7 Saving Joey

Nathan let out a sigh and got up. He wasn't planning to make a skill yet. He was still moving his ability energy around trying to familiarize himself with it.

He was so immersed in it that he didn't realize that it was already 8pm. It felt like minutes but it was actually hours.

"I want to test the limit of my body," Nathan said.

"How do you plan to do that?" Siena asked.

"I'll go for a run," he replied. He could test his stamina that way and moreover, his new vampiric body provided a physical boost so he wanted to try it out.

"But what about the curfew?" She asked.

"I have a feeling that there won't be much pressure on that rule," he replied.

"You're not sure, you just have a feeling." Siena sighed.

Nathan grabbed his sword and tied it to his waist. He opened the window and after a deep breath he jumped out. 

His blue hair fluttered from the force of the wind. He jumped from the highest floor so it was normal for the wind to have alot of force.

Nathan landed without a single sound. He looked at the direction of the forest where he fought Dan.

He ran with his full speed towards the forest. The darkness of the night masked his presence. His hair fluttered even more while running.

Nathan smiled softly. It was a new feeling for him. The faces of his family flashed in his mind. He continued running without breaking a sweat till he got there.

"I'm not even tired, it's like I didn't even do anything," he said.

"Yes, your stamina isn't normal as a vampire but that doesn't mean you have unlimited stamina," Siena said.

Nathan walked into the forest, he remembered the forest he usually went to when he was in the countryside but the trees here were shorter.

Suddenly, he heard someone scream. It was not loud but with his senses he could hear it. He moved to the direction of the scream curiously.

After getting there, he saw a boy who was wearing the academy's uniform.

A girl was on the ground with a pained expression. She kept screaming in pain.

"Joey….Joey," Nathan whispered. 

They couldn't see Nathan because he was standing behind a tree.

"You have to save her, she's in trouble," Siena said with a little panicked tone.

Nathan looked at the boy's uniform and saw two stars at the back.

"That means he's a middle rank gifted, he has four skills," he muttered.

He couldn't just walk away when Joey was in trouble. Even though she was always pestering him, he still had to save her.

"I'm not sure I can do this without using my vampire powers," Nathan said.

"We'll think about that later, for now just save her."

"You think you can reject me and get away? I'll show you what I can do," the boy said to Joey.

The name written on his uniform was Josh. His fists were covered in flames and he was about to touch Joey's face.

Before his hand could reach her, Nathan grabbed his hand. 

"Who are you?" Josh confusingly asked.

Nathan didn't answer him. He untied his sword and removed it from its sheath.

He swung it towards Josh but he dodged in time.

"You're hurting a girl just because she rejected you, that's insane," Nathan said.

"And who the hell are you to lecture me," Josh said.

"I'll teach you how not to interrupt others," Josh continued.

He raised his hands and ten balls of fire appeared. They were racing towards Nathan.

With his superior speed, Nathan was able to evade them. The fireballs destroyed the ground upon impact.

Nathan dashed towards him with his sword. He swung it towards Josh but he parried it with a flame sword he created using his fire ability.

*CLANG* *CLANG* * CLANG*

Sparks flew as both swords clashed, parrying each others sword.

"He has used three skills now including the fire fist skill, there is still one more left," Nathan thought.

Suddenly, Josh's legs burst up in flames. He started running round Nathan. His speed was greatly increased because of the skill he just activated to the point that Nathan couldn't follow his movements well even with his senses.

Nathan used his earth spike skill and created 10 spikes above him depleting his ability energy. He dispatched them in all directions.

[Ability Energy: [0/20]

"At least one will hit him."

He was right, one of the earth spikes hit Josh on his shoulder but it was not deep. It slowed him down a little.

Nathan didn't let that chance slip by. He swung his sword but the flames on Josh's legs increased and he managed to evade the sword with only a scratch.

"You're strong but it seems you don't know the difference between us. I'll show you the difference," Josh said.

With the increase of the flames, Josh's speed increased again. He added more ability energy to the skill.

Josh was running around him and swinging his flame sword. Small scratches started appearing on Nathan's body. 

"There's only one way I can beat this guy," Nathan thought.

"RAGE!! Nathan screamed.

A red aura suddenly covered his body. His fangs grew out and his claws elongated. He could feel the increase in strength. He could feel his blood flow increasing and his body getting hotter. A newfound strength rose up in his body.

With his enhanced state, he could finally follow Josh's movement. He stretched his hands and five blood spikes appeared and rushed towards Josh.

[Blood Energy: 10/25]

Josh parried them with his flame sword but that was just a distraction. In that moment Nathan was in front of him with his sword slashing down. Nathan's eyes glowed red ferociously.

Josh parried the sword. Series of sparks and clanging sounds ensued in the forest. With added strength, Nathan was able to hold his ground against Josh.

Nathan held his sword with his left hand and parried Josh's swing and finally saw an opening. Josh was too focused on his sword that he failed to notice Nathan's right fist. Before Josh could react, Nathan's fist was already in front of his face.

*BAM*

With the rage skill activated, his strength was on another level so his punch packed alot of power.

Josh landed hardly on the ground with a bruised face. He was unconscious on the ground. 

Nathan was bleeding profusely because of the scratches and injuries he got from Josh's sword. 

"Hurry, you need blood now if not you might die," Siena said.

Without even looking at Joey, he pounced on Josh's body and immediately started absorbing his blood. 

              Few Minutes Later

Nathan opened his eyes groggily. He looked around and found out that he was still in the forest.

Joey was a few distance away from him. She was looking at him fearfully. His body was filled with blood stains and Josh's body was on the ground.

But the most shocking thing was that he wasn't breathing. He was dead.

"I couldn't stop you, I'm sorry," Siena painfully said.

"Nathan didn't know what to feel. He just killed a person and his thoughts were blank. He just stared at the ground. 

"Who are you?" Joey asked with a shaky voice breaking the silence.

She clenched her fists as she waited for a reply.

"And don't even tell me that you're Nathan because I know you're not." She added.

"I'm Nathan, but I'm not the "Nathan" you know," he replied. 

"What do you mean by that?" WHERE IS NATHAN?!

"Tell her to come closer," Siena said.

"How's that even going to be possible? She saw everything and now she's afraid of me," he replied.

"Don't worry, just do as I say."

"Can you come closer?" Nathan asked.

Tears were streaming down Joey's eyes. She looked at him warily.

"You'll be able to talk to Nathan if you touch my hand," Nathan said according to Siena.

He didn't know if it was trust or stupidity but Joey was slowly moving towards his hands.

Siena was able to communicate with people as far as they had physical contact with Nathan.

Immediately Joey touched his hands, she appeared in a room. It was brown all over and there was nothing inside except for a beautiful woman with long blue hair and red eyes, Siena.

At first Joey was afraid but after hearing the things Siena told her including the memories they shared, she was convinced that it was Nathan she knew even though Siena was in her feminine body.

Siena also mentioned about her being a vampire which Joey didn't believe but the more she understood, the more she believed. Siena left out the part about the realms, artifacts and races including the system.

Joey now knew that Nathan was a vampire because there was no other way to explain what she saw.

Nathan heard their conversation. He was still battling with his feelings about the person he just killed.

Joey appeared back in the real world. She looked at Nathan and bit her lips.

"I'm….. I'm sorry for my actions earlier." She apogized.

"It's alright, so what were you doing here at this time?" He asked

She looked behind her. Nathan followed her gaze and saw a girl with black long hair lying on the ground unconscious.

"She's my friend Lena. I rejected Josh's proposal for a date because of his character. He threatened her that if she didn't call me and tell me to come to the forest, he would kill her. I had to come for her sake," Joey explained.

"Okay, since she is just unconscious, it will be best to take her to your room. I'll also go to mine and we'll discuss everything in a more suitable time."

Joey nodded her head and carried Lena towards the girls dorm building.

Before she left, Nathan called her.

"Uhm…..Joey, I'll see you tomorrow," he said.

'Yeah, I'll see you," Joey replied before they parted ways.

All Nathan's injuries healed and his stamina also. He ran towards the dorm building leaving Josh's body in the forest.