POTLS - Chapter 2: Monster Wave

The Blood Courtier descended from above, its pale, unnaturally smooth hands with elongated claws slashing down toward Paul's head.

He activated [Warrior's Heart], simultaneously increasing his Strength, Constitution, and Dexterity by 20%, consuming 15 mana. Though the stat boost wasn't enormous, it would help his body react faster.

He leapt to the side and used [Silver Strike] to slash at the monster's flank. Red blood sprayed everywhere accompanied by a piercing shriek.

The rustling from the shadows of trees and bushes grew more intense, drawing closer. Without hesitation, Paul swung his silver sword to one side, unleashing a white-silver arc about three meters long.

[Crescent Moon Slash] amplified his damage to 150%, easily slicing through the pack of Shadow Hounds before they could fully emerge. Their dismembered parts flew by momentum into the illuminated campsite. Heads rolled, limbs separated from bodies, and entrails spilled in chaotic disarray.

A Shadow Hound's severed head with fangs and curved horns still tried to bite at the ground, inching closer to him.

Paul kicked it away in disgust and turned to face the recovering Blood Courtier. The black eyes set in the creature's ghastly pale skin always made him shudder with revulsion.

He raised his sword to block, using the final moment of [Warrior's Heart] to push the monster back. Thanks to his passive skill [Blade Mastery], he achieved enough speed to slice into the creature's stomach. This time, [Silver Strike] successfully triggered its special effect, leaving a Holy Mark on the Blood Courtier.

Thundering sounds echoed from all sides of the forest.

The terrifying aspect of the sixth night was the relentless attacks. This made it difficult for him to collect all the Experience Shards dropped by the monsters he'd slain. His reach was only enough to pull in a few blue shards, which entered his body and vanished, reducing the experience needed to level up from 800 to 775. Times like these made him appreciate how valuable passive skills that increased Experience Shard collection range could be.

Before he could catch his breath, a group of humanoid Ghouls with elongated limbs emerged, moving bizarrely across the ground like spiders. They leapt forward, trying to grab Paul. Their mouths with jagged, overlapping jaws released a stench that stung his nostrils.

Paul ducked to avoid an attack, wildly swinging his sword at the creatures. He had enough experience not to panic in this situation. After all, this wasn't his first sixth night.

He and his teammates had reached this threshold before. Going as a team meant facing exponentially more monsters. More people didn't necessarily mean an easier time handling the numbers—it required good coordination and understanding. Four Blood Courtiers circling overhead were extremely difficult to counter. They could focus on a single target, easily breaking formation. His team had been gradually worn down and failed when the Crimson Court Noble appeared.

Now, Paul had learned from his mistakes and handled the monster swarm more effectively. The silver sword in his hand continuously flashed with light as he used his skills, cutting down approaching monsters.

[Silver Strike] at level 5 allowed him to deliver three-hit combos without additional mana cost, letting him maintain his fighting ability. The main problem was his rapidly depleting stamina, which was hard to recover. Unlike mana, which regenerated at one point per second, stamina required rest and food. This would be the foundation of tonight's success or failure.

Another pack of Shadow Hounds appeared, their gaunt forms with exposed bone and muscle hungrily eyeing Paul. Obeying the Blood Courtier's shriek, they avoided clashing with the Ghouls. The entire horde gradually fell into rhythm as they attacked the human.

Paul was forced to move when the Blood Courtier took advantage of the chaos to leave a scratch on his back shoulder. The armor-crafting skill he'd learned from SSC was barely adequate. Thus, his back wasn't well protected.

He could feel an invisible mist-like thread connecting him to the bat-winged monster. Its eyes turned rapturous as it breathed in Paul's blood essence.

[Blood Resistance] immediately activated. Paul's resistance increased, gradually weakening the connection so he wouldn't fall into a state of agony.

In response, he activated [Warrior's Heart] again, combining it with [Silver Strike]. Each of his attacks became heavier and more powerful. The silver sword easily cut through any monster that came within range. Their bodies piled up near the campsite.

Thanks to [Blood Resistance], he also gained a slight blood-draining effect, compensating for what he'd lost while accelerating the clotting of his shoulder wound.

He tried to lunge forward to strike the Blood Courtier, but the monster flapped its wings once to dodge, sneering contemptuously at his attempt.

Paul left the campfire area, trying to lure the Blood Courtier to follow. The danger with these monsters was that they readily sacrificed their own kind. Blood was blood. Just the smell of this red fluid spilling too much would increase the Blood Courtier's strength.

A crucial skill for the Crimson Moon Estate map was [Night Adaptation], which Paul had fortunately obtained early in this F-rank Portal run. Despite darkness dominating most of the space, he could still dimly see his surroundings, reducing stumbling or disorientation. The speed boost from this skill also helped considerably.

As expected, after some hesitation, the Blood Courtier pursued him. In terms of quality and palatability, monster blood was truly difficult to stomach. The buzzing sound of its wing beats pressured Paul.

Shadow Hounds and Ghouls likewise joined the chase. With the red moonlight's effect, they moved far faster than usual. Their frenzy also received a frightening boost.

Paul swung his sword at any creature that came near without using skills. Each time someone entered this map, they could choose one of three weapon types: sword, bow, or whip. Regardless of type, all were crafted with properties effective against vampiric monsters. So even without skills, he could still kill monsters, though it consumed more energy. [Silver Strike] increased power but mainly provided a chance to apply Holy Mark. The Blood Courtier, having been marked, feared approaching Paul continuously. One more hit from him, and the creature would writhe in agony, likely dying.

The pursuit forced Paul to control his breathing, preventing his stamina from dropping too quickly. Trees rushed past him with each running step, branches hitting his face while he paid no attention. Small bat-like monsters swarmed from all directions, either being swatted away, cut down, or ignored.

Finally, he emerged from the forest to find a mostly withered flower garden on the opposite side. Only one species glowed in the darkness, called Blood Rose. They swayed in the gentle breeze, dazzling under the moonlight.

Looking further in the distance, one could see a manor with a tower reaching to the sky. That place was considered the most dangerous area in this F-rank map. Only Survivors who were well-prepared and confident would approach it, attempting to defeat the bosses on the seventh day.

Someone like Paul would only hope to survive the sixth night, endure the seventh day, and successfully complete the challenge to return to Earth. At level 22, fighting the boss would be suicidal, especially against vampire-type monsters, which would only grow stronger from his death.

The open space allowed Paul to use [Crescent Moon Slash] most effectively. His moon-like slash traveled quickly, harvesting heads and limbs from the Ghouls and Shadow Hounds. Experience Shards weren't collected completely, but he was lucky enough to obtain some green shards, providing twice the experience value of blue ones. His experience needed to level up decreased to 565.

The Blood Courtier flew at low altitude, its previous wound making it glare at Paul with immense hatred. It swooped down again, waving its hands around to pull blood from its companions into a larger form. Then it shaped the blood into Blood Lances and hurled them at its enemy.

Seeing this, Paul darted forward to hide behind a dry fountain covered in moss. The sound of broken tiles clattered near his ears. When he stood up, he clearly saw the Blood Courtier's exhaustion. The monster ignored him, reluctantly drinking the blood of its companions. Its face showed disgust at having to sample such an unappetizing meal.

It's my chance, Paul tightened his grip on the sword.

Seeing his mana had recovered significantly, Paul used [Warrior's Heart] again. With enhanced physical strength, he ran in long strides toward the weakened Blood Courtier. It was in this state because it still had to fight against the Holy Mark; normally, it would take several Blood Lances to deplete the monster's mana.

Ghouls and Shadow Hounds moved to protect their leader. Paul slashed back and forth with all his might, not sparing mana for [Silver Strike] and [Crescent Moon Slash] whenever the skills finished their cooldown. In exchange for his recklessness, his body accumulated bite marks from Shadow Hounds. More dangerous were the wounds from the Ghouls' horrific teeth, which bit through the leather armor he'd crafted. A claw mark on his thigh made him stumble, slowing his advance.

But he clenched his teeth and endured, swinging his sword vertically to split a Ghoul blocking his path. He had to finish the Blood Courtier before it was too late.

The bat-winged monster appeared in Paul's sight. With a growl, he raised his sword high, silver light flashing as he prepared to strike down.

At that moment, an ear-splitting shriek invaded his mind, throwing his thoughts into chaos. The surrounding monsters suffered the same fate.

The Blood Courtier retreated after that screech, having finished drinking blood and creating distance from the human.

From the greenhouse in the flower garden came a creaking sound as the door was pushed open.

Paul felt a chill run down his spine as he looked back, swallowing hard.

The Crimson Court Noble, the most important monster of the sixth night, had appeared.