Name: Enrico Solcren Ferreira
Magic: Fire — Circle 1 — 9%
Mana Quantity: 134
Unique Ability: Elemental Clone
Soul: 60
Enrico calmly observed his stats while the gentle rocking of the carriage lulled him. Since reaching the First Circle, he had advanced only 9%. It was slow, almost insignificant progress, but it still represented some advancement.
'At least I can feel that my potential improved after the Fire Cancer pact.'
The hours passed until, finally, the carriage began to slow down. When he got out, the wind of the new city greeted him. Enrico stretched his arms, took a deep breath, and resumed his mental conversation with the system.
'And what about that pact you and the Constellations were going to offer?'
[Wait a little longer.]
'Hm... And the reward?'
[It will be an item. A magic enhancement core. +15 permanently.]
'...At least this time there isn't a disadvantage.'
Enrico sighed but accepted it. He knew that every gain, no matter how small, could make the difference between living and dying. His thoughts soon returned to his next objective: the first artifact, the "Red Night Bat."
In the original story, the protagonists would face the vampires, and it would be during that arc that the true objective of that race would be revealed: recovering the body of the first vampire. Later, it would also be explained that they were searching for three artifacts connected to their ancestor.
'They are undoubtedly artifacts that are good for me.'
As for the fourth, it had been Enrico's own idea, created after he realized, while reading the story, that he could use it to further enhance his blood.
[In the original story, someone must have used those three artifacts for something, right?]
'Yes. The three artifacts were used by a minor villain, who managed to improve his own blood and made a deal with the vampires so that they would attack an enemy city. It was precisely a city that Kai protected.'
Enrico entered the city belonging to the Solcren family and heard the whispers of the people around him. They talked normally, but none of them seemed to recognize him.
It made sense. His body had changed considerably. He was thinner, his posture was different, and his presence no longer resembled that of the old Enrico. The only characteristics that still connected him to the "old Enrico" were his eyes and golden hair.
He took advantage of his anonymity and discreetly left through another street, with a slight smile on his face.
"Great... this is better."
Without wasting time, he set off in search of the first artifact. He passed by a few stores, bought a dagger, and left the city. As soon as he passed through the gates, he began running to use the journey as training.
[Already started? I think that's a new record. You managed to go that long without training.]
'Because of this carelessness, I may have fallen even further from the "Limit Break" state. So I need to train harder to make up for the lost time.'
Enrico let out a small, excited smile and quickened his pace. He needed to become stronger. It was the only thing that truly mattered.
After walking and running for hours, Enrico finally stopped to rest on a rock in the middle of an isolated cliff. Below him was a hidden crevice between the rocks, practically invisible to inattentive eyes and camouflaged by the terrain itself. There were no maps that marked it, nor legends that mentioned its existence.
Enrico carefully descended and stopped before a narrow hole that led to a cave hidden deep within the earth.
The entrance was dark, stifling, and surrounded by dense energy. Even from several meters away, he could feel a strange pressure weighing on his body.
'This place... seems to reject any light... except at the entrance.'
Enrico murmured as a small flame appeared at the tip of his fingers.
[You found: Nartheis Dungeon — Threat Level: Zara 2.]
[Hostile presence detected.]
[Enemy: Nartheis Bat — Guardian of the Red Night.]
The sound of wings echoed through the darkness. The air seemed to vibrate with the creature's movement, and shadows began to stir from the corners of the cave. Then, an enormous bat appeared before Enrico.
The creature had leather wings stained with blood, eyes resembling burning rubies, and a body that seemed to be made of living shadows. Its fangs lightly clinked as it moved through the cold air of the cave.
Nartheis Bat — Zara Level 2.
"Perfect for a test."
Enrico smiled and extended his arm, drawing the fire bow he had been developing. The weapon was still imperfect, formed only from flames, and the fiery energy pulsed unstably between his fingers. He took a deep breath, planted his feet firmly on the ground, and stared at the creature.
'Let's train.'
The bat shot forward like a living arrow. Enrico rolled to the side at the last instant, concentrating mana in his fingers while shaping a still-rudimentary fire arrow.
"First shot!"
The arrow struck the creature's chest and exploded, burning part of its wing. The bat let out a shriek and immediately dove toward Enrico, extending its claws. He raised his arm to defend himself, but he failed to concentrate mana in time. The impact hurled him against the cave wall.
"Damn... I couldn't put mana into my defense in time. Come to think of it, this is the first time I've fought a Zara Level Two. The only one I fought was Rirus, but he evolved into Faizes before I could do anything."
Blood trickled from the corner of Enrico's mouth, but his eyes remained sharp. He slowly stood up and stretched his arms.
"System! Activate the core!"
[Using item: Magic Enhancement Core — +15 base Mana permanently added.]
A flash enveloped Enrico's chest.
'Now that's more like it... Let's see what difference this makes.'
He drew another arrow. This time, the flames were denser and more stable. The amount of mana available had increased, and Enrico could clearly feel the difference.
The bat descended in a spiral.
Enrico pulled the bowstring and carefully took aim. That arrow contained much more mana than the previous ones.
'Let's see what you can do now.'
The fire arrow shot forward at high speed and pierced the creature's skull, striking the core directly. The bat let out one final shriek before losing its strength and falling onto the stone floor, its body engulfed in its own flames.
The system appeared before Enrico's eyes, finally looking like a real system.
[Enemy defeated.]
[You received: Red Night Bat Fragment — 1/7.]
[You are qualified to initiate the Pure Blood Route.]
The bow's flame slowly went out as Enrico approached and picked up the first fragment of the artifact.
[So you'll need the other six?]
"Yes. I'll have to go deeper."
Enrico continued advancing through the cave. Shortly afterward, he noticed blood running down one of the walls. He followed the trail until he reached a wider area, where he found the body of another bat.
But something was different.
Above him, an even larger creature was watching Enrico.
The system immediately identified its presence.
[If you defeat this one, it'll be through sheer luck.]
Enrico smiled upon hearing that.
"Then I'd better be lucky."
He immediately advanced, already with a strategy in mind.
[There he goes...]