Chapter 20: Hungry
Damon planned to make a beeline to the city, but he ended up coming across two wolf packs on his way, which he simply couldn't ignore. He used the chance to kill more wolves and finally maxed out the first skill he extracted.
Each wolf pack had about twenty wolves, and normally, this would be a death sentence to a newbie under level 20.
But Damon had been fighting wild beasts like these for three years, and thanks to his body's healing ability, all he had to do was fight and drink, fight and drink, rinse and repeat. He flung out drained corpses left and right as he slashed back at the wolves charging at him.
Voila, the entire pack was dead within minutes.
[Ding! Your skill Minor Agility Boost has upgraded.]
[Ding! Minor Agility Boost (Max): Increases your agility by 10.]
[Ding! You have slain Dire Wolf Lv.8]
[Ding! You have gained experience points.]
[Ding! You have leveled up.]
[Ding! Lv11 -> Lv12]
[Ding! You have gained a stat point.]
Damon dumped the new stat point into intelligence as he felt that was the crucial stat for the vampire class. He had also gained 4 additional agility stat points while extracting from the other wolves, which brought up his total agility to a nice little sum of 26. It wasn't too impressive, but it was a good start.
"Damn it. I am so close to the city, but it's already server shut down time." At least in the beginning, Earth Online was only open during the evening hours and the night time. The company announced that it was because they did not want the game to disrupt everyone's normal lives. They also mentioned they needed time for the upkeep and maintenance of the game.
It sucked but there was nothing Damon could do about it. He had to log out. There was no two ways about it. Only after 2 years, the game would be released for the
full 24/7 cycle. For now, everyone was at the mercy of the devs' "healthy lifestyle enforcement" policy. Damon didn't mind it too much—it just meant he had to be efficient with his time online.
He sighed as the soft chime echoed in his ears and the logout countdown began.
[System Notice: You will be logged out in 60 seconds.]
The light around him dimmed slightly as if the world itself was preparing for sleep. Damon sat on a nearby rock, overlooking the trail that led to the city's outer gate—just a few hundred meters away.
"Next time," he muttered, cracking his knuckles. Tomorrow, he will be ready for the first world boss and also his first evolution. He also had a feeling that his first evolution should somewhat solve his bloodline instability issue. He had an idea but all he could do now was wait and see.
[System Notice: Logging out in 10... 9... 8...]
As the world faded around him, Damon leaned back slightly and let his mind settle. The next second he was back in the real world again, and he could feel himself lying on the bed with the helmet on his head.
The sterile hum of the neural link disengaging echoed softly in his ears as Damon pulled off the helmet and blinked at the ceiling of his apartment.
He sat up slowly, running a hand through his damp hair. Even after all this time he couldn't help but marvel at the technology, though he should admit today felt a little different. Normally, he felt very relaxed after a whole night of gaming but now he was feeling pretty tired.
He rose to his feet and stretched, his body groaning in protest. He glanced over at the clock, 6:02 AM. Sunrise was bleeding through the thin curtains, painting the room in soft orange and pale blue. A new day. In ten hours, he'd be back inside the game, back to hunting, grinding, and racing against the countdown on his unstable bloodline.
Until then... he pushed his gaming helmet aside and collapsed back onto the bed to take some rest. He barely closed his eyes when he realized something and snapped them wide open. That's right. Today was the day.
The day he would be seeing him again.
Damon sat up slowly. Guilt and shame surged through him in waves, bitter and unrelenting. Mark. His best friend. His brother in everything but blood. The guy who'd been by his side since they were kids sneaking out to play arcade games, the guy who never hesitated to throw a punch in Damon's defense, even when the odds weren't in his favor.
But all of that changed after Earth Online. Mark's condition was different. He needed money and he worked even in the nights. He couldn't play Earth Online like many others. Then as time passed and the more Damon got into the game, the more the two of them grew apart.
It happened fast—tournaments, sponsorships, streams, and endless praise. It was intoxicating. And somewhere in that blur of numbers and achievements and glowing screens, Mark had stopped being part of his daily routine. First it was ignored messages. Then missed meetups. Eventually, silence.
He told himself he was just busy. That Mark would understand. That they'd reconnect later. But later never came. Not until everything crumbled.
The fall from grace was public and brutal. Rumors, betrayal, forums ablaze with hate, fans turning on him in a heartbeat. He went from being the Blood God to the joke of the community.
And yet, when no one else stood up for him—when even his closest allies disappeared without a word—Mark showed up at his door with nothing but a six-pack and a worn-out hoodie, offering a crooked smile and the words: "So... ready to stop being an asshole yet?"
There were so many so-called friends in his life during all of his high points but Mark was the only one who truly stood by him even at his lowest.
Damon clenched his fists now, nails biting into his palms. This time, he wouldn't make the same mistake.
Despite the tiredness he walked over to the phone and saw a familiar message.
"I will be there in an hour."
Damon smiled. This time he will not let his friend work to the bone just to earn a few hundred dollards. It was his turn to be there for him. Wondering what could be the best class for Mark, he fiddled with his phone to order some take out.
His stomach grumbled loudly and he suddenly felt very hungry on top of being utterly exhausted. What the fuck? He ended up even paying the extra fees for fast delivery. However, the situation was only becoming worse.
All of a sudden he felt... dizzy.
Damon gripped the edge of the desk to steady himself, but the room tilted slightly, like the floor had shifted beneath his feet. He was so damn fucking hungry that he was about to go crazy. He pushed himself and somehow made it to the fridge.
There were only raw eggs and milk and some questionable berries. He drank the milk first—straight from the carton, the cool liquid sliding down his throat in desperate gulps. It wasn't enough.
Not even close.
Damon could feel the hunger clawing deeper now, coiling in his gut like a writhing snake, gnawing at him from the inside out.
His fingers shook as he reached for the eggs, cracking them raw into a glass and downing them one after the other like shots of life. But still, it barely registered. He could feel the warmth of the food in his stomach, but it was like pouring water into a bottomless pit.
His hands trembled harder, and a sharp pain pierced his chest. Damon staggered back, hitting the fridge door as he slid to the floor. His vision blurred at the edges, tinged faintly in red. He could feel his heartbeat pounding, not just in his chest but in his throat, in his ears... in his fangs.
Fangs?
He touched his mouth.
They were there—subtle, but unmistakably