Handling (Please Follow)

Crack!

A silver serpent streaked across the night sky.

Beside Joseph's corpse, a Black Robe Wizard was examining the body. Around him, dozens of Academy Watchers stood densely packed on the branches.

"Have you confirmed his identity?" the Black Robe Wizard asked.

"Joseph, Ulrich's official apprentice."

"Ulrich's apprentice? That's a little troublesome." The Black Robe Wizard rose from beside the corpse, a deformed dark-gray metal lump in his hand.

"Did this kid have any enemies?"

"He had a few, but they all have alibis."

Alex rubbed the bullet between his fingers and said thoughtfully:

"Let me ask more specifically. Did he have enemies in the Alchemy School?"

"There was one, I suppose. Richard, Gerald's apprentice, was just cursed. He had a business conflict with this kid."

As he spoke, one of the Watchers shrieked:

"So how did he die, Alex? We searched several kilometers around the area and didn't find a single clue—not one suspicious apprentice.

"But he just died like that, without rhyme or reason!"

Alex rubbed his ears, signaling for the Watcher to shut up.

"It's normal that you found nothing on the ground, because the killer didn't launch the attack from the ground at all."

Alex pointed up at the sky. "He attacked from up there, using this little thing."

As he spoke, he showed the deformed bullet to the Watchers.

"He launched the attack from the sky, using Magic-Repelling Metal's rejection of magic power to instantly break through the magical barrier, then shot this kid in the body. Because this thing was so fast and had such an unusual shape, Joseph just—" Alex made an exploding gesture. "Went bang and blew apart."

"That's impossible, Alex!" the Watcher cried. "Wizard Apprentices don't have that kind of casting range. If they used magic from the sky, we would definitely have noticed."

"But that is the truth." Alex floated into the air. "Still, don't worry. I'll handle this matter. Things like this shouldn't happen again in the future."

With that, he flew toward the Central Black Tower.

"Come on, let's have one, Senior Brother!"

On the Fifty-Sixth Floor of the Central Black Tower, Richard raised his wineglass and clinked it boldly against Jacques's.

After killing Joseph, Richard had not returned to his dormitory. Instead, he had chosen to remain in the Central Black Tower.

He did not know whether the Watchers had found any trace of him. If they had, then the moment he returned to his dormitory, the Watchers could seize him directly, and things would become difficult. But staying in the Central Black Tower was different. This was wizard territory, and he was currently within his teacher Gerald's domain.

As long as there was no conclusive evidence, Gerald could definitely protect him.

"Come on, I'll drink with you, Junior Brother."

Jacques clinked glasses with Richard, then drained the strong liquor in his cup in one gulp.

Just as the two were drinking merrily, a set of footsteps drawing nearer interrupted them.

"Oh no, Senior Sister's here." Jacques's expression changed. He hurriedly cleared the wine bottle and snacks from the table.

Bang.

"Senior Sister, why are you here?" Jacques asked, putting on a serious act.

Anna gave him a cold glance, then turned to Richard and handed him a bottle of potion.

"Richard, drink this. Teacher wants to see you."

Richard sniffed the potion. It was a sobering potion. He drank it in one gulp, then followed Anna to the Ninety-Ninth Floor.

In the laboratory, Gerald and Alex were deep in conversation.

"Gerald, your apprentice is no ordinary one. That bunch of Owls got played so badly by him that they can't tell east from west. They were just asking me what exactly happened."

Gerald stroked his beard. "Vice Dean, without conclusive evidence, you can't make wild accusations. My student usually keeps to himself and studies knowledge all day. He's not nearly as capable as you claim."

"No evidence, Gerald? Tell me, in this Academy, besides your student, who else has the ability to devise such a fantastical method of murder?" Alex smiled as he took out the deformed bullet. "How about I take this to the Curse School and have them divine who it points to?"

Gerald's expression shifted slightly.

Knock, knock, knock.

"Teacher, Richard has arrived."

"He's here." Gerald raised an eyebrow and casually used threads of magic power to open the laboratory door. "Richard, come here. Our Vice Dean seems to have some mistaken ideas about you."

Entering the laboratory, Richard steadied himself and stood beside Gerald.

"Teacher, you wanted to see me."

"Mhm. Vice Dean, my student is right here. He was just drinking with another one of my students. How could he possibly be the killer you mentioned?"

Richard swallowed.

So it really was because of Joseph.

Alex narrowed his eyes and studied Richard carefully.

"Your name is Richard, right? Tonight, an apprentice died in the Academy. Do you know about it?"

Richard shook his head. "Vice Dean, I've been drinking on the Fifty-Sixth Floor all night. I haven't heard about this."

"Is that so?" Alex shook his head. "I heard you had a serious conflict with Joseph."

"Just a minor disagreement. My Magic Potions merely impacted his Magic Potion business," Richard said lightly.

"Oh, then it seems I may have found the wrong person." Alex raised an eyebrow and displayed the deformed bullet in his hand. "I just wonder whether the Curse School's divination can find him. When that time comes, it won't be so easily brushed aside."

"Vice Dean," Richard said with unusual firmness, "I truly know nothing about this."

He had considered the possibility of leaving behind the bullet before committing the murder. That was why, before the killing, he had given the bullet to Ellie and had her use Curse Magic to erase its connection to him.

Even if a Curse Wizard came to divine it now, they would not be able to trace it back to him.

Alex looked Richard over again and again, then suddenly laughed.

"Gerald, you've taken in a fine student. But don't let this sort of thing happen in the Academy again."

With that, Alex placed the bullet on the desk beside him and drifted gracefully out through the laboratory window.

Not long after he left, Gerald picked up the bullet. A ghostly blue flame ignited in his hand, instantly burning the bullet into nothingness.

"Richard, did you hear what the Vice Dean said clearly?"

"Mhm."

"Don't cause this kind of trouble again in the future," Gerald said calmly. "Also, you'll live in the Black Tower from now on. That old Ulrich is petty-minded. You made such a mess of his grandson, and I'm not sure whether he has any shame at all."

"Hm?" Richard noticed Gerald's wording.

"Joseph isn't dead?"

"Of course he isn't dead." Gerald smiled and shook his head. "Ulrich made him a Miniature Soul Locket. After he died, his soul returned to the locket. As long as they reshape a body for him, he can come back to life."

"However, a Cloning Spell costs no small sum. Though that kid is only a Low-level apprentice, it will still cost tens of thousands of Magic Stones. And the body's adjustment period will take over a decade. You probably won't see him again before you graduate."

With that, Gerald returned to his desk and resumed reading.

"You don't blame me?" Richard could not help asking.

When something like this was brought to his doorstep, Gerald should at least have scolded him a little.

"Why would I blame you?" Gerald replied without raising his head. "You are my student. Someone cursed you, and you retaliated. That is an eye for an eye, an impeccable course of action."

"My students should be like this."

"Of course," Gerald suddenly looked up, winked at Richard, and said humorously, "it would have been even better if you'd waited until the Bloody Exam before making your move."

Thanks to reader Yicun Xiangsi for the Monthly tickets.