My Demons

Examining my bare body, the discomfort I had been feeling instantly dissipated.

“This is unbelievable.”

Even during my time in the military, where I focused solely on eating and exercising, my physique was never as impressive as this.

I had expected the body of a blood knight to be lean and lanky, but when I removed my clothes, I was met with a tightly toned physique akin to that of a gymnast.

Based on a rough estimate, I deduced that I stood at a height of around 180 centimeters.

Even in modern standards, I would be considered tall, but in this world, I was practically a giant.

Considering the people I encountered from the port to the inn, most of them were shorter than me by at least a head.

As I admired my reflection, I decided to remove my pants.

“Wow, damn.”

A mixture of pride and happiness washed over me, followed by a chilling thought.

What if, just before I fell asleep on Earth, the character I was playing was not a male blood knight, but someone entirely different?

A white-haired old necromancer, a bald male fighter, or perhaps I had awakened as a female character—just the thought of it was horrifying. Suddenly, I found myself grateful for the body I possessed now. After freshening up, I assisted Ellen with her own hygiene. Well, my role mostly involved keeping watch as she entered the conical tent to clean herself.

Given the gloomy atmosphere of the city, we had to exercise extra caution, especially since Ellen lacked any magical abilities, making her particularly vulnerable.

Our next destination was the guest room… or at least what they called a guest room. It was truly abysmal. I doubted whether it could even be classified as such.

Firstly, with three pennies, one could occupy a shared room, while eight pennies allowed for a four-person room. Those were the only two options available. Considering the considerable price difference, we opted for the more affordable shared room.

I prided myself on not being fussy about accommodations or bedding, and Ellen, who had already been traveling for two months, didn’t mind either.

When we heard that we would be staying in a shared room, I immediately thought back to the dormitories I had experienced while traveling through Europe.

Interacting with young people from all over the world had been a positive experience.

I had thought it would present an opportunity to forge connections with unfamiliar individuals in this new world and gather diverse information.

Oh, how foolishly naive I had been.

Reality turned out to be far worse. The shared room was a nightmare. It consisted of a large space with a dozen low beds, each adorned with straw and tattered cloth. You simply picked an available bed and laid down to sleep.

The sound of rats scurrying on the roof, the thumb-sized cockroaches, the pungent smell of straw, and the damp blankets were all dreadful, but the worst aspect was the other guests.

The innkeeper, that wretched fellow, seemed incapable of basic counting, as he continued to accommodate more guests even after all the beds were occupied.

The latecomers should have complained to the innkeeper about the lack of beds, but instead, they casually sprawled out on the floor. I thought they were out of their minds.

Thankfully, about half of the guests had properly washed their bodies, sparing us from an unbearable stench. However, the remaining individuals emitted an atrocious odor.

A couple of mercenaries resembled destitute beggars, reclining on the beds just as they were.

Frankly, I felt the urge to kick them out.

And, of course, this insane inn operated as a co-ed establishment.

I was particularly concerned about Ellen, but everyone kept their distance due to her obvious status as a wizard, garbed in a brown robe. At least that was a stroke of luck.

As I settled onto the bed, I couldn’t help but let out a sigh.

“Ah…”

It was undeniably a miserably depressing night. It resembled my initial night in the training camp, if not worse.

Ellen, huddled in the corner under a blanket, was restless and kept tossing and turning. I could hear muffled sobs escaping her.

Well, being suddenly transported to an unfamiliar place, practically half-naked, would undoubtedly be terrifying.

Moreover, according to the scenario, she was falsely accused and being pursued. Her defensive demeanor was probably a way to conceal her vulnerability.

The sobbing grew louder, accompanied by faint trembling.

I wanted to console her, but from experience, I knew it was better to give her space during moments like these.

…It wasn’t because I was lazy or tired.

Seriously.

Anyway, I thought I had already removed the rose-tinted glasses about this new world, but staying in this inn served as a stark reminder.

This world was far worse than I had imagined.

The next morning, I found myself surprised for three reasons.

Firstly, I had slept like a log, something that only happens a few times in a lifetime.

“Ughh!”

I let out a loud yawn. What was this refreshing sensation? I had felt like my head was about to explode from stress right before falling asleep, but now I felt rejuvenated and relaxed, as if my brain had been reset and reinstalled.

My body also felt incredibly light. Considering the amount of blood I had lost yesterday and the meager meals I had, it was absurdly healthy.

The second surprise was that both Ellen and I were safe.

Looking out of the window, the sun was already high in the sky. Ellen was still fast asleep, likely due to exhaustion. Her weapons and bag remained undisturbed.

It was quite surprising, to be honest. Did I misunderstand something about this world?

Later, I learned that there had been a large public execution a few days ago. Those who had caused disturbances in the city or committed robberies were hanged.

Thanks to that, even though there weren’t many patrol guards on the streets, crime had significantly decreased.

While it was a temporary effect, I felt a sense of gratitude. A silent prayer for the deceased criminals.

The final thing that surprised me was… the dream I had during the night.

We sat at a secluded table in the inn’s hall. I asked Ellen, who was focused on eating her oatmeal.

“Hey, are you sure nothing has changed?”

“I told you, nothing has changed.”

“It can’t be…” Looking at Ellen’s sullen expression, she didn’t seem to be lying. It didn’t seem like her character to act so composed, especially since we had only met yesterday.

“Weird…”

“Stop babbling and eat your food. Can you finish all of that?”

“Hey, of course. I can eat twice as much.”

As I said that, I scooped up a bowl of oatmeal and started eating the grilled fish. I had bought three fish, each as big as my forearm, from a street vendor at the harbor. They cost two pennies each, which was expensive, but compared to other food options, it was practically free.

Since the harbor was blocked, they couldn’t cast nets, but they could still fish, resulting in a small but continuous supply.

Because the meals provided by the inn were small and expensive, we settled for a bowl of oatmeal each. But even that cost four pennies. Damn it.

The reason we were diligently filling our bellies with such tasteless meals was because we planned to assess ourselves for the day.

I intended to check my physical condition, strength, as well as my skills.

And while doing that, I also planned to assess Ellen’s condition…

“If you feel anything different, you have to let me know, okay?”

“Okay, so just eat and be quiet.”

Returning to the dream I had, what I saw in my dream last night was a character sheet.

Even now, if I closed my eyes, I could visualize the character sheet. But it was only for checking my condition; I couldn’t distribute any points.

However, the window I saw in my dream was different. I could move my hand and allocate points.

And the character sheet was divided into Tab I and Tab H overall. My sheet was on Tab I, while Ellen’s was on Tab H.

In other words, in the dream, I had the ability to allocate not only my own skill and stat points but also Ellen’s!

Naturally, I utilized all the available points.

Phoenix didn’t have any saved points, so the skill point and five stat points I obtained from leveling up to level 11 after defeating the pirates were all I had.

I used them to enhance my passive skill, ‘Flowing Blood,’ and increase my health by 2.

The reason I couldn’t allocate more than 2 points to health, despite having 5 stat points, was due to the stat system in Dark World.

In Dark World, the stat points required to enhance stats differ in intervals. For example, if a stat is below 10, only 1 point is needed to enhance it. However, in the 10s, 2 points are needed, in the 20s, 3 points, in the 30s, 4 points, and in the 40s, 5 stat points are required.

So, excluding item effects, my current stats are as follows: Strength 20, Agility 16, Health 18, Magic 1.

Practically speaking, I invested 30 points in Strength, 22 in Agility, 26 in Health, and 1 in Magic, with one point remaining.

The reason my Magic stat is particularly low is due to the characteristics of the Blood Knight class.

The fundamental energy of a Blood Knight is ‘Blood Energy.’

As the name suggests, this energy is infused in blood and is influenced by both Health and Magic stats.

To explain it precisely, the amount of Blood Energy is the sum of 25% of the Health points and 100% of the Magic points.

Therefore, my current Blood Energy is 5 points.

Although it might seem extremely low, skills like ‘Blade of Blood’ and ‘Shield of Blood’ only require 1 Blood Energy to use, and ‘Thirst’ requires 2.

In other words, having 5 Blood Energy points is sufficient to use skills without significant issues. For low-level Blood Knights, the importance of Magic is relatively low.

Additionally, there are currently no skills affected by a Magic coefficient, so it’s better to focus on increasing Health to enhance Blood Energy and survivability.

Nevertheless, despite increasing my Health by 2, I couldn’t immediately feel any noticeable difference.

I was in excellent condition, but I couldn’t ascertain whether it was due to a good rest or the increase in my Health points.

On the other hand, Ellen experienced a tremendous change in her stats.

According to my dream, Ellen was now at level 12. She had 11 remaining skill points and 35 stat points. After careful consideration, I allocated all her points.

For skills, I invested 3 points in ‘Flame Arrow,’ 1 point in ‘Burning Weapon,’ 3 points in ‘Cold Spray,’ 3 points in ‘Wind Fist,’ and 1 point in ‘Dance of the Spirit.’

I chose the fire, cold, and wind attributes because they provide consistent power and versatility both during leveling and in future encounters. It’s a stable combination suitable for boss fights, player battles, area damage, and single-target damage. Moreover, it offers particularly good survivability.

Regarding stats, I allocated 7 points to Strength, 9 points to Agility, 10 points to Health, and 9 points to Magic. Consequently, her Strength increased to 10, Agility to 13, Health to 15, and Magic to 23. I utilized all the points efficiently.

Based on the numbers alone, her Strength more than doubled, and her Agility nearly doubled. Her Health also saw a significant increase.

At this level, she should be undergoing a transformation…

But why weren’t there any noticeable changes? Could it have been just a dream?

Sensing my gaze, Ellen, her pale cheeks turning slightly blue, looked at me with a slight frown.

“What are you staring at?”

“Huh? Oh, nothing.”

A sudden wave of uneasiness washed over me, but I decided to wait a little longer.

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