He quickly rushed inside his house. He didn't rush to freshen up like he normally did. Instead, he opened his system tab in excitement.
Basic Combat Ability: When learned, host will be able to fight 5–7 average people easily. When paired with the basic physique, users will be able to fight 10–12 average people.
Basic Physique: Increases host's physique to the limit of a normal human.
Without hesitation, he bought the two abilities. His body felt hot at first. Soon, pain spread all over him. It lingered for some minutes before it gradually faded. he tried to sense his body and felt great strength coursing through it.
He was really satisfied with the ability. He felt like he could easily fight off ten ordinary men now. If he met that fatty and his gang again, they'd be the ones getting beaten up.
He freshened up before leaving. He arrived at a mall nearby to buy a mask. The mall was quite popular—a good number of people were going in and out—and he simply mixed in with them. He arrived at the section where masks were sold.
The receptionist there was quite pretty. She was wearing a light blue dress and looked pretty lazy. Her eyes were drooping, and there wasn't much life in them as she looked at him.
Abel was a bit surprised. He thought maybe the girl owned the booth. The mall had lots of independent booths anyway.
"Hello, Miss. I want a mask."
She only glanced at him before waving impatiently. "Go ahead, take any one you like and bring it to the counter."
Abel didn't waste time and quickly searched for a mask. All the masks in the shop had kinda unique designs. This is more like a cosplay shop, he thought, before picking a simple black-colored mask. Nothing stood out aside from a sword logo drawn at the center. He was very satisfied with it and nodded.
"Miss, I'll take this."
The lady, who had just been about to doze off, looked up in annoyance. Her eyes were all red. He wondered if she even got any sleep at night.
"50 credits," she replied flatly.
50 credits? Was she trying to rip him off?
Abel knew the lady hyped the price, but he wasn't bothered. Anyway, he was now very rich, right?
He paid with his credit card and left immediately. The lady's eyes almost popped out seeing his action. She felt like she'd missed out. This guy looks so easy to scam. Her expression turned ugly, like someone who had just lost a thousand credits.
If Abel knew what she was thinking, he would've staggered.
He decided to walk to the southern part of Westlake. It was part of his exercise, and now that he had a strong physical body, he didn't feel a thing.
After a few minutes' walk, he arrived at an alley. It was a shortcut he normally took. Better than going through the main road, which required a long detour.
He looked at the narrow alley and frowned. He hadn't realized when it happened, but ever since he got beaten, he seemed to had developed a fear of alleys.
(Ding! New mission: Save the girl from the Bloodkin. Mission reward: 100 points. Punishment: Host will be tortured with 100 volts of electricity for ten minutes.)
A map of the alleyway appeared in his mind, with an arrow pointing at the target location. Abel was speechless. This was the first time the system gave him a mission, and it even included such a vicious punishment if he failed.
Also… what the fuck is a Bloodkin?
Abel's face clearly showed confusion. It sounded like some vampire clan from a fantasy novel or something. He shrugged anyway and followed the map.
He frowned as he walked through the dirty alley. It was obvious some people dumped trash here. He wondered if there are much people that uses this Alley for a short cut.
He followed the map until he reached the destination and saw his target.
There were two people there: a young, handsome man and a beautiful woman. The man had pale skin and was very well dressed. His hair was blonde, and he had a trendy haircut. The lady wore a tight, revealing dress and heavy makeup.
Abel couldn't tell if she was as beautiful as she looked now without all the makeup. He stood there, watching the two, trying to understand the situation.
The man was saying something to the girl, and she looked terrified. Abel was about to come closer and eavesdrop when, all of a sudden, the guy grabbed the girl's neck. Fangs grew from his teeth.
Abel felt his blood run cold. He froze, unable to react in time. But the woman moved faster. Even in her fright, she managed to kick the Bloodkin right in the family jewels.
Abel now confirmed this vampire-like being was the Bloodkin the system had mentioned. He immediately acted. Even though he had grown stronger, he made a mental note to run if things went south. After all, he couldn't tell how strong this vampire really was, and he wasn't going to risk his life for a stranger.
He wasn't some kind of hero, was he?
He closed in on the vampire before he could recover from the kick. Even though the vampire was in pain, he had heightened senses and could feel the air shift beside him. From the corner of his eye, he saw a blow slicing through the air—deadly and fast.
He reacted immediately.
Abel was shocked when his fist met empty air. His gaze became solemn. His opponent was strong. The vampire moved so fast he could barely keep up. But Abel wasn't fazed. He had already accepted the mission and couldn't outrun this creature. His only option was to fight it out.
He sidestepped and dodged a dangerous kick.
"Go on, brother! I know you can do it! Beat up that monster—I'll go call for help!" The girl, now free from the vampire, shouted and quickly disappeared down the narrow alley.
Abel was exasperated. The girl didn't even blink before fleeing. Clearly, she didn't believe he could win, so she escaped before the vampire finished him off.
He felt like shedding tears. She didn't even bat an eyelid—just abandoned her savior without a second thought.
(Ding, mission save the girl from the bloodkin completed, host has received hundred system points.)
'Do you have to remind me now? I'm in the middle of a fight.' Abel felt like crying.
He quickly refocused on the fight. He had exchanged a few blows with the vampire and had roughly gauged his strength.
The vampire seemed to have the strength of four grown men, yet he was completely overpowering Abel even though he has more strength than the vampire. His real advantage was his speed. He was extremely fast, and Abel barely dodged most attacks—some even landed.
Abel decided to go on the defensive and wait for an opening instead of making himself an easy target. The vampire's attacks grew more aggressive. Then Abel saw an opening and threw a quick punch. The vampire dodged it easily.
Abel smiled.
He had prepared for that. His kick followed the missed punch, catching the vampire off guard. Abel could tell the vampire wasn't a skilled fighter—he relied too much on speed. That punch had just been bait to create an opening for the kick.
His leg connected squarely with the vampire's jaw, and he heard something crack. The vampire flew from the impact and landed a meter away.
There was terror in his eyes when he looked at Abel again. His face grew even paler. He spat blood.
"You… who are you? No, you're an Awaken. You must be. But… I didn't feel any energy from you," he muttered, more to himself.
Abel blinked. Maybe I beat him so hard he lost his mind, he mused. He even became more happy when the system awarded him hundred points for defeating the bloodkin.
He walked closer.
The Bloodkin, who had seemed dazed, quickly raised his hands. "Don't come closer. You already won. Don't think you're anything special just because you beat a Bloodkin. I'll tell you for free—I'm only a level one Bloodkin. I just transformed a week ago. My brother is a level three… he can easily waste you."
Abel paused mid-step. He grew increasingly confused.
Suddenly, he had an ominous feeling and froze. Every cell in his body screamed danger. He instinctively dodged to the side—and miraculously survived.
"Lucky bastard."
Abel's blood ran cold as he looked at the new arrival. He was a young man, slightly older than the first Bloodkin, and wore a business suit that outlined his muscular figure. His eyes were fixed on Abel. His face looked pale.
Wait—a lightbulb lit up in Abel's head.
"Another Bloodkin!"