws deep into the nearest glowing green pustule.
The Leech screamed. The pustule exploded.
Acid and slime erupted outwards. Vicky barely had time to activate Blood Shield. The acid sizzled against his shield, the energy draining at a terrifying rate, but it held.
The creature was in agony. It thrashed, smashing Vicky against the side of a building. The pain was immense, but Vicky held on.
"One more!" he yelled.
He raised his claws again, stabbing deep into a second pustule.
BOOM!
This explosion was even bigger. The creature's entire body convulsed, and then went still. It was dead.
Vicky, covered in neutral, cooling slime, dropped to the ground. He was exhausted, his energy almost completely gone. But he was alive.
SYSTEM
Rift-Leech (Lvl 18) defeated.
Trial Bonus (XP Multiplier) active.
XP Acquired: +3,000 XP.
XP Total: 3,400 / 11,200 (To Lvl 15).
The red lightning in the sky faded. The purple glow returned. The plane was quiet again.
Vicky checked his timer. 60:00:00 remaining.
He had survived 12 hours. He was stronger, but the enemies were getting harder. He found a small, dark hole—a broken utility tunnel inside a floating piece of road. He crawled inside and blocked the entrance.
He needed to rest. He entered a vampiric meditation, letting his Endurance (19) slowly heal his bruises and restore his energy. He had 60 hours left in this hell.
STATUS UPDATE
VICKY THORNE
Level: 14
XP: 3,400 / 11,200 (To Lvl 15)
Stat Points Available: 0
STR: 20
SPD: 19
END: 19
Chi: 20 / 20