Tarn paced restlessly back and forth in his room, turning back whenever he reached one end and then the other.
He truly never imagined such a thing would happen—the primary person in charge of a School in Apprentice City had gone missing.
Since the founding of Apprentice City, few events of this magnitude had occurred, yet he had encountered such a low-probability event.
The key wasn't Beloli's disappearance itself, but that she had personally promised to put him on the permit list for Modification Surgery.
At the time, after the initial euphoria of this unexpected surprise, Tarn immediately forced himself to calm down.
He knew he had to keep a low profile from then on; otherwise, jealous apprentices might lose their minds and attack him with their lives on the line.
Consequently, he preferred to do nothing at all rather than risk making a mistake, living as if walking on thin ice.
He never left unless absolutely necessary, holing up in his dormitory and avoiding any social activities with other apprentices.
However, during one of his rare trips out to buy food, he heard the terrible news: Beloli was missing.
Although this was a task issued by the School, the mission clearly stated that only by finding those notes would an apprentice gain the chance for surgery instruction.
As for him, it was because he had found Richter's corpse. Beloli thought he deserved a reward for finding the body and decided to grant it to him.
But all of this was just a verbal promise from Beloli. Now that she was missing, he didn't know if there would be any follow-up.
He paced another two laps around the room before finally gathering the courage to go and ask.
He remembered that Mentor Losqi was also there at the time. If he asked, perhaps Losqi would acknowledge his eligibility for surgery instruction.
He stepped out the door and, with a heart full of anxiety, set off toward Mentor Losqi's location.
---
"Enough. Quickly arrange for someone to kill those merchants who delivered the corpses to us and burn their houses. We can't leave any evidence for the School to be held accountable for."
However, the apprentice standing before him didn't seem to agree, arguing:
"I can't arrange it directly. The Investigator would trace my identity, which would still bring trouble to the Modification School."
Losqi frowned. He knew the other party wasn't refusing to cut the Gordian knot out of concern for "bringing trouble," but because he was afraid of being caught by the Investigator and thrown into prison.
"Fine, fine. You handle the arrangements. Just make sure those merchants can't say anything detrimental to our School."
Considering the other party was an apprentice who had ranked in the Assessment, he gave him more leeway.
Besides, he had a mountain of work himself, so he could only leave such matters to the apprentices and reluctantly agree to the other's plan.
Losqi's furrowed brows hadn't relaxed for a single moment today; he was fuming with frustration over a heap of annoying matters.
"What do you want, apprentice?"
Losqi asked with a hint of anger as he watched Tarn enter.
Seeing Losqi's expression, Tarn felt a sinking sensation.
He knew it might be impossible today to get Losqi to acknowledge his eligibility for surgery instruction.
Losqi was very famous among the apprentices, but mostly for his bad reputation. It was the first time the apprentices had seen a Formal Mage handle things so poorly.
Not only would he only help if paid, but he was also incredibly stingy with the standard benefits provided in the regulations. If you didn't offer him something, he wouldn't even give you what you were entitled to.
He was easily one of the most hated people among the apprentices, yet he was also one of the School's administrators. Word was he had been an administrator for a long time before becoming a Formal Mage, and even then, his reputation hadn't been great.
"Mentor, I wanted to ask if you heard Mentor Beloli mention putting me on the instruction list for Modification Surgery?"
A rare smile appeared on Losqi's face today as he said heartlessly:
"Where did you get such an idea? I think you've gone mad wanting this qualification, trying to claim it when you didn't even rank in the Assessment."
"But..."
"There's no such thing. Now get out!"
Tarn felt like he had hit rock bottom. He was in a daze for a moment before he remembered to move his feet.
Suddenly, a soft female voice reached his ears.
"What's going on? Why is it so noisy?"
He noticed the voice came from behind him, but Losqi's unexpected reaction in front of him caught his attention.
Losqi stood up from his chair, his brow relaxing slightly as he said loudly:
"Your Excellency, the Person in Charge, I've finally been waiting for you! We need you to help the Modification School here through this crisis!"
Tarn slowly turned around and saw a woman dressed strangely.
She was tall and didn't wear the typical robes of a mage, but instead a form-fitting outfit that was beige in color.
Her eyes were a beautiful purple, accentuating her flawless face and adding a touch of color.
He wondered if it was just his imagination, but her face was so beautiful it didn't seem like something a human should possess.
Lucy's soft voice rang out again, reminding Tarn of the song of birds in a mountain forest, making him feel very comfortable.
"Apprentice, do you have some business?"
In this situation, Tarn blurted everything out without thinking, speaking with righteous indignation.
Lucy gave a light chuckle and looked at Losqi, asking:
"Losqi, is that the case?"
Losqi's hand unconsciously brushed the table as he replied:
"No... well, it seems there was such a thing, but I had so much on my plate just now that I forgot."
Judging by the vast magical power emanating from her and the badge on her chest, he realized she was the primary person in charge of the northern Ashsoil Province, a mage whose rank was clearly higher than his.
In front of someone with a higher status, he couldn't just brush Tarn off anymore. If Tarn started making a scene, his standing in her eyes would drop.
So, it was better to be generous and let Tarn get what he wanted so he would leave quickly.
Tarn was overjoyed and looked at Lucy with gratitude.
Lucy placed her hand on the door and said:
"Then let it be so. Apprentice, you may go now. We'll discuss your matter later."
Tarn also knew he had to leave now regardless, so he thanked her as he walked out.
"Thank you... Mentor."
Lucy closed the door and looked at Losqi.
Losqi quickly said:
"Your Excellency, you're finally here. That bastard who left our School became an Investigator and is out to get us. If you hadn't come, I can't imagine our School being driven out of Apprentice City like the Edict School."
Lucy's voice was no longer soft as she said coldly:
"That's a minor matter. What really brought me here was Beloli's disappearance. Just tell me about that."
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