As soon as Arin exited the dorm building, he headed straight for the Main Building of the second-year students.
'They won't be able to enter the building directly with Lina,' Arin thought, 'after all, she isn't a second-year student, and only second-year students are allowed into the Main Building.'
'So there's only one place they would've taken her to...'
Arin continued walking, and he could already see the Main Building from where he was.
Students nor teachers weren't even coming in and out of the building. It was just silent.
That was because the second-year students focused more on practicals than sitting down in a class to learn. So, they were always in special classes outside the Academy with their teachers or sometimes well-known figures in the Kingdom to learn more advanced things.
Apart from that, most of them went on missions almost all the time, because it helped them gain more fighting experience alongside points.
'I'm sure she tried to scream, but nobody would've heard her,' Arin thought as he finally reached the Main Building, 'especially with how this second-year side is devoid of people.'
Instantly, he walked around the building, heading towards the back. Of course, the students wouldn't hold Lina hostage in the front of the building, so the next possible place would be the back, where no one went at all.
As Arin got closer, he could already hear the voices of some boys.
"Don't worry, your brother will soon be here, hahaha."
"Are you sure he'll even come? He might decide to stay in his room out of fear."
"He'll come. We have his sister, after all."
Arin squinted his eyes as he finally arrived at the back of the building. The four boys who were there instantly turned their heads the moment they noticed someone else was there.
The boy with long brown hair, whom Arin met in The Area, was standing in front with a grin on his face, like a leader. Three other boys were standing behind him, with one of them holding Lina.
Lina's mouth was tied, making it impossible for her to scream, and fear was evident on her face.
The moment she saw Arin, she began shaking her head frantically, as if telling him to leave.
"So you came, huh?" Brygar, the boy with long brown hair, spoke.
Arin furrowed his brows. "Are you blind or something?"
Brygar's eyebrows instantly twitched in annoyance. "You better watch that mouth of yours. We have your sister."
"Release her," Arin said, getting straight to the point with an indifferent expression.
"Huh?" Brygar suddenly smiled. "Not so fast. You have to do something first."
Arin didn't say anything, but the boy continued.
"As a first-year student, you have to know your place," Brygar began. "So get down on your knees and beg me to forgive you for trying to fight me in The Area."
"And I'll let your sister go," he added.
Arin fixated his eyes on Brygar without looking away for a bit.
Brygar's condition was actually an easy thing to do, but for two reasons, Arin didn't want to do it.
Firstly, he had the strength to beat these guys up and leave with Lina. And secondly...
"Your pride as a Progenitor..." Seraphine said slowly.
Arin suddenly grinned as he began walking forward. It was exactly as Seraphine said. There was a certain pride he got after becoming a Progenitor Vampire.
He knew he didn't have that kind of pride before, which was why he knew it was an effect of becoming a Progenitor.
And that pride wouldn't allow him to beg someone as shitty as Brygar. Heck, even without that pride, he still wouldn't do it.
"What are you grinning for?" Brygar asked as he noticed Arin walking forward. "Or don't you want your sister back?"
Seeing that Arin continued walking forward with an expression that showed he was about to do something, Brygar decided to make the first move.
Flames suddenly enveloped his right fist as he dashed towards Arin, ready to deliver a punch.
The heat emanating from his fist was intense, as expected of a second-year student.
Immediately, Arin also dashed towards Brygar, his expression unwavering.
Brygar swung his fist with immense force towards Arin, the flames intensifying.
Meanwhile, a Water Shield suddenly formed on Arin's left hand, positioning itself towards the incoming flame fist.
The flame fist and Arin's Water Shield collided, creating a dust cloud, but Arin didn't wait.
He instantly swung his right fist towards Brygar, who was close to him.
Due to the dust cloud, Brygar was unable to quickly notice Arin's fist, and then...
Arin delivered an uppercut to Brygar, sending him — and some of his teeth — flying.
The other three boys just stood with widened eyes, unable to believe what had just happened.
The boy closest to Arin suddenly regained his senses, and instead of running away, he decided to attack.
"AGHHHH!" He let out a war cry and dashed towards Arin, his legs coated with lightning.
Arin instantly dashed towards the boy, and before reaching him, he jumped and stepped on the building's wall, whipping his leg out.
His kick landed on the boy's face, sending him flying as well.
The third boy had already reached Arin, swinging his Wind Dagger, but Arin's quick reflexes kicked in. He ducked, evading the dagger, and sent out his right fist.
His fist connected with the boy's stomach, sending him flying too.
"Now, who's next?" Arin muttered as he looked at the last boy holding Lina.
The boy was shivering, one thought running through his mind: 'Who the hell is this Arin?'
He looked at Arin, then at Lina, before making a decision.
Without wasting time, he let go of Lina, turned back, and ran away.
Instantly, Lina ran towards Arin with tears on her face and hugged him. "I..... I'm so happy you're safe, Arin."
Arin carefully wrapped his arms around Lina, caressing her hair. "Don't worry, you're fine now, okay?"
Lina was so emotional that she didn't even think about how Arin had defeated four second-year students. She was just happy that he was okay.
Arin suddenly let go of Lina and walked toward Brygar, who was on the ground.
He bent down and slapped him lightly, waking him up.
"Ahh....." Brygar breathed heavily, his eyes widening immediately as he saw Arin.
Arin gazed at him, making him shiver slightly.
"If you ever mess with me and my sister again," Arin whispered, his voice cold, "you don't want to know what'll happen....."
With that, Arin walked back to Lina, and they began heading back to the first-year side.
He still had a lot to do, like completing the Water Element Spell and learning a new Vampiric Skill.
He also had to meet Tessa the next day, and then there was Leon, who was very important.
Arin glanced at Lina, who was talking about how they tricked her into thinking he was in trouble. 'With all these things I'm doing and my plot against Alex, can I consider myself a hero?'
'Maybe...' Arin answered his own question. 'But I'm sure I'm doing the right thing. And maybe... just maybe others will realize this with time.'
'That aside, tomorrow will be a busy day,' Arin thought. 'Because I'll also visit the Mission Hall...'