Chapter 48: Lesser Blood Magic

Chapter 48: Lesser Blood MagicWhen Damon reappeared from the shadows, he was right behind one of the women. With a casual smile, he used his claw to slice her throat. Blood gurgled out. However, none of the blood poured out. Damon quickly stepped forward and placed his hand on the open wound. Thanks to lesser blood magic, he no longer needed to use his fangs and could extract blood directly through his palm. He could eat without getting his hands dirty. A faint crimson glow pulsed beneath his skin as the magic activated. The woman’s body convulsed once, and then the blood began to rise—not spill, not pour, but rise—as if being pulled by invisible threads. It shimmered unnaturally, forming a smooth, spiraling stream that flowed into Damon’s hand like silk. [Ding! Lesser Blood Magic Activated: Direct Absorption.] [Ding! Lesser Blood Magic proficiency has increased.] [Ding! Lesser Blood Magic proficiency has increased.] [Ding! Lesser Blood Magic proficiency has increased.] ... ... ... Damon’s skill proficiency was rapidly increasing as he felt the familiar bond between blood essence and his soul. In his last life when he became crippled and couldn’t sense the blood essence or mana anymore, he had felt miserable. It was worse than losing a limb or two. It was as if he couldn’t breathe anymore. He did not want to think about that indescribable misery. In this life, he would not suffer that fate again. As the warm thread of blood wove itself into his body, Damon let the sensation flood him. [Ding! +10 Units of Fresh Blood Essence Acquired.] [Ding! Blood Archive: 1/100 Units Stored.] Damon’s eyes glowed faintly red as the stolen blood entered his system. The warmth of it spread across his limbs, strengthening, sharpening. Now the question was, would his bloodline skill activate? The next second, the smile on his face widened as notifications started rolling in. [Ding! Bloodline Extraction initiated.] [Target: Human Being, Level 9] [Ding! You have extracted the ability ’Fire Ball’] [Fire Ball (Lv. 1): Basic Spell | Element: Fire | Type: Offensive Projectile] Effect: Launches a small sphere of condensed fire that explodes on impact, dealing minor fire damage in a small radius. Mana Cost: 15 Cooldown: 6 seconds Note: Effectiveness scales with Intelligence. Damon’s grin deepened. It looked like his skill worked after all. He let the woman’s body drop to the ground and quickly pocketed the bracelet which dropped. In a matter of seconds, he was once again back next to the brother and sister. Only after that, people started noticing what had happened and that a player had died. "Ahhhhh!" Someone shrieked, and panic spread like wildfire. "Someone just died!" "Was that a stealth kill?" "Who did it? Who the hell—?" "What are the city guards doing? This is complete bullshit." There was a stealth killer among them? Blood Wraith started sweating as he was very nervous about his newly bought gear. He finally showed some damned urgency and quickly started walking away. "Sorry to keep you waiting, bro." Sёarᴄh the nôvel_Fire.ηet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Damon gave him a sidelong glance, amused by the sudden burst of self-preservation. Blood Wraith, despite his wealth and gear, had the instincts of a spoiled housecat—utterly unprepared when the illusion of safety shattered. The sister, however, didn’t move. She stood there, eyes narrowed, head slightly tilted as she looked at Damon. "How did you do it?" "Hmmm? I have no idea what you are talking about?" The woman did not ask any further questions, and Damon shrugged as he casually walked. The three of them reached the outskirts of the city in a couple of minutes. "Bro, are we going to run a dungeon? Which dungeon? Oh, can we set a record together, big bro? It would be awesome if we all got on the system-wide announcement together!" Blood Wraith asked in excitement. "Not a dungeon." Damon gave him an even stare. "If you want to set a record together, the charge is separate. Let’s talk about that later. For leveling, it’s enough to focus on these beasts." Damon pointed to a monkey sitting in a tree nearby. Bloodwraith started sweating as soon as he saw what beast Damon was talking about. The poo flingers? Hell no! "Bro, please listen to me. I... How about I pay extra? Let’s go somewhere else. Please! These monkeys are a menace. Everyone wants to get out of Garth City thanks to them." He looked back at the tree where the long-armed creature stared at them with human-like malice, chewing something suspicious and hurling an acorn at another monkey with unnecessary violence. Then another monkey joined. And another. And another. One of them snapped a branch in half and started drumming the tree like a war cry. Damon snorted. Blood Wraith pointed desperately. "Look at them! That one—he’s foaming at the mouth! They aren’t normal mobs, bro. They parry attacks! They steal weapons! They throw shit, and not just figuratively! Their shit stink sticks for hours bro!" "And when they are not throwing shit, they throw stones. They gank players and pelt them to death. This is not going to work, bro. Everyone avoids them like the plague. "I see," Damon said. "Then it’s settled." Blood Wraith perked up. "You’ll take us somewhere else?" "No," Damon replied. "We’re staying right here." Before Blood Wraith could protest again, Damon disappeared from their side and reappeared next to the monkey. At the same time, party invitations arrived. [Ding! Player Blood God has invited you to a party. Do you wish to accept?] Blood Wraith wanted to decline so badly, but he couldn’t bring himself to do it. Saying a silent prayer, he quickly accepted the invitation. For several hours, he had been waiting for such a chance to fight alongside the awesome Blood God, but why did it have to be these horrendous monkeys from hell? On the other side, his sister silently accepted the invitation. Her gaze was fixed on Damon’s movement. And what she saw, finally, made her lose her composure. Her eyes widened as she started to pant. Just who the hell was this man?