***
Kaya and Caius left the Combat Magic Classroom about five minutes before the end of break. They had class and Kaya also felt it would be embarrassing if someone walked in on them holding each other on the floor.
They left without even dusting themselves because Lochxen Academy uniforms are made with enchantments. They are so tough that they can even withstand damage from spells. So of course, they are wrinkle and dust-proof.
No matter how much Kaya and Caius twisted on the ground, no matter how much they grabbed and squeezed each other, their uniforms would always be spotless and perfect.
"You didn't use Dark Magic," Kaya said after about a minute of them walking in silence.
Caius raised a brow,
"What?"
"During the Duel. You didn't use Dark Magic," Kaya said.
Caius laughed,
"That's what you're thinking about?" He asked, "After what we just did, you're thinking about the Duel?"
Kaya blushed but her curious expression did not change,
"Why didn't you use it?" She asked.
"Why didn't you use your other Elements. If I recall, you have High Affinity in two more," Caius said.
Kaya shook her head,
"I came at you with my best. A Unique Element. You should have done the same. Unique Element against Unique Element. Nature Magic against Dark Magic."
Caius furrowed his brows at that. By pitting Nature and Dark against each other in such a direct comparison, he wondered if Kaya already knew the true potential of Nature Magic. [To Kill A Demon Lord…] never really made that clear. Not at this point in the story anyway.
"I don't know any Dark Magic spells," Caius told her honestly.
"You don't?"
"I don't."
"But it's your one Unique Element," Kaya said.
"And I did not know that until today," Caius said with a shrug.
Although the Unique Elements are believed to provide 'special' advantages, a person with Mid or Low Affinity in them can never be as comfortable with them as they'd be with the basic elements they have High Affinity with.
Because of this, unless you are taught by someone who specifically gave a Unique Element a chance, you are more likely to learn the Basic Elements—which everyone knows—until you are grown enough to decide to branch out on your own.
Kaya understood this partly.
She understood that people hardly just teach the Unique Elements but because Nature Magic came naturally to her, she assumed Dark Magic was the same for Caius. And it could be, but again, he hadn't been bothered to try or known to try until today's affinity test.
Kaya nodded as she pulled out her map/schedule and began leading the way to their next class. She put it away when they were only a few feet away and looked at Caius with a smile,
"So who won?" She asked.
"Hmm?"
"Who won the duel?" Kaya asked.
"No one did," Caius said like that was obvious, "It was a draw."
"But I had my vines on you ready to stab you," Kaya pointed out.
"And I had the Wind Blade. Ready to cut through," Caius retorted.
"You were in my Nature Chamber. My territory. I win by home-field advantage," Kaya said.
'What's this? Football?' Caius thought with a raised brow while shaking his head.
"Fair, I suppose," he said out loud.
Kaya grinned and her pretty green eyes twinkled as she entered the Classroom first with Caius following after.
All eyes were on them as they found seats and the stares were even more intense when they sat side by side. It was clear everyone had noticed their absence at the Cafeteria and probably wondered where they had been together.
Kaya's cheeks were rosy at the attention but she made a point to ignore them. She had a finger on her lips and traced across like she was remembering the kiss she and Caius had shared.
A portal appeared and their teacher arrived. He was a tall man in a black robe that draped to the ground and dragged on the floor around him. He looked like he was in his fifties with grey mixed in his brown hair and a wild pair of black eyes.
"Hello, Students. I am Professor Scaler and this is 'Study of the Arcane Codex'." He announced and no one looked excited.
The Arcane Codex was essentially a collection of difficult-to-decipher codes of Magic and by studying them, Mages can improve their enlightenment and Advance in Circles. The codes within the Codex are numerous. Thousands and thousands of obscure symbols meant to frustrate the mind and body and exercise them, boosting a Mage's power.
The Codex in its raw form could destroy a Mage's mind rather than help it so they need to be interpreted into a more accessible form and that was what the class was meant to teach.
Almost everyone in class considered the lesson useless though because they belonged to an important enough Family that had their own varied interpretations of the Codex. They wouldn't even be at Lochxen if that were not the case because they wouldn't have been able to advance to the Third Circe which was the Blossoming Barrier.
The reasoning for the Class's existence is that there is always more to learn from the Codex and that is actually true. In the original story, Caius paid attention to the class, gained a deeper understanding of the Codex, and advanced faster than most of his peers.
Caius (with Kevin's soul) had no interest in this. He had already embraced being a Vampire and had had a taste of Vampiric Evolution already and that was the only path he needed to advance the strength of his body and his Magic.
Once he advanced from a Vampire Spawn to a 'True Vampire' and truly stepped on the ladder of Vampiric Evolution, the codex was going to lose meaning to him and he was greatly anticipating that.
The Class dragged on for hours and when it ended, after many note-taking and meditative exercises to 'clear the mind' and let the magic in, the first school day was over.
The Students broke into their groups of friends, talking among themselves and marching out of the classroom to head to Lochxen's on-ground Campus. A massive location that afforded every student his or her own lavish room with most, if not all, of the amenities they would all enjoy living in their Families' mansions and Estates.
Caius was the only exception. As far as the Academy staff were concerned, his father wanted to keep him close in case of a relapse of his 'illness'.
In actuality, Caius' father didn't trust his Vampiric nature to be capable of spending the entire day among people. Just attending school was already a risk. Especially without his regular ration of blood. But more on that later.
Caius escorted Kaya out of the Class without them both saying much to each other and when they were about to separate so she could head over to her dormitory, she turned to the side at Caius,
"So… see you tomorrow," she said.
"Another duel planned?" Caius asked with a little smile.
"Maybe," Kaya admitted, "What would you say to that? If I suggested it?"
"I'll say we find time for it," Caius said and it was clear he wasn't talking about a duel. Kaya must have understood this too because she blushed and nodded,
"Yeah," she said, "We should."
She awkwardly pulled away from him then with other students walking past them and, with her cheeks still rosy, she turned and walked away.
Caius watched her go and then pulled out his map to let it guide him to one person he wanted to see before having to go home.
The Map had every teacher's name attached to their offices which made finding his way easy. However, the part of the Academy dedicated to staff was far away from the classrooms. Professors could cover that distance with Portals but Caius didn't have that luxury so the walk was long.
Eventually, he stood in front of Arlette's office door and knocked.
There was a click.
"Come in," Arlette said and when Caius opened the door and walked in, she was seated behind her desk not at all surprised to see him. She must have known he was the one who knocked.
"Caius," she said sweetly, "How was your first day?"
"Arlette," Caius said as he approached the desk and placed his hands on it to lean in close and ask,
"What do you know about Dark Magic?"