Chapter 102: Discovery

Muses had already reached the standard required to advance to a formal wizard, yet no suitable opportunity had presented itself. Muses had no idea how much time it would actually take to achieve that elevation.

"If it truly cannot be helped, then I shall wait until I meet Gregale and question him properly!" Muses reasoned that caution was wiser; after all, there was only one life, and who could say whether he would be granted another chance at rebirth after death?

The distance to the Yarkri Continent grew steadily smaller, and Vili's inquiries about Muses grew more frequent.

"I have no intention of joining any faction for the time being," Muses declared plainly, "so we shall part ways once we reach Yarkri."

"I see," Vili murmured, comprehending Muses's meaning even as disappointment tugged at his heart. He neither pressed further nor dared to do so.

"Here, take this," Muses said, offering the potion he had refined earlier. At first he had considered giving Vili the explosive potion, yet he kept only one bottle himself; besides, few people knew of its existence, so he decided to retain it as a hidden safeguard, a surprise weapon for any unforeseen danger.

"What is this?" Vili accepted the test tube with a trembling hand, instantly recognizing that its contents were extraordinary.

"A life-saving safeguard. Take it," Muses replied. He had spent these two months quite comfortably aboard the vessel, and Vili had shown him genuine care, extracting many details about the Yarkri Continent from his lips. This potion might truly serve as a ticket home.

"Thank you, sir," Vili exclaimed in astonishment, immediately tucking the vial close against his body; only items meant to preserve life could be kept so near.

"Sir, we shall arrive at Yarkri tomorrow," Vili added after securing the potion, addressing Muses directly.

"So soon?" Muses, who had spent the entire voyage in meditation, found the two months aboard surprisingly fleeting.

"Already two months have passed," Vili observed from the side, bewildered by the ways of wizards.

"Indeed," Muses sighed softly.

The Shadow Ring's situation deteriorated rapidly; numerous wizard organizations began testing its defenses.

"Muses Bruk has not yet returned?" Within a dim chamber, a woman knelt on the floor, listening intently to a man's words.

"Not yet, not yet," her voice trembled with fear.

"Did you not say he would sign a contract with the Shadow Ring? The Ring is on the verge of open conflict with other organizations, and you must know the invaluable role a potion maker like him could play in wartime." The man’s tone grew sharp with rising anger.

"Give him a little more time. Perhaps he will return within days." The woman who knelt before him was none other than Amy, the very apprentice Muses had met upon leaving the Shadow Ring.

Word of the impending war between the Shadow Ring and rival factions had spread. The organization recalled every apprentice from the academy, yet Muses remained absent.

Amy sensed the irregularity and questioned Billy and Lindsay. Both replied that Muses had been dispatched on a mission. At those words, a flicker of hope stirred within her; she believed he would not deceive her. Moreover, the conflict remained closely guarded, even the allied families possessing only vague preparations rather than precise intelligence.

Burning with impatience, Amy hurried to the mission hall. Though the academy normally kept such tasks confidential, Amy’s special status compelled them to disclose the truth: Muses had indeed been sent out, yet alone.

This recollection struck Amy like lightning. Only moments earlier she had heard him claim he would undertake the task with another. Now she realized she had been deceived.

Yet the Shadow Ring treasured Muses as a genius, and with war imminent, his talents as a potion maker could not be ignored. Amy realized she could not contain the secret herself and therefore steeled herself to confess everything to her father, the dean.

"Return? Do you truly believe that? Haven’t you been investigating the Shadow Ring these past days?" Alber’s gaze was glacial as he regarded his daughter. Had the figure before him not been his own blood, he would have subjected her to the torment of a soul slowly consumed by fire.

"Father, I…," Amy’s body shook uncontrollably; she knew her father’s methods all too well.

"I will find and retrieve him!" Her voice quivered as hatred for Muses burned within her heart.

"Retrieve him? On what grounds? Muses has already dissolved his contract with the Shadow Ring."

"Impossible!" Before Alber could finish, Amy cried out in disbelief. She could not accept that the seemingly timid junior possessed the power to sever such a binding.

"Impossible? I shall enlighten you now: the Shadow Ring’s contract with Muses has indeed been severed. Even searching for him now would prove futile." Alber’s fury rose. He had once believed he had ensnared a prodigy; when Muses requested to examine the Level One Defense Spell Template, he had readily agreed. He never imagined he would be outmaneuvered by the very apprentice he had recruited.

The realization struck Alber like a slap across the face after nearly two centuries of life.

"Was the infiltrator last time also…?" Amy recalled recent disturbances within the Shadow Ring upon hearing her father’s words.

"Without a doubt," Alber replied, already considering how best to punish his daughter.

"Yet the infiltrator was at least a formal wizard. If the intruder was merely delivering news about the Shadow Ring, why would Muses still propose to view the Level One Defense Spell Template?" Amy lifted her gaze only to meet Alber’s eyes, then quickly lowered it again in terror.

"Precisely. That is what troubles me," Alber admitted, though he still resented her for her bluntness.

"Then how shall we deal with Muses?" Amy now longed to end his life herself.

"We will address that matter later. The Shadow Ring faces war, and the Moonlight Garden has already offered assistance. Set Muses aside for now and first resolve the pressing concerns at hand."

"Yes, Father." Amy knelt submissively, aware that her father would postpone judgment on Muses’s fate yet would never delay action regarding her own transgressions. Sure enough, Alber advanced toward her step by step.

Alber gazed down at his kneeling daughter, his expression cold as ice.

"Afraid, Amy?" He placed his hand upon her cheek, studying the delicate features so like her mother’s.

"No… no." Amy whispered, yet her quivering body betrayed her.

"You lie to me," Alber declared, seizing her throat with sudden force.

"I… Father…," Amy could not speak, her eyes pleading for mercy.

"Spare… spare me…," Her vision blurred; for the first time she felt death hovering mere inches away.

"I do not wish such pain to befall you." Alber softened his grip, recognizing her as his own daughter.

"Huff… huff… cough… cough…" Amy gasped desperately, terror etched in every line of her face.

"From this day forward, the Shadow Ring’s third-level wizard apprentices shall be under your command. Any further error, and it will not end with mere punishment," Alber said coldly, leaving Amy sprawled upon the floor.

"Um… um…," Unable to utter a word, Amy could only nod frantically.

"Good," Alber remarked with satisfaction, then crouched once more.

Amy tried to scramble away, yet her limbs refused to obey.

"Rest assured, you are my daughter and I will not let you die," Alber murmured, stroking her hair with gentle affection while smiling down upon her.

But Amy dared not meet his gaze; she had felt the true killing intent in her father’s eyes. Had she and her mother not borne an uncanny resemblance, she might have perished on the spot.