There was only one goblin left in front of them.

  The girl continued casting spell after spell.

  "Waterslice."

  "Fireball."

  Each word manifested into something real, slamming into the goblin and forcing it backward. Her voice carried confidence, as if she had been casting spells for years instead of minutes.

  Among the group of four, three of the men were already spent. Their shoulders sagged, and their breathing was heavy. One of them was badly injured, blood soaking through his torn clothes.

  The remaining goblin was pushed back nearly fifteen feet. The men were clearly exhausted, and even the girl was nearing her limit. Rain could tell she only had a few spells left before collapsing.

  He knew it then.

  The last goblin was his.

  Rain glanced down at his leg. A deep cut ran along his lower calf, and pain still flared with every movement. The bleeding had slowed, but it hadn't stopped completely.

  He looked back up.

  This goblin was larger than the others. Despite taking several spells head-on, it was still standing. Burn marks covered its chest, and shallow slashes lined its limbs. It hadn't fallen, but it was clearly wounded.

  Older, Rain thought. Stronger. More experienced.

  "I'll take him," Rain said.

  "A-are you sure?" the girl asked, her voice strained.

  Rain didn't answer. He had already decided. The three men didn't object, and relief flashed across their faces.

  He stepped forward, limping slightly. The goblin didn't advance. Instead, it held its ground as Rain approached.

  As he closed the distance, Rain studied its injuries. Scorched flesh. Torn skin. Standing upright clearly took effort. That was why it wasn't charging.

  Five feet away, Rain stopped.

  Pain pulsed through his leg. The goblin glared at him, hatred burning in its eyes. Rain raised his iron sword, gripping it the same way he had before.

  The wind stirred the trees around them, brushing against his hair. Rain exhaled and swung.

  The goblin blocked the strike with its wooden club.

  "Augh!" Rain grunted as the impact rattled his arms.

  It deflected him easily. Again and again, Rain tried to strike, but each attack was parried or dodged. It was stronger than him. Much stronger.

  Rain's thoughts flashed to his status screen.

  Strength: 3.

  Ashlore had said 5 was average.

  These goblins were stronger than humans—but slower.

  He remembered his agility. Six. Slightly above normal.

  As Rain pressed the attack, he began to notice patterns. The goblin's movements were heavy and delayed. Its reactions were slow despite its strength.

  Rain jumped back, creating distance.

  He took a deep breath. He knew what he had to do.

  Rain dashed forward again. The goblin was visibly fatigued now, forced onto the defensive. Rain slashed sideways, and the goblin blocked.

  "AUGH!" Rain shouted as he put everything into the follow-through.

  The iron blade cut cleanly through the wooden club.

  It didn't stop there.

  The sword continued into the goblin's right leg.

  The goblin collapsed, screaming in a harsh, inhuman tongue. Blood pooled beneath it as Rain stepped forward. He raised his sword and drove it straight down into the goblin's skull.

  The creature went still.

  Rain turned away, exhaustion weighing on his face. In the distance, others were still fighting. At least ten people struggled against the remaining goblins, while many had already fled.

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  The three men stared at him. None of them spoke.

  Rain noticed their looks but didn't care.

  If he had cared about what others thought, he wouldn't have spent his life hiding inside his apartment. He wouldn't have learned how to endure being alone.

  He walked past them.

  "Wait."

  Rain stopped and turned. The girl—the mage—was looking at him.

  "H-how did you kill the goblin like that?" she asked.

  Rain sighed. He didn't really know how to answer.

  "I guess…" He paused.

  "I guess confidence."

  He turned and walked away.

  The girl followed after him.

  As he continued down the wide dirt road, surrounded by dense trees, the girl kept following him. The silence stretched on, growing heavier with every step.

  It was awkward. Painfully awkward.

  Rain figured that since she was awkward—and he was awkward—someone had to break the silence. Unfortunately, that someone was him.

  He opened his mouth. "So—"

  "—So."

  They spoke at the exact same time.

  Rain winced internally.

  "Well… this is awkward."

  "You can speak first," Rain said.

  "N-no, you!" she shot back, oddly argumentative.

  Rain sighed. "I just figured, since you're following me and I don't even know who you are…" He paused. "I should at least know what to call you."

  She hesitated for a few seconds before answering.

  "My name is Roxy."

  Roxy.

  It was a nice name.

  "What about you?" she asked.

  "Rain."

  Silence followed again, but this time it felt lighter. At least they knew each other's names now. Rain slowed his pace until they were walking side by side.

  Before, he hadn't really had the chance to look at her. Everything had been chaos—screaming, fighting, blood. Now that things had calmed, he finally noticed her.

  She was pretty, even with her face smeared in dirt and streaked with red goblin blood. Her hair was a dark shade of purple, slightly wavy, flowing all the way down to her waist. Her eyes were black, but warm. She stood around five-foot-five.

  As they walked, she spoke again.

  Maybe she had noticed him staring. The thought made Rain uncomfortable. He didn't want her to think he was some kind of creep.

  "It's pretty crazy, huh?" she said.

  "Hm?" Rain replied.

  "This situation," she continued. "It's crazy. It feels like a dream. None of it makes sense—the screen, that weird man…" She hesitated. "Or woman. Or whatever it was. And those green things…"

  She slowed slightly, her expression dimming. Then she looked at Rain.

  "Do you think this will be over soon?" she asked. "Do you think we'll be able to go home?"

  Rain already knew the answer.

  It was unlikely. As horrible as this was, it didn't feel random. Someone—or something—had brought them here for a reason. Clearing one floor probably wouldn't be enough to send them back.

  But Roxy looked genuinely worried.

  Rain didn't want to make her feel worse.

  "I think we will," he said. "Why wouldn't we?"

  She studied his face for a moment, then let out a small giggle.

  "You don't have to lie to me," she said softly.

  Her voice was gentle, but Rain could tell. She wasn't happy. She was scared.

  That was when he noticed how strange he felt.

  Even after everything—the execution, the fighting, killing goblins—Rain didn't feel the same fear as everyone else. It wasn't that he was calm. It was something else entirely.

  He knew what it was.

  He just didn't want to admit it.

  After the fight, the corpses lingered in his mind. The smell lingered even more. Thick. Heavy. Overwhelming.

  Blood.

  It smelled… good.

  The thought made his stomach twist.

  He pushed the feeling away, but it came back in waves, stronger each time. He didn't want to feel this way. It made him feel wrong. Inhuman.

  What kind of person liked the smell of blood?

  No—worse than that.

  It wasn't hunger the way he understood it. He didn't want to eat the goblins.

  He wanted to drain them.

  To drink them dry.

  Was it really true?

  Was he seriously a vampire, just like the status screen said?

  Why? How?

  It felt impossible. Like some kind of mistake. How could he be a vampire? Was that even real?

  Then again, asking himself that in a place like this felt stupid. Nothing about this situation made sense to begin with.

  Did the tower turn him into a vampire… or had he always been one?

  Thinking back, Rain realized something strange. In the past, blood had always affected him—just not like this. Whenever he saw blood, his body would feel weak and loose, almost unstable. Even hearing people talk about it made him uncomfortable.

  Doctor visits were the worst. Whenever he needed blood work done, he almost passed out.

  So why now?

  Why did he suddenly like it?

  As they continued walking, something came into view that made both of their stomachs bundle.

  Bodies.

  Human bodies.

  They were scattered near the trees, unmoving and broken.

  "Oh my god…" Roxy whispered. Then again, louder. "Oh my fucking god."

  She instinctively stepped back.

  Rain stepped forward.

  "W-what are you doing?" she asked sharply.

  He barely heard her.

  Her voice faded as his thoughts drowned everything else out.

  Blood.

  Blood.

  Blood.

  There were several bodies—at least eight. Some were missing limbs, arms torn away and lying against trees. Others had their heads severed entirely.

  Rain didn't care how they died.

  What mattered was the smell.

  It was overwhelming. Thick. Almost dangerous.

  And it wasn't just the scent. The sight of the blood made his heart pound violently in his chest. His breathing grew shallow.

  It felt wrong.

  Like an addict staring at a pile of drugs.

  Even without tasting it, the scent alone made his head feel light. His body reacted as if it were being fed, intoxicated by nothing but the air.

  As he drew closer—just a few feet away—something touched his shoulder.

  Rain spun around instantly, anger flashing across his face.

  "Hey—are you oka—"

  The moment broke.

  Rain snapped out of it.

  He quickly stepped away from the bodies, putting distance between himself and them. Roxy hurried after him.

  "Oh…" she said softly. "I get it now."

  Rain turned toward her sharply.

  No way.

  Did she notice?

  "That happens to me too," she continued.

  Huh?

  "I get scared around blood," she said, walking faster until she was beside him. "Even the goblins' blood freaked me out. It was disgusting." She hesitated. "A-are you okay?"

  Rain forced his expression to relax. He hoped she hadn't seen the look on his face earlier.

  "Ah… yeah," he said with an awkward laugh. "I'm fine." He paused, then looked at her. "Are you?"

  She stared at the ground as she walked.

  "I just…" she murmured. "I feel bad for them. Those people. They must've had families."

  Her words hit harder than he expected.

  They cut through the haze.

  That's right.

  They were human.

  And he had wanted to drink them.

  The realization made him want to puke.

  Rain felt sick.