Half an hour ago, a young soul was still so vibrant, so lively, chatting and laughing.
Yet in just a moment, it had dissipated, so violently, so suddenly, without any warning, life appearing so fragile in the face of destructive forces.
Muffled sobs trembled in the wind, the cold of Twilight Town adding a chill to this grief, the sorrow seeming to freeze one's very bones, piercing the heart.
Like many other newcomer teams to Twilight Town, Charlie's team was experiencing the cruelty of the real world for the first time, far exceeding the cruelty of Sogo Beach.
"Everyone, don't be too sad, everyone has to die one day. Brother, he just went ahead first, his mental state has been poor lately, extremely tense, now he can finally rest well." As the victim, Davie was the first to comfort the others, though his words sounded a bit strange.
"Davie, are you... alright?"
Davie shook his head silently.
Charlie said in a deep voice, "Any clues? The assailant's gender, height, appearance, clothing, voice, the weapon used, any special abilities, any relevant clues that can help us find the murderer!"
Eileen looked around, seeing Davie in a daze and Qingtong overly grief-stricken, so she said, "That person suddenly appeared behind Colin, and the moment he materialized, the dagger was already stabbed into Big Brother Colin's heart.
He was about the same height as Colin, his voice a bit hoarse, his whole body shrouded in a worn gray robe, wearing leather gloves, so his hands couldn't be seen.
Hmm! I could smell a strong scent of blood and a faint stench of decay, perhaps he is a necromancy combat apprentice.
Oh yes! His dagger was very strange! The tip of the blade split into two, twisting like snake heads, swallowing a drop of fresh blood in one bite! So terrifying!"
As Eileen described, Charlie's chip in his mind was rapidly piecing together a model, and with her continued supplementation, the image became more and more vivid.
Davie added, "The black shadow's first target was me, I sensed it, dashed forward a few steps, and as a result, my brother got hurt!"
Charlie took a deep breath and said solemnly, "That means the Jacob family, the Soren family, has some suspicion! Did that assassin say anything?"
Eileen swallowed, glancing at Davie, and replied, "When we were running away, he shouted, 'You can't escape! All of Charlie's teammates have to die!'"
Hearing this, Charlie froze, then a layer of anger appeared on his face, "Could it be that some necromancy apprentices are still not satisfied? Want to continue playing a cruel killing game?"
Qingtong shook her head, "I don't think so! In the process of your conflict with the necromancy apprentices, the others' performance was not particularly outstanding, like Colin at the time hadn't even arrived yet, it shouldn't have such a deep grudge."
Yes, throughout the whole duel process, the Gossta brothers didn't participate much, so Colin's death was most likely a strike of revenge by an enemy, utilizing the rules of the Ally Pact to weaken his strength and disrupt the team's mission progress.
Thinking about this, the first image that flashed in Charlie's mind was actually Weining, only he could possibly have such hatred towards him!
Prince Weining first, the Soren family second, and some necromancy apprentices third, these are all possible suspects.
Charlie took a deep breath, perhaps he had been wrong all along, in the limited time at the Arcane Circle, he had directly or indirectly provoked so many enemies, bringing enormous survival pressure to the team.
Thinking about this, a strong idea took root in his heart, and once it sprouted, it could no longer be suppressed.
"Big Brother was a fire mage, I think a fiery funeral would be appropriate for him, also giving him a dignified farewell!"
"Okay." Charlie nodded slightly and said solemnly, "But let's wait a bit, I want the teacher to take a look at these wounds."
Davie nodded, "That's good, I also want to catch that b*st*rd! I... want to... chop that scum to pieces myself!"
Charlie took out a package from his spatial ring, carefully putting Colin in, then shouldering it, "Let's go!"
...
Soon, the spoils of Charlie's team's hard work that day were taken to the task platform, exchanged for 124 task points, and an equal amount of apprentice points. Combined with Charlie's previous remaining apprentice points, after paying the teleportation fee, the entire team was brought back to the academy.
Charlie was left with less than 23 points.
Not long after, Charlie appeared in Master Nal's magic tower, summoning the teacher back in the most urgent manner.
Colin's shriveled skeleton was placed in the center of the study, mutilated and hunched, like a decayed mummy of many years.
Seeing this arrangement, Master Nal frowned slightly and asked, "Charlie, what's wrong?"
"Teacher, on our first apprentice task, we were plotted against by others, Colin died tragically, and the soul force of all of us has been weakened..." Charlie then recounted the whole sequence of events.
"Such things have happened?" Nal was a bit angry.
"Teacher, do you recognize that dagger? It's so special, it shouldn't be an ordinary weapon!"
"Indeed, it is not a common tool!" Nal paused for a while, then explained, "It's called the 'Blood Fang', a deadly weapon that came from the Arcane Circle, made from the fang of a peculiar blood-sucking beast.
Looking at the material, this blood-sucking beast is not very powerful, and its fang also has ordinary toughness. As for the craftsmanship, it is very simple, without any technical sophistication, and cannot be called a high-level equipment.
Whether in terms of materials or workmanship, it is a very amateur piece, made by an apprentice blacksmith.
But this apprentice did an amazing thing, he connected a brand new and imperfect composite rune 'Dark Sacrifice' to the natural runes of the fang, resulting in a compound rune that even masters cannot understand, with the ability to extract the essence of life and soul, and feed part of it back to the user.
Due to its single functionality, this dagger was listed as a prohibited item by the academy after its debut, and was sealed away.
However, ten years ago, it disappeared, the process of its disappearance being quite mysterious and bloody, with three guards of the academy warehouse killed in the warehouse, and the Blood Fang vanishing without a trace."
"Was the investigation ever completed?"
Nal shook his head, "Since it disappeared, it has never appeared again, until you brought this news today."
Davie pressed on, "So has the academy cracked the secret of this composite rune, I want to confirm if this dagger is truly one-of-a-kind?"
"Yes! This dagger is a deadly weapon, since its debut, the blacksmith apprentice who created it has died mysteriously, no one knows the genius idea he had, some have tried to reproduce the rune based on their impression, but have never succeeded. By the time the dagger was lost, there was no opportunity to study the rune, and it gradually faded from people's memory."
Charlie asked, "In your opinion, Teacher, who might have gotten the Blood Fang?"
Nal shook his head decisively, "I don't know, this was a mystery even back then, and now after so long, no one knows whose hands it has fallen into."
Charlie was a bit disappointed with this answer, and asked, "What attitude will the academy take towards this assassination?"
Nal looked at Charlie and sighed, "Charlie, I can understand your feelings right now, he was your teammate, and I'm very sorry for his death.
But we also have to follow some of the rules of Twilight Town. If it happened within Twilight Town, the academy could demand that the Inspectorate investigate this matter at all costs.
However, since it happened outside of Twilight Town, it's really hard to define, is this a malicious retaliation incident? Or the consequence of fierce competition? We can't make a judgment based on your word alone, and I'm afraid you can't provide valuable evidence to prove who the murderer is.
So your statement may not receive any response, the academy will remain silent!"
Charlie felt even more disappointed with this answer.
Nal added, "And a key issue is that the Arcane Circle and the Necromancy Division have been on bad terms in recent years, High Mage Sylva of the Necromancy Division has not appeared in the Arcane Circle for a long time, there are rumors that the division has ideas of independence, and the relationship between the academy and the division is now very delicate."
No wonder the apprentices of the main campus and the division would clash, the cold situation at the top level reflected down below, resulting in such a scene.
It also means that Colin's death will not receive any help from the academy, the worst result that Charlie had anticipated.
Charlie questioned, "Then what about our weakened soul force? Isn't this indirectly encouraging murder? The Ally Pact has become a shackle! Then what's the meaning of the team task culture advocated by the academy?"
"That was a well-intentioned lie, the academy has deceived you, there is a way to recover the lost soul force you've suffered."
This was a small comfort in the midst of the sorrow, only that the problem of catching the criminal now fell on their own people.
Seeing the depressed looks of the apprentices, Nal pondered, "The rules are indeed like this, going through the normal process, you cannot get any help from the academy.
But there is room for leniency outside the rules.
Especially for you, Charlie, you have left a good impression in the eyes of the academy's upper echelons, I can help reflect this issue upwards, I can't guarantee the upper echelons will take any measures against the division, but at least I can strive for some benefits for you.
For example: free redemption of the lost soul force, compensation for the round-trip teleportation fees, and so on.
I can even make a certain degree of additional compensation, but not too much, can't set a precedent for such compensation, otherwise the follow-up requests will be endless, after all, it involves real interests."
Charlie nodded, "Thank you, Teacher!"
Nal sighed and patted Charlie's shoulder.
...
Leaving Master Nal's magic tower, no one spoke, the atmosphere was very gloomy, the group walked to a corner of the garden.
"I want to..." Charlie suddenly spoke up, then paused, silent for a while, before voicing a decision he was reluctant to make, "I want to announce a decision!"
The others sensed his unusual demeanor and perked up, listening intently.