Arin didn't need to wait for them to reach him before preparing for battle.
With a thought, a sword with a brown hilt materialized in his hand. A single glance was enough to tell that it was very sharp.
This was the sword Arin had purchased yesterday in preparation for entering the Portal. Its Rank was higher than the weapon that had broken in his fight against Alex.
This sword was a Grade 3 Master Rank Weapon, and it had cost him 1,100 points.
He had earned 700 points as a reward for completing the mission to stop the bandits, while the remaining 400 points came from the daily 50 points that students received from the Academy.
In other words, he had spent every last point on this sword.
'Not like I actually eat anymore,' Arin thought, twirling the weapon in his grip. 'So there's nothing else to use the points for.'
Then, a sudden thought crossed his mind.
He hesitated for a brief moment.
'Maybe I could've given some to her?'
Arin shook his head. 'No… She already has enough… I'm sure.'
That aside, his focus shifted to the two approaching figures. He adjusted his grip on the sword, his fingers tightening around the hilt as his squinted eyes locked onto them.
Now that they were closer, he could make out their forms more clearly.
The first one had a humanoid appearance—two arms, two legs, and long black hair cascading down his back. However, despite the similarities, there was no mistaking that he wasn't human.
Two distinct features made that clear.
First, the ominous dark energy that shrouded his body like a living shadow.
Second, the pair of curved horns protruding from his head, also coated in the same dark energy.
'The Shadow General…' Arin thought, his gaze locking onto the horns. 'If I remember correctly, his name is Valtor.'
Arin could feel it..... Valtor was strong, but he wasn't fazed.
Just like Arin had said before, Valtor was powerful, no doubt about it. But compared to Alex? Not even close. And if Arin had managed to stand his ground against Alex—even if Alex hadn't used all his spells—then Valtor wouldn't be too much trouble.
'Underestimating an opponent is dangerous. Keeping my guard up and taking this seriously is the best option.'
With that thought in mind, Arin shifted his gaze to the second figure—The Nightmare Shadow.
Unlike Valtor, this one didn't have a humanoid form. Instead, it was a swirling mass of black mist, writhing and shifting as it moved.
It slithered forward beside Valtor, heading towards Arin, or rather, the Portal behind Arin.
Arin smirked, and without hesitation, he released his Blood Energy, triggering his transformation.
His hair elongated, turning white. His irises turned crimson, his claws and fangs extending as his presence became more ominous.
By the time his transformation was complete, the two Shadows were nearly upon him.
Then, the Nightmare Shadow suddenly stopped.
For a brief second, it hovered in place.
It surged forward at blinding speed, barreling straight toward Arin.
Yet, Arin remained unfazed. In fact, his smirk widened.
The Nightmare Shadow was only inches away from colliding with him when—
It abruptly changed trajectory, twisting around him and rushing toward the Portal.
Arin didn't even glance back.
There were two reasons he hadn't been worried.
First, the novel had already mentioned that the Nightmare Shadow prioritized the Portal above all else. Which meant that it was more concerned about escaping than attacking Arin.
Second, Arin knew its abilities well. All of them were mind-based attacks.
And against a Vampire like him? They were useless.
Without looking back, he could already tell that the Nightmare Shadow had exited the Realm through the Portal.
'Exactly as I wanted…' Arin thought. 'And it won't attack anyone outside either. Once it flees, it will keep running until it deems itself safe.'
With that out of the way, Arin now turned his full attention to the only Shadow remaining..... Valtor.
At this point, Valtor had already stopped walking. His dark eyes bore into Arin's, an unreadable expression on his face.
For a few moments, they simply stared at each other.
Then, finally—Valtor spoke.
"Who are you?" His grip on his sword tightened.
Arin smirked. "That doesn't matter."
Valtor's expression didn't change even after hearing Arin's response.
His gaze flickered to the Portal behind Arin before shifting back.
"You must have come from the other side," he murmured. "I won't blame you, though. It's the Portal's fault for appearing far from my location instead of where Nightmare and I summoned it."
Arin sighed. He honestly didn't have time for such long talk, and that showed in his next action.
Valtor's eyes widened in shock.
In an instant—Arin vanished.
Instinctively, Valtor immediately raised his sword.
Sparks erupted as Arin's sword and Valtor's sword collided.
Arin had appeared right in front of him—sword pressed against his own.
Valtor immediately leapt backward, creating distance.
Now gripping his sword with both hands, he narrowed his eyes.
"Not interested in talking, huh?"
Arin grinned, twirling his sword once.
"I thought we could reason together," Valtor continued. "But it turns out… it's the other way around."
A smirk tugged at Arin's lips. "Took you long enough to figure that out."
Valtor exhaled slowly.
"Just like I singlehandedly wiped out half of my Race, I'll kill you the same way…"
Arin's smirk faded slightly. 'So that's how it is, huh?'
There wasn't much written about the Shadow Race—only that they had gone extinct due to a war among themselves.
But now, Valtor had used his own mouth to tell Arin that he singlehandedly killed half of his Race.
Arin's grip on his sword tightened.
"Perfect," he muttered. "Now I won't feel so guilty about killing you."
He didn't know much about Valtor, so he wouldn't have felt really good after killing him, but now, that wasn't the case anymore.
Arin suddenly crouched down—then slammed his palm against the ground.
A massive Water Bubble erupted around them, trapping them inside.
Valtor's eyes flickered as he scanned the Water Bubble.
"Trying to cage me in?" Valtor murmured.
Arin's voice echoed, making Valtor look at him.
"Let's finish this quickly, shall we?"