"So you're saying those who are not vampires themselves can use the unawakened, still with powers?" Matthew asked.
"I don't know. But I think that might be the case, especially after seeing how easily the master was killed by the awakened monster," Antony added, playing clueless even though he knew exactly what he was doing.
THE NEW QUEST HAS STARTED!
VEIL OF BLOOD: THE AWAKENING DIVIDE!
"So I chose the right path!" Antony mumbled.
MATTHEW BRAMBLE'S STORY QUEST HAS COMPLETED!
THE REWARD WILL BE GIVEN!
FATES WILL BE GIVEN TO CHOOSE THE FURTHER WEAPON OF WANTS.
DO YOU WANT TO UNLOCK THE FATE OF WEAPON BY ROLLING THE TEN FATES YOU HAVE BEEN GRANTED?
"'YES' OR 'NO'?" the system asked.
"Yes!" Antony chose, and the cards suddenly started appearing on the screen.
TEN FATE CARDS HAVE BEEN DISPLAYED ON THE SCREEN! OPEN THEM FOR US!
Antony thought for a moment and flipped the cards on the screen.
"Is this some junk I got?" Antony said, making a grumpy face.
YOU STILL DIDN'T MEET THE CRITERIA FOR GETTING AN S-LEVEL WEAPON! TRY HARDER!
"Now even the system is making fun of me. How ridiculous!" Antony mumbled.
"The more you hate me, the more you will get this nasty trash in the rolls!" the little creature above him said, laughing out loud.
"What happened? You're making such a grumpy face!" Matthew asked.
"Growl!" Kael agreed.
"Nothing! A bug keeps buzzing around my head. We should go now. We need to find the truth!" Antony said.
"Hey! I'm not a bug! Talk to me with respect! I'm the one who recruited you," the little creature said angrily.
"Yes, now the bug is mumbling, making those buzzing sounds. Let's go!" Antony said, making the little creature even more annoyed.
"But where are we going?" Liah asked, causing Antony to look angrily at her. For a moment, she flinched and took a step back.
"I think Matthew knows that well," Antony said with a smile.
"Yes, I know, but I don't know where to start. Where should we start? If I think of starting with the town I used to live in, it's useless because the higher-up has already died there. But they still pray to that god," Matthew added.
"God? What kind of god?" Antony asked.
"Noctyros, The Twilight Deceiver," Matthew said.
"Noctyros! I know the name. I think I heard it from the master," Antony added.
"What did you hear?" Matthew asked.
"I heard that they need to sacrifice kids to Noctyros. They didn't specify much, but they said that doing so would make the god happy and grant permission for the darkness to serve him," Antony said.
"I only heard that much, but Noctyros is more than he seems," Antony mumbled.
CHARACTER INTRODUCTION!
NOCTYROS, THE TWILIGHT DECEIVER
LORE WISE:
- DOMAINS: DARKNESS, TRANSFORMATION, TRICKERY, IMMORTALITY.
- SYMBOLS: A CRESCENT MOON WITH A SERPENT COILED AROUND IT, EYES THAT SHIFT BETWEEN RED AND GOLD.
- WORSHIPERS: VAMPIRES, DARK ALCHEMISTS, WARLOCKS, AND CULTISTS WHO SEEK FORBIDDEN POWER OR TRANSFORMATION.
- MYTH: IT IS SAID THAT NOCTYROS WHISPERS TO THOSE WHO ARE DESPERATE OR POWER-HUNGRY, OFFERING THEM A CHANCE TO TRANSCEND MORTALITY BY DRINKING FROM HIS CHALICE OF SHADOWS. HOWEVER, THE TRANSFORMATION IS NEVER GUARANTEED TO BE WHAT ONE DESIRES; THE DECEITFUL GOD REVELS IN TWISTING THE FATES OF THOSE WHO SEEK HIS FAVOR.
"So he's really not a god, either way I think of it. He's really manipulating!" Antony mumbled.
"I think we really need to visit your town to find out what the motive of the god Noctyros is!" Antony added.
"I thought the same. But will you be able to handle it if you encounter a monster along the way?" Matthew asked.
"I mean, you are only at level 15! You still need a proper sword to face the monsters. And your health is not much. I can sense your aura is too weak to face even an E-level monster," he added.
"I will deal with that," Liah said, stepping forward.
"You will? Didn't you say you weren't going to heal him?" Matthew asked coldly.
"I take back what I said. I'm now going to stick to my word. So let's stick to that," Liah replied.
"Okay! Let's move forward to the town, Bloodhaven!" Matthew said.
"Growl!" Kael responded with a growl.
THE NAVIGATION SYSTEM HAS STARTED TO LEAD TOWARD THE TOWN OF BLOODHAVEN!
"Nice!" Antony said, then quickly looked beside him where Liah was walking.
"Hey, do you have something to say to me?" Antony asked coldly.
"Ah, no! What do I need to say to you?" Liah stuttered.
"Who knows? When you've already had a change of heart toward something you hated before," Antony said.
"I said that was a mistake, but not anymore. I'm going to stick to the commitment I made, and I will heal you as much as you need," Liah replied.
"And how do you think the trade is still intact?" Antony asked.
"What do you mean?" Liah said.
"Nothing!" Antony said as he looked at the system in front of him.
"Ha! She thinks that the trade is still intact when I already have the scale in my hand the moment the trade was broken," Antony thought, smiling at Liah.
"Now you will give me healing without any issue. I'm just waiting to tame you, Liah Camillo!" Antony smirked, looking at her again.
After a long journey, Matthew stopped at the end of the mountain and said, "We have arrived!"
"The town, Bloodhaven!" he said.
"So this is the town he was talking about!" Antony mumbled.
"Yes, and the statue you see ahead is the statue of the god people pray to—God Noctyros," Matthew said, pointing his finger toward the statue.
"The statue of Noctyros stands at a towering 15 feet tall, carved from obsidian and shadowstone, which gives it a dark, glossy surface that seems to absorb light rather than reflect it. The craftsmanship is intricate, with every detail conveying both the allure and the terror of the god," Antony mumbled.