"Welcome to the world of Blood Curse."
"From now on, you will spend your lives in this absurd and bizarre world, filled with despair."
"A terrifying blood mist spreads everywhere, and bloodthirsty beasts slaughter the weak among humans."
"Hunger, fear, disease, plague, death, curses, ancient gods—an inescapable terror shrouds everything..."
"Beneath the blood mist, everything becomes distorted; even if you stand on the same land, you cannot see each other."
"And you, my dear player, if you become lost in the blood mist—"
"You will become its nourishment, it will steal your skin, your bones, your flesh, your blood!"
"But fortunately, you are not without support. The carriage that can traverse the blood mist will be your safe haven."
"This is also your home. Cherish it, modify it, and you will find a warmer place to rest."
"Treat the creatures that pull your carriage well; no matter how strange they look, they are absolutely reliable partners."
"Now, whip your whips and move forward!"
"Explore, fight, discover, conquer!"
"Whether you become a pitiful wretch lying in a blood mist or a revered figure is entirely up to you!"
"As a small perk of coming here, you have all been granted healthy bodies."
"You may still have many questions. Please find your notebooks; besides answering your questions, you can also obtain your profession."
...
The invisible voice disappeared from his ears. Van En, already fully awake, shrank back, his eyes fixed on the woman opposite him.
The woman, with her curvaceous figure, wore a black, straight-cut, belted dress with a white collar and cuffs. She lay motionless on a brown leather sofa, a white cloth stained with blood covering her face.
The dress exuded a sense of asceticism, immediately conjuring the word
"nun" in Van En's mind
. But when Van En's gaze slid to the nun's shapely, long legs,
he discovered that the nun's dress, from mid-thigh to ankle, was made of a barely visible black veil.
Beneath the black veil, the beautiful legs were covered in deathly pale skin, marred by bluish, black, and purple lividity.
The dim orange light in the carriage amplified the eerie and terrifying atmosphere.
Even the most experienced pilot would have lost control of the controls at this moment.
Vann swallowed hard, calming his pounding heart, then looked at the inside of his slightly throbbing left arm.
There was a concave brass box, 8 centimeters long, 3 centimeters wide, and 1 centimeter thick, secured to his forearm with brass straps at both ends.
Vann's gaze focused on the head of the bronze box.
There was a transfusion tube there, leading to the nun's right arm.
He looked at the remaining red liquid in the tube, and, being very familiar with this scene, instantly knew what was happening:
"She's giving me a transfusion!"
Vann felt a chill run down his spine. He immediately pulled the tube off, took a few breaths, and forced himself to calm down.
He first surveyed his surroundings, confirming that he was indeed inside a carriage.
The surroundings were made of black wooden planks. He and the nun each had a narrow, brown leather sofa with a backrest, and an orange lamp hung from the ceiling.
Overall, it resembled a sleeper car on a train.
On either side of the carriage was an arched doorway with a circular black glass panel above it.
Outside the glass, a silver-red light shimmered, accompanied by a rustling sound like a sandstorm, but more like the sound of a monster's claws scraping the ground.
It was enough to make one's teeth ache.
Vann recalled the invisible voice from earlier and assessed his situation:
"Sounds like something out of a novel or game. I quite like this kind of thing!"
"Others have thatched huts, sailboats, trucks, and stuff like that, but I'm in a carriage..."
"A notebook!"
"There are professions that can be activated inside, let's take a look!"
Vann looked to his right and spotted a red leather notebook.
He picked it up and found the red leather bumpy and the exposed pages slightly yellowed, looking very old.
At the same time, a scent of roses wafted into Vann's nose.
The notebook had clearly been carefully maintained; the red leather had been oiled and looked slightly shiny.
Fan opened the cover, and what greeted his eyes was a line of words:
[No reason can be lost]
[No dreams can bring peace]
[No spiritual vision can penetrate]
[You were born from the womb of a divine offspring, and will inevitably seal your primordial blood within your body]
[You are a beast]
[You are a blood hunter]
"What a riddle-maker! What is a blood hunter?"
Fan looked up at the nun's corpse opposite him, his brows furrowing.
He was about to turn the page when the notebook in his hand suddenly began to heat up and emit a crimson glow.
Before Fan could react
, the riddle-like words flew out from the pages, transforming into streaks of crimson ribbons, then coalescing into a thumb-sized graphic. The
perfectly symmetrical crimson graphic looked like the claw of a strange beast.
Three ferocious claws on each side flew upwards, guarding two longer claws in the center.
The next second, the claw-like graphic, like a wild beast smelling blood, pounced on Vann's left arm and burrowed inside.
An unbearable pain and intense harassment caused Vann's body to curl up like a fetus.
He cursed,
"Fuck! Fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck~~~"
Two minutes later, Vann's back was soaked with sweat, and his hair looked like it had been washed.
He leaned back on the leather sofa, trembling slightly, panting heavily, his originally dark brown pupils glowing with a reddish light.
And the whole world, in his vision, was somewhat different.
A faint red enveloped everything; the nun's corpse was gray, except for the silver light shimmering on her neck.
The next moment, an aged voice echoed in Van's mind:
"My child, you have awakened. The world should tremble at your roar. Go hunting, reclaim all the blood that belongs to us..."
As soon as the aged voice faded, Van heard a new notification:
"Congratulations, you have obtained the unique profession—Blood Hunter."
Then, rows of scar-like words appeared before Van:
[Profession: Blood Hunter LV1 (Unique): You are a special hunter created by the Hearst family. Your innate blood disease makes you unable to resist the temptation of blood therapy and special blood.
The beastification disease that terrifies other hunters will be your aid.
You will temporarily gain attribute boosts when you drink blood in battle, but please be careful not to completely transform yourself into a beast.
In addition, you possess even greater potential.
To obtain these abilities, complete the objectives in the Blood Hunter's Notebook to upgrade your profession.
Or, hunt powerful beasts and obtain their blood essence to become even stronger!]
[General Profession Talent - Hunter's Sense of Smell: The senses of the Blood Emblem allow the stench of wild beasts and mysterious items to escape your nose.] [
Special Profession Talent - Bloodhunter: You have an innate thirst for endless blood. When you use the Blood Pump to restore your life, you gain a 100% boost. The weaker your prey, the more excited you will be, and the higher the damage you will inflict.]
[Unique Profession Advancement Quest: Slaughter 20 wild beasts and use the Blood Collection Needle 10 times. After advancement, you will gain a new talent and 10 free attribute points.]
[Your base attributes have changed. Please check.]
Vann grinned, revealing four sharper fangs than normal. He chuckled self-deprecatingly,
"Is the hemophilia that has tormented me for over twenty years actually a blessing in this world?"
He turned his head to look at the car door beside him, curiously twisting the handle to see the color of the blood mist.
A new notification sounded:
[You don't have the key.]
The door remained motionless, the handle like a piece of threaded steel embedded in the wall.
"Ganlin's mother!"
Fan En was a little angry. This carriage wasn't his own; why did it need a key?
He couldn't help but complain:
"
What's the difference between this and wanting to use the toilet at home, only to find the door requires a key?!"
"What kind of kind person would lock their toilet from the inside?!"
Immediately afterward, Fan En's gaze fell on the neck of the nun's corpse opposite him.
That shimmering silver light was most likely the key.
Fan En stood up, clasped his hands together, bowed to the nun, and said,
"I don't want to do anything, just look. If it's not mine, I'll return it to you."
Having mentally prepared himself, Fan En stepped forward and instantly smelled the same rose scent as the red notebook.
Fan En paused, then his warm fingers ran through the nun's disheveled hair, touching her cold, smooth neck.
After removing the item from the nun's neck, Vann held it in his hand and found it to be a necklace inlaid with rubies.
The deep red gems were teardrop-shaped, with four sharp teeth at the setting, like a beast about to swallow a drop of fresh blood.
The necklace's information appeared before Vann:
[Relic - Lilith's Pendant: It is said that even beasts with a powerful sense of smell still need markers for guidance.
The gem contains one-thirteenth of the original blood. Although you cannot use it, it can guide you to the direction of the remaining blood.
This item was originally the jewelry of Sister Lilith, the Sleeping Sister, and also the tool for maneuvering the carriage. As your sister, she bore the responsibility of guiding the hunt.
Yet, to carry you, a newborn, through the shattered blood mist, she willingly gave you her own blood to sustain your life and cure your ailment.
Before her death, she left a message on the pendant:
Even though your bloodline is already broken, please embark on the path of blood hunting.]
[Now, it belongs to you.] Vann
stood frozen for a full five minutes, already picturing the scene:
Lilith driving the carriage, searching for the right path through the blood mist while simultaneously transfusing blood into herself.
At the end of her life, Lilith, fearing her own death would frighten her, covered her face with a white sheet, leaving her last words.
Vann clutched the necklace in his hand, his knuckles white, and whispered to Lilith,
"I will walk out of the blood mist and find a good place to bury you."
He put the pendant around his neck and prepared to try driving the carriage out of the blood mist.
He had noticed that the carriage hadn't moved since he woke up.
Although the silver light outside was dispelling the blood mist, the blood mist around the carriage felt like the claws of a wild beast, constantly scraping the air, making him increasingly anxious.
"Is something wrong?"
Vann gripped the pendant tightly; a string of words appeared before his eyes:
[Hurst Family Black Mountain Wooden Carriage LV1]
[Affiliation: Blood Hunter Vann]
[Status: Your carriage has no horses (pack beasts) and cannot move.] [
Find your horse (pack beast), or a new pack beast, to view more specific information]
Van En's eyes widened in utter astonishment, letting out a low growl:
"Where's my horse?!"
"Are you kidding me?! You expect me to pull the cart myself?!"
"You =?#@"
...
Two minutes later,
Van En calmed down and knew he had to get out of the cart to check the situation.
But before that, he needed to prepare.
He remembered the prompt after acquiring his profession, opened his notebook, and flipped to the attribute panel:
[Van En]
[22 years old]
[Weight: 55 kg]
[Height: 187 cm]
[Appearance: Average handsome guy]
[Background: Tragic life - Hemophiliac]
[Health Points: 90 (Slightly lower than the average person's 100)]
[Stamina: 60 (You've been bedridden for a long time and rarely exercise; the average player's is 80)]
[Mana: 60 (You've received higher education, and being bedridden for a long time makes you more inclined to think; the average player's is 40)] [Reason
: ??? (Due to your profession, your sanity is unviewable. Any actions that reduce sanity will accumulate Berserk and Beasthood.)
[Berserk: 5 (Strange encounters, such as seeing Lilith's corpse, have made you somewhat irritable. For every 100 points, you gain 1 point of Beasthood.)]
[Beasthood: 0 (An almost unchangeable value. As this attribute accumulates, you will gradually become a true beast. This will modify your body, giving you greater power, but this is not a good thing.)]
[Spiritual Vision: ??? (Due to your profession, your Spiritual Vision is unviewable. This attribute affects the world the player sees and cannot be increased by allocating points.)]
(Normal players have 10 Vitality and Stamina, and 5 for other attributes.)
[Vitality: 9 (Determines your maximum health; each point of Vitality provides 10 health.)]
[Stamina: 6 (Determines your maximum stamina, duration of activities and combat; each point provides 10 stamina.)]
[Strength: 4 (Determines the power of your melee weapons.)]
[Agility: 3 (Increases movement speed and weapon power.)]
[Blood Quality: 12 (Enhances your ability to use mystical items and special weapons. You have received a lot of blood transfusions; this was once your shackle, but now it is your asset.)]
[Mysticism: 7 (Enhances the power of your spells or combat skills, exceeding the level of ordinary players. Perhaps you can choose a more unconventional path.)]
"I understand more or less, but I can't go downstairs in this hospital gown."
Van closed his notebook and looked under the sofa where Lilith was lying. There was a long, black wooden box there.
He took it out and opened it, then looked inside and found quite a few things.
There was a box of food, five bottles of liquid in amber glass bottles, a half-meter-long broadsword with a pointed tip, and a set of neatly folded clothes that smelled of roses.
Fan En picked up the items one by one and examined them:
[A box of ordinary food: 10 compressed oat energy bars, enough for five days]
[1L of inferior wine x5: a rough taste, extremely low alcohol content, can replenish your fluids and give you some courage to face bad situations]
[A cleaver (ordinary): requires 2 points of strength to use. With this, no one will think you're a hunter, but rather a pig butcher at the village entrance.]
(Item levels: Inferior, Common, Good, Excellent, Superior, Epic, Legendary, Divine Gift)
[A newly made hunter's uniform: no attribute requirements, provides some warmth and identification. Don't expect it to protect you from any attacks; wearing it is no different than putting on a cardboard box.]
Fan En picked up the hunter's uniform, compared it to his thin hospital gown, and was quite satisfied:
"Even a cardboard box is still a sturdy cardboard shell; what I'm wearing is at most a layer of toilet paper!"
This hunter's uniform consisted of a white shirt, a black vest, a brown woolen trench coat, and black jogger pants.
In addition, there was a pair of wool socks, lace-up boots, a belt, and a small satchel.
Van put on these clothes and instantly felt much warmer.
He also noticed that all the upper-body garments had wider left sleeves, just enough to cover the brass box.
"I almost forgot about this."
Van touched the brass box and read its information:
[Ordinary Blood Pump Box: The most relied-upon equipment for hunters. It uses a blood-collecting needle to extract the essence blood of wild beasts, which, after processing, can be injected into the blood pump box.
Use it to heal injuries or enhance combat abilities.
With a thought, the blood pump box can inject purified blood into your veins to restore your life.
Although unprocessed blood essence can also be used, it has strong side effects.
The blood pump box can be upgraded through professional craftsmen or by using special tools to provide you with greater assistance.
Currently has 0/5 bars of purified blood; please replenish as soon as possible!]
"So this is the blood pump box?"
"The blood-collecting needle…is it there?"
Van reached for the small satchel.
In an instant, a six-slot inventory appeared before him with a notification:
[Each slot can hold 20 identical items to obtain a higher-level carry bag, or upgrade your hunter's pouch to gain new inventory slots.
You don't need to worry about losing items unless you die, in which case no one can open them.]
In the inventory, a brown glass lancet lay in the first slot.
There were also 20 blue glass blood vials.
Van looked at them carefully and muttered,
"These lancets... they look like they're for animals..."
"Hmm... it doesn't matter, they're tools for drawing blood from wild beasts anyway."
Van glanced at the cleaver in his hand, tightened his hunter's uniform, and his mood was already very calm. He
even felt a faint sense of anticipation.
He took two oat energy bars and two bottles of cheap wine as supplies.
Van gripped the doorknob and opened the carriage door without hesitation.
Whoosh!
Whoosh!
Whoosh!
A stench of blood, rust, and rotting flesh blew against Van En's face.
He swallowed the acid rising in his throat and covered his mouth and nose with the triangular scarf around his neck as a mask.
Van En squinted as he looked out of the carriage.
The outside world, shrouded in blood mist, was like a television without a signal, filled with constantly flickering black and red dots.
But in the howling wind, these dots were blown into red and black lines, like the claws of a monster tearing at everything around them.
The 'Beast' mark on his left arm began to burn, and Van En instantly felt a surge of desire.
He gritted his teeth, thinking,
"I feel like biting into something."
Van En looked to both sides of the carriage and saw the source of the silver light that was dispelling the blood mist.
It was two long, cylindrical lanterns hanging at either end of the carriage ceiling, burning a deep red substance inside, emitting a silver light that dispersed the dangerous blood mist to a distance of ten meters.
Van En touched the silver-colored lantern:
[Silver Blood Lantern - Carriage Grade: A dedicated silver-blood lantern for carriages, four in total, maintaining the safety of the carriage. Cannot be removed, otherwise it will extinguish.]
"What a pity!"
Van En felt regretful, and put down his cleaver.
Even under the protection of the silver light, the area around the carriage seemed safe.
But Van En knew that if it were truly safe, how could the horse be missing?
He gripped his cleaver tightly, stepped onto the steps under the carriage door, and jumped to the ground.
The beast mark began to flicker, and Van En noticed a semi-circular red light appearing in his right field of vision.
Such a clear indication made him immediately turn his head, his eyes hardening.
Turning his head, Van En saw a sharp spike emerge from the blood mist, transforming into a bloody beast's claw, lunging at him.
*Crack!
Clang!*
Just then, the silver-blood lantern on his right emitted a blinding light, shining on the bloody claw, scalding its flesh and tearing it open.
After his initial surprise, Vann quickly raised his cleaver and slashed.
*Crack!
Thud!
* The blood claw fell to the ground, illuminated again by the Silver Blood Lamp, and quickly turned to dust and drifted away.
Vann gasped for breath. The blood claw's attack was incredibly fast; without the red arc warning, he would have been hit.
"So, this is the hunter's sense of smell."
At the same time, a message appeared before Vann's eyes:
[Blood Mist Claw: Leaving the carriage, even with the protection of the Silver Blood Lamp, still carries a huge risk of leaving yourself and the carriage in one place for an extended period.
It will continuously try to deplete the Silver Blood Lamp's energy, dragging your carriage into the blood mist.]
Vann's expression darkened. He decided to check the situation and immediately enter the blood mist, otherwise, he would surely die.
Looking at the blood mist far away, Vann understood what the commotion he had heard in the carriage was about.
The blood mist there was constantly surging, seemingly brewing another attack.
Just then, Vann noticed a pale green arc appearing on the left side of his vision.
This made him immediately turn around to look at the source.
But when Van En saw the pale green outline clearly, his eyes widened in confusion:
"Why is there another girl?"
"This one looks alive? Could it have already turned into a monster in the blood mist!"
Van En raised the cleaver in his hand, held his breath, and approached step by step.
Gradually, he also saw the girl's appearance clearly.
She was wearing a light blue dress, with a floral headscarf wrapped around her head. The dress was somewhat tattered, with many patches.
She had a pair of strong-looking calves exposed, with healthy wheat-colored skin.
There were some scratches on her exposed shoulders, back, and legs.
However, some white ointment had been applied, treating these injuries to a great extent.
The girl's posture was strange, lying face down on the ground, with her right arm outstretched.
Her right index finger pointed towards the carriage door, as if to say:
'As long as I can get there, everything will be alright.' Van
En squatted down beside her, sniffing the air. Besides a faint smell of blood, he also detected the scent of firewood from the countryside.
"Is she a village girl? Did she escape from a nearby village?"
Van En placed his fingers on the 'village girl's' neck, feeling the strong pulse of her artery. He stood up and began to ponder:
"Is this girl a player or a native of the Blood Mist World?"
"Hmm..."
"Never mind her for now, finding the horse is the priority!"
Van En thought to himself, but still, out of kindness, he used his feet to 'help' the unconscious girl closer to the carriage.
Then, he prepared to go to the driver's seat of the carriage not far away to check for clues.
Unexpectedly, he had only taken two steps forward when he heard a faint voice beside him:
"Hunter... Hunter, we... we're still alive."
Van En frowned, but he judged that this girl was probably a native of the Blood Mist World.
So he immediately became interested, helped her up, and let her lean against the carriage wheel.
The girl had some scratches and a lot of dust on her face, but her features were quite pretty. Her flaxen braids at the back of her head were disheveled
. However, she was incredibly dirty; her white cloth shoes had a hole in them, revealing two filthy toes.
"Gurgle gurgle gurgle~"
Van En stared at the disheveled girl's stomach, pondered for two seconds, then took out an oat energy bar from his backpack and handed it to her, asking,
"Who are you?"
"I am Katya, a novice nun from Sweet Well Village."
Katya swallowed, her eyes fixed on the oat energy bar in Van En's hand, but she waved her hand in refusal, saying,
"This is your food. The surrounding blood mist still needs your cleanup; I cannot eat it!"
A nun?
This kind of person is considered a nun?
Fan En chuckled helplessly, shoving the oat energy bar into Katya's hand.
"Eat it," he said, "tell me how you fainted here."
Katya swallowed, clutching the energy bar to her chest, and replied,
"I usually study in Put Town. Last month, I went home on leave to help with the harvest."
"Yesterday morning, I was heading back to town, and I was almost in sight of Put Town's silver blood lamps when suddenly a cloud of blood mist swept through."
Katya's face was filled with worry as she whispered,
"This blood mist came so suddenly, without any warning. I wonder what will happen to the village."
Fan En gleaned a lot of information from Katya's words.
First, he was probably not far from Put Town or Sweet Well Village.
Even if the blood mist could distort space, he could escape this dangerous place once he found a horse.
Second, Katya was a local; she could be a great help.
Furthermore, the blood mist seemed to be something that could be cleared away.
That was even better news; even if he couldn't find his lost horse, he could safely descend by dispelling the blood mist.
But Vann wasn't careless; his right hand remained behind his back, gripping the cleaver tightly.
He looked at the oat energy bars Katya was holding and said,
"You're already very hungry, why aren't you eating?"
"Huh?"
"Eat up!"
Vann gripped the cleaver tighter and tighter.
Katya paused for a moment, then licked her lips, tore open the oil-paper packaging of the oatmeal energy bar, and began to chew voraciously.
After a few bites, Katya's pale blue eyes suddenly lit up.
She puffed out her cheeks, like a little squirrel, and smiled at Van En.
'Like a stray cat, quite cute.'
Van En was completely relieved, and casually tucked the cleaver into his belt. He had given
Katya food to determine if she was still human.
"Cough cough cough!" Katya ate too quickly and coughed. Van En then opened a bottle of cheap wine and fed her a few sips. Glug~ Glug~ Katya tilted her head back and took a few sips, swallowing the food. Then, reluctantly, she handed the remaining half of the oatmeal energy bar to Van, saying, "Hunter, we're full. Here, take the rest." Van frowned, looking at the drool on the oatmeal energy bar. "Glug glug~~" He glanced at Katya's stomach, waved his hand, and said, "No need. Tell me how you got through the blood mist and found this place." Katya wrapped up the remaining oatmeal energy bar, put it in the front pocket of her skirt, and then took out a glass lamp the size of a billiard ball, saying, "This is a Silver Blood Lamp given to us novice nuns by the Healing Church of Put Town. It can keep us in the blood mist for two days." As she spoke, Katya squeezed the glass lamp. Swish! A faint silver light emanated from it. Vann reached out and touched it, reading the information: [Inferior Katya's Silver Blood Lamp: A poor imitation, only able to dispel the blood mist within a two-meter radius of the user. 25 hours remaining. The Silver Blood Lamp was originally a religious object used by ancient humans to communicate with the moon goddess, but after the blood mist erupted, it became the only tool for traversing it. The lamp's maker was not a professional craftsman, but it was made with great care.] "She didn't lie; seems like an honest girl." Vann looked at Katya with some appreciation. From the information on the Silver Blood Lamp, he could deduce that the novice nun Katya was a very resilient girl, having walked alone in the blood mist for almost a day. After a sigh, Vann helped Katya up and said, "My horse is lost. I don't know if it was eaten by the beasts in the blood mist or what. Stay in the carriage and wait for me to return." "Although I didn't see what happened to your horse, I can still help! I know some basic divine magic; I can help you!" Katya limped along, her eyes resolute as she spoke to Vann. "You're a burden. If the beasts come, you won't be able to escape. Have you forgotten the bloody claws that scratched you?" Vann's words were cold, causing Katya to pause in surprise. He opened the carriage door, pushed Katya inside, and instructed, "Don't touch anything inside. Just wait for me to come back." "Okay!" Katya's eyes showed some disappointment, but she still said to Vane, "Have a good hunt!" "By the way!" Vane turned around, held out his hand to Katya, and said, "Lend me your Silver Blood Lamp for now." "Ah? Okay." Vane took Katya's Silver Blood Lamp and instructed, "Close the door and don't come out. It's dangerous outside." "Okay!" Katya waved to Vane's back and closed the carriage door. She sat on the soft leather sofa, just as she breathed a sigh of relief, when she saw Lilith's corpse opposite her. "Ugh! Quack~" Katya's eyes widened, and she immediately covered her mouth, her heart pounding with anxiety: "This is...this is a nun of rest!" "She...she actually...she's dead!" Katya felt her body trembling. She reflexively reached for the carriage door handle, but there was no response at all. Then, she couldn't help but think: "Could it be that... that hunter is... that kind of person..." Katya shook her head, looked down at the oat energy bar in her pocket, and her mood gradually calmed down: "No way, the hunter just gave me something so delicious!" "He must be a good person!" ... [Katya's favorability towards you increased by 20 points] [Katya's favorability towards you decreased by 20 points] [Katya's favorability towards you increased by 30 points] [Katya's current favorability towards you is 30, showing friendly feelings towards you] "What's wrong with the little girl?" "Right! Lilith's body is still inside." "Hmm... never mind, let's focus on finding the horses first." Vann had already walked to the carriage shaft, the place in front of the driver's seat where the animals were secured. Upon arriving there, the first thing Vann noticed was a broken silver blood lamp.
The silver blood lamp was shaped like a large bell, stained with blood.
Van En also noticed some messy claw marks.
He sniffed the surrounding air and detected two different scents.
One smelled of livestock, the other of decay.
"The former is definitely from the horse, the latter from the beast that attacked my carriage."
"Looks like my horse is indeed in trouble."
Van En looked around the carriage shaft but found nothing else.
He picked up the broken silver blood lamp and read its message:
[Broken Beast Neck Lamp: The silver blood lamp, installed around the neck of a pack animal, provides safety for the animal running through the blood mist. Now that the lamp is broken, it indicates the beast may have met with misfortune.
It is stained with some beast blood, which can guide you to the animal's location.]
Van En removed his scarf and dipped his finger in the beast blood.
He then brought it to his nose and smelled it.
Whoosh!
Van En's pupils instantly turned red, and the 'beast' mark on his left arm throbbed even faster.
In his pale reddish vision, a smoky, deep red line appeared, pointing southeast of the carriage.
Van En felt his heart pound more than ten times; an overwhelming urge compelled him to immediately slash something with his cleaver.
He turned and began walking in the direction the red line indicated.
When he was two steps away from the blood mist, Van En looked at the broken beast-drawn silver blood lamp in his hand, and Katya's silver blood lamp.
A sudden thought struck him; he squeezed Katya's silver blood lamp and placed it inside the beast-drawn silver blood lamp.
Whoosh!
Katya's silver blood lamp, which could only disperse the blood mist within a two-meter radius, expanded its light more than twice as much through the reflection from the beast-drawn silver blood lamp, illuminating an area of nearly five meters.
Van En stepped out with his right foot, entering the blood mist.
An even more foul stench reached Van En's nose, like human slime floating from a sewer.
Moreover, once inside the blood mist, the wind intensified, blowing Van En's long overcoat askew.
He suppressed the urge to vomit, strapped the combined silver blood lamp to his waist, and continued forward, guided by the red line.
Along the way, aided by his hunter's sense of smell, he severed several bloody hands that attacked him.
Three minutes later, Vann suddenly stopped.
He heard a strange howling sound coming from all around him.
Gripping his cleaver tightly, Vann panted heavily and, following the red arc in his vision, turned to his right.
"Ha!"
"Roar!"
"Ha!"
"Roar!"
...
The strange howling grew closer, and Vann saw a red silhouette approaching, revealing its true form.
A beast, its entire body skinned and resembling a large dog, lay on the ground.
Its head, with little flesh and only a skull remaining, stared out from the blood mist with green eyes, blackish-red, foul-smelling saliva dripping from its mouth, greedily staring at Vann.
Even as black smoke began to rise from its body due to the silver light, it still moved its long, thin limbs toward Vann.
The stench of decay was overwhelming, like socks worn unwashed for a year by someone with athlete's foot—a stench beyond Van En's imagination.
He felt a sharp pain in his head, then heard a notification:
[You have gained 10 points of Berserk after seeing the Blood Mist Beast]