The four of them were still sitting on the four chairs. As Professor Garcia raised his hand, Miss Jones started recording the events with faster speed.
The profiting professor’s ears had a faint glow as he chanted incantations. Shard saw colorful patches constantly filling his gas-lit living room.
The entire living room was divided in half. The normal part was the eastern side where they sat, while the western side became obscure but gradually clear in the colorful patches.
The suddenly clear western half transformed into a dim, low-ceiling room.
This low-ceiling room was also divided, merging with Shard’s living room. The room was dimly lit. It had a low bed with dirty yellow sheets, a rusty-gear metal typewriter on the desk, and a bookshelf filled with various other reagents.
Among those reagents were numerous human eyeballs of various sizes, and even a small, curled-up, closed-eyed primate corpse, which made Shard very uncomfortable.
The room was very dark, and the old gas lamp above the desk seemed like it would go out any second.
A small, balding middle-aged man in a brown coat, resembling a rat, sat on the chair in front of the desk, twisting his head in shock as he looked at the suddenly appearing living room and the four people.
His face was pocked, and his big red nose was covered with blackheads. His pupils shrank in fear, and the mercury bottle in his left hand was pouring onto the desk.
“I am using a thaumaturgy – Space Separation, Space Fusion, which can only be learned at Eleven Rings.”
Professor Garcia of the Department of History said.
“Tell the truth.”
Professor Sanchez, with a serious expression, pointed to the man in the low-ceilinged half-room. His finger glowed with an ambiguous pink light:
“Who are you?”
The professor asked loudly.
“Peter, the small rodent of [Blood of Mercury].”
Under the light on the professor’s finger, the small man looked dazed. His accent was similar to Professor Garcia’s, indicating they were probably both from Carson Rick before. The mercury bottle in his hand fell onto the desk, and he didn’t even notice.
“What are you doing?”
The professor asked again, and the pink light on his finger grew stronger.
“We lost an important item – a statue of the Old God [Blood Duke Raul], and we are trying to take revenge on the one who stole it using a Secrecy-Level relic, but they are too strong. So, I’ve been using thaumaturgy – [Rat Companion’s Sense of Smell] to find clues.
The alley has a mixed scent, and there was a fight last night. I spent all day searching and found one person who had been there, and he was performing a ritual and was very weak. I am now trying to kill him directly through thaumaturgy – [Mercury Poison Mist].”
Professor Sanchez nodded. Shard looked at the glowing pink finger, feeling a bit dizzy himself. Professor Garcia explained:
“This is an Insight of Enchantment, which wouldn’t work so well usually. It is a result of Professor Sanchez’s rune system and frequent practice, useful when making the unruly young students at the academy tell the truth about their assignments. It’s not easy.”
“Does anyone else know about Hamilton?”
Professor Sanchez pointed to Shard. Under the dazed eyes of Peter the small rodent, he answered slowly, his voice becoming softer, as if speaking to a lover:
“Just me. I haven’t reported yet and wanted to take credit for myself. I’ve never failed with this trick. Even the Silver Eyed have praised my thaumaturgy.”
“Have you killed anyone?”
The professor asked.
“Yes, many. Many thaumaturgies require fresh human organs.”
“Alright then.”
The pink light on Professor Sanchez’s finger went out, followed by a black light erupting from his fingertips, crossing the boundary between the two rooms. Peter the small rodent’s corpse fell to the ground, entering an eternal sleep.
Shard slightly opened his mouth, gaining new respect for the professor’s decisiveness. After a few seconds, he finally thought to say:
“Professor Sanchez, Professor Garcia, thank you for your help.”
This thoroughly resolved the troubles caused by the Old God’s statue for him.
As for the dead man, Shard had no sympathy for him. The person was an evil man who had tried to harm him. He was even relieved that he didn’t have to dirty his hands.
“No need to thank us. If he hadn’t discovered your identity because of my meeting with you today.”
Professor Sanchez said, then signaled Shard to get up:
“Go check his desk for any important documents, but don’t touch anything. During the ritual, we can’t leave our seats; otherwise, the projection will be interrupted unilaterally.”
Shard nodded and got up. Hearing Mia scratching at the door louder, this curious yet timid cat probably wanted to know what was happening outside.
He walked toward the other half of the bisected living room. As his body crossed the middle line into the low-ceilinged room, a stench and decay of poor ventilation hit him.
He crossed from the second floor of 6 Saint Delaun Square to a narrow, cold rental apartment somewhere in Tobesque. Ignoring the row of reagent bottles on the bookshelf, he went straight to the desk.
Besides the pool of mercury on the desk, there were two thaumaturgies’ spellcasting materials for finding clues and pouring mercury. The only document was a typewritten, unfinished one. It was a letter in Carson Rick language, with the end unfinished.
Most of it was Peter the small rodent’s complaints about his troublesome job, the dangers he faced, and Tobesque’s foggy weather.
The last part, though just beginning, mentioned their collaboration with the cultists of the Old God [Lord of the Blood Feast]. [Blood of Mercury] sought some materials from the cultists. Another organization, [School of Blood Spirits], promised to help them but seemed busy with some matters in the New Continent, only sending a Secrecy-Level relic so far, which made the Silver Eyed angry.
Cultists of [Lord of the Blood Feast], [Blood of Mercury], and [School of Blood Spirits], three organizations were involved at once.
Shard remembered this part, returned to his living room, and reported everything word by word. The two professors made no comments, and Professor Garcia canceled the spatial anomaly, letting Shard’s living room return to normal.
Even the mercury mist was gone, making it seem like an illusion, sparing the cautious outsider from worrying about mercury poisoning.
“In any case, Mr. Hamilton, as a One-Ring Warlock, try to avoid such dangerous matters. Where were we?”
For the two professors, what just happened was a trivial matter. Shard was glad to have no hidden dangers and, after noting down the [Lord of the Blood Feast], [School of Blood Spirits], and what he had just seen, he sat up straight on the chair:
“We mentioned two things earlier. Professor Garcia said tonight he would guide me in time-travel practice after discussing everything. The second was about our five-man team.”
Professor Garcia nodded at Shard. Professor Sanchez patted his head:
“Oh, yes, about the five-man team. Someone in your five-man team has a significant problem. One of you, ‘the other me,’ is abnormal, and the academy considers it a major hidden danger.”
Just happy moments ago, Shard’s heart sank, and he turned pale.
