Arin walked into his room and shut the door before walking toward the window, looking at the other students who were discussing outside.
With a sigh, he began pulling off his clothes, after which he walked into the toilet to freshen up.
'Even if my urge for blood didn't act up, I would've still had to leave,' Arin thought as he exited the toilet.
He sat down on the bed to review the battle he just had with Alex.
"First of all," he began, "I got some new Vampiric Skills mid-fight, allowing me to perform more than I expected."
"Those weren't just Vampiric Skills, Master," Seraphine said. "They were special Skills only Progenitors could use... Innate Skills of Progenitors."
Arin remembered seeing that when the system screen appeared. "That's true."
"I'll check the description of the Skills later," he added.
With that aside, he continued his review.
"If my urge for blood didn't act up, I would've done even better than I did and stood my ground for quite some time," Arin said. "Though I would still have to leave, but not at that time."
Like Seraphine said, he would have to find a way to intake blood sooner or later.
Arin squinted his eyes. "As for Alex, he clearly didn't use certain Spells."
"Are you talking about the Light and Darkness Elements?" Seraphine asked.
"Yes," Arin replied. "He just used that Spell that created the golden lightning and also fused both Elements with the other Elements. That's all."
"Talking about fusing the Elements," Arin continued, "that would've been the reason I would have to leave even without my urge for blood acting up."
In the last few chapters of the novel before it went on hiatus, it revealed that Alex had just mastered the Fourth Formation of the Elements.
And he used only the First Formation when he fought Arin, which meant that...
'If I had stayed longer, he would've used the Second or Third Formation, and I'm sure I wouldn't be able to do anything against him.'
Arin laughed. "There's a reason why he's Humanity's Strongest Mage, after all."
The next thing giving Arin concern was the first Dark Aura that shrouded Alex.
'That wasn't the Darkness Element,' Arin thought. 'It was something else.'
'And I think I know what it was...' Arin grinned.
Anyone who read the novel up to the current chapter would know that Alex was never a hero, and that just further proved Arin's theory.
'Tessa will be the one to give me the final confirmation,' Arin thought.
Now, it was time to check his Skills.
He opened the system screen and went to the Skills section.
[First Innate Skill of a Progenitor: Overheat]
[Overheat: Immediately this Skill is activated, the host's blood starts heating up, releasing red smoke in the process.]
[Effect 1: Physical Capabilities x2]
[Effect 2: The host's senses are further enhanced whenever the Skill is activated.]
[Time Limit: Ten minutes.]
[Note: When the ten minutes elapse, the host's physical capabilities will be halved for five minutes before returning to normal.]
"It's an amazing Skill," Arin instantly said after reading the description.
Activating the Skill was like enhancing his already enhanced body. Though the backlash of having his physical capabilities halved for five minutes didn't look good, if he planned well during a fight, he wouldn't have a problem.
"At this point, my physical capabilities give me an advantage in any fight more than my Magic," Arin muttered as he grinned. "And this makes trying 'that' possible..."
[Second Innate Skill of a Progenitor: Aura]
[Aura: Once this Skill is activated, the host is shrouded by his Blood Energy.]
[Effect 1: The Aura acts as a shield around the host.]
[Effect 2: The host can form anything from his Aura, like swords and other weapons.]
[Effect 3: The host's physical capabilities are slightly enhanced.]
[Time Limit: As long as the host has Blood Energy, the Skill can be kept active.]
"Another good one," Arin said as he squinted his eyes.
After asking the system some more, he found out that if he didn't have Blood Energy, he wouldn't be able to activate either of the Skills, and if he kept activating the Skills, his Blood Energy would eventually get depleted.
There was also the fact that he could now add Blood Energy to his Mana-based attacks. Though that wasn't a Skill, it was an effect of Ranking Up.
"Now that you're at the Vampire General Rank, you can learn more Vampiric Skills," Seraphine said, her voice hinting that she was ready to teach him.
"That's true," Arin said. "And I also won't meet Tessa today."
He had told Tessa before the expedition that they shouldn't meet each other in the Academy after fighting with Alex. After all, there was still a probability that Alex would be suspicious of her and observe her for a bit. If he saw her meeting with someone, of course, he would get even more suspicious, and that would spell trouble.
"And because of the expedition, classes won't be held tomorrow," Arin said. "So I have time to complete the Water Element Spell."
Arin sighed as he got up from the bed. A sharp look appeared in his eyes as he stared outside through the window. "I have to get stronger... At all cost."
IN AN UNKNOWN LOCATION...
The throne room was wide, with a single orange-colored carpet on the floor that led to the two thrones at the end of the room. The carpet had drawings of flames on it, which matched the designs on the walls.
Drawings of flames could be seen on the walls of the throne room, and orange-colored gem-like decorations were embedded into the walls.
Nobody was currently in the throne room apart from an individual seated on one of the thrones.
She had a feminine figure and wore a long orange gown adorned with small orange stones. The way she sat and the Aura radiating from her further revealed her elegance.
Though her face was covered with an orange veil, much like a bride's, her presence was undeniable.
She opened her mouth, and after a few seconds, she spoke. "I know you're there... Arthur."
She paused for a moment before continuing. "Don't worry, you can come to me. I won't hurt you."
There was silence for a few seconds, but then a boy's voice was heard, followed by the sound of footsteps.
"I... I'm sorry, Mother..."