The drifting snowflakes slowly settled back onto the ground.
Matthew waved his wand, and the Tree Guardian pulled the massive sword back, leaving behind a long, deep trench in the earth.
There was no movement within the trench. In Matthew's magical perception, the two wizards' magical fluctuations had already fallen into complete silence.
He stepped forward to examine the aftermath. The sight before him made him frown slightly—inside the massive gash, the two wizards' flesh and blood had been completely mixed with the soil and snow.
This was the first time he had used this kind of Transfiguration in real combat. When the transformed object reached such a massive scale, the destructive power seemed far greater than he had anticipated.
Using the Levitation Charm, he sifted through the muddy mixture of blood and snow. Aside from what remained of the two wizards, he only found several warped metal items and a long, black fingertip bone.
"Scourgify."
After cleaning it, the fingertip bone remained pitch-black. It measured about five to six centimeters long and clearly did not resemble a human bone. It emitted distinct magical fluctuations, and Matthew guessed that it was also a magical artifact.
Not far away, he also retrieved the eyeball-shaped magical artifact. This device, which could negate invisibility effects, had not been crushed by the Tree Guardian.
Since this location was not far from Lady Alsa's manor, Matthew estimated they might have already heard the commotion. He began cleaning up the battlefield quickly.
He restored the trees to their original form using Transfiguration, then used a Vanishing Spell to erase traces of the two wizards. Finally, he used the Levitation Charm to overturn the surrounding snow, covering the sword trench.
He had only just left the manor, and Lady Alsa would likely guess he had fought here. These efforts were merely meant to obscure his methods and prevent others from clearly determining his capabilities.
After finishing, Matthew Apparated directly back to his residence.
---
Not long after Matthew left, Lady Alsa and her slightly gray-haired steward arrived at the forest's edge.
The steward took out a circular disc—an artifact capable of detecting magical fluctuations.
After operating it for a moment, he said,
"I cannot detect any magical traces from Mr. Matthew or the ambushers. They should have already left."
Lady Alsa nodded. "Let's take a look."
They quickly located the central area of the battle. The snow there looked different from the surrounding ground—it had clearly been disturbed.
The steward continued operating the disc.
"The snow here carries magical residue. Someone used magic to clean up the battlefield."
Lady Alsa extended her right hand. After a moment, a cluster of green wind gathered in her palm.
She gently lifted her hand, and the wind orb floated upward, transforming into a gust that pushed away the snow on the ground.
Moments later, the long trench Matthew created was revealed.
The steward looked surprised. Creating such a mark was no simple matter. He stepped forward and used the disc to analyze the magical residue within the trench.
"How strange," the steward said.
"The magical fluctuations in this trench aren't very strong. It doesn't seem like it was created directly by magic."
Lady Alsa knelt and pinched the soil within the trench. Even through her gloves, she could feel that the earth inside was far more compacted than the surrounding ground. A guess formed in her mind.
When the steward reached the center of the trench, he suddenly exclaimed,
"Oh? The magical fluctuations here are quite strong. There are traces from two wizards—one is a second-level wizard apprentice, and the other appears to be a third-level wizard apprentice."
"The smell of blood is strongest here," Lady Alsa examined the area carefully.
"The two wizards were likely heavily injured—or killed, at this spot."
After scanning the entire area, the steward concluded:
"Based on the artifact's readings, Mr. Matthew should be a third-level wizard apprentice, and one with strong combat ability. He killed a third-level apprentice and a second-level apprentice in a short period of time."
"So young, yet already a third-level wizard apprentice…" Lady Alsa smiled softly.
"What a promising talent."
---
After returning, Matthew gradually pieced things together.
The time he left the manor was uncertain. Yet the ambushers had waited long after the banquet ended—they were clearly targeting him.
The two attackers were strangers. Based on their behavior, they were most likely hired wizards.
Since arriving in White Stone Town, Matthew had interacted with only a few people. Although he previously had some friction with Link and Anna, they had already reconciled. They had no reason to ambush him.
Therefore, the person who hired the attackers was most likely someone who attended the banquet.
Lady Alsa possessed extraordinary charm—she undoubtedly had many admirers.
Her subtle gestures during the dance, as well as Matthew's private invitation to the garden, would certainly have been noticed by attentive observers.
But would someone truly hire assassins over something like that?
If Lady Alsa were perceptive enough, she should know whether any of her admirers possessed such extreme personalities.
Was she deliberately drawing hostility toward him?
If it was intentional—why?
Was she using others to test his strength?
Matthew had many questions tonight. He didn't know enough about Lady Alsa to draw conclusions.
With insufficient information, he set the matter aside for now and took out his two pieces of loot: the eyeball artifact and the black fingertip bone.
He tested the eyeball first. After injecting magical power, it activated automatically. Its usage was straightforward.
The fingertip bone, however, was more complicated. He tried several methods, but nothing happened.
Finally, Matthew attempted to cast the Runic Magic: Lightning Beam.
He immediately noticed something different.
The guidance phase of forming the runic spell became faster.
Previously, it took 8 seconds to guide the runes into a spell model. With the fingertip bone, it dropped to 6 seconds—a 25% reduction.
He conducted another test and discovered that even placing the bone in his pocket worked. Simply carrying it on his person granted the effect.
After testing the spoils, Matthew took out the gemstone Link had given him. The Mage Armor spell inside had already been consumed, leaving behind a colorless, transparent gem.
He recalled reading in the study that such gems were called Magic Stones. Using Magic Stone Inscription, Runic Magic could be engraved into them for storage.
Additionally, Magic Stones could store magical power.
Matthew circulated his magic and injected it into the stone. The gem gradually darkened, eventually turning deep blue.
Once it reached deep blue, it stopped absorbing magic.
Matthew estimated that this Magic Stone could store roughly the magical power of a first-level wizard apprentice.
He immediately realized its immense potential.
A Magic Stone was essentially a magical battery.
Unfortunately, he did not yet possess the formula to create them. Magic Stones were not natural—they were alchemical products.
After reviewing tonight's gains, Matthew prepared to return to Hogwarts.
He sensed the disc within his mind. The crystal's energy had refilled once more.
Concentrating, the disc spun rapidly in his mind.
In the next instant—
He returned to his dormitory.
His roommates were still sleeping soundly.
Pidan, the owl, remained perched by the window.
No one had noticed that he had ever left.