Chapter 389: An Old Acquaintance

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The low rumble of alchemy furnaces echoed throughout the underground alchemy plaza.

As usual, Ansu floated lazily in a corner, eavesdropping on the students' gossip. They talked about things like which professor's class was the easiest to skip or which upperclassman had blown up their crucible during an experiment... It was all rather mindless chatter.

Suddenly, the discussions on the other side grew increasingly noisy as students began gathering in small groups, moving toward the same direction.

Ansu followed their gaze and was equally surprised.

An old acquaintance.

It was Hoffman Veritas, the author of 《Hoffman's Alchemy Notes》 and 《General Introduction to Magic》.

“Master Hoffman! It's Master Hoffman!”

Someone whispered in low excitement, drawing the attention of everyone in the underground alchemy plaza.

An elderly man dressed in black mage robes slowly walked into the plaza. His steps were unhurried and his frame was slender, yet he carried an imposing aura of natural authority.

Hoffman was one of the premier magic masters of the current era and held a prominent position in the Senate of the Norn Empire. He rarely returned to the academy. The students had only ever heard of his reputation in rumors, so now that they actually saw him in person, none of them dared to step forward and speak to him.

Wherever he passed, the noisy chatter of the crowd instinctively quieted down.

Ansu curiously followed him.

Hoffman was clearly here on business. After exchanging a few quiet words with the staff managing the underground alchemy plaza, he retrieved a few items and hurriedly walked out.

Ansu watched their departing figures and hesitated, coming to a halt.

He was highly curious to know if a mage of Hoffman's caliber could see him.

Over the past few days, he had been constantly worried about being casually exorcised by the powerful professors in the academy. However, after several tests, he realized that his current stealth was remarkably strong.

A few days ago, he had intentionally drifted near several magic professors. Only one of them had sensed a gathering of spiritual power in his direction, but as long as Ansu made a conscious effort to conceal himself, no one could perceive him.

His current spiritual body had two unique traits: first, his spiritual power cultivation speed was incredibly fast; second, his stealth was exceptionally strong. Perhaps both were side effects of the 【Time Beacon】 bringing him to this era.

Ansu stared at Hoffman's figure, thinking to himself that this might be his only opportunity to break the current deadlock.

After thinking for just a brief moment, he quietly followed.

Hoffman walked out of the underground alchemy plaza's corridor. Ansu did not dare to get too close, maintaining a moderate distance as he trailed behind.

But in the next second, Hoffman suddenly turned his head.

His gaze pierced straight through the crowd, locking precisely onto Ansu's position.

Ansu's heart skipped a beat.

Yet, Hoffman merely frowned, staring thoughtfully at the empty corner for several seconds before turning around to continue walking.

Ansu was filled with doubt. Had he seen him or not?

When Hoffman arrived at the academy plaza above ground, several staff members hurriedly approached, surrounding him and speaking in low voices.

Because the distance was too great, Ansu couldn't hear what they were saying. However, he could clearly sense that the atmosphere of the conversation was solemn, and Hoffman seemed quite displeased.

Ansu was hesitating over whether to risk drawing closer when he suddenly sensed an abnormal fluctuation of spiritual power coming from far away.

He immediately turned to look.

On the southwest side of the plaza, at the top of a magic tower that was not quite as tall as the bell tower, a highly concentrated mass of spiritual power was surging, accompanied by an extremely faint trace of mana fluctuation.

Strong spiritual power, but weak mana?

In the past, Ansu might have only noticed abnormal mana activity. But now, spiritual perception was actually his strongest suit.

In an instant, a surge of killing intent erupted from that direction.

Ansu's heart jumped.

An assassination?

A long-range assassination attempt hidden entirely on the spiritual plane?

Without any hesitation, he gathered his spiritual power and sent a low, warning transmission toward Hoffman:

“To the southwest, watch out!”

But he immediately realized his warning might have been redundant.

The moment that killing intent surfaced, Hoffman had already whipped around, slightly raising his hand.

Several beams of magic light as bright as shooting stars shot forth, colliding head-on with the incoming threat. These meteors not only melted through the structural formula of that 'unknown magic,' but also soared through the air, accurately blasting the top of the magic tower.

Following a deafening explosion, thick black smoke began billowing from the top of the magic tower.

After executing a flawless counter-kill in a single strike.

Hoffman withdrew his hand without a change in expression, while the academy administrators beside him broke into a cold sweat, their faces pale.

Hoffman glanced at them. “Have the rules of Radial been abolished?”

“N-No...”

“Then why can the minions of the Divine faction openly use magic to assassinate me within the academy?” Hoffman's voice wasn't loud, but it carried a chilling pressure. “Or are you all involved as well?”

“Of course not! Absolutely not! We know nothing about this!”

Several academy administrators waved their hands in frantic denial, their voices cracking with panic.

Hoffman's face darkened as his gaze swept over them, but he did not press further.

Instead, his gaze landed on a spot in the shadows of the plaza's corridor.

The exact spot where Ansu was.

In truth, Ansu had only wanted to score some goodwill just now. Since Hoffman was clearly alive at this point in history, warning him wouldn't change the past, but it would certainly help build some rapport.

“Who exactly are you, sir?” Hoffman's gaze was searching, but devoid of hostility, carrying only the caution of facing an unknown entity. “Why are you hiding in the academy?”

Ansu fell silent for a moment. Then, gathering his spiritual power once more, he responded with a touch of helplessness:

“Well... that is a long story.”

...

The academy's teaching district.

Inside a spacious office, sunlight filtered in through the high windows, illuminating the fine dust motes drifting lazily in the beams of light.

This was Hoffman's office. The air carried a musty, stuffy scent of a room left unoccupied for a long time; it seemed he rarely returned here.

At this moment, Hoffman sat behind a large oak desk, his brow slightly furrowed as he stared intently at a quill moving across the desk on its own.

The tip of the quill was dipped in ink, scratching across the parchment as if held firmly by an invisible hand, a rather eerie sight.

After all, this was a magic academy. Anyone else would probably assume a minor spell like 【Mage's Hand】 was at work, but Hoffman concluded at a glance that even a high-tier mage would find it difficult to perceive the presence of the entity before him.

There wasn't a single ripple of mana, and even the spiritual fluctuations were incredibly faint—so faint that even with his perception, he could only capture a very vague outline.

This was a true "ghost."

The quill came to a halt, and Hoffman looked down at the writing left on the paper.

“Master Hoffman, I mean no harm. Please help me.”

Hoffman raised his eyes, his gaze landing on the empty seat across the desk.

“Are you the ghost in the specimen room that the students have been gossiping about lately?”

The quill moved, writing on the paper:

“Yes.”

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