Zach crawled out from under the fallen tree, squinting as sunlight hit his face. But in the next moment, his brows furrowed in confusion.
"Why does the sun feel weird?"
He couldn't explain it, but the sunlight felt extremely irritating—far more than it should normally feel. It wasn't painful, but it was uncomfortable.
"Wait… don't tell me I've become a vampire or something…"
His brows drew into a deep crease as his expression darkened.
A bloodline that gave him affinity with blood and allowed him to absorb blood from fallen enemies to gain permanent stat boosts? That sounded just like something out of a vampire story.
"Hold on…" His eyes suddenly lit up. "Will I have to grow fangs and bite into people to drain their blood?"
His body stiffened at the thought. His blood ran cold. He was still human—or at least, he still believed he was. Just a short while ago, he had been an ordinary guy living a normal life on Earth. Then, without warning, he was pulled into this strange world and thrown into chaos. Now, after only a few hours, he might be turning into some blood-drinking monster? The idea made him shudder, and a deep sense of repulsion rose in his chest.
No… that couldn't be it. His bloodline skill, Sanguine Drain, only said he could drain blood from enemies to gain stats—it never said he had to suck the blood with his mouth. Besides, his teeth felt normal. His canines weren't growing into fangs or anything strange.
Also, from what he knew about vampires in movies, they usually got things like super strength, heightened senses, fast healing and regeneration—but not the power to control blood itself. Vampires were linked to blood because they drank it, not because they had any natural control over it. So maybe he wasn't a vampire after all.
And if he truly was a vampire, the sunlight would have done more than just irritate him. He'd have burst into flames or turned to ash already. But all he felt was this strange itching on his skin and a slight drop in his strength. It wasn't much, but it was noticeable.
But then again, if he wasn't a vampire, then what was he? What had he become? Why does the sun irritate him?
Zach frowned, thinking hard.
Then, his eyes widened as a memory suddenly surfaced.
He remembered something from Ashes of Valeria, there was a subtle rumor that was mentioned in the story—not a major plot point, but something he remembered clearly now. It was said that the sun in this world wasn't just a sun—it was a god, or a part of a god, or at least connected to some powerful divine being.
Now that he thought about it, the church in this world was called The Church of the Blazing Sun. They worshipped the sun as a god and, in return, received divine blessings and powers.
It was starting to make sense.
His bloodline was labeled Cursed Bloodline in his system interface. Could it be that the sun, as a divine entity, was rejecting his cursed nature? Was that why he felt this strange discomfort under the sunlight?
He couldn't help but worry, but he also knew that no answers were coming anytime soon. For now, he pushed the thoughts aside and focused on what was ahead. The irritation from the sun was minor compared to the dangers waiting for him in this world. He needed to get stronger—fast.
"But first, I need to test my limits," he muttered, brushing a strand of hair out of his face.
He clenched his fist, feeling the strength coursing through his arm. Compared to the weak, skinny hand he had before awakening his bloodline, he had clearly changed. There was more muscle now, and his skin looked healthier—less dry, more alive.
Still, that wasn't what mattered most at the moment.
He took a deep breath, then willed his bloodline skill to activate.
"Blood Forge."
Immediately, a long slit opened in Zach's palm—not like a normal cut from a blade, but a reaction from his blood condensing and pulling itself out. Just as it seemed like the blood was about to spill out, it suddenly turned into a red mist.
All of it happened so fast that, in the blink of an eye after the slit appeared a swirl of red mist hovered around Zach's hand.
Zach frowned. "Looks like in the future, I'll need to use ambient blood instead of mine. Using my own takes too much out of me."
He glanced back at his palm. He had already willed the blood to stop flowing, so the cut had closed up. Now, only the red mist remained, swirling slowly, waiting for his command.
Zach couldn't help but smile. "How dramatic."
The method of pulling blood seemed a bit dramatic. He felt he could will the blood to exit through his pores or any other part of his body without a slit in his flesh. But since he wasn't willing to use more of his blood for now, he held back from making such attempts and instead focused all his attention on his palm, where the red mist of his blood swirled, waiting to be molded.
Without wasting time, he willed the blood to respond. Instantly, the red mist began to compress, going straight from gas to solid. In a second, it had formed into a curved dagger, which dropped into his hand.
Zach looked at the curved blade in confusion.
"It's so light…" he muttered, surprised by how weightless it felt.
He tightened his grip on the hilt, feeling its solidness. It was as firm as steel, and the blade's edge looked sharp enough to cut through many things. But despite all that, it had no weight at all. In fact, if he wasn't holding and seeing it, he might have believed there was nothing there.
"Is it because it's small? What if I make something bigger—will it still be weightless?" he asked himself, frowning.
He didn't want to use more of his blood, but this was something he had to test. So, ignoring his hesitation, he willed for more blood, this time letting it flow directly through his pores. At once, thick red mist hissed out of his skin, swirling through the air toward his hand. The dagger dissolved back into mist, and all of it gathered and reshaped itself into a long broadsword.
Zach stared at the new weapon, brows tightly furrowed.
"Still weightless," he muttered.
It felt like he was holding nothing, yet in his hand was a solid, sharp broadsword about 40 inches long. Strong and deadly—but still without weight.
"Wait... does that mean anything I make using Blood Forge will be weightless too?" he wondered aloud.
The thought filled him with excitement. The idea of forging weapons—or even armor—that carried no weight was incredibly convenient. Not only that, but since he could control the blood that created it, anything made through Blood Forge would be an extension of his will. That alone made it better than any normal weapon or gear.
A weightless blade meant zero burden, allowing faster movement and quicker strikes in battle. That gave him a serious edge.
"Ah, crap…" Zach muttered as a wave of weakness hit him.
The side effect of using so much blood was finally catching up. He had used over three pints to create the sword. While he assumed he had more blood than before, thanks to his bloodline, losing that much at once still made him feel lightheaded. A clear reminder that he couldn't rely on using his own blood all the time. He needed a better method—something to carry extra blood into battle without harming himself.
Just then, an idea hit him.
What if he could condense blood into small, solid balls and carry those around with him? Then, when needed, he could activate and shape them however he wanted.
He had to try it out.
Wiping sweat from his forehead, Zach focused. The sword dissolved back into red mist as he concentrated on it again.
"Condense," he whispered.