[You have gained 10,000 Solar Essence]
[You have levelled up]
[Maximum Solar Essence Set At 100,000]
[You have gained passive skill: Solar Resilience]
[Description: 50% reduction in physical and elemental damage when Solar Essence is above 1000]
[You have gained active skill: Solar Blade]
[Description: Converts solar essence into a short blade of radiant energy. Can summon more than one.
Cost: 0.5 Solar Essence per blade per second]
The search took so long that I gained another level even while being shaded by the thick foliage of the trees I landed on. Several hours had passed, and the sun was already dipping toward the horizon.
Just like before, I received one passive and one active skill, and neither disappointed.
[Solar Resilience], combined with [Photosurge] and [Solar Guard], made me almost unkillable. [Photosurge] kept me sustained and healed. [Solar Guard] could completely deflect attacks. And if something did manage to get through, [Solar Resilience] would halve the damage anyway.
As for [Solar Blade]—it gave me a way to fight up close. A blade of pure sunlight. On top of being practical, it was simply… cool. Whoever arranged this system was spoiling me.
I couldn't help but grin like an idiot, perched on a thick branch of a tall cottonwood, when I caught a sound that didn't belong. It came from across the river, deep within the Dark Forest.
Voices. Panicked and strained. They spoke a language I recognized but rarely heard. Then came a hiss—low and violent. It suddenly made sense why the principality's borders ended at that river.
I leapt from the branch and flew toward the noise, stopping only a few times before spotting movement ahead.
Tall, slender figures with pointed ears and dark hair—elves. Their skin was fair but not pale like vampires. These were dark elves, the ones who gave the forest its name.
I counted ten of them, exhausted and pale-faced. The leading male carried a young elven maiden in his arms. They were headed for the river, where an ancient magical barrier once protected them from the creatures that haunted these woods.
Behind them, cutting through the trees with terrifying speed, came a monster. A serpent—but not quite. It had several pairs of legs, moving with unnerving agility, and its size dwarfed everything around it. The creature's scales gleamed green, like those of a dragon stripped of wings.
The elves' arrows bounced harmlessly off its armor. Only the eyes were soft enough to wound—and judging from the blackened socket, they had already taken one.
One of the rear guards stopped and drew an arrow, aiming for the serpent's remaining eye. I held my breath as he let go. The arrow flew true—until the serpent dove, striking it head-on. The angle shifted, and the shot glanced off the scales.
A moment later, the creature lunged. Its jaws clamped down, biting the elf clean in half.
"No! Ilendir!" another shouted, stopping in his tracks. A fatal mistake.
The serpent struck again, swift and merciless. Panic rippled through the group, slowing them just enough for the beast to catch up. Screams echoed as one after another fell.
By the time I realized what I was doing, only four remained. I had been watching—just watching. Patrice was frozen in shock, and Frans… Frans couldn't care less about the deaths of others.
Somewhere between them, I found balance. Patrice's empathy. Frans's confidence.
They had already passed beneath me, trees blocking my view. I couldn't use the Solar Beam effectively, so I turned into bats and flew upward for a clearer angle. Then I darted toward the serpent, closing in as it prepared to devour another elf.
Just a meter behind the beast, I reformed mid-air. Two Solar Blades flared into existence in my hands. I swung hard.
The blades sliced through the serpent's neck like a hot knife through butter. I landed beside the stunned elf I had just saved, as the monster's severed head crashed to the ground behind me, followed by its massive body.
That confirmed it—I hadn't just inherited Frans's body. I had inherited his battle instincts too. My mind was new, but this body remembered the rhythm of combat.
I turned, expecting gratitude. Maybe even awe. That was one hell of an entrance.
"Why… why are you here, vampire?" the elf I had saved drew his knife, pointing it at me.
The others followed suit—bows raised, blades drawn. The elf holding the wounded maiden shielded her behind him. They looked more terrified of me than of the serpent.
And I couldn't even blame them. Beasts acted on instinct, but vampires—vampires chose cruelty.
"How do you know I'm a vampire? I'm standing under the sun, and yet I'm not burning," I said.
"That doesn't make sense," the archer snarled, "but I know what I saw! You transformed. You have fangs. You can't fool us, fiend!"
I understood their fear, but Frans's pride bristled at the insult.
"I am indeed a vampire," I said, "and do you know who I am? I am Frans van der Wald, High Prince and lord of the Crimson Woods."
The younger elves scoffed. Vampires were notorious for arrogance—claiming titles that weren't theirs was hardly rare. But the older one, the one carrying the wounded maiden, studied me carefully.
"Former lord of the Crimson Woods," he corrected coldly. "You were overthrown a week ago. Now you flee here, seeking refuge. If you intend to slaughter us, know this—you will find resistance. Your father failed, and so will you."
Elves, like vampires, did not age. The one before me was probably older than Frans himself. And he was right—Frans's father had once tried to conquer these woods, but abandoned the effort. The serpents and elves were too troublesome, and the land not worth the trouble.
"I wish for you to serve me," I said.
The old elf chuckled. "Then I'm afraid, Your Highness, that is a far more difficult tas—"
The words broke off as the girl in his arms coughed violently, blood splattering down her chin. I noticed then that she was missing a hand. The rest of her arm was turning dark violet. The serpent's venom was spreading fast.
"Ada… it hurts," the elven maiden whispered weakly, using the elvish word for father.
I couldn't help but grin.
The old elf looked up at me, horror dawning in his eyes.
"You know," I said softly, "I could save your daughter."