Ancient Debt and Discovery

Noir, also known as Noiren, sat on the grass in a relaxed yet thoughtful posture. His left leg was folded under him, and his right leg bent and positioned upright for stability. He leaned on his right knee with his right elbow and rested his left hand on the ground for support. His face wore a thoughtful expression.

Above, the trees swayed gracefully in response to the gentle breeze, their leaves whispering softly. The dense, dark forest limited visibility to a mere five feet, enveloping them in shadow. Positioned beneath a towering tree, the crackling campfire flickered warmly, casting a feeble glow that struggled to pierce the surrounding obscurity. In this dim illumination, their faces were revealed with a soft radiance.

In front of him, Eleanor sat with her head lowered, not looking at him directly as she waited patiently for his answers.

"So, you're saying that 'MY' kind saved your people from certain doom during the Demon invasion 12,000 years ago, and you all decided to thank 'MY' kind by serving them with everything you have whenever you see one. Did I get that right?" he asked, his eyes squinting.

"Yes." Eleanor nodded, her heart beating loudly. Finally, they could repay their debt and properly thank their race's savior.

Hearing this, Noiren went silent for a moment. After a while, he opened his mouth with a doubtful look. "Why do you think I'm a dragon, though?" he asked. "What makes you so sure? And what if I'm actually a monster? A vampire, let's say. What makes you so sure I won't just kill and take advantage of your race?"

"First of all, my lord, and I think you know this already, but excuse me if I look like I'm teaching you something you don't know, but can I tell you the legend of your kind? If you don't mind at least" she paused as if waiting for something. After a moment, Noir realized what she was waiting for and said, "Continue."

"Well, in the legend of The Beginning, it was said that the first dragon was of immense power and alas it was very greedy—excuse me for my word. This dragon was so greedy he battled every other race to get their treasure, leading to the downfall of many species and even other humanoid races. The world—Aeon, or what most call it, Filius—found out about this and was upset for losing many species he had worked hard to nurture. He solved this by giving the dragon what it wanted—gold—and then turned their eyes into gold," she paused for a bit and continued.

"Ever since then, dragons have calmed down, their greed satisfied. All dragons are born with golden eyes so they won't crave more gold, as they already have the most precious golden treasure with them," she finished the story with a soft smile.

'Damn... SO THAT'S WHY!' he gasped in his mind. Still, he asked, "What if this eye is actually fake?" pointing at his eye. "What if I used magic to change how I look?"

"That would be impossible, as Aeon only allowed dragons to have a golden eye. Besides, the first dragon, your ancestor, already tried that, and even he have failed to do it" she said while her thoughts differed.

'He's still suspicious of me and denies he's a dragon despite the obvious signs—holding back during fights, unbelievable regenerative abilities, drinking human blood, powerful senses, fangs, and the golden eye. He's definitely not a human in disguise, perhaps he's still in the early stage? and is considered young? Because he suspiciously lacks knowledge a dragon should have... that or he grew up alone...or is testing me' she chuckled inwardly. 'Still it's kinda cute how my lord is trying to hide it and failing miserably.'

"Still, I'm no dragon," Noiren said with a serious and faint worried look, his serious lips slightly turned downward in a frown with his brows creased. 'If I accept their claims of being a dragon and get caught that I'm not actually one, the consequences might be too much to bear. It's game over for me then,' he thought, hoping this darn half-elf would let it go already.

"Fine, but I still would like to serve you, Lor—Mr. not dragon," she said, bowing with a faint smile. 'WAAAHHH, he's so cute!' she screamed inwardly, noticing how he looked like he was about to "cry" earlier.

'...this girl...' he sighed, holding his temple. After rubbing his head for a while, he finally looked up and sighed again. "Fine... whatever you want. But don't say I didn't tell you the truth when I've repeated it many times," he said as he stood up and patted his butt.

"Thank you!! my Lor—Mr. not dragon!" Eleanor bowed deeply until her forehead touched the ground, smiling faintly as if experiencing the equivalent of Asians being told by their parents they were proud of them. 'I-I must tell this to the Faywood,' she thought, eager to share the news with her elven brethren.

"Now, I'm gonna go hunt some prey. You stay here and don't get in trouble. I'm not saving you again," he said flatly, walking away without looking back. 'Maybe I'll just have to show something no Dragon does?...' he thought, nodding to himself. 'Yeah, that's possible.'

With that, once he was far enough, he used his senses to check on Eleanor and "saw" her sitting in the same place he had ordered her to. 'Huh... Is she really serious about serving me?' he thought, shaking his head. He couldn't understand how she connected his vampiric abilities to a dragon's characteristics. 'That's so far apart from each other.' he shook his head.

"Ah, really... what a pain," he mumbled aloud, sighing for the nth time before shaking his head. 'Well, with that out of the way, let's resume the grind... especially now that we have the blessing of Estas in effect,' he said, summoning the stats window.

==================|

Name: Noiren Van Helsing

| Lvl= 2. | Exp( 15/75) | BP ( 31 / 50)

[Race: Vampire]

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[Stats]===|

Str : 14 -> (21)

Spd :13 -> (20)

Agi : 11 -> (17)

Per : 12 -> (18)

Con : 8 -> (12)

Dex : 14 -> (21)

Cha : 14 -> (21)

=============|

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[Skill]

| > [Regeneration]

>[Immortality]

>[Echolocation]

>[Vampiric Claw]

>[Hang]

[Blessings]

| > [Blessing of Estas] 

=================|

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He have long lost track of time he have been hunting for iron hound since the start and he have already killed 9 of them.. and yes.. he dealt with a group of them one is a 5 group pack and one 4 groups which gave him a total of 27 exp.

He have enjoyed the hunt specially this were the monster that made him suffer earlier. But that doesn't mean everything went well, because even though he's considerably stronger than he was in the day he was still fighting an entire pack of wolves. Resulting in a bit of suffering, though those wounds quickly healed.

His stats now looked like this:

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Name: Noiren Van Helsing

| Lvl= 2. | Exp( 42/75) | BP ( 44 / 50)

[Race: Vampire]

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[Stats]===|

Str : 14

Spd :13 

Agi : 11 

Per : 12 

Con : 8 

Dex : 14 

Cha : 14 

=============|

After checking it out, he smiled a bit. 'Good grind! Now we're closer to level 3!' he giggled inwardly, turning back. 'Now let's go back to camp. I need to rest my mind... FUCK!' At that moment, he finally remembered that there was someone back at camp. Without further ado, Noir turned left and sprinted towards the camp. 'If my memories and sense of direction aren't as bad as Zoro, I should probably reach the place soon!' he thought, jumping from tree to tree in quick succession.

Looking up, he realized that the dark skies were a bit brighter than they used to be. "Fuck! It's morning!" he cursed, though not because of the threat of the sun. He didn't care about that right now; the clouds were keeping the sun at bay in this forest. He was worried about the girl he had left alone in camp for an entire night. What if a monster found her? He gritted his teeth, glancing at the clouds, then suddenly stopped.

'Now that I think about it... I think I'm missing something...' he thought, looking down at his own body. His trench coat was all tattered, cut up, and had multiple holes, exposing his smooth pale skin. Still, he couldn't remember what he was missing. He patted his body, hoping his mind would recall it, but nothing. Then, feeling something, he followed his consciousness and did a motion similar to grabbing something in the air.

'MY FUCKING UMBRELLA!!' he suddenly realized. Looking around, he placed his palm on his head. 'I forgot it on the first fucking floor!' he audibly groaned, remembering putting it down to ambush some goblins. It might have slipped his mind...

'Shit!' he kicked the ground in frustration before calming himself. Sighing, he turned back to the direction he was heading and continued towards the camp. 'Let's put that aside and check this first!'

After a few minutes of running at full speed and jumping from tree to tree, he finally reached his destination. Jumping one last time, he landed on the ground and looked forward... his eyes shook at what he saw.

The campfire was dead, as if the fire had run out of wood to burn. Eleanor... she was sleeping while sitting. Yes, she fell asleep while waiting for him.

'This girl... How serious is she about serving me? Is she a psycho?' he wondered inwardly, finding it hard to believe anyone could have that level of loyalty and sense of duty. 'Maybe she's just weird?' he thought, sighing for the nth time.

At that moment, his senses picked up movement above him. It was familiar—the scent and sound were the same. Slowly looking up, he saw a small group of bats. Using his senses, he discovered there were 23 bats hanging in this tree alone and around 50+ in the surroundings. Upon closer inspection, he felt many more hanging silently in the trees, almost escaping his senses. There were countless of them...

And in that moment, as he observed them, he felt something unusual, like a connection.

"W-what?" he muttered unconsciously, weirded out, making the sleeping elf girl rouse from sleep. Her eyes fluttered open slowly.

What she saw the moment she woke up further confirmed her belief towards Noiren. Looking at him, her eyes widened, and her lips parted in shock as she sat there frozen.

"Species Dominion!" she muttered in reverence, her mind swirling as her grogginess from sleep quickly vanished.

In front of her loomed Noir, surrounded by a swirling swarm of bats. The air reverberated with the thunderous beat of their wings, creating a symphony of sound that filled the clearing. Eleanor struggled to gauge their exact number as they formed a dark, undulating mass.

As they encircled Noir, their frenzied movements whipped up a powerful gust of wind, causing leaves and twigs to whirl around them in a wild, chaotic dance. Each bat appeared to possess a life and energy of its own, their eyes glinting in the dim forest light. They swooped and darted around Noir with breathtaking precision, casting fleeting shadows on the ground below.

It was as if they were engaged in a mysterious ritual, an ancient tribute to their sovereign. Eleanor stood transfixed as the bats' mesmerizing flight created an atmosphere of reverence and might around Noir. Their presence bestowed an ethereal quality upon the scene, as if they were mystical guardians summoned from the depths of night to pay homage to their chosen master.

[You have learned a racial skill!]

[Nocturnal Oath: Forge an unbreakable bond with bats, making them loyal servants and warriors. They heed your commands unquestioningly, even at their own peril, recognizing you as their sovereign and kin. This skill grants you control over bat colonies, enhancing your strategic prowess and granting access to their nocturnal senses and agility]

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==================|

Name: Noiren Van Helsing

| Lvl= 2. | Exp( 42/75) | BP ( 46 / 50)

[Race: Vampire]

|

[Stats]===|

Str : 14 

Spd :13

Agi : 11 

Per : 12 

Con : 8 

Dex : 14 

Cha : 14 

=============|

|

[Skill]

| > [Regeneration]

 >[Immortality]

 >[Echolocation]

 >[Vampiric Claw]

 >[Hang]

 >[Nocturnal Oath]

[Blessings]

| > [Blessing of Estas] 

=================|