"Hey, have you heard the news?" asked the man in the leather jacket, his glass of beer in hand as he leaned against the counter.
It had been two days since a report surfaced about some missing people in their community.
In this small town, news spread like wildfire, swiftly transforming into rumors of a serial killer on the loose. While there were some suspects, lacking concrete evidence hindered any decisive action.
The bartender, wiping down the counter, glanced up. "What news?"
The man leaned in, lowering his voice conspiratorially. "There's talk about another disappearance. Some people think it's connected to the last one."
The bartender's eyes widened slightly. "Another one? That's unsettling."
"Yeah," the man replied, taking a sip of his beer. "People are starting to get nervous. Keep an eye out, you know?"
The bartender nodded solemnly, returning to his task as the patrons continued their conversations, the air heavy with unease.
This rumor wasn't confined to the bar alone; it echoed throughout the town, seeping into every corner and crevice.
In fact, the recent events had prompted authorities to impose a curfew, prohibiting anyone from wandering the streets after 9:00 pm.
This new restriction casts a pall over the nightlife, including the bar income stream.
The usual jovial atmosphere was replaced by an air of urgency as patrons hurried to finish their drinks before the curfew.
As the clock ticked closer to 8:30 pm., the bartender reluctantly began informing customers of the approaching deadline.
"Folks, I hate to break it to you, but we've got to close up early tonight. Curfew's in effect, and we need to get everyone home safely."
Grumbles of disappointment rippled through the crowd as glasses were hastily drained and jackets grabbed from hooks.
With a collective sigh, the patrons bid farewell to one another, their faces etched with concern as they ventured out into the night.
And so, as the last of the customers dispersed into the night, the bar fell silent, its doors closing behind them .
After 9:00 p.m.
Outside, the streets were empty of the usual residents, devoid of the usual laughter and chatter.
The distant sound of a police siren served as a grim reminder of the danger lurking in the darkness.
"They're being too careful," Reign sighed to himself. He had already leveled up to 8 and was now here to hunt again.
His usual targets were drunkards, but alas, the number of his victims had increased so much that the police were now patrolling the area.
It was fortunate that they hadn't searched the cemetery first because it was quite a distance away, so no sane man would go there at night in the first place.
As for the gravedigger? Well, they were not from this town, so they were not considered in the investigation of the missing people.
However, the curfew and patrols posed a problem for him. He could only level up by feasting on humans, so finding a cleaner way to boost his power was out of the question.
"Should I go for an all-out massacre and then flee from this place?" he thought to himself. If he could consume dozens of people, then he could level up to 10 and gain another evolution point.
With luck, he might even evolve closer to a humanoid form.
But for him to do that, attacking one house after another would be too risky.
After observing the residents, he realized that most of them owned guns.
Despite being a monster, he would still sustain heavy injuries if he faced a barrage of bullets. Even a shotgun blast to the face could prove fatal.
'I need to find an easier target tonight,' he thought to himself.
As he roamed the dark streets, his senses heightened, scanning for any signs of vulnerability.
Then, a glimmer of hope flickered in his mind—a secluded cabin on the outskirts of town, far from prying eyes and armed residents.
It was a long shot, but perhaps there, he could find the prey he sought without attracting unwanted attention.
Normally, it would take the police a considerable amount of time to investigate isolated cabins like those. So, this made it the perfect target for him.
With a new objective in mind, he set off towards the cabin, his undead instincts driving him forward.
Finally, he reached the cabin, hidden amidst the dense forest.
He approached, his hunger gnawing at him with every passing moment.
As he entered the cabin, his senses tingled with anticipation.
Inside, he found a lone occupant—a weary traveler seeking refuge from the dangers of the night.
Without hesitation, he pounced, his feral instincts taking over as he sank his teeth into his unsuspecting victim.
The taste of blood flooded his senses, exhilarating and satisfying in equal measure.
With each bite, he felt his strength grow, his powers surging to new heights. As the last traces of life drained from his prey, he felt a surge of power wash over him.
[Level UP]
The sound of a notification made him grin, and he hurriedly checked his new stats.
===========
Name: Reign
Level 9
Age. : 18 (+1 year)
Race: Hunter
Strength :E
Agility. :E+
Stamina :F-
Endurance : B
Intelligence: C+
[Skill]
Bite - Level III
Undead Eye - Level I
Night Crawl I
[Points]
Attribute Points 30
Skill Points : 6
Evolution Points : 0
============
"I've saved up enough points now. Should I allocate them?" he mused to himself. He had been holding onto his reward because he wanted to assess his options after the next evolution. That's why he hadn't used it yet.
In addition, he always caught his prey by surprise, so he never really felt the need to increase his stats yet.
'My endurance stopped increasing after it reached B,' he muttered to himself.
He had a feeling that advancing from B to A would require more effort. Following this logic, it also meant that he would need to allocate more skill points.
'Let's increase stamina for now. I feel like I'll need it once I start having to fight more people at once.'
Stamina: [F-] → [F+]
After increasing his stamina, he didn't feel any immediate change. Nevertheless, he knew that it would come in handy in the future.
As for the skill points, he decided to save them.
His bite was now enough to kill a person in one go, and his claws were sharp enough that a normal swing was already deadly. He would keep the skill points until he found a better skill to spend them on.