Bell stared at the faint glow in his palm.
A thought suddenly flashed through his mind.
The dirt puppet was too fragile.
But what if there was a sufficiently sturdy core?
A container that could carry a soul without collapsing.
Bell stood up.
He walked to the bookshelf and pulled out a heavy volume titled 《The Encyclopedia of Magical Materials》.
He flipped through it.
Searching page by page.
Finally.
He stopped on a certain page.
Mithril.
An extremely rare metal.
It possessed incredible toughness and high mana conductivity, barely deforming even under the impact of intense mana.
If he crafted a core out of Mithril...
And then sealed the soul inside it...
He could construct a mana circuit on the outer layer.
Just like the electrical circuits from his past life.
The core would provide the energy, and the circuit would handle the transmission.
The dirt puppet would merely be the shell.
The true driving force would come from the soul within the Mithril core.
Bell’s breathing quickened.
This method could work.
It was absolutely feasible.
He snapped the book shut.
He turned and rushed out the door.
Black Stone Tower.
Leovet Victor was sitting at the edge of the training grounds, holding an ancient text.
He looked up.
He saw Bell rushing in, his face haggard and his eyes bloodshot.
“Failed?”
Leovet Victor’s tone was flat.
Bell nodded.
He walked up to Leovet Victor.
“Instructor, I need Mithril.”
Leovet Victor raised an eyebrow.
“Mithril?”
He set down his book.
He stood up.
“Do you have any idea how precious that stuff is?”
Bell grit his teeth.
“I know.”
Leovet Victor chuckled.
“You know, and yet you still dare to ask?”
He walked over to Bell.
He looked down at him.
“A small piece of Mithril can sell for fifty gold coins on the black market.”
“And what you need is at least a piece the size of a fist.”
“That is two hundred gold coins.”
Bell’s breath hitched.
Two hundred gold coins.
Right now, he couldn't even scrounge together a hundred gold coins if he searched his entire body.
Leovet Victor suddenly smiled.
He turned around.
He walked back to his chair.
He sat down again.
“However...”
His voice suddenly took on a playful tone.
“The Royal Family might have some.”
Bell blinked.
“The Royal Family?”
Leovet Victor nodded.
“The Royal Treasury hides many good things.”
“Mithril included.”
“But that is the property of the crown.”
He looked up.
He stared at Bell.
“You, a mere noble, want something belonging to the Royal Family?”
“Keep dreaming.”
Bell’s fists clenched.
He knew Leovet Victor was telling the truth.
The Royal Family’s possessions.
They weren't things someone like him could touch.
“Though~”
Leovet Victor’s voice trailed off.
He leaned back in his chair.
A hint of mischief flickered in his eyes.
“The Duke Lucas family is the renowned 'Blood Duke' house.”
“Could it be they can't get their hands on it?”
Bell’s body stiffened.
The Duke Lucas family.
His “family.”
The ducal house famous throughout the entire kingdom.
His “father” was a duke who controlled a third of the kingdom’s military.
His “mother” was a noble from a branch of the royal line.
If the Duke Lucas family stepped in...
Forget Mithril.
They could obtain things even more precious.
But the problem was...
Bell didn't have much affection for that family.
His soul was that of an adult.
His parents from his previous world had died long before he transmigrated.
The “father” and “mother” of this world were nothing more than strangers to him.
Even though they were very kind to him.
He could never truly see them as his parents.
“What’s wrong?”
Leovet Victor’s voice interrupted his thoughts.
“Afraid to go home?”
Bell didn't answer.
He simply turned.
He walked toward the exit of the tower.
“Or are you afraid of that sister of yours?”
Leovet Victor’s voice came from behind.
It carried a trace of mockery.
Bell’s footsteps faltered.
After a long silence.
He resumed his pace.
He walked away without looking back.
Knock, knock, knock.
A knock sounded at Headmaster Griffin’s office door.
Headmaster Griffin looked up.
He saw Cecilia Lucas standing at the doorway.
The girl wore a pure white dress, her golden hair tied in a low ponytail draped over her shoulder.
That angelic face wore an innocent smile.
“Headmaster, I have something I’d like to discuss with you.”
Cecilia Lucas’s voice was soft and sweet.
Griffin set down his quill.
“Come in, Miss Lucas.”
Cecilia Lucas entered the office.
She pulled a neatly folded parchment from her bodice and placed it on the desk in front of Griffin.
“What is this?”
Griffin unfolded the parchment.
It was a withdrawal application.
The handwriting was neat, and the wording was sincere.
“Withdrawal?”
Griffin’s brow furrowed.
He looked up at Cecilia Lucas.
“Miss Lucas, why do you wish to withdraw?”
Cecilia Lucas lowered her head.
Her fingers lightly gripped the hem of her skirt, like a shy girl.
“Because... the academy has nothing left to teach me.”
She looked up, a spark of pure longing in her eyes.
“I want to measure the earth with my own feet.”
“I want to see this beautiful world.”
“I want to know what is waiting for me beyond the royal capital.”
Griffin was stunned.
He stared at Cecilia Lucas for a long time.
Then.
He smiled.
“Very well.”
Griffin stood up and walked over to Cecilia Lucas.
He reached out and gently patted the girl’s shoulder.
“Excellent.”
“To have such vision and ambition at your age... you are far superior to most noble children.”
Cecilia Lucas’s smile grew even more radiant.
“Thank you, Headmaster.”
Griffin turned and walked back to his desk.
He picked up his quill and signed his name on the withdrawal application.
“I approve.”
“But Miss Lucas, you must remember.”
He looked up, his gaze serious.
“The world outside is dangerous.”
“You must protect yourself.”
Cecilia Lucas nodded.
“I will.”
She took the withdrawal application and turned to leave the office.
The moment the door closed.
The smile on Cecilia Lucas’s face vanished.
In its place was a cold, eerie calm.
She looked down at the parchment in her hand.
Then.
She laughed.
There was a hint of twisted pleasure in that laugh.
“What a gullible old man.”
...
By evening.
A luxurious carriage stopped at the academy gates.
The Lucas family crest was engraved on the side.
Cecilia Lucas carried a small travel bag as she boarded the carriage.
The driver was a taciturn, middle aged man.
He didn't ask any questions, simply flicking the reins lightly.
The carriage slowly pulled away from the academy.
Cecilia Lucas sat in the cabin.
She placed the travel bag on her lap and slowly unzipped it.
The items inside were revealed one by one.
A black uniform stained with the scent of sweat.
A pair of worn leather shoes.
A used bowl.
A pair of chopsticks.
A few strands of black hair.
And a fingernail sized piece of...
Cecilia Lucas’s fingers gently caressed these items.
She murmured under her breath.
“I will endure it.”
Her voice was very light, very low.
“...”
“When I return...”
“Completely and utterly.”
She looked up.
A sickly obsession flickered in her eyes.
“Time... is such a loathsome thing.”
Then.
She laughed.
She laughed until tears streamed down her face.
“But it doesn't matter.”
“I can wait.”
“I will wait.”
She hugged the travel bag tightly to her chest.
As if she were holding the most precious treasure in the world.
The carriage drove out of the royal capital.
Heading toward the western barrens.
There.
Lay a secret organization.
A group of madmen who would sacrifice everything in pursuit of so called “truth.”
The White Tower Society.
...
Three days later.
On a desolate plain.
A few dilapidated carriages were parked by the roadside.
Cecilia Lucas stood before the carriages.
She wore a simple traveling outfit, her golden hair tied in a basic ponytail.
There was no expression on her angelic face.
The red haired woman stepped out from behind a carriage.
“Lady Lucas, please follow me.”
She turned and walked behind the carriages.
Cecilia Lucas followed.
Her fingers lightly caressed the travel bag in her arms.
Inside.
Lay her most precious possession.
Her “Bell.”
The sun dipped below the horizon.
Two figures.
Walking in completely opposite directions.
One heading toward madness.
One heading toward despair.
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