Return to the Dormitory

The snowflakes drifting in the air gradually fell back to the ground.

Lord Matthew waved his wand. The Treant Guardian withdrew its greatsword, leaving a long sword mark on the ground.

There was no movement from within the sword mark. In Matthew's perception, the magic fluctuations of the two wizards had fallen into dead silence.

He stepped forward to inspect the results. The sight before him made him frown—within the massive sword mark, the flesh and blood of the two had merged with the mud and snow.

This was the first time he had used this Shapeshifting Technique in actual combat. When the transformed subject was large in size, its power seemed greater than he had imagined.

He used the Levitation Charm to sift through the Mud Blood Snow Pile. Aside from the remains of the two wizards, he only found some deformed Metal Artifacts and a long section of black fingertip bone.

"Clean up."

After cleaning, the fingertip bone remained pitch-black, five to six centimeters long, unlike human bone. It bore clear magic fluctuations, and Matthew guessed it was also a witchcraft item.

He also picked up the Eyeball-shaped Witchcraft Item not far away. This item, which could disable Invisibility Ability, had not been smashed by the Treant Guardian.

This place was not far from Lady Alsha's estate. Matthew estimated that she had already heard the commotion, so he began quickly cleaning up the battlefield.

He used the Transfiguration Spell to restore the trees to their original state, then used the Disappearance Spell to erase the traces of the two wizards. Finally, he used the Levitation Charm to flip the surrounding snow over, covering the sword mark.

He had only left the estate not long ago. Lady Alsha would surely guess that he had fought here. He did this only to confuse others, making it hard for them to pinpoint what methods he possessed.

After tidying the battlefield, Matthew Apparated directly back to his residence.

Not long after Matthew left, Lady Alsha and the butler with Slightly White Hair arrived at the edge of the woods.

The butler took out a disk—a witchcraft item capable of detecting Magic Fluctuation.

He operated the disk for a moment, then said, "No magic fluctuations from Lord Matthew or the ambushers detected. They should have already left."

Lady Alsha nodded. "Let's go take a look."

They quickly found the central area of Matthew's battle. The snow here was completely different from elsewhere, clearly having been artificially disturbed.

The butler continued operating the disk. "The snow in this area all has Magic Reaction. Someone must have used magic to clean the battlefield."

Lady Alsha extended her right hand. A moment later, a green wind mass condensed in her hand.

She gently lifted the wind mass upward. It drifted into the air, turning into a gale that pushed the snow aside.

A moment later, the long trench Matthew had created was exposed.

The butler was startled. Creating such a mark was no easy feat. He stepped forward and used the disk to detect the magic fluctuations within the trench.

The butler remarked in surprise, "The magic fluctuations in this trench aren't very obvious. It doesn't seem to be directly caused by magic."

Lady Alsha pinched the soil in the trench with her hand. Even through her gloves, she could feel that the soil inside was more compact than the soil outside, and she began to form some conjectures.

When the butler reached the middle of the trench, he said, "Huh? The magic fluctuations here are very clear. There are the magic fluctuations of two wizards—one is a Level 2 Wizard Apprentice, and the other should be a Level 3 Wizard Apprentice."

"The Bloody Smell is strongest here. Those two wizards should have been severely injured or killed at this spot." Lady Alsha carefully examined the area the butler had indicated.

After scanning the entire area, the butler summarized, "Based on the detection of the witchcraft item, this Lord Matthew should be a Level 3 Wizard Apprentice, and a type with strong Combat Capability. He killed a Level 3 Wizard Apprentice and a Level 2 Wizard Apprentice in a short time."

"Such a young Level 3 Wizard Apprentice..." Lady Alsha smiled lightly. "What a fine piece of material."

After returning, Matthew began to piece things together.

The time he left the estate was uncertain. For the ambushers to still be waiting here so long after the banquet ended, they had come specifically for him.

The two ambushers were people he had never seen before. Judging by their methods, they were most likely wizards hired by someone else.

He had not interacted with many people since arriving in Whitestone Town. Although he had clashed with Link and Anna before, Matthew had since reconciled with them. They had no reason to hire people to ambush him.

Therefore, the person who hired the ambushers was most likely someone who had attended the banquet.

Lady Alsha was very charming and surely had many suitors.

Her little gestures during the dance at the banquet, and the fact that he was invited to the Back Garden when the banquet ended—these were all noticed by observant people present.

Would someone among Lady Alsha's suitors be so extreme as to hire people to ambush him just for that?

If she was clever enough, she should know very well whether any of her suitors had such an extreme personality.

Had Lady Alsha deliberately stirred up this hatred for him?

If it was deliberate, why would she do it?

Using others to test his strength?

Matthew had many questions tonight. He did not know Lady Alsha well enough to guess her intentions.

Too little information. Setting the issue aside for now, Matthew took out two spoils of war: a fist-sized eyeball and a pitch-black fingertip bone.

He first tested the eyeball. Injecting magic into it activated it automatically. The method of use was simple.

The pitch-black fingertip bone was more complicated. He tried many methods but got no response.

Finally, Matthew attempted to use the Runic Magic "Lightning Bolt." He found that the "guidance" phase of the runes had become faster.

Previously, it took him 8 seconds to "guide" the Spell Model Structure. With the pitch-black fingertip bone, the "guidance" phase was Shortened to 6 seconds, a 25% reduction.

He tested it again and found that putting the fingertip bone in his pocket also worked. As Long As he carried the bone on his person, it would take effect.

Matthew finished testing the spoils and took out the gem Link had given him. The "Mage Armor" spell inside it had already been consumed, and it had now turned into a colorless, transparent gem.

He remembered reading in a book from the study that this type of gem was called a Magic Stone. Using "Magic Stone Engraving," one could inscribe Runic Magic into the stone for storage.

Beyond that, Magic Stones were also a medium capable of storing magical power.

Matthew channeled his magic, infusing it into the colorless, transparent Magic Stone. The stone's color gradually deepened, finally transforming into a deep blue.

Once the Magic Stone turned deep blue, it stopped absorbing magic. Matthew estimated that the amount of magic this stone could hold was roughly equivalent to the magic of a Level One Wizard Apprentice.

Matthew keenly realized that Magic Stones had immense potential, functioning like batteries that could store magical power.

Unfortunately, he didn't yet have the formula for creating Magic Stones. They weren't a natural product but an Alchemical Product.

Matthew finished tallying up the night's gains and prepared to cross back to Hogwarts.

He sensed the Disk in his mind; the energy within the Crystal was once again full.

He focused his mind, and the Disk in his thoughts spun rapidly. After One Breath, he was back in his dormitory.

His roommates were still sleeping soundly, and Preserved Egg remained asleep by the window. No one had noticed he was gone.