Chapter 11: Rare Bloodline

Inside my room, I contemplated several ways I could explain the power I had gained. After weighing the options carefully, I settled on two strategies that should work together effectively. First, I was going to announce my bloodline awakening tomorrow. The timing would be perfect, my father had mentioned that he was expecting my awakening soon. This would provide a natural explanation for any power I displayed during training. I wasn't foolish enough to believe that I would be able to hide my strength during training from my father. A commander-level warrior. Second, I would show my father the Crimson Moon Pendant. The pendant was a powerful treasure that any experienced warrior would recognize immediately. My father had sacrificed himself in the original timeline just to avenge my death, he was incredibly protective and wouldn't steal from his own son. Besides, it was a soul-bound item, which meant it was permanently linked to me and unusable by anyone else. These two revelations should solve my immediate problems. The pendant was actually a Superior grade item, which made it incredibly valuable. The ranking system for magical items went: Mortal, Enhanced, Rare, Superior, Epic, and presumably higher tiers that I didn't know about yet. Having a Superior grade item at my current level was extraordinary. Even in the kingdom's treasury there was only two items at the superior-grade, and they were national treasures. The pendant's true power wasn't just in its life force conversion ability. What made it truly remarkable was its growth, it could process blood from Noble rank all the way up to Royal rank creatures. In theory, if I somehow obtained Royal-rank blood, I could enhance my body so dramatically that I might be able to kill a Commander-level beast while still at Noble rank myself. That would mean jumping three major power stages in effective combat ability. Of course, that was purely theoretical. Royal-rank blood wasn't exactly something I could acquire, and the pendant's enhancement effect probably had limits I hadn't discovered yet. But even with just Elite-rank blood like what I'd collected from the serpent, the boost would be substantial enough to explain high performance during training without raising too many questions. I decided to shower and get some sleep. Tomorrow would be a long day, starting with revealing my "awakening" to my parents and then beginning intensive combat training with one of the kingdom's most skilled warriors. At least now I had a plan that should keep me alive, whilst growing stronger without completely derailing the timeline or drawing unwanted attention from the protagonist or his crew. ... The next day arrived, and after waking up I felt incredibly thirsty. I had barely slept, around five hours when I used to need nine to ten back on Earth. My vampire physiology was clearly operating on different requirements than a human body. Despite my low sleeping hours, I felt energised. The first thing I did was drink blood instead of water from the pendant. The crimson liquid immediately quenched both my thirst and what I realized was actually hunger, it seemed like I apparently didn't distinguish between the two sensations, clearly I needed to get used to my new body some more. After satisfying my needs, I went and washed up out of habit. I didn't actually need to anymore; my vampire body didn't require the basic maintenance that human physiology demanded. But old routines died hard. As I was about to open my door to head downstairs, I heard a polite knock. I opened it to find Charlotte standing respectfully in the hallway. "Young Master, breakfast has been prepared and is waiting for you in the dining hall. His Grace the Duke and Her Grace the Duchess are already seated and have requested your presence when you are ready." She said with a curtsy. "Thank you, Charlotte. I'm heading down, now." Charlotte seemed conflicted, I can tell from her eyes that I was clearly being too nice to her. Basic courtesy like 'thank you' was something that Adrian probably didn't do. I headed downstairs to find my parents seated at their usual places, my mother arranging fresh flowers while my father reviewed what appeared to be correspondence from other noble houses. When I entered, I deliberately avoided sitting down and instead remained standing near my chair. "Good morning, Father, Mother," I greeted them. "I need to speak with you both about something important before we eat." My mother looked up with immediate concern. "Adrian, darling, you look pale again. Are you still feeling unwell?" "Actually, that's related to what I need to tell you," I said, taking a deep breath. "My bloodline has awakened." Both of my parents' faces immediately lit up with excitement and relief. "What rank is your bloodline, son?"my father asked eagerly, setting down his papers entirely. Seeing me not responding, my mother immediately spoke. "You don't have to worry, no matter what rank it is, we will still love you the same," "It's a Rare bloodline," I announced, watching their expressions carefully. "Oh, thank God!" my mother exclaimed, clasping her hands together. "We were so worried when you seemed ill yesterday!" My father's chest swelled with obvious pride. A Rare-ranked bloodline was genuinely impressive, Duke Marcus himself possessed a Rare bloodline, which had been part of what made him such a formidable force in the city. "Tell us about it," he said, leaning forward with intense interest. I can see from my father's eyes that he was proud. He was proud that his only son was going to be as strong if not stronger than him. My expression remained the same outwardly, but inwardly I smiled bitterly.