Chapter 30: Lake Center

The Doll Magecraft Society.

From a distance, Li Xiang saw a little girl playing video games, sitting at her usual quiet stall.

"Is she Elena Fleming?" Li Xiang asked in disbelief.

"You know her?" Louis nodded and introduced her, "Don't underestimate her. She's fifteen years old, a fourth-rank thaumaturgist, and a genius in the Department of Archaeology."

"Department of Archaeology?" Li Xiang couldn't connect the little girl with those scholarly types.

Louis understood what he was thinking and chuckled, "The Department of Archaeology isn't what you might think. You'll understand once you've had more exposure."

As they approached without hiding their presence, Elena looked up. The smile on her face vanished instantly, and she sighed as she turned off her handheld console.

"Louis, what is it this time?" she asked.

"Captain's orders. You, me, and Li Xiang are to form a search team. The location is Mistil Garden."

"Mistil Garden?" Elena's delicate eyebrows furrowed slightly as she asked, "Did something happen to the ley line?"

Louis gave her a thumbs-up and praised, "Elena, your insight is as sharp as ever. Simply put, someone is tampering with the ley line."

"To think someone could mess with the ley line of the General Fundamentals Department without Lord Trambelio noticing. That's impressive."

Elena jumped down from her chair, made a quick swipe in the air, and a blue trace, like an electronic network, appeared. She tossed her handheld console into it and grabbed the dolls on her stall, stuffing them all inside.

"Imaginary Numbers Magecraft?"

Li Xiang took a deep breath. It was incredibly rare to encounter a mage with the Imaginary Numbers attribute. The only other one he knew of was Sakura Matou, who had her attribute changed to Water due to the Matou family's Insect Magecraft.

"You're quite knowledgeable, junior."

Elena clapped her hands and said, "Alright, I'm done packing. Let's get on with the mission."

Mistil was another name for the General Fundamentals Department. The name Mistil Garden was straightforward and easy to understand. It was located on the east side of the Clock Tower, occupying a vast area.

At its center was a man-made lake shaped like a peanut. In the middle was a small garden connected to the east and west shores by a wooden bridge.

The innermost circle by the lake was lined with willow trees, followed by rows of orchids and tulips. Further up were gentle slopes covered with shrubs like roses and azaleas.

The three of them sat on the slope, taking in the scenic view of the garden.

"Based on the images from the time-magecraft reversal, Flynn was in this area. He was controlled just as he stepped into the shrubbery."

Li Xiang, deep in thought, pinched some grass and said, "This isn't a good spot. The view is too open, so the person likely acted on a whim."

"Even if the view is open, that person's rank is high. Wouldn't it be easy for them to use magecraft to block the line of sight?" Louis asked.

"Like you said, that kind of magecraft only deceives vision. If this were a normal day, students from the General Fundamentals Department frequently pass through here, and someone would eventually trigger it. But this week, with the orientation events for student clubs, the foot traffic here is minimal, especially among the first-year students from the General Fundamentals Department."

Elena rolled up her sleeves, revealing her pale hands. She pointed one hand toward the lake's center and the other toward the Clock Tower, continuing, "I remember that the main ley line for the General Fundamentals Department starts at the Clock Tower and ends in the lake's center, where it branches off into smaller ley lines. If I were that person and wanted to mess with the ley line, the Clock Tower would be out of the question. The only option would be the lake's center, and only during this week. So, I agree with the junior that it was a spur-of-the-moment decision."

"Ley lines are pathways for the flow of natural magic energy in the world, with limited uses. What could that person want with the ley line?"

Louis asked again, content with his role as the inquisitor.

The first thing that came to Li Xiang's mind was the Holy Grail War. The Holy Grail War in Fuyuki City was a large-scale magic ritual that relied on the ley lines.

The ley lines in the Clock Tower could certainly be used for something like the Holy Grail War, but at this time, the Mage's Association knew nothing about the Holy Grail War, so that possibility was ruled out.

If they could borrow the Astromancy Department's simulated environment model—essentially the precursor to Chaldeas—they could directly observe where the ley line had gone wrong.

But that was impossible. Even if the Astromancy Department was willing to lend out that magical artifact, the General Fundamentals Department wouldn't want another department meddling with its ley lines.

"A magic circle," Li Xiang said excitedly. "To harness the vast magic energy of the ley line, a magic circle is essential, unless it's Age of Gods magecraft."

"But only the Wandering Sea's mages use Age of Gods magecraft. The Wandering Sea, one of the three great organizations of the Mage's Association, holds a completely different view from the Clock Tower. They believe modern magecraft is child's play, so their relationship with the Clock Tower is poor. We can rule out Age of Gods magecraft."

Elena stood up and said, "Let's head to the lake's center and see if there are any remnants of a magic circle. Given that they managed to evade Lord Trambelio, there's no way today's actions by the Department of Policies will go unnoticed. The magic circle has likely been destroyed."

"There's another possibility. We discovered Flynn's body today, and whatever they were trying to do with the ley line, a few days would have been enough for them to finish," Li Xiang added.

"Yes, either way, it means the magic circle is gone. Hopefully, we can still find some clues."

With that, Elena led the way as the three of them crossed the wooden bridge to the lake's center.

At first glance, nothing seemed out of the ordinary.

Li Xiang crouched down to inspect the garden. There were no signs of damage, but that was impossible. If a magic circle had been set up, these plants wouldn't be unharmed.

Then...

He turned his gaze to the calm lake surface.

Elena walked up beside him and asked, "You thought of it too?"

"Underwater is the least likely place to be noticed."

"Yes, it seems Flynn was unlucky enough to stumble upon the critical moment. Otherwise, if you don't pay close attention to the lake, you'd probably just mistake any movement for fish."

Li Xiang didn't know what to say. Flynn truly was unlucky. Given that person's power, and being underwater, any slight disturbance would typically be dismissed as fish or something similar. Only with careful observation would something seem off.

However, Flynn had entered at the exact moment the magic circle was activated, forcing that person to use control magecraft on him.

"Can you use water-repelling magecraft?" Elena asked, while pulling three high-powered flashlights from her Imaginary Numbers space and tossing one to Li Xiang.

"I can, but it won't last long. I'll need your help, Senior."

Li Xiang nodded. He certainly didn't want to spend another 500 pounds to enhance the water-repelling magecraft.

Elena raised her hand, and a magic circle floated in the air, transforming into a brilliant blue barrier that enveloped the three of them.

"It will last for an hour."

Elena then leaped into the lake, followed by two splashes as the other two jumped in.

The three of them quickly sank downward.

Li Xiang switched on the high-powered flashlight. The beam extended through the water, though not very far, but it was enough for him to see the stone pillars supporting the garden.

"Nothing here."

"Nothing on this side either."

"I've got nothing over here."

None of the three found any traces of a magic circle on the pillars.

Thirty meters down, Li Xiang gently stepped onto the lake bed.

The silt wasn't particularly thick, allowing him to faintly see the smooth stone slabs beneath.

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There isnt much engagement, ill have to cut the daily release into one chapter, and ill be busy with teaching too, so ill try to post at least one per day, if i cant then it cant be helped.