Chapter 5: Hypnosis?

—Stop!— The elf girl shouted, just before the soldier who was about to slice Nemes in two could move any further. The girl who was about to be cut trembled slightly, dagger in hand. She was trying to maintain a strong front, showing no fear. But next to a huge broadsword, she seemed almost comical.

Fighting the criminal had taken all her willpower, whereas facing three fully-armored soldiers seemed beyond hopeless. The girl's intervention, saving her, restored her spirit. With shining eyes, she looked at her savior, silently praying for her to finish the job.

The girl returned her gaze, and when their eyes met, the elf seemed to lose herself for a moment.

—She's not with the bandits! It's quite obvious— she said with puffed cheeks, frustrated. Her companion beside her watched the whole exchange with a steady, intrigued gaze.

—Actually, Lady Misra is right. She doesn't seem to be a bandit— he changed his gaze to the guards who had already finished off the two stragglers —Tie her up and bring her to the carriage— and then, pondering something, he added —And have the other two search that—

As if on cue and without protest, the three soldiers got to work. One approached her with a rope in hand. Now that they had declared her neutral, they seemed more amiable.

He came closer to her and waited a few moments, observing her. Nemes could see his clear eyes through the silver helm. He gestured towards the rope he held.

—Uh, what do you want me to do? This?— she said, joining her wrists and handing them to the soldier, who simply nodded and tied her up. She winced in pain when he tightened the knot. The guard seemed to notice and refrained from tightening it further.

After that, he escorted her into a carriage outside the cave. With slow steps, trying not to stumble, as the exit was an incline upwards. The moonlight covered her face as she peeked out, surprised to find that the light didn't hurt her eyes like torchlight did.

Upon emerging, despite the darkening surroundings, she could see everything clearly. She saw trees with diamond red leaves and a hundred dried trees. It gave a eerie sight, like a scene from a horror movie. She had no doubt that if she hadn't defended herself, she would be the protagonist of such a film.

Nemes recognized those distinct and fantastical trees; they knew where this was. It was the Red Forest, a fantasy location within the game. The second unlocked area and the best farming zone for dark flowers.

They had incarnated in the game! And not only that, but in a character from the game as well! It all seemed like a joke, a tasteless and unpleasant one.

The soldier helped her into the beautiful, grand carriage, and once she entered, they closed the door. She supposed it was to prevent her from escaping or something.

She had several minutes to think before they came to see her. In the game, each character had various abilities, but she didn't know Nemes's. She tried several things: summoning fire from her palms, forcing her mind, attempting telekinesis, and even some kind of blood manipulation magic, as she was a vampire, right? Sadly, none of it had worked.

—Damn, did I incarnate into a 7-star reject?!— she complained aloud with her soft voice, which she still wasn't accustomed to. Even fourth-rate heroes could summon fire and such —At least can I see my stats?!— More as a rhetorical complaint than anything else, she declared that. Surprisingly, this time it worked.

[Nemes ( ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆)

Level: 1

Stats: ??

Abilities:

Vampirism (lvl 1):

Bite that numbs, stimulates, or poisons. Allows feeding on blood. Restores health, energy, and FP. Effectiveness diminishes if the bitten area isn't a major artery.

Hypnotic Gaze (lvl 1):

Visual contact enhances/amplifies a thought or emotion in the target. To be effective, the target must not be alert or have active magical or mental defenses.

Bloody Curse (lvl EX)

User cannot gain experience from quests, assassinations, exterminations, or hunts.

Blood-Born (lvl 1):

Slight increase in statistics. Allows storing blood for later use or converting it into exp for the user or skills. Conversion rate: 1L to 1 p.Exp

-???...]

—Aish, there's so much to process— she thought with a mental sigh, looking at the holographic panel in front of her.

—First the seven stars. Now it was a fact; I am indeed Nemes through and through. Though the 7 stars are empty, I'll have to fill them with awakenings in the future— Awakenings were a critical moment in each character's personal story. They could be a memory brought by a memory stone or a canonical, destined event to overcome. Each awakening gave a critical increase in stats and sometimes a physical change or new ability.

She was already familiar with the abilities, having used all three. She had used vampirism on the corpse, healing her wounds, and hypnotic eyes on the elf to get her help. At first, she didn't know what she had done; it was a strange sensation when she stared at her, but now, with the ability description, those doubts were cleared. As for the last one, the "slight" enhancement in statistics was quite noticeable; she had subdued a man twice her size.

As for the curse of experience... It was quite annoying, but it was solved with "Incarnation of Blood," which allowed her to transform blood into experience. What bothered her the most was...

—There are question marks in my stats, why?— She thought of several responses, but none were clarifying. It would be a mystery for now, though internally she prayed it wouldn't last long. Knowing her stats meant knowing her limits, and knowing that meant understanding the challenges and aspirations she could face.

As Sun Tzu said: "If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles. If you know yourself but not the enemy, for every victory gained you will also suffer a defeat. If you know neither the enemy nor yourself, you will succumb in every battle."

She was an expert in the game; she would bet her life on it and say she knew every important individual in this world, the territories, wars, dangers, and even, depending on the temporal context, things from the future.

But despite all that knowledge, she did not know herself, she did not know Nemes...

...