Chapter 13 13: Learning To Fight!
Lucifer's steps were light as his hand began to spin the black spear; although he didn't have the actual practice, the knowledge that entered his mind when he accepted the skills started spreading through his brain like a virus.
'I still need to practise, the knowledge is there, but my body doesn't quite follow perfectly..'
He began to spin the spear, letting his hands grow accustomed to the feel, weight and how it moved when swung around.
Some of the village wives blushed and began to whisper when they saw him leaving towards the gate, but what could he do? He wasn't a genius and was fine being mocked or made into a swooning joke by the frustrated housewives if it meant he might survive.
His steps were balanced, with an elegant posture, the spear's gentle hum like music that accompanied his movements; with each step, his face seemed to grow more confident, more focused,
The buzz became a loud whistle, his spear now rapidly rotating; thankfully, Bernard put a cloth bag on the tip, so he wouldn't injure anyone as he approached the southern gate to see two familiar people on guard.
"Yo, Mike! Jeff!"
"Hmm?"
"Ohh? If it isn't the husband, Gwen stole! Gyahaha," Michael laughed in a loud voice.
"Well, she is a wonderful lady; I hope to win her heart," Lucifer said, his eyes not phased, the spear slowly swirling around his wrist as he grasped it tightly.
"Really...?" Jeff's eyes were light torches as he seemed happier than Gwen, unable to remember when she looked so happy.
"Ah, I don't know much about things, but she felt comfortable to be with, so I want to get to know her better first, haha."
Michael seemed to have recovered as he wrapped an arm around Lucifer's shoulder, tightly grasping his shoulder; at first, he appeared to analyse the boy's reactions, but there was no hesitation nor sense that he was lying.
"Lad, that girl is the treasured jewel of the town; make sure you make her shine brighter than any other gemstone if you make her your lover!"
"She's more than just a gemstone..." Lucifer looked towards the sky; his eyes seemed a little dazed as his body seemed to overlap with his of the past life.
Lucifer's vision was back in the past, the day he was announcing his wedding, the first words of his speech, the blurred face still intangible, her voice vague, but that blonde hair, the slight tinge of her golden eyes... He looked out into the crowd of their countless friends and his family.
"She is more like the shining brilliance of the sun; her warmth and radiance that envelops my world with happiness and joy is nothing any other woman could hope to compare with... Merely sharing this brief moment beside me as my wife is my lifetime blessing."
His body suddenly snapped out of the strange dream, his eyes looking around, a slightly wet look in his crimson eyes, giving a wry smile to Jeff and Michael, who looked at him in awe.
-
Meanwhile, as Lucifer's steps began to fade into the distant south, his body as if rushing from an embarrassing situation, a tall figure slowly walked from within the small hut where the guards could sit for their breaks.
"Big sis', it seems you got a lovely lad this time!' Jeff jeered while Michael elbowed him, then pointed his chin towards the slightly dazed woman, her eyes once again seeming to drip with faint tears as she heard every word Lucifer spoke, watching him leave to the south.
Gwendolyn spent over 10 minutes in a daze before she took a deep breath, turning back to her two subordinates, who looked the other way, whistling badly.
"The shining brilliance of the sun... I see... Nostalgic words... but why?" Her soft voice sounded as she wore a steel helmet and marched back towards the western gate.
-
Lucifer's steps were rapid, and his heart didn't beat, but those feelings from the past him, the memories that returned, caused his body to fill with adrenaline, holding his spear as he dashed into the southern plains, just a mile away from the Grammun tomb.
"Well, I didn't expect to feel this suddenly."
'I must have loved my wife...'
His eyes focused the crimson shimmer on the crag beast grazing a few steps ahead, its sizeable black hide shaking with large fat rolls, two twisted tusks filled with yellow decay and dirty bumps.
'They look so disgusting up close and in reality...'
He closed his eyes, taking a moment to breathe, the strange feeling inside his body growing as the red energy began to fill his body, from his feet to his thighs, up his abdomen and down his arms, before an automatic voice told him "now!" as his body shot out!
Lucifer's body lunged 4 metres forward, dancing like a swaying serpent, the spear thrusting forward with his body with elegant steps like a deer, as the crag beast's head finally lifted as the crescent sliced through its leather hide with an explosion of red blood and purple meat.
"Reeeeee!!!!" Screamed the beast as it began to jump up and down before facing directly at Lucifer, who used the momentum of his serpent strike to make his body roll to the side, his spear moving around his body as he lunged once against, ripping half off the beast's right shoulder to pieces, pulling it away with the white fang crescent blade.
"Phew." Lucifer exhaled, panting lightly as he glanced at his status page, noticing the small amount of mana regenerating.
Looking back at the beast, he saw it was still alive. No, the beast wasn't dead, but it did seem damaged. Its left hind leg was missing, covered in bloody flesh and muscle, and its right shoulder was torn apart, a chunk of meat removed from the bone.
'Damn... I need to use my full strength in these situations.'
He felt annoyed at the punishment of being a vampire... wondering if he should return at night and rip them apart.
Lucifer sighed and held his spear as he looked around the area, seeing no further threat and the beast lying in the dirt, its legs twitching.
"Sorry little boar... but this world isn't so fair... forgive me. I'll make sure Gwen cooks your meat into something delicious."
Lucifer muttered the words before walking towards the beast; he could see its breathing was shallow and weak; the wound would most likely kill it in a few minutes.
He kneeled next to it, placing his spear on top of the ground before grabbing the bloody flesh and pulling it towards his mouth; two beautiful fangs showed as the sun gleamed onto his body, the light reflecting off his white hair.
Taking a deep breath before biting into the beast, his fangs sinking into the thick flesh, before swallowing the meat; he thought the taste would be sour, yet a sweet and juicy flavour filled his mouth, the beast's laboured whines quickly ending, as he pierced the crag beast's heart with his sharp fingernails.
'This is enough for a few day's meals; let's only hand in the tusks, the meat to help Gwen get some more muscle and plump fat... I want her butt to get bigger.
Lucifer stood up, picked up his spear and headed towards the tomb, the other beasts having fled as he passed, sensing his bloodlust.
"Let's get that little item and finish these guys when night falls...."
Lucifer's mind moved fast as he walked towards the red glow, the sunlight lessening into a golden hue as he approached the Grammun tomb.
'I wonder how much experience this little thing gave me?' He wondered, throwing the limp beast into his small item bag. "Amazing how that big boar only counts as a single thing..."
He was a little confused as the usual purple energy that should have rushed inside him and made him almost climax was now swirling around him, slowly turning into blood-red energy as if melding with his natural mana, slowly entering his body no longer causing him to feel that pleasure.
Somehow, he hoped the feeling remained if he levelled up... But when it finished, he realised he could now guess how close he was to level, as he felt the red energy filling him up, thinking when it was complete, he would reach level 8.
'One boar was worth 3 wolves... Ulgarm was worth 10 wolves... Why am I comparing them to the basic wolf...'
It was simple!
A low-level wolf would grant 1 experience point. So roughly, Ulgarm gave him 10 experiences while the boar gave between 3-4. Later in the game, an item would let you quantify that purple energy in the second city, but it was difficult to get... involving a dungeon and heroine's story quest.
"I don't want to deal with the hero and that masochistic female knight..."
Lucifer lamented as he saw the tomb in the distance, the eerie and dark feeling now shrouding his body, but because he was technically undead, it didn't affect him like it would humans, causing their attributes to drop.
'Haha! This place is classed as [Everdark] territory! So my status is not halved!'
If he weren't a vampire, this would be too hard to even dream of attempting, as his attributes would all be decreased by 2.
Holding his spear, wiping off the crag beast's flesh with his cloth, he stepped forward. Ready to fight the low-level boss who would never respawn once killed.
'I will get the item! Forgive me, hero, but I need to live too... an item ring with [Return] function is far too precious...!'
This way, Gwendolyn won't be so lonely...