Disguise

Seeing Anna act so rashly, Captain Watson slapped his forehead, feeling a headache coming on. New recruits were really hard to manage.

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, deflecting the incoming vines.

Matthew was using the "Shield Charm"!

He disguised the Shield Charm as Runic Magic.

He didn't plan to expose magic from another world in front of these two wizards, so he pretended to cast spells by condensing runes with his magic power, while actually silently releasing a Shield Charm.

The spells he knew operated completely differently from Runic Magic, and using them in front of wizards would easily reveal something unusual.

With the Meditation Method, condensing runes no longer took much time.

He could now condense runes while simultaneously using "Silent Casting techniques" to cast spells.

However, he couldn't silently release all spells. For advanced ones like the Killing Curse and Fiendfyre, he still couldn't manage silent casting.

As for the wand in his hand, he wasn't worried about exposure.

He had seen from Chris's memories that wizards in this world used all kinds of bizarre weapons, so this little stick in his hand wouldn't draw attention.

After the vines were deflected, they stubbornly wrapped around the outer layer of the Shield Charm, trying to crush the barrier.

Matthew reacted quickly, and his wand shot out a sharp, transparent arc wind blade, cutting the vines apart.

Right after Anna released the Vine Spell, she began preparing her next magic, condensing twenty-two runes in her hand to use "Petrification Spell" to restrain Matthew.

But Matthew didn't give her the chance. After cutting the vines, he quickly cast a Transfiguration Spell at Anna's feet.

They were both standing on the ice covering the river!

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

Captain Watson's eyes narrowed. Anna was a Level 2 Wizard Apprentice, and he hadn't expected her to be suppressed so quickly.

This wizard in front of him cast spells extremely fast and had strong combat instincts. His timing was perfect. There was no way he was just a Level One Wizard Apprentice—he might have learned a spell that could disguise the state of his Sea of Consciousness.

Captain Watson drew the longsword from his waist. He was a Level 3 Wizard Apprentice who had undergone two Bloodline Modifications, making him a melee-type wizard.

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

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

Chris was his cousin, and his grandfather, Old Watson, was Chris's great uncle.

"Just yesterday. Lord Matthew came to Whitestone Town with us. We even ran into danger on the way. Lord Matthew is mine and Tina's savior." Chris walked over. "Is there some misunderstanding between you?"

Anna, who had fallen into the river, climbed back onto the ice in a sorry state. She was soaked through, her lips turning purple from the cold as she shivered.

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

"The Night Watchman went missing last night. We were just about to ask Lord Matthew to come back and investigate." Link pulled a sapphire from his pocket.

"Lord Matthew, I'm very sorry. We were wrong. Anna is a new Investigator. I apologize for her impulsiveness." He handed the sapphire to Matthew with a sincere expression. "This is a token of apology. This sapphire stores one use of 'Mage Armor'. When activated, it can block one attack below the level of a Formal Wizard."

Seeing Link's sincere attitude and wanting to use him to get into the Wizard Circle, Matthew accepted the sapphire.

Chris asked Link, "Since you're back in Whitestone Town, why didn't you stay at Great Uncle's house?"

Link explained, "I've been staying at Anna's place."

Anna was also from Whitestone Town. She and Link were from the same hometown, and Link had always looked out for her in the Royal Capital.

Link continued:

"We came back this time to investigate Grandfather's disappearance.

It's a complicated matter. Grandfather left the Royal Capital after writing his will.

We followed some clues to Whitestone Town. His destination was the Winter Forest.

He was very old, and his strength had declined badly in the last two years—far from what it used to be. So after arriving in Whitestone Town, he found a few helpers.

Then they went into the Winter Forest, but in the end, only one person came back."

Chris's face was full of shock: "Disappeared? The letter you sent said Great Uncle had passed away."

Link said somewhat sadly, "That's what Grandfather arranged in his will. He also said the house in Whitestone Town would go to you."

Chris's eyes turned red. His grandfather was Old Watson's older brother. After his grandfather and father died, Old Watson had always looked after him, and now he had even left him the house in Whitestone Town.

Chris asked, "Did you find any clues?"

"Not long after, that person who came back also disappeared. Disappeared right from home, leaving no clues behind." Link looked helpless. He paused and 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 felt a pang of gloom. Last night, when he said goodbye to the Night Watchman, he had heard him say he was going to the Tavern for a drink after his shift. He never expected to hear news of his disappearance the next day.

Ordinary people had no sense of security in this world. At least Little Tina had Wizard Qualification. Old Watson had once promised that when Tina turned ten, he would send her to the Northern United Wizard Academy in the Royal Capital to learn magic.

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

"If you come across any suspicious clues, come find us at the Town Hall. We'll head back first." Link saw Anna shivering with a pale face and didn't continue the conversation.

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

After they left, Matthew warned Chris: "Whitestone Town doesn't seem very safe either. You and Little Tina need to be careful."

Chris nodded and took his leave from Matthew as well; he still needed to buy ingredients for dinner.

Free from distractions, Matthew continued gathering Blue Water Flowers. Before entering the water, he cast a Waterproof Charm and a Bubble-Head Charm on himself, then drank a bottle of Cold Resistance Potion.

Once underwater, he quickly spotted the Blue Water Flowers. They were a common type of vegetation at the bottom of rivers, typically growing in the silt. They would wither quickly once out of the water, so after picking them, they had to be kept in water to stay fresh.

The gathering process went without any surprises. He soon collected a large number of Blue Water Flowers, all stuffed into the Undetectable Extension Charm Pocket he carried with him.

To avoid a repeat of the last time he had crossed over, Matthew had now sewn the Undetectable Extension Charm Pocket onto his Western Vest. He would wear this vest at all times, and when necessary, he could use a Transfiguration Spell to change its style—very convenient.