In the blink of an eye.
Several days passed.
Hal's death gradually faded into the background.
Ian quietly left the school and retrieved Hal's belongings.
Most of the items had been damaged by the impact of Wizardry. The only thing left intact was a Space Ring.
Ian spent four days wearing away the Mental Power imprint on it before finally opening it.
Yet the moment Ian opened it, he froze.
"Wait, this much?"
Inside the three-cubic-meter storage ring were twenty mid-grade Magic Stones and a staggering three to four hundred low-grade Magic Stones.
And that was not all.
There were all kinds of potions. Even Intermediate Potions such as Energy Potions numbered thirty or forty bottles.
There were also twenty or thirty bottles each of various combat potions, such as Stamina Potions and Antidote Potions.
"This isn't the amount a normal wizard should be carrying, is it?"
Ian stared at the potions and Magic Stones.
He realized something was off.
Even if Hal was a veteran-level potioneer, there was no need for him to stockpile so many Magic Stones and potions.
This did not look like the reserves an intermediate wizard should have at all. It looked more like supplies for a whole group of wizard apprentices.
"Wait, a whole group?"
Ian's eyes flickered.
He thought of the Blackstone School wizards he had spotted in the marketplace a few days ago.
If it was for that many people, then the amount was about right.
Of course, this was only speculation, with no evidence whatsoever.
But once the thought surfaced in Ian's mind, he could not stop considering the possibility.
If it was true, did that not mean Hal had betrayed the school as well?
"Hal answered to Doug. Could Doug have a problem too?"
Ian frowned.
Doug and Ian had