Chapter 1 - Lingering regrets

 *huff *  *huff*

 With sluggish steps Cantorn stumbled into the direction of what seemed like an altar for ritual purposes. Crimson black bloodstains could be seen on its edges, seemingly remaining from the offerings whose lives had ended on there. But Cantorn didn't even care about all of that, he had bigger problems at hand right now. For example the gaping wound in his chest that just wouldnt stop bleeding. Or the remains of what you would have called an arm, had it not been so deformed, hanging from his left shoulder. It was already wondrous how he had survived up until now. He was the weakest out of all the others of his dark elf tribe, being a measily level 3. Not even children had a level as low as his, and yet he was the lone remaining person from this dungeon raid. All the others had been slaughtered by the gruesome undead until only he and a few others were remaining to challenge the boss, a lich-like being, summoning undead and casting spells from the blood of his fallen comrades. Well, comrades was the wrong word to express what they were to him, tribespeople would be a better way tho describe them. Since he had been such a weakling they had shown little interest in him at all. And still, he was the one to surprise and kill the boss with his small dagger as the lich was feasting on the blood of his tribal leader, a noble dark elven warrior. Cantorn stopped for a moment. He had to empty his stomach just by thinking of all the bloodshed that had happened in the past few hours. For a rare pacifistic dark elf such as him it was strange to even pick up a weapon, let alone join a dungeon raid, but the weight of being a nuisance to his tribe had motivated him to prove them all wrong. Well, his pacifistic behaviour and therefore weak physique probably wasn't the only reason why he was being looked down on. Because, if you were to be exact he was not even a real dark elf, having had a human father that disappeared soon after his birth.

 Cantorn paused again. He felt his mind drifting away from the current situation, contemplating about all of his life. It didn't even matter. What was of the essence right now was that he was dying! The blood loss must've had an impact on his logical and calm thinking, one of the few things he took pride in. So he started to move again. Step by step he plodded into the direction of the altar. He didn't even know why he did that. He could just die by lying down on the floor and yet the last shred of pride he had in his body wouldn't allow him to die right there. At least he would be able to lie down comfortably on the surface of the altar. When he finally reached the ominous block of stone he slumped down on it. The last bit of warm blood remaining started to make a pool of blood under his curled up body. Finally he was able to let go. A certain warmth and peace started to spread inside him as he closed his eyes, ready to breathe out the rest of his otherwise so miserable life. When memories of his childhood started to flash in his kind he felt a tiny little bit of regret. If only he hadn't been so weak, so timid all the time. Could he have lived a better and more eventful life? A life that wouldn't end without having made any accomplishments at all? He didn't know. And even though he felt regretful, there wasn't any way to change it now. He'd die right here and there was no changing that fact. With those thoughts he felt ready to meet his end.

  *ding*

[Rewards for killing an 'Apostle of Blood' are being calculated.]

[The user of the system has been found to be in a critical state.]

[The user of the system has been found to harbor lingering regrets.]

[A blood offer of the user has been detected.]

[An affinity overlap with the 'Apostle of Blood' has been detected.]

[The rewards are being readjusted.]

[The weakness of the users body forces the system to lower the level of the rewards.]

[The rewards are being readjusted.]

[The rewards are being given to the user of the system.]

[The users race is evolving.]

[The user has evolved from 'Half-dark elf' into 'Half-dark elf (parasitic)'.]

[The user has earned the new inheritance skill 'Blood mark (passive)'.]

[The user has earned the new skill 'Parasitic growth (growth type/passive)'.]

[Due to the efforts made by the system to adjust the rewards 1 level is being deducted from the user.]

[Due to the severity of the users condition 1 level is being deducted from the user to restore its body.]