Arin sat on the bed, staring at the open window. A cool breeze entered the room, causing his long white hair to flutter lightly.
After speaking with Seraphine, he finally understood the gravity of the situation. Her father, the King of the Vampires, would somehow know that she had pledged full submission to someone. This would only make things worse. Furious, he would send even more Vampires to search for her. If they failed, there was a chance he would come in person.
That aside, there were other things Arin wanted to clarify.
"You mentioned something about how Vampires are ranked, right?" Arin asked.
"Yes," Seraphine replied, her voice steady. "Each rank comes with its own special traits."
"I see..." Arin muttered, squinting his eyes in thought.
"The lowest rank is the Fledgling Vampires," Seraphine began. "Then come the Regular Vampires, Elite Vampires, Vampire Generals, Noble Vampires, Elder Vampires, and finally, the Vampire Lords."
Arin couldn't deny that he was intrigued by the Vampire Ranking System. This was new information, not covered in the original novel. In fact, before the novel went on hiatus, little had been written about the Vampires at all, as the story had focused more on Alex and other looming threats.
'I think the author did this to build tension, so that all the threats would converge at once,' Arin thought. 'That's why there was so little revealed about the different dangers.'
Still, those few details from the novel could be incredibly useful to him. Arthur's death, for example, had been a pivotal moment, designed to trigger one of these major threats.
As Seraphine continued explaining, Arin learned about the specific traits of each rank and how they functioned. He also discovered that there were only four Progenitors in the Vampire Kingdom—though Seraphine didn't know about the recent addition to their ranks.
He also learned that the Progenitors weren't part of the ranking system. They were different—an entirely separate breed, though they still respected the King immensely and would follow any decision he made. The key difference was that Progenitors had a voice in the kingdom's governance. Their opinions were not only valued but taken very seriously.
Arin let out a sigh and collapsed onto the bed. "That's... a lot of information."
And he knew there was still much more Seraphine had to tell him. At least, he didn't need to sleep anymore, thanks to his new vampire nature.
"Though, I have a question," Seraphine said, her tone a bit hesitant.
Arin folded his hands behind his head, staring at the ceiling. "What is it?"
"How were you able to defeat me?" she asked. "I mean, I know I'm the weakest among my sisters, and I'm only at the Vampire General Rank, but your fighting style was... different."
A slight smile crept onto Arin's face. He had been thinking about that as well since their battle.
Although he knew Seraphine was the weakest of her sisters, he had used his Extra's Stand skill to defeat her. Still, the way he had fought—it felt instinctive, as if it was already a part of him.
'I initially thought the former Arin might have fought like that,' he mused, still staring at the ceiling, 'but after going through his memories, I can't recall him ever being that skilled in combat.'
It was still a mystery to him.
With a sigh, he responded, "I'm just a good fighter, I guess."
"That's all?" Seraphine asked, clearly not satisfied with the answer.
Arin frowned slightly. "Huh? What more do you want to hear?"
"Hmm, I suppose that makes sense," Seraphine conceded.
Arin sat up from the bed, his mind shifting to more pressing matters. His appearance was one of them, but he already had the perfect solution in mind.
"You know," Seraphine teased, her voice becoming playful, "white hair really suits you."
"Shut up, Seraphine."
Ignoring her, Arin settled on the floor, crossing his legs in a lotus position before closing his eyes.
Within seconds, he began to sense the Mana flowing through his body. The stillness of the night enhanced his focus.
He felt the familiar presence of the Purple Chaos Element and the Blue Water Element, but now, there was something new. A small red orb pulsed within him, one that hadn't been there before. He immediately knew it was the Blood Core.
This was precisely why Arin had consumed the Blood Core rather than having Seraphine turn him with a bite. If she had bitten him, he would have become a Vampire without a Blood Core. By consuming it, he retained his Blood Core while becoming a Vampire.
He had a theory—that the Blood Energy was trying to eliminate his Mana, and it clashed with his Chaos Element in the process. The result was the merging of both energies, transforming him into a different type of Vampire... a Progenitor.
Since his Blood Energy and Mana had become one, it meant that...
As he deepened his concentration, he slipped into a trance-like state, his mind becoming clear.
After a few moments, Arin's eyes shot open. Without a second thought, he dashed toward the mirror.
"It worked..." he muttered, staring at his reflection.
His hair was back to its original brown color, cut short like before he became a Vampire. His claws had reverted to normal fingernails, his skin no longer pale. Even his fangs had disappeared, and his eyes were back to their natural hue. He had fully reverted to his human appearance.
His theory turned out to be correct. Since his Blood Energy and Mana had merged, it meant he could freely switch between his Vampire form and his Human form. However, he suspected that if he used any of his Vampiric abilities, it would likely force him to transform into his Vampire form.
The most satisfying part was that he had figured this out on his own, through his own reasoning, without needing to ask the System. After all, it might not have told him anything anyway.
"Of course, I wouldn't expect anything less from a Progenitor," Seraphine remarked, her voice laced with admiration.
"Though I've never seen a Progenitor change their appearance like that," she added, sounding impressed.
Arin smirked. "So I'm the first to ever do it."
Seraphine chuckled softly. "Well, there's something I'd like to show you, too."
Arin raised an eyebrow. "Oh? What is it?"
"You're going to be a little surprised..."
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[A/N]
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