"Master Mentor, who is he?"

While Evan was being beaten to a pulp, a leader among the Scarecrows came up to ask Loren about the situation.

"I don't know either, that's what I need you to investigate. All I know is that he wanted to swindle Ember Radiance from me. You should understand the importance of Ember Radiance."

Hearing this, the Scarecrow swallowed hard. He definitely knew what Ember Radiance was - the entire upper echelons of the Nofica Theocracy knew, and no one didn't want it.

"I only have one bottle of Ember Radiance. It must be given to the one who needs it most, so I can't just hand it out carelessly. That's why I'm so angry."

The Scarecrow understood Loren's meaning. Loren was implying that he really did have a bottle of Ember Radiance, and who it would go to depended on how others performed.

"Take him away! Find out exactly who he is and who sent him!"

Loren's words were like a shot of adrenaline, instantly making him fervent with enthusiasm.

"Alright, I'll leave the rest to you."

Loren patted the Scarecrow on the shoulder and then walked back home.

This Scarecrow was well aware that Ember Radiance would never end up in his own hands, but even if it merely passed through his hands to some important figure, he could still gain plenty of benefits.

"Keep an eye on them. There's no way Evan, an ordinary Mage, could have come up with such a meticulous plan or even have the guts for it. There must be some major force backing him."

After returning home, Loren issued orders to Movila.

"Could it be the Chailros Family, do you think?"

Hearing Movila's speculation, Loren just shook his head:

"I'm not sure. The Nofica Theocracy has no shortage of powerful families, it doesn't necessarily have to be the Chailros Family."

"Yes."

Movila acknowledged, and the crows in the sky followed the Scarecrows who were taking Evan away.

"They entered the dungeon. I can't follow them in..."

"Alright, I'll have to send Gwen then."

After obtaining the Hermit card, Gwen's stealth capabilities had greatly increased. The Hermit could achieve complete invisibility, even standing right next to them to monitor them without issue.

The only drawback was that Gwen could only use one of Loren's abilities at a time. After going invisible, she couldn't use Void-walking, which was a bit inconvenient, but still sufficient.

Under Loren's control, Gwen, who was sitting on the cabinet in Loren's bedroom, stirred. After her face transformed, Gwen draped herself in a black robe and phased through the wall.

Once outside, Gwen activated the Hermit card's effect, vanishing from people's perception.

The Scarecrows hadn't gone far yet, and Gwen managed to follow them.

In the dungeon, the Scarecrows used many brutal interrogation methods. Evan's screams were so loud that even Loren found them irritating.

But by the time Evan's voice went hoarse from screaming, his story remained exactly the same as before, without any variation.

He spoke with such sincerity that even Loren almost believed him.

However, his words didn't earn the Scarecrows' trust. While interrogating Evan, they also sent people to investigate his home.

Movila couldn't enter Evan's house either, so to get more accurate information, Gwen followed along with them to Evan's residence.

But the results caught Loren a bit off guard. As the Scarecrows investigated, they actually ended up confirming everything Evan had said.

The moment the Scarecrows entered the house, they were surrounded by several children who anxiously asked about Evan's condition. They already knew that Evan had been taken away by the Scarecrows, until an older teenager led them away.

"May I ask what business you have at our home?"

The teenager looked defiant, gritting his teeth, clearly resentful that his big brother had been taken away.

But the Scarecrow showed him no courtesy either, directly kicking him over. At this moment, the Scarecrows represented the Church, so Evan's family dared not resist.

Evan's home wasn't large, but it was decorated quite warmly. After entering, Gwen saw a portrait of Evan's deceased father, as well as his mother, who lay sick in bed.

His mother was clearly only in her forties, yet she looked like she was eighty or ninety years old. This detail also matched Evan's description.

The Scarecrows searched Evan's house for a long time without finding any suspicious points. They even looked into Evan's father's records, confirming that he had indeed died while hunting down Witches. The family still kept the rewards the Church had given them before.

Everything, absolutely everything, was confirming that what Evan said was true. Yet even so, Loren's opinion of him didn't change at all.

Witches would never kill innocent victims. Loren firmly believed this. Witches were different from humans.

After learning all this, Loren stopped paying attention to Evan. Let him fend for himself.

Even if his background was clean, Loren still felt there was something wrong with Evan. When he first spoke with Loren, he had been too eager to tell his backstory. His actions were too targeted, making it hard not to be suspicious.

To the point that Loren felt Evan might have been deliberately selected, just to gain Loren's sympathy.

After learning this, Loren shifted his focus back to his own matters, preparing to deal with the visitors coming to see him.

Those who brought gifts were sent away after Loren accepted them. Not long after, Loren finally got Casper.

"Master Mentor..."

Casper, an old man, now stood at Loren's doorstep looking unusually awkward, because he realized that among all those who had visited Loren, he was the only one who hadn't brought a gift.

"Casper, you came to see me about magic beyond the Ninth-tier, didn't you?"

Before Casper could say anything, Loren directly stated his purpose.

Hearing this, Casper's face was filled with shock, but he quickly came to terms with it. Loren's reputation as a Prophet was equally famous; he had predicted countless things already. It wasn't strange for him to know Casper's purpose.

"Yes, Master Mentor. I've come about this problem that has troubled me for many years, hoping to receive your guidance."

"Oh, I don't have time right now. Come find me when I visit the academy.

"For now, I can only tell you that magic beyond the Ninth-tier does exist.

"You're aware that every three tiers represents a qualitative leap, aren't you?"

Casper nodded. This was common knowledge everyone knew. The first to third tiers were low-level magic, then came mid-level and high-level.

"Magic beyond the Ninth-tier is called Super-tier Magic. The gap between Super-tier Magic and ordinary magic can no longer be described by simple tier distinctions.

"Let me put it simply: the difference between Super-tier Magic and ordinary magic is the same as the difference between an Angel and a human."

Hearing this, Casper's entire body trembled. Having lived this long, he had seen an Angel before, and naturally understood how terrifying Angels were.

But just as he was about to ask more questions, Loren had already closed the door.