Two days passed in the blink of an eye, and for Arin, it had been quite eventful.
First, his suspicion about the boy who had caused trouble in The Area was confirmed. Apparently, the boy had seen Lina in the library and taken a liking to her, but Lina wasn't comfortable at all and had always tried to avoid him. He started stalking her until he finally approached her in The Area. Unfortunately for him, Arin had been there.
Since then, Arin hadn't seen the boy. After all, it was rare for a first-year student and a second-year student to cross paths in the Academy unless it was in The Area.
He also met Lina the next day and managed to calm her down, which was a relief.
As for Riya, he hadn't seen her since the day she warned him about "being careful." Well, this was because the Magic Theory class had been canceled for the students because of the upcoming expedition. The Academy decided to use the remaining two days for extra training in Weapon Training class, pushing Magic Theory to the side until after the expedition.
Despite the changes, Arin couldn't shake the gnawing feeling that something was wrong, especially with Riya. He felt like she knew something. In the novel, she was just a regular teacher, so it was strange that she seemed to know something about him.
Arin sighed as he got up from the bed and walked into the bathroom. "It can't be related to Arthur's death. Teachers don't live on the Academy grounds, so there's no way she could have seen me that night."
Seraphine's voice echoed in his mind, "Didn't she say something like 'It won't be easy'? Maybe she's warning you about something else entirely."
"I don't know," Arin muttered, shaking his head. "I've got this gut feeling it's about Alex, but I can't be sure. She could be talking about something else."
Within these two days, Seraphine had pieced together bits about Arin's goal. He hadn't told her everything outright, but she had figured out enough to get a general understanding of what was going on.
Seraphine sighed. "I mean, this Alex kid is strong, right? We already know it won't be easy dealing with him. Why would she need to remind you of that?"
"Exactly," Arin replied, his voice low. "That's why I'm not certain it's even about Alex. But we can't rule out the possibility either."
For now, he decided to bide his time and see how things played out. He had a plan for the expedition, and he wasn't about to change course now.
"I've said this like six times already," Seraphine muttered. "The way she leaned in so close to your face… it was like she was about to kiss you."
Arin rolled his eyes as he stepped out of the bathroom. "I thought I told you to stop bringing that up."
Seraphine gasped dramatically. "Wait! Don't tell me... Could she be into younger bo—"
As for his Blood Energy, he had made considerable progress. With Seraphine's guidance, he had learned two more Vampiric Skills, bringing his total to three, alongside the Blood Spike Skill.
"And I'll get to test them soon, along with the Water Bubble Spell and my new Chaos Element Spell," Arin muttered to himself.
He had also started working on creating a new Water Element Spell, though it would take a few more days to complete. That would have to wait until after the expedition.
Overall, his strength had grown significantly, and he was far stronger than he had been when he first reincarnated into this world.
Arin finished dressing and walked over to the window, his eyes scanning the line of students gathering outside.
He exited his room, shutting the door behind him as he made his way out of the dormitory. He had already bought a sword that morning, spending all 300 of his points. It was a Grade 5 Veteran Rank sword, and he had only managed to afford it because the seller was offering a discount.
'Weapons are ridiculously expensive...' he thought with a sigh.
For a certain reason, he decided to keep the sword in his inventory for now.
In a matter of minutes, Arin had joined the crowd of students standing before the Academy gate, waiting for instructions. They were all buzzing with nervous energy, discussing what they expected and sharing tactics for fighting Beasts.
Arin's eyes drifted toward the corner of the gate, where he spotted Tessa and Alex deep in conversation. At least he had already spoken to Tessa and told her what to do, so he wasn't worried.
Arin knew exactly how the expedition would unfold, including the rules, and that knowledge gave him an edge. He could exploit it.
"Arin!" Lina called out, her voice bright as she spotted him and hurried over, smiling.
"Oh, Lina," Arin greeted her.
"I won't lie, I'm a little nervous about this expedition," Lina admitted, biting her lip. "We'll be fighting Beasts. It's not just training this time."
Arin chuckled softly. "I get it. But don't worry, we'll make it back safely. The teachers will make sure of that."
Lina stared into the distance, sighing. "Yeah, but injuries are bound to happen."
"It's all part of the training," Arin said with a shrug.
Lina glanced at him, her brow furrowed. "You know, I'm still surprised. When did you become so calm?"
Arin smiled lightly but didn't get a chance to reply because out of the corner of his eye, he noticed someone walking toward the gate.
Seraphine's voice piped up again, "Wait... isn't that Riya?"