His name was Lucan, one of the seven chiefs of the Vultra Clan. The chiefs were the sons of the Elders, and his father was the current Leader.

Lucan held his head high as a part of the Vultra Clan. Even if their resources came from looting pirate ships and fallen ones, they were still proud warriors.

However, his long years as a warrior might end today against this creature before him. He went down after his followers because he heard the screams of one of them. As he ran toward the room, he got to see a figure with crimson eyes devour one of his people.

The figure slipped back into the darkness before a black light attacked another of his people. Lucan rushed forward and struck the projectile away.

‘Heavy…’ Lucan frowned. He might have deflected the attack, but the weight it carried was not to be underestimated.

“Vile being, what are you?”

Lucan glared at the darkness as it rippled. As if answering his words, the darkness exploded around them. Lucan released his mana as well, and it carried the green elemental wind.

‘What?’ Lucan’s heart shook when the darkness began devouring his elemental wind and pushing it back. As he was about to release all of his mana to protect his comrades, the darkness disappeared.

A more accurate term would have been light returning to the room, but the darkness proved itself to be alive. After Lucan looked around to make sure they were all there, he was convinced that the creature has disappeared.

Relief filled his heart, making him question whether he was a coward. However, it was a fear that originated from his soul. As he relaxed his guard, a scream came from above them.

“Did it go to the deck?” One of his followers muttered. Without answering, Lucan rushed out of the room and jumped through the hole.

As he landed on the deck, he found one of his followers lying on the ground, unmoving, as a creature stood above him. The darkness prevented Lucan from seeing the monster’s features, and Lucan can only make a general outline.

It had long ears, a pair of horns, and crimson eyes. Other than that, the creature looked like a human. It opened its mouth to reveal its long teeth and began eating away the ethereal material coming out of his comrade’s body.

‘What is it doing?’ Lucan’s body shivered with fear. As he took a step back, the creature turned to look at him with its crimson eyes. They glowed eerily in the darkness.

As Lucan grabbed his spear, preparing for a battle, the creature shot down his expectations and darted toward the corpse. Darkness exploded, and before Lucan could react, the creature was gone.

Lucan didn’t try to look for it. For the first time in his life, he was glad to avoid a battle.

***

The ground approached rapidly, and Nikolai waved his arm, commanding the darkness to lessens his fall. The dark smoke rushed to form a cloud beneath him, absorbing the damage from his fall.

He crushed the crystal in his hand and saw his stats increase further as he wore the goggles and the hooded robe he stole from the Rider.

[1 Intelligence Stats Point has been absorbed.]

[Vitality: 52]

–      [Blood Energy: 13.] 

[Strength: 50]

[Agility: 54]

[Intelligence: 51]

[Mana: 50]

He managed to steal these from the corpse without the chief realizing it. Otherwise, he would have seen through Nikolai’s plan to infiltrate the Clan and followed after him.

‘Stealth is so useful…’

The only drawback was that it consumed mana the more he used it, and the more he moved. If he stood in one spot, Nikolai knew he could stay there for hours without running out of mana.

The moment he moves, however, the actual consumption begins. That’s why he wanted to save his mana for crucial moments where he needs to flee or attack.

‘Dark Fae…’

It was a race he doesn’t know about, making Nikolai both ecstatic and apprehensive. He enjoyed the Dark Element he obtained, the increase in stats, and the doubled damage against other elements.

Nikolai thought about the drawbacks of his bloodline as he jumped over a river and dived through the forest, going straight toward the Vultra clan.

‘I’m weak to holy light, and I need to consume living souls to survive. Not to mention, if humans saw what I look like, I’ll be hunted down as a Dark Being.’

Nikolai reached the giant tree he took as a camp for the past few days. As he stopped in front of it, he closed his eyes to sort out his mind.

‘It doesn’t matter what I think about this bloodline,’ Nikolai felt clarity that he never had before. ‘All that matters is how I live with it and what I make of these powers.’

There was no going back, anyway. The only unsettling fact was that Nikolai needed to devour souls to survive. The pain he felt when the curse festered was unlike anything he had felt before.

[Time until next deprivation: 99h, 23m, 45s.]

He looked at the countdown that increased after he devoured another soul. Since the Rider was dead, Nikolai didn’t see why he wouldn’t make things easier for himself.

He shook his head and looked at the mountain that the Vultra Clan occupied. He adjusted his clothing, tore a few of them, and began running toward the Clan.

Once he was close enough, Nikolai began shouting. He tried to add a thick accent that the Riders had, hoping it would be enough to fool them.

“Help! Anyone! The chief is in trouble! A group of pirates ambushed us!”

He ran into the Clan’s ground and fell on his knees. His act was convincing enough to alarm the guards into opening the gates after seeing his bloodied back and torn clothes.

“Summon an Elder!” The guards ran toward Nikolai as they tried to carry him toward the Clan’s grounds. He was placed on a bed as a man with a hooked nose, and formal attire came to meet him.