[A.N.: Hello everyone, I'm not an experienced writer. This novel is the result of many attempts and learning from my mistakes.]
The early chapters may contain some errors or pacing issues. I will do my best to improve them later, but for now, I hope you'll be patient with this beginner :'( ]
Kain decided to explore his surroundings.
He soon realized he was on a small island, likely in the middle of a vast lake. At the moment, however, everything was frozen solid.
"Ugh, crossing this slippery ice is going to be tough," Kain muttered as he looked around.
His eyes landed on a tree. Kain walked over, extended his nails until they hardened like blades, and carefully cut some bark from the trunk.
He fashioned the bark into a makeshift pair of ice skates.
"Haha, I guess my crafting skills aren't so bad after all. This should make things easier," Kain said as he put them on and stepped onto the ice.
He began skating across the frozen surface.
*shhhk* *shhhk*
The scraping sounds echoed as Kain skated swiftly across the ice.
"Woohoo! I can't seem to find the edge of this lake! Is this a lake or an ocean?" Kain shouted as he skated at full speed.
He traveled dozens of kilometers in just a few minutes.
"I've never skated this fast before! Is this even possible for a human? Well, I don't care since I'm a vampire, haha~," he said, grinning widely as he continued at top speed.
His long, brown-and-white-striped hair flowed behind him, and his red eyes glowed with excitement.
*screech* *screech*
*woosh* *woosh* *woooooosh*
Various sounds echoed in Kain's ears, but he paid them no mind. He was thoroughly enjoying himself.
After traveling about twelve kilometers, Kain finally saw the edge of the lake.
"This lake is enormous! I thought I was in a frozen ocean instead. That would be scary," he said as he arrived at the shore.
*shhhhhhhhk* *shee-* *sheek*
"Oof, these skates won't help me anymore, but they were only temporary anyway," Kain shrugged, taking them off and putting on his usual shoes.
"Okay, so now, where am I?" he wondered as he looked around.
---
"One carrot for four bronze coins! One carrot for four bronze coins!"
"It's the cheapest rate around! Come buy the carrots before they sell out!"
Currently, Eren was in Old Man Logan's carriage.
He had arrived at Carmine City and was now looking through his window at the market stalls outside.
The buildings outside were all in a medieval European style.
There, a person was sitting at his stall, selling carrots, but many of them looked rotten. Most were of low quality.
Looking at the man, he wore torn clothes, with nothing thick to protect himself from the cold. It was as if he simply didn't feel the cold, or maybe he just couldn't afford better clothing.
"It's truly a pity. The prices of vegetables have increased so much," said Old Man Logan's wife. "When I was a child, even the most expensive carrots didn't cost four bronze coins," she said, shaking her head and sighing.
"What? Why have the prices increased so much, ma'am?" asked Eren, growing curious.
"Don't you know? Ever since this ice calamity arrived, hasn't it been hell for us?" said the old lady as she rested her head on her husband's right shoulder.
"Hmm," he hummed, lowering his head slightly.
'I need to tell this to Kain,' he thought.
"After the ice age began, common people couldn't even eat properly, let alone wear decent clothes. Don't feel bad, she just feels empathetic towards those who died because of the calamity," Logan said as he caressed his wife's head.
"Anyway, so? Have you decided?" asked Logan.
"Yes. I have decided..."
---
Currently, in a vast snowy desert,
*crackle* *crackle* *whoosh*
Various sounds could be heard in the distance.
If one looked closely, they could see some flickering light in the dark environment.
At the moment, Kain was in a snow desert. He had lit a fire and was cooking some fish.
"I shouldn't have jumped into that lake. So what if I am a vampire? We feel cold, too," he said sarcastically.
"Aachoo-" he sneezed.
"Ah, these carp-like fish smell so good!" he said, mouth watering.
After eating the fish, he used some tree bark and wooden stems from nearby trees to make a shelter before going to sleep.
He truly went full Bear Grylls today.
The Next Morning.
[||||||||-]
[ . . . ]
[The System Update was successful.]
Suddenly, a system screen appeared in front of him:
[ ~*~ Vampire Status Screen ~*~]
[-- Name --]
[Name: Kain Umbrosia]
[Race: Vampire]
[Health: 500/500]
[Level: 5]
[EXP: 25/1000]
[Family: The Umbrosia Family (Family Head)]
[-- Talents --]
[Talents:]
- [Retain (Unique)]
[-- Stats --]
[Agility: 7]
[Perception: 10]
[Intelligence: 6]
[Strength: 5]
[Free Stats: 3]
[Blood Points: 100/100]
[-- Path Abilities --]
[The Sin of Pride: Locked]
[The Sin of Greed: Awakened, Level 1]
[The Sin of Wrath: Locked]
[The Sin of Envy: Locked]
[The Sin of Lust: Locked]
[The Sin of Gluttony: Locked]
[The Sin of Sloth: Locked]
[-- Bloodline Abilities --]
[Blood Manipulation]
[Night Vision]
[Enhanced Senses]
[Blood Healing]
[-- Other Abilities --]
[Treasure Sense (Sin of Greed)]
[Vampire Family Management System]
[???]
[System Mission]
[Save the world of Eldoria by reverting its frozen state]
[Mission Rewards: ???]
At that moment, something inside Kain glowed.
Inside Kain,
Where the two seals were devouring each other, a new golden crest was formed. It had the symbol of a weighing scale, a crest in the design of a snake with rings revolving around it.
The golden crest glowed as Kain's red eyes turned golden, and a flash of light illuminated the system screen.
Another message appeared.
[Mission Hint: When fire fled and frost claimed the sky, we marked the last warm breath of Eldoria. He who aligns the Seasons may find the Heart once warm.]
"WHAT?! THIS IS MY MISSION?"
---
Currently, in the city.
Eren was standing on a road lined with various armor and weapon shops.
He stood in front of a building.
[System Mission]
[Save the world of Eldoria by reverting its frozen state]
[Mission Rewards: ???]
"Haha. So Kain got us our mission, huh?" he chuckled as he went inside.
Inside, there were all kinds of people clad in thick armor and wielding weapons, looking menacing.
Our handsome protagonist walked in and approached the reception desk.
"This is Carmine City's Adventurer Guild. How may we assist you?" asked the receptionist, giving Eren a professional smile.
Eren smiled back and said, "May I register as an adventurer, Miss?"
A slight blush appeared on the receptionist's face, but she composed herself almost instantly.
She then spoke,
"Of course, please follow me," she said, leading him through a door next to the reception desk.
---
Currently, Kain was standing on a rock.
He looked around in all directions, hoping to find something in this harsh desert to help him survive.
He only had 20/100 Blood Points left.
If he didn't drink any human blood, he would die.
Kain could drink beast blood, but it tasted horrible and didn't restore any blood points. It was practically useless.
What use is intelligence if you can't even survive to use it?
Soon, Kain spotted something...
---
Currently in the Adventurer's Guild
Eren was talking with the receptionist.
"So... Miss Jupiter, is there any library in this city?" asked Eren.
"Library? We do have one here at the Adventurer's Guild, but you need to achieve B-Rank before you are allowed to enter it," replied Jupiter.
"Oh... Thank you," he nodded to her as he went over to the quest board.
"So... what quest should I choose?" he eyed all of the quests.
"Ah... why do these quests require so much energy?" said Eren as he yawned.
What are you? A sloth? Do you want quests to happen without spending energy?
"Ah... Killing a dragon would have been so much simpler... but sadly, I don't have the strength yet. I'll just take this one..." he said, yawning as he picked up a quest about killing some horned rabbits.
The others nearby who saw him had their jaws dropped.
Killing a dragon. Yep. Very simple.
---
In a vast and frozen cave,
A large silhouette of a beast could be seen.
It was currently counting the number of ants that would pass through the hole in the big stones in a given time, calculating their rate.
But then all of a sudden...
"AACHOO!" the dragon sneezed, and the ant den, which had existed there for many years, vanished as various ants were wiped from existence.
Truly a devastating sneeze.
If Eren saw this, he would only say, "Why waste so much energy on sneezing so loudly?"
But who knew what the reason was for this sneeze?
---
Currently,
Kain was in a forest, hiding behind a couple of trees.
He had followed a group of people who looked like bandits into the forest.
'Sigh... I miss Sanguini. Even if she was an enemy, she did entertain me a bit.'
'Who knows? I might be able to meet her again.'
Thought Kain, bringing another ridiculous idea to his mind.
"Hahaha! Gustav! Aren't you quite a cunning brat, huh?" said a middle-aged bandit to a younger-looking bandit.
"What are you talking about, boss? Didn't I simply help you in looting that merchant?", spoke Gustav.
"Hahaha! Looting? Just Looting? Then tell me, did you not take away something from the loot again?" said the boss as he made a wide smile, his single golden tooth standing out from the rest of the dirty teeth, as he pointed in a certain direction. he truly looked like a bandit.
"Hahaha! Boss, you caught me in again!" spoke Gustav as he reached his hands inside the cave of his pants, retrieving a big pouch of gold coins.
"Hahaha~ didn't I say? Now be ready for your punishment!" said the bandit as he poured some beer into his big mug.
"B-Boss.. Don't tell me...." Gustav's legs started shaking as he asked.
"Hahaha! Yes! It's the same punishment for the third time! You're getting to play with that girl!", spoke the bandit as he started gulping down the beer as if water.
"Boss, you jest! Didn't you enjoy playing with that little girl while we were looting her father? Please don't take away my chance!" replied Gustav as he held the 'boss's legs'
Kain narrowed his eyes as he listened,
'Bastards.'