Inventory

Chapter 33: Inventory

BANG! BANG! BANG!

In just less than thirty seconds, the quiet and soulless road turned into a ring for the royal vampire and werewolf.

Both of them fought here as though their lives depended on it. They were too fast, strong, and decisive, seemingly not caring about the environment or people around them.

When their weapons clashed, the crimson sword and black claws, the bandits caught a glimpse of their forms; they shrieked and fell unconscious, just from fear alone. And then, the two powerful existences bounced off.

Bryce landed on a tree, the strength behind his flight was so strong that the tree cracked, then, as he pounced back at Wolfgang, the tree no longer stood straight.

Wolfgang was similar. He dropped onto a high tree's bark with his claws digging in, he clung so firmly to the tree that it cried and splintered, and when he kicked it away, the tree fell even faster than Bryce's — a small victory in his mind.

Amidst their fervent and shrouded in madness battle, Gengo closely struck Bryce's chest, whining. He couldn't even peek to look at Wolfgang, but from the angle he had hidden, Gengo saw Bryce's expression, and it was a face of utmost thrill and joy.

The man he had met was on the same level, perhaps even with the same potential, Gengo thought.

And though it had been just a few minutes, the way Bryce's heart beat, Gengo knew that those boorish days of adventuring and fighting against weaker monsters had paid off, all because Bryce clashed with Wolfgang.

"Are you still here, or have your instincts to kill a vampire taken over you already?" Bryce taunted in another stalemate as his sword trembled against Wolfgang's dark claws.

His hand hurt every time Sword of Dracula hit those black weapons, for they were tough and powerful. Naturally, Bryce knew that his weapon did the same to Wolfgang, mainly because they kept increasing the pace of their battle after every exchange.

Their faces were close enough, and in quite a good mood, Wolfgang sneered, "I will never allow anyone to control me, even myself! Where are your wings, though? Your humanity's side took over them?"

"Unfortunately, the vampire bloodline hasn't blessed me with them yet. I'd love to have them, just to travel faster than usual, roads be damned, right?" Bryce replied, enjoying every second of their battle.

He wouldn't mind if Wolfgang lost himself in the innate hatred toward vampires stemming from his werewolf bloodline. However, it seemed like royalty had much more control over it, or perhaps Wolfgang's personality never allowed him to succumb to it.

But there was nothing wrong with embracing that feeling and using it as fuel. Bryce believed it'd bring him closer to vampires and get more information about them. Moreover, it wasn't a bad feeling as it was like an engine, which sharpened his instincts, yearned for a werewolf's bloodline and allowed him to see through claws' speed.

And he just learned that vampires possessed wings! Pretty cool, Bryce thought.

Their clash continued until both of them became satisfied.

And it all started because Bryce wanted to give directions and being of help.

Those genuine altruistic people really have it hard, Bryce thought.

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Having sustained no wounds in his clash with Wolfgang, Bryce lifted his right hand and bent his fingers. All five of them felt heavier, slower, and hard to move. It was as though something heavy kept pressing on his hand. Yes, Bryce didn't go all out against Wolfgang, but it was clear now that the real battle would be pretty intense.

Wolfgang also hovered his eyes on his hands, the same effects wrapped around them. He no longer had claws, but his black nails had much fewer layers, and some even exposed a little of bare flesh. It surely prickled him.

Still, it was just a little pain as Wolfgang's heart beat with excitement, too.

'The newest generations don't find vampires as mortal enemies that must be killed, even though hatred toward them still flows in our blood. When we see each other, we won't lose ourselves in it, but once we clash, no side will stop until the other is gone.' Wolfgang thought inwardly, taking a good peek at Bryce.

It was easy to lose oneself in a battle lust against a vampire as a werewolf and vice versa. They went against each other, caused a ruckus in the vicinity, and pushed some of their limits. It was questionable who would have won had the blood spilled, but Wolfgang ignored that thought as he and Bryce didn't manage to do it.

He realized that Bryce wasn't just a half-breed vampire but someone of equal status to him.

"Wanna eat together? I need to regenerate, and you can take a look at my map while eating," Wolfgang asked with a new and well-deserved respect for Bryce.

Wanting to learn more about vampires and werewolves, Bryce naturally accepted the offer. He also took Gengo out of his clothes, whose appearance didn't shock Wolfgang. He had smelled that someone was in Bryce's clothes, but he didn't expect it to be a normal dog.

Though once Gengo came out and turned into a dog of his size, Wolfgang sensed a holiness within him.

And as Bryce carefully scrutinized the werewolf's face, he saw that some thoughts appeared in Wolfgang's eyes, but he hadn't voiced them and didn't really show any ill-intent to Gengo.

"His name is Gengo."

Gengo barked. Hi, he said.

"Hi." Wolfgang used the same word.

As some connection, probably because of similar races, conjured between Wolfgang and Gengo, the former casually took a map out of thin air. That confused Bryce as it was surely a player's inventory, wasn't it?

He couldn't help but ask, "You have the inventory from the system?"

"Yeah, my race managed to summon a hero once. They kept him content with girls of the royal lineage, so from now on, we have a player bloodline, and if we are lucky, we can get some of the system's features. I have one: the inventory." Wolfgang grinned, clearly liking how convenient that power was.

He explained a lot of stuff, too, for he thought of Bryce as someone banished far away from the Crimson Kingdom, left alone in low-level zones for years, and someone who had just decided to take his life into his hands. So he became very talkative, as though he wanted Bryce to progress correctly.

"Werewolves hail from Beasts Kingdoms. We can either summon a hero or villain."

"Oh."