At the police headquarters.
Walter gloomily exited his meditative seclusion after only less than an hour had passed since he began. The harsh noise reverberating through the town sounded as if all glass in the entire town had shattered at the same time, extremely unpleasant.
He knew without even checking the scroll, Adam and those three younglings had encountered trouble at their destination. It was even big enough to need the military's assistance.
"Jose, you take a dozen Adept Mages with you and go provide reinforcement at the scene. Special time requires special response. Don't worry about the protocol. I will shoulder all responsibilities if any punishment comes from the prefecture later."
He contacted him and telepathically issued the dispatch order.
"... It seems the matter has exploded to an epic proportions. Alright then, I will be on my way."
Jose replied after some hesitation, clearly understanding that the current situation won't allow them to follow standard protocols anymore.
Back at the smuggling den.
Adam chased and sealed any living creatures he saw existing in the long tunnel. His decision to first explore this tunnel to catch Jason was purely a gamble. Now that he hadn't seen any trace of him for so long it was clear that his gamble failed.
"It seems this tunnel exits the town and enters the desolate mountains outside. That place can't be visited alone lest I get caught in some trap."
The entire town was under the protection of the field array both aboveground and underground, forming a closed loop with no crack to pass through. So, it was indeed very thought-provoking how the field array has been damaged by them so silently to achieve this result.
He pondered for a second and decisively turned back but not before a beam of light hit the ceiling, collapsing the passage so no dark mage could sneak behind as he made his way back.
The light rings he sent out on other tunnels had also captured all living beings. Naturally, there was a limit to their reach so it was inevitable that quite a few smugglers and dark mages had managed to escape deep into the tunnel.
"I will block off the passages while the three of you round up all the sealed people and place them in the center of this base. That spot is wide and open enough to temporarily hold them all together. And you!"
Constable Adam pointed at Mayor Jeremiah who slumped on the ground without any movement, his face downcast. It seems he was drowning in despair about his doomed future and his family's inevitable decline.
"Don't resist the arrest. Otherwise your crime will only be compounded. Maybe the King's Judge would give a lighter verdict because of your cooperation."
Along with his words a light ring struck his body successfully detaining him. Jeremiah didn't resist, he knew that what he said was indeed true. In order to reduce his sentence as much as possible he had to behave otherwise it would truly be over for him.
"Follow them to the center and stay put over there."
After saying this sentence Adam left to do his part. Twin sisters were somewhat apprehensive and hesitating so Russell had to step forward and pick him up before dragging him without any politeness.
He didn't want to carry such a large man on his back and rudimentary telekinesis in the Novice Mage realm wasn't strong enough to move weights exceeding hundred pounds. So, he could only be impolite.
As for fearing resentment he had no such concern over a doomed guy!
"Why don't the two of you handle the east and west direction? I will handle the other two alone."
After arriving at the center and throwing the Mayor on the ground Russell pretended to think for a second before "generously" putting extra work on him.
"Really? Thank you! We appreciate it."
"We will treat you to a meal later!"
Both of the sisters agreed with a smile, thinking how thoughtful he was. Russell also breathed a sigh of relief, it was stable now.
The opportunity he had been coveting was finally at reach. Though he now had an open path towards the treasure he instead became more cautious. Nothing is certain until the very last moment. Who knows, maybe Adam was staring at him with some unknown means?
That's why he unhurriedly tended to his assigned task. But not much time was left for him to act so freely. Reinforcements would arrive soon and then more variables would appear.
He started from the south, the direction where the opportunity hid.
Despite warning himself to be cautious he actually had no choice but to risk it. After diligently escorting one batch of the detainees he took a detour and went to a corner of the tunnel. At least it was away from open sight otherwise he truly had to keep looking behind him.
He moved an inconspicuous rock revealing a small lever underneath. Pulling it, a hidden space on the wall revealed itself along with the sound of shifting gears. Because it had a Third Rank mini-field array hidden within it Adam wasn't able to know the true situation with the sweep of his Heart Mirror otherwise…
Russell hurriedly distanced himself before throwing a Strong Gust magic scroll.
Purple mist spewed from the waist height hidden space. It was lethal at a glance. Before it could even spread a foot, a strong gust of wind swept it to the other side of the tunnel.
He had chosen the first batch of the detainees to be escorted out from that direction otherwise an accident might have happened now.
After the trap was cleared, he hurriedly reached inside the space with his hand. Anyone other than him might have hesitated after seeing the first trap but if it was delayed any longer then a self-destruction mechanism would trigger leading to the discoverer returning empty-handed.
The one who set up such a clever mechanism was actually Luka, the smuggler whose death brought him here. It was also one of the treasures that caused his death indirectly.
Russell's hand now held a small cyan box made of mistfill. For long preservation of magical properties or to better retain ether the most commonly used material in the kingdom was mistfill.
He quickly opened the box, his hands trembling from the sheer excitement and anticipation. Upon opening it a yellowish brown mushroom the size of an index finger lay quietly on the inner red cushion. Mysterious light flickered on it from time to time indicating its arcane origin.
"You couldn't use it because you lacked the auxiliary items but for me, that potion could completely serve as replacement. Luka, may your soul reach the afterlife and reincarnate into a blessed being."
After giving a silent blessing to his benefactor he took out the Lesser Epiphany Potion from his hat. Without dilly-dallying he sat in a meditative posture, slightly levitating off the ground, picked the mushroom and ate it.
His body shook wildly, veins bulging throughout and eyes turned bloodshot. A strong dizziness assailed him, making him feel his head was about to explode but because of his mental preparation Russell retained a trace of sanity.
With much difficulty he unscrewed the potion vial and gulped the blue liquid in one go.
Along with this intake, all the anomalies on his body receded slowly. His face became serene and his breathing steady. A cool sensation permeated his entire body before it consciously gathered on his head.
Many errors in his usage of the Turbulent Agility spell became clear and along with it the solution to correct it mysteriously appeared in his mind. When he came to his senses the spell proficiency had unknowingly reached Conjuring-level.
Feeling the cool sensation still largely lingering he took advantage of the time to review his past spells. By the time the effect of the potion had completely dissipated, Airflow Detection and Tailwind Steps had also entered Conjuring-level proficiency.
His transformation wasn't over yet. His brain's brainwaves and the neural network's reception of surrounding information were also undergoing transformation.
At this moment, Russell's thought processing speed had soared by fivefold.
"So this is what it feels like to possess Extraordinary-grade Intellect! As expected of an exotic bounty! The world suddenly became so clear and my mind became noticeably more active."
"Even the ether in the air seems to be slightly more resonant with my Ether Sprout! So, higher intellect grades also have an indirect effect on aptitude? Well, the more you know."
All the transformations only took little over a minute to complete so having encountered no interference he stroked his chin thoughtfully,
"Seeing that I wasn't stopped by a third party after Tipsy Mushroom was exposed then my decision to risk it has paid off big time! Hahaha, from now on I am a mage with High-tier Aptitude and also of Extraordinary-grade Intellect. Both being the second highest qualification!"
"As long as I don't actively reveal it, outsiders would mistake my qualifications as still the same when I first reported for duty. It's better to keep it that way, at least I won't have to face punishment for embezzling seized goods."
Russell was very aware of the consequences of his actions. Without being able to provide a legitimate reason it would be very unwise to ask for better conditions by exposing his mage qualifications so easily.
At that time his transfer to the Flowing Tide Pavilion will not only be blocked but a thorough investigation will definitely be launched to determine the source of his sudden leap in qualifications.
Russell wasn't arrogant enough to think that his small moves could indefinitely remain hidden under the intentional scrutiny of Valiant Mages.
He will definitely be summoned to the prefecture to accept punishment, his career completely over for having been found guilty of embezzlement.
Russell put the cyan box back in its place before pulling the lever again to return the scene to how it was. The mechanism for poisonous purple mist and the clever self-destruction trap was still intact. He couldn't help but give a thumbs up to Luka, his thoughtfulness truly moved him.
An important detail that has to be mentioned was that Russell had put away all existing arcane artifacts on his person back to his hat, with a Third Rank Concealment magic scroll used on it before he took the detour earlier.
In order to not leave behind any footprints he always kept his feet levitating on the air by using the Casting-level Levitation spell.
Even his hands were wearing ordinary gloves to not leave behind any fingerprints. The ordinary gloves actually had the advantage of not leaving behind traces of ether typically observable from wearing an arcane artifact instead. Yes, mundane items were not truly useless as long as one knew its best utilization method.
With so many precautions taken he didn't believe that Adam could discover the clues of someone else visiting this place before him.
Only the clairvoyant sisters may be able to discover something but because he had sent them away to a different direction and the existing traps in that hidden space would later muddy the water Russell remained calm despite his incriminating deeds.
No matter how genius they were, their arcana realm was still only at Novice Mage realm so facing the effect from a Third Rank Concealment magic scroll it would instead be a miracle if those two truly traced it back to him.
Also, Adam has a lot of work to do and many important matters to investigate after this so it was debatable whether he would actually put his full attention on an inconspicuous place like this.
As for mobilizing higher realm clairvoyants after only a small setback it was even more out of the question since at this moment except for the four of them all smugglers and dark mages had either been detained or escaped far into the tunnel.
Surely, he wouldn't be vigilant over what any of the three Novice Mages could pull under his nose. Russell had some grasp on Adam's personality after seeing his performance tonight so his act of taking risks to embezzle was actually well thought-out.
As for what would truly unfold, he could only leave it to fate.