Chapter 328: Investigation
Chapter 328: Investigation
The reconstruction of Vire Town was no easy task, and Viper Academy had dispatched many to assist, including the advanced apprentice wizard, Sinel.
Sinel distributed potions and, upon completing his tasks, approached a figure conducting experiments, whispering, "Senior, I just saw Linen."
"Linen?" Angus looked up, puzzled. After a moment's thought, he recalled the person associated with the name and chuckled softly, shaking his head. "Is he still alive?"
"Yes," Sinel nodded, "Not only is he alive, but he seems to be thriving. The Kito Wizards took him in as an exception, and he's now an official apprentice."
"Hmm..."
"He's working with Natalie, the wizard."
"Crack!" A glass container used for experiments suddenly cracked, and the solution inside leaked out.
"This batch of materials is subpar; we need a new one."
Angus waved his hand expressionlessly, and the shattered container and its contents were swept into a pile. "I'll leave this matter to you."
"Yes, Senior," Sinel bowed. "Rest assured, I'll handle it."
...
Jeff wiped the sweat from his forehead, took a deep breath to calm his racing heart, and gently knocked on the door.
"Enter!"
The door creaked open, its hinges groaning.
Jeff approached Sinel with a sycophantic smile, taking small steps. "Senior, did you need me?"
His comfortable life these past years was due to his dealings between the Viper Academy and rogue wizards, with Sinel holding his fate in his hands.
Sinel, knowing his secrets, had him wrapped around his finger.
"Hmm," Sinel nodded, playing with a copper flask shaped like a gourd with a curved spout, and patted Jeff's shoulder. "You've been doing well lately, haven't you?"
"The monster invasion was unfortunate, but I heard you profited from it, even changing your entire wardrobe," Sinel said with a faint smile.
"All thanks to you, Senior," Jeff forced a laugh. "Monster corpses are like hard currency, and I have a few items I'd like you to appraise for me..."
"No need," Sinel waved him off. "Guess who I saw today?"
"Who?"
"Linen."
Jeff licked his lips and forced a smile. "Senior, let me explain. I intended to take action against him, but the person I hired met with an accident."
"Heh..." Sinel raised an eyebrow. "Who told you to take action against him?"
"Shouldn't I?" Jeff was taken aback, then recovered. "I also wanted to do something for Senior Angus, but Linen was lucky and escaped by chance."
"You're quite bold to dare to take action against an academy disciple," Sinel said, smiling as he pointed at Jeff.
"He wasn't an official disciple at the time," Jeff explained, his face suddenly changing. "Senior, you don't want me to take action, do you?"
Jeff had dared to act because Linen had been expelled from the academy, and no one would care if he was killed.
But now, Jeff had also heard that Linen had become an intermediate apprentice wizard, and he suspected the Green Pups' deaths were linked to Linen.
Killing an official apprentice wizard was no small matter, and even Jeff, who was not easily intimidated, turned pale.
"You've already taken action," Sinel tossed the copper flask in his hand. "Is it too late to regret now?"
Jeff's eyes darted with anxiety. "Senior, Linen is already an intermediate apprentice, and I suspect he killed the Green Pups, too. I fear I'm no match for him."
"Don't worry," Sinel patted his shoulder again and placed the copper flask in his hand. "I'll help you."
"Also, Angus has become an official wizard, but it hasn't been announced yet. You understand."
Jeff's eyes lit up. The two top geniuses of Viper Academy, Angus and Natalie, were now both official wizards.
The sound of "crack" echoed as Linen stepped onto the worn-out wooden planks, his eyebrows furrowed as he surveyed the scene before him.
This place was in ruins.
It used to be a courtyard for washing clothes.
Judging by the broken stone slabs and fractured channels, it was evident that a considerable amount of laundry was washed here daily.
"A wizard's robe requires special cleaning and restoration methods, and even for daily wear, they often add fragrances and body-fitting spells," a man dressed in sturdy attire muttered as he paced around the area.
"So, this place must have been bustling with business. There were probably several dozen women working here just to handle the laundry," the man continued.
"Susan, whom you mentioned, was one of them," Linen nodded.
It had been almost a month since the deep abyssal monsters invaded Vire Town, and Susan hadn't been seen since.
Linen had visited her home, which was already damaged, and none of the surviving neighbors had seen her either.
So, he asked the town's enforcement team for help in the investigation.
Finally, they traced it back to this place.
"Susan took on at least three jobs to make a living, and doing laundry with spells was just one of them," Linen explained.
"Are you sure this is where she went missing?" Linen asked.
"Yes," the man nodded, "We've investigated other places, and based on Susan's schedule, she should have been here at that time."
"Senior..." Linen hesitated for a moment before speaking in a low voice, "I'm afraid Susan might have been killed. During the monster invasion, many people suffered."
"No," Linen shook his head, "There's no large bloodstain here, nor the aura of death."
"Then it's even worse," the man shrugged, "The deep abyssal monsters also capture women to breed their offspring, which is more despairing than death."
Linen turned and looked at him, his eyes icy cold.
"Sorry," the man's face paled, "I didn't mean it that way... Actually, on that day, many dark wizards took advantage of the chaos to abduct people. Perhaps Susan was taken by them."
Apprentice wizards are considered valuable commodities in the eyes of some dark wizards, essential for spell experiments.
In reality, it's not just rogue wizards.
Even wizards from the academy need living subjects for their experiments, though they mostly lure people with magic stones.
However, there are also instances of coercion behind the scenes. As someone from the academy, he was well aware of such practices.
Whether she met her end, was taken by monsters, or abducted by rogue wizards, the outcome wouldn't be good.
But...
I still owe her a magic stone.
Linen closed his eyes, relaxing his mind and body.
At this moment, his physical condition was comparable to that of a great knight, and his psychic power was growing daily, making his perception exceptionally sharp.
"Hmm..."
Opening his eyes, Linen strolled to a corner of the ruins, bent down, and picked up a tuft of blue fur from the ground.
"Let's go."
"Yes."
...
On the way back, Linen's eyebrows furrowed as he examined the fur in his hand. After a long while, he sighed softly and put it away.
In truth,
Susan's fate was already sealed, and he just couldn't bring himself to accept it.
She was kind and gentle...
"Swish!"
Linen's figure flickered, leaving afterimages in the air as he appeared several meters away.
Where he had just stood, a spike over a meter long pierced through the thick ground, leaving a hole.
The air rippled, and a monster slowly emerged.
Not far away, Jeff cowered in the corner, holding a gourd-shaped copper bottle in his left hand while his right hand rubbed the bottle's surface rapidly.
He was chanting a complex incantation.
'Although the horned demon is a low-level monster in the abyss, it's still a ranked existence. Even a legendary knight might not be able to defeat it, and it has strong spell resistance. I wonder how you'll die today.'
(End of Chapter)
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