Wizard: I Add Points and Hunt Monsters

”Mm. Just be careful.”

Wei’en nodded. He watched the pedestrians outside the carriage—they seemed normal, talking and laughing—but he couldn’t help but feel the city-state was too quiet today.

’Wasn’t the incident at the factory yesterday published in the newspapers?’

”We’ve arrived at your destination, Mr. Investigator.” The driver directed the pony to slow down, stopping steadily at the entrance to the Secret Investigation Department. ”Thank you again for your warning,” he said respectfully.

”Don’t mention it.”

Wei’en took out two 1-shilling coins and placed them in the box at the driver’s side. ”Hope to see you again,” he said.

”Same here.”

Wei’en gave him a nod, then led Tina into the Secret Investigation Department and walked straight to knock on Minister Yegor’s office door.

”Come in.”

Wei’en pushed the door open and went inside. Yegor was at his desk, signing a piece of parchment with a quill, his name rendered in an exceptionally beautiful script. It was hard to imagine that such a burly man could possess such elegant handwriting.

”Hm? Did Lisi have something she needed you to tell me?”

Seeing them enter, Yegor guessed there was another development with the City-State Array. The hideous scar on his face twitched involuntarily.

”Yes, Minister.”

Wei’en briefly recounted what Professor Lin Qiaoya had said, then placed the list of suspicious individuals on the desk. ”The Captain hopes to get a response on this as soon as possible.”

”The Rune Array was altered? Ah, I see.”

Yegor frowned in thought before pointing to the parchment. ”Take the list back. You and Marco can start the investigation.”

”But Captain Lisi is still waiting for a response, and the Array...”

”Don’t worry about the Array. The higher-ups will conduct an assessment.” Yegor waved his hand dismissively. ”Go on, get to your work.”

Wei’en hesitated. He wanted to warn Yegor that someone was secretly monitoring the Array, and to mention the matter of the Desire Sect’s corruption of it, but he held his tongue.

Besides, he couldn’t think of a suitable justification for revealing these findings.

’But since Yegor said so, the Secret Investigation Department must be aware of the urgency of this matter. Or maybe they already know who’s pulling the strings?’

With that thought, Wei’en picked up the parchment and led Tina out of the office.

When he pushed open the door to one of the department offices, he saw Marco and Lydia flipping through old case files.

Judging by the looks of mutual disdain on their faces, they must have just had a ”friendly” chat.

”Wei’en, you’re back. Where are Lisi and the others?”

”Something came up.”

Wei’en walked over and explained Yegor’s arrangements, pointing at two names on the parchment. ”One is a student at Caster Public School, and the other is a professor at the Church School.”

”You take the student. I’ll take Lydia to find the professor.”

Marco had Lydia write down the professor’s information. ”How are things on the Captain’s side?”

”They made some discoveries. The runes for detecting Bone-Eating Worms have been altered, and some of the rune nodes haven’t been activated.”

”That serious? Looks like the Captain’s guess yesterday was right.”

”Yeah,” Wei’en nodded. ”The situation is a bit worse than we expected.”

”Then let’s get going. We should try to report our findings before the end of the day. It would save a lot of trouble if we could find the person who tampered with it.”

With that, Wei’en and Tina left the Secret Investigation Department with Marco and the others.

At the entrance, the four of them split up, heading in different directions.

The young runology scholar was named William Fries. A former student of Professor Lin Qiaoya, he had recently graduated from Caster Public School and lived alone at 21 Ruer District...

Wei’en looked at the file in his hand. The west side of the Ruer District—it wasn’t far.

...

...

「At the same time, in Nocturnal City.」

”It seems a lot of people have arrived next door.” Mitra sat at her desk, clad in a sheer dress that offered tantalizing glimpses of the beautiful form beneath.

”I already know.”

A voice, tinged with a magnetic quality, spoke. Yet, besides Mitra, the room was empty.

”Should I pause the totem’s erosion?”

”Hm? You haven’t stopped it yet?”

Mitra’s lips curled upwards. ”Without your command,” she said with a charming smile, ”I wouldn’t dare act on my own.”

”...Please, stop it at once. Although Shadi is keeping an eye on things, it’s best if we aren’t discovered. It’ll save him the trouble of having to clean up again.”

”As you wish, my dear Lord.”

”Mitra.”

The owner of that voice was not pleased by her reverence. ”I hope you won’t do anything unnecessary,” he said, his tone laced with a subtle threat.

”My Lord, you worry too much.”

”Hmph. After those people leave, I will tell you what to do next.”

”Everything will be according to your will.”

!

When Mitra saw that he had gone, she extended a hand and beckoned with a finger. A statue, half the height of a person, materialized before her.

The statue was the terrifying form of a spider. Six thick, barbed legs supported its massive body.

An abdomen resembling that of a bee dragged along the bottom, and several smaller spiders were emerging from it, as if freshly born.

The statue’s upper half was humanoid, but it was formed from countless twisted tentacles coiled all the way up to its neck.

Its face bore four mouths, one set inside the other, giving the impression of several layered chins.

But its eyes were exceptionally bewitching, as if the top half of the most beautiful maiden’s head had been grafted onto the creature. Long, lovely hair cascaded down to its rear...

Mitra stared at the statue before her and unconsciously curled her lip. No matter how many times she looked at it, she still found its appearance truly hideous.