Monday evening.
Beta Town, Pedestrian Street No. 97, D&K.
The shop door was half open. Through the clean glass display window, wavering light and several blurred figures could vaguely be seen inside. There were definitely people in there.
Knock, knock knock!
The knocking sounded hesitantly a few times. A moment later, the shop door was yanked open roughly, and a red-faced male wizard with a fleshy face stuck half his body out and barked, "Why so late... hmm... who are you looking for?"
Outside stood a witch in a gray robe, with a strip of gauze tied across her forehead. Beneath it, the tadpole-shaped black curse mark could vaguely be seen. A lock of silver hair hung by her temple. This had been the favorite style among North District witches over the past few months.
Seemingly frightened by the wizard's rough door-opening, the witch outside let out a soft cry and stumbled back several steps. One hand slipped into the cloth pouch tied to her belt, while the other clutched a worn spellbook.
The Red-faced Male Wizard—Zhang Jixin—glanced at the pouch, guessing how many frogs it held.
Although Colmar had already developed an "artificial Philosopher's Stone" to replace frogs, the cost meant it was impossible to equip every North District Wizard with one. Cheap frogs remained the most widely used spellcasting material for many North District Wizards who had only just mastered magic.
"What brings you here so late?"
The wizard who had opened the door softened his tone considerably. He even tried hard to force out a smile, but the flesh on his face greatly undermined the effort. In the dim night, his expression instead looked increasingly ferocious.
"I... I heard... I heard there are Rat People here, so I wanted to see them." The witch stammered, looking as