Pharmaceuticals

With limited clues, the group felt somewhat at a loss.

Perisman rubbed his temples, thinking Lizer's speculation did hold some merit: the killer was either one of those visiting warlocks or hiding among the academy's instructors.

He rubbed his hands together, proposing they directly apply for an investigation warrant to check all of them.

Lizer was actually a bit tempted.

The police station might genuinely have some special method to pinpoint the killer directly.

But this was, after all, a place that valued order. Gloria immediately shook her head in refusal.

"Investigating the visiting warlocks could be done under the pretext of a surprise inspection. But investigating the academy isn't that simple. And..."

She pursed her lips, her brow lightly furrowing.

This killer is very cunning!

Judging by his ability to manipulate ghosts to do his bidding, he's definitely someone with both power and brains, not easy to catch.

Lizer didn't have any good ideas for the moment either.

He looked down at his palm, where he had just used exorcism potion to cleanse the lingering ghostly aura.

He suddenly looked up and asked, "If someone is manipulating ghosts, would the caster also leave traces on themselves?"

Gloria was somewhat surprised and took another look at the young man before her.

Only nineteen, having just experienced such a bizarre event, yet he could remain so calm and think so clearly.

His looks were quite pleasing too...

A pity. She had already checked his records:

His spiritual power was too low. With only one year left of his nine-year academy tenure, there simply wasn't enough time for him to step through the door of warlock arts.

What a shame!

She sighed softly in her heart, but still answered verbally:

"Correct. Anything that has happened leaves traces.

In high-level warlock arts, there are many methods to trace the past, even recreate images from that time."

Perisman stroked his chin with a thoughtful expression.

Seeing his guess confirmed, Lizer continued, "Then the caster must have traces on them too.

If we suspect someone, is there any discreet method to detect it?"

Hearing this, Perisman's eyes immediately lit up. He slapped his thigh excitedly, "Right! If we go check people in the academy one by one, that guy will definitely still be carrying the aura of the undead.

This way, we could even catch the killer without needing an investigation warrant!"

Gloria smiled slightly and nodded, but after thinking for a moment, she shook her head again.

"No. There are two problems:

First, if we make such a big show, the killer will definitely hide or flee.

Second, there seems to be some secret hidden behind this murder case.

An open investigation might cause these secrets to vanish completely."

Lizer nodded gently; he had thought of that too.

The other party had strong counter-investigation awareness. Rash action would only alert the enemy.

Gloria looked at Lizer, hesitated for a moment, and finally had Revan fetch another item from the supply room.

A pair of metal glasses with an antique design lay quietly on a velvet pad. Delicate runes were engraved on the silver-gray frame, shimmering with a faint, elusive glow under the light.

The lenses weren't ordinary glass but polished from some unknown crystal, with faintly visible starlight twinkling within.

"This is an Energy Detector," Gloria's voice carried a mysterious cadence.

"It allows you to see forces invisible to ordinary people.

Whether it's residual warlock energy, spiritual force trails, or otherworldly energy fluctuations, they will appear as halos of different colors."

She gently lifted the glasses, her fingertips brushing over the ancient engravings on the temple:

"Crimson represents dangerous magical power, deep blue indicates soul force, and that eerie purplish-black...

often signifies forbidden energy from the abyss."

Seeing Lizer listening attentively, Gloria paused before continuing her explanation:

"It can detect energy and its attributes in the air, with an accuracy as high as 0.05 mana units.

At this precision, if the target is the caster, traces from within the past seven days can be detected."

She then demonstrated how to use it:

The user only needs to tap the frame twice to activate the detection function, usable five times per day.

She handed the glasses to Lizer, saying, "On loan to you for now.

If you break them, the internal compensation price is fifty silver coins!"

Taking the glasses, Lizer couldn't help but grumble inwardly:

Alright, mystery solved. So Perisman's penny-pinching habits were learned from here.

He hesitated, then put on the glasses. The cool touch of the metal made him shiver slightly.

Following Gloria's instructions, he tapped the frame twice. At first, his vision was blurry...

But as he concentrated, the world around him began to transform:

Wisps of silver threads appeared in the air, eerie purple light spots lingered on the walls, and Gloria was enveloped in a layer of brilliant golden light.

Suddenly, a blinding crimson light flashed past the window. Lizer yanked off the glasses, his heart pounding wildly.

The realization that these unseen forces had been lurking within daily life all along filled him with both fear and excitement.

He took a deep breath. In the depths of his consciousness, a prompt from the "Top-Up" system appeared:

[Detected extraordinary item. Consume 1 Energy Point for analysis?]

Lizer stared at the glaring "0" in the top right corner of the interface; the Energy Point bar was completely empty.

Without Energy Points, the two tempting functions, "Analyze" and "Deduce," though seemingly within reach, were separated by an invisible barrier.

He sighed helplessly, but his gaze involuntarily swept over the system's explanation of these two functions again.

「Analyze」:

It can perform deep scans on objects within the scope of cognition, displaying all information in a data-based format.

Even more miraculous, it can convert complex information like knowledge systems and warlock incantations into gentle streams of information,

directly infusing them deep into the brain, bypassing the long and painful learning process.

「Deduce」:

This function is even more formidable.

Based on existing knowledge reserves, it can perform logical deductions according to the user's needs, even deriving entirely new branches of knowledge and solutions.

This was exactly the same as the function of the old "Mozi Chip." The only difference was the need to consume precious Energy Points.

Having learned more specific information about the [Top-Up] ability, Lizer, through the small Energy Detector, understood the real existence of supernatural power in this world.

This filled him with infinite longing for the future, but everything depended on surviving the current death crisis first!

By now, the sky was beginning to lighten...

The police station clearly didn't provide breakfast.

Lizer applied to Gloria to return to school first. Gloria then arranged for Perisman and the others to conduct surprise inspections on those visiting warlocks, demanding that none be missed.

Although her intuition told her it probably wasn't them, professional standards didn't allow for any oversight.

This made Lizer secretly admire her:

This "flower of the police station" was truly not just for show, completely different from that Liu guy back on Blue Star.

Gloria escorted Lizer near the academy. After confirming no one was following, she let him return to school on his own, also reminding him to report promptly via message if he had any news.

Walking through the school gates, Lizer suddenly remembered: Gloria hadn't given him any communication fees! Using this town-level messaging node once cost five copper coins!

He hurriedly ate a free breakfast:

There was milk, honey butter bread baked from fine flour, and several turkey eggs. It was clear that the Crimson Soul Duchy was not only prosperous but also well-governed.

After the meal, he felt rather drowsy and had originally intended to return to the dormitory for a nap.

But then he remembered that he had Professor Snape's Potions class and Professor Mary's Fundamentals of Witchcraft class this morning. Feeling that he shouldn't miss this valuable knowledge, he fought off the sleepiness and walked into the classroom...

Snape stood in the shadow of the lectern, the hem of his black robe sweeping the floor with almost no sound.

He appeared to be around forty. His eyes, deep-set beneath his hood, were like cold pools, with heavy dark circles as if smudged by ink. His gaze swept across the classroom with a viper-like chill...

These were the marks left by years of dealing with forbidden potions.

His fingertips bore faint, barely noticeable purple stains, and a subtle, fluctuating aura of spiritual energy clung to him.

Despite being only a medium-level wizard apprentice, he made the air feel several degrees heavier, as if even the wind outside dared not blow too freely into this potions classroom.

His voice was low and icy, like sandpaper scraping against glass. His fingers tapped lightly on the edge of the lectern...

The green potion in the test tube on the desk suddenly began to swirl eerily, forming a tiny vortex:

"Students, you will graduate in just over a year.

The materials and principles of common potions have largely been taught in previous years.

But I know that the vast majority of you will not become wizards. This knowledge will be of little use to you in the future."

These words pierced everyone's heart like an ice spike. Though they were the truth, they carried his unique brand of pressure.

The Grey Mist Mountain Lower Academy had nine grades, with nineteen to twenty-three classes per grade and roughly fifty students per class.

Out of a thousand students in a grade, only about forty or fifty could pass the advancement exam to become apprentices.

Take Lizer's class, for example. Originally, only two people had any hope:

one was the son of the town's Land Bureau director, the other was the daughter of a major merchant.

Seeing the students' low spirits, Snape suddenly raised his voice:

"But don't lose heart! Today, I'm going to tell you that this knowledge is not useless!

You don't have to be a wizard to brew potions!"

"What?!"

This statement struck all the students like a bolt of lightning. Many flushed with excitement instantly.

They felt as if they had been let in on some enormous secret, sensing a tremendous opportunity laid out before them.

Even the exhausted Lizer was jolted wide awake, his blood seeming to heat up all at once.

Not going back to sleep for this class was absolutely worth it!

Snape was pleased to see everyone so excited.

A teacher's greatest joy is seeing students absorbed in their learning.

Although he knew perfectly well that expecting to learn how to brew a specific potion in a single class was an utter impossibility.