Ziyu Feng was of short stature, with burly arms. His head had a short Buzzcut and was partially covered by scruffy facial hair with some bald patches. There was a long gash from his left eye to the back of his neck.

Everybody was familiar with him in the market district, particularly in the food courts. Despite his lack of intelligence, nobody questioned his physical strength. He was hired as the security guard for the food court, dealing with small-time thieves.

“Hey, you coward! Come back here! FENG, chase him down - he's escaping.” The clerk shouted.

Those unfortunate enough to cross paths with Ziyu Feng had a very slim chance of living. He took pleasure in inflicting agony on his victims by using large stones to grind their bones. Alfred was the latest unfortunate individual targeted by Feng.

*Swish swish*

The child dashed between the throng of people, making a break for it before Feng could even begin to give chase.

Alfred had an above-average level of physical prowess compared to the regular humans in this realm. But that only held true for those without any special training or magical powers.

He ran through a mist of perfume and sweat, past begging children and outstretched hands, weaving through the crowd with practiced ease.

The boy swept around a couple locked in an embrace, then slid between a tall man's legs. The man cursed and grabbed for him but only smacked his head on the wall.

As soon as the youth stood up, he turned right and sprinted into an alleyway. His feet kicked up thick dust from the dry dirt that covered the ground. With each pounding step, his heart beat faster.

Feng, hulking and massive, barreled through the crowd of people like a freight train. He wasn't as nimble as the youth, but his size made him just as fast in a straight line. His broad shoulders collided with anyone who dared to stand in his path, sending them sprawling to the ground.

The peasants around him scrambled out of the way, their faces contorted with fear and hatred. “Out of the way, you miserable worms!” He growled while stomping toward the narrow alleyway.

The air was thick with a mixture of sweat and dirt, broken only by the occasional shout or scream as Feng's brute force cleared a path through the masses.

Alfred skidded to a stop at the end of the alleyway, his chest heaving in and out like a piston. Feng was right behind him, arms pumping, breath steaming, hot on his trail.

The 8-year-old wasted no time and squeezed himself between two sagging huts before jumping onto a stack of crates and scaling up onto the roof of another building.

From his vantage point, Alfred could see Feng charging forward like a rhino as he ran straight through the wall of the first hut that the boy had passed. Wood shattering filled the air, sending planks and fragments flying in all directions. Then the short man dashed around the hut that the youngster had climbed moments before and followed him into another alleyway.

Alfred scrambled across the path, weaving and dodging chunks of rock that were hurled in his direction. The explosions shook the walls around him, as rocks flew past his head like furious hornets.

One jagged stone flew so close it grazed his cheek, drawing a thin line of blood that dripped down his chin. He ducked just in time to avoid another one that almost collided with his skull.

“S*** that was a close call! I need to lose this oaf as soon as possible.” The youth thought to himself.

Alfred possessed the boy's memories, so he led Feng through the alleyways as if it were second nature. He knew exactly where to go.

‘This better work.’ He was at his wit's end. ‘Just one more turn.’

The young lad was famished and exhausted, having gone days without any nourishment. The blood he had drank only made him recall memories but did nothing to alleviate his fatigue.

Right as Alfred was about to take the bend into the backstreet, he heard Feng bellow; “Accelerate!”.

*whoosh”

A fist-sized rock flew towards the child and smashed into his hind leg, denting his skin and squeezing the flesh against the bone.

“Argh!”

Alfred was overwhelmed with disbelief. 'How could he know magic? He's nothing but a fool!', he thought to himself, panic-stricken.

Magic users were scarce in the slums because if you had any talent for it, you would no longer need to live there.

Unbeknown to him, the thing that had made Ziyu Feng so famous was his knowledge of a relatively simple spell.

Even a novice wizard would look down on this particular piece of magic as it was usually taught to children to give them an understanding of the flow of Mana. But in the slums, this ability alone earned the burly man admiration as if he were a deity.

Alfred skidded around the corner, his heart racing as he made the turn. The boy could feel Feng close behind, and when he realized that the Alleyway was a dead end, his stomach lurched in apprehension. With a sickening jolt, he knew this was it.

‘At least I made it, let's see how this goes.’ The youth thought to himself while biting his bottom lip.

Feng cackled with delight as he saw Alfred had nowhere to run. "You fool! Now I get to take my sweet vengeance on you!" His eyes gleamed with evil pleasure as he licked his lips in anticipation of what was to come.

Alfred limped towards the back wall of the alleyway, his tattered shoes slipping on the debris-strewn ground. His chest heaved as he tried to catch his breath, and sweat dripped down his forehead.

The young lad fixed his opponent with a stare, pausing to give a smile that seemed to hang in the air for an eternity. It was wide and mischievous, sending shivers down Feng's back.

The man's grip tightened around the handle of his pocket knife as he flicked it open, its blade glinting in the dim light.

Feng was anxious as he eyed the boy who seemed out of the ordinary. 'I'd better finish up this encounter quickly,' he thought to himself.

*Growl growl growl*

A low rumble caught Feng off guard as he turned back to investigate. It was Alfred's pack of dogs, responding to his presence. He had formed a strong connection with the animals and their loyalty was evident.

This was their territory.

Feng spun around and barely had time to register the three dogs hurtling towards him. He quickly moved his left arm up in half-arc, managing to backhand two of them simultaneously.

But the third dog was too quick for him, sinking its teeth into his right wrist.

“Argh!” The short man yelped in pain and dropped the knife he'd been holding.

‘Well done my beauties, now it's my turn.’ The boy mused.

Alfred hunched down into position, his heart hammering in his chest. The thrill of adrenaline coursed through his veins as he felt a power surge through him - one he hadn't felt before.

The youngster’s injury still throbbed, but the pain was gradually fading away. ‘This must be my passive healing kicking in.’ Alfred thought to himself with a grin.

With a sudden burst of energy, he propelled himself off the ground with a primal scream that echoed around him. An electric current prickled his skin like thousands of tiny needles as he took his first step and a notification appeared in front of his eyes, shimmering and vibrating with supernatural force.

[Vampiric Mode Enabled: All Stats X 2
Mana: NULL
Shakti: 10SP
Strength: 14
Speed: 10
Defense: 10]

Alfred’s eyes turned red, and he now had two sharp fangs. His hair also grew by 5 inches.

He felt a sudden boiling heat in his veins, his eyes now blazed crimson with two razor-sharp fangs descending from his mouth.

The boy's hair erupted an extra five inches, standing erect as if charged with electricity. His body surged with power; his muscles expanded and rippled with strength as if a super core engine had been installed within him.

He felt as though he could reach out and tear mountains apart with the sheer force of Shakti coursing through his veins.

Ziyu Feng was around 12 meters away, but he had no idea that Alfred had already closed in. The young boy moved with a speed beyond comprehension, dashing 10 meters in a fraction of a second.

Feng's eyes widened in panic as he saw the youth appear before him and he lifted his arms in an X formation to block any incoming attack. But when he returned his gaze forward, there was no sign of Alfred anymore.

A chill ran down the short man's spine as he spun around; it was too late. Alfred's cold stare met his own, and a long pocket knife was lodged deep into his throat.

The boy carefully maneuvered the blade, with his childlike fingers, until it was in the perfect spot then yanked it back with all his might. This wasn't the first time he'd done this; he knew precisely where to insert and how hard to pull for maximum destruction.

“Bleurgh!”

*Fwish fwish fwish*

Ziyu Feng dropped to his knees, the thick scarlet lifeblood jetting out of his neck in pulsing streams.

He desperately tried to cover the injury with both hands but the fountain of red only seemed to worsen. Panic spread across his face as he realized he was going to die.

*Gurgle gurgle*

The burly man fell face forward with wide eyes, completely aghast.

[Vampire Mode Disabled.
Shakti: 6SP]

[Rank F Blood Detected.
Would The User Like To Drain The Victim?
Yes/No]

‘Yes.’ Alfred thought without hesitation.

*Fwoosh*

Alfred gulped down 5.5 liters of blood and strangely found pleasure in it. He couldn't control the joy that spread across his face, no matter how much he tried to fight it.

'I still can't believe I enjoyed that,' Alfred thought as he cringed at himself.

[Strength + 1, SP + 1]

[Downloading Blood Memories: 8%]

The percentage slowly climbed up until it reached 100%, and the last year of Ziyu Feng’s memories flashed into his mind. After a brief discomfort, Alfred began to sort through the memories.

Alfred observed that Feng's memory banks were largely comprised of unhelpful recollections, with no more than vague cravings to destroy things.

All the grave dweller did was consume, slumber, and torture any tiny animal he could acquire. The reincarnator started to contemplate if everybody in this world was completely mad.

Alfred never tortured without a goal in mind. He was determined to not connect his actions with Ziyu Fengs’.

There was one piece of vital information, the spell; ‘Accelerate’, and how to cast it. This sudden realization gave the boy an idea.

‘Stats.’ He called out in his mind and to his surprise a series of notifications appeared before him.

[Name: Alfred
Species: Dhampir
Mana: NULL
Shakti: 15SP
Strength: 8
Speed: 6
Defense: 6 ]

‘I need to test this system further before I can get a better grasp on how it works. Let me see if I can figure out this Mana thing.’

Alfred took a deep breath and recalled how Ziyu Feng used to draw Mana from his memories. He inhaled and pictured the Mana in the air entering his lungs. While he was attempting this he could see small light particles in the air gathering towards him.

The next step was to gather the Mana in his abdomen, then conjure up the spell he wanted to cast. To achieve this, he needed to picture a particular Charm for the Spell. Charms were sometimes called Spell Paths

Finally, he needed to vocalize the enchantment, letting the retained energy move through him as it followed the pattern of the spell.

Different spells had different spell paths, and some were more complex than others. Certain spells could take more than an hour to make the Mana flow through the entire spell path.

If a single mistake was made, the spell would either backlash or not work entirely.

This was what made magic so difficult and not easily accessible to most commoners. Only people who went to magic schools or nobles were given the correct instruction to master magic.

“Accelerate!”

Alfred shouted out while imagining his fist going at incredible speed. He had to first visualize the Mana going through the spell path.

The spell path was simple for Accelerate; it looked like three overlapping triangles. However, Alfred still needed to get the start and flow of the Mana correct.

From the casting hand, the Mana could then be projected onto objects but he directed it towards his fist for a punch.

*Whoosh*

He succeeded.

[MANA UNLOCKED
MANA: 10MP]

‘Oh, wow that was easy, and it jumped to 10MP; exactly where my Shakti started from.’

*Rumble rumble*

Alfred's stomach was speaking tongues, he remembered why he did all this in the first place and picked up the bag with the meat buns.

‘It’s time to eat!’