With ease, a figure flew over the imposing wall of the lord’s manor, casting an illusory spell — {Spatial Mirage} around him with a flick of his fingers to blend seamlessly with the daylight. The patrolling guards continued obliviously, their gazes passing over him as he slipped unnoticed to one of the balconies where the former lord’s study room was supposed to be.

  Of course, the figure was none other than Victor. He peeked inside to check if there was someone and listened intently.

  “Huh?” It appeared that there were two figures leaning over a table littered with scrolls and maps talking inside.

  “The knights dispatched to catch that cursed child were driven back, injured, and empty-handed!” one of the men snapped, slamming a fist down on the table. “Moreover, the Magus who led them disappeared entirely. How could this happen?”

  A burly, armored man beside him, while visibly tense, remained measured. “There’s more going on here. That unidentified Magus who intervened… Do you really think we’re the only ones after her?”

  The first man’s face twisted with worry. “So… what do we do now?”

  Before he could respond, the room’s door flew open, and a man in a distinct acolyte robe strode in.

  “Sir,” the two men greeted in unison, standing straighter under his gaze.

  The newcomer, whom Victor recognized as an acolyte, frowned deeply and said with a cold voice, “The Merlin family has no patience for incompetence. We’d rather see that cursed child dead than risk further setbacks.” His eyes shifted between the two men with open disdain. “You both have failed miserably. Explain yourselves”

  So, that acolyte is the envoy sent by the Merlin family, huh?

  “S-Sir… it’s like this…” the first man stammered, laying out the entire incident in nervous detail.

  The acolyte’s face hardened as he heard the explanation. “If an unknown Magus is meddling in this, then it’s not worth provoking them further,” he said, shaking his head. “We have more urgent priorities. Control over the city is still tenuous, and we’ve yet to find the bastard responsible for killing the Merlin family’s young master.”

  Hearing their conversation further, Victor gleaned an important detail: There were currently no high-ranking members of the Merlin family stationed here. The only official Magus in their service was Roland, the one that he had subdued the day earlier. Furthermore, they had determined several locations around the city rumored to be linked to Graviel’s death, including the Thornwood Forest.

  Under the guise of avenging their fallen kin, the Merlin family had seized control of this region, drawn not only by sentiment and the rumored inheritance but also by a valuable resource they believed the area concealed. Victor’s lips curved into a faint smile as he pieced together their ulterior motive. Even more intriguing was their specific interest in Lillie, whose unique constitution had evidently caught their attention. They had intended to capture and experiment on her — had it not been for his timely intervention.

  Interesting. Truly interesting.

  Everything Victor had overheard aligned precisely with what both Brown and Oleg had told him. With that in mind, there was nothing to be worried about. By his estimation, it would take months, at minimum, before the Merlin family mustered the resources and manpower to investigate the Thornwood Forest in earnest. By then, he’d be more than prepared to confront whatever forces they might send. Unless they sent the family head, who was a Nexus Temporal Magus, nothing would be able to stop him.

  Before long, the three men departed the room, and Victor took this chance to slip inside, cautiously opening the window so as not to be noticed. He looked around the room, taking in the polished wood furniture and ornate decor, but his attention was soon drawn to a painting in the corner. Framed in delicate filigree, the portrait depicted three figures: a dignified, handsome man with silvery hair, a beautiful woman with snow-white locks, and a young girl whose innocent gaze and soft smile closely mirrored her mother’s. They all had happy smiles on their faces, as though they were a family untouched by misfortune.

  “This must be a portrait of Lillie and her parents,” Victor mused to himself. Moving closer, he noticed an inscription at the bottom: “The Brightmoon family — together, forever.”

  He was somehow filled with mixed feelings, mostly sympathetic, as he knew that he had unintentionally upended this life.

  Anyway, she’s now my personal apprentice, and I’ll do my best to make her a great Magus. He gazed at Lillie’s parents in the painting and stated, “I promise to give her a happy life as an apology for what I have caused. You can rest assured.”

  Filled with resolve, he turned away from the portrait and approached the ornate desk. Instead of rummaging through the papers and taking anything from there, he lightly touched any important documents. The Shadowlink Marks would be able to record the content of any paper with a single touch of his finger.

  “Alright, time to go back. Let’s see how the players are faring.”

  This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.

  That said, Victor swiftly recast a fresh layer of his illusory spell {Spatial Mirage}, seamlessly blending himself with his surroundings before heading back toward the balcony. He stepped lightly, moving along the ledge before finally flying into the air.

  ***

  Just beyond the towering stone walls outside the city, Victor and the fifteen players gathered at the secluded hillside rendezvous point. The hidden dirigible lay nearby, sheltered beneath thick tree cover and dense undergrowth, its presence concealed from the unsuspecting city below.

  Victor’s gaze swept over the group, assessing each player. The varying expressions of excitement, fatigue, and satisfaction hinted at successful endeavors. “Is everyone here?” he asked with a calm and commanding voice.

  “Yes, Headmaster,” Zero confirmed with a respectful nod as murmurs of agreement rippled through the gathering. As a Magus, Victor could easily check the total number of everyone here, but he asked this out of formality.

  Auralise stepped forward, flanked by her team. “We secured a number of materials and negotiated a contract for future supplies,” she reported, with a small, self-assured smile. “Though, given the quantity of the item, we may need to extend our stay by a day to finalize everything.” Her servant, Domonique, stood just behind her, a sack brimming with rare materials.

  Another player, Storm, crossed his arms, looking pleased. “The industrial district was a gold mine — Thunder managed to convince one of the biggest smithies to reserve some of the rarer ores like mithril exclusively for us, at least in the short term.”

  Victor’s lips curled into a slight smile of approval. “Good. Once we’re back on board, we’ll catalog everything.” He then turned to the last group — KuroUsagi’s party — adding, “And your side?”

  KuroUsagi exchanged glances with his party members, a grin breaking across his face. “Sir, we managed to gather a ton of different supplies and samples, some of which even the academy doesn’t have. Figured it was best to cover all bases.” He pointed at several bags and sacks piled up nearby. “And we still have about a quarter of our funds left.”

  Victor nodded in satisfaction. “Excellent work, all of you.”

  He had allocated each group fifty platinum coins to procure all the items on the list. Except for aetherite and voidstone, there was nothing on the list that couldn’t be bought with money. Platinum coins, the strongest currency that mortals used, were enough to secure what they needed. On top of that, he wasn’t worried about running out of them, as raiding the slavers had provided him with quite a sum — about a few dozen platinum coins and a few hundred gold coins.

  However, for certain rare items not listed, mana crystals were the only currency that could buy them. These materials, primarily rare magic metals and alloys, were beyond the reach of common markets and only available through discrete channels. Since this region lacked a market for mages, Victor had to be patient to procure them from the supply channel that his players had opened up. Overall, though, what he had gained was enough for this expedition.

  Clearing his throat, Victor addressed the group, “All right. We’ll extend our stay by one day to finalize arrangements. You are free to roam the city, but remember, don’t do anything that is out of line. Keep things subtle and within reason.”

  “An extra day? Woohoo!” Prominence’s eyes sparkled with glee.

  Storm leaned in with a mischievous smile. “I wonder if there’s a red-light district in this city. Purely for ‘research’ purposes, of course.”

  Locktekei caught on instantly, grabbing Thunder by the shoulder. “We’re with you, Storm! Right, Thunder?”

  Thunder groaned. “Wait, why me too? I didn’t sign up for this.”

  “Do you want to get banned from the game?” KuroUsagi rebuked with his arms crossed. “Even if a place like that exists, I’m not risking it.”

  A few others chuckled, exchanging eager plans about what they’d do with the extra time. They spoke of checking out the markets, exploring hidden spots, and finding the city’s best eateries, treating all of this like a vacation of sorts. The buzz of anticipation filled the air as each of them prepared to make the most of their day in Brightmoon City.

  Victor wasn’t going to be a party pooper, so he let them do as they pleased as long as they didn’t violate the rules on the guidelines.

  ***

  Back at the academy, Lizbeth sat perched on the desk in the Headmaster’s Room as she monitored the players’ various activities through the holographic screens before her. As the academy’s self-proclaimed assistant fairy, it was her responsibility to oversee the academy’s progression, ensuring that everything was running smoothly. For hours, she had watched the endless bustle of tasks and combat unfold, her wings fluttering lazily in boredom. She was just about to close the screens and indulge in a well-deserved nap when a sudden alert startled her awake.

  Her pointed ears twitched as her eyes snapped to the flashing screen. What’s going on?

  She zoomed in on one screen, her expression turning into shock as she recognized the player’s username: “SuperNovaX.” He had been exploring the Thornwood Forest, venturing deeper than anyone had so far, but now his status had abruptly turned black.

  Lizbeth’s brow furrowed. Normally, a player’s death wasn’t cause for concern. The System would automatically initiate revival protocols and put the players on the queue for revival, incubating a new body for them inside the Nexus Tower. But this time, an error message flashed across the screen, and her heart sank.

  “He’s… lost?” she murmured in confusion. The screen was displaying “Incubation not possible” on it.

  Her delicate fingers flew across the holographic keyboard, trying to manually re-establish the connection. Yet, each attempt returned the same error. “Why can’t the System connect to his gaming capsule?” Despite the many strange supernatural phenomena and anomalies present inside the forest, nothing like this had ever happened before. Players might die, but they always returned.

  Unless…

  Her breath caught as a horrifying thought surfaced. There was only one explanation for such an unprecedented failure.

  “Someone… or something powerful has cut off SuperNova’s connection to the System!” she uttered out loud, her wings fluttering in agitation.

  Quickly, she pulled up the last known coordinates of his location and replayed the footage that his Shadowlink Mark had captured before his death. SuperNova had ventured into a part of the forest where the trees were twisted and lifeless, their bark blackened as if burned from the inside. The air there was thick with an unnatural gloom, and the ground teemed with the wandering dead. Suddenly, SuperNova fell hard into a trap and the screen went dark. But just before the video was cut off, Lizbeth caught a fleeting glimpse of a shadowed figure at the edge of the frame. This is bad. Really bad!

  “Uh-oh, I have to tell Master about this immediately!” she exclaimed, hurrying to reach him with the urgent news. Whatever had taken SuperNova out wasn’t anything ordinary — it was a threat that neither the academy nor the players could afford to ignore.