Out of the blue

"It's great that you have such ambition. I am proud of you even now, even if you don't reach that level. Just don't go missing like your father." Lex said with a melancholic voice.

" Don't worry grandpa, I will find out what happened to him. And about me, I don't know what will happen in the future, I won't leave without a good reason, or without telling you."

Keith thought about how he could increase his strength rapidly. He was a human in mind, and to wait decades to reach the next stages, was just too inconceivable for him. The memory and personality of previous Keith were having some effect on his psyche as he felt a great closeness to his grandpa.

'Is that me or the previous Keith's memories ?' he asked to himself.

Thinking about the Academy, which helped the next leaders to increase their ranks quickly, he felt that he could get way more resources there. And if he got access to a large blood pool, it would also help him increase his rank substantially.

Regardless, the fact that he was forced to join the academy, and go under the royal council if he didn't take advantage of that, it would be too much of a waste. He will be able to learn about various blood qi techniques, and if he was lucky, he might get his hands on some high level vampire blood.

" So, when am I supposed to go there?"

" You have a one year window, you can go right now, or you can go twelve months later. They give this time to let the vampires consolidate their core before entering the academy." Lex answered Keith.

" So I can wait for a little bit. Hmm... Let's see, I will join the academy in two months. What do you say?" Keith looked at Lex.

" That should be fine. You should spend more time consolidating your core. Speeding up the process does give you instant power, but that can be detrimental if not properly regulated. Your body can't keep up with your blood core level if you suddenly jump to a higher rank."

" I will keep that in mind." Keith nodded his head.

He didn't know how the level ups were going to affect him, but somehow he didn't feel anything out of place. His body absorbed all the energy without a hitch. The mysterious marks that helped him absorb the blood essence made it easier for him to condense blood qi, as he didn't need to slowly accumulate it. Without the help of the purple marks, he wouldn't be able to increase his blood core level as quickly as he was able to do it right now.

" By the way, how is your consolidation? Are you able to channel the blood qi smoothly?" Lex asked in a hopeful manner.

" I have gotten the hang of it, and there is no problem in circulation. If only I could use the blood pool once more, I think I could benefit greatly." Keith looked at Lex as if to see his reaction.

" Hmm… after you used the blood pool, there is barely any blood qi left. I checked and it is almost useless now. We have to fill it up again. If you want it urgently, I could gather some humans.."

" No, that's okay. I will take a break for now. I think I need a little more time to consolidate my blood core." Keith cut him short, as he stood up.

" Alright then, you go have some rest. Newly evolved vampires need all the time they could find to consolidate. If you need something, then send the maid, I will arrange it for you." Lex said while crossing his fingers, and sitting back on the couch.

" Mhmm, thanks, grandpa." Keith smiled at him and turned around to leave. As he closed the door after exiting the room, his face changed and the smile disappeared from his face. As he walked down the hallway, he was thinking about the implications of joining the Academy and how he could prepare for it.

Honestly, he wanted to go there, as it would provide him more opportunities than staying here. And about finding high level vampire blood, he will try to collect them secretly if he could. But the most important thing was, he could compare his strength to the stronger vampires of his age. He wanted to gauge his strength and rank improvements as compared to the high level families. So he was looking forward to joining the academy.

There was another thing he wanted to figure out, and that was related to his father's disappearance. If he could get some clues about what happened then, and where he might have gone, that would be great. Overall, the academy was a good place to expand his knowledge and get more exposure.

While he was walking, he noticed that Rena was waiting for him outside the central area. He walked up to her as she was looking at him.

" What are you doing here?" Keith asked her in a curious manner.

" Uh... I was waiting for you…, lord Rufus wanted to meet you at the courtyard, so he asked me to let you know."

" Uncle… What does he want from me?" He was puzzled by the request.

He was at odds with Marvin and his uncle, so for them to talk to him was really not normal. After hearing from his grandpa, what they were up to, he was pretty suspicious about this invitation. Still, he couldn't just deny him like that. He also wanted to know what they were scheming.

" Alright, I will go there. You can go get some rest. Bring me the meal later."

" Then, I will take my leave. Err.."

As he wanted to walk aside, he noticed that Rena was trying to say something. He stopped and asked her,

" What? Do you have anything else to say?" He asked her casually.

" I… I wanted to ask if you would like to drink my blood? I've been eating a lot of meat recently, so I think I won't feel any weakness after drawing blood." She looked expectantly at him as if she was scared of rejection.

" Hahaha" Keith laughed really hard after seeing her expression.