章 4: Awakening

"…"

Stunned, Zane stared at his System screen in silence. Unlike the usual blue hue that Zane was used to, this version of the hologram had a dark mahogany aesthetic, with bright silver as the secondary, contrasting highlights. It was a classic vampire color scheme, with roses as the background wallpaper and a blood drop icon to top it all off.

As the various messages went away, they were replaced by his normal 'status' screen, displaying his stats, his profile—all the normal fields were there. However, there was one major difference between the screen before Zane right now, and what he was used to seeing:

Some of the question marks were not there anymore.

They'd been revealed.

[Status]

[Zane Silverdale]

Race - Vampire | Sex - Male | Age - 25

Titles | [???, ???, Bearer of the Vampire Devouring Body]

Level 5 | [No Class] | EXP: 450/500

Specialization: Omnipotence

Physique: Vampire Devouring Body

[STR: 5] [DEF: 3] [AGI: 4] [INT: 4] [DEX: 3]

Skills: [Devour I] [Regeneration I] [Fire Manipulation I]

"… Ha."

His first two 'titles' were still unknown, but there was no doubt about it—his physique had finally awakened, and had bestowed upon him two innate skills—[Devour] and [Regeneration].

Chuckling to himself, Zane leaned back against the stone wall, and looked up at the ceiling. To think that all this time, he was a Vampire, and that this was the trigger event to activate his powers—to drink human blood. Who would've thought? Certainly not Zane.

What's more… the first thing he had planned to do after activating his powers was to go on a Hunt with Leo—as a true Hunter, not a porter. The two had talked about it numerous times, and dreamed about it in their minds. They would have a competition to see who could slay more Monsters, they would climb the Hunter ranks together—

"…"

—But now, all of that was but a fleeting dream.

How ironic it was. It was the death of Leo that allowed Zane to activate his powers—and with these newfound abilities, he'd have a chance of getting out of this Dungeon and making it back to the surface alive. He'd even gained some EXP from it, albeit reduced since the System apparently didn't like when Hunters killed each other and discouraged the act.

'… Well. I won't let it go to waste.'

His life was no longer his own. He now carried the weight of killing his friend with him, and needed to live for him. For Leo. In a sense, Zane believed that Leo was still alive—just through himself. And because of that, he needed to survive.

But to do all of that, he first needed to figure out what his abilities did. Narrowing his crimson eyes, no longer black like before, he pressed on the [Devour] skill listed on his status screen. Immediately, an info-box popped up, displaying the description of the skill and summarizing its purpose.

[Devour]

[Type: Active]

[Tier: Innate]

[Replicate another's powers by consuming them—flesh for monsters, blood for humans. Upon successful use, begin rapidly regenerating health and mana.]

Every physique/specialization had its own innate skill to start off. Pyrokinesis, for example, had the innate skill of Fire Manipulation. From there, Hunters could then obtain new skills as they level up based on what class they selected at Level 10.

As for Zane's innate skill, it was a simple description, but also a clear one. Zane instantly understood what he had to do to make use of his physique's abilities—find enemies, and eat them (or drink their blood, if they are human). It was a disgusting and vile act, but it didn't bother Zane. He'd already drank his own best friend's blood—what's a little more? There was just one thought, one directive inside his mind: survival. And to do that, he'd need to get stronger. A lot stronger. This was his method—and he'd embrace it.

Following the logic of this skill, he should already have obtained Leo's power, which was Pyrokinesis. And as it would appear from the skills listed in his status screen, that statement held true.

[Fire Manipulation I] — there it was.

Unfortunately, it seemed like the original owner's progress and mastery over the skill wouldn't carry over, and the Devour technique could only steal another's 'main' power. For instance, Zane knew for a fact that Leo had a few incredibly strong fire-related powers like [Blazing Body] and [Phoenix's Rebirth], but he didn't receive any of them. Speaking of, he was lucky that Hunters couldn't use their skills or powers after turning into hungry zombies—otherwise, Zane would be dead many times over by now.

Still, Fire Manipulation was Fire Manipulation. After being by Leo's side for so long, Zane had a good idea of how to use it—at least, on paper. He'd never actually done it so he would need some practice, but luckily for him, he was full of energy—in fact, he'd never felt better.

Using the same marble piece as before as his weapon, Zane narrowed his eyes and set out of the chamber, leaving Leo's lifeless body behind. He didn't bury it nor cremate it. It would serve as emergency food when the time came, if it came at all. Leo's will was already stored inside Zane's heart—this corpse was pretty much meaningless. He still did, however, make a mental note to himself to come back here if he ever managed to clear a path to the exit of this place, and cremate or bury his friend's body—that is, if he didn't use it for food already.

It was cruel and harsh, but Zane was in a Dungeon—a place of cruelty, death, and fear. He was completely lost, and had no idea how to reach the surface once more. Perhaps the old him would've simply sat in a corner and hid, waiting for the rescue team that would never come. Perhaps the old him was weak and just followed whatever orders others gave him. In fact, the old him would've never even considered using another's corpse as emergency food, much less his own best friend's.

But Zane wasn't the same man he once was—and he would never be again.