Chapter 47 A Gradually Complicating Conspiracy

The four of them remained seated in their four chairs. As Professor Garcia raised his hand, Miss Jones began to record the unfolding events at an even faster speed.

A faint halo of light materialized in the hand of the professor with the slightly pointed ears. While the latter softly chanted an incantation, Jude saw vibrant patches of color continuously filling his gaslit living room.

The entire living room was divided in two; the normal half was the eastern side where the four of them sat, while the western side grew blurry amidst the filling colors, only to slowly grow clear again.

Yet that clear half of the living room had transformed into the appearance of a dim, low-ceilinged room.

This low-ceilinged room was likewise split in two, spliced together with Jude's living room. The lighting inside was extremely dim. There was a low bed draped in stained yellow sheets, a desk holding a metallic typewriter with rusted gears, and bookshelves filled with all sorts of other reagents.

Among those reagents, human eyeballs of various sizes were suspended in liquid, and there even was the corpse of a small, closed-eyed, curled-up primate-like creature, which made Jude feel deeply unsettled.

The room was pitch-dark, and the old gas lamp above the desk looked as though it would extinguish in the next second.

A lean, partially bald middle-aged man wearing a brown coat, huddled like a rat in the chair before the desk, turned his head in stupefaction, gazing at the abruptly appearing strange living room and the four people within it.

His face was pockmarked, his large red nose covered in blackheads. His pupils had contracted in terror, and the bottle in his left hand was spilling mercury onto the desktop.

"What I am using is the Miracle—Spatial Division, Spatial Splicing. One must be at least of the Eleventh Ring to learn it."

Said Professor Garcia of the History Department.

"Please tell the truth."

Professor Sanchez, wearing a solemn expression, then reached out and pointed at the man in the dim half-room. An ambiguous pink glow emanated from his finger:

"Who are you?"

The professor asked in a resounding voice.

"Peter the Short Rat of [Mercury Blood]."

Under the glow of the professor's finger, the short man's eyes lost focus. His accent was very similar to Professor Garcia's; presumably, both had once been Carsonics. The mercury bottle in his hand slipped and crashed onto the desktop, completely unnoticed by him.

"What are you doing?"

The professor asked again, the ambiguous pink light between his fingers growing slightly more intense.

"We lost an important item—the statue of the Old God 'Blood Duke Luowai', and wanted to retaliate against the person who stole the statue using a Keeper-class artifact, but the other party was too strong. Therefore, I was tasked with finding clues through the Miracle—[Rat Companion's Sense of Smell].

That alley had a mixed aura, and a battle had taken place there last night. I searched for a whole day before discovering that one of the individuals who had visited the alley was performing a ritual, and their own power was very weak. Right now, through the Miracle—[Mercury Poison Fog], I am attempting to directly kill him."

Professor Sanchez nodded. Looking at the pink light on the professor's finger, Jude felt a mild dizziness creeping over him. Professor Garcia explained:

"This is the Spell—Charm Human. The effect is normally not this good; it is only through Professor Sanchez's spirit rune system and constant practice that such characteristics can be brought forth... Making the disobedient young students in the academy tell the truth about their assignments is truly no easy task."

"Who else knows about Mr. Hamilton?"

Professor Sanchez pointed his normal finger at Jude. The "Short Rat" Peter, with unseeing, vacant eyes, slowly replied in an increasingly soft voice, sounding as though he were speaking to his lover:

"Only me. I haven't had time to report it yet, wanting to claim the credit entirely for myself. This trick of mine has never failed; even the Silver-Eyed Man has praised my Miracle."

"Have you ever killed anyone?"

The professor asked.

"Yes, many. Many Miracles require fresh human organs as—"

"Very well then."

The pink light on Professor Sanchez's finger extinguished, and then a beam of black light flew from his fingertips, crossing the boundary line between the two rooms. The corpse of Peter the Short Rat slumped to the ground right on cue; he had fallen into an eternal slumber.

Jude opened his mouth slightly, gaining a new understanding of the professor's decisive methods. It took him several seconds before he remembered to say:

"Professor Sanchez, Professor Garcia, thank you for your help."

This could be considered a complete resolution of the trouble caused to him by that Old God statue.

As for the dead man, Jude felt no pity. The other party was inherently a villain who had sought to harm him, and he was even relieved that he didn't have to soil his own hands.

"No need to thank me. If not for the fact that I am meeting you today, he would not have discovered your identity."

Professor Sanchez said, and then motioned for Jude to stand up:

"Go and see if there are any important documents on his desk. Do not touch anything. During the ritual, our side cannot leave our seats, or the projection will be unilaterally interrupted."

Jude nodded and stood up, hearing Mia's door-scratching grow louder. The curious yet timid cat was presumably desperate to know what was happening outside.

He left his seat and walked toward the other part of the living room that had been split in two. As his body crossed the centerline into that low-ceilinged room, a stench of long-stagnant air and decay immediately washed over him.

He had crossed from the second floor of 6 St. Derain Square to a narrow, gloomy rental apartment somewhere in Tobesk. Ignoring the row of reagent bottles on the bookshelf, he walked straight to the desk.

On the desktop, aside from a pool of mercury, were the spellcasting materials required when using the two Miracles for tracking clues and pouring mercury. The only document was the unfinished one still in the typewriter. It was a letter written in Carsonic, with the ending left incomplete.

Most of it consisted of Peter the Short Rat complaining about the troubles of his work, the dangers he faced, and the foggy weather in Tobesk.

The final paragraph had only just begun, mentioning their cooperation with the cultists of the Evil God [Lord of the Blood Feast]. [Mercury Blood] attempted to acquire certain materials from the cultists. Meanwhile, another organization, the [Blood Spirit School], had promised to help them, but seemed to be preoccupied with some maternity ward matter in the New Continent; thus, so far, they had only sent a Keeper-class artifact as assistance, which had sent the Silver-Eyed Man into a rage.

The cultists of the [Lord of the Blood Feast], [Mercury Blood], and the [Blood Spirit School]—this single incident instantly implicated three organizations.

Jude memorized this content. Returning to his own living room and sitting down, he reported it word for word. The two professors offered no comments on this; Professor Garcia revoked the spatial anomaly, restoring Jude's living room to normal.

Even the mercury fog vanished, as though what had just happened had merely been an illusion. This way, the cautious outlander no longer had to worry about dying from mercury poisoning.

"In any case, Mr. Hamilton, as a First-Ring Sorcerer, you should try to minimize your involvement in such dangerous matters. Where were we just now?"

To the two professors, the preceding event was merely a trivial matter not worth mentioning. Elated in his heart that the hidden danger had been eliminated, Jude noted down the [Lord of the Blood Feast], the [Blood Spirit School], and his recent discoveries before sitting up straight in his chair and saying:

"We just mentioned two things. Professor Garcia said he is here tonight to guide my time-travel practice, which will be conducted after we finish discussing everything. The second thing is that you wanted to talk about our five-person squad."

Professor Garcia nodded at Jude, while Professor Sanchez patted his head:

"Oh, yes, the matter of the five-person squad. Among the five of you, someone has a major problem. One of you, 'the other me,' is different from the normal condition. The Academy believes that represents a major hidden hazard."

The heart of Jude, who had just been feeling joyful, suddenly skipped a beat, his expression changing drastically.