Three days later, inside the magic lab of the manor residence.
Professor Duncan's team, the elders of the Truth faction, Freya, and Celia's deep blue magic projection were all gathered together.
Complex magic symbols and formulas covered the massive blackboard, while on the alchemy bench, various instruments shimmered with a cold, sharp luster.
"I'll be counting on all of you for the coming days!" Ansu said with a serious expression as he looked around at everyone present, "May we unite our wisdom to collectively overcome this challenge that has plagued the magic world for a thousand years."
A sense of restrained excitement brewed in the air; everyone understood that once this research succeeded, everyone present would be etched into history—
They would no longer be "black magic heretics" cowering in the shadows, but saviors who pulled the entire magic system back from the brink of self-destruction.
Under the process jointly drafted by Ansu and Celia, everyone took their positions in order.
The sounds of pages turning and instruments being adjusted echoed through the lab, as mana appeared and disappeared like a rhythmic breath...
Ansu looked toward Celia's projection, his thoughts drifting back to the night he first began studying magic... He clearly remembered a passage left by the magic master Hoffman on the title page of 《General Introduction to Magic》:
"In my era, the very concept of magic has been corrupted; raw mana is violent and chaotic, leading people toward madness..."
"This will push our exploration of truth into the realm of the mysterious; later generations of mages may only be able to sense the great power of magic through so-called 'spiritual experiences' that are hard to put into words, which is truly a regret..."
The "regret" that Hoffman lamented had become the key to breaking the deadlock for Ansu.
Ansu closed his eyes to concentrate, and the system interface that only he could see surfaced in his consciousness.
【Spiritual Experience Lv2】
【Increasing this level can help magic practitioners significantly stabilize their mental power and soul will, opening the mysterious door to 'high-tier magic' amidst the clamor.】
Back when he was studying high-tier magic with Celia in the 'treasure vault,' this skill was the root cause of her amazement at his talent.
And if he could use his alchemy system to transform this skill into a physical, tangible item—a 【Magic Amulet】 that could help the wearer maintain their sanity while using 3rd Circle and above magic.
Then all miracles would begin with this small amulet.
Ansu had conceived this idea very early on, but he had been unable to mobilize the resources to advance it.
Now that he and the young witch had taken control of the cult, he did not hesitate to put the plan on the schedule.
The first step of the plan, and the most core one, was how Ansu would manually craft this amulet.
This was not too difficult for him, given his 【alchemy system】; success required proficiency, which meant repeated attempts to push the progress bar. Just like when he learned magic himself, failing a hundred times or so would be fine.
Celia's task was the truly arduous one.
Ansu's gaze fell back onto Celia's projection; the prototype Magic Amulet he had finally finished making not long ago was resting quietly in her palm.
Celia needed to lead everyone present in reverse-engineering the amulet, deciphering the mysterious structure hidden within, and then designing a magic rune system that could achieve the same effect.
At this moment, the young witch's eyes were lowered, her entire mind immersed in the seemingly chaotic and disordered rune structure.
In common terms, what she was doing was analyzing a "black box," a task that was nearly impossible to complete.
Therefore, almost all of Ansu's resources were poured into Celia's side.
Ancient magic texts that served as a database were available for consultation at any time, along with the Truth faction elders who possessed the most solid magic theory of this era, and Professor Duncan, an expert in magitech and rune design.
Finally, there was Celia herself, with her almost intuitive, genius-like magic talent.
Everything was ready.
...
Since the prototype amulet had already been completed, there was temporarily no need for Ansu in the lab, so he quietly slipped away to the courtyard outside the residence to catch his breath.
Besides the magic experiments, there was another equally pressing matter. Thinking of this, Ansu summoned David, who was waiting outside.
"The mission to search for Squirrel Party members in Norvigel," he asked directly, "how is it progressing?"
"Apologies, Lord Hermit..." David suddenly lowered his head.
Ansu's brow furrowed slightly, "What's wrong?"
"Currently... no definitive traces of any Squirrel Party members have been discovered within the city." Cold sweat seeped from David's forehead as he kept his voice very low, "Lord Hermit, please give us a little more time..."
Ansu's expression darkened, "Not a single clue?"
They had been moved to Norvigel for some time now; had the cult's intelligence department really found nothing regarding the Squirrel Party?
"Yes, not a single clue..." David felt nervous but said helplessly, "Our former ally seems to have vanished into thin air... I even suspect that the Squirrel Party remnants have entirely withdrawn from the Empire's borders..."
"That's impossible." Ansu's frown deepened, "Could these squirrels really be burrowing into the ground like actual rodents...?"
In the original plot, the planners of the Norvigel explosion were the Squirrel Party... Could it be that his actions had caused even this event to change?
No...
Without him, the high-level members of the Squirrel Party would have been wiped out by the Church anyway; this shouldn't have anything to do with him...
Seeing that his expression was off, David hesitated for a moment before explaining the difficulties:
"The cult headquarters has just moved here, and to avoid attracting too much official attention, many hidden lines are difficult to deploy for the time being... Those we can currently mobilize are mainly the original executors from the North, like Catherine at the academy."
"In addition..." He paused before continuing, "According to some intelligence, I suspect the entire Squirrel Party organization has been personally taken over and reorganized by Barcas. Their current mode of operation is significantly more meticulous than before; they are no longer that loose outer group from the past..."
Ansu remained silent for a moment; in other words, was he actually pitting his wits against Barcas himself from afar?
Things were becoming interesting...
Since he was essentially standing on a powder keg that could explode at any time, Ansu knew he could no longer wait passively. He looked at David with a serious gaze, just about to give further instructions when—
The magitech communicator in his pocket suddenly vibrated gently, flickering with a faint light.
Ansu was startled and took out the communicator, a trace of surprise flashing in his eyes.
It was a contact from Vera.
Could it be that regarding the Squirrel Party... Vera had found some clues at the school?
With a faint ripple of mana, Vera's intermittent voice came through. She was whispering, her voice very low, but her tone could not hide her excitement:
"Brother! I've found a clue..."
"There's a sneaky guy in the magitech department warehouse... stealing things!"
"I'm keeping watch on him from outside right now..."
Ansu's gaze instantly became serious as he immediately whispered an instruction, "Stay in a safe place and do not act rashly. Wait for me; I'm coming over right now!"
"But..." Vera clearly didn't want to give up the pursuit.
"You're too easily exposed." Ansu's tone softened slightly, "Be good and listen."
"Alright..."
After cutting off the communication, Ansu subconsciously glanced at David beside him.
"You're all less capable than a little girl!"
David's expression was slightly awkward, thinking to himself that this sister of the Lord Hermit was no ordinary person either... but he could only silently lower his head.
"It is my dereliction of duty..."
...
Half an hour later, Ansu and David arrived at the Norvigel United Academy.
Coming to a quiet corner of a park, he saw Vera on a bench, accompanied by the executor Catherine.
"Lord Hermit!" Catherine greeted him with a smile.
Ansu nodded slightly, then his gaze landed on Vera. Her lips were pursed, and her small face was full of regret.
"Brother, I'm sorry. I ended up losing him after all..."
"It's fine. Being able to find a clue at all is the best result." Ansu sat down beside her and asked, "What exactly happened? Tell me the details."
Vera immediately pulled a thick diary from her backpack. While flipping through it, she recounted the investigation of the past few days.
During this time, Vera had kept Ansu's instructions in mind, silently keeping an eye on all movements within the magitech department for him. In the diary, she had used simple sketches to outline the appearance of all suspicious individuals.
Ansu leaned in curiously; although his sister's brushwork was abstract, she had captured everyone's features quite accurately...
"Interesting..."
Ansu subconsciously took the diary.
What surprised him even more was that this little detective had even drawn lines between the figures to construct a complex relationship network. The entire notebook was densely packed with her daily observations and annotations...
"Vera, it's truly a waste of talent for you not to be a detective..."
Ansu teased as he casually flipped back a few pages, but his gaze suddenly froze.
"Eh? Why am I in here too?"
"Wait..."
"Ah! Brother, don't look!" Vera hurriedly snatched it back, her cheeks instantly turning bright red.
Fortunately, he had only caught a brief glimpse and shouldn't have looked closely...
How could she have forgotten about that!
Vera felt a surge of annoyance in her heart, silently blaming herself.
How could she easily hand the diary over to her brother... inside it, she had recorded everything from his interpersonal interactions at school to the places he frequently visited and the girls he knew with absolute clarity...
If he had seen it all, she was afraid it would truly give him a huge fright...
"Hmm?" Ansu blinked suspiciously.
Rate on N.U.
