No One Took It Seriously

Fran knew the man must have gone insane; this wasn't a case of someone holding a grudge and seeking revenge, but a pure, suicidal attempt to drag her down with him.

Due to the unique status of apprentices in this city, anyone who saw a target wearing an apprentice robe would usually turn and walk away; it simply wasn't worth risking one's life for that kind of money.

However, two Transmutation School cyborgs that only knew how to follow orders were a different story. Whether the target was human or ghost, they would charge and slash the moment they heard a command, completely devoid of normal human logic.

Fran's own hand wound had been healed by a potion, though she didn't show it, and she was already gathering wind energy in her other hand.

Mars seemed to have finished his moment of triumph, and realizing that his actions would lead to no good end regardless, he blew a whistle and charged forward, brandishing a sword himself.

Fran began to circulate her Swift Wind Breathing Technique. Wind gathered around her, and she channeled the wind elements into her palm, intensifying the energy for her next Wind Blade.

This was a little trick she had developed; she had been overjoyed when she discovered that these two skills could be linked.

She stretched the Wind Blade into a horizontal arc and fired it at the three charging figures. The blade moved with extreme speed, striking all three of them instantly.

A line of blood appeared across the abdomens of all three, but the blade failed to cut through them completely, causing their momentum to falter.

"Ah!" Mars, unable to withstand such an attack, collapsed to the ground, wailing in agony.

The two cyborgs, however, did not stop at all. Pain seemed irrelevant to them, and they continued their charge.

Fran stepped forward, moving specifically to the side. The low-intelligence cyborgs lacked normal human reasoning; although he saw his companion in front of him, he didn't swing his weapon, but his movement still obstructed his partner.

The cyborg behind couldn't brake in time and collided with his companion, hindering the attack. This allowed Fran to dodge the strike easily while simultaneously disrupting the movement of one of the cyborgs.

This cyborg's intelligence is truly pathetic, was Fran's first impression after trading blows with it.

Yet, these cyborgs were quite durable. Fran tried to pierce a neck with her sword, but it struck something hard, deflecting the blade and failing to penetrate.

It seemed the one who created them knew the neck was a weak point and had added special protection. Fran didn't panic, however; she opened up the distance, and the two cyborgs chased after her again.

Fran unleashed another Wind Blade, carving wounds into the two orcs, and as they rushed forward, she released yet another.

After a few such exchanges, the two orcs—being cyborgs and not mere constructs of steel—finally collapsed to the ground, blood pooling beneath them.

If not for the Wind Blade spell, handling them might have been more strenuous, though not impossible; she would have simply kited them to death.

[You have flexibly utilized the Wind Blade spell in combat. Wind Blade proficiency +10]

[You have completed a simple battle using the Swift Wind Breathing Technique. Swift Wind Breathing Technique proficiency +5]

Next, Fran turned her gaze toward Mars, who lay on the ground, deciding whether or not to finish him off.

Fran stepped onto Mars's head, causing his body, which was about to crawl up, to freeze and eventually stop moving altogether.

Fran knew Mars was still alive. Her sword hovered over his head for a moment before she finally plunged it into his neck.

Blood sprayed out, splattering the ground. Fran pulled her sword out, covered in gore, and flicked it to the side, casting the blood onto the earth.

Fran had ultimately decided to kill Mars; she would never sleep soundly with such a threat left alive.

Killing him meant she would have to bear the consequences of slaying an apprentice, though she likely wouldn't face severe punishment given that he had attacked her first.

At most, she might be fined or detained for a few days.

"Hey, do you need a hand?"

A familiar voice came from behind. Fran turned to see Elan standing there.

Fran didn't bother with platitudes like "This is such a big deal, how could you help?" but instead asked directly:

"How can you help me?"

Elan flashed a smile and said:

"Considering our relationship, I won't charge you this time. Just leave; you don't need to worry about a thing."

Fran looked at him, full of disbelief. How could a smuggler like him resolve the fact that she had just killed an apprentice?

Seeming to know Fran wouldn't believe him, Elan added:

"If you don't trust me, you're welcome to stay, but it will only waste more of your time."

Fran certainly couldn't leave right now. The scene was still here, and she needed to establish that Mars had attacked her first, rather than it appearing as if she had ambushed him.

What if the law enforcement officers were dim-witted and labeled her as the instigator? Still, she didn't refuse Elan's help.

In her view, since Elan could sell spells and potions, he must have connections; having them was better than not.

After a while, a squad of uniformed law enforcement officers arrived. They briefly inspected the scene, ignored Fran, and asked Elan directly:

"What happened here?"

Elan didn't answer immediately, instead adjusting his hat before saying:

"An apprentice attacked another apprentice over a personal grudge. He even hired two Transmutation School cyborg orcs as assistants. The apprentice who was attacked killed them all in self-defense. That's it."

Another member of the squad scribbled in a notebook, seemingly recording the statement.

Then, the officer who had asked the question continued:

"Are there any other casualties? Is the apprentice who was attacked this person?"

He pointed in Fran's direction, and Elan replied:

"No others. That's her. Can't you see the blood on her and her sword?"

The officer ignored Elan's complaint and continued to ask:

"Both apprentices are from Cuilan Academy, right?"

"They are."

"Both of them?"

"Both!"

After confirming twice, the team member turned to the other enforcement officers and said:

"The incident is recorded clearly. Just call the professionals to handle the bodies and let's go."

Fran watched everything silently from the side. Once they had left, she stepped forward and asked curiously:

"Why didn't they even ask me anything?"

In the original owner's memories, whenever conflicts broke out between apprentices, both sides would be taken away and locked up for days, and many people would be questioned during the investigation. It wasn't like this, where they didn't even bother asking a bystander.

"See? I told you we could just leave. You stayed here and wasted your time."

Elan continued to explain:

"The academy assigns a primary person in charge to every area, mainly to oversee everything that affects the apprentices within that zone. I am the person in charge of the Apprentice Market."

"Of course they had to ask me, because the regulations state that any investigation must consult the person in charge of the current area. I am putting my own reputation on the line to vouch for you."