Chapter 152: Vampire Spy [2]

Ulvakor paused. He tilted his head. "Did I never explain this to you?"

"You definitely did not."

"Hm." He scratched the back of his head. "I probably forgot. Or maybe you forgot. Either way." He held up one hand. "You already know the core of Rai-Kin right? Sense it feel it control it and coat your body and attacks with it."

"Yeah. That’s what I’ve been doing all week."

"Good. Think of everything you’ve learned so far as Rai-Kin Zero."

Alden stared at him. "Zero."

"The foundation!"

"Everything I’ve been grinding into myself for seven days straight isn’t even officially numbered yet?!"

"It’s zero not nothing! Zero is where everything starts!" Ulvakor pressed on before Alden could continue his complaint. "Once you achieve Mastered Rai you unlock access to the numbered forms. Rai-Kin 1 through Rai-Kin 99. Each number isn’t just about how much power you put into it. Each one represents a completely different specialized application. Structural reversal like what you saw Lord Constantine do. Every number is its own technique built on the foundation of Mastered Rai."

Alden was quiet for a second putting it together. "So that’s how Constantine put the whole ceiling back. Rai-Kin 28 is a restoration type."

"Exactly. It reverses structural damage within a defined area. Instantly and completely." Ulvakor held up a finger. "But don’t make the mistake of thinking reaching a higher stage automatically gives you higher numbers. The numbered forms come from control and affinity. They have to be learned and mastered individually. My father is one of the Four Supreme Lords and the highest Rai-Kin form he has fully mastered is 44."

Alden’s mind came to a complete halt.

Constantine was already the kind of existence that had made the entire Grand Selection chamber feel like a different world. And he hadn’t even reached the halfway point of the numbered forms.

Alden slowly clenched his fist.

"Then I need to break through Advanced Rai and reach Mastered as fast as possible."

"That’s the spirit!" Ulvakor slapped him on the shoulder hard enough to shift his entire coat. Then he turned back to Alarion. "Right then. Time to head out. Good seeing you kid." He raised one hand in a casual wave.

And then the next moment, both of them were gone the way Primordials apparently felt about exits.

Alden stood blinking at the empty space.

"Their disappearing acts are genuinely ridiculous," he said to nobody.

"Alden?"

Seris walked back over from the railing. Her eyes had a slight concern in them. "Is everything alright?"

"Yeah. Nothing serious." He looked up at the sky. "Anyway it’s getting late so we should probably—ARK!"

An arm came around his neck from behind and hauled him backward into a headlock before he could finish the sentence. He grabbed at it immediately.

"YOU BRAT!" Headmaster Darius’s voice boomed directly into his ear. The man’s grip tightened as Alden squirmed. "Didn’t I tell you to be present since this MORNING?!"

"LET GO OF ME YOU CRAZY OLD MAN!"

"Do you have ANY IDEA how long I have been looking for you?!"

"I WAS BUSY!"

"Busy DOING WHAT?!"

"NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS!"

Beside them Seris had a hand pressed over her mouth.

They finally separated with Alden yanking himself free and both of them aggressively adjusting their formal coats. Darius fixed his collar with the expression of a man who has done this once too many times and pointed at Alden.

"You are staying behind tonight. There is a high-level strategy meeting regarding the war and your firsthand experience with the recent incidents makes your presence mandatory."

Seris’s cheeks puffed out. It was small but it was there. "So Alden can’t leave this place tonight?"

"Unfortunately not," Darius confirmed. He looked at Alden one more time. "Come inside shortly." Then he turned and went back into the hall.

Seris watched the door close and then looked up at Alden with a deeply dramatic sigh. "So you can’t stay with me? And no blood tonight either?"

Alden looked at her. "You literally drank my blood yesterday."

"And it was delicious." She tilted her head. "What can I say? I love your blood." Then she seemed to catch herself and corrected with an innocent smile. "I mean I love you. And your blood just happens to be sweet."

"No blood tonight," Alden said firmly.

Seris looked at him. The sly glint appeared in her crimson eyes and he had just enough experience with that specific glint to know what it meant but not quite enough time to do anything about it.

"Fine," she said. "But come closer for a second."

He narrowed his eyes. "Why."

"Just come closer."

"Seris."

"Just a little. Come on."

Against his better judgment he leaned in slightly.

The moment he was within range she grabbed his collar pulled him down and bit the spot right below his jaw.

"OW—!" He yanked back and pressed his hand to his neck. She was already stepping backward covering her mouth with both gloved hands and giggling.

"It’s a hickey," she announced proudly.

Alden’s face went completely red. "I have a HIGH LEVEL STRATEGY MEETING right now! With all the big people present there!"

"Then you had better cover it well or just show it without caring about it." She winked once and turned toward the corridor with light triumphant steps. "Good night Alden. Let’s meet tomorrow."

Her laughter disappeared around the corner.

Alden stood alone on the balcony in the cool night air with one hand pressed against his neck and the other hanging at his side.

He stayed like that for a moment.

’...That woman is genuinely going to be the death of me.’

He took one long breath. Straightened his collar. Checked his reflection in the dark glass of the balcony door and confirmed the situation on his neck was very visible and very much not coverable by a collar.

He stared at it for a second.

Then he turned and walked back into the hall.

"Alright," he muttered quietly. "Time for this meeting."