This wizard only wishes to be a teacher

Lucien halted his steps, quickly summoned his spiritual power to construct a model of witchcraft, and got ready to act at a moment’s notice.

Yaa yaa yaa...

It was at this moment that a group of bats fluttered their wings and flew out from the darkness ahead. Upon seeing these bats, the Earl visibly breathed a sigh of relief and slightly lowered the short spear he held in his hand.

"It seems his combat system isn’t adept at scouting; otherwise, he wouldn’t mistake these ordinary bats for potential enemies," Lucien glanced at the Earl and mentally assigned him a label.

He, the Earl, and the Paper Judge were temporally aligned out of common interest or shared enemies. In the future, they could just as easily find themselves at odds over different interests or the absence of a common enemy.

Thus, Lucien was also carefully gathering useful information to prepare for any potential falling out that could arise later.

From his observations, it seemed that the Earl’s refinement system leaned more towards close combat. He heavily relied on his short spear for much of his strength, needing this special weapon to fully manifest his combat abilities.

"If it comes to a fight, I must find a way to get control over that short spear. At the very least, I can’t let him use its full power smoothly; otherwise, it will be tough to escape when the time comes," Lucien thought to himself.

Lucien glanced at the Earl leading the way, then moved his gaze to observe the secret passageways hidden within Marquis Mondok’s residence.

The passageway was spacious, its corners smoothed off, and it didn’t take long before they connected to the extensive network of sewers.

"These passageways were not constructed by them, but by the Mondok family a long time ago. They’ve simply stumbled upon what was already here," the Earl seemed to sense the confusion in Lucien and explained with a calm tone as he stepped through puddles, making a crisp sound.

"Where is the altar?" The Paper Judge spoke up, its voice conveying an edge of urgency.

"I don’t know," the Earl replied in a deep voice, "I’ve only been here once before. I’m navigating by memory, but some things along the route seem different from what I had seen before. I don’t recall there being so many obstacles, iron bars..."

"Could you have remembered the wrong path?"

"Impossible, we Hunters can firmly record a route in our minds after just one pass," the Earl cast a sidelong glance at Lucien, snorted softly, and continued walking.

However, they soon reached a turning point where the Earl stopped abruptly, his expression sour.

"This is wrong, it should be clear here," he said, looking at one of the walls and prodding gently with his spear as if trying to find a concealed door.

Lucien immediately used his spiritual power to detect any hidden passages. His power passed through the wall without resistance, but he found no secret passage behind it—only ordinary soil and rocks.

"There’s nothing there," Lucien shook his head. The Earl, after making a small hole in the wall, had no choice but to lower his spear and concede to Lucien’s observation.

"It must be his doing. He linked a ritual site somewhere with this place by ’warping’ space. But now that He has withdrawn that power of distortion, the unstable link here has naturally collapsed, and everything has returned to normal."

"It’s like bending a piece of paper and then punching a hole to connect two regions that weren’t adjacent," the Paper Judge laughed lightly, seemingly indifferent to the situation.

Could the ritual site be within one of the two Demon Nests in the north? But if that was the case, why would there be anomalies in the Mondok family’s residence?

Lucien, hearing the Judge’s words, felt anxious. The Earl’s complexion grew even grimmer. His situation was the worst; any further delay would risk losing control entirely, and he might not be as lucky to escape harm next time.

"Impossible, there is definitely something wrong within the Mondok residence!" the Earl growled.

Lucien did not argue with the Paper Judge’s words, but he wasn’t fully convinced by the explanation either. If what the Judge said were true, then with the distortion gone, the gaze of that being should have vanished, and Earl Sanaxis should have awakened.

But Earl Sanaxis remained dormant, indirectly suggesting that the "unclean" things within the Mondok residence were not yet purged.

"I’m just outlining a possibility," the Paper Judge said flatly.

"Let’s go back, I thought of a place!" exclaimed the Earl angrily, after pounding the wall twice with his hand, then turning to look at Lucien with a ferocious expression, "I remember that my last clear memory was in that direction!"

The Earl moved briskly, no longer paying attention to the startled bats or rats, but quickly heading back towards the entrance.

However, after rounding a corner, Lucien and the rest found themselves face-to-face with two other players.

"It’s you," the tall, thin player leading the others narrowed his eyes upon seeing the Earl, while his companion brandished a chain in readiness for combat.

"Get lost!" The Earl’s eyes burned with anger as he coldly faced the tall, thin player he had fought several times before, "I don’t have time to spar with you right now."

"But I want your short spear," the tall, thin player sneered greedily, eyeing the spear, "I don’t know why you entered the sewer, but since you’re here, you may as well leave your life behind."

As he spoke, his body bizarrely transformed into a puddle of black water and merged into the damp environment of the sewer.

"This is bad," Lucien’s expression turned grim; he understood that he was facing a sudden problem due to the backlash of the ’Feather Pen’, and now, because of "luck," he was involuntarily entangled in the conflict between the Earl and another player!

"Seeking death!" The Earl, unaware of Lucien’s thoughts, raised his spear without hesitation, ready to engage in combat upon seeing the tall, thin player with whom he had deep-seated animosity.

"Hahaha, you can’t win against me here!" The tall, thin player’s voice echoed in the vastness of the sewer, and at his command, the water within began to converge. In a short time, the water at their feet turned into a sticky black substance, completely engulfing Lucien’s lower legs.