With a thought, Arin exited the Mana Space as his eyes snapped open. He exhaled lightly, feeling the shift between dimensions as he adjusted back to reality. His gaze flickered to Roxanne, who was still staring outside through the window. Her smile remained unfading, but now, it was even wider than before.
Pushing himself up from the floor, Arin sat on the bed, his mind already returning to the Shadow Portal.
'If I remember correctly, it appeared a little before sunset,' Arin thought, his fingers lightly tapping against his thigh. 'And it stayed for about thirty minutes before disappearing.'
As if sensing he had returned, Roxanne turned away from the window and looked at him. The moment her eyes met his, she spoke. "Welcome back, Master."
Arin blinked. "Oh, yes... Thank you," he replied, still partially lost in thought.
Leaning forward, he placed his finger on his chin, contemplating his next move. 'I should be able to do everything before curfew.'
In the novel, when the Shadow Portal appeared, Alex hadn't sensed it. However, the moment the Shadows emerged, he picked up on their presence and rushed to the forest.
The Nightmare Shadow had managed to escape due to its 'form,' but that wasn't the case for the Shadow General.
When Alex finally defeated the Shadow General in the forest, he was praised as usual. The Academy buildings had remained intact since the battle had taken place in the forest.
'The novel mentioned that Alex didn't know about the Shadow Seed and missed the opportunity to obtain it because the battle happened outside the Portal, not inside,' Arin recalled.
His eyes narrowed. 'Though, the novel mentioning the Shadow Seed despite Alex not obtaining it means he'll surely get it later. Otherwise, there wouldn't have been a need to mention it at all.'
'That aside, if I go into the Shadow Portal, I'll be killing two birds with one stone.'
A smirk formed on Arin's lips as he squinted his eyes slightly. 'Two days from now isn't far…'
Two days passed in the blink of an eye, though they were mostly uneventful.
Arin had spent the time honing his control over his Blood Energy and Chaos Element Mana. He had decided that before attempting to create a Spell again, he needed to refine his mastery over Chaos Mana first.
As he continued training, he couldn't help but wonder how long it would take him to reach the Vampire Noble Rank. The progress was steady, but patience was required.
As for Riya, there hadn't been much interaction between them since he last visited her office. However, the frequency of her smiles at him had increased.
At the very least, she no longer called his name whenever he spaced out in class. That was a relief. Now, he could zone out in peace.
He had also reminded Leon about their meeting and the offer. Not that Leon seemed to need the reminder—every time they made eye contact, he flashed Arin a knowing grin.
Now, as Arin walked towards the Mission Hall, where he had arranged to meet Leon, he muttered under his breath, "He should be there already."
The new girl in his class—the one who had smirked at him during her introduction—had been mostly absent from his view. He rarely lingered after class, so there had been little opportunity to observe her. However, the one time they stood opposite each other in Weapon Training class, she had given him a brief, almost teasing smile before looking away, further piquing his curiosity.
'I won't approach her as long as she doesn't try meddling in my business,' Arin thought, his pace steady as he neared the Mission Hall.
He also hadn't seen Alex much lately. Since the day he had tried to grab Arin, their paths had rarely crossed outside of class.
'Though, he seems to visit Principal Orion a lot these days,' Arin mused. 'Not that it surprises me.'
As expected, he spotted Leon standing in front of the Mission Hall, grinning at the girls passing by. Something that wasn't surprising.
Arin raised a hand in greeting. The moment Leon saw him, his grin widened, and he rushed over.
"Haha, you're a little bit late," Leon teased, flashing his usual playful smirk. "But I don't care. Tell me about the offer."
"Not here," Arin said simply. "Follow me."
Leon pouted for a split second but quickly recovered. The moment Arin said to follow him, his face brightened up again, his excitement returning.
"A good offer would certainly be top secret," Leon chuckled as he fell into step beside Arin.
Arin shook his head with a wry smile, patting Leon on the back. "Keep it down, will you?"
'Riya and Seraphine are the only ones who know my identity as Arin and Chaos,' he thought. 'But I guess there's about to be a new addition to that list.'
They moved towards the forest, following the familiar path. It didn't take long before Leon's pace slowed, his jaw dropping slightly.
She stood with her arms crossed, watching them with an unreadable expression.
Leon turned sharply to look at Arin, eyes wide. "D... Does this offer perhaps concern her?"
"Yes," Arin answered plainly.
Leon's reaction was instant. "Hahaha! This is a blessing!" he exclaimed, though his volume quickly dropped when Arin shot him a warning glare.
It was clear from his expression that he was practically on the verge of tears—tears of joy.
Tessa, unfazed by Leon's outburst, stepped forward, her gaze shifting to Arin. "So, the only thing I need to do is keep him here until you come out, right?"
Arin had already informed her of the plan, so she wasn't surprised to see Leon.
"Yes," Arin confirmed. "And no one should come near where the Portal appears... Not that people come to the forest apart from us."
This was one of the reasons Arin liked the forest. People didn't come here. They'd rather go to The Area.
His sharp gaze scanned the surroundings. 'I don't remember the exact spot where the Portal appeared, but I should be able to see it from here.'
Arin trusted his enhanced eyesight. He knew he wouldn't miss it.
Tessa's expression softened slightly as she looked at him. "I know you're strong, and you said the Shadow General won't be much trouble, but still… be careful, okay?"
Arin met her gaze. "Hmm. Okay."
Leon, who had been relatively quiet, suddenly spoke up, interrupting the eye contact between Arin and Tessa. "Maybe Tessa should tell me about the offer..." he suggested, grinning. "I'd like it if she talked to me directly."
Arin almost chuckled. "Oh, she'll be the one to tell you," he said, his tone laced with amusement.
Before the conversation could continue, Arin suddenly caught sight of something in his the corner of his vision.
His eyes sharpened, and a smirk tugged at the corners of his lips.
"It's here… The Shadow Portal."