Kal found Frederick waiting for him in his sitting room. He sat within a large armchair positioned beside a crackling log fire.

“Morning Kal. Ready for your first day of getting experience?.”

“Yeah. Well, I hope my pitiful low level isn’t too far behind the other travellers.”

“Ha,” Frederick laughed, “you’ll get caught up. I’m sure of it. I doubt all of your kind could have pulled off that stunt in the alley.”

“No, they’d probably be smart enough to not go into a knife fight with fists.” They both chuckled and shared the pot of tea.

About five minutes later, a young woman walked in with a tray of toast for the pair.

“Kal, this is my daughter, Erica.”

“Lovely to meet you.” Kal smiled at her, grateful for the breakfast. He was ecstatic to meet Erica; she was stunning. Long dark hair curled down past her shoulders. She displayed a grace few could match as she deposited their food.

“Hello, Kal.” Her words were like audible flowers, pretty and colourful. “I’m happy to meet you too. I hear you’ve solved something that’s been troubling my father.”

It took a lot not to ogle Erica. He barely managed to keep his eyes from straying, not wanting to cause a scene in front of her father. That was one thing he’d missed being blind, but he didn’t want to shame himself by losing control after seeing his first pretty woman in years.

“Uh, yeah. We’re yet to see how useful I’ll be though.”

“Well, you’ve gotten further in a day than he did in months.” Erica flashed a grin at them as she left the room.

“Okay now onto business.” Frederick continued as they were left alone with their breakfast. “The city has a few entrances. The one on the northern outskirts is the lowest level and most suited to you at the moment. It might be a challenge at first, but you appear somewhat acquainted with combat. You should have a weapon; the city offered to provide basic ones to any of you travellers on arrival.”

“Yes, I have a cudgel. I’m confident enough using it.”

“That’s great, but I suggest you take this.” Frederick reached into a hidden pocket in his armchair and pulled out a dagger. It glinted in the firelight, as Kal took hold of the blade. He instantly inspected pulling at the information available.

Silver Dagger (high quality)

“What will I need a silver dagger to fight?”

“Ever heard of a Dhampir?”

Kal found the entrance to the dungeon without much hassle. He'd headed to the north, passing through the city gates. He stopped a moment to marvel the sight of farms and villages rolling off into the horizon. After allowing himself some eye-candy, a guard provided the information he needed. Kal took the first fork off the city's northern road.

Out of the ground grew a two-story-tall monument; built from rocks carved into the shape of intelligible runes and the figures of various monsters. Carved into the sides of the structure, Dragons, goblins, magnificent birds, and massive clawed beasts all peered down from their perches. A pair of torches lit the entrance, which Kal deemed unnecessary given the cloudless day sky. On either side, two guards stood vigilant. They nodded at Kal as he approached.

“Good morning, traveller. Welcome to Firsthaven's north dungeon. Do you require any information?” The guard to the left spoke with a cheery voice. His young features contrasted from his armed silhouette.

“What should I expect to face within the dungeon?”

“The first level has weakened feral Dhampir. These creatures are the abominable hybrids of vampires and humans. They thirst for blood so beware of their bites, but if you can handle yourself they’ll be an easy enough experience. Each floor has had a crystal which will act as a teleportation device. Once you find the crystal, activate it in safety to return here.”

“Thanks for the info.”

“Keep safe traveller.”

Kal wondered how soon they recognised him as an outsider. He doubted the real locals wouldn’t need to enquire into the nature of the dungeon. Kal passed through the threshold and down the stairs into the cold dungeon below.

At the base of the stairs, the dungeon opened up into a natural cavern. Below the uneven stone had been smoothed down into a rough pathway under the passing of countless others. Kal pulled out his baton and the silver dagger holding them at the ready as he followed the vague walkway. He heard a scampering of skin against stone from behind a jagged pillar of rock. Rounding the column, Kal tensed up at the thought of fighting half undead blood-sucking creatures.

Kal found a pale humanoid looking creature. Torn rags barely concealed marbled skin which glowed with an opal light. Its frail form twitched as it roused from dormancy. The beast whirled and hissed at Kal's approach.

Kal allowed the creature to advance on him; he angled around, assessing the creature's speed and power. It was relatively agile for its sick appearance, but Kal remained confident. He dodged away from a feral leap, watching it skitter across the rock as it found its balance once more. Before it could fully regain its footing, Kal struck with his baton. He threw his body weight behind the blow, causing a crater to form on the side of its skull.

10 damage dealt to Sick Dhampir

The blow while powerful wasn’t enough to down the creature, its HP enough to sustain it. The figure fell and gripped onto Kal’s leg as it scrambled for purchase.

2 damage taken.

Kal winced at the slight pain of the skeletal claw at his legs, cursing at allowing himself to take damage. He dismissed the damage notifications, mentally configuring them to not show during combat unless he willed them to do so. He didn’t want their distraction.

After taking a deep calming breath, Kal struck at the claw with a slash of the silver dagger. The metal cut through the creature's flesh and bone with a sizzle, forcing a scream out of it. He followed up with another blow to its head, crunching the skull underneath the shock of the metal baton.

Killed: Sick Dhampir. Experience gained: 55

He finished the fight in a slight pant, sweat beaded at his forehead. It wasn't every day a man came into close quarters with an undead creature. Or maybe it was in Alter Online. Taking a quick look at his character sheet, Kal noted he'd need to kill another 5 of the creatures the reach level two.

I guess I'll have to get used to fighting monsters.

The corpse of the creature began to crumble before Kal, turning into dust. The particles sank into the ground, returning to the dungeon. Left behind where the body had been was a small black stone. Kal picked it up and inspected it.

Dhampir Heart

Kal figured the creature didn't have much blood to pump around its body but was still surprised at how robust the heart was. He stowed the item away in his inventory.

It's probably worth a bit of money back at the city.

Kal didn't expect much given this was such a low-level dungeon, but he'd need funds before long. Frederick had been hospitable so far, but Kal couldn't expect the man to feed and give him a bed indefinitely. Besides, Kal's pride wouldn't allow that.

Kal heard the raspy breathing of another Dhampir from further in the dungeon. Wanting to put the game mechanics to test, he crouched low taking care to place his feet quietly and carefully. He felt the stealth skill kick in, providing a brisk quiet to his movements. With barely a thought, Kal somehow knew where to step to cause the least sound.

Perfect. Kal congratulated himself on finding his next target with its back turned. The Dhampir was shoulders deep into a barrel. The things arms thumped against the wood as it rooted around, hissing in annoyance as it seemed to find nothing useful.

Before the Dhampir finished its search through the barrel, Kal took the opportunity to land the first blow. He held the dagger, the blade faced downward from the bottom of his fist and plunged it into the left side of its upper back. The silver dagger had no trouble making its way through the creature and further, punching into the barrel.

“Argh.” The Dhampir choked out. It struggled to turn on its sudden attacker, tearing itself away from the barrel. The unwise action was enough to finish the remainder of the monsters hp.

Kal opened up his hidden combat log. Inspecting the damage as before him the Dhampir thudded to the ground.

35 Damage Dealt

Killed: Sick Dhampir Experience gained: 55

Kal focused on the damage numbers, revealing further information. He wanted confirmation for the high damage value.

Sneak attack 15 (x1.5 base)

Vital hit, heart 20(x2 base)

Satisfied with the one-hit kill, Kal dismissed the damage logs. He picked up a second Dhampir Heart and returned the silver dagger to his tight grip.

Though he didn't necessarily enjoy stealth-based combat, Kal couldn't deny the efficiency. He dispatched another three of the unwary creatures with a surprise attack to the heart. The endeavour netted him another 165 experience and three more of the blackened hearts. Kal inspected the other item dropped by his last kill.

Vial of Owl Blood.

Kal imagined the creature had kept it as a backup source of blood. It had a small snack stowed away within the vial, in case of human scarcity. Kal shrugged and added it to his inventory; perhaps the blood would be worth something too.

Just one more and I'll level up.

The next Dhampir Kal found was already facing the direction he'd came. The creature had been sniffing around an old cooking stove perched over an unlit fire pit. Kal couldn't imagine stopping for a cooked meal here. The monster let out a snarl as it looked up at the intrusion and pounced over the firepit towards Kal.

Realising he'd already lost the element of surprise, Kal decided he'd try something different. He raised his dagger hand and there the blade at the approaching Dhampir.

“Fuck,” Kal cursed, watching the blade fly past the creature. He couldn't even pretend it was a close shot as it passed almost a foot away.

“I guess it's back to bludgeoning XP out of you,” Kal laughed, no longer scared of the rag and bone creatures.

He dispatched the Dhampir with a combination of whacks of his baton. He dodged back from a vicious swipe, breaking the offending arm with a counterattack. Kal brought the creature low with a kick to its bony shin and lay into its head.

The moment Kal finished off the creature, a new notification filled his view.

Level 8

Congratulations

He grabbed the heart before heading off in the direction he'd launched his dagger.

In the next room, Kal found himself squaring up against two of the Dhampirs. Being outnumbered in a fight was never fun.

I need to leverage the fight so only one can come at me at a time.

In a real-life situation, Kal would try to avoid fights like this. If that failed, he'd identify the leader and apprehend them first. That was often a sure way to diffuse a situation.

Kal stood in a narrow archway. Two men could just about squeeze through, but these creatures didn't seem the courteous type. Kal tapped his silver dagger against the rock arch. A ring reverberated out from the metal, catching the attention of the two scavengers. Upon hearing the clang, both of their heads snapped up with a snarl. They ambled towards the sound, bumping into each other as they reached the choke point. When the foremost of the two made it into the arch, Kal sliced at its chest with the dagger. The Dhampir recoiled from the burning hit, pushing back against its trailing kin. The second monster, unhappy with being held back, dragged it's wounded companion aside. Kal allowed it to pass through the arch. He met the emerging Dhampir with a wide arc from the baton. The blow removed a dozen crooked teeth from its skull.

“Board!” The creature cursed, infuriated by the blow. It pushed against the wall in an attempt to hurl itself at Kal.

Kal allowed the creature upon him, holding the silver dagger ready. As they collided, he thrust the blade hard into the creature's chest. The momentum of the leap knocked Kal off his feet. He fell to the floor, pinned by the limp Dhampir.

Kal pushed the bony corpse off, not wanting to wait for it to disperse. The injured Dhampir was now just a few feet away. Kal managed to bring his baton up in time to meet an incoming clawed swipe. The creature ignored the gash in its chest, a flap of skin hung from where the silver dagger had cut. Kal had only managed to get to a crouch as the creature continued its attack. He ambled backwards, not allowing the enraged beast to land a blow. Dodging only seemed to frustrate it further as it gave up trying to claw him. Instead, it bull-rushed him headfirst.

“Stupid fucking monster!” Kal spat, once again bundled by the force of a leaping Dhampir. This time he wasn't ready with the dagger, and the pair rolled to the ground in a death grip. Kal held the monsters hissing maw away from his face with his right hand. The pressing weight trapped Kal's right, which held the dagger flat. A thin layer of ragged protected his opponent from the silver. He instinctively sent a knee to its nether regions.

"Idiot," Kal berated himself as the blow received no response. The slashing maw aimed for his face.

After several moments of tugging, the creature's weight shifted. Kal snapped his arm free before driving the dagger into the monster's abdomen. He pulled it loose and plunged it once more. He continued this, stabbing again and again until the body on top began to turn to dust.

Kal lay on the ground panting. He would be the first to admit that the encounter had been terrifying. The realism of this experience meant that fighting some monsters was like starring in a personal horror film.

Kal hadn't noticed this during the fight, but where the body of the first Dhampir had disappeared now lay two items. The first was the usual heart, but the second was a blue ball. Upon picking it up, a notification appeared.

Dungeon teleportation crystal

Would you like to use?

Yes / No

He felt his forehead, wiping away the cold sweat which had formed. “Time to call it a day Kal.” He said to himself. With a thought, he chose ‘Yes' and immediately disappeared from the dungeon.