Disguise

Seeing Anna attack so rashly, Captain Watson slapped his forehead, feeling a headache coming on. Newcomers were really hard to handle.

The moment Anna raised her hand, Matthew quickly condensed Runes through the model in his Sea of Consciousness.

A translucent circular shield appeared in front of Matthew, blocking the incoming vines.

Matthew had used the Iron Armor Charm!

He had disguised the Iron Armor Charm as Runic Magic.

He did not intend to expose magic from another world before these two Wizards, so he used Runes condensed from magic power to pretend he was casting, while actually silently releasing an Iron Armor Charm.

The way the magic he had mastered operated was completely different from Runic Magic. Using it before Wizards could easily expose something unusual.

After obtaining a Meditation Method, condensing Runes no longer took much time,

He could condense Runes while casting magic with Silent Casting.

However, he could not silently cast every spell. For profound magic such as the Killing Curse and Fiendfyre, he was still unable to cast them silently.

As for the wand in his hand, he was not afraid of exposing it.

Because he had previously seen from Chris's memories that Wizards in this world used all manner of strange weapons. The little wooden stick in his hand would not attract attention.

After being blocked, the vines stubbornly wrapped themselves around the outer layer of the Iron Armor Charm, trying to shatter the shield.

Matthew reacted swiftly. His wand fired a sharp Transparent Arc Wind Blade, cutting the vines apart.

After Anna released the Vine Spell, she began preparing her next spell. Twenty-two Runes condensed in her hand as she prepared to use the Petrification Spell to restrain Matthew.

But Matthew gave her no chance. After cutting apart the vines, he swiftly cast a Transfiguration Spell beneath Anna's feet.

They were standing on the ice covering the river!

The ice beneath Anna's feet instantly turned to water, and she plunged straight into the river.

Captain Watson's gaze sharpened. Anna was a Level 2 Wizard Apprentice, yet he had not expected her to be subdued so quickly.

The Wizard before him cast spells extremely quickly and possessed strong combat awareness. His timing was flawless. He could not possibly be a Level One Wizard Apprentice; perhaps he had practiced magic that could disguise the state of his Sea of Consciousness.

Captain Watson drew out the longsword at his waist. He possessed the strength of a Level 3 Wizard Apprentice and had undergone Bloodline Modification twice, making him a close-combat Wizard.

At this moment, Chris's voice came from the riverbank. "Link! Why are you fighting Lord Matthew!"

Link Watson was startled and looked toward the riverbank. "Chris, when did you come to Whitestone Town?"

Chris was his cousin, and Chris's Great Uncle was Old Watson, Link's grandfather.

"Just yesterday. Lord Matthew came to Whitestone Town with us, and we even encountered danger on the road. Lord Matthew is the Savior of Tina and me." Chris walked over. "Is there some misunderstanding between you?"

Anna climbed back onto the ice in a miserable state after falling into the river. She was soaked through, her lips tinged purple from the cold as she shivered violently.

"I see. Then we were mistaken." Link put away his longsword, took off his coat, and draped it over Anna.

"The Night Watchman disappeared last night. We had just wanted to invite Lord Matthew back to investigate." Link took a Sapphire from his pocket.

"Lord Matthew, I am deeply sorry. We were mistaken. Anna is a new Investigator, and I apologize for her impulsiveness." He handed the Sapphire to Matthew and said sincerely, "This is compensation. This Sapphire contains one Mage Armor. Once activated, it can block one attack from anyone below the level of a Formal Wizard."

Seeing Link's sincere attitude, and wanting to use Link to gain access to the Wizard Circle, Matthew accepted the Sapphire.

Chris asked Link, "Since you returned to Whitestone Town, why aren't you staying in Great Uncle's house?"

Link explained, "I'm staying with Anna."

Anna was also from Whitestone Town. She and Link were fellow townspeople, and Link had looked after her greatly when they were in the Royal Capital.

Link continued,

"We returned this time to investigate Grandfather's disappearance.

The matter is rather complicated. Grandfather left the Royal Capital after leaving behind his will.

Following several clues, we tracked him to Whitestone Town. His destination was Winter Forest.

He was very old, and his strength had declined severely over the past two years. He was far weaker than before, so after coming to Whitestone Town, he found several helpers.

After that, they went to Winter Forest, but in the end, only one person returned."

Chris's face was filled with shock. "Disappeared? The letter you sent said Great Uncle had died."

Link said sadly, "That was how Grandfather arranged it in his will. He also said that the house in Whitestone Town would be left to you."

Chris's eyes reddened slightly. His grandfather had been Old Watson's older brother. Since his grandfather and father had died, Old Watson had often looked after him, and now he had even left him the house in Whitestone Town.

Chris asked, "Have you found any clues?"

Not long after, the person who had returned also disappeared. He vanished right inside his home, leaving behind no clues at all." Link felt somewhat helpless. After a pause, he said, "The Night Watchman's disappearance last night was very strange. There were no traces at the scene. I suspect these two incidents are connected."

Chris was somewhat dejected. When he had said goodbye to the Night Watchman last night, he had even heard him say that he would go to the tavern for a drink after changing shifts. He had not expected to hear of his disappearance the very next day.

Ordinary people in this world had far too little sense of security. Fortunately, Little Tina had Wizard Qualification. Old Watson had previously promised that once Tina turned ten, he would send her to the Northern United Wizard Academy in the Royal Capital to study magic.

Thinking of this, Chris felt even more sorrowful. Now, even a Formal Wizard like Old Watson had vanished without a trace, his fate and survival unknown.

"If you find any suspicious clues, come to town hall and find me. We'll head back first." Seeing Anna beside him turning pale from the cold, Link did not continue the conversation.

Link and Anna had come to Whitestone Town on a patrol assignment, so they normally stayed at town hall in the center of town.

After they left, Matthew reminded Chris, "Whitestone Town doesn't seem very safe either. You and Little Tina should both be careful."

Chris nodded and bid Matthew farewell as well. He still needed to buy ingredients for dinner.

With no more interruptions, Matthew continued gathering Blue Water Flowers. Before entering the water, he cast a Waterproof Charm and Bubble-Head Charm on himself, then drank a Cold Resistance Potion.

After entering the water, he quickly found Blue Water Flowers. Blue Water Flowers were common aquatic plants that generally grew in the mud at the bottom of rivers. They would quickly wither once removed from water and had to be kept submerged after being picked.

Nothing unexpected happened during the gathering process. He quickly collected many Blue Water Flowers and stuffed them all into the Undetectable Extension Charm Pocket he carried with him.

To avoid another incident like his previous transmigration, Matthew had sewn the Undetectable Extension Charm Pocket onto his Western Vest. He would wear this vest at all times, and when necessary, he could even use a Transfiguration Spell to change its style. It was extremely convenient.