"I have a few friends who helped me a great deal when I first started with the Rock Bear Potion."
Malena nodded in approval. Ian hadn't simply abandoned his former partners, a testament to his character that made him a worthy collaborator.
"Here, this is the Fairy Honey Flower Tea from my personal collection. It's good for one's Spiritual Power."
After they finished their business, Malena enthusiastically took out her prized tea leaves, brewed them, and poured a cup for Ian.
"Thank you." Ian raised the cup and took a sip.
The piping hot tea entered his mouth, yet a cool sensation rushed into his mind, jolting his senses. He felt his Spiritual Power slowly increase by a sliver.
Ian closed his eyes to slowly savor the feeling. After a moment, he opened them.
"This is truly excellent tea. Is it also a specialty of the Elf Race?"
Malena nodded lightly. "It was a gift from Wizard Alevia. I'll give you some later, though I don't have much myself!"
Malena seemed a little pained to part with it, which showed just how extraordinary this tea was.
"Thank you, Steward. In that case, I'll graciously accept."
He certainly wouldn't refuse something that could increase his Spiritual Power.
"Don't call me Steward. It makes me feel old. I'm not that much older than you, really. Just call me by my name from now on."
"Alright." Ian readily agreed. He drank his tea for a while longer before returning to his residence with a packet of tea leaves.
...
In the courtyard, an Eye of Vigilance floated in the air above.
Ian had been having a very comfortable few days. He spent his days Refining Magic Potions and practicing Witchcraft, and his nights were filled with Meditation.
He used three Rock Bear Potions to pay off the 800 Magic Stones he owed Malena.
Unfortunately, his peaceful days were shattered by news brought by Kenna and the others.
"What? The higher-ups of the Shadow Society have all disbanded, and the members below have scattered? It's completely over?!"
Ian was stunned. Things had changed so quickly he couldn't process it at first.
"Yes. In just a few short days, the outside has descended into chaos. Fights are breaking out everywhere, and low and mid-level Apprentices don't dare to go out."
Wade was incredibly frustrated. It was chaotic outside, so they didn't dare to take on missions anymore. And they had only just had a few good days. 'It's all the fault of that damn Shadow Society!'
"A friend of mine said that a High Level Apprentice from the Shadow Society named Nolan is desperately searching for someone—Simon, the one you had a conflict with."
Ian sighed inwardly. 'The other shoe has finally dropped!'
The man he had killed didn't have a clear identity at the time, but based on the fact he appeared with Simon, as well as his physical features, it wasn't hard to guess that he must have had close ties to Nolan.
Although Ian could feel the crisis approaching, he didn't panic.
With his current strength and the backing of the Magic Pharmacy, he wasn't someone a High Level Apprentice's organization could just push around.
Still, he would have to reduce his time outside to avoid being ambushed.
As long as he holed up and didn't leave, a High Level Apprentice would never dare to barge into an Official Wizard's Magic Pharmacy to kill someone.
"Wade, can you ask your friends to secretly investigate and gather some general information about Nolan? This is dangerous, so make sure your friends are extremely careful."
After speaking, Ian handed over ten Awakening Potions.
Wade's eyes lit up. He took the potions and nodded in agreement. "Just gathering information is no problem, but it might not be accurate. You should be prepared for that."
He had many friends, but they were mostly at the bottom of the hierarchy. They had the will but not the means to uncover core secrets.
"Mm, just do your best." Ian nodded in understanding, then turned to Kenna.
"Because of me, you had a direct conflict with Simon. You need to be even more careful. Don't go back home. It's best if you leave and lay low for a while."
Ian's suggestion wasn't overly cautious. When High Level Apprentices came to this outer region, some of them acted with extreme brutality, to say nothing of an organization like the Shadow Society.
Ian's advice made Kenna and the others look grave. It also disrupted their original plans.
After Kenna's team left, Ian had intended to start the Purification of the Rock Armor Demon Bear Blood, but he felt agitated and couldn't calm his mind.
He knew that if he didn't handle this crisis well, he could very well end up dead.
This Nolan was no simple character. Wade had said that while fighting over a Magic Potion in some ruins, Nolan had killed no fewer than ten High Level Apprentices.
And as for the methods of a Dark Wizard, Ian had never even heard of most of them, making them difficult to guard against.
Ian paced around his room for a moment, then suddenly grabbed some Potions and rushed out the door.
He went to Kenna's team's lodging in town and told them all to leave and hide, warning them not to leave anything to chance.
If they needed to contact him in an emergency, they should just pass a message to the Magic Pharmacy.
Additionally, Ian wrote an urgent letter home and asked Kenna to mail it.
In the letter, he clearly explained the trouble he was in and told them to make some preparations. His father had been a Count for many years; he would surely make the appropriate arrangements.
Watching Ian's departing figure, Kenna and the others recalled his tense expression and thought about the past methods of the Shadow Society. Their faces changed.
The group quickly discussed it for a moment, then hastily packed their belongings and hurried out of town.
「Ten days later.」
Nolan stood before what was once Ian's house, his face dark and gloomy.
By now, both Ian's house and Kenna's next door had been completely destroyed by Nolan. The scene was a total wreck.
"Reporting to Lord Nolan, there's no sign of anyone having returned to Kenna's house next door for a long time. It seems they've also fled."
A Low Level member of the Shadow Society stood behind Nolan, reporting in a low voice.
"It seems it was them. What audacity, to dare kill my brother."
Nolan's tone was ice-cold. He was indeed pained by his brother's death, but he was more concerned that a formula he had gone to great lengths to find was now lost.
That was a Bloodline Potion formula. He had paid a great price to acquire it from a declining Wizard Clan. After negotiating the price, all he had needed was for Gavin to go and retrieve it.
He had planned to find someone to begin Refining it as soon as he got the formula, to compensate for the shortcomings in his Physique.
During the breakthrough to Official Wizard, one's Life Force would be frantically burned and consumed, converting into Spiritual Power to shatter its upper limit and break through the Realm's barrier.
Many High Level Apprentices with insufficiently robust Physiques failed at this stage. The breakthrough to Official Wizard was do or die!
His foolish brother had always relied on his reputation, even mimicking his own unrestrained arrogance.
But he lacked the ability to back it up. Now he was dead without a trace, and he had ruined his important plans.
'If it hadn't been a critical time for preparing for the ruins, I never would have entrusted this to you, you idiot.'
He had been to the scene of Gavin's death. So much time had passed that not even a bone could be found, only scattered scraps of clothing.
However, there were still faint traces of Witchcraft. Judging by the power, a High Level Apprentice must have been involved, or Witchcraft Tools of corresponding power were used.
He usually acted with such cruelty that he had no idea how many people he'd offended. He investigated many of his rivals with no results, but finally, he tracked the trail here.
He hadn't expected these few little rats to be so unexpectedly vigilant and flee ahead of time.
"Hmph! Can they really escape?"
Nolan stood up and started walking toward Nightfall Town, issuing orders to the subordinate behind him.
"Pass down the order. Post a bounty on the Black Market. Triple the Magic Stone reward for Kenna and his group."
The subordinate shuddered, already mourning them in his heart. He quickly responded, "Yes, sir!"
As it stood, the bounty on Kenna's group had already reached the insane amount of 60 Magic Stones per person.
Since none of them were High Level Apprentices, it was a lucrative and relatively risk-free mission.
"And as for the one called Ian… this all started because of him. I'll deal with him myself."