Arin blinked, slightly confused. 'If I'm not mistaken, that girl clearly smirked at me.'
'Is it related to me? Or maybe it's just a coincidence?' Arin thought. 'Hmm, I might just be overthinking things.'
Still, he couldn't shake off the nagging feeling in his chest.
So many things were happening at the same time. Riya was becoming more and more suspicious, he had to meet Leon, and he still had the issue with the Vampires. Apart from that, there was something about Liora and Roxanne. Though, for now, he was sure that Roxanne didn't have any ill intentions—at least, he was convinced for now.
And now, a girl he was seeing for the first time had smirked at him.
Though, above all, his number one issue would always be Alex.
'I can't let other things distract me from my original goal,' Arin thought.
"Let's continue, class," Riya said as Kiara took a seat in one of the empty chairs at the front.
Time passed, and both the Magic Theory class and the Weapon Training class were over.
'Tessa kept staring at me the entire time in both classes,' Arin thought.
'I won't meet her today. After all, it would certainly be suspicious.'
If Arin—the boy who went on a mission with her—was absent yesterday, and at the same time, Chaos didn't appear, it would be too much of a coincidence if both he and Chaos showed up today.
Just as Arin was about to leave, he heard footsteps approaching from behind, followed by a light tap on his back.
Turning around, he found Tessa standing there with a smile on her face.
'Hmm, it's that smile again....'
"Hello, Arin," Tessa greeted, staring at him.
"Oh, hello," Arin replied, offering a small smile in return.
"You were absent yesterday, and Miss Riya said it was because your mother had an issue and needed you by her side," Tessa said.
Arin nodded. "Yes, that's why I was absent."
Tessa's expression softened even more as she asked, "How is she now? I hope she's fine?"
"Of course," Arin replied. "There's nothing to worry about."
Tessa bit her lips and nodded. "I'm relieved. Now that she's fine, if you look at the good side, you got to see your family."
Arin let out a light chuckle. "That's true...."
"That aside, since you're here, is it okay to go to the mission hall now?" she asked. "To complete the Ranking Up?"
"Oh, that," Arin said. "That's fine."
As they spoke, Alex was approaching from behind with a slight frown on his face.
'I still haven't received the date for when I'll meet with the King,' he thought.
'And it's also time to hunt for more special blood. Hmm, I can't wait for the next time I meet that person who calls himself Chaos.'
Lifting his gaze, Alex noticed Tessa, though she appeared to be speaking with someone.
Within seconds, he reached them.
"Oh, Alex," Tessa said, forcing a smile.
"I was surprised that you left class as soon as it ended," Alex said, his own smile in place.
He glanced at Arin before waving. "Hello there."
Arin waved back. "Hello...."
Alex's brows furrowed slightly as he noticed something. 'Is it just me, or... just like Chaos, he doesn't have a presence? I can't sense anything from him... almost as if he isn't even here.'
In an instant, Alex's frown deepened as he stretched out his hand, reaching to grab Arin's collar, but then—
"What is the problem, Alex?" Tessa asked, grabbing Alex's outstretched arm.
She had already noticed his frown and sensed that he was about to do something, so she acted quickly, stopping him before he could grab Arin.
Alex forced a chuckle. "Oh, it's nothing. He just looked like someone I know."
Tessa held back the urge to lash out or use her Spell. It was always when she saw him, but she had to restrain herself. Even though, in the end, her Spell wouldn't heavily affect him.
'Is that how you try to grab someone you know?' she thought as she let go of his arm.
'For some reason, this felt good to watch,' Arin mused.
When he saw Alex's outstretched arm approaching, he had originally planned to stop it himself, but Tessa had done the job for him. Honestly, it felt kind of relaxing to watch.
"He's my friend, Alex," Tessa said, trying not to glare at him. "I supervised his mission for a Ranking Up Test, so we'll be going to the mission hall now."
'I guess it won't hurt to say something,' Arin thought.
"If you want to speak with her, then that's fine," Arin said. "I'll go there alone."
"Oh, it's okay," Alex said, giving a wry smile while scratching the back of his head. "I'll be heading back to my room now, so both of you can go."
"Okay," Tessa said, forcing yet another smile.
"I'll see you later," Alex added before walking away.
Tessa rolled her eyes, then turned to Arin with a smile. "Let's go."
Arin nodded as the two of them walked out of the main Academy building.
Minutes later, they arrived at the mission hall and stepped inside, where two ladies were seated.
Thankfully, the hall wasn't crowded. Since classes had just ended, most students were still inside the Academy building.
As soon as one of the ladies saw them, she smiled.
"Welcome," she said. "I told you I'd inform you of your Rank based on Tessa's observations, right?"
Tessa had already submitted her report the day they returned from the mission, but the lady had said his Rank would be revealed today.
"I would've liked to do a proper Ranking Up Test," the lady said, "but I believe I can trust Tessa's report."
'Or you're just too lazy to do it,' Arin thought as he stared at her.
The lady opened a small piece of paper on her desk before speaking. "Arin Vale, you are now at the Grade 1 Master Mage Rank."
"It has been recorded, so it's now official," she added. "Train hard and consistently to increase your Rank again."
Arin smiled. "Thank you very much."
"You're welcome," the lady said as Arin and Tessa walked out of the building.
"Thank you for giving a good report," Arin said. "I mean, it was an accurate report, so I actually deserved that Rank, but at least you didn't mention anything about me not bringing a healing potion."
Tessa smiled sweetly. "That secret is between the two of us, hehehe."
'Can you even call that a secret?' Arin thought.
"I have to go now," Tessa said. "See you later!"
Arin waved. "See you later....."
He watched as she walked in the direction of the forest. 'She's going to wait for me, huh?'
'Sorry, but you won't see me today either,' Arin thought.
"And Seraphine, you've been awfully quiet," Arin said. "That's strange."
"Ah, I've been waiting for you to notice," Seraphine replied.
Before Arin could say anything else, the system screen appeared, displaying a notification he hadn't seen in a while.
[An Unwritten Event is happening.]