Ruthless is fine, double standards are not

When had Ahab used the Corpse Dissolving Powder?

Before setting out, Ahab had mixed the Corpse Dissolving Powder into a paste and hidden it under his fingernails.

Just now, he had pretended to caress her, but in reality, he had used the fingernail hiding the Corpse Dissolving Powder to scratch Lola's neck.

Under the numbing effect of the Corpse Dissolving Powder, Lola had not noticed a thing.

To be honest, Ahab really could not be sure whether his four See Throughs and four brick blows would be enough to make Lola lose her ability to fight.

But as long as he bought that tiny bit of time...

The Corpse Dissolving Powder would make her completely lose her ability to fight!

"Hah, hah, hah..."

On the ground, Lola could only breathe out, not in.

The pus brought on by the Corpse Dissolving Powder had already corroded every one of her internal organs.

"Ahab, Ahab Gul..."

Lola's face was full of pain as she struggled to open her mouth and speak.

She no longer had any strength left to resist.

Death was only a matter of time.

Clearly, Lola herself realized that too.

Her eyes had even become much clearer. She was probably already seeing her life flash before her eyes.

Everything after coming to the Academy felt like a dream.

Lola remembered the days before she became an apprentice: her hometown, her parents, and her adorable little sister.

Though life had been hard, they had been happy together.

She seemed to have promised—

If she became a powerful wizard in the future, she would definitely return to her hometown once.

She would let her whole family live a life of plenty.

"Ahab, Ahab Gul..."

Lola was already on her last breath. Forcing herself to hold on, she opened her mouth and spoke.

"If, if! If I had told you my wish just now—"

"Would you have fulfilled it for me?"

Ahab glanced at Lola with contempt in his eyes.

"No."

Did that even need asking?

Hadn't you made loan-sharking your business and caused the deaths of plenty of apprentices?

No need to go far back. Just a few days ago, a female apprentice had been hung on a tree by you and died a miserable death.

Ahab had seen that with his own eyes.

Today, your skills were inferior, and you died at my, Ahab Gul's, hands. What else was there to say?

All of them were doing it for their ideals, to burn their lives bright. Ahab could understand being ruthless.

But double standards? He could not.

If I could kill others, then of course others could kill me too!

Lola seemed not to hear Ahab's answer and went on talking to herself.

"Please, if one day, you become a powerful wizard."

"Go to the Faston Kingdom, Boer Village, and see whether my family is doing well..."

"Please..."

Amid those pleas, Lola's breath faded away.

She died.

Then what were you doing before... Ahab sneered, without the slightest intention of helping fulfill her wish.

Next, it was time to deal with the scene.

The yellow pus had already completely corroded Lola's corpse.

Ahab threw the whole pack of tools he had brought, along with the Blue Steel Brick, straight into the pus.

Ahab had always been cautious. If he did not see these things corroded with his own eyes, he would not leave.

"Hm? What's this?"

In less than a moment, Lola's corpse and all the miscellaneous things Ahab had brought had been fully corroded.

But in the foul-smelling yellow water, two objects were still clearly wrapped within.

From start to finish, it seemed the pus from the Corpse Dissolving Powder had been unable to do anything to them.

Ahab snapped off a twig and picked the two items out.

They were a pair of anklets and a decorative nail.

After thinking it over for a while, Ahab understood.

These were two wizard tools!

Wizard tools were relatively rare. Even first-class apprentices might not necessarily have one.

Unsurprisingly, these two wizard tools had been given to Lola by that big shot.

As for what they were actually used for... Ahab began to think.

Whether it was their first meeting at the Mutual Aid Society, the chance encounter outside the General Affairs Hall, or the ambush in the little grove today, Lola had been barefoot from beginning to end.

The Academy was full of hard stone paths. Walking barefoot like that all day should have worn her feet into hard calluses.

But the skin on the soles of Lola's feet was smooth, with no signs of dead skin or calluses at all.

They were not even dirty.

Mm. The anklets' function should be cleaning plus protection.

The reason this wizard tool had been bestowed on her was probably because of certain proclivities, allowing Lola to go out barefoot.

Something that could protect the feet and keep them from getting dirty should be very popular with female apprentices...

It was a good thing for framing the killer!

As for that other nail—

Earlier, when he had faced off against Lola, there had been an instant when he suddenly saw long stretches of hallucinations.

That was probably the effect of this wizard tool.

It had been given to Lola by that big shot for self-defense.

However, the illusion before his eyes had lasted less than a second.

Instead, after Lola herself used this wizard tool, she had started foaming at the mouth on the spot...

"That's it. That hallucination makes both sides show each other their most painful memories."

"Lola was probably often tormented terribly by that big shot. Making an enemy experience those memories at a critical moment would indeed be a killer weapon."

Ahab could not hold back a laugh.

Clearly, Lola had never expected it.

The life and death, blood and tears Ahab had experienced before transmigrating far exceeded the limit of what she could endure.

"To me, this is practically a divine artifact. As long as I use it, no one at the apprentice level can stop me."

"But I have to use it cautiously. If I fail to kill the target, the secret that I transmigrated will be exposed."

At the same time, within the Spirit Vision of The Void, a vast cloud of black qi drifted out from the place where Lola had died.

The black qi spun several times in the air, turned silver-white, and merged into Ahab's body.

"This is... 120 points of faith power!"

According to the rules of The Void, this meant Lola had directly or indirectly caused the deaths of 120 people.

"For the near future, I won't have to worry about faith power either."

Ahab clapped his hands, his work done, and withdrew.

As for what to do about the debt?

He could simply ignore it!

Lola's Newcomer Mutual Aid Society was nothing but a loan-sharking organization.

How had this organization been able to operate?

Entirely because Lola, its president, had a big shot backing her.

A powerful first-class apprentice would not be quite enough. It was most likely an official wizard!

But Lola's relationship with that big shot was very simple: a "master and servant" relationship.

A powerful wizard would not lack toys. Now that Lola was dead, the big shot would not ask too many questions.

Naturally, her "Newcomer Mutual Aid Society" would no longer be able to continue.

Ahab circled around the little grove and left from the other side.

Finally, there was one more thing.

When the night had grown deep and silent, Ahab once again walked out of his dormitory.

He arrived at the West District, which was also the northern part of the newcomer district.

There was a large wishing pool here, along with several ancient trees.

The scenery was beautiful, and many female apprentices came here.

Ahab walked over to the wishing pool and tossed in the anklet he had pulled off Lola's foot.

Maybe tomorrow. Maybe sometime tonight.

This pair of anklets would be picked up by some female apprentice.

Although Lola had quite a few enemies, making it hard to investigate.

But it was also possible that some big shot might get a sudden whim and genuinely try to look into it.

Framing someone at random like this was the safest option.

After confirming there was no one around, Ahab followed the wall and quietly left.

The See Through Authority was good in every way, except that it could only be used four times a day.

Ahab had already used up all four times today.

If he ran into another enemy at the second-class level, Ahab would have a hard time dealing with them.

He wondered what the Void Authority one level higher would be... Ahab kept an eye on his surroundings as he gradually disappeared into the distance.