Rise of the Lycans Part One

Nothing could have prepared me for the punch that smashed into my face when I had told Selene that I had knocked her up. I had jokingly wanted to retort with,

'Well you TOLD me to put a baby in you…'

But I knew that it was more of a spur of the moment exclamation caused by the throes of passion and not something that Selene had meant in the literal sense. Still it was the second time that she had said something along those lines during our intimate moments. Even if we had only had sex twice at that point, the fact that she had said that twice now led me to believe that Selene may have some sort of a breeding kink. Psychologically speaking she must be longing for a family deep down after having lost hers. The thought of my girlfriend's kink turned my mouth into the Sahara Desert. 

Selene had been gone for an hour now, I couldn't pretend to know what she was going through. Primarily because I'm a man and as such I didn't have to carry the burden of bearing a child, obviously. There was also the fact that in terms of our relationship we had hardly known each other for a year and she was now carrying our child. Talk about a whirlwind relationship. Things just snowballed after I met her for the first time and I was beginning to think that I was the butt end of some divine joke. Hera had all but confirmed this thought with the whole 'the three Fates insisted that you knock up your girlfriend'. I let out a sigh before mentally pulling up my status screen when I heard the chime of a new notification. Deciding to tackle the boring stuff first I navigated to the quests tab and looked at the now completed objectives. 

'Answers'  (Main Quest)

Objectives:

Speak with Lucian about his past: Complete

Speak with Andreas Tanis: Complete

Speak with Alexander Corvinus: Complete

Hidden Objectives:

 (Spare the Corvinus Brothers) Failed

(Kill the Corvinus Brothers) Complete

Rewards:

Quinjet (Avengers)

TTI 2011 Sand Viper Edition 

(Hidden Reward Lost due to failure to meet a hidden objective)

'The Truth' (Main Quest)

Objectives:

Help Selene Confront Viktor: complete

Hidden:

(Kill Kraven) complete  

(Survived Viktor's Attack) complete  

(Get turned into a hybrid with Selene's bite) complete

Rewards:

+40 Affection with Selene

Hidden:

(Hybrid status unlocked)

(Mystery Perk)

(+2 Legendary Gacha Coins)

Bonus:

Bloodline Upgrade

Rewards Sent To Player Inventory

Bonus Quests Unlocked

Player Stats Updated

I dismissed the quests tab for the moment and looked at the changes to my overall stats. If I wasn't immortal I would have died of an aneurysm due to what I was reading. I rubbed my eyes and blinked wondering if I was hallucinating. 

Name: Blake Corvin

Race: Hybrid 

Title: Champion of the Gods

Alignment: Chaotic Neutral 

Level: 436 Next Level: 0/70,000 Xp

HP: nul

MP: 1,500,000/1,500,000 (100,000 per sec)

SP: 1,500,000/1,500,000 (100,000 per sec) 

(200% when transformed)

STR: 630 DMG: 31,500, per hit ( STR/2 x 100 )

DEX: 600

VIT: 600

END: 600

INT: 600

WIS: 600

Luck: 120

Stat Points Available: 0

Perks:

Gamer's Mind:

Protects Player from any and all outside influences. Includes but not limited to, telepathy, legilimency, psychoactive drugs, and brainwashing. Player has the option to temporarily disable this skill at will. 

Corvinus Bloodline: (Active)(Patriarch)

As a direct descendant of Alexander Corvinus, the founding father of immortality. Having consumed the purest of immortal blood from Alexander Corvinus you have risen to the head of the bloodline. Your blood, willingly given, can be used to create hybrids and enhance the strength of those who consume even the smallest amounts of it. 

Chaotic Neutral: (Archetype) 

You put your own freedoms over the ideals of Good vs. Evil. Nothing comes before your need to be free to do what you please. When faced with opposing factions you are your own side. +10% Rep gain from neutral factions. 

Corvinus Strain Hybrid: (Pureblood) 

Being descended from Alexander Corvinus your blood has adapted to the werewolf and vampire viruses making you the perfect Hybrid of both species. You can still access your wolf forms due to your bloodline. You have also unlocked the racial traits of a vampire. Being a hybrid of both species you lack the weaknesses of either. Silver will no longer have any effect on you nor will sunlight ever burn you. As a pureblood hybrid you can turn others by feeding them your blood.

True Immortal: (Blessed by the Gods)

Both bloodlines have mutated your cells to endlessly replicate and heal you. So long as a single cell survives you can not be killed. Be aware, while you can no longer die you will still be able to feel pain. 

Moon's Lover: 

Perk rewarded for reaching 100 affection with Selene. You gain a 200% boost to all stats under the light of the moon. Player also gains experience 50% faster in the same conditions. 

Champion of the Sea: (Poseidon's Champion) 

The Greek god Poseidon has claimed you as his champion to aid you in getting stronger. Water based skills are 150% more effective. Relevant Skills have been absorbed and evolved. 

Champion of the Hearth: (Hestia's Champion)

The goddess of the hearth has not forgotten that you noticed her of your own volition. Hestia has granted you the title of her champion. You can summon food from the table of the gods.  Flame based skills are 150% more effective. Relevant skills updated and evolved.

Skills:

Observe: (Active) Lvl. Max

While activated Player can discern basic information about the targeted object or creature. 

Dungeon Creation: (Active) 

Creates a dungeon for the Player to train or gain experience and loot. 

Dungeons: [Zombie: Cleared][Demon: Cleared][Angel: Cleared][Mage: New][Kaiju: New]

Overwhelming Aura: (Active) Lvl. Max 

Player projects an oppressive aura. Targets in area of effect are intimidated and filled with the sense of dread. 

Area of effect increases with skill level. (Cost: 50 MP per sec) 

Area Affected: 500 feet around Player

Feast: (Passive) Lvl. Max

Evolution of Devour Skill. Consuming the blood of victims grants the player 1/4th of the victims level and the player gains access to the memories of the victim. Drinking the blood of a victim also heals 1000 HP per second. Victims bitten have a 10% chance of surviving and turning into a hybrid. 

Shadow Step: (Active) Lvl. Max

While active, Player is rendered invisible to the naked eye. Player will still produce sounds and scents. 

(Cost: 100 SP per second) 

Et tu? Brute?: (Passive) Lvl. Max

Player deals 100% more damage with daggers and short swords. Bonus 200% damage to stabs into the targets back. 

Diminished Presence: (Active) Lvl. Max

While active, Player fades into the background of their surroundings blending in with the crowds. 

(Cost: 10 SP per second)

HearthFire: (Active) Lvl. Max

Due to Hestia's blessing you have gained the ability to manipulate fire freely. Your flames can destroy or heal depending on your intent. All healing spells have been absorbed into new skills. 

(Cost: 150,000 MP per sec)

Wind Blade: (Active) Lvl. Max

Sends out a wave of air that acts like a sword.

Damage is half the casters INT stat. Melee stat boosts apply to this skill. 

(Cost: 200 MP per blade)

Earthshaker: (Active) Lvl. Max

Due to Poseidon's blessing you have gained the ability to cause earthquakes. You are also able to imbue this power to your limbs and melee weapons. 

(Cost: 100,000 MP per minute) 

Water Control: (Active) Lvl. Max

Due to Poseidon's blessing, you have gained the ability to freely control all liquids with in a 100 foot radius. 

(Cost: 10,000 MP per second) 

Storm Bringer: (Active) Lvl. Max

Due to Poseidon's blessing you can summon a storm to bombard enemies. Chain Lightning has been integrated, any lightning bolt produced by the storm will jump between targets. 

(Cost: Varies on size of the storm)

Falling Star: (Active) Lvl. Max

A combination of the four basic elements, water, air, fire, and earth. A spell that erases everything in the area the spell is cast. Each level increases the area. 

(Current AoE: 1000M)

(Cost: 5,000 MP) 

Dead Thrall: (Active) Lvl. Max

Resurrects a dead body as an undead companion. So long as the body is intact enough it can be brought back to life. 

(Cost: 100,000 per body) 

Blood Feast: (Active) Lvl. Max

Your blood enters the target's body and causes the target to explode. Chances of target exploding get lower with depending on their DEX stat. 

(Cost: 30,000 per cast) 

Time Manipulation: (Active) Max

Through the constant use of Chronomancy, Time Lock and Event Horizon have evolved into Time Manipulation. You can now freely control time at the cost of MP. *Warning* Tampering with the past can result in dire consequences. 

(Cost: Freeze Time 10,000 MP per second *MP will no longer recover while time is frozen*) (Speed Up/Down: 100,000 per minute) (Travel: 25,000 MP per day moved)

Aviator: (Active) Lvl. 25 (0%)

You can pilot most common aircrafts and not crash. Your level determines the success of aerial maneuvers you attempt. Each level reflects the success rate of a maneuver by 1%. 

(Current success rate: 25%) 

Teleportation: (Active) Lvl. Max 

Being the champion of two gods you have gained the ability to transport yourself to a location that you have accessed before. Flame Travel and Mist Travel have been combined, you can still choose to travel using flames or mist should you will it. 

(Cost: 200,000 MP 10,000 per passenger)

'What the shit…'

Admittedly the changes were very welcome. Especially the teleportation skill that I had hoped I would eventually get. Also the fact that I no longer had to really worry about death was one thing, not that I did before, I was basically the overpowered character in every webnovel I had ever read. A little Gary Stu-ish if you asked me. But I knew better than to look a gift horse in the mouth. The fact that Gamer's Body had disappeared was not too concerning as I still recovered stats after sleeping and it sort of lost its point when I couldn't die anymore. 

'Hera, you weren't kidding about the whole Moirai and goddess thing were you?' 

While I'm a little disappointed to find out that you didn't believe me I'm not shocked you'd think that. We have remained closed off from the mortal world for quite a while now. I take it that you've discovered my siblings' gifts?

'Champion of the Gods, really?' 

It's to aid you in getting stronger

'I'm not stupid Hera, I know you want something.' 

Fine, we need your help.

I snorted at the thought of me helping divine beings. It wasn't unbelievable, just a silly image. Powerful beings asking a simple man for help. 

'I'm willing, but I'm not leaving Selene behind nor am I being anyone's bitch.' 

I can respect that Blake

'I'm sensing a 'but' there.' 

But you are not yet ready, you must become stronger in order to face the dangers of my world

'Well yeah, I'd be facing literal gods. Do you have a deadline?' 

Unfortunately yes, several months from now to be exact. The demigods tasked with defending Olympus have fallen. My late husband had ignored the warnings he was given of our father's resurrection. We acted too late to stop the Titans and their uprising 

I hummed. 'Sounds oddly familiar. Alright, so I've got maybe four to five months to prepare then?' 

Maybe less than that 

'Fuck… okay, that's still doable. Is there a way for me to get stronger faster than the Dungeons?' 

Yes but you won't like it 

'Why not?'

You'll have to jump worlds

'How? I haven't unlocked that feature yet.' 

It was true, despite having defeated Viktor, Markus, and William the World Jump function of my system was still grayed out. I figured that it was because I wasn't done with the 'Underworld Series' yet. I remembered there being two movies that came out that didn't do too well in the box office. 

The Fates have agreed to access it for you they've already chosen the world you will go to 

'I'm bringing Selene, she is carrying my child. I can not risk leaving her in this world alone.' 

ω διάολε So that's what the Fates meant. I apologize on behalf of the Moirai. I did not know that this is what they would do

I ignored the fact that the supposed goddess of marriage, women, family, and childbirth, had just said something in what sounded like Greek. A goddess cursing was an odd thing to hear.  

'You don't need to apologize, I'm going to be a dad. I've always wanted to be a dad.' 

That brings joy into my heart, truly. 

'Thank you Hera.'

The Fates have informed me that time will flow differently in the other world. Years for you there may only be weeks or month here in this world

'I'll manage, I pray that the world they send me to won't be as complicated.'

They have mentioned that it is similar to the one you're in right now

'Great, why am I doing this again?' 

To gain more power 

'Right… fantastic. Just what I wanted.'

The other world will not count as a world jump. It is similar to your Dungeons if anything. Anything you change there won't be reflected in the world you're currently in 

'Does that mean I get rewards?' 

I believe so, now speak with your wife she's coming up the elevator now

'Wife?'

She's your life mate, you two are practically married

Hera fell silent as the door opened revealing a sullen looking Selene. She closed the door behind her before rushing forward and pulling me into a hug. 

The jump will happen in thirty minutes. Speak with her and make your preparations

I mentally acknowledged Hera while clutching Selene close as she silently wept into the crook of my neck. She eventually pulled away looking at me with tear stained eyes. I gently wiped her cheeks with my sleeve, she took my hand before I could lower it. 

"I'm sorry for leaving like that." 

I chuckled trying to lighten the mood. "Wouldn't be the first time, love. Is that all you're sorry for?"

Selene gave me a small smile. "Yes, I don't regret punching you in the face." 

"You broke my nose." 

"Ouch. Did it hurt?" She mocked. 

"Not as much as it will hurt when you bring our child into the world." 

Selene winced at my words, I sighed and pulled her back into my arms. 

"Right too soon for the pregnancy jokes. I'm sorry, I should have been more careful."

"No, it's not your fault. I- deep down I think I wanted this. To have a family, to be a mother." 

"I've always wanted to be a father, so I guess we're in this together." 

She smiled as she pulled away from the embrace. She looked into my eyes and frowned. 

"I like to think that I know you well enough to know the face you make when you've got something on your mind?" 

"How would you like to go to another world?" 

"What world?" I could see that she was interested. 

"Not sure yet, similar to this one I'm told." I said while shrugging. 

"I'm in." She said without hesitation. 

"What?" 

"I'm in, a change of scenery would be nice, and I'm not letting you frolic around with some field wench in another world when you've just put a baby in me." 

"A field wench? What is this? The 14th century?"

The irony of that statement wasn't lost to me, I had calculated her age in my head and figured she was born somewhere around 1383. 

"Are you calling me old?" Her eyes narrowed at me. 

"Of course not…" I raised my hands in surrender. 

She didn't seem convinced with my answer "So when do we leave?" She asked. 

"Around 27 minutes from now, why? What have you got in mind?"

Instead of replying she leapt at me tearing at my clothes. Whereas last night had been purely sex, that moment we made love for the first time. The first night, technically day, we spent together had been more hate sex than anything else. Selene lay partially on top of me, head propped up on an elbow while drumming her fingers on my chest. Her hair was a bit tousled, lips swollen from kisses, yet she was still the vision of perfection to me. 

"Is it too soon to come up with names for the baby?" 

"We don't even know if it's a boy or a girl Selene," she pouted cutely. "But I think if it's a daughter, her name will be Luna so that she matches her mother." 

She hummed, a smile finding its way on her lips as she gazed at me lovingly. She straddled me and lightly brushed her lips against mine. 

"That was the right answer." She whispered. 

[Scene Break]

In hindsight having copious amounts of sex with Selene and exhausting my large stamina pool was a terrible idea. Sure sex was great and all, but falling asleep when I had shit to do was not a great idea. I knew I had screwed the pooch when I cracked my eyes open and found Selene and myself naked in the middle of a clearing. Selene let out a groan as she extracted herself from my arms. Gamer's Mind was working overtime managing the crippling anxiety that threatened to overtake my calm. 

"Where are we?" Selene said clearly as she rubbed the sleep from her eyes. 

"Sure as hell isn't Budapest anymore." 

I attempted to open my inventory to get us a change of clothes but found that nothing happened when I tried to access it. Panic began to build before Gamer's Mind swatted it away like an annoying mosquito. Hera wasn't responding to my calls either and I silently cursed. 

'Analog it is, gods I hope that this works.' 

I willed my status screen to appear and sighed in relief when the UI popped up. I looked at the notifications that had been delivered and grimaced. 

Forced World Jump Initiated

Inventory Locked

(unlock available upon return to home world)

Alternate Reality Entered:

Reality: 

Rise of the Lycans (2009)(AU)

Messages Received:

Hera: Sorry to drop you in while you were unconscious (read post coital coma) but you need to get moving. I have taken the liberty of ensuring that the Fates did not drop in you too close to the human population. There will only be one quest, once you complete it you will be given one hour before you are returned to the hotel. Make sure you are in physical contact with whatever you wish to bring back. 

I sighed, looking at Selene who was waiting for me to finish checking my system I tried to ignore the fact that we were both still very naked. 

"I've figured out where we are." 

"Oh? I'm guessing, by the look on your face, that it's not good news." 

"No, it's not good, but it's not bad either." 

"What do you mean?" 

"We're still in Hungary, just a few hundred years in the past." 

"That's not too bad." 

"THE past, specifically our world's past." 

"Fuck." 

"Yeah, fortunately I'm familiar with what happens and so should you. Unfortunately this is an alternate version of that past so there's no telling what is different and what remains the same." 

"At least I'll get to kill Viktor again." 

"There's that… since whatever we do in this world won't affect ours we can take liberties in fixing some things." 

"Where do we start?" Selene said with a small smile. 

"Let's start off by finding some clothes and maybe a few weapons." 

"How will we do that? We're naked and the closest village is probably miles away. Don't get me wrong, I don't mind seeing you naked as I'm sure you don't mind seeing me naked as well, but I'd rather not be seen streaking through the forest."

"Right, let me check something first." 

Selene nodded and I opened my system again, just as the screen was displayed a new notification for a quest popped up and I opened it. 

Quest Received:

'Liberation' (Main Quest)

Objectives:

Rescue Lucian:

Rescue Sonja:

Free the Lycan Captives:

Defeat Viktor:

Optional Objectives:

Gain the Corvinus Brothers Allegiance:

Save the Human Village:

Eliminate the Death Dealers:

Rewards:

1,000,000 Experience Points

+3 Mythic Gacha Coins

Bonus Rewards:

Corvinus Lordship

Random Perk

Failure:

N/A

While I was glad that it was impossible to fail this quest, it was also a tall order. That said, having the opportunity to gank Viktor again was a reward in itself. Seeing that I still had access to most of my system I came up with an idea. 

"Alright I have a plan." 

Selene listened intently as I outlined what I was going to do. After finishing up she nodded and gave me a quick kiss before disappearing into the thick brush of the forest around us. I shifted into my full wolf form and set off with a burst of speed. In this form my nose was much more sensitive than my Lycan form, not as much as my Hybrid form, but seeing that I wanted to keep a low profile for now, I couldn't just run around in the big hulking blueish gray mass of muscle that was probably my hybrid form. 

I eventually found the village after following the scent of humans. I crouched down low and peeked out from behind a bush. Spotting a quaint little home with a clothes line outside I sent a silent thanks to the Fates for not completely screwing me over. I waited for the coast to be clear before jumping out from behind the bushes and snatching a set of clothes for Selene and I. Thankfully the house belonged to a younger couple so I wasn't stuck trying to figure out what the hell I should be grabbing. Holding the clean clothes in my mouth I followed Selene's scent back to the clearing. 

Selene came out from behind a grove of trees once I entered the clearing. Shifting back to my human form I handed Selene a plain dress. She glared at me before slipping the fabric over her head and testing her range of motion. Getting into the pair of trousers I sighed when I found that they also only came up to my shins. Pulling the loose fitting shirt over my head I looked at Selene who was still glaring at me with her arms crossed. 

"Really, a dress. You couldn't have grabbed two sets of trousers?" 

"We're trying to blend in, besides once we break into Viktor's fortress we steal better clothes." 

"Fine, let's just go." She huffed. 

'Not even a few days pregnant and she's already moody.' 

"I heard that." She snarked. 

"Did I say that out loud?" 

"Yes, now stop lollygagging and let's go." 

Blending in had been the right choice, we passed by several villagers along the way to Viktor's fortress. Selene took the lead as I had no idea where to go and didn't speak a lick of Hungarian. Hearing Selene speaking Hungarian made me feel some kind of way. The dress she was wearing also hugged her toned figure deliciously and I could help but to admire her ass as I followed closely behind her. Picking up the pace a bit I walked side by side with her once I had gotten my fill of ogling her. 

"Done ogling me then?" She said with a smirk. 

"You know me so well." I replied, taking her hand. 

We walked hand in hand for an hour until we spotted the massive stone fortress in the distance. Like the movie the structure was built into a cliff. Large towers jutted out of the cliff side, I could smell the werewolves from where we stood. The sun was still out and I figured now was as good of a time as any to sneak into the fortress. A few miles later we found ourselves standing at a drainage grate and I looked at Selene.

"Sneaky or loud?" 

"Sneaky, despite there being a few hours or so left of sunlight there's still bound to be Death Dealers prowling around inside." 

"Sounds like a plan, should I rip the grate from its place or do you want to climb."

"You just want to look up my dress." 

"Selene," I gasped in mock outrage. "While that may be true, I'm considering the fact that a missing grate may draw attention."

"Fine, take on your wolf form then, it'll be easier if I ride you. And stop looking at me like that, you know what I meant." 

I relented before taking off my clothes much to Selene's entertainment before shifting into my full wolf form. She jumped onto my back and held on tight as I began to scale the wall with my claws. The werewolf guards looked at us but for the most part they didn't seem to mind our presence. I could have sworn that some of them even bowed their heads at me. 

Sneaking our way in was suspiciously easy, despite Selene's earlier statement, there were no guards. She silently directed me towards the armory and I wanted to ask how she knew where it was. It was never revealed in the movies if she had lived here. The door to the armory wasn't even locked and we slinked through the door without any issue. Once inside I took my human form again and looked around at the rows of weapons and armor. As we liberated a set of armor I glanced over to Selene and asked her the question that had been plaguing me since we arrived. 

"Did you ever live here?" 

"Shortly after Viktor turned me, I stayed in this fortress for a year before Ördögház was founded. That was when Buda, Pest, and Óbuda merged together into Budapest."

'A little history lesson, I wonder if that's how Budapest was founded in my old world?'

"Figured it was something like that, you knew your way around the place." 

"I used to explore this fortress in my earlier years. I could never find a way up to the ruins at the top of the cliff though." Selene said with a sad smile.

It must have been strange for her to find herself back here. I reached out and took her hand, she squeezed my hand before taking a sword from a rack and putting it on a sheath at her hip. I followed her example, noticing a few daggers I took three. Tucking one in each boot I sheathed the third one by my sword. I also spotted a crossbow and was about to pick it up but Selene pulled me away before I could. We moved through the fortress carefully to avoid making too much noise with the plate armor and chainmail we had on. 

"Where to now?" Selene asked. 

The first two objectives were to rescue Lucian and Sonja, that could only mean that we were smack dab in the middle of the movie. 

"The execution room." 

"You never told me the rest of your plan." She said as she led me through the empty halls. 

"Simple really, save the good guys, kill the bad guys." 

She stopped and turned to look at me with a quirked eyebrow. "I need a little more detail than that."

"Spoilsport, fine. We save Lucian and Sonja, free the Lycans, then we kick Viktor's ass." 

"That's it?" 

"I told you…" 

"Shh, someone's coming."

I took her hand and froze time. While my MP no longer recovered while I was freezing time, my 'pool' was still large enough to safely freeze time for around two and a half hours. That gave Selene and I plenty of time to move past the approaching footsteps. Selene pulled me along until we reached a door with two armed guards posted outside. Glancing at Selene I nodded before we both picked an individual guard. Selene was quick and efficient when dealing with her guard. Meanwhile I chose to experiment a little and delivered five solid kicks to the guards groin area. Selene saw my antics and rolled her eyes before trying to push the doors open. When they didn't budge I went over to help but not before delivering one last kick to the time locked guards family jewels. 

"Why isn't the door opening?" She asked. 

"No clue, maybe it's locked." Selene glared at me. "I'm just guessing here. I have no idea how this works. I'm guessing time isn't really frozen but moving at an incredibly slow pace and since it's a big fuck off wooden door it'll probably take a while to open on its own." She seemed placated with my answer. 

Honestly I had no idea what I was talking about, I knew that we could interact with the world while it was frozen. I just didn't know if the world was actually frozen or if it was moving ridiculously slow. Selene let out an exasperated breath and turned to me. 

"I'll go find the Lycans, you save Lucian and Sonja." 

"Is that really wise? What if you get caught?" 

"I won't, I know this fortress better than Viktor. Even if I get caught, I am much stronger now and I am immune to the sunlight seeing that we just walked in direct sunlight for half the day." 

"Very well, remember if anything goes wrong I'm one shout away." 

Selene nodded, "I'll see you in a bit then." 

"Don't hold back, if Viktor tries to apprehend you, kill him." 

"Oh I won't." 

She dashed off further down the corridor and disappeared around the corner. I turned back to the two still frozen bodies of the two guards. 

'Let's see if this works.' 

I drew my sword, with a bit of focus emerald flames started dancing on the blade. Using my enhanced strength and speed I slashed the two bodies thousands of times in the span of two seconds. The flaming sword made short work of the bodies, it cut through armor, flesh, and bone like a hot knife through butter. The two bodies crumbled to ashes as I flicked the flames on the sword away. A chime notified me that I had leveled up. I had nearly forgotten that my level cap had seemingly been removed and I was leveling up past level 400. Then again I had been occupied with much more stuff than I had originally been expecting. 

Once the ashes had settled I glanced at the door again and gave it a push. I felt it give way slightly and upon closer inspection I noticed that it was moving. Only it was moving fractions of a centimeter. Hoping that Selene was not in a compromising location I unfroze time and pushed the doors open finally slipping inside the room. Inside I found myself facing an all too familiar scene. Lucian was on his knees, his arms chained off behind him. In the center of the room was Sonja, also restrained. Lucian's head snapped up at my arrival. A look of confusion on his face. Sonja struggled to turn her head when she noticed that Lucian was now looking in my direction. Remembering that I didn't speak the local language I sent out a silent prayer hoping that my system had an auto translate feature. 

"Who are you?" Lucian asked, anger clear in his voice. 

Surprisingly I understood him, despite knowing that he wasn't speaking English. I crossed my fingers and hurried over to Lucian's side. 

"You can consider me a friend." 

His eyes narrowed in suspicion, so they understood me too. Sonja called out to him.

"You can trust him my love, he is not one of my fathers men."  

"And how do you know that?" I said, sending an inquisitive look at her.

"I can feel it… are you our child from the future?"  

Lucian and I both sputtered, for different reasons but nonetheless getting caught off guard by the statement. 

"Look, I'd love to talk with the both of you but I'm here to get you two out of this predicament you've found yourselves in." 

"Are you sure we can trust him love?" Lucian asked. 

Sonja didn't say anything, she just continued to look at me in wonder while nodding at Lucian. I drew my sword making Lucian flinch before igniting it in flames again. With one smooth slash, the chains on his arms fell away and he rushed over to Sonja. Approaching the couple I put a hand on Lucian's shoulder and motioned for him to step aside. I could feel Lucian tense off to the side as I raised my flaming sword to cut Sonia's restraints. Once she was free she jumped into Lucian's arms and the couple shared a kiss. Feeling a bit awkward I coughed to get their attention. 

"Right, Sonja you take this sword and Lucian you can take this dagger. We're getting out of here, my mate should have freed your compatriots by now." 

The two took the offered weapons with muttered 'thank yous'. I took point and walked over to the door. Turning back to the two I made the universal sign to keep quiet. They acknowledged the order and stuck close behind me with Lucian standing protectively in front of Sonja. I pulled the doors slightly opened and stuck my head outside. Not spotting any patrols I opened the doors the rest of the way before gesturing towards the hall Selene and I had come from. 

"Go ahead, the sun will be setting soon. I'll be right behind you, if we get separated there's a clearing due south west of here. We'll regroup there." 

"Thank you…" Whispered Sonja as she pushed Lucian along.  

Once the two had disappeared from my sight I turned to the direction Selene had gone. A man screamed and all hell broke loose. The sound of running footsteps echoed in the empty hallway before Selene came into view running at the head of a group of ragged looking men. Selene made eye contact with me. 

"Go! We'll be right behind you!" She called out as the Lycans ran past us. 

"Go with them, Lucian and Sonja should be by the wall now. Lead them to the clearing, I'll hold the Death Dealers off then I'll meet you there." 

Her lips crushed mine, she pulled away and looked into my eyes. Her beautiful iridescent blue eyes had activated. 

"Be safe…" She said before running after the Lycan escapees. 

'Don't I always?' I mentally replied to her. 

[Scene Break]

Selene kept running, she was much faster now faster than even the elders in the past, well the future in this case since she was technically in the past. Ever since she had drank Alexander Corvinus' blood all her abilities had increased two fold. Stronger, faster, her senses amplified beyond what they were as a normal vampire. 

They reached the main doors, the Lycans surrounded Lucian and Sonja. She approached the crowd and made her way to the original Lycan-Vampire couple. Sonja stared at her in open mouth shock. Lucian's eyes widened, it must have been due to the resemblance she had with Sonja. 

"You- you lo- Sonja do you have a sister I didn't know about?" 

"No, not that I knew of." The vampire responded. 

Selene groaned there would be a lot to explain, she would leave that to Blake, she had never been too good with explaining difficult topics. 

"We'll get to that later, I'll check if the sun is still out." 

Selene pushed past the couple and opened the doors, Lucian called out in warning when she threw the doors open only to shut up when the last fading rays hit her and didn't burn her to ashes. 

"H-how?" He stammered. 

"Later," She took a tapestry from a nearby wall and handed it to Sonja. "Throw that over your body. We're leaving." 

Sonja did as she was asked to do and draped the fabric over her head. Lucian looked at his lover in worry. 

"What about the othe-" Lucian began to say. 

Screams sounded from the direction they had come from, followed by the sound of an explosion. More screams came later and the Lycans paled at the sounds of flesh being ripped apart. 

"He'll be fine, we need to go. That explosion will have drawn Viktor's attention. This is our chance to escape." 

Lucian nodded and followed her out of the doors. Selene led the group to the waterway and kicked the grate off its cemented position. Behind her Sonja and Lucian gaped at the casual display of strength. Selene stayed back watching for any pursuing guards while the Lycans and Sonja filed into the drainage system. Once the last Lycan had gone through she followed after them. 

"Alright, I hope you lot are ready for a run, follow me." 

There weren't any complaints, she started to jog back towards the clearing. The escapees followed behind her keeping pace with little effort. She sped up as much as she could without leaving anyone behind. Selene hardly looked back, she had full confidence in Blake making it out safely without any injury, he was her mate after all. 

Viktor crashed into a wall painfully. He had arrived just as a man dressed like his Death Dealers was slaughtering his actual Death Dealers. He had sought to kill the impudent upstart for daring to assault his keep when the man backhanded him away. He tried to struggle to his feet when the man slowly walked over to where he had fallen. The man spoke a foreign language something he didn't understand before the man's booted heel stomped down on his face and he knew no more. 

[Scene Break] 

Being a Hybrid was broken, being a Hybrid blessed by literal gods was, simply put… completely unfair. I stood before the broken bodies of multiple Death Dealers squirming in the ashes of their comrades. I felt the air shift behind me and intercepted my attacker with a swat of my hand. The man crashed into the wall and slid down in a daze. I grinned when I saw who it was. 

"Viktor, what a surprise, not. Anyways I could kill you now but that would upset my mate as she wants to kill you first. So do me a favor and go to sleep." 

Viktor tried getting up but a solid stomp broke his nose and knocked him out cold. I heard more vampires running towards me from further in the fortress. Sheathing my sword I calmly made my way out through the front doors just as Markus and Amelia appeared leading a small army of Death Dealers. I grinned at the two elders not questioning why they were around. This was probably before the vampires had made the 'only one can rule every one hundred years' tradition. 

"Halt! I demand that you lay down your arms and surrender yourself." Called out Markus. 

Amelia stood next to him with her crossbow aimed at me. I bravery the two had. Their men looked like they wanted to be anywhere but behind their leaders. I decided to mess with them a little before I left. 

"Who are you to demand anything from me?" 

"I am Markus, this is Lady Amelia, we are the elders to this coven. Why have you attacked us?"  

"Because I could…" The two gaped at my nonchalance. "As for who I am, my name is Balthazar Corvinus." 

Markus stepped back startled at the name I had given, I fought the urge to chuckle at his shocked expression. Amelia looked at him with concern. 

"What is it Markus, do you know him?"  

"Impossible, I- you, what are you?!" 

I rolled my eyes, "What I am, it's tired of this conversation. Till next time." I casually waved at them before erupting into a pillar of flames and teleporting back to the clearing. I didn't miss the look of fear in their faces as they jumped back. 

I appeared in the clearing with a small burst of sparks starling the people gathered there. Cries of alarm rang out as I looked around. Lucian and Sonja pushed their way through ten crowds of Lycans around me. Selene beat them to it and threw herself in my arms. Holding her close I inhaled her comforting scent before letting her down. 

"Did everyone make it safely?" 

"They're exhausted from the run but they're all here." 

"Excellent." I turned to Lucian and Sonja. "So, explanation first or would you rather we set up a camp." 

"Both, Viktor won't let this transgression go so easily. I'd rather have a defensible area as soon as we can than wasting time while listening to what clearly is a very complicated story while doing nothing."  

"He wants to do both." Selene translated for me. 

"It's alright, I understand him." She looked at me in shock. 'Later.' I mouth at her, making her sigh, then nod in agreement. 

Lucian and Sonja had been great listeners, Lucian had brought in Raze who was still as quiet as he was in our reality/future. They asked very few questions while we got around to building a manageable camp in the clearing. A few Lycans dug a trench around a makeshift wall that we started building out of wood. Watching their shock as I cut down trees with blades made out of wind was entertaining. Almost as entertaining as the look of reverence that the Lycans gave me when I started summoning food out of thin air. I made a mental note to thank Hestia for giving me such a wonderful ability. She was one of my most favorite goddesses in fiction and mythology. 

With my stupidly high Intelligence stat I also began picking up the language. Selene had been further shocked when I started to speak Hungarian before the moon had reached its peak. I wondered if this was due to my system or purely based on my high intelligence stat. 

"So in short, you're a descendant of Alexander Corvinus, a hybrid from the future, and Selene here is your mate who is also carrying your child?" Sonja summarized when I had finished giving my explanation. 

"Yeah, that about sums it up." 

"This is all very confusing." Muttered Lucian. 

"Just don't think about the timey whimy aspect and it's all simple." 

"The what?" Lucian and Sonja said at the same time. 

"It's a refere- oh never mind, just don't think about it too hard and it'll make sense." 

"Blake, don't confuse them even more." Selene chided.

"Fine, we're practically done with the perimeter you two should get some rest. We'll figure things out tomorrow." 

Lucian nodded gratefully before calling out for volunteers to take first watch. Raze volunteered himself, soon after a watch rotation was established. I could have helped by putting hidden turrets around the forest but my inventory was currently out of reach and I really didn't want to have future tech laying around in the past. Even if this wouldn't affect the future of my world I didn't want to take that chance. 

Selene followed me over to a secluded area in the forest before grabbing my arm and pulling me into another embrace. I gave her a peck on the lips before pulling away and taking a seat on the forest floor. Selene mimicked my actions and leaned her head against my shoulder. 

"So, are you going to tell me who you can speak Hungarian all of a sudden or am I going to have to beat it out of you." 

I chuckled. "I don't want to disturb our sleeping neighbors love, and like I told you. There will be no more secrets between us. To answer, it's because of my system. I have a high enough level of intelligence that hearing it spoken and having my system translate for me caused me to learn it instinctively. I wouldn't be surprised if I could do this with any language." 

"Have I ever told you how unfair your abilities are?" 

"Not that I recall, no." 

"Well they are, it took me weeks to learn english when we first moved to the New World Coven, and English isn't even that hard of a language to pick up. Yet here you are learning a new language in the span of a few hours." 

"It's not all that great." I laughed. 

"Oh really, my mate has abilities that rival that of divine beings and he says 'it's not that great'." She quipped. 

"I love you." I chuckled. "Please never change Selene." 

She went back to leaning against my shoulder. "I love you too. I won't change besides, if I did, who would slap some sense into you when you're thinking of doing something rash." 

I put an arm around her and kissed the side of her head. She let out a content sigh, soon her breathing relaxed as she drifted off to sleep. I pulled up my stat screen and took a look at the levels I had gained. From the enemies I had killed I had gained a solid ten levels. I didn't really know how much I gained from killing enemies compared to how much I would gain from using the absorption skill on them. Leaving the testing for the next day I got comfortable in my position next to Selene and followed her into sleep. 

The next morning Selene stirred in my arms waking me up. I looked around and found that we had fallen over to the forest floor. Our limbs were still tangled together, I carefully extracted myself from her embrace and stretched my arms over my head before yawning. I dismissed the notification that I had recovered my stats partially while sleeping on the ground and looked about. The Lycans had already gotten started with continuing to shore up the camp. I decided to let Selene sleep a little bit longer and walked over to where Lucian was speaking with Raze. 

"Morning, what's the plan today?" 

Lucian and Raze turned to face me. "We're planning an assault on a convoy of supplies to the fortress, it's passing through the road later this afternoon." 

"How sure are you of this information?" 

"Quite confident, Viktor and the others usually have a shipment of humans to supply them blood around this time." 

"Fair enough, what's the attack plan?" 

"We ambush them, there's not much in terms of coverage so we'll have to block off the road and hit them from all sides." 

"I'll help out in any way I can, we'll have to move from this spot soon. Viktor's goons will eventually find this clearing, they'll attack if they get the chance." 

"Aye, I'll have Raze ask around the nearby villages to see if any of them are willing to house us." 

Raze nodded acknowledging the statement before walking off. Lucian remained and gave me an inquisitive look.

"How did you sleep last night?" I asked, breaking the silence. 

"Rather well considering that I had been tortured the day before. Viktor was planning on executing Sonja this morning, I can never thank you enough for saving all of us." 

"Think nothing of it, I can't stand the posh bastard." 

Lucian chuckled at my description of Viktor. "We're not so different after all. The man raised me from birth but the treatment was still no better than a slave." 

Just then I felt an arm snake around my shoulders as Selene draped herself over me from the back. Lucian smiled at the display of affection before excusing himself to give us some privacy.

"Good morning love." I turned and held her by her hips. 

"You weren't next to me when I woke up." She pouted after giving me a kiss. 

"Sorry, I just wanted to let you sleep a little longer. We had a long day, and you're carrying our child." 

She hummed. "Our child, I still can't quite wrap my head around the fact that I'm going to be a mother." 

"You'll make an excellent mother Selene." I conjured up a blood bag with my powers offering it to her. "Breakfast?" 

She accepted it graciously and started drinking from the tube. "Still warm… your powers never cease to amaze me."

I smiled at her look of content as she drank the blood. I had theorized that my powers from the blessing would conjure whatever I considered food. I was glad to be right, conjuring one for myself. I wasn't as graceful as Selene. I bit into the bag and drained the contents in one gulp. The blood went down surprisingly smooth. It even had a faint sweet flavor to it. I incinerated the empty bags once Selene was done with hers. 

"So it's true, you're a vampire that can walk in the sun." Came a voice from behind us. 

I turned around looking at Sonja who now had a cloak pulled around her with the hood drawn to cover her face from the sun. I made a decision then and there. Sharing a look with Selene who nodded. I addressed Sonja carefully choosing my words so I didn't give too much away.

"I have an offer." I raised a hand to stop her as she opened her mouth to say something. "Before you say anything, let me finish as this may affect your unborn child as well." 

"How.. how did you know?" She asked. 

"It's not that hard to put together. Besides, you thought I was your son the other day." She nodded in understanding. 

"Now, my offer is this. I can turn you into someone like Selene, a vampire that can walk in the day. Or I can turn you into someone like me. A hybrid of both species."

"What are the consequences of both?" She asked. 

"None that I'm aware of, but I'm not sure how it will affect your child." 

"Very well, for the sake of my child and my future I wish to be like your mate." 

"Are you sure about this, there is no going back once I turn you." 

"Yes, being able to walk in the sun will be a boon." 

"Alright," I took off the vambraces and offered her my arm. "Drink." I ordered. 

Sonja took a heat iyang step forward and glanced at Selene who encouraged her with a small smile. She reached out and took my arm with gloved hands. She looked into my eyes before biting down into my wrist. The brief sting of her fangs piercing my skin was replaced by a strange almost erotic sensation. I felt her pull on my blood before letting my arm down after she had gotten a mouthful. The wound on my arm healed in seconds and I looked at Sonja who doubled over. A notification popped up in the corner of my vision and I looked at it. 

Sonja Added As Progeny 

Mental Link Established

Turn Sonja Into Hybrid

[Yes/No]

Sonja had only asked for the sunlight immunity so I selected 'No' before dismissing the screen with a thought. Sonja straightened back up and carefully lowered her hood. When the first rays of light hit her face she closed her eyes and smiled. 

"T- this feels wonderful." Sonja said with a sigh of contentment. "I have never felt such warmth all around me before, thank you." 

"Think nothing of it, it's the least I could do." 

"Pardon?" 

"Indirectly you helped me meet Selene. Without you I wouldn't be here nor would I have found such a wonderful woman." 

I glanced fondly at Selene who blushed, she coughed before turning away slightly. Sonja gave the both of us a soft smile. 

"I'm glad for it then, I must go tell Lucian the news." 

I gave her a wave as she practically skipped away. Selene looked over to me. 

"That was a wise choice… not only will she be able to walk in the sun, but her life with Lucian will be much easier now." 

"As long as the both of them survive this conflict." I replied. 

"They can fend for themselves, and we're here to help… Now let's go see if we can do something. I'm getting antsy just sitting around." 

Several hours later I was masking my presence by the side of the dirt road leading to Viktor's fortress. Around me the Lycans had dug shallow trenches to hide in. They had made camouflage with some dirt and the surrounding foliage. To my surprise it was effective, I wouldn't have known they were there had I not had heightened senses and the knowledge of the fact that they were there. To regular humans they would have been impossible to detect. 

I spotted the convoy approaching half an hour later. Two carts followed by a handful of mounted guards. We had laid a massive log across the road blocking the path. Once the carts were close enough Lucian signaled his men and they leapt from their cover. They didn't shift into their Lycan forms and attacked the convoy in their human forms. We had only brought half a dozen Lycans from the camp. The armed guards dismounted and began to fight back while the carriage drivers attempted to go around the blockade. I shimmered into existence when I deactivated the stealth skill startling the horses and stopping the carts in their tracks. I drew my sword and willed the blade to burst into flames. That was all it took for the drivers to shout in alarm before hopping off their seats and running off. I decided to let them go as they weren't a direct threat. 

I moved to where the fighting was before deflecting a sword that was swung at my head. I thrust my hand out and summoned the guard to me using his blood. The man screamed as he was wrenched off his feet and flew face first into my flaming sword. His scream died into a gurgle, I turned just in time to block a lunge from another guard. Imbuing the Earthshaker Skill into my fist I punched the man in his chest crushing his plate armor and putting my first several inches through his chest. Yanking my hand free from his chest cavity I threw my sword like a spear at a guard who had downed one of the Lycans. The sword struck the man hard enough to pinwheel him through the air. I rushed over to the Lycan but it was too late, the guard had stabbed him through the chest. Despite their superior strength and speed the Lycans had the disadvantage of inexperience. Many of them also couldn't control their shifting yet. Lucian and the rest of his men dispatched the last of the guards, I looked around and sighed. Overall it was a win, we had only lost two to their eight guards. Lucian's men went about gathering the weapons and usable armor while. I went over to the covered carts and tore the cage door from the back. The slaves screamed as they saw my bloodied appearance. Lucian joined me by the first cart and helped calm the prisoners. They stepped out one at a time and felt unbridled fury at what I saw. There were kids, some no older than 13 among the slaves. Some of them were clutched by their parents who looked at the bodies of the guards fearfully. 

The next cart made me even more furious, this cart was full of young women, many carrying babies in their arms. They were much more calm than the previous group but they still had the look of fear in their eyes. I went to take a breath off to the side as Lucian continued to comfort the now freed slaves. He offered them a spot in our camp. His men stashed the weapons on one of the dead guards' horses. They had captured a few of the steeds. The remaining four rode them back to camp guiding the freed prisoners along. Lucian and I remained behind to burn the carts and to take the rest of the remaining horses and whatever we had taken from the convoy. The ride back was silent, both Lucian and I welcoming the peace. I rode with Gamer's Mind fully activated. I didn't want to do anything rash like summoning a storm to tear down the fortress down to the last stone. 

[Scene Break]

While Blake was off with Lucian in their bid to free the human slaves from the convoy, Selene and Raze made their way to the villages near the Lycans camp. Raze went off to one and Selene went to its neighboring village. 

As Selene walked along the dirt path to the small village she couldn't help but to feel a strange familiarity to her current surroundings. It felt like a dream, a glimpse of something she had seen long ago now faded and in the furthest recesses of her subconscious. Had she still been a regular vampire she would have had a hard time recalling the memory, but she was no longer just a normal vampire. She was enhanced by the blood of Alexander Corvinus flowing through her veins. The memory flashed to the forefront of her mind. A smile, a laugh, her family. Her heart beat faster, it was logically impossible for her family to be here, to be alive. Then again, Blake had mentioned that this was an alternate version of their past. Something must have changed because as far as she could remember her family never lived this close to the fortress. 

Her feet unconsciously led her to a singular home, a bit outside the main village. She could hear them now, the laugh of her sister. Her father made a joke. Her mother sighing at their antics. Strangely she couldn't hear nor sense herself. There were only three people in the home. She was standing at the door before she knew it. Arm raised to knock. But she never did, her own fear stopped her. Her fear at what they would say. Would they know that she wasn't their Selene? 

The door swung open before she could run away, her sister stared at her in disbelief. Tears welling up at the corners of her eyes. 

"Selene?" 

"Cecilia I-" 

She was pulled inside and into the arms of her older sister before she could say anything else. Her own cheeks damp from the tears that betrayed her true emotions. Her mother and father stood behind her sister. Their faces in various states of shock. Her mother had tears running down her face while her father looked at her as if she would disappear at any moment. Her sister finally released her and her head snapped to the side as Cecilia slapped her hard. Her mother exclaimed loudly, reprimanding her sister. 

"My darling daughter, you've come home." Her father pulled her into a hug. 

She returned the embrace, now openly crying, her mother joined in with a sob. Selene lost track of how long they held each other for. Eventually they broke away and her mother pulled her along to the table. Her father stepped out of the house while her sister and her mother began to explain their side of things. 

In this world she had been as adventurous as her own, only she had gotten the freedom to come and go as she pleased from the house. Unlike her own where she was made to stay indoors by her father. Apparently the Selene of this world had gone to explore the woods towards the South East. Only a stone's throw away from the Lycans current makeshift camp. She had apparently never come back and after a year the family had lost hope of her ever coming back. They held a memorial service and everyone moved on. Her family never did though, they would remain hopeful that one day she would come back. 

Selene felt like a fraud, a fake, an actor pretending to be her own family's lost daughter. She didn't deserve their tears, she was from another world. The door to the house opened again and her father walked in followed by someone who had only been a memory to her since the day Viktor turned her. 

"Marton?"