Chapter 15: Fleecing the Sheep

Leaving the assassination scene, Yu Sheng’an walked about 300 steps along Fire Phoenix Avenue before encountering an inn named ‘Restful Guest’s Haven’. He decided to stay there.

“Bang!”

As soon as the door closed, Yu Sheng’an’s emotionless expression collapsed.

He touched his chest, still shaken, and cursed through gritted teeth, “Damn, that hurt like hell.”

In truth, when the ice blade pierced his chest, he hadn’t felt any pain, just a cold numbness.

The real agony came during those few seconds when he extracted the lifeforce of his contracted creature to heal his body.

Fortunately, his consciousness returned to his body at that moment, allowing him to activate Divine Projection and locate the attacker. Otherwise, the pain would have had him writhing on the ground.

Even so, the pain nearly shattered his will! This world is too dangerous!

How long has it been since my first appearance? Just a few hours?

I’ve been attacked twice already! If I weren’t the God of Contracts, I would have died by now.

And it’s a good thing I have this Divine Projection ‘map hack’ to quickly lock onto the culprit, sending a demon to instantly eliminate them.

Otherwise, not only would I have been tortured, but most importantly, I would have appeared weak in the eyes of the Kewell Empire.

The former might be tolerable since it’s just a projection of the god; I could endure the pain and abandon it if necessary.

But the latter? That, Yu Sheng’an could not accept.

It’s just too shameful! Ultimately, it’s because I’m too weak.

Currently, I can share my contract creature’s lifeforce and even mana through the contract, but I can’t share their attack or defense capabilities.

In other words, I’m like a boss with endless health bars but no offensive or defensive skills, relying only on summoning minions to fight.

That’s just too pathetic! “I really need to learn magic as soon as possible!” Yu Sheng’an exhaled deeply. This is why he’s willing to negotiate with the Kewell Empire.

He has no interest in learning from the wild, unlicensed sources in society.

Don’t talk about how experts come from the grassroots.

If grassroots experts could beat the academy-trained ones, the Kewell Empire would have been overthrown long ago.

‘But who would want to kill me?’

Yu Sheng’an’s eyes flickered with thought.

‘Judging by Dundar’s frantic attitude, there’s a good chance there’s a traitor within.’

‘Which makes sense. No matter where you go, there are always radicals and conservatives. The Kewell Empire, as a magical nation, has always rejected divinity, so it’s not surprising that some people would despise me and refuse to cooperate.’

‘Of course, there’s also another possibility… The Kewell Empire might have already been infiltrated by other deities, deliberately trying to sow discord.’

The more Yu Sheng’an thought about this possibility, the wider his eyes became.

He instinctively wanted to withdraw his projection, but then hesitated and abandoned the idea.

Since this Divine Projection has already been exposed, why not use it as bait to lure out potential threats in Willis City?

After making up his mind, Yu Sheng’an changed out of his tattered clothes and lay down on the soft couch, pretending to sleep while deep in thought. Several shadow demons silently appeared, merging into the shadows to loyally guard their master.

At the same time, Yu Sheng’an’s consciousness returned to his body, and, using the surrounding users, he activated Divine Projection to search once again.

Now Yu Sheng’an was increasingly grateful for being from Blue Star and his knowledge of the ‘Internet’.

Otherwise, following the conventional deity methods of merely spreading information-based divine magic, how could I have so many ‘eyes’ providing vision?

Being a platform owner really has its perks! Using his avatar as the center, Yu Sheng’an scanned outward bit by bit. To his surprise, instead of finding any threats, he was infuriated by several users’ behavior.

……

……

Sixteen-year-old Pus felt that he’d been quite lucky lately.

Growing up in the slums, where he lived with his mother, he never dared to dream that one day he could study magic.

The kind of magic that lets you control flames, ice blades, lightning, light, darkness, and even challenge the gods! So despite being wary of deceit, when that shady fellow told him that for just ten Kewell copper coins he could attend a meditation trial class, Pus gritted his teeth and followed him in.

That day, in a dark, damp basement packed with other boys, Pus saw a noble magician! He wore a purple robe, his expression stern as flames danced in his hand, not harming him in the slightest.

That mysterious scene completely captivated Pus.

He studied fervently.

To his amazement, everything they taught turned out to be real!

He actually managed to cultivate soul power, weak though it was, only capable of moving a single leaf, but it was enough to make Pus tremble with excitement.

However, the fees for the subsequent magic courses increased, especially for practical Magic Seal lessons, which cost as much as a Kewell silver coin per session.

Still, Pus gritted his teeth and decided to spend all his savings to continue his studies.

On that evening, a group of boys and girls from the slums gathered with excitement and anticipation as they entered the shabby, dilapidated basement.

Before stepping into the basement, they were blacksmith apprentices, thieves, laborers, and gang members…

But after entering the basement, even the handsiest thief quieted down, as they now saw themselves as magic apprentices!

They looked up eagerly at the purple-robed man sitting up high.

Sitting cross-legged on a wooden platform, a faint light flickered before him. If one were at the same height, they would notice that a Phantom Scroll was unfurled in front of him.

“I’m glad you all came back. You should know that privately spreading magic knowledge is illegal, but I can’t bear to see you struggle in the mud your whole life, so I came. This will be my last lesson, so I hope you cherish it!”

The basement filled with voices of reluctance and pleas for him to stay.

The purple-robed magician remained unmoved and began his lecture straight away.

Behind him, two young men kept an eye on the Internet social network, ready to receive a warning message from their lookout companion at any moment. They whispered to each other, “Are we really leaving? It’s such a shame to leave after gathering so many people.”

“As much as I hate to, we have to leave! More and more people in the city are becoming aware of Internet Divine Magic, and if we stay, we might be exposed as early as tomorrow. We should head to a smaller city while we still can and make a quick profit.”

“Besides, we’ve already squeezed these poor suckers dry, there’s hardly anything left to take!”

“You’re right. So, where to next? How about Carden Harbor?”

As the two whispered among themselves, the purple-robed magician on the platform finished his lecture.

Or rather, he simply read the Magic Seal content verbatim.

“Alright, that’s it for today’s lesson!”

“What?”

The boys were in an uproar.

They remembered how he had previously lectured at length on the basics of magic. Why was today’s lesson so short?

“Respected magician, is that all? I-I didn’t even understand it yet!”

“Me neither!”

“What does the six-pointed star mean?”

The boys began to panic.

“Quiet!” The purple-robed man shouted, a ferocious blaze bursting from his hand.

Under the intense firelight, the boys fell silent, their eyes full of awe.

“Magic is a power comparable to the gods! If it were so easy to learn, would it still be magic, would it still have its noble status?”

The purple-robed magician rebuked them.

The boys exchanged glances, realizing that what he said seemed to make sense.

“It’s not that I won’t teach you, but that these things can only be understood through your own efforts! The city’s searches are becoming more intense, so I have to leave. However, I’ve written some magic books. If you’re interested, you can purchase them.”

After he finished speaking, the two young men who had been lurking behind the platform emerged with numerous small booklets in hand.

“One silver coin each, limited quantity, first come, first served!” one of them shouted.

The boys’ eyes instantly lit up.

Those with some money quickly rushed forward, shouting, “Give me one!”

“I want one too!”

“Stop pushing!”

Those who didn’t have enough money looked on with envy and frustration as the others rushed forward to buy the books.

Pus was among those without enough money, but he quickly thought of a solution. He urgently called out to the others, “I’ve got eleven copper coins left. Who wants to chip in so we can buy one together?”

“Me! Me!”

“I only have three copper coins left. Can I join?”

The other boys’ eyes lit up, and they quickly gathered around.

They soon pooled together enough for a silver coin and purchased a handwritten copy. When Pus opened the book in front of his friends and looked at the contents, his whole body trembled with excitement.

“Alright, boys, good luck to you all. I’m leaving now! Remember, keep a low profile. Don’t let anyone know you’re magic apprentices.” The purple-robed magician smiled as he looked at the sold-out booklets.

Even though the boys were broke, they still felt a sense of loss.

Because they knew that the magic knowledge they had gained was priceless compared to the money they had spent. “Teacher Raymond, we’ll remember you.”

“Thank you, Teacher Raymond!”

The boys all shouted, their voices overlapping.

The purple-robed magician laughed heartily, then left with his companions through the back door.

The boys stood there for a long time, reluctant to leave. Their melancholy stirred emotions, causing some of them to mist up and shed tears.

Perhaps… it was their sincerity that moved the purple-robed magician.

Suddenly, the magician and his companions came back through the back door.

“Teacher Raymond?”

“Teacher Raymond, you… aren’t leaving after all?”

The boys’ voices were filled with joy, but in the next moment, their joy froze.

Emerging from the same back door was a demon with horns on its head, skin an ashen purple, and its body covered with sinister Magic Seals. “Ahhhh—”

The boys screamed in terror and instinctively ran toward the front door.

But at the front door, a young man walked in leisurely with a hunched demon following him, wings sprouting from its back.