Chapter 28: Unknown Cave

Keith was in a dilemma. On one hand, this was a great opportunity to break through to the next stage. But on the other hand, he would experience excruciation pain, maybe more than he felt right now.

This was a tough decision to make, maybe because he knew he could get the remaining blood somehow. But this was a great opportunity as well. The thing that bothered him was that what if things didn't go as he planned? What if the blood-qi erupted because of the influx?

'Maybe I should absorb the overflowing blood-qi that is already inside my body.' Even though there was a chance he could contain it, he didn't take the risk. He could always get more blood, but he couldn't get a second life.

Not only blood-qi eruption was more likely, but the chance of him turning into a ghoul was also there. While blood-qi eruption was not common in lower-level vampires, because the absorption of blood-qi was slower, the higher-level vampires had this problem while breaking through the next stage.

The worst kind of blood-qi eruption could permanently make someone crippled, or in the extreme case, death. Keith wanted to avoid that. He initially thought that the system might handle everything for him, but as it turns out, it didn't. He still had to bear the consequences.

What the system offered him was a way to purify the blood and absorb it with efficiency. What happened to him afterward didn't matter to the system? This was further proved by the current situation. From what he could feel, there was even more blood-qi left within the ghoul baron. If he didn't retract his hands, he would've experienced a blood-qi eruption.

'I was this close to losing it all.' Keith heaved a sigh of relief.

Now, he had to absorb the blood-qi and condense it inside the blood core. Them only he could absorb more blood-qi without blowing himself up. He wasn't an indestructible sponge after all. The growth he was having was already unheard of. He guessed that his physique had a role in this.

The mark suppressed the other gene inside his body that was holding him back. That gene was way stronger than the vampire gene. Maybe that was the reason he could absorb this much blood-qi without killing himself. The amount of blood-qi required to go from baron to viscount required decades' worth of hard work for an ordinary vampire.

Keith looked at the corpses lying around the tree, trying to figure out what to do with those. He wanted to take them with him, but he knew it was unrealistic. He would immediately be spotted and arrested for smuggling ghouls. Sure, his grandpa could get him out, but the whole point was to keep his activities hidden.

Making up his mind, he decided to give up, absorbing the blood essence from the ghouls. There was no point hiding them, either. The blood essence will dissipate into the surrounding after a while. That was why fresh blood has more concentration of blood essence.

'Might as well turn them in and get the rewards.' Keith sighed as he looked at the pile of ghoul corpses.

What was bothering him more was the fact that how he was going to explain to the authorities about the hunt. He killed over thirty ghouls and a ghoul baron. Unless he exposed his identity, they won't let him go that easily. Someone this powerful going unnoticed will give the city guards a headache.

'Now that I stuffed myself, I don't need coins anymore. Burying them here will be enough. Maybe I can still get some blood essence when I come back again.'

Upon deciding this, he dug a large hole beside the tree. Filling the hole with all the ghoul bodies, he sealed it with a large rock and then some soil. Now the place looked normal as if nothing happened there.

He still had one body count for the hunt, the first ghoul he killed. The entire group knew about this. Walking in the direction of the place where the first fight had occurred, he focused his mind on circulating the blood-qi and condensing it...

The quicker he condensed all the blood-qi within his blood core, the earlier he could return here to absorb the rest. The overflowing blood-qi was still making him uncomfortable. Now he had to circulate the blood-qi all the time until he completely condensed it.

Arriving at the place where the first ghoul was killed, he searched for the rest of the team. Expanding his senses, he located them using their scent. They were still scouting the area about a couple of miles from where he was.

Keith followed their tracks and reached their location. They were near a large cave, preparing to enter inside. It was a downward slope, so they prepared for a while. When the leader noticed Keith's presence, he approached him quickly.

"Where have you been? I thought you encountered another ghoul." The bulky man said mockingly.

"Fortunately, I didn't. How about you? Any luck finding those monsters?" Keith asked while scanning the area.

"Not yet. Somehow, they all disappeared into thin air. We checked the whole place but didn't find a single one. The cave here has many footprints leading inside, but we are being cautious. To be honest, I was waiting for you to come back."

"Is that so? I'm glad you waited for me." Keith patted his shoulder while moving towards the cave.

"Well, you are the strongest among the group, so it was logical to wait for you before entering the cave." The leader followed Keith behind.

"Did you sense something inside?" He asked.

"No, but it's awfully quiet inside. All I can sense is endless void." Keith replied as he squinted his eyes.

What he sensed inside was something he never experienced before. Wherever he went, he could at least tell if there was some object or life present. Here, his senses were blind. He couldn't even make out what the inside of the cave structure looked like.

As he walked closer to the entrance of the cave, this eerie feeling solidified. He looked down from the side into the bottomless pit.

"Was there such a big and deep cave in this area?" Keith asked.

"Not that we knew of. Considering how many times the scouts came here, my guess is it appeared not too long ago." The leader replied.

"Hmm... There is definitely something fishy going on here." Keith looked at the inner walls of the cave that were filled with weird marks he had never seen before.