Chapter 71 : Chapter 71

Chapter 71. Disappearance

At the headquarters of the Modification School, inside a conference room.

Losqi anxiously questioned an apprentice who had just rushed back.

“Did you find her?”

“No…” The apprentice tried to speak, but his words were interrupted by his heavy breathing. After pausing to catch his breath, he continued, “We searched the entire City of Apprentices, but no news has come in.”

The tension in Losqi’s body finally loosened a little. He began adjusting his collar.

“How could such a grown person simply disappear without leaving anything behind… You may go now. Inform me immediately if there is any news.”

He knew there was nothing more he could do. All the available personnel had already been sent out to search.

If they still had not found anything, then Belori had most likely encountered some misfortune.

“This can’t be suppressed like the last incident… It can only be reported upward.”

Losqi sighed. He knew that the disappearance of a school’s chief administrator was an extremely serious matter—far more severe than the previous knowledge leak incident.

If interpreted on a larger scale, it could even be labeled as infiltration by hostile forces. In that case, the Alliance would dispatch an investigative team.

Even if treated as a smaller issue, the Modification School would still be furious. One of their administrators had vanished—someone would certainly be sent to search, and they might even hold people like him accountable.

However, the most sensitive detail was something Belori had told him before she disappeared: she intended to investigate every member of the Sword Chant School.

He was extremely hesitant about whether to report that part. If the situation were mishandled, it might even trigger a conflict between the two schools.

After thinking it over, he ultimately decided to report it anyway. Belori had previously gone to the Sword Chant School’s headquarters and gotten into a conflict there—something many people already knew about.

Even if he chose not to report it, the investigation team would eventually turn their attention toward the Sword Chant School.

And if they later discovered that he had concealed this information, he might be interrogated as a traitor.

Thinking this, he was just about to record everything on paper when—

“Hey, Losqi. It’s been a while since I last visited your Modification School. How did such a big incident happen here?”

Losqi quickly put away his tools and looked toward the person who had barged in without knocking.

“Didn’t I say not to—”

He stopped mid-sentence when he saw who it was. Only then did he understand why the apprentices had failed to stop this person from entering the headquarters.

“Calf…”

The visitor was also a formal mage, which meant the apprentices had not dared to block him. Moreover, this man had never feared the reputation of the Modification School in the first place.

“You’re not staying with the Necromancy School? What are you doing here? Thinking about transferring back to the Modification School?”

Losqi sneered, deliberately exposing Calf’s past.

Calf had once been a member of the Modification School. During an accident, however, he discovered that he had a talent for necromancy. After enormous effort, he managed to transfer to the Necromancy School.

Afterward, Calf spent four years there and became a formal mage—one of the fastest promotions within the school. It was clear that his true talent lay in necromancy.

This only deepened his hatred for the Modification School. He had spent four years there as well, yet his spellcasting ability had barely surpassed that of a newly admitted apprentice.

Combined with the immense effort required for him to transfer schools, his resentment toward the Modification School had only grown stronger.

“Oh, please. With your educational model—barely any spells, and apprentices aren’t even allowed to learn modification knowledge—I’d probably have to pass another exam before learning anything if I rejoined.”

Calf let out a mocking laugh. Even now, he believed the Modification School’s teaching method was backward. Its future might be promising, but the school guarded its core knowledge far too strictly.

The Modification School had split from the Necromancy School, and its philosophy had shocked the entire Alliance.

Its school leader was already at the peak of the fourth tier and was widely believed to be the most likely candidate to advance to the fifth-tier legendary rank.

Calf had joined the Modification School precisely because he believed in that bright future—but the result had been profoundly disappointing.

The most critical modification knowledge was only taught to those who obtained high rankings, but those rankings were incredibly difficult to achieve.

More importantly, because the Modification School had separated from the Necromancy School, most of its spell system had been taken by the Necromancy School.

As a result, the spells unique to the Modification School at lower tiers were truly weak.

Their overall strength ranked near the bottom among all the schools in the Alliance.

Apprentices without resources could hardly rely on learning spells alone to achieve those rankings.

Those who did obtain rankings usually came from wealthy families or had connections and special channels.

Calf continued smiling as he chuckled.

“However, I didn’t come here today to criticize your educational model on behalf of the Alliance. You see, a few days ago I found a job within the Alliance.”

As he spoke, he took out a badge. The badge was engraved with dense patterns—burning flames, skeletal figures… and most prominently, a staff symbol at the center.

Losqi glanced at it and felt as though he had fallen into an icy abyss. He recognized the emblem immediately.

“That’s right. I’ve been preparing for the Alliance’s investigator examination for quite some time. Luckily, I received approval to join a few days ago.”

“These past few days I’ve barely been able to eat or sleep, worrying about where I’d be assigned for future missions. But in the end, a good friend of mine gave me a hand.”

Losqi remained silent. He was already considering how he would deal with this lunatic afterward.

“According to the Alliance’s regulations… which clause was it again? Never mind. The point is that when a major incident occurs in a temporary residence that affects the normal operations of the Alliance, investigators have a responsibility to participate in the investigation…”

“And conveniently enough, the disappearance of a school’s chief administrator is quite a major incident. As a newly appointed investigator, I must participate.”

“And if, during the investigation, I happen to discover that a certain school has been smuggling trade goods prohibited by the Alliance, that would be perfectly normal, wouldn’t it?”

“My friend, you should be careful. I’ve heard that your school is a hotspot for corpse smuggling. Our Necromancy School reports it every day, but nothing ever comes of it.”

“And another thing… my friend, have you privately performed surgical modifications on outsiders?”

“Our school’s vice leader specifically emphasized at the council that such procedures require identity tokens. It was written into law two years ago.”

“Oh, and I won’t start the investigation until the day after tomorrow. That should give you time to prepare. After all, I have no idea what Belori was doing before she disappeared. With your help, I’m sure I’ll uncover the truth much faster!”

Calf deliberately dragged out his final words. After finishing, he stared at Losqi for a moment before standing up and walking out of the room.

Once Calf had left, Losqi’s face darkened. He cursed aloud.

“Damn it… How did the Alliance let Calf exploit this loophole? No, I need to dispose of those things first.”

Under normal circumstances, the Alliance would never allow people with personal grudges to investigate related matters.

The Alliance had always preferred compromise, avoiding situations where opposing sides might directly clash.

But this case was clearly an exception. Calf had only just become an investigator, and his official assignment had not yet been issued.

During this period, he could freely investigate any “related matters.”