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A hulking, muscular bear stood before him. Eyes glowed red, same as the wolf he sat upon. Thick fur mixed with green goo from earlier and laced with scars from previous battles covered its body. Its mouth foamed as it snarled at Hiroshi.
You've got to be kidding me.
This thing's freaking huge!!
It stretched itself out, standing on two feet, letting out a roar so loud it made Hiroshi cover his ears.
Am I supposed to fight this thing? I'm definitely going to die!
The bare came down with all of its weight, stomping the ground.
The shock wave sent Hiroshi flying off of the wolf and tumbling through the bushes and twigs a few meters away.
He coughed out dirt, attempting to get up.
Shit shit shit, this is really bad. Think.
I definitely can't beat it. I need to escape somehow.
The beast began to charge towards him, knocking trees over as it crashed against them, its eyes locked onto Hiroshi.
It's coming!
Before he had time to even think, his body instinctively rolled to the side, the bear barely missing.
A familiar sound caught his ears. A distant swooshing sound only a few things could make. Water.
I hear a current. A river's nearby.
He turned his head to see where it was coming from. A small clearing in the forest.
That has to be i—
The monster roared behind him, sweeping its crushing paw at Hiroshi's back, launching him towards the clearing.
Hiroshi flew straight through a tree, and into the clearing. He was right. A river flowed down and fell several meters. At the edges there was nothing left, just rock.
He looked up, coughing out blood.
Shit, a dead end. My only chance is the river but it's a massive waterfall. I might not survive the fall.
Well, it's better than being eaten by a bear.
He tried to stand up, but something felt off. He looked down.
His leg was mangled and twisted, a piece of his bone stuck out.
My leg's no use, damn it. Must… reach the river…
Hiroshi clawed at the ground desperately, pulling himself closer and closer to the river. The pebbles in front of him began to vibrate, then shake.
It was close.
"Yaaaaaggh!" He shouted out, pulling even more desperately.
The vibrations stopped.
Turning his head, it stood tall once again.
Hiroshi gritted his teeth and furrowed his brows, staring directly at its glowing red eyes, burning its image into his brain.
I'll be back for you, I promise.
With a last pull, he fell into the water.
Coldness immediately surrounded his entire body, his leg and arm— his entire body, pulsing with pain.
Heh… at least I didn't get eaten.
His body washed away with the rapid current, and plummeted through the air for several seconds, until he hit the bottom of the waterfall.
Everything turned into a blur, and then, darkness.
"Hiroshi. Control your breathing. Feel every fiber in your body. Control it." Sensei spoke.
His master's face was blurred. Morning sun rays warmed his skin.
"Yes, sensei!" Hiroshi replied with a young voice.
"And remember, Hiroshi, you are…"
I'm what… sensei… what are you trying to tell me… His eyes shot open. Pain pulsed through his entire body.
I'm still here, huh.
His leg twitched and a sharp pain shot up his body.
Ugh, my leg… the bone…
He sat up, groaning. There was a stick nearby.
I have to fix this; this is going to hurt.
Hiroshi chewed down onto the branch, his breathing quickened as he braced himself. One final inhale.
He pressed down his leg with everything he had; his bone popped back into place.
"AGGGGHHHH!" He shouted out.
He spat out the branch, his chest still moving quickly.
"Status." The word barely escaped his mouth.
The window popped open.
HP: 3/150
MP: 0/100
Level: 2
Age: 40
Class: Vampire
Title: Underdog
Skills: None
Choose skills?
Three huh… I really am on death's door.
Maybe there's some useful skills.
"Choose skills."
A few more windows opened, displaying skills.
No… wait. Regeneration?
The system's voice came to life.
"Regeneration. Passively restores health points, albeit very slowly. Choose Regeneration?"
It was devoid of emotions, as usual.
That sounds pretty useful, for now I'll have to pick this.
"Yes." His deep feminine voice ordered.
"Acquired skill: Regeneration, LV 1: Active"
He glanced over his HP, it began to rose. Slowly.
It wasn't lying when it said it was going to be slow. At this rate it'll be a few hours before I'm back to full.
What else is here…
He browsed the low-level skills that were available to him. Another caught his eyes.
Hmmm. Inspect Status?
"Inspect Status. Allows the user to view creatures, items, objects and humanoids status. Choose Inspect Status?"
It asked, indifferent as before.
That does sound useful to know what or who I'm up against. Maybe I should choose an offensive skill for now. I'll come back to that later.
His eyes continued to glance over, until they stopped again.
Vampire… claws… Alright! That's the one! Take it!
"Vampire Claws. Allows the user to grow and retract sharp nails at will. Excellent piercing capabilities. Choose Vampire Claws?"
"Yes, give me them" He ordered once again.
Alright, I've got some skills now. Let's check the status once again.
Good, I'm slowly recovering. What's the title underdog anyway?
The system was quiet.
No answer huh. Fine, I'll figure it out another time. For now, I've got to rest up.
Wait. Before I fell. There were some lights in the distance beside the water. Could it be? A village?
"Alright! Time to get mov—"
Suddenly, he tried to get up. The sharp pain in his leg suggested otherwise.
Ouch… maybe not right now…
Better let the regeneration do its thing.
His eyes began to slowly close. A few moments later his ear twitched.
Awoooo—
A sound he's familiar with. His eyes shot open.
Wolves! I can't fight in this state. I better avoid them for now.
Hiroshi stood up quite easily and began to walk with a slight limp.
Huh? I can walk already. How long was I out?
He limped on, following the river.
"Status."
Wow, my HP is 60, no wonder I can walk already. Maybe resting and regeneration stacks? Anyhow, I need to get away from here, lest that thing finds me again.
Birds suddenly flew out of the trees; a loud roar came from where he just left. Then the ground shook, following some whimpers.
Is that thing there already? Is it fighting the wolves?
I need to move; at this rate it will catch up to me.
Hiroshi spread branches, and fought his way through thick bushes. Then a branch cracked.
He quickly kneeled down at the base of a tree, poking out of the bushes to see.
Three large dire wolves came to a stop in their tracks, looking around with their snout pointed up, sniffing.
Oooooh dire wolves, pleeeaaasee go away.
One looked in his direction where he was. Hiroshi's heart dropped.
Did it see me?!
It slowly began to walks towards him.
The other two wolves concluded there's nothing here and ran off in the direction he just came from, where the commotion is.
The third turned its head and began to follow them.
"Phewwwww."
He sighed long, the stress practically leaking out of him.
That was close. Now's my chance.
Still crouching, he turned around and took a step. A branch cracked. He froze.
Oh, you've got to be kidding me.
He looked over and saw the dire wolf running towards him.
Here it comes!
It leaped into the air; its red eyes locked onto Hiroshi.
Vampire Claws!
His nails instantly shot out of his fingers, razor sharp.
"Take this!" He roared out.
He leaned forward and planted his feet in the ground.
His body twisted to the side, as the wolf was about to land on him, his body rotated in the opposite way, throwing out his hand sharply.
The razor-sharp nails pierced the dire wolf's thick hide, and drove them into its neck. It let out a screech.
Woah, these are really effective.
His hand clenched on its neck, while falling on his back, his hand embedded in the wolf's neck.
C'mon! Give out already!
He twisted his hand inside of its neck and after a few moments it went still.
"Dire wolf defeated."
More branch cracking sounds came from deeper of the woods. Was it the other two?
I need to move, before the rest of them pick up the trail.
He pushed the dire wolf off of him and stumbled to his feet and began to run, with a slight limp.
Branches and twigs hit and scraped his face as he stumbled through the greenery.
The sounds behind him got louder.
Damn, they're getting closer. I think they're following the scent of my blood. In that case…
With his other hand, he stained his hand with blood from his wrist and left smudges of blood on the trees as he ran, then in a slightly different direction.
This should buy me some time!
His eyes met light in the distance of the forest.
Yes! I was right! A village!
Branches scraped off every part of his body, some making small cuts, leaving blood on them.
The dire wolves behind him were getting closer again as they followed the trail of his blood.
Huh what's that?
A dim blue, transparent light was emanating from a rock in front of him. There was a strange symbol engraved on it, which glowed a blue color.
As Hiroshi was lost in thought of what was in front of him, he lost his footing and fell forward, going through the thin blue transparent wall.
Quickly looking behind him, there they were. Two dire wolves sprinting directly at him.
Shit, it's two of them. I don't know if I can take both on at the same time.
They were just a short distance away from him now.
It's time to fi—
The dire wolves ran into the transparent blueness, and hit it like they just hit a wall.
Huh? They can't get through?
The wolves snarled at Hiroshi for a while, then turned, and left.
Hiroshi turned to his back and began laughing.
I've made it. I was saved by that blue wall… hahaha.
I can finally get some help.
He smiled, staring at the starry night sky. Fate has shone upon him at last.
Alright. Let's go meet some humans!
Hiroshi completely forgot the fact that he's now a vampire. With claws. Covered in blood.
He began to walk towards the lights. Torches illuminated walls, revealing stone and thatch.
Hmm, it looks like… houses from medieval times?
I guess they haven't progressed with technology.
He reached the outskirts of the village, his silhouette still in the darkness.
A villager, sitting on his porch, noticed the shadow getting closer.
Hiroshi noticed him from a distance.
Oh, finally! Looks like he's with his family having dinner outside.
The man turned and signaled to his family; they began waving and called out to the shadow.
"Yeh! si't ton safe edistuo the egalliv at thgin!" He called out.
Huh, what did he say? I didn't understand. It sounded almost familiar… but wrong.
Maybe he's too far.
Hiroshi walked closer.
The villagers' expressions changed slowly from worried to horrified.
They began shouting and screaming. The villager's kid began to cry, whilst she was picked up by the mother and hurried inside the house.
Huh, why are they shouting?
The man began to ring a bell. More lights burst to life around the houses, with men leaving quickly with pitchforks and rakes.
Oh, they're coming to greet me!
Hiroshi began to wave to them, smiling, and as the light fully illuminated his face, the villagers began to throw their torches at him.
A vampire stood there, mouth open in what it thought was a friendly smile. Hiroshi's body covered in blood and wounds from previous battles. His forearm still mangled from the dire wolf earlier.
The villagers got angrier as he stood there, creepily.
They began to run towards him with their torches.