Nate.

Nathaniel.

This was what echoed in Miles’s mind as he finally emerged into reality, out of the depths of memory land.

Unlike the memory that had originated from Xavier, this one had been... different, to say the least.

It had felt familiar, nostalgic, and closer to home, almost as if it could have been his own experience. One that had somehow faded from his mind.

Consequently, Miles had lost himself in this inherent familiarity, completely drowning in the phantom memory.

For all intents and purposes, he had truly been Nathaniel, or at the very least, he had believed he was.

He had lived through all the events, experiencing everything.

Yes, everything.

From the emotions of anger and rage to helpless satisfaction, from the overwhelming pain of exhaustion to the agony of having one’s guts spilled over the floor, from the memories of slavery to merciless torture. Everything.

While that was not something Miles wished to suffer through ever again, he had to admit, the overall experience had been quite informative.

Nate, or Nathaniel from the memory, was apparently Kindred as well.

However, he was Kindred born of a Sire.

With the opportunity to see and experience the overwhelming control a Sire had over their Childe firsthand, Miles was truly glad he was different, relieved that he didn’t have to suffer the same fate.

‘But, why? Why am I different?

Could it be… because of that mysterious spirit, that ghostly woman, the one that saved me back then?’

While she herself had been unsure of what exactly may happen due to the infusion of the essences of the Vampire and the Werewolf into him, it was reasonable to assume that this was what had freed him from the Sire-Childe bond.

It seemed that Miles was somewhat of a rarity, a Kindred born of the infusion of another Kindred's essence, instead of the bite of a Sire.

It had worked to his advantage, providing him the power and benefits without being forced to become a pawn or a slave. Miles couldn’t help but feel a sense of gratitude towards the mysterious spirit regarding this, even beyond the fact that she had saved his life.

When the time was right, when he returned to the inner city, he would have to search the mansion for this ‘first den’. Miles could only hope he would have the required ‘strength’ to enter by himself, by then.

‘Then, there was what Nathaniel’s sire, Maximus said. Honestly, the Vampire spoke quite a bit... but what I'm interested in are the mentions of ‘Great Father Chaos’ and, the ‘all-knowing system’.’

This, combined with the notifications that Nathaniel had received relevant to blood point usage and loss, answered a question that Miles had been curious about for a while.

It was safe to conclude that all Kindred possessed the System, granted by this Great Father Chaos, whoever they may be.

This was solid evidence, that he was not the only one with a System, which also meant that it was unrelated to the mysterious spirit lady. It had to be something that every Kindred possessed, the same way a human would be born with limbs, or a bird with wings.

In other words, every Kindred, every Vampire, could grow stronger with every kill. They could gain skills in a few seconds, evolve, unlock and expand disciplines, even improve their attributes without the use of serums. All of this, on top of the other abilities available.

The Kindred truly were a terrifying race...

Beyond this, there was something else that had captured Miles’s attention. Specifically, the world, or rather the time, where Nathaniel’s memory had taken place.

With mentions of slavery, Maximus wielding a Gladius, a traditional Roman short-sword, and the mentions of an emperor, was it possible that Nathaniel was from Ancient Rome?

Even if not Rome exactly, it should be a similar time period with the location being fairly close to ancient Europe.

‘The memory I experienced, actually dates so far back?! Countless millennia into the past?’

While there was nothing to confirm his theory, it led towards another question. Possibly, the most interesting question of all.

‘Who the hell was this Nathaniel, and why on earth did I remember a memory of his after increasing the Wisdom attribute?! What is his connection with me?’

There really was only one possible conjecture Miles could think of.

‘C-Could Nathaniel be the same Vampire that broke into the mansion? The same Vampire that tried to kill me, only to fail and be infused into my body?’

Logically speaking, it made more sense to remember the memories of the Kindred whose essence had been infused into him, rather than those of a random and completely unrelated Kindred.

‘So the Vampire that attacked me, Nate, or Nathaniel, is from thousands of years ago, even long before the Fae-Human War?! He’s a Vampire that actually survived for so long!?’

He couldn’t help but be shocked by his own conclusion.

Even ignoring the wide difference in character between Nathaniel in the memory, and the Vampire that Miles had faced off against back in the Lykaon Mansion, this felt unbelievable to him.

Miles had assumed that all Vampires possessed conditional undeath, he had even been aware of their pseudo-immortality. But to arrive at the same conclusion in the real world, was a different thing entirely.

But the main reason he was so shocked was actually quite simple.

‘Then, does this mean that I won’t die either? I will not age anymore, but simply remain as I am, for all of eternity?’

It... was a strange feeling. On the one hand, not having to fear old age, to not have a limit on his life, was interesting, even liberating. But it was followed by an underlying sense of worry, a tangible feeling of separation from being human.

On paper it seemed beneficial, nothing disadvantageous. But the effects this had on his beliefs, hopes, and plans for the future, could not be ignored simply.

Miles couldn’t even begin to unwind the knot of what he was feeling right now.

Making matters worse, it appeared that he no longer had time to waste.

This entire time, while Miles had lived through the memory, and mentally considered what he had seen, he had apparently continued to move forward.

He had already reached the main hall, only a few steps away from his target.

Blood Vision continued to glow with scarlet light in the depths of his eyes, revealing the silhouette of the rat monster only a few walls away from him.

The creature was now standing upon two limbs, the other two hanging by its sides in an eerily human manner, as its several meter long tail flicked dangerously behind.

The white crystal at the center of it’s chest glowed with vivid light, far brighter than what Miles had seen in any other living creature.

The rat monster had it’s head directly turned towards Miles’s location, almost as if it knew where he was and was patiently awaiting his arrival.

‘F*ck!’

While he had been lost in contemplation, focusing on his useless feelings, this creature had already noticed his presence.

Technically speaking, the battle had already begun.

But here he was, wasting time. He had actually allowed a rat monster to take the lead.

‘F*CK!’

With an angry scowl directed at no one but himself, Miles raised his hands...

SLAP!

And smashed them upon his face.

It was painful for sure, but the sting in his cheeks provided him with much-needed clarity, allowing him to focus and push aside the irrelevant thoughts that had been weighing him down.

‘F*ck everything! I need to get my head back in the game. This rat monster isn’t going to be an easy fight. I can’t fight it with my head in the a*s! I’ll need everything I have if I intend to win!’

Miles inhaled deeply.

While he had had a rocky start, he already had the makings of a plan. A way to kill the rat with ease, or at the very least, with comparative ease.

With a relaxed exhale, Miles calmly continued forwards, finally entering the living room.

He didn’t even get to think for the battle began instantly.

***

SCREECH!

The moment Miles stepped through the doorway, the rat was upon him.

The monstrous creature, over two meters tall, with rippling muscles, sharp claws, and teeth, had screeched in rage as it leaped through the air.

It was fast, insanely fast. Perhaps even rivaling old Zhan’s agility.

The rat had made the first move, instantly gaining the momentum of the fight.

Had it been anybody else, they would’ve been helpless against this assault.

But Miles wasn’t just anybody.

The wind had alerted him. The sharp bursts of air upon his sensitive skin had easily revealed to him, the positioning and movements of the oversized rat.

If old Zhan’s movements could be compared to that of a fish in water, elegantly using the air and the wind to his advantage, this creature was akin to a rock, smashing through everything with sheer power and no skill.

While this allowed it to reach a faster movement speed, it also affected the air drastically, making its actions extremely obvious and alerting Miles even before the rat had closed the distance.

This also meant that even before the creature had reached him, Miles was prepared.

Still, it had been difficult for him to clearly discern the movements of the rat monster, but by considering the variation in wind flow on various areas of his skin, along with Blood Vision revealing the rough silhouette of the airborne creature, he had learned just enough.

It was a rather simple attack, two clawed slashes from the sides.

Simple, but more than sufficient to rip him into pieces were they to connect.

Considering the fact that these claws could rip through the concrete when the rats were still in normal form, Miles couldn’t even imagine the damage that this monstrosity of a rat could dish out.

Hopefully, he would never have to find out.

At this very moment, Miles had his hands were before his chest, forming a cross, the palms directed towards the sides, consequently facing the incoming claws.

Without any further ado, he acted.

Clavam Sanguine Ferrum (⅛) x 2!

In a quarter of a second, two needle-like blood spikes burst out of his hands, one from each.

With the rat claws already being less than a meter away from him, it wouldn’t take long for the spikes to reach them.

These 1/8th spikes were particularly weak and fragile, but to shift the path of these claws all that was needed was a little force.

Besides, Miles had way more where that came from.

Reaching for the remaining blood points that were agitated due to the partial activation of the skill, he released his hold slightly. The blood points rushed towards his palms…

Clavam Sanguine Ferrum (⅛) x 2!

And in another quarter of a second, before the former two spikes had even reached their target, another two blood spikes shot out.

Unfortunately, this was Miles’s limit. This was about all he could do in half a second.

While its movements were obvious, the rat monster was still too fast. Its attack had only given him a window of half a second.

During such a short time, it had been impossible for Miles to dodge the attack without impaling himself on the claws, which was why he had chosen this line of action. To attack with the intention of defending.

But if it had not been for Miles’s fairly high intelligence, particularly when compared to the rat creature, which allowed him to use skills faster than his physical reaction speed, he wouldn’t have even been able to react.

While he was helpless to do anything more, he had done enough. The claws still had to go through the launched spikes to reach him.

Boom! Boom!

The spikes exploded instantly, shattering into blood shards, unable to withstand the overwhelming force behind the claws.

However, the force behind the blood spikes slightly shifted the path of these claws, even slowing them by quite a bit. This was particularly effective as the rat monster seemed surprised, not having expected any form of counter-attack.

Either way, now that the claws were delayed… Miles could do more.

Instantly, his hands shifted closer together, still maintaining the same cross shape, but now targeting further inwards.

Clavam Sanguine Ferrum (¼) x 2!

In another half a second, two quarter blood spikes shot out, one from each palm.

[-2 BP]

The rat monster apparently still reeling from the first spikes and the surprise of the attack, didn’t react until the new spikes were mere centimeters away from its body. Or maybe, it couldn’t. It was airborne after all.

Boom! Boom!

The iron blood spikes struck against the elbows of the rat monster, throwing its arms to the sides, even shifting the direction of its leaping body quite a bit higher.

To perform the claw attack, the monster rat had thrown itself towards Miles. But with the last two spikes, its path of motion was completely shifted.

Immediately making use of this opportunity, Miles crouched down and rolled forwards.

CRASH!

While he easily made it through, the rat monster didn’t. The loud sound of vermin muscle crashing into the walls rang out, along with that of cracks splintering through the concrete walls.

‘It’s body mass alone was enough to damage the reinforced walls? Damn.’

He had somehow survived against the rat’s attack, making full use of his capabilities. It had not been particularly easy, but it hadn't been that difficult either. He had grown stronger.

However, this was when Miles realized something.

‘Wait.... Did I just shoot blood spikes from each hand?! Simultaneously!? And used that to cut down on the activation time?’

While this was a strategy that had crossed his mind at one time, to shoot two spikes at the same time from multiple limbs to reduce the skill activation time, Miles had not practiced or even attempted it before.

The closest he had come to reaching something similar, was when he had launched that (+14) bloodspike at old Zhan as a surprise attack. Even then, what he had done was use a single hand to form two bloodspikes one after the other, and finally transfer the bloodspike from one hand to another.

That was completely different from what he had done here.

And yet, he had somehow executed this perfectly.

Strange.

'Is this because of that memory? Did I learn by daydreaming? But in the memory, Nathaniel wasn't doing anything related to dual blood spikes...?'

Screech!

Unfortunately, the enraged scream from behind him, pointed out that this was not the time for contemplation on the mysteries of his new abilities.

Immediately, Miles turned around, rotating on the balls of his feet, as his right hand reached towards his back pocket.

The rat monster was far too strong, far more than he had expected. Had it not been for the dual-wielding of blood spikes, he would not have survived the previous encounter, at least not unscathed. And judging by the appearance of the rat it was just barely injured, and most of that was from the collision against the reinforced wall.

Miles’s chances of victory under fair conditions were next to null.

But who said he had to be fair?

His hand was pulled out of his pocket, and with it, came a fistful of strangely familiar metallic balls.

It was time to play smart.