Academy Trial

Dago looked at the charred crater with a complicated expression. Although the Flame Core Air Bullet was absurdly powerful, it had many drawbacks: it drained far too much mana and took too long to charge.

An even bigger flaw was that it left no spoils behind. It reduced enemies directly to ashes, truly finishing everything in one go.

But on second thought, surviving was already a great blessing. What spoils was he still hoping for?

Dago took a deep breath and murmured, "It feels so good to be alive."

There was still plenty of cleanup to do, and many wizards' investigations to evade.

Too many people had died this time, especially a Half-Step Formal Wizard from the academy. The academy would definitely investigate this to the very end.

It was deep at night, and dark clouds blanketed the sky. The fields were deathly silent, becoming a paradise for darkness.

Only the swaying firelight atop the distant watchtower shone through, like a lighthouse.

Dragging his exhausted, battered body along, Dago slowly made his way to the watchtower. The wooden hut had already burned down completely, reduced to a pile of charred ruins.

He continued toward the area where Mariko's body had been.

Earlier, sparks from Raymond's falling fireball had burned Mariko's body to ashes, leaving behind only a small amount of cremated remains.

By the light of the watchtower, Dago carefully gathered the ashes bit by bit and placed them into his storage pouch.

Just then, a faint rustling sound came from the distance.

He cast his Detection Technique toward the source of the sound and sensed a familiar spiritual fluctuation. It was Selena.

She was sneaking closer under her cloak, hunched over as she approached Dago step by step.

Dago shouted at her, "Selena, come out. It's Dago."

Hearing that, Selena pulled off her cloak, straightened up, and ran swiftly toward Dago.

The light in her eyes seemed to ignite like sparks, suddenly shining so brightly it was dazzling.

Before Dago could react, she had already thrown herself at him. Her arms wrapped tightly around his neck, and her whole body nearly hung from him.

"Thank goodness!" Selena's voice carried a smile, her trailing words trembling with excitement as her shoulders shook lightly with uncontrollable joy.

Dago staggered back half a step from the impact before steadying himself. He could clearly feel her pounding heartbeat and her unreserved delight.

He patted Selena on the back to comfort her, then gently freed himself from her embrace. They still had much to deal with, and time was tight.

The joy on Selena's face turned to guilt when she saw Dago's battered body. She immediately took out Healing Potions and Mental Potions and handed them to him.

Then she chanted a spell and cast a Healing Technique on Dago.

Dago uncorked both bottles and gulped them down in one go. His own potions had long since been used up during the battle.

The effects were immediate. His complexion improved considerably, and the burning pain throughout his body eased greatly.

After a while, Dago had recovered a fair amount. He tore off the remaining strips of cloak cloth around him.

He began considering how to deal with the academy's investigation. First of all, an entire patrol team had been wiped out, leaving only the two of them alive. That alone was highly suspicious.

But the only wizards Dago had personally killed were Raymond and Vissel. Their bodies had basically been destroyed beyond recognition, making it difficult to trace anything back to him.

No one would ever imagine that Dago could have killed Raymond. Even if he said it aloud, no one at the academy would believe him.

So the main thing was to establish an alibi. After discussing it with Selena, Dago made some misleading alterations to the scene and erased their traces from it.

Then they created the appearance of fleeing toward the forest in panic, tossing some of their personal belongings along the path leading there.

The two walked toward the forest, dropping scraps of their cloaks as they went.

Although Dago worried that the academy might possess extraordinary means of detection, there was nothing he could do to stop that. He could only leave it to fate.

Besides, if they truly turned hostile, Dago could only become one of the Black-Robed Wizards. In the wizarding world, black robes or white robes did not matter. Strength was all that mattered.

Dago and Selena took a long detour and returned directly to the Wizard Inn.

Seeing Selena's unease, Dago comforted her. "So much happened today. Go back and get some proper rest. Don't worry. Everything will be all right."

Selena nodded, and the two returned to their own rooms.

Dago removed his tattered wizard's robe, fetched some hot water from the bathroom, and used a towel to wipe away the mixture of blood and mud on his body.

Even with extraordinary potions and a Healing Technique, wounds still needed time to heal.

After tending to his injuries, Dago lay directly on the bed and fell into a deep sleep. He had been far too exhausted today.

The next morning, the weather was clear. The courtyard of the Wizard Inn.

Though sunlight shone down on them, their moods remained as heavy and cold as the wind blowing outside.

Beneath the old plum tree in the corner of the courtyard was a mound of fresh earth. Mariko's urn was buried there, and Dago had purchased that plot of land from the Wizard Inn.

They had wanted to take him back to his treehouse in the forest for burial, but the forest had practically become a partially fallen zone and was sealed off by the academy.

On the soil lay a worn old robe, washed so many times that it had faded pale. It was the robe Mariko had often worn when he was alive. The frayed collar remained, and it was now neatly folded, as if its owner had merely stepped away for a while.

"Mariko, the weather's getting cold. I brought you some wine."

Dago kept his voice low, as if afraid of disturbing someone. As he spoke, he poured wine into a clay cup and slowly sprinkled it before the grave. The instant the wine seeped into the soil, tiny bubbles rose from it.

The memorial was so simple it was almost hasty. He and Selena merely stood there quietly, occasionally adding more wine or straightening the robe that the wind had disturbed.

When the sun climbed overhead, academy investigators came for them. Dago placed a stone atop the folded robe, and when he turned to leave, his footsteps were exceptionally light.

Then the two followed several investigating wizards out of the Wizard Inn and arrived at the academy castle. Blindfolded, they were brought into an enclosed room. This was the academy's most mysterious Trial Chamber.

Cold seeped from the stone walls of the Trial Chamber. Twelve obsidian pillars carved with runes cast twisted shadows in the candlelight.

The two being interrogated sat at the center of a Rune Array. Silver shackles locked around their wrists, and each movement made the shackles glow with pale blue light.

The presiding academy wizard sat in a high-backed chair, his fingers tapping the Academy Codex on the table. His voice was as steady as a frozen lake. "For the third time, I ask you: what happened to the Town Patrol last night?"

The candle flame suddenly flickered. Dago abruptly looked up, and sweat from his forehead dripped onto the Rune Array, setting off a ring of tiny sparks.

"I already told you. Selena and I returned from patrol and saw corpses everywhere, along with a Black-Robed Wizard. Lord Raymond fought him to save us, and we fled toward the forest." His voice was hoarse, his Adam's apple bobbing.

"Oh, is that so? Then why were only the two of you left alive? Everyone else died, and even Raymond's body is gone. There is no evidence and no witness."

"We only need the truth. Since you are so certain of what you have said, I will now cast a Truth Spell. If either of you tells a lie, the Truth Spell will detect it."

The academy wizard stopped tapping his fingers, began chanting, and drew his wand, pointing it toward the Rune Array in the center.

The candle flame flickered again, stretching the shadows of the twelve stone pillars even longer, as though countless eyes were silently watching this trial from within the cracks of the stone.

Dago's shoulders trembled. The runes on the shackles suddenly tightened, cutting several bloody marks into his wrists. It looks like I'm finished here today.

The Rune Array suddenly began to hum. An indescribable energy emerged and shot directly into the Mental Spaces of the two of them.

In an instant, Selena seemed to lose her soul. Her eyes immediately became vacant as she sat blankly in her chair.

The moment that spiritual energy entered Dago's Mental Space, it was extinguished by the surging waves of the boundless black sea, without even raising a splash.

Dago imitated Selena's vacant, witless appearance and sat stupidly in his chair.

The presiding academy wizard spoke directly, asking three questions. "Have you betrayed the academy? Did you participate in the killing of academy wizards? Do you know what happened to Raymond?"

After hearing the questions, Dago and Selena answered in emotionless voices, "No. No. No."

The runes on one of the twelve stone pillars lit up green. The presiding academy wizard's breathing grew slightly hurried, and he stopped feeding spiritual power into the Rune Array. He appeared to have expended a great deal.

The Rune Array stopped humming. Selena gradually regained her senses, her face as pale as paper. Dago, meanwhile, clutched his head in pain, concealing the fact that his face was not pale.

The academy wizard said to the two after they came to their senses, "You have passed the Truth Spell examination. This spell has some minor side effects on the soul. You may return and rest properly."

"We will not wrong a good person, nor will we ever let a bad person go."

With that, he rose and left the Trial Chamber. Not long after, several investigating wizards entered carrying blindfolds. They placed them over the pair's heads and helped them out of the Trial Chamber.