[A/N][1]
At the bandit den.
Kain was fast asleep.
Slowly, his eyes fluttered open.
"Mmmh… It's too cold… what are you doing, er—" Kain mumbled as he woke, only to realize snow was drifting down onto him.
Shivering, he quickly got up and took shelter beneath the nearby trees.
"Huff... Huff..." he panted as he hid.
He looked around, only to see all the bandits lying dead, their throats slashed.
Every single one of them was dead.
Confused, Kain wondered, 'How did they all die?' He glanced at his shoulder, surprised to find no wound.
"Wasn't I stabbed? Where's the injury?" he said, touching the torn fabric where he'd been stabbed.
"Oh... I've been healed," he realized.
Suddenly, notifications flooded his mind.
[You drank the blood of 63 Humans. Your stats have increased:]
+20 Strength
+16 Agility
+10 Perception
[You drank the blood of more than 50 people.]
[Hidden quest complete.]
[Bloodline ability: 'Blood Vault' unlocked.]
[You killed 63 Humans. You have leveled up!]
[Your Greed has surpassed unnatural limits due to excessive blood consumption.]
[Your Mental Strength has decreased.]
Suddenly, everything went black for Kain.
"What's happening?" he asked, but his voice echoed back at him.
"What's happening?" it repeated.
As his voice faded, a system screen appeared before Kain.
It spoke.
[Your body has lost control.]
[Your consciousness is now trapped in the space 'Mind Realm'.]
Then, another system screen appeared.
[(-_-メ)]
[Why did you have to listen to that dragon?]
It was Sanguini's voice.
Kain glared at the screen, frustration boiling over. "You think I wanted this? I don't want to be someone's vessel!"
[You never listen. Always acting on impulse. Now look where you are.]
"Don't blame me! If you'd tried to help me instead of just watching, maybe I wouldn't be in this mess!"
[You wouldn't even be alive if not for me. But you keep making things worse.]
[Now die.]
Kain clenched his fists, his voice rising. "You call this help? All you've done is manipulate me! I never asked for this power, or for you to control my fate!"
[Manipulate you? I gave you everything—power, survival, a path forward. And you repay me by doubting and defying me at every turn.]
"Because you never told me the truth! You hid things from me, Sanguini! You never trusted me to make my own choices!"
[You were never ready for the truth. You still aren't. And now, it's too late.]
Kain's anger boiled over. "You can't just decide my fate! I won't let you!"
[Enough. I'm done with your defiance.]
The system screen flickered, Sanguini's digital face twisting in anger.
[Connection terminated.]
Suddenly, the void around Kain grew colder, darker. He was utterly alone. No sound, no sensation—just endless emptiness.
Then, the pain began.
And so began Kain's hours-long agony.
---
Elsewhere in the world.
Inside a grand castle,
a girl gazed out her tall window.
Moonlight streamed through, illuminating the room.
Determined, she took down all the curtains and tied them together, knotting them tightly.
With a deep breath, she tossed the makeshift rope out the window, watching it unfurl down the castle wall.
Heart pounding, she gripped the fabric and began her descent.
At last, her feet touched the soft grass below.
She looked up at the towering castle, a smile of relief and excitement spreading across her face.
'I am not a toy for some noble to play with. I will live my life the way I want,' she thought as she left the castle behind.
---
Meanwhile, Eren was hunting rabbits in the forest.
He was down to his last carrot.
"Come, come, *yawns* it's the tastiest carrot you'll find in the city market. Come behind this bush," he coaxed.
[...]
*splat*
"Oh, you're coming too? Come... come... *yawns*," he called to another rabbit, gesturing.
*splat*
[!Ding]
[Killed 1x Horned Rabbit. Received 5 EXP.]
[Killed 1x Horned Rabbit. Received 5 EXP.]
[!Ding]
[You have leveled up!]
[Your level is now 8.]
[You drank the blood of a horned rabbit.]
[+1 Intelligence.]
"Yuck! Horned rabbit blood tastes awful!" he complained.
He gathered the rabbits into his bag and carried them to the adventurer's guild, returning to Carmine City.
[...]
In Carmine City.
Eren stood at the reception desk.
"Ooh! Mister Eren! Weren't you hunting horned rabbits? Why have you been at it for almost 12 hours? It's nearly midnight!"
He had hunted a lot.
"Um... Miss Jupiter, I'll need a bigger table for my haul," Eren said.
"Oh? So you made good use of the spatial bag I rented you? How much space did you use?" she asked.
"All of it," he replied, yawning.
'I'm so sleepy,' he thought.
"Ooooo~ that's a lot of space! You're going to earn big, aren't you?" she said, gesturing for Eren to follow her.
Eren followed her to a larger room.
There, he emptied his bag, piling up every single rabbit.
Three hundred. That was how many he'd caught.
He must have wiped out the whole settlement. Sure, rabbits breed quickly, but even they have limits!
"T-that comes to 30 silver coins...!" she said, shocked.
That was what a C-ranked party earned in a day.
How could someone so lazy be so efficient?
After the payment, Eren exchanged 2 silver coins for 200 bronze coins.
He left the adventurer's guild.
[...]
Now, Eren was walking down the street, his pouch jingling with bronze and silver coins.
He was truly rich today.
"What a pity I had to return that spatial backpack. I wish I could have kept it," he sighed.
He wandered the streets, hoping to find a tavern still open.
After a few minutes of searching, he found one easily.
The warm glow of lanterns spilled out from the tavern windows.
Eren pushed open the heavy wooden door, the scent of roasted meat and fresh bread greeting him.
Inside, the tavern was lively but not too crowded.
Behind the bar, a young woman with chestnut hair tied in a neat braid wiped down mugs.
She looked up as Eren entered, her eyes bright and welcoming.
"Welcome to the Silver Stag! Looking for a meal or a room tonight?" she called out with a friendly smile.
Eren nodded, rubbing his tired eyes. "A room, please. And maybe something to eat if the kitchen's still open."
The girl set aside her clothes and approached. "I'm Rose, the waitress here. The kitchen's always open for adventurers like you! hehehe" she said as she giggled.
"Haha.." Eren laughed slightly, managing a small grin.
At the far end of the counter, an older woman with silver-streaked hair and sharp eyes sat behind a polished desk. She wore a deep blue dress and a brooch shaped like a stag. She glanced up, her gaze appraising but not unkind.
"That'll be Madam Misa, the owner," Rose whispered. "She handles the rooms."
Eren approached the desk. "Excuse me, I'd like to book a room for the night."
Madam Misa looked him over, then nodded. "Single room, yes? That'll be 15 bronze coins, breakfast included. Payment up front."
Eren counted out the coins and handed them over. Madam Misa slid a brass key across the desk. "Second floor, third door on the left. No noise after midnight, and no trouble."
"Understood. Thank you," Eren replied, pocketing the key.
Rose appeared at his side again. "I'll bring up some stew and bread to your room, if you'd like."
"That would be great," Eren said, his stomach rumbling.
He climbed the stairs, found his room, and unlocked the door.
The small chamber had a simple but clean soft bed, a washbasin, and a window overlooking the quiet street. Eren dropped his bag, kicked off his boots, and sank onto the mattress with a sigh.
A few minutes later, Rose knocked and entered, setting a tray on the bedside table. "Here you go. Sleep well, Mister Eren."
"Thanks, Rose," he murmured, already half-asleep.
He ate quickly, then curled up under the thick blanket. The sounds of the tavern faded, replaced by the gentle hush of the night. Within moments, Eren drifted into a deep, dreamless sleep.
---
Darkness pressed in from all sides. Kain screamed, but no sound escaped his lips. His body felt like it was burning, every nerve on fire. "Let me out! Please!" he begged, voice echoing endlessly.
A thousand needles stabbed into his skin, twisting deeper with every breath. He tried to move, but invisible chains bound his limbs. His bones cracked, then healed, then broke again. "Stop! Please, I can't take it!" he cried.
His mind was flooded with memories—every failure, every regret, replayed on an endless loop. He saw the faces of the bandits he killed, their eyes accusing. Blood poured from his hands, staining the void crimson. His heart pounded so loudly it drowned out all thought.
A cold wind sliced through him, freezing his soul. He felt himself drowning, lungs filling with icy water. He gasped for air, but there was none.
"Why are you doing this to me?" he shouted.
No answer came, only the echo of his pain.
Similarly, he went through 53 Different kinds of torture.
All done by every single entity.
If he had not hated it yet, now he did. He hated Sanguini; he hated the person who made it.
He vowed to take revenge on the person who made him go through this.
But right now, he needed to get out of this extreme torture; this was unbearable to him.
He felt that his mind could break at any moment, and the moment he did, his body would become for Sanguini or whatever entity that made it, to command.
[1] every 10 new power stones/day = +1 chapter the next day.
Ill do it until the novel reaches 50 chapters. good luck!