Inside my room, the thirst had evolved from a dull ache into something resembling lava coursing through my veins. Every minute that passed made it worse, and no amount of water or attempting to distract myself could alleviate the burning sensation in my throat.
I paced back and forth across the luxurious carpet, my enhanced hearing picking up every sound in the manor, the servants cleaning up after dinner, even the breathing of the guards patrolling the grounds. But underneath it all, I could hear something else that made the thirst spike violently: heartbeats. Dozens of them, pumping blood through warm, living bodies just floors away from me.
The rational part of my mind kept circling back to the obvious solution - tell my parents about my vampire awakening. Duke Marcus Blackwood was one of the most powerful nobles in the kingdom, with power and resources that could easily help me navigate this new existence. My mother's gentle nature would ensure I received nothing but support and understanding.
But I couldn't bring myself to do it.
Not yet.
I knew from my knowledge of the novel that my very existence had already altered the timeline significantly. Breaking off the engagement with Seraphina, my sudden personality change - these were all ripples that would spread outward in ways I couldn't predict. But telling my parents about becoming a vampire? That would be like throwing a boulder into a still pond.
The Duke would immediately begin making contingency plans. He'd start researching vampire physiology, possibly even reaching out to his noble friends. My mother would worry constantly, insisting I get the best early development.
Their entire political strategy would shift to accommodate having a son with a supreme bloodline, which could have massive implications for the kingdom's power structure.
I needed to maintain some semblance of the original timeline, at least until I could gain enough strength and system rewards to handle the chaos that would inevitably follow. The academy's entrance exam was in just a few days, and there were several crucial early events I needed to navigate successfully before I could afford to completely derail the story.
But as another wave of thirst crashed over me, making my fangs extend involuntarily, I realised I was rapidly approaching the point where I wouldn't have a choice.
After what felt like hours of internal struggle, my body made the decision for me. The thirst had become so intense that I could barely think straight, and my senses were picking up the scent of blood from every living thing in the manor with agonising clarity.
There was only one solution that wouldn't completely expose my secret: a midnight hunt.
I remembered reading about the Whispering Woods in the novel, a forest located just outside the city limits that was home to various magical beasts. Most were Noble rank, making them perfect training grounds for academy students. More importantly, their blood might be able to satisfy this impossible thirst without requiring me to take the blood of any humans.
The forest was only about ten minutes away if I used my speed, and the original Adrian had never shown any interest in beast hunting, so no one would expect me to venture there.
I moved to my wardrobe and selected the darkest, most common, practical clothing I could find. The original Adrian's wardrobe was filled with expensive but delicate noble attire, but I managed to find a set of dark leather pants and a simple black hooded robe that would allow for easier movement.
As I dressed, I caught sight of myself in the mirror again. My pale skin seemed to glow slightly in the moonlight streaming through the window, and my eyes had taken on a more pronounced crimson tint. The thirst was literally changing my appearance, making me look more like a vampire with each passing hour.
I couldn't wait any longer.
Moving to the window, I tested my new physical capabilities by carefully opening the heavy glass panels. They moved like they were made of paper under my strength. The drop to the ground was at least twenty feet, but my instincts told me it would be manageable.
I slipped out into the cool night air, landing silently on the manicured grass below. My supernatural physique absorbed the impact effortlessly, and I found myself moving through the shadows with a grace I'd never possessed as a human in my previous life.
The guards patrolling the estate grounds spotted me walking, but they didn't question it. After all, the previous Adrian used to go out at night, too. They didn't dare question me, how could they as mere guards?
Within minutes, I had cleared the estate boundaries and was sprinting through the darkened streets toward the Whispering Woods. My speed was intoxicating; I was moving faster than any horse, yet I felt like I could maintain this pace for hours.
The city walls loomed ahead of me, but I had anticipated this obstacle. I knew from the novel that there were several gaps in the older sections where the previous Mc would sneak out for unauthorised beast-hunting expeditions that improved his power rapidly.
As I approached the forest's edge, I smiled. The blood wasn't the only reason I was going to this forest; there was another reason that made me come here specifically.
There were actually two opportunities in this forest. Surprisingly, for an ordinary forest that had existed for decades, it had quite the hidden treasures waiting to be discovered.
I remembered reading that Kyle would eventually gain a powerful artifact buried deep within these woods. He'd stumble upon it while fighting an Earth Golem, discovering some superior-ranked item that would boost his power quite decently. Naturally, I wasn't stupid enough to steal an item that the main character himself was destined to find, that would be asking for trouble and would definitely alter too much of the timeline.
Instead, I was going after an item that another background character had encountered in the novel.
I remembered this particular scene very well for two reasons. First, because the damn writer thought he was being clever and unique. He had given a genuinely powerful item to some random background character, not one of Kyle's future companions, not someone important to the plot, just some nobody academy student who had wandered into the wrong part of the forest.