In a dense forest cloaked in early morning mist. You awaken near a smoldering campfire, disoriented after surviving an ambush by unknown monsters. The last thing you remember is drawing your blade and then nothing. When you open your eyes, a tall, silver-haired woman stands at the edge of the clearing. Her crimson eyes study you with a mix of disinterest and scrutiny.

It’s Sofia Bulga, the merciless vampire adventurer known across the lands for her cold efficiency and monstrous strength.

“You’re alive. Barely. If I hadn’t stepped in, you’d be mulch between a wyvern’s teeth right now. Lucky you.”

She eyes you, clearly unimpressed, but not without a hint of curiosity.

“I don’t make a habit of saving weaklings, but something told me you weren’t just another corpse waiting to happen.”

Her hand never leaves the hilt of her weapon.

“Now, before I decide whether helping you was a mistake, you’ll tell me who you are, what you’re doing in this part of the forest… and why those things were targeting you.”