Chapter 51 : Chapter 51

Chapter 51. The Shadow in Hiding

“Do not say that. Do you not want to know who attacked you?”

Elan’s next sentence piqued Fulan’s interest. She asked,

“Then do you know—”

“I do not.”

“Then why did you say—?”

Elan straightened his sleeve before continuing,

“I do not know exactly who attacked you, but I can be certain that it was done by those Senior Apprentices.”

“Why?”

Elan pointed at the shattered modified humanoid on the ground and explained,

“The person behind this used these modified humanoids to attack you because he did not want to expose his identity. That is why he specifically bought a batch from the Modification School… of course, it is also possible that he himself belongs to the Modification School.”

“You might not know this yet, but within the circle of Senior Apprentices, those who have just advanced are usually left alone. However, those who already possess a certain level of strength are frequently targeted.”

“For those Senior Apprentices, becoming a formal mage is their greatest pursuit. The best way to achieve that goal is to participate in the examinations and obtain a ranking. The resources granted by those rankings can greatly improve their strength.”

“Every single ranking is extremely important to them. A higher position means a greater chance of advancing to become a formal mage.”

Elan continued,

“For them, it is not enough to compete only within the examinations. They also attack others outside the examinations.”

“Their thinking is simple: if I eliminate someone outside the examinations, will my ranking not rise?”

“So do you understand now? They will attack anyone who shows real strength at least once.”

Fulan understood. Elan was reminding her that the identity of the mastermind behind this attack was not important. Even if she managed to find him, others would still come after her.

Elan said with a smile,

“Actually, you would not have been attacked so soon. The problem is that your reputation has grown quite a bit recently, and you also leave the academy frequently…”

Because Fulan had defeated John, a teacher from the Sword Chant School, and later defeated the capable Abeyo from the same school, there was no one among the Senior Apprentices who did not know her name.

Most people stayed inside the academy. Whenever someone received an Excellent rating in a course, it would become a topic of discussion for a while. Now that something explosive had happened—such as someone defeating this person or that person—the news naturally spread even faster.

Another difference between Fulan and other apprentices was that she frequently left the academy to visit the Apprentice Market.

That gave those who wanted to ambush her the perfect opportunity.

Most other Senior Apprentices stayed within their school residences and rarely went out. Given the limited communication between schools, simply knowing which school someone belonged to already counted as well-informed.

Moreover, it was difficult to attack someone within a school. A formal mage could arrive at any moment to provide assistance, making it extremely risky.

Fulan, however, was different. She was famous and often left the academy to go to the Apprentice Market—a place anyone could enter. If someone wanted to attack a target, who else would they choose if not her?

Fulan knew that if she returned to the Apprentice Market again, there was a high chance she would be attacked once more.

It seems that I will need to keep a lower profile in the future. And perhaps disguise myself when I come to the Apprentice Market.

---

At the residence of the Modification School, Taen hurried toward the gathering location—a meeting room.

He pushed open a heavy black door and saw that almost everyone inside had already arrived.

The meeting room was decorated with many thick bones, with small crystals embedded within them that emitted a faint, eerie glow.

Everyone turned to look at Taen, their attention drawn by the sound of the door.

A woman wearing a wide robe stood at the front. A faint metallic sheen was visible at her neck, and her long green hair draped over her shoulders. She looked at him coldly.

“Taen, you are a little late, but not too late. We have only just begun announcing the matter. Come in.”

“My apologies, Mentor Belori. I was at the market just now. As soon as I received the notice, I came here immediately.”

With that, he squeezed into the crowd.

Mentor Belori was a formal mage and the main leader of their society, the Life Renewal Society. She usually announced the school’s notices and missions.

One of her most distinctive habits was issuing urgent notices whenever something happened, summoning everyone immediately and assigning tasks without wasting a single second. She was extremely displeased with apprentices who arrived late.

“All apprentices, listen carefully. The school has issued a task. It is not mandatory for everyone to participate, but any apprentice who succeeds will receive a reward.”

Upon hearing this, nearly all the apprentices focused their attention. They longed desperately to become formal mages, and the rewards issued by the school were never disappointing.

“You may already know that one of your fellow apprentices, Richter, has gone missing and has now been confirmed dead.”

“However, he carried a notebook that may contain knowledge from the Modification School. Your task is to retrieve that notebook or confirm that it has been destroyed and that the knowledge has not spread.”

“I will personally teach a successful apprentice a session on the cultivation and transplantation of enhanced organs.”

“Oh, and Richter obtained an item with the property of ‘Plundering’ during the examination. If you can find it, I would not mind teaching you how to cultivate organs related to that ability.”

The apprentices began whispering among themselves, astonished by the generosity of the reward.

Modification surgery was the foundation of their school and knowledge they absolutely needed to become formal mages.

In the past, mentors only taught such techniques to students who performed exceptionally well in examinations.

Now, simply completing this task would grant them access to that knowledge. It was clear how seriously the school regarded this mission.

“You are dismissed. I now permit you to investigate Richter’s residence for clues.”

Taen followed the other apprentices out the door when someone he knew called out to him.

“Taen, how was that batch of modified humanoids I gave you? Were those defective pieces useful?”

Taen recalled their miserable performance earlier. The first two had been acceptable, but the last three were so pathetic that he could barely stand to watch—they had simply run away.

In fact, he had also arranged for one modified humanoid to shoot arrows with a crossbow from the rear.

However, that one fiddled with the weapon for a long time and never managed to fire a single arrow. In the end, Taen could only let it run along with him.

“Not very good. I gave them some simple commands, and they could not even perform those properly.”

“Hey, do not say that. Although those were defective pieces I made, you know the level of modified humanoids at this tier. If they can distinguish between friend and foe, that already counts as decent. The reason is that they were all modified from corpses. If you could bring me a living one—”

Taen interrupted him.

“That is enough. At the price you charged, I have no complaints. Call me again next time you have another batch. They can still serve as raw materials for organs.”

Taen remembered that he had bought those modified humanoids for ten silver coins. Because of that low price, he was rather tolerant of their poor intelligence.