Rorschach bore the man’s weight, taking a single difficult step before he remembered he was a Mage—one who had just destroyed a tower and a living, sentient being. He quickly applied the [Feather Fall Skill] to the man, which significantly lightened Rorschach’s physical burden.

But his mind was far from at ease.

In the last moment before the entire tower collapsed, just as falling stones and shattered bricks were about to conceal everything, Rorschach had seen the result of his Magic with perfect clarity. The severed surfaces of the Half-Elf’s hand and torso were at first cauterized by the intense heat, but soon, blood pressure and internal abdominal pressure forced fluids and organs to surge out from the wounds.

Previously, even when dealing with those three punks in a rage, Rorschach had done his best to use the most common method for disposing of trash: burial. Out of sight, out of mind. Now, forced to witness the fruits of his victory, the image replayed over and over in his head.

Fortunately, he only blanked out for a moment. Mariano’s last words snapped him back to the urgency of the situation.

Two conflicting emotions warred in Rorschach’s mind. One was resentment at his own rotten luck—trouble always seemed to find him. The other was relief that he had been the one to face the attacker, not Bart.

’I have to find Bart...’ Rorschach had also used [Mage’s Hand] to catch a young man falling from the top floor. A quick check revealed that although the boy had fainted, he was uninjured.

"Hey, wake up!" Bart’s young assistant was shaken awake. He was still groggy, but as he looked around, he immediately scrambled up from the ruins in shock. "The tower? What happened to that enormous Mage Tower?"

"I’m Bart’s friend, Rorschach. The Mage Tower was attacked. Quick, take me to Bart!"

The young assistant was still in shock. Rorschach had to shake him hard a couple of times. It was only when the boy saw the wounded Mariano that he finally grasped the severity of the situation and began to lead the way.

’Wertz Palace?’ Although Rorschach had guessed as much, it still presented a problem. It meant crossing half the city, which would be difficult with a wounded man in tow.

"You... you don’t know a spell like the [Teleportation Technique]?" the young assistant asked hesitantly, noticing Rorschach was still standing among the ruins. But the ferocity of the battle hadn’t yet faded from Rorschach, and after receiving a single glare, the boy quickly added, "Just... pretend I never said that."

’Way to touch a raw nerve...’ Rorschach thought, annoyed. He decided to head for the closer Guild. A hospital was out of the question... Mariano’s injuries were far beyond what current medicine could handle. Clearly, Magic offered him a much better chance of survival.

Just as he made up his mind and prepared to leave, a carriage pulled by two pure-white stallions arrived. The window opened a crack, and the lady inside gazed at the wreckage. "Am I too late?" she asked.

"No, you’re right on time!"

Mage Elizabeth Ouyeni knew Rorschach had left her carriage to visit the Town Mage Tower. When the tallest structure in the city suddenly collapsed moments ago, it had caught her attention, and she had immediately driven back to check on the situation.

Rorschach himself was uninjured, but he had acquired a gravely wounded Mage and a disoriented young boy (by her standards). The residents near the Mage Tower had been terrified by the commotion, but Elizabeth cast a spell, and a Barrier enveloped the ruins. Ordinary people were also mentally repelled, driven away from the area.

Ouyeni carefully examined Mariano’s wound. A blue light shimmered over the injury, pulsing in time with the faint rise and fall of his chest. "Even a Healing Scroll and a Potion couldn’t have done any better than this."

After making her assessment, she had Rorschach lay Mariano across the length of the seat. As Rorschach got into the carriage, he suddenly thought of something and hurried back to the ruins.

He clawed away at the bricks and stone. The thick, metallic tang of blood assaulted his nostrils. After confirming that the mangled flesh between the stones was lifeless, he fought back his nausea and retrieved the attacker’s weapon.

The Curved Saber was still intact, gripped tightly in the corpse’s right hand. If it had been a moment later, it would have struck Rorschach, dealing him the same fate as Mariano. Luckily, not much time had passed, so rigor mortis hadn’t set in. He easily commanded his [Mage’s Hand] to retrieve the Enchanted Curved Saber.

"Let’s go. To Wertz Palace."

...

"Lord Bart, you must move like so. Please, follow my steps." Bart was currently quite irritated. His dance instructor was an old man giving him a crash course for the wedding’s opening dance. Whenever Bart missed a step, the old man’s pointy leather shoes would unceremoniously stomp on his foot. 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝐰𝚎𝕓𝐧𝚘𝘃𝗲𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝕞

’If only Amelia could be my teacher,’ he thought. But alas, she had other matters to attend to.

"Young Master Bart! Something’s happened! Young Master Bart! Your tower is gone!" The young assistant sprinted down the castle corridor and into the ballroom. The servants of Wertz Palace all recognized the young boy. He was shouting as he ran, yet he still remembered to call out "Excuse me!" as he passed by.

"Huh?" Bart looked shocked, but it was quickly followed by a wave of elation. ’Something happened! That means no more dance practice and no more getting my feet stomped on by the old man!’ Then reality set in. "What did you say?"

"Lord Rorschach and the Mage from the Tower of Secret Techniques are in the side hall. You should go quickly!"

Servants had cleaned Mariano’s body, and he was now lying on a bed in one of the palace guest rooms. Rorschach and Mage Elizabeth had relocated there as well, since the unconscious man was currently the only one who held any clues.

"Rorschach, are you okay?" Bart shoved the door open and barged in. He stopped when he saw an exquisitely dressed female Mage in black, her face covered by a veil. ’She must be the representative from the Tower of Secret Techniques,’ he thought. ’Why is she with Rorschach?’

The veil was something Elizabeth had insisted on wearing before entering the palace.

Rorschach recounted what had happened, while the young assistant’s description was much vaguer. "He was hit with a Charm Skill," Mage Elizabeth concluded, referring to the boy.

Before Rorschach could explain how the Mage Tower had collapsed, Bart jumped in indignantly. "It looks like that Half-Elf assassin failed her objective and decided to destroy my tower to bury all the evidence! Was she strapped with a bomb? Only explosives made by the Dwarves would have that kind of power. That could be a clue..."

’You’ve got quite an imagination!’ Rorschach thought. But he couldn’t mislead his friend at a time like this, so he confessed. "I’m the one who brought the tower down. During my final exchange with the enemy... um, the power and scope of the attack hit the building."

"Huh?"

"I couldn’t help it! Your tower didn’t even have a proper Protective Array!"

"What do you expect with a budget that small!"

Seeing the two of them getting sidetracked, Elizabeth quickly pointed out the crucial issue. "Rorschach said that before this man fell unconscious, he warned that you are in danger. We need to gather more information as quickly as possible."

Mariano’s personal effects, including his Storage Bag, had been set aside when the servants were cleaning him. With a wave of her hand, the seal on the Storage Bag shattered, and it opened without resistance.

"Mariano Gonzalez. Naturalized into the Empire twelve years ago. A Tier Three Mage... He’s a traveling examiner for Town Mages?" Bart was stunned as he read the identification papers. An examiner had nearly died in his jurisdiction... The very thought made him break out in a cold sweat.

The Storage Bag also contained documents locked with Magic. Mage Elizabeth Ouyeni held the files, which were covered in distorted script and a flowing Spiritual Light. With a simple touch of her finger, the text became readable.

’Was that encryption made of wet paper?’ Rorschach thought, amazed at how easily Ouyeni had dealt with it. He picked up a sheet himself. Through his [Arcane Vision], he could see distinct Magic Nodes on the scroll.

"If you break one of those nodes, the document will self-destruct," Elizabeth said, stopping Rorschach from trying anything foolish. She then decrypted the final document herself.

The key item was a handwritten list. Rorschach saw "Mariano Gonzalez" at a glance. He didn’t recognize any of the names above his; they were all crossed out.

The last line bore his friend’s name, and a closer look revealed the ink was fresh.

"This was my predecessor in Wertzburg. As far as I know, he died in an accident—fell into the water while drunk!" Bart said, pointing to "Finn Miller" near the middle of the crossed-out names.

The other documents appeared to be files Mariano had personally compiled, using his authority to pull personnel data. They recorded each Mage’s date and place of birth, Ring Tier, known Magic, and assigned post.

For every Mage on the list, living or dead, Mariano had circled their place of birth. All of them were from the southern provinces or states of the Empire!

Mariano himself was from even farther south, from beyond the Holy Kingdom.