Chapter 101: Invisibility

"You little brat! You again?" Duke was startled to see Andy the moment he stepped inside, but then his face quickly lit up with delight. "Don't say another word. Come with us and get this matter straightened out."

"What's this? Are you saying the Discipline Office has jurisdiction even over spellcasting experiments conducted in one's own home? Though I do recall there's a rule in the academy's regulations: private territory is sacred and inviolable. If someone trespasses without just cause, the owner has the right to kill them on the spot!" As Andy spoke, a fireball had already materialized in his hand.

Under the surge of anger, he genuinely began to consider eradicating the man right then and there. He hadn't struck out on impulse, but his mind was already calculating how to handle the aftermath.

"Mutiny! This is outright mutiny!" Duke cried out in an exaggerated manner while producing a rod-shaped object. He gave it a sharp yank, and sparks burst forth from the tip. Then he released it, and a streak of fireworks shot up through the hole Andy had blasted in the roof, exploding in the sky outside to form a peculiar pattern.

"Kid, I've already called for backup. Go on, try something if you dare." Duke's voice was bluster, but his heart was trembling. During their last encounter at the Discipline Office, there had been a quiet test of strength, and he knew full well that none of his men were a match for Andy.

Moreover, Andy wasn't wrong. Their current actions were somewhat out of protocol, and if Andy was truly determined to fight, they could very well end up dead here for nothing. At best, their families would receive some compensation. That was clearly not something Duke wanted to see. So he had resorted to using the Discipline Office's emergency signal.

But the moment he used it, Duke felt a twinge of regret, because this would blow the matter way out of proportion. Still, a flicker of hope remained in his heart. Under normal circumstances, the Inner Court Discipline Office had two teams that handled emergency situations, and their captains were known as the Twin Pillars of the Discipline Office. One was Byron, whom Andy had encountered last time. The other was a man named Dena, who maintained good relations with the Clark family.

If Dena were the one to show up, Duke believed that with a bit of provocation from him, the one to suffer wouldn't be him. Unfortunately, his prayers didn't work. The person who arrived was Byron, the one he least wanted to see.

Because of the last incident, Byron had subconsciously been paying a bit more attention to outer court affairs. So when a situation arose in the outer court this time, he rushed over at once. He hadn't come alone, either, his squad of several men accompanied him, all Bronze-ranked wizards to a man. They were the Discipline Office's main fighting force. Were it not for their role in the Discipline Office, with their strength they could easily have served as instructors in the outer court.

"What's going on here! Huh? It's you two again." Byron was taken aback the moment he walked in and saw the familiar faces. Then, with his capability, he got to the bottom of the matter in just a few exchanged words. He learned that it had started with a leak of magical fluctuation in the area. Duke had come to investigate, and upon seeing Andy, he had seized the opportunity to make a mountain out of a molehill.

Byron gave Duke a severe dressing-down and sent him away. Then he turned back to Andy, his expression flat, and said, "You weren't really telling the truth about just experimenting with spells here, were you? What exactly were you doing in your dormitory to cause such a commotion?"

After all that ruckus, Andy's anger had already dissipated by seven or eight tenths. When he heard Byron's question, he answered casually, "Nothing much. I just took a disliking to this roof's decorative style, so I figured I'd tear it down and put up something new."

Byron's ring began to vibrate again, which made him genuinely want to drag Andy to the Discipline Office, lock him up, and interrogate him properly. But for wizards, certain experiments and magical research were inherently private matters, not meant to be shared with anyone. So Byron didn't press further. After all, whatever Andy was doing in his own dormitory hadn't harmed anyone else.

As he was leaving, Byron said to Andy, "Damaging a student dormitory requires compensation, you know. I suggest you head over to the Academy's Internal Affairs Office and settle it as soon as possible. I guarantee it'll be a number you won't soon forget."

Andy smiled at Byron. "Sorry, but I've already bought this place. I could tear it down once a day and the academy wouldn't have any say in it."

Byron's ring gave no response, which meant Andy had finally spoken a word of truth. That realization made Byron feel somewhat deflated. He led his team away.

But Byron had begun to keep Andy in mind. Though both incidents had been Duke's fault, flies didn't land on eggs without a crack. If one dug deeper into Andy's side, who knew what problems might surface. Byron had also reviewed Andy's file, and his conclusion was that this was definitely not someone who played by the rules. In his mind, he had already marked Andy as someone deserving close attention.

After they'd all left, Andy's expression soured again. That little fat man from the Discipline Office repeatedly making trouble for him had utterly worn out his patience. He began considering quietly testing his new spell on the man. But then he thought better of it, that guy was probably just a pawn. Even if he dealt with him, more trouble would likely keep coming down the pipeline.

The thought brought another wave of irritability. Katherine softly offered him a few words of comfort, and only then did Andy regain his composure. He couldn't help but begin to reflect: was it really the influence of his fire-attributed meditation method that was making him so impulsive and hot-tempered in daily life?

Seeing that Andy was still gloomy, Katherine couldn't help but try to lighten the mood. So she told Andy that she hadn't had a proper feast during all those days in seclusion, and that she absolutely had to treat herself to a good meal.

Andy thought about it and realized she was right. During the days Katherine was away, he had lost any real appetite for proper meals. He'd often just boil some noodles or grab something simple from the academy cafeteria to fill his stomach. Now that Katherine had come out of seclusion, they really should celebrate properly.

But before they went to enjoy their big feast, there was still something they needed to do: patch up their leaky roof. Fortunately, thanks to his recent money-making ventures, Andy had become something of a little tycoon. The cost of fixing the roof was nothing but a drizzle to him. He quickly spent some money at the Internal Affairs Office to hire a wizard apprentice specializing in earth-attributed meditation. A few simple spells later, the roof was good as new.

What was truly hard to restore, however, was the damaged spell formation. Andy went to the market near the Mixed Court and spent over a hundred magic stones just to get the man who'd sold him the formation to repair it.

And when it actually came time to fix it, the man fussed around for all of half a minute before tossing the perfectly repaired formation back to Andy. This thoroughly annoyed Katherine, who felt they'd been swindled by this scoundrel. While enjoying the big meal with Andy, she declared that she absolutely had to study the knowledge of spell formations so she'd never be cheated by such a profiteering merchant again.

When Katherine said the words "profiteering merchant," Andy's smile turned ever so slightly unnatural. Having just recently ended his own stint as a street vendor, the more he thought about it, the more he felt that term hit a little too close to home. So he quickly changed the subject and asked Katherine what she'd gained from her seclusion.

Katherine said mysteriously, "I'll show you once we're back home." The way she said it made Andy's heart stir, and he found himself eating his meal absentmindedly.

When they finally returned to the dormitory, Katherine told Andy to open his eyes wide and watch carefully. Then her figure slowly faded from his sight.

Invisibility spell!