Chapter 389: Jasmine

Amidst the heavy and ominous ringing of bells, apprentices from the Thought of Truth Branch filed out of their classrooms in an orderly stream. Unlike the “private lessons” offered by some mages that required redemption points to attend, most of what these apprentices were learning now were free “public courses.” In a place like the Thought of Truth, where a single day of negligence could lead to a gruesome death, most students wouldn’t miss even one public lecture.

Moli, being an apprentice herself, was no exception. Exhausted, she stepped out of the dim classroom, carefully clutching the heavy books in her arms. The young woman, already feeling dizzy, grew visibly pale.

With so many attendees and the best spots mostly occupied by apprentices with influential backgrounds, some students inevitably ended up without seats. These unfortunate souls had to endure standing through the entire morning’s lessons—Moli was one of them. To fully absorb the lecture on “Micro-Element Reaction and Energy Tide Relationship,” she had stubbornly remained on her feet all morning.

Yet, Moli didn’t complain much about her situation. In fact, just a few weeks prior, her circumstances had been far worse. Unwilling to become a plaything for a scion of a mage family, she had no choice but to rely on her only friend—Anya—as a shield. By leveraging Anya’s connection, or more precisely, the intimidating presence of the Master-Level powerhouse Punk Cyan, Moli managed to escape that fate. Now, living a peaceful life free from harassment was already a blessing she deeply appreciated.

“I’ve memorized the micro-element reaction formulas today, but the energy tide decay formulas are just too complex. No matter how hard I try, I can’t grasp them. And tomorrow, they’ll start teaching new formulas. If this continues…”

At this thought, Moli lowered her head in dejection. She lacked exceptional talent, and her intellect was merely average. Those intricate formulas only left her feeling dazed and confused from start to finish. As for her “assigned” mentor… Moli only knew she was one of over three hundred apprentices under this mage. She had never even met her mentor face-to-face.

“Sigh, no time to wallow in self-pity. I must hurry to the ‘Rune Construction and Analysis’ class. Being late would be troublesome.”

Glancing at the dull, standard-issue pocket watch in her arms, Moli quickly gathered her composure and dashed toward another classroom. Latecomers weren’t permitted entry, and if she missed a lecture, no one would bother to explain the content to her.

But… the young woman’s steps came to an abrupt halt after just a few strides.

“Ouch!”

After running only two steps, Moli was suddenly seized by a massive, invisible energy hand. Before she could even process what was happening, the hand yanked her at an astonishing speed toward a mage.

Amidst the clattering sound of metal hitting the ground, her stationery scattered all along the path.

“Moli Qis, third-level mage apprentice, the six hundred and seventy-eighth apprentice of Mage Sfenda. Correct?”After Moli turned around almost trembling, the anxious girl saw a spellcaster clad in black mage robes. Crimson patterns stood out starkly like fresh blood against the pitch-black fabric, and his icy voice cut through the air like a biting winter gale.

There was no doubt—the one who had abruptly seized Moli was Punk, and he was in an exceedingly foul mood.

Seeing Moli frozen in terror, Punk had no choice but to cast a Clarity Spell on her directly. Though the impatient Punk desperately wanted to use a Memory Reading spell to scour the girl’s soul, here in the Thought of Truth, killing was permissible—but using evil-aligned spells was strictly forbidden, at least in “public settings”!

Perhaps it was sheer self-deception, but Punk had to abide by this rule. So, he decided to try questioning her directly. If this girl named Moli refused to speak… well, he could always find a more “private” setting to ask again.

He tossed the now somewhat lucid Moli into an unoccupied corner, ignoring her pleading gaze as he uttered a single emotionless sentence:

“Tell me everything about Anya.”

Staring into the terrifying mage’s murderous eyes, Moli felt like a rabbit cornered by a dragon. Through her soul’s perception, she knew without a doubt that she was facing a genuine Master-Level powerhouse. Fully realizing this fact, an overwhelming sense of foreboding washed over her.

Of course, anyone who saw the chilling, pale-purple glint in Punk’s eyes at that moment would feel the same dread.

Any thought of protecting her friend out of loyalty vanished instantly. Sobbing uncontrollably, Moli spilled everything she knew. She had no time to wonder why her friend Anya had provoked a Master-Level expert—all that mattered now was doing whatever it took to save her own life, even if it meant endangering her “friend.”

By then, the other apprentices in the corridor had fled far away. The Formal-Level instructors pretended not to notice, keeping their doors firmly shut. The low-level surveillance spells monitoring the apprentice area had been disabled by Punk. The vast apprentice corridor was now empty except for Moli and Punk.

But Punk couldn’t care less about the commotion he’d caused. His mind was already racing, piecing together the fragmented information Moli had whispered to him:

“A bizarre personality shift? Could it be the influence of the Eerie Eyeball? I never expected its effects to be this potent—that’s truly unexpected… And a Formal-Level mage has been getting close to Anya? If the Divination Spell’s information hasn’t been tampered with, that Mijia Ka really does seem like just a hormonal teenager with a chuunibyou complex… And yesterday, Anya went out on a mission? That’s utterly ridiculous. The exchange points I left her could sustain a lavish lifestyle for decades. Would she take on missions just for thrills? It seems Anya’s disappearance might genuinely be a case of ‘eloping for love’ rather than a ‘conspiratorial trap’!”After repeatedly verifying that Moli had not lied and showed no signs of magical control, Punk finally felt a wave of relief. He was currently pressed for time to pursue Ovakain, and if he had to suddenly deal with an inexplicable enemy… even Punk would have been utterly bewildered.

“Good, good. It seems this fool Mijia Ka probably intended to use ‘completing a mission’ as an excuse to leave the Thought of Truth? Sensing their general direction… hmm, the Emerald Forest? Planning to cross the forest and seek refuge with the Harpers? Not a bad idea, but unfortunately… I returned far too early!”

After confirming the low likelihood of any conspiracy, Punk couldn’t help but exhale deeply in relief. Anya and Mijia Ka had only been fleeing for a day so far—he could catch up to them in mere hours. The two lovebirds likely never imagined that their “elopement” had barely begun, and the Senior Mentor they desperately sought to avoid had already returned to the Thought of Truth Branch.

Watching the cold smile curl at the corner of Punk’s lips, Moli felt terror while vaguely sensing she had done something terribly wrong. But she had no time to dwell on it—the terrifying aura radiating from Punk made her instinctively want to flee, as far away as possible!

However, the girl no longer had a chance to utter another word. Almost the moment she lifted her head, Punk gently placed a finger on Moli’s smooth, pale forehead:

“You know many secrets, but my Divination Spell reveals you haven’t recklessly ‘shared’ them with others. This is undoubtedly fortunate, as you’ve saved me considerable trouble.”

With Punk’s icy words, the next second, Moli’s head exploded like a watermelon…

Wiping the blood from his fingers, Punk turned and left without expression.

As an 18th-level spellcaster, Punk no longer needed to fear even Kirk Weilen’s doubts, let alone… the fact that a Master-Level expert killing a mere apprentice was a trivial matter, one that would never provoke anyone to question it.

(End of Chapter)