049: You're My Good Brother, and You Send Me to Jail the Moment We Meet

"Chairman?"

Li Aoz glanced at the ring and released magic power to inspect it. "There's nothing inside. It's just an ordinary ring."

"This thing is far from ordinary." Lucite said from the side. "Hobbes, show him the truth."

"You'll understand soon, Lioz."

Hobbes smiled faintly and released the restraints on his body. His Zeta-rank (6) rapidly collapsed, returning to the level of an ordinary person.

Not only that, the spells solidified within him, his magic power, the foundation of his Path—all things related to the Transcendent and Refined—vanished like smoke in an instant, as though he had been an ordinary person from the beginning.

That alone was enough to demonstrate something inconceivable.

"You... don't have the slightest trace of magic power. There are no signs whatsoever of training or cultivation. That's impossible. As long as someone climbs the Path, Star Abyss's power and laws will leave marks on them. Biological signals are so reliably detected because they reveal those Star Abyss imprints."

Li Aoz stared in shock. "But, Hobbes, there are absolutely no traces of Star Abyss's trials on you. Even if your strength had declined, that shouldn't be possible. Unless..."

"Unless I never climbed the Path in the first place."

Hobbes lowered his head and said apologetically:

"Sorry, Lioz. I lied to you. I never had the abilities of a Spellcaster."

"Not a Spellcaster? Then how did you get into the Magic Academy?"

"I know about that." Lucite said. "Lioz, you noticed it too, didn't you? Hobbes used to suffer frequent vomiting, dizziness, and delirium. In truth, he was paying certain prices to the ring in exchange for the power of a Spellcaster, using it as a disguise."

"I thought he just had weak kidneys..."

"That's bullshit. This kid's a hopeless romantic."

Lucite lightly jabbed Hobbes with an elbow