The Drogen's Law

Blood Heart System (Jimmy)

[More Than a Week Ago]

[Vancorg Tribe]

[Edwin’s and Jimmy’s Birthday]

[Midnight]

***

Jimmy was being carried strapped to a woman’s chest. Even as the woman ran from the unknown danger, she brushed his hair, all the while murmuring, “It’s going to be alright, Gav. I’ll protect you. I’ll keep you safe.”

A sudden force struck them, and Gav—or was he Jimmy, felt a burning pain in his head. The world spun around him. Jimmy could feel his mind slipping away. Something… shifted. Jimmy-Gav found himself sprawled on the ground, his head throbbing, barely conscious. A woman with blonde hair and red eyes placed a red spherical stone the size of a thumbnail in his chest and backed away.

There was a flash of red and a roaring sound. Jimmy fell into the world of shearing pain as if thousands of burning needles were pressing against his skin—every part of his skin. The pain kept on rising and rising and rising. The sharp burning pain seeped into his sinew, his bones, and the marrow till it ripped his soul apart. He wanted to howl, to move, to do something—but nothing worked. Why must he suffer pain, so much pain? He Just wanted it to stop. Better death than such pain.

Jimmy bolted upright in his bed, screaming. He threw the blankets away, gasping, hands on his chest. Sweat beaded in every inch of him, they slithered down his body like a cold reminder of his terrors. His heart hammered like thunder. That was one of the worst nightmares that haunted his life. It was so vivid, so real. Jimmy shivered. It had nothing to do with the icy wind of the night.

Jimmy looked around, frantic, just to make sure he was in his room.

Safe! His room was mostly empty. There was only a bed next to a window, a small closet, and a table, nothing more. Jimmy looked outside the window. The moon was still up, showering the world with its ambient purple light. The ever-present throbbing head and distant yet perpetual tone in his ears greeted him. It never went away. After all these years, Jimmy had become used to it. It still hurt like hell, though.

An emotionless, unfamiliar, mechanical voice sounded in Jimmy’s head.

[Booting System]

“Who is there?” Jimmy Jumped at the strange voice. Well, at least he tried to. Some unseen force rooted him into the place. He couldn’t even move his finger. He should be panicking, but something strange washed over him, soothing his emotions.

[System Online.]

[System Error!]

[Error Code—E07-1134: Insufficient power supply! Shutting down most functions of the system.]

[Congratulations! You are now the host of the Blood Heart System.]

[Good luck with your advancement!]

[PS: Please do your best to survive! The creators sacrificed a lot to develop this system.]

[New Quests Available: Open the Quests menu for more details.]

The voices in his mind stopped, and Jimmy gained back the freedom of his body. He flexed his shoulder just to make sure he could move again.

A Red, transparent thing like a glass window appeared in front of his eyes, hovering in the air. Jimmy tried to touch the thing, but his hand went right through it. As if it was the most natural thing in the world, he was unperturbed about it. He just couldn’t understand it. Jimmy read the writings in the glass thingy. They were the same information he had just heard.

[Information: The window in front of the host is called a Screen. For more information, please think of the command ‘User Manual.’]

Jimmy did so.

The information on the screen in front of him changed. The first information was about how to use the system with simple thought commands. Then it went on about the detailed information on various menus and how to switch between them. It took Jimmy almost four hours just to understand everything. He knew there were seven menus; Profile, Inventory, Quests, Shop, Legacies, Notifications, and User Manual. He learned how to open and close the screen and switch between the menus—he just had to think about them with intent. The menus; Shop, Inventory, and Legacies were locked. He couldn’t open them.

‘Why am I not affected? Why am I not freaking out?’

[Information: The system is suppressing all the emotions related to Blood Heart System, to help the host cope with it.]

“Oh!”

Already forgetting about his questions, Jimmy willed the system to open his profile.

[Name: Jimmy Wright]

[Race: Vampire Soul/Human Body (Quest Available)]

[Spirit: None]

[Spirit Ability: None]

[Soul Status: Damaged By 0.001% (Quest Available)]

[Greater Relm: Foundation]

[Lesser Relm: Ordinary (Not Advanced)]

[Relm Stage: None]

[Advancement Progress: 0/0 (Cannot Advance)]

[Core: Blood (Red)]

[Core Level: 5 (Max.)]

[HP: 7]

[Strength: 9]

[Agility: 15]

[Stamania: 5]

[Healing Factor: 1HP/Hour (Self)—1HP (Per minute)/1ml Blood]

[Drogen: Not Available (Requirements Not Met)]

After skimming through his profile, Jimmy stitched to his quest menu.

[Quest 1: Cultivate 3 ordinary level blood cores to heal the damage to your soul. Reward: 5 stamina points.]

[Quest 2: Cultivate 3 ordinary level blood cores to become a full vampire. Reward: 3 Strength points. (Complete Quest 1 to unlock the quest.)]

After Jimmy read the second quest, a ding sounded in his mind. A third quest appeared on the screen. He also heard the quest.

[Quest 3: An energy source has been detected. Travel east to reach the location of the energy source. Reward: 3 HP.]

The first two quests were well enough, now that he and his brother were 15. His brother could hunt blood creatures and collect the blood cores for him. Jimmy wasn’t much of a fighter. Edwin had taught him how to use weapons, but he wasn’t confident in them. The third quest, however, was a death sentence. He would never survive outside the walls of the tribe. There was no way he could ever complete the third quest.

Jimmy Couldn’t go back to sleep, now. It was almost dawn. So, Jimmy waited. After some time, a knock came at his door. The knock was rhythmic and gentle, but demanding.

“It is time, Young Master.” That was Thom Smith, Jimmy’s blacksmith master, who had been training him for the past seven years.

Jimmy opened the door. The deep brown and bald figure of his master greeted him. His master was a giant of a man with chiselled muscles in contrast to Jimmy, who was scrawny and sickly for a blacksmith. Something was preventing Jimmy from having a proper figure as a blacksmith, even after seven years of sweaty work in the smithy.

After exchanging a few stuttering pleasantries with his master, Jimmy followed him to the smithy. A voice sounded in his mind even as he followed his master.

[An energy source has been detected. Travel east to reach the location of the energy source. Reward: 3 HP.]

It was the same notification of the third quest given by the system. Jimmy Ignored It.