" First condition: You have to increase my Vampire followers, free the Vampire continent from the Chaos God's influence." Moon Goddess said with a sweet smile.
Victor looked at her with wide eyes and blurted, "The vampires are the allies of the Chaos race. How can you easily approach them?"
Moon Goddess ignored the Victor's words, and her eyes drifted toward Vlad, who was observing the Victor closely, circling like a dog.
"My second condition is to shake hands with Vlad Lunaria."
Vlad's eyes widened, and he looked toward the Moon Goddess, who nodded toward Vlad.
Vlad stumbled back, his ethereal form froze.
Victor looked more confused now. He wasn't able to make sense of anything, but he knew one thing — the second condition was easy.
He stepped toward Vlad's blue spiritual form, and now he noticed that the person resembled him more than he thought.
But he shook his head, considering it a coincidence, and extended his hand toward Vlad.
Vlad stared at Victor's face, then his hand, and he repeated this several times.
After a while, he stood up and looked into Victor's eyes, and shook his hand.
Their hands met.
Victor's eyes widened.
Vlad smiled and muttered, " I knew it."
Vlad's soul slowly merged with Victor's, like smoke, and it slowly merged.
Victor felt warmth spread all around his soul; he felt that long-lost part returned to him. The incomplete feeling that he always had from birth now vanished away as Vlad merged with him.
Moon Goddess waved her hand as the process completed, and Victor started getting sucked somewhere.
Before he vanished from the crimson void, an Ethereal, honey-like voice fell on his ears
"Never doubt your memories!"
Snapp!
Thud!
Victor felt the pain flare around his neck and in his body.
" Arghh!"
With groans, he sat up on the floor.
His eyes widened.
He looked around, a single bed, a single window, and his old rusty chair.
He was back in his room.
Then he touched his neck where the pain was coming from, and the rope was still around his neck.
He raised his head toward the roof, and half the rope was still hanging on the roof, too.
He removed the rope and muttered, "Was it a dream?"
He looked outside the window, it was already night, with the sky completely dark, and the full Moon's pale light creeping inside his room.
His eyes darted around his room with fear, and he whispered again, "Was it a dream?"
His heart racing in his chest, his back sweating, his hands fidgeting.
Fear and anxiety gnawed on his consciousness.
He paused, then exhaled.
" I hope, I hope…"
He muttered, closing his eyes, praying in his heart, and then called in a whisper,
" System!"
[DING!]
A crimson screen appeared before his face.
His eyes widened, he jolted upward and shouted, " Yes! It wasn't a dream!"
His fists clenched as his eyes fell on the crimson panel before his eyes. He muttered, relieved, " Finally! I can say I'm normal like all others, not a freak."
Then his eyes drifted to his status
[Status]
[ Name ]: Victor Hans
[ Race ]: Human???
[ Level ]: 1
[ XP ]: 0 / 100
[ Blessing ]: Moon Goddess???
[ Core ]: Liver (Origin Magic – Moon)
[ HP ]: 50/ 100
[ MP ]: 0 / 50
[ Strength ]: 5
[ Agility ]: 4
[ Vitality ]: 5
[ Intellect ]: 15
[ Perception ]: 7
[Attribute Points]: 0
[CP]- 0 ( Celestial Points can be used in Celestial Shop)
"My stats are below average, my HP is half. Is it because I'm feeling pain all over my body?" Victor muttered.
He paused as several thoughts clashed in his mind. He pondered, "My blessing is also different from all others. Moon Goddess blessing, and my System panel is also different from all other Humans."
He shook his head and looked at the panel. At the top, there were several tabs.
He thought of clicking on the tab beside the [Status] tab, and another panel opened.
[ Traits ]:
[Cursed Vessel???]
[???]
He clicked the question-marked trait, but it didn't open. He muttered confused, " I can not open the traits."
Then he clicked the [Skills] tab beside it.
[ SKILLS ]
[Blood Echo – Lv 0 ]
> Absorb one skill from an enemy by drinking their blood.
> Duration: 1 min.
> Usable: Once per day.
Victor's eyes widened as a smile crept onto his face. They said you can only get skills when you open a celestial shop, but I already got one. But the limit of it and I have to drink the blood of people to acquire their skill.
Maybe if I can level up, I can make their skills mine.
As Victor was filled with complete euphoria, throbbing pain crushed his happiness, and he fell clutching his head in both hands.
" Argghhhh," muffled groans echoed in the small room.
He clenched his teeth, convulsed on the ground, back was drenched in sweat.
His eyelids grew heavy.
Thud!
Victor succumbed to darkness.
After a while, he woke up with a groan in the middle of the night.
His body still ached, but the headache that had been killing him before was gone.
Victor sat up, his messy dark hair falling on his forehead, and his amber eyes had a slight golden hue in them now.
He muttered, " Why did I dream of Vlad's death? It felt like it was my memory. I can even feel the emotion of revenge and rage filling my heart."
He shook his head and raised his eyes, trying to find the system panel. But it wasn't there.
His heart thrummed in fear, his hands fidgeted, and sweat beads formed on his forehead.
He shouted " System!"
A crimson panel appeared before him.
Victor took a relieved breath.
He looked at his [Stats]
Nothing has changed, all were the same except for his
[HP:60/100].
He moved his consciousness to unexplored tabs.
[ Daily Quests ]:
-[Meditate under the full Moon for 2 hours]
-[Reward: 50XP, 2CP ]
[Other Quests]
_ [Acquire Knowledge of the Lunar continent. Time Limit: One week. Punishment on failure: lose 1000-CP]
[System Integration: Survive 24 hours post-awakening]
His eyes widened at the Lunar continent task, " Losing 1000-CP, that's too much," He exclaimed.
Then his eyes drifted toward the last tab in the corner.
He moved his consciousness to the [Celestial Shop] tab, but it showed
[Will open after Level 3].
Victor sighed, and a faint smile crept on his lips. "I can buy skills after opening, but first, I have to earn Celestial Points (CP)." He muttered
"But let's start the daily quest first."