The Flame Truth Club and Formal Wizards

"The Flame Truth Club is a notorious club in the Tower of Dawn," Wizard Mode explained. "You haven't been at the Tower of Dawn long, so you may not know much about it."

"They love running scams and swindles to squeeze magic stones out of people."

"But they always cover their tracks well. Only after they've made a sizable haul of magic stones does anyone uncover that the Flame Truth Club was behind it all."

"Their operations, like this Shattered Starstone Shop business, are traps."

"They trick other wizards into investing, then vanish without a trace with all those magic stones."

Leo frowned and asked in confusion, "Aren't they afraid other wizards will track them down for doing this?

"And if the other wizards have been fooled once, would they really fall for it again?"

"First of all, the Flame Truth Club was founded by a formal wizard."

At that, Leo understood how the Flame Truth Club had survived until now.

Wizard Mode continued, "Second, here in the Tower of Dawn, a wizard's reputation generally spreads through research laboratories."

"But the wizards of the Flame Truth Club don't do research. They make their money entirely through these schemes."

"They disguise themselves and conceal their identities every time."

"And they always put out some bait first to lure wizards into their schemes."

"Even someone who's been swindled once might let their guard down after a few years, once the dust has settled, and get cheated by the Flame Truth Club again."

"I know a second-rank wizard apprentice who's eighty-five this year. He's been getting scammed ever since he joined the Tower of Dawn—seven times in all."

At Mode's words, Leo inwardly clicked his tongue.

When wizards set their minds to swindling people, their tricks really were hard to spot.

Still, eighty-five