The sky was beginning to take on golden hues when the black carriage, adorned with silver details, stopped in front of the side gate of Astrong Academy. Two magical horses breathed calmly while the coachman waited in silence. Enrico adjusted the cloak over his shoulders and kept a calm expression. Standing before him were Serenya, Kai, Valença, Elian, Caelan, Liam, and Sílvia. They all knew that Enrico was leaving for a personal reason, or at least that was what the director had told them.
Enrico took a deep breath and turned his eyes toward Seraphina before speaking to the others.
"She has been improving very quickly, so I would like you to help her train."
Seraphina looked at the others, who nodded silently. Serenya crossed her arms, remaining attentive.
"Of course. If you say she has potential, then she must be good."
Serenya still felt that she should apologize to Seraphina properly, so she accepted easily.
Enrico simply nodded.
"It'll only be for a week, so it'll be fine."
Valença frowned suspiciously but chose not to ask. Sílvia merely observed, while Caelan adjusted his sleeve, seeming restless. Enrico was about to enter the carriage when he stopped and turned around again, this time with a more serious expression.
"Ah... one more thing. Be careful with Class S."
Everyone looked at one another, becoming attentive.
"The crown princess has a lot of influence. She manipulates Class A however she wants. Before Lan was defeated, he followed her orders. Now that we're under her watch, it's only a matter of time before she makes her move."
Kai clenched his fists.
"Well, if she wants to give orders, she'll have to beat me."
Serenya and Valença looked at him and answered at the same time:
"If she's going to talk to someone, it should be the one with the higher Rank."
Kai crossed his arms and looked away, clearly annoyed, while Valença turned her attention back to Enrico.
"Don't worry. We'll take care of everything."
"That's what I expect."
Enrico replied with a calm smile.
"But be smart. Don't let yourselves be carried away by strength alone. Manipulation, influence, and politics are also weapons she knows how to use very well."
Finally, he looked at Serenya. Her eyes were firm, but there was something in her expression... perhaps a simple "don't go" that she never managed to say.
Enrico took a step back and climbed into the carriage.
"Keep training. And take care of each other... I want to have strong allies when I return."
The carriage door closed, and the horses snorted before beginning to move. In silence, without looking back, Enrico departed. His friends remained there, watching the carriage disappear into the distance, until they turned their eyes toward Seraphina, who scratched her head with a nervous smile.
"When does my training start?"
Virelle watched Enrico leave from a distance. Then she looked at Angela.
"Watch him."
Angela knelt and nodded.
"Yes, ma'am."
She quickly disappeared.
Virelle then turned her gaze toward the direction in which Enrico had departed.
"Very well. Time to prepare the first confrontation for when he returns."
She sat down, thoughtful. Virelle wanted to train Enrico personally, but there was a problem: according to her family's rules, she could only have one disciple. A month ago, she had already sent a request to Enrico and the other two candidates. If she wanted to train him, Enrico would have to prove to her family that he deserved to be chosen by defeating the other two. That way, no one could challenge her decision.
"I hope everything goes well."
Sitting with his arms crossed, Enrico kept his eyes fixed on the carriage window. It was then that a voice echoed directly into his consciousness.
[You're really going to get involved with that family? What a brilliant choice.]
'Look who decided to speak. I thought you had fallen into a coma from being so useless.'
[I was just conserving mental energy while watching your brilliant hero act as you said goodbye. I almost cried... Just kidding, of course.]
Enrico gave a slight sarcastic smile.
'I'm not going there to get involved with them. I'm going for another reason. I need to reach the Second Circle quickly.'
[Oh, of course, because that's as easy as asking for bread at a bakery. You know, I did some research, and it takes at least four months for someone to reach the Second Circle.]
Enrico began clapping slowly.
'Oh, the great system finally stopped being lazy and decided to do something useful instead of making me explain everything?'
[Shut up.]
Enrico sighed and returned to the subject.
'Precisely because of this difficulty, I'm in a hurry. In a few weeks, all those idiots are going to start making a leap, especially the protagonists. That's the pattern. If I don't advance soon, I'll stop being the wall and become the ladder.'
[Ladder, wall, obstacle... You're already all of those things. They look at you and think, "I need to surpass him." Congratulations, you're the boss of the group's first emotional dungeon.]
Enrico snorted, but his eyes remained serious.
'Exactly. And if I want to continue being that wall, I need to rise. But for that, I need power. And that's where... the vampires come in.'
[Ah, the bloodsuckers? Nothing like getting close to a group of beings known for betrayal, sadism, and uncontrollable thirst. This has every chance of going wrong.]
'Almost everything does. That's exactly why I need to be careful. I don't want just a fragile alliance. I want a debt, an oath, an unbreakable bond.'
[Are you planning to offer them something in exchange? Because if it's just charm, I'll warn you now that it probably won't work on millennia-old beings.]
Enrico smiled from the corner of his mouth, his expression dark.
'They've been searching for something for centuries... Since the first vampire, there has been an ancient artifact hidden within the body of their ancestor. The body disappeared, but I know where it is.'
[Now that makes more sense. And where is it, Mr. Novel Reader?]
'The vessel is being prepared by the followers of the evil god Zarthoren, the God of Silent Carnage. They intend to use that body as a new vessel for him. But if I get there first...'
[...The vampires will kneel before you.]
'That's the plan. But it's not enough.'
[What?]
Enrico closed his eyes for a moment before answering.
'I'm going to offer them the purest blood they've ever seen. Something that will bind them to me by instinct, desire, and lineage.'
[Wait a moment... According to my analysis, Enrico's body has the blood of normal people.]
'But I can improve it if I obtain three specific elements. My blood will become equal to that of the noblest vampires and the most special humans. And if I use a fourth element... it will surpass even the pure blood of their royalty. The only difference is that I won't be a vampire.'
[Heh... You and your crazy ideas.]
'Everything worth having requires some risk, especially if it's for survival.'
[And what if those vampires keep you imprisoned somehow?]
Enrico looked out the window. The carriage had already left the city of Sanos behind.
'They won't. I'm going to offer this to the noblest and most powerful family among them, and they won't be able to refuse. The purer the blood they consume, the stronger they can become.'
Enrico crossed his arms again.
Now, the first thing he needed to do was find a way to reach the first artifact without arousing any suspicion.