Chương 4: (4) B1 C4: A World of Black and White

Now that I'd had a chance to look at my traits, I brought my attention to my skills. This time, I made a conscious effort to open the window without having to speak aloud. When the scarlet screen appeared in front of me, just as I willed it to, I smiled with relief. It would've been inconvenient to have to open the window exclusively using a voice command. ABILITIES LIST DEVOURS HEXES VAMPIRE'S BITE Consume the blood of living creatures to gain Blood Points (BP).

The amount of blood you gain from your target depends on either their Max Health or your Bite Capacity, which is determined by your Thirst attribute. - Proficiency: Rudimentary Cost: None Current Bite Capacity: 100 CRIMSON INSTINCT Reveal the blood quality of every creature within sight by gazing directly at the potency within their veins.

Your targets' veins will glow in various shades of crimson according to their potency, but blood concealed behind thick solid objects, such as walls and floors, will remain hidden. - Proficiency: Rudimentary Cost: 25 CE/S Range: 5 Meters First, I turned to my first skill, Vampire's Bite. After seeing how realistic the surrounding forest was, I had no doubt that the rest of my senses worked as advertised.

The mere thought of what blood might taste like sent unpleasant shivers down my spine, and suddenly I didn't look forward to testing how pleasant the skill was going to be. Although I was glad to see that it had no cost, considering it probably would've cost me Blood Points otherwise, I couldn't help but desperately hope that my body was created with adjusted taste receptors in mind so that I'd be able to accept, at least physically, the act of drinking somebody else's blood.

I didn't even try to think about the morality of the act, of course, as that was something I'd have to panic about later. Although a part of me desperately wished that I'd be able to ignore the skill entirely, I knew that I'd be a fool to do so. Blood Points, among other things, were literally what I was supposed to eat to survive. If I went too long without eating, I'd become 'blood-starved', and without access to a library or another Vampire, I was only able to infer what that meant for me by the name.

Obviously, being Blood-Starved was something to be avoided at all costs. After I read through my second skill, Crimson Instinct, I found myself grinning in giddy excitement. Previously, I could only watch as my character on a monitor performed miraculous skills and actions. Now, though? I was able to perform them myself. Even though Crimson Instinct was only a utility skill, the simple thought of being able to use it was enough to make my nerves explode with anticipation.

If my heart was beating, it probably would've been pumping at a thousand beats per minute. Crimson Instinct's skill description implied it required some amount of focus being directed to the eyes. To activate it, maybe I had to wield my Curse Energy and direct it to my head? Or would simply imagining myself wearing magical goggles help me activate the skill? As I took a deep breath, I began to concentrate.

I didn't know how I'd activate Crimson Instinct, considering skills like it were impossible for me only yesterday, but I knew I at least wanted to see if I could activate it without chanting the skill name before I dove into the deep end. After all, the idea of having to chant my ability names before I used them was just about the cringiest thing I could imagine myself doing. I first began with an idea of the skill in my mind.

I imagined my vision changing, as if my eyes were being replaced with a camera filter, but as I felt nothing but the growing awkwardness of silence stretching around me, I knew trying to activate the skill by simply imagining it wouldn't work. Not at least without figuring out how the skill felt to use. Opening my status windows had been easy, but I wasn't going to give up after facing my first challenge.

I then wondered if there was a physical component to activating the skill, like snapping my fingers or waving an arm. I tried a few different ideas, but again, nothing worked.

"Maybe I just get a feel of how the skill works, first?" I wondered aloud. Obviously, I didn't want skill chanting to become a habit, but simply learning the skill was more important than my self image. So, as I braced myself, I whispered, " Crimson Instinct." Love what you're reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on.

As soon as the words left my mouth, an ice cold feeling, similar to a gust of wind being blown against my face, reached into my eyes from somewhere within my own skull. I blinked once and the world around me flipped in color until all I saw were shades of black and white. The forest around me changed, as if recolored to fit an oldies filter. I looked down at my body.

My skin had hardly changed, thanks to how incredibly pale I was, but the blue edges of my fingers had turned grey and my veins, which were only noticeable near my extremities moments prior, were now stretching all across my body with a fierce black glow. The dark glow wasn't limited to my surface veins, either, as I was able to see the dark outline of my unbeating heart deep in my chest and the maze of black arteries that surrounded it.

"Holy hell," I heard my own voice whisper in awe. I looked up at the forest around me, but, as there were no living targets within the skill's short range, I didn't see anything apart from the black and white foliage surrounding me. After a few more seconds of holding the skill, I began to feel a strange weakness dragging against my mind, as if my concentration was being held back by a heavy weight. My vision became blurry and a strange pressure began to pulse from my skull.

I groaned, then quickly canceled the skill with nothing but a mere thought. As color returned to the forest around me, I looked back to the skills page in front of me, specifically to the steep activation cost paid simply by using Crimson Instinct. With my pitiful pool of Curse Energy, it was no wonder why I was suddenly feeling worn out. I was only able to hold the skill for a mere four seconds.

Once I'd gotten the chance to test out what skills I could, I closed the skills menu and turned my attention to the forest around me. My eyes drifted upward, to the horizon in the distance, and I felt a chill run across my spine as an image of the rising sun appeared in my mind. I didn't know how it would feel to lose 25% of my Vitae every second, but I had no intention of finding out. I needed to make sure I was absolutely not caught in the sunlight when morning came.

I needed to find shelter—a cave or something—as soon as possible. The sudden sense of dread I felt coursing through my body demanded it. I took a look around at my immediate surroundings. I had woken up in the clearing of a quiet green forest, but considering how common the forest biome was in FFO, that didn't really help me pinpoint where I was. At the very least, I hadn't found myself in a high level area, considering most of those zones were underground or enveloped in constant winter.

That meant I had two pieces of good news. One: I probably wouldn't run into anybody who could completely demolish me in combat, as most of those characters wandered the more difficult zones of the world. Two: the safer regions in FFO were filled to the brim with settlements and cities. With any luck, I wouldn't have to walk far to find the nearest village. So, with that knowledge in mind, I knew I should've at least been safe enough to climb the nearest tree.

My intention was to have an elevated position to see more of the forest around me, hopefully so I could possibly be able to spot the signs of a nearby settlement. I turned to the closest tree, then took hold of the branch closest to the ground before I quickly heaved my body upward. I immediately noticed the difference in strength between this body and my old one, as I was feeling lighter and more flexible than ever before.

My limbs were like springs, where even the slightest movement was supported by my entire body. My old body, in comparison, was like a block of wood. Even getting up in the morning was difficult sometimes. I didn't know whether my vampiric body was the cause of my newfound strength or whether it was a convenience of having a smaller form, but I was glad for it, as crawling upwards through the oak's maze of branches and leaves was more of a struggle than I was willing to admit.

By the time I was halfway up the tree, my hair was covered in a bundle of leaves and perhaps the remnants of a broken branch I'd pushed too hard against. The tree was much taller than I'd assumed from the ground, or perhaps I had woken up at the top of a hill, because once I reached the tree's apex, I was able to examine a large portion of the forest around me. My attention was first drawn to the forest in front of me, where a large river snaked through the earth like a knife cutting through the forest.

Its distinctive shape reminded me of cake decoration, as the majority of what I could see was white with rapids and rough currents. The river ended with a sparkling waterfall turned silver by the moonlight, which then dropped the river out of my sight and into what I could only assume was a lake waiting below. I brought my attention away from the rapids and instead turned to the rest of the forest around me. To my left and right, the forest stretched to the horizon, trees covering the land everywhere I looked.

The forest even continued behind me, but when I strained my eyes to gaze at what was hiding on the very edge of the distant horizon, I caught the sight of a small light in the distance. It wasn't a city light, as it was too small and orange to be anything other than a campfire, yet I still felt hope bloom within me as I recognized the first sign of civilization.

I didn't know where I was—my surroundings were too common to be recognized at first glance—yet now that I knew there was somebody else nearby, I felt a bundle of hope grow within my heart. I turned to look at the distant campfire once more before I took a deep breath. Now, I just needed to get there before the sun came up. Otherwise, I'd be burnt to a crisp before anybody had the chance to say 'Nice weather we're having today.'

— Walking through the forest at night was surprisingly easy, despite the low amount of light. The land around me was quiet and calm, probably because most of the animals were sleeping, so the only issue I found was the wind hitting my body. Not to say it was cold or anything, but the feeling of the wind dragging against my hair was extremely uncomfortable, as I wasn't used to having a head of hair that reached past my shoulders.

As I moved through the forest, I did so quickly while keeping an eye out for any potential shelters. I fully intended to reach the distant campfire before the sun climbed over the horizon, but I knew it was still a good idea to plan for unexpected weather. After I had walked about a mile closer to my destination, the forest began to rise in elevation. By then, it had been a little over ten minutes since I'd first begun my journey through the forest, yet I still hadn't seen any sign of shelter.

Not a cave, an abandoned hut, or even a merchants road that could've led me to civilization. I knew the world of FFO was massive, but it was still surprising to find out just how far I was from civilization. I was almost tempted to experiment with my skills again, even though only Crimson Instinct was viable for such experimentation, but before I could, I heard the sound of something heavy striking something light echoing from somewhere nearby.

I immediately dropped low to the ground, my instincts deciding my actions before I even realized what was happening, and activated Crimson Instinct. A cold rush of wind flooded my face as the colors around me faded away into shades of black and white. I looked to my left and found six red figures standing just a few meters away. Each of them glowed with vibrant color as mazes of red arteries ran through their bodies in a way that mimicked the black ones running through mine.

Contrary to my veins, however, theirs pulsed with life as their hearts pumped their bodies with vitality. The closest one, a tall figure with a wide set of shoulders, swung his arm forward with wild ferocity. With each swing, I heard the thunk of broken branches and discarded twigs as he cleared the path in front of them with what I assumed was a sword. The second figure was only a little shorter than the first, though their figure was significantly thinner than the former.

As they walked, I was able to see a certain sense of balance that the others didn't. In their hands, the figure carried a two handed weapon, but by the way they were holding it I was able to gather that it was a gun or a crossbow of some sort. The third figure was the shortest. In his left hand, he carried some sort of walking stick. In his right, some sort of tool held at his waist. The last three figures were each the same. Thin, weak, and each bound at the wrists.

They walked in a line behind the first three, though each of them stumbled through the forest with the gracefulness of a drunkard after a hard night. Wait, bound at the wrist? I ducked closer to the ground, all hopes of receiving help quashed from my mind. These people were not going to be friendly.