Chapter 7: Crimson Moon Pendant

I didn't dare try to use the sword in my storage ring. Despite my enhanced physical strength, I had absolutely no combat training or sword skills whatsoever. Fighting toe-to-toe with a Lazarus Sloth without any tactical advantage would be suicide, regardless of how powerful my bloodline was. So I decided to use what I had just been bestowed, the power of blood manipulation. I locked eyes with the creature as it launched itself toward me, its massive claws gleaming under the moonlight. Without wasting a second, I channeled my mana into my Blood Control trait and focused it on one specific target, its eyes. The result was brutal. Blood vessels burst like tiny explosions, and crimson liquid splattered across the forest floor as the sloth's eyes ruptured from the inside out. The beast let out a horrific shriek of pain and confusion, stumbling mid-leap and crashing head-first into the ground with a thunderous impact. Blood continued to erupt from various points on its body as I maintained my focus, targeting major blood vessels to keep it disoriented and weakened. The creature thrashed wildly, but it was essentially fighting blind and growing weaker by the second. Immediately, I summoned my sword from the storage ring. A well-crafted blade that had belonged to the original Adrian. While the sloth was stunned and bleeding, I ran toward it and drove the weapon deep into its neck, severing the major arteries and ending its suffering quickly. I had actually killed the damn beast. Quite easily too, I had underestimated my power but it was fine. A delayed kill was better than dying for being arrogant. The rush of victory was intoxicating, made even more satisfying by how efficiently my Blood Control had turned what should have been a dangerous fight for someone with no experience into a one-sided execution. In the novel, once you killed a magical beast, there was always a chance it would drop an "aspect" or a "echo." The echo was an item, whilst the skill was an aspect. Aspects were different from traits in that they came from external sources rather than your bloodline, making them generally less powerful but still useful supplements to your natural abilities. Unfortunately, when I searched the sloth's remains, I found nothing. No glowing orbs, just a dead magical beast. Well, I had expected as much. Lazarus Sloths weren't exactly known for dropping valuable loot, and my luck probably wasn't good enough to get something on my first kill. I looked down at the blood pooling around the sloth's body. While the idea of drinking sloth blood wasn't particularly appealing, I had to admit it smelled... decent. Not appetizing exactly, but not revolting either. My thirst was still burning in my throat, and I needed to know how beast blood would affect my vampire physiology. I walked toward the creature's body and, feeling slightly ridiculous, extended my canines and bit into its neck where the major artery existed. The taste was surprisingly tolerable, not great, but not the disgusting mess I had feared either. It was like eating bland food that nonetheless satisfied some deep hunger. The burning thirst in my throat began to subside almost immediately, replaced by a warm, satisfied feeling that spread through my entire body. Clearly, beast blood wasn't as rich or satisfying as other blood would probably be, but it was adequate for my needs. At least now my immediate thirst was fulfilled, though I made a mental note to monitor how long this satisfaction would last before the urge returned. After wiping the blood from my mouth, cleaning my sword, and storing some blood in a large vial I had brought from the manor, I continued deeper into the forest. I was following the path that the background character had used in the novel. The hidden cave with the Crimson Moon Pendant was still waiting, and now that I'd successfully tested my combat abilities, I felt much more confident about reaching it. The section of the forest I was heading to, were home to wolves, after understanding my current strength, I realised they posed little threat to someone of my current power. With my strength and the success of my Blood Control against the sloth, I no longer feared encountering them. The moonlight filtered through the canopy above, creating an almost ethereal atmosphere as I moved silently between the trees. My vampire nature seemed perfectly suited to this environment, the darkness felt comfortable rather than threatening, and my senses picked up the details of my surroundings. According to my memory of the novel, I should encounter the wolf pack territory in about another half-mile, and the hidden cave would be just beyond that. The Crimson Moon Pendant would soon be mine, and with it, a significant advantage in the challenges that lay ahead. Soon, I arrived at the location where I was meant to encounter the wolves. But they weren't there. After a quick moment of thinking, it made sense. The wolves were hunting in this area a few weeks from now. As for now? They were probably somewhere else entirely, perhaps hunting in different territories. I placed my palm on my face in shame. It was unlike me to think so stupidly, but I gave myself the benefit of the doubt. I'm still getting used to everything going on, the transmigration, the vampire transformation, navigating a world I'd only read about. The fate of my character had also made things worse. Had anyone been in my position, they would have also made some silly mistakes because of such sudden, drastic changes. I continued forward, making my way towards the hidden cave. Everything went smoothly - no obstructions, no unexpected encounters, nothing. Until I stood outside of it. I was initially happy about arriving there without any trouble, but something felt wrong. Not encountering a single wolf in the entire area didn't seem promising at all. In fact, it was deeply unsettling. Whenever such unnatural silence occurred in magical forests, it typically meant one thing: there was a predator in the area. Something powerful enough that even the wolves had fled or been killed. I hoped desperately that whatever predator had claimed this territory wasn't inside the cave I was about to enter. But hope alone wouldn't keep me alive; I needed to stay vigilant and prepared for the worst-case scenario.