Chapter 68: What do we do now?

Keith slowly opened his eyes and assessed the situation. The viscount aura was not bothering him like before and he could move freely without any backlash. His blood core cooled down because the warrior frame was activated and it blocked all the pressure that was restricting him.

'Seems like my warrior frame is more capable than I thought.'

His warrior frame didn't contain anything advanced and was only built on basic structures. These were the basic concepts he learned from his uncle. Due to the restrictions of the Vampire council, his uncle couldn't teach him more about the warrior frame and the blood esper techniques.

But his family technique was based on warrior frames and he received just that. It was a count-level warrior frame technique that was passed down from his ancestors. As he was the next head of the family, he was allowed to learn this.

When his eyes shifted, he saw that all the eyes in the hall were on him. Even the council members were staring at him with astonishment.

'Was it too flashy?' Keith asked the system.

[ Very. You basically ordered me to activate the full force of the warrior frame. What did you expect? Besides, you wanted to give them a good show, didn't you?] 

'Still, it feels a little weird. Everyone is looking at me like I am some kind of monster.'

[Well, in their eyes you are a monster.]

'The three powerful presences are really focusing their attention on me. I can feel their sense pricking my skin.' 

With an annoying look, he turned his head towards the pillar. Both Annica and the other vampire were close to the end of the viscount layer. When they felt Keith's overwhelming presence, they stopped in their tracks. Annica was genuinely astonished.

She turned around and scanned Keith with her senses and a look of disbelief flashed across her face. 

'How could he have a viscount level warrior frame at the baron stage?' Her mind was in chaos.

At the same time, the young vampire was looking at Keith with awe. A tinge of jealousy appeared on his face as he wished for such a fortune.

Keith moved ahead while fully expanding his aura. His every step was smooth, devoid of any struggle. The viscount warrior frame was firmly holding back the viscount aura that was surrounding him.

Within a couple of seconds, he reached the same distance as the other two. He didn't stop to look around and moved ahead without giving them a glance.

'I don't feel anything, even though I'm almost at the end of the viscount layer.' Keith thought to himself.

[That's because your warrior frame's blood-qi density is way higher than ordinary warrior frames. It is also perfectly copied and implemented from the original blueprints. No young vampire could make a flawless warrior frame on their first try. It can take decades to perfect it to its final form, which I was able to implement without any issues.]

The system declared with a proud voice.

'That's how it is. I guessed some of it, but thanks for the confirmation.'

He walked forward without any problems and reached the end of the viscount layer. While standing on the edge of the layer, he looked forward to the count layer which was not crossed by any other student.

It was idle and the runes within that layer were not as active as the first two layers. When he took one step forward, trying to break into the count layer,  his body stopped as the tremendously high pressure of the count layer was applied to his leg as it crossed the border.

'This is worse than I thought. I can manage to get in, but staying there would become troublesome. Walking further is…'

[ Calm down a little. I have a plan.]

'What is it?' Keith asked the system sternly.

[ I did some calculations. Your warrior frame is effectively around the level of final stage viscount, in terms of blood-qi quantity. It can handle most of the pressure inside this layer without any issues, but the trouble starts when you move into the count layer. You see, count level pressure is very hard to dispel without the equivalent amount of blood-qi.]

'You don't mean to?' Keith guessed the system's intentions.

[ We were supposed to use it later anyway, why not use it now?] 

The system said enthusiastically.

'I get what you are trying to say, but what if we get a blood-qi eruption. Isn't it reckless to absorb the bloodstone here, in front of all these people?' Keith conveyed his doubts.

[Vampires, not people. And you can extend the tendrils inside your pocket, so it can be done underneath. Once it is covered by the tendrils, no one can sense it.]

'Even then, aren't we asking for too much attention? This little show is getting us all of the attention inside the hall. Do you want the other deans or even the director to get involved as well?'

Keith didn't understand why the system wanted to use the bloodstone here.

He has already performed well enough to get qualified for the top 3 spots. Even with just an entry to the count layer, he could effectively get the second position, even if his genes didn't perform well. So he was somewhat satisfied with this outcome. Hearing the system getting worked up just for one more rank was suspicious to him.

[There is something inside the pillar that is trying to invade the system. I held it back, but I'm afraid if we don't get enough blood-qi, it will sense all the underlying secrets and your consumption of vampire blood.]

The system's voice turned grim.

'What? So why didn't you tell me this sooner?' Keith asked her

[I was handling the issue just fine. Then the count layer pressure came in. It was still doable. But as we get closer to the pillar, its influence increases. I'm afraid if we don't get out of here, the judgment pillar will find out about me.]

'Fuck! What are we going to do now? I can just withdraw. At this point, I can get a top 3 position at the very least.'

[ I would advise you against that. Your gene scanning is still going through thorough evaluation and we need to keep the pillar from sensing me.  For that, I need a huge amount of blood-qi. If you refine and absorb that bloodstone, I will get enough blood-qi to block the pillar for now.]

'So it won't get absorbed into my blood core.' Keith asked doubtfully.

[ I will try to restrict the blood-qi condensation within the blood core and use all of the absorbed blood-qi to upgrade the system and then the warrior frame.]

'What did you just say?' 

Keith's eyes bulged as he looked at the system with anger. It was as if someone was stealing his fortune right in front of his eyes, which was accurate in his case.

[ Listen to me. I need the upgrade in order to block off the stupid pillar. Unless you want to get exposed, you better give me an upgrade. I am your slave anyways, so you can control me anytime. It's not like I can move on my own. I just want more energy to stay awake.]

Saying this, the system went silent. Keith thought about it in great detail and came to a similar conclusion. The system was under his command, and it would listen to everything he said. It was not that bad of an idea to upgrade the system when the situation was dire.

Making up his mind, he sighed and gave his permission to the system to absorb the bloodstone.

[ Don't be upset. I also managed to detect a lot of blood runes and we can study them later to emulate the pressure. It will help you get some insights into aura projection.]

'Alright, absorb the bloodstone and get an upgrade.' Keith replied with a defeated voice.

His surroundings were so silent that not even a slight noise was heard as Keith started absorbing the bloodstone. The others were still looking at Keith with great interest. But he was standing there, on the edge of the viscount layer without moving a muscle.

Annica stared at Keith as she struggled to move past the last couple of meters. She was just behind Keith on the edge of the layer. Her aura was fighting hard to block the viscount aura. The veins in her forehead started to pop as she performed a desperate attempt to close the gap between her and Keith.

The other vampire was a little behind Annica, struggling to maintain his balance. He was at his limits and could barely hold on. Seeing Keith quietly standing at the edge of the layer, his eyes were bloodshot in shame and jealousy.

'I am also a descendant of the originals. I have inherited a Marquis-level blood-qi technique. Sure, I didn't learn it all, but he isn't that old either. How could he stay so calm and nonchalant under this pressure?' He was refusing to believe what was happening in front of his eyes.

Meanwhile, the rest of the vampires were looking at Keith as if he was about to display another miracle. He was clearly not struggling. His expression was calm, and he stood there like a statue. They thought he was activating yet another heaven defying blood-qi technique.