Returning to his dorm, Edwyn released Moony and guided it toward Chayle's lab.
During this period, Edwyn had already completed the soul seed implantation, which allowed him to not only share vision with Moony but also issue direct control commands. Using Moony's vision, Edwyn could clearly see students on the ground even from nearly a kilometer up, even at night.
This was the source of his confidence.
After sending Moony off, Edwyn began crafting the "bullets."
The choice of materials was critical.
Edwyn knew that Joseph undoubtedly possessed defensive magitech. Most likely, it was a dual-defense type, capable of blocking both physical and magical attacks.
To break through such defense, Edwyn decided to go all in, he chose to use a magic-repelling metal that sold for one Mana Stone per gram to craft the bullets.
This metal had innate anti-magic properties and could "displace" mana when in contact with magical shields, perfect for penetrating magical defenses.
He spent the entire night shaping, grinding, and polishing the bullets. When morning sunlight streamed into his room, four deep gray, boat-tailed bullets sat gleaming on the table.
Now that he had the bullets, the next step was testing their lethality and figuring out how to compensate for strong winds.
His plan involved having Moony fire from 500 meters in the air, but that brought complications. At such high velocity, even a slight breeze could completely throw off the bullet's trajectory.
"Maybe I can counteract it with a spell," Edwyn muttered, staring at the bullets in thought.
Although the anti-magic metal dampened or even nullified spells applied to it, that effect took time to fully manifest.
And he only needed the spell to last less than a second to neutralize wind interference, more than doable.
With that in mind, he modified the bullets by adding a casing-like tail section. In it, he inscribed a minor cantrip called "Airflow Shield," designed to stabilize flight and prevent wind disruption.
"Caw! Caw!"
A loud cawing came from outside. Edwyn turned and saw the newly upgraded Moony had returned to his balcony.
Outwardly, Moony didn't look much different, but when Edwyn commanded it to open its mouth, a black steel barrel extended from its throat.
Tied to Moony's leg was a parchment scroll. Edwyn opened it and found detailed feeding instructions.
Since Moony could no longer use its beak to eat, Chayle had installed a secondary mouth in its abdomen. Hidden beneath its feathers, this mouth could chew food and send it straight to its digestive system.
Edwyn offered it a chunk of meat, and a gaping, tooth-filled maw emerged from its belly. The meat was shredded into pulp and swallowed in seconds.
"Mages and their biological modifications… truly beyond imagination," Edwyn murmured.
Then he took Moony to the academy's testing grounds.
He rented a private testing zone to avoid Overseer surveillance, and paid 10 Mana Stones to use a metal target equipped with a magical barrier.
Edwyn had Moony ascend to a height of nearly 500 meters and carefully aligned its position. At that altitude, even the slightest misalignment would result in a miss.
"Three... two... one... fire!"
He activated the magitech.
Mana flowed through the conduits, lighting up the inscribed runes. The kinetic spells activated,
BOOM!
A burst of sparks erupted from the metal target. Its magic shield only slightly slowed the anti-magic bullet, which pierced clean through and left a glowing, red-edged hole in the metal.
"Very nice!" Edwyn grinned.
He repeated the test on targets with two and three-layer shields. The results showed that the maximum effective penetration of his bullets was three layers. Any more, and the projectile lost all stopping power.
"This is enough. If he's got four layers of defense, then I'll accept my loss," Edwyn muttered, touching the bullet hole.
…
News of the failed curse quickly reached Joseph. Corner Alley returned half his deposit, signaling that they had abandoned the job. The half they kept was for their "attempt."
"Useless trash!" Joseph slammed his fist into the table, leaving a huge dent in its new surface.
He had expected this outcome to some extent, but still, his rage boiled over.
He had hired one of Corner Alley's top Cursemancers. Even if Edwyn had an agent and help from another Cursemancer, the curse should have at least injured him.
Yet no word had surfaced, no whispers, no gossip.
A rising star alchemy apprentice, rolling in Mana Stones, targeted by a curse, how could there be no rumors if it had worked?
Nothing but silence.
Joseph paced his room in frustration. As long as Edwyn was alive, his own potion business would never recover.
He had seen Edwyn's potions. The freakish consistency chilled him.
How could anyone produce 100 bottles a month with almost identical quality?
Eventually, Joseph stopped pacing and pulled out a curse bug and a voodoo-style magitech doll from a drawer.
He knew it was impossible to keep his curse attempt secret. He'd been sloppy. Anyone who knew the situation could easily guess he was behind it.
Fortunately, Corner Alley never revealed its clients, even after a failed job. For now, he didn't have to worry about the Overseers.
He just had to be cautious in case Edwyn tried to retaliate.
Storing the curse gear away, Joseph left the Central Black Tower for a walk.
And the moment he stepped outside, a pair of eyes locked onto him.
"Finally coming out, are we?"
Back on the 56th floor, Edwyn sneered as he watched through Moony's senses.
In the pitch-black sky, Moony's flapping wings blended perfectly with the night. It circled silently above Joseph, adjusting its position.
On the ground, Joseph suddenly felt a chill down his spine.
He had the eerie sense that something was watching him.
"Who's there?!" Joseph snapped, scanning the woods around him. Two faint blue shields shimmered to life over his body. "Attacking on academy grounds is against the rules!"
No one answered. But his unease only grew stronger.
"Who's watching me?!" Joseph spun around, trying to find the source. But he never looked up, not once.
High above, Moony's mouth began to glow with mana.
Edwyn smiled coldly. A black flash shot from Moony's mouth. Thanks to the Airflow Shield, the bullet didn't even interact with the air, it maintained max velocity from launch to impact.
BOOM!
The magic-repelling bullet collided with Joseph's shield, and a spray of blood burst into the night air.
Overhead, the death crow let out a joyful cry.