Academy Hospital
"I'm fine, really," Kevan said weakly, his body wrapped in bandages from head to toe.
As the initial target of the curse, Kevan had taken the brunt of the damage. In mere seconds, nearly half of his body had been charred. Most of his skin was gone. Through the gaps in the bandages, Edwyn could even see exposed, still-pulsing red muscle.
"The doctor said the external injuries are manageable. The real problem is the life force I lost. It'll take a long time to recover, and I probably won't be able to keep working as your agent for now."
Edwyn nodded silently. Then he added:
"I'll take care of this. You just focus on healing. If you ever want the agent position back, it'll be waiting for you."
Kevan gave a faint smile. "Alright. Save me that seat."
Edwyn turned and left the hospital room, Elia following close behind.
"Doctor," Edwyn said at the front desk in a low voice, "how much is the bill for the patient in room 32?"
"Room 32... Let me check. Minor healing spell: 500 credits. Limb regeneration: 1,200. Vitality supplements: 300. Total: 2,000 academy credits. Will you be paying in paper currency or magic stones?"
Edwyn pulled out a stack of academy notes, counted out twenty bills, and handed them over.
Though Kevan's injuries were the price of being his agent, he had efficiently helped Edwyn source materials during this time. They'd developed a bit of camaraderie.
And 2,000 credits was the profit from just five bottles of Focus Potion, well worth it. Their collaboration would continue long-term.
Leaving the hospital, Edwyn headed straight for the Central Black Tower.
56th Floor
Chayle was, as usual, drinking lazily in his room. But the moment the door burst open with a loud bang, he snapped upright.
"I was just-! Oh, it's you, Ed. You scared the hell out of me."
Realizing who it was, Chayle slumped back down.
"What's with the dramatic entrance kid? Who pissed you off?" Then he noticed Elia and sat back up straight.
"Well, well, Elia too! Please, have a seat," Chayle said, smiling politely.
"Chayle, I need a favor," Edwyn said bluntly, striding over. Though a table separated them, Chayle could clearly feel the fury radiating from him.
Chayle dropped the smile. "What happened? You're burning with anger."
Edwyn gave a two-word answer:
"A curse."
"I see," Chayle nodded and stood. "I'll ask around. Can't guarantee anything, but I'll see what I can dig up."
Edwyn followed and slipped a wad of academy notes into Chayle' hand.
"Chayle, don't waste your own money on this. My potion business is doing well now. Please, take this."
Chayle gave him a long look, then stuffed the cash into his pocket and left.
About three or four hours later, Chayle returned, slightly unsteady and reeking of alcohol.
"It was a job from Corner Alley, but no one knows who placed it," Chayle said, shaking his head. Steam rose from his body, filling the room with the strong scent of liquor.
"But here's a lead for you, Ulrich's alchemy shop didn't sell out their Focus Potions last month. Their staff said young master Joseph flew into a rage about it. And not long after, someone about his height in black robes was seen entering Corner Alley."
The implication was clear: the likely culprit behind the curse was Joseph.
"Thanks for the help, Chayle."
Chayle waved it off and tried to return the wad of notes.
"No big deal. My own junior got cursed, I can't just sit around. Besides, I didn't even use the money. Take it back."
"No, Chayle. I have another favor to ask," Edwyn said, stopping the money with his hand.
"What is it?"
Edwyn pulled a black metal tube from his belt. Silver runes glowed faintly on its surface.
"I'd like you to install this into Moony, you know, the death crow you built for me. Right here," he pointed to one end, "coming out of its mouth. You can handle that, right?"
Chayle thought for a moment, then nodded.
"Sure, just a minor procedure. But I'll warn you, don't do anything reckless. If you get caught acting inside the academy, your mentor's going to have a hard time protecting you. No one escapes the Blood Trial. You'll have your chance to get even during that."
If a fight broke out inside campus, the Overseers would intervene almost instantly. And Joseph, being both a wizard's heir and an official alchemy apprentice, was sure to be well-equipped with defensive magitech.
A one-shot kill was highly unlikely.
And even if he pulled it off, Edwyn would never evade the Overseers in time.
Edwyn gave a faint smile. But deep in his eyes, a cold glint flashed.
The Blood Trial was still years away. He wasn't going to wait that long.
"Don't worry, Chayle. I know what I'm doing."
He handed the metal tube over and left with Elia.
On the way back to the dorms, Elia couldn't hold back.
"Edwyn… are you really going to use that thing? I thought it wasn't finished yet."
She was referring to the steel tube he had given Chayle, part of his newest magitech creation. Edwyn had named it: Mana-Driven Gun.
"It's almost done," Edwyn said softly. "I just haven't found a cheap enough material for the bullets yet."
But now, his research had been interrupted.
Recently, Elia had refined the kinetic spell down to just twelve runes, though the maximum mana it could handle had dropped to half of what it was. For a magitech weapon, that was perfect, too much mana could melt the components.
Edwyn had inscribed three kinetic spells on the barrel. According to his tests, a bullet charged by these spells could easily penetrate 3 centimeters of steel from up to 500 meters away.
He glanced at the trees lining the path. Hidden in the forest were who-knew-how-many Overseers. If students started fighting, they would appear immediately to stop it.
But those Overseers had one major blind spot: The sky.
Academy Overseers typically patrolled between 100–200 meters above ground. That height was enough to monitor everything, because apprentices rarely flew that high with levitation magic. And even if they did, they couldn't cast spells accurately from up there due to limited range.
That made the airspace above 200 meters a blind zone.
Edwyn could easily command Moony to fly up to 500 meters.
The world has never been black and white.