Plains

The next few minutes were a haze for Lokus.

He could feel some parts of his body undergoing a fundamental shift, as if the very foundations of his physical form were changing, but he was too blinded by his torment to pay any attention to it.

When it was all over, he collapsed onto his stomach and took deep gulps of air as his eyes wandered around aimlessly.

[The Demonic Grass has stimulated your blood, awakening your demon bloodlines!]

The screen caught Lokus' attention.

"Demon bloodlines?" he croaked weakly.

[Would you like to see your status?]

"Uhm, sure."

[Stats

Rank: Prince

...

Mantles

>Disturbed Crown. Rank: Prince. Type: Krone. Abilities: Gives the user the Phantom Monarch System. Affinities: Frost Affinity.

...

Affinities

>Frost. Rank: Prince

...

Condition: Healthy

Bloodlines: Foust (demon), Grimn (demon).

...

Majesty: Prince

Endurance: Prince (Lesser)

Strength: Prince (Minor)

Perception: Mortal]

Lokus rubbed his forehead as he stared at the screen. That was a lot of information just dumped onto him, and he didn't even know what half of it meant.

'More importantly, my condition is healthy? Is it just ignoring-.'

Lokus looked down at his stomach as he thought, his thoughts halting in their tracks.

'What happened?'

He poked the pink skin of his stomach with an amazed expression. It had completely healed, and although it was hard to tell, he was certain his organs had regenerated as well.

Examining his arms, knees, and everywhere else, he found that the story was the same for his whole body. There wasn't a single scratch on him. He was covered in his own dried blood, along with what looked like some dried, inky substance, but there was nothing there in terms of injuries.

"Is this because of the demon bloodline it mentioned?" he wondered aloud.

He waited for a few seconds, expecting the system to answer him, but could only huff when it didn't.

'Looks like it isn't going to be as helpful as I thought.'

Shaking his head, he got to his feet and peered into the dark forest around him.

'Which way do I go? Eh, screw it.'

He picked a direction at random and started walking.

Less than two steps in, a roar shook the surroundings, and Lokus froze.

Without a word, he pivoted on his heel and walked in the opposite direction of the noise. The roar sounded again, closer this time, and his walk transitioned to a light jog.

He jogged for several kilometers without tiring, which he assumed was a product of his Endurance. He hadn't seen the stat before, but he was sure that before he awakened his Mantle, it was at the Mortal rank just as his Perception was now.

It was only when he left the forest and exited out into a wide plain that he slowed, breathing as lightly as he normally did. He had to squint under the unadulterated sunlight streaming down from above. 

Even though it was beginning to set, it was still several times brighter than it had been in the forest, now that the trees weren't there to obstruct it.

Lokus scanned the horizon for signs of civilization, or anything really, but could only sigh when he didn't spot anything. 'Guess I should keep walking.'

...…

Lokus stopped at the top of a hill, miles away from the forest he had arrived in this place at, and squinted.

There, a few hundred meters ahead, a fire burned, spewing a thin trail of smoke into the air. Hunched in front of it was a black smudge that was only noticeable in the dark of night due to the aforementioned fire.

An enticing scent drifted over to him on the wind, the smell of cooked meat and spices.

With an eager feeling in his chest, he hurried down the hill and made his way across the plains towards those trees.

Twenty meters away from the fire, he came to a halt. From here, he could see that the smudge was a person in a cloak sitting on a rock, tending the fire and flipping meat using the pointed end of a fire poker that curiously lacked a handle.

'What am I doing? I don't know this person.' For all he knew, this person was as dangerous as the demon, or worse, more.

"I know you're there," a woman's voice called from the direction of the cloaked person, causing Lokus to tense. "Come."

Lokus hesitated, but not seeing another choice, he strode forward into the light.

The cloaked woman shifted, looking up at Lokus under her hood and revealing glistening, ruby-red eyes and a brief glimpse of white hair. But despite the color of her hair, her face was quite youthful, likely only a year or so older than Lokus.

Every other part of her was wrapped in black clothes, from her gloved hands to her booted feet. She was on the attractive side, but not the type of woman one would wage a war for.

She glanced at his hair with those red eyes of hers before sniffing lightly, a hint of caution in her gaze.

Lokus blinked in confusion. 

On the journey here, he had discovered that at some point, his hair had turned white. Judging by the matching color of this woman's hair, it must have meant something he was unaware of. Maybe it was a sign of this so-called bloodline of his?

"Why have you approached me?" she asked. She glanced at the raggedy pants he wore, but didn't comment on his state of dress.

"I don't know where I am," Lokus told her honestly. "I was hoping you could give me some directions. And maybe, uh…"

His stomach growled, and he swallowed as he eyed the meat cooking on the fire.

Using the metal fire poker in her hand, she tossed him a hunk of meat. 

He bit into it ravenously. It dawned on him only now that he hadn't eaten in several days, and his appetite was stoked by the tantalizing smell of the meat. As he ate, the woman began to speak.

"The closest city is around fifty kilometers that way," she hooked her thumb behind her and to the right, "but they won't let you in until dawn."

Lokus nodded, swallowing the last piece of meat. "Thanks. I'll be going then."