Overlord: The Solemn PvP'er

Chapter 3: The Solemn Visitor

As the Breaker continued to trek through the woods, he grew accustomed to his new surroundings. The sun hadn't bothered him; his Daywalker Coat is a magic item that removes the debuffs of Sunlight and Holy spells to the wearer.

Breaking free from the treeline, he gazes out into the vast valley. The morning sun shined a pleasant light over the land. But the peaceful nature of the land is disturbed by a plume of black smoke. Looking down from the hilltop, he saw a small village set on fire.

Breaker(mental): "There's life here? Maybe they might know something about Yggdrasil. I gotta hurry."

The Vampire Lord gripped the handle of his sheathed blade as he sprinted toward the village. His movement increased to an almost blindingly fast speed. While he was a max-level Yggdrasil player, his build was more of a martial-type character than a caster type. He could cast a Tier 4 spell at the highest, but spells like teleport were in the Tier 5 and higher spell range. So, all he had to use was his innate speed, which would be enough.

Soon, he skids to a stop at the front of the village. Allowing himself to marvel at the fact that he still had access to his enhanced physical capabilities.

Breaker(mental): "So it looks like all I have to do is mentally call upon my skills, and they manifest. That could be useful. Now, I must see if this process also works for my spells."

As he begins to take a few steps forward into the village, he stops as he kneels to check on a body that had been left on the ground. A large stab wound was on the person's side; this wound was fresh but deep.

The villager was dead.

The strangest part was that the Breaker didn't feel pity or sadness. Instead, he felt...hungry. He didn't understand why he felt this way; he was looking down at a dead human person, and all he could feel was hunger. Why? Could it have been because of his vampiric nature? It would seem that his race had begun to affect his ability to express emotions and react to certain situations.

Then there was the blood itself. The metallic smell of it hung in the air, like finding water in a desert after days without it. It drew him in. He could feel himself slipping as he almost appeared to lose self-control and leaned down to bite into the person. His fangs extended to drain what little blood was left from the fresh corpse. But at the last moment, he managed to pull away as he regained control.

Breaker(mental): "What was that?! I..I almost drank this person's blood!...what the hell is happening?"

While caught up in thought, he failed to notice that he was surrounded by blue knights on a steel plate.

Knight: "Hey. It looks like we got an uninvited guest. I got this."

Approaching the kneeling Breaker, the knight goes for an overhead slash toward his neck. But his attack is stopped as his wrist is grabbed mid-swing.

Knight: "What?! Hey! Let go!" Looking into the eyes of the Breaker, he sees exactly what he is facing. "Your...You're a monster!! Let me go!!"

Breaker: "Did you do this?" His voice was Romanian but with a stern tone.

Knight: "Monster! Monster!!" He tries to pull away, but the Breaker's tight hold prevents him from moving.

Breaker(mental): "That's strange. These are supposed to be NPCs. They don't nearly have enough processing power to act in this manner. The way he's tugging expresses fear and desperation. It's afraid. But how can that be? Furthermore, they're attacking each other. Judging by their armor versus the villagers' lack of such defenses, this was a raid. Planned out. The way they're beginning to encircle me expresses a level of hesitation, which means a higher ability to comprehend and problem-solve. Either the game is seriously broken, or these are NPCs that mimic past player behavior. I don't have enough information to make a consensus accurately. For now, I have to treat them like real players. Lucky me."