***

-One Week Later-

Caius had spent the passing days keeping very busy especially when he was alone in his room.

Now that he was at the Fourth Circle, there was a newfound understanding of the Arcane symbols within the Arcane Codex and he had a lot of work to do to be prepared. Now that he was a Circle above where he expected to be for the coming challenges, he believed he had a better chance of surviving them.

He created spells to match the Circle he was now at and created mismatched experimentations to push the boundary further.

For example; Now that he was at the fourth Circle, ~Hellsong Stomp~ was less an unstable boost and now just an unstable nuisance. It was slower than a true Fourth Circle spell circle.

So Caius turned it into one.

After all, at the start, they had been his goal for the spell but he had failed because he wasn't at the Fourth Circle. Now that he was, he could see what he had been unable to see before and could complete it.

But that was only one of the spells he improved.

He also improved ~Black Hand~. It was his first created spell and even at the time, Caius had known it had potential for more so he could move forward with that even if only a bit.

And then, there were his attempts to weaponize the instability that was intrinsic to combining Elements for singular spells and that was likely the most difficult of all. But Caius liked to think he was making acceptable progress with that as well.

And then, there was his Alchemy.

After outsourcing actual Alchemy to Aylin, Caius had been even freer to focus on Blood Alchemy and its annoyingly low threshold for success.

If it were just about Trait Acquisition Potions it would have all been better because Caius felt he had that down to a science now. He had done it so much, recorded every tiny aspect of it that any failure was not because of him but because of the volatility of Blood Alchemy itself.

However, Caius was also working on other things in preparation for the grandest and most difficult battles of his life thus far and he didn't have all those down as well as he did with Trait Acquisition Potions so it was slow going as far as progress was concerned.

The worst thing was the lack of time.

Caius was sleeping less now. He spent the majority of the nighttime poring through the Arcane codex and through Alchemical procedures within the manuals he had with him, trying to ensure he understood what he was doing before he began the experiment.

On the topic of manuals, there were a bunch of them in Allegra's Manuscript. Arlette took charge of that as per Caius's wishes and was sifting through it all. She soon informed Caius that not only were there Alchemical Manuscripts, but there were also Blood Alchemical manuscripts.

"Makes sense," Caius had said when Arlette told him, "She worked hard to cheat the Evolution charge quantity within the Blood. It's natural she would have given Blood Alchemy a go."

"I think she'd have done it even if that wasn't her goal," Arlette had said,

"That woman learnt everything. Some of these manuscripts are personal records of her own insights into various fields."

"You admire her," Caius had noticed then with a smile.

Arlette smiled back at him.

"How could I not?" She said, "Looking at all this, just imagine how much more had died with her that she never put down in writing."

"If she IS dead, that is," Caius had said.

"Wait, she isn't?" Arlette had asked, turning to him with her brows raised in surprise.

Caius had shrugged,

"The Merceneries didn't find her remains, did they?"

"It wasn't a Tomb," Arlette had said, "More like a storage space kept sealed and safe with enchantments."

"Still, I think if someone like her felt their lifespan was ending, they'd want to be laid to rest with their things," Caius had said.

"Maybe she wanted to be laid to rest with her family," Arlette had said.

"Maybe," Caius acquiesced, "But still— I think if she had been brilliant enough to trap Divine Energy, she might have been brilliant enough to break past her limits and achieve the peak of magical excellence.

Who knows? Maybe she Ascended."

"Ascension," Arlette had said then while staring off into space at such a grand prospect.

"Ascension," Caius had agreed simply with a nod.

In any case, Allegra's Blood Alchemy Manuscripts were mostly quite complex. Like secret codes to be decoded and while Caius had taken it upon himself to do that, he decided it would have to wait until the three Mid-Semester Tests so he could then give it his all.

Again, time was of the essence and he couldn't afford to go on a Tangent.

Speaking of things taking his time and trying to throw him into a tangent;

After a week, the Mid-Semester Tests had begun.

Which meant there was a need to study for the various other subjects. Fortunately for Caius, bringing things he had read to remembrance was as easy as breathing for him. All he needed was a passing glance at any of the materials and he knew what to put down for whatever question was asked. So long as they were within the material.

There were some curve balls of course. Some Professors attempted to be sneaky with their questions and throw him for a loop. One of those was Professor Melvin who had never quite liked Caius since Orientation.

During the Tests, Caius was about halfway through with only thirty minutes having passed when he decided he was being foolish and stood up from his seat.

"Caius?" Kaya called to him.

"Turns out I just can't do this," Caius answered her and approached Professor Melvin.

"Professor, I'm afraid I'm dropping the class."

"Took you longer than I thought it would," Professor Melvin had said with a little smirk.

"Yeah, I was a bit sentimental about your class," Caius said.

"How so?"

"It was the first I attended," Caius said and then glanced over at Kaya as he added in his head,

'And it was where I spoke to her for the first time.'

It's silly in retrospect that that was the reason he stayed. To be honest, he just hadn't cared either way. He usually spent the entire class talking to Kaya anyway, usually distracting her from taking notes. Though to be fair, that distraction was true for all the classes they took together and sat together during.

"It's such a shame to see you go," Professor Melvin said, his tone dripping with sarcasm.

"Indeed Professor," Caius said with a smile like he had missed the sarcasm which of course, he hadn't.

"Theory of Magic is essential to your journey as a Mage," Professor Melvin said, "I hope you won't come to regret your decision."

"I'm sure I'll get by," Caius said, "Thank you, Professor."

Theory of Magic was indeed important. For those whose mind was affected by the Arcane Codex, that is. The Theory of Magic helps to decipher the Arcane Symbols in a very analytical way that makes it easier to assimilate.

A True Vampire doesn't need it.

Caius turned away toward the door when a beautiful voice called out.

"Professor," Kaya said and stood to her feet, "I'm afraid I must do the same."

"What?" Professor Melvin said in surprise that bordered on shock, "Miss Aeisling, why would you do that?"

There was hardly a Professor who didn't like Kaya. If the female Professors were enamored by Caius's looks, the faculty at large, regardless of gender, was enamored by Kaya's diligence and brains. Professor Melvin wasn't excluded. Kaya might as well be his star pupil.

"I'm afraid my passions lie elsewhere, Professor," Kaya said now at the front of the class where she handed in her Test papers. She was actually done with all of it which boggled Professor Melvin's mind all the more.

Even Caius was a little surprised but he didn't show it all that much and just smiled at Kaya who smiled back as the two of them walked out of the classroom before Professor Melvin could snap out of it and question Kaya about her decision more.

Once outside the classroom, Kaya grabbed Caius's hand and pulled him with her down the corridor towards a certain Storage room they had long spruced up for a hideaway.

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