Leah was honkering down in a wide snow-covered hollow beneath the roots of a massive tree. She had dragged the two goblin corpses into the hollow with her, and now she was wearing the leather armour and fur-lined cloak she had stripped from one of them. The gear was crude, smelling of sweat and damp fur, but it was better than nothing.

  The dagger she had taken from the goblin rested at her side. The bow, however, was useless to her—her hands were too small to properly draw its string, and she had no idea how to shoot.

  As she leaned back against a tree root, her thoughts went back to the system. She brought up the panel and quickly scanned it, mentally going over the information.

  **Overview**

  Name: Leah

  Race: Lesser Blood Fairy

  Level: 2

  Health: 100/100

  Blood Mana: 13/30

  **Attributes**

  Strength: 10

  Agility: 12

  Intelligence: 8

  Attribute Points: 11

  Leah took a moment to study the attributes before her. She didn’t know what they exactly did, but decided to test them by putting two points in each of them. Leah focused on strength first, and watched as the numbers shifted with a subtle flick of her thoughts.

  She felt a brief surge of warmth in her limbs, a slight but noticeable change in how her muscles felt—more solid, more responsive. Clenching her fist, she could tell there was more power behind her grip than before.

  But looking over at 'overview', she found that her maximum health increased from 100 to 120.

  Leah smiled faintly at the result. She moved on to agility, putting another two points into the attribute. Instantly, she felt lighter on her feet. Her reflexes sharpened, and even her movements felt quicker, more fluid.

  Next, she added two points to intelligence. A faint pressure settled behind her eyes, not painful but noticeable. It was as if her mind had sharpened, thoughts coming faster and clearer. She glanced at her Blood Mana pool and saw it increase from 13/30 to 13/50.

  That left five attribute points. Leah debated for a moment before dumping the rest into intelligence. A moment later, Leah looked down at her hands. The abilities she’d been using felt more instinctual now, as if her control over them had refined. Her Blood Mana had risen to 13/100, and she could tell that using her abilities would feel less draining.

  But she looked back at the 13 points left in her Blood Mana pool and the 100 points in her health. How was she going to fill those up?

  She looked at the two goblin corpses beside her. The answer was obvious.

  Leah hesitated, staring at the lifeless bodies. The idea of feeding on them didn’t repulse her as much as it should have. She had already drained the wolf without any mercy.

  So she leaned forward, her instincts urging her. She reached out and grabbed the wrist of the closest goblin. Her fangs bared, and she sank them into the goblin’s skin without a second thought.

  The warm, bitter taste of blood flooded her mouth, and she felt the familiar surge of power as the energy flowed through her. She drank deeply, her senses sharpening as the blood replenished her reserves.

  Leah pulled back—careful not to take too much—and wiped her mouth with the back of her hand. Taking a look at her status, her health filled out to 120/120 and her Blood Mana increased to 30/100.

  Leah set the corpse down and took a moment to steady herself.

  She straightened herself up and glanced at the goblins. The thought of feeding on there blood lingered, but she pushed it aside for now. There was no need to rush. She needed to focus on what came next.

  She had made a mental note on where the goblin she had failed to kill, ran off too. Now that she knew that she needs to feed on blood, she knew the two goblins she had wouldn’t be enough to sustain her for a while. So she had to get a steady supply.

  She moved toward the edge of the hollow, glancing up at the darkening sky. When night comes she’ll be perfectly fine seeing through the darkness.

  Leah spent a few moments adjusting the makeshift armor, tightening the straps on the cloak to fit better. Then, she went. Feet light on the snow, Leah moved swiftly through the forest.

  As she moved through the trees, her heightened senses were alert to every sound around her. Minutes passed. Her glowing eyes flicked from shadow to shadow, scanning for any movement.

  She caught the sound of something far ahead of her—the soft crunch of snow. Leah stopped, listening intently. The noise came again, closer this time. It was faint but unmistakable: the slow, deliberate steps of something moving through the snow. Leah’s blood hummed with anticipation. Did she find a goblin?

  She listened more closely. But now that she did, she could hear multiple footsteps, not just one. Leah crouched down low. She waited for a minute, determining in which way the group was heading, then moved silently to hide in an underbrush on their path.

  Leah pressed herself low to the ground, her breath steady as she peered through the tangled underbrush. The footsteps grew louder, crunching through the snow with uneven rhythm.

  The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

  A moment later, a light appeared in the distance—a flickering orange glow cutting through the forest. Leah’s grip tightened on the dagger at her side as she watched.

  The figures emerged from between the trees. Six snow goblins, trudging through the snow, their breath visible in the cold air.

  They all held crude torches, their flames casting jittery shadows across their faces. They were dressed in the same patchwork furs and leather as the other goblins she fought.

  Leah stayed perfectly still, her glowing red eyes tracking the goblins’ movements. They eventually passed her hiding spot without noticing her. She waited, counting their footsteps as they moved further ahead. The goblins weren’t in a hurry, but they were heading to the place where Leah first encountered them earlier that day.

  Leah exhaled slowly. Six was too many to fight head-on, but she followed them anyway. She slinked through the snow, staying low and out of sight. They walked for several minutes before they stopped. Leah listened closely as they spoke.

  "Let’s split up now into pairs," one of the goblins at the front said. "We’ll find that bloodsucker, no matter what."

  Leah stayed still, barely breathing. She watched as the six goblins broke into three pairs, each moving in a different direction. Leah waited a few moments, calculating. She picked the goblins furthest to the left. And then she moved.

  Sticking to the shadows, Leah stalked her chosen pair. The two goblins trudged through the snow, their torches flickering. They spoke in low, guttural tones, occasionally glancing around.

  Leah waited for a while before she made her move. The goblins had walked far enough from the others, the crackling of their torches muffled by the snow and the rustling trees.

  With barely a sound, Leah closed the distance between them, her breath steady, her movements quick. She aimed the palms of her hands at them and focused on her blood abilities.

  With a sharp exhale, she sent two tendrils of blood shooting forward, wrapping around the goblins' necks before they could react. The goblins flailed, but Leah’s control was tight. The blood tendrils squeezed, and they collapsed to the ground, gasping for breath. She didn’t give them a chance to struggle.

  With a quick motion, she pulled out her knife, ran up to the nearest goblin, then plunged the knife into their throat. The goblin’s blood spilled out, soaking the snow beneath them.

  Leah then pushed off the ground and dashed to the other goblin who was busy taking off the blood tendril. She reached him just as he turned, swinging the dagger into the goblin’s chest.

  The goblin's eyes widened as Leah’s dagger cut through its flesh. It gasped, trying to grasp at the wound, but it was too late. With a final, weak gurgle, its head crumpled back to the snow, its life draining out fast.

  Leah took a moment to catch her breath, her heart pounding. She then crouched down and bared her fangs. She sank them into the neck of the fallen goblin, drawing the warm blood into her mouth. She drank deeply, replenishing her Blood Mana.

  Once she had her fill, she noticed the system give her a notification. She brought up the panel and checked the message.

  [SYSTEM MESSAGE]

  'You have consumed a foe.'

  'You have gained 7 Strength.'

  'You have gained 4 Agility.'

  'You have gained experience.'

  She noticed she got a similar message when she had fed on the white wolf. But she hadn’t gained any points to her attributes when she had fed on the dead goblins in her hollow. Did her targets have to be alive for her to gain them?

  She then checked her Blood Mana pool. It was back up to 70/100. It would be enough for now. She took one last look at the Goblins and then slipped away, moving swiftly through the forest.

  Leah moved quickly—heading into the direction of the next group. She moved silently through the trees, staying alert. Her ears listened to the forest as she followed the faint sounds of her next target.

  After a while, she saw the flicker of fire in the distance again. This time, Leah sprinted at them more confidently, not even bothering to hide. She moved with speed, closing the distance quickly. The goblins turned around as they heard the rapid footsteps crunching through the snow.

  The nearest goblin shouted, raising his torch, but Leah was already there. Using her increased strength, she sucker–punched him square on the nose, knocking his head back and sending him sprawling to the ground.

  Before the other goblin could react, Leah shot out her blood tendril out at him and wrapping him around his waist. He struggled, but the grip was iron-tight. She yanked him toward her, grabbing his face and then slamming him to the ground.

  Leah didn’t hesitate. She went down to the unconscious goblin and stuck her fangs into its neck. She fed greedily until the goblin’s body went limp, its blood draining into her.

  She pulled back satisfied when she was done. She stood up, then moved to the other goblin, who was slowly lifting his head. But once Leah reached him, she knelt down, pushed his head to the ground, and chomped on his neck. The goblin tried to break free once, but quickly became still as it's blood was siphoned.

  Leah wiped the blood from her mouth once she was finished. She checked her Blood Mana pool—now at 90/100—and the system.

  [SYSTEM MESSAGE]

  'You have consumed foes.'

  'You have gained 7 Strength.'

  'You have gained 5 Agility.'

  'You have gained experience.'

  Then a next notification popped up.

  [SYSTEM MESSAGE]

  'You have leveled up!'

  'You have gained 1 attribute point.'

  Leah smiled, then dismissed the system notifications and refocused. There were still two goblins left. She didn’t want to waste time.

  She moved quickly, her enhanced agility carrying her through the snow without a sound. The last pair of goblins were further away, but they had to have heard the shout. As she got closer, she could hear their voices—low, tense, wary.

  They knew something was wrong.

  Leah sprung out from behind a tree, landing and stopping just a few feet away from them. The two goblins recoiled in shock, their torches flickering wildly as they raised their crude weapons. One had a short spear, the other a rusted hatchet.

  Leah took a step towards them, causing the goblin with the spear to take a few steps back. It opened its mouth and began to speak.

  "Ibbi, the blood fairy is here!" the goblin shouted, voice trembling.

  The second goblin wore a grey bandana that had long white hair spilling out from under it. Ibbi’s grip on her hatchet tightened as she took a step forward, putting herself between Leah and her companion. Her eyes, a dull yellow, locked onto her glowing red ones. Unlike the others, she didn’t look like she was about to bolt.

  "I’m no coward. Run if you want to."

  Leah took another step forward.

  The spear-wielding goblin turned and ran, dropping his torch into the snow with a hiss. He didn’t even take one last look back to his companion. Ibbi however didn’t flinch, keeping her eyes locked on Leah.

  Leah let out a breath of cold air and raised her arm to the running goblin.

  "I only need one of you alive." She said.

  Before Ibbi could react, Leah’s blood tendril lashed out passed her, striking and piercing the fleeing goblin in the back.

  The goblin let out a choked cry, stumbling forward before collapsing face-first into the snow. Leah yanked the tendril back, leaving a gaping wound in the goblin’s back. It twitched once, then stopped moving.

  Ibbi’s hands clenched around her hatchet, before she exhaled through her nose, adjusting her stance. She raised her hatchet, gripping it with both hands. "Come on, then."

  Leah didn’t hesitate. She lunged forward, moving fast. Ibbi swung the hatchet, aiming for Leah's neck, but Leah ducked under it, feeling the air rush above her head as the blade missed by inches.

  In one smooth motion, she tackled Ibbi to the ground, pinning her arms down with her knees. The goblin struggled, gritting her teeth, but Leah was stronger. She lifted her fist and brought it down hard, punching Ibbi in the face. The goblin's head snapped back, and her hatchet fell from her grasp.

  Leah lifted her fist up again and slammed it down once more, knocking the goblin out cold. Leah stood over the unconscious goblin, panting lightly from the exertion. She wiped her blood-streaked hands on the snow before crouching down to grab the goblin's wrist to pull her away.

  "We’ll talk more later." Leah muttered under her breath, dragging the goblin deeper into the forest.