Chapter 64: The Mind of Static

Chapter 64: Chapter 64: The Mind of Static

"If you tell the truth, you don’t have to remember anything." Mark Twain

Dusk arrived, and a single lamp lit up the inquiry tent.

Roan entered at the fourth bell and came out at the sixth, looking exhausted and unusually quiet. For someone who talked as much as Roan, that alone said plenty.

Sybill went in next. When she came out, she was quietly counting the offenses she had been forced to admit, including thirty-two unregistered hex experiments and one borrowed familiar.

Victor Kole entered before nightfall.

Unlike the others, he didn’t walk out.

He was carried out on a stretcher, blood dripping from his ears. Whatever Thomas had discovered during the interrogation had clearly left him in terrible condition.

Soon, Joel received his summons.

He read the document twice, carefully examining every word.

Inquisitor Thomas had ordered him to appear for a bound interrogation concerning the deaths of five students and the powerful disturbance detected beneath the sea.

Attendance was mandatory, and refusing to appear would be treated as an admission of guilt.

Joel calmly folded the paper.

Then he finished his soup.

There was no point facing an interrogation on an empty stomach.

Once he was done, he made his way across the camp toward the inquiry tent.

Along the way, he passed the Leviathan Priest’s skull, still mounted on his harpoon.

It had already been labeled Exhibit A.

The tent was almost empty, except for a few important objects.

Thomas sat behind a desk with three items placed neatly before him: a brass balance, a white lamp that burned without oil, and a tiny silver bell.

The camp’s commandant stood near the entrance as a witness, his face already pale.

An overwhelming pressure filled the tent.

Joel felt his ears pop, just as they had in the deep sea. The pressure reminded him of being trapped beneath fourteen meters of water, but he remained calm.

"Sit," Thomas ordered.

Joel quietly took the chair opposite him.

Thomas slid a contract across the desk.

The words on the paper moved as though they were alive.

According to the contract, Joel was required to answer every question aloud and truthfully. Any attempt to avoid a question would be treated as a lie, and the contract would remain active until Thomas delivered his final verdict.

Joel carefully read every line.

Finding nothing unusual hidden in the terms, he picked up the pen and signed his name.

Joel Carrow.

His hand remained perfectly steady.

[Ding!]

[ Magically-bound interrogation: contract sealed and countersigned ]

[ Terms: full answers, weighed evasion, verdict as the only exit ]

[ Note: The house reviewed the lease and found no hidden fees. For once, the paper deserves the ink. ]

"The rules are written in the contract," Thomas said. "The bell rings whenever someone lies, the balance measures answers against the truth, and the lamp detects evil intentions."

He glanced at the silver bell.

"I am a patient man."

TINK!

The bell immediately rang.

"As you can see, the instruments work," Thomas continued calmly. "Now you understand how they operate."

"Good to know," Joel replied. "For a moment, I thought you brought them as decorations."

The pressure inside the tent grew stronger after the contract took effect.

Within a minute, blood began dripping from the commandant’s nose.

TIK. TIK.

The drops struck the wooden floor.

"Confess or bleed. It makes no difference to me," Thomas said coldly. "You’re dismissed."

The commandant quickly hurried out of the tent, leaving Joel alone with the Level 60 inquisitor and his three instruments.

"Now," Thomas said, looking directly at Joel, "comes the part you won’t enjoy."

He activated his domain.

WHUMM!

The walls of the tent suddenly disappeared, replaced by a massive courtroom made of white light.

Rows of benches stretched across the room, filled with countless empty eyes. The floor looked like an enormous page from a ledger, while glowing judgments covered the ceiling.

Before the transformation was even complete, an overwhelming pressure crashed down on Joel.

It felt as though an enormous fist was trying to break into his mind.

At the same time, a powerful command filled his head.

Confess everything, or be destroyed.

[Ding!]

[ Truth-Seeker domain: active. Grade: inquisitorial, Level 60 ]

[ Effect: absolute compulsion to confess. Cost: cognitive integrity ]

[ Cognitive Fortress: intrusion absorbed ]

[ Note: The house has survived worse weather. This is a drizzle with a title. ]

Thomas pushed against Joel’s mind.

KRK! KRK!

At first, the pressure felt like someone knocking on a locked door.

Joel’s mental defenses allowed the force to enter, but instead of revealing his secrets, they absorbed it completely.

Thomas frowned and increased the pressure.

KRRSSH!

A much stronger force slammed into Joel’s mind.

The same power that had forced everyone in the camp to their knees was now focused entirely on him.

The brass balance trembled, the white lamp burned brighter, but the silver bell remained silent.

Thomas pushed deeper, trying to break through Joel’s defenses.

But all he received was static.

A long, empty hissing sound filled his senses.

Thomas was stunned.

He had used this domain to break powerful priests, scholars, and other important figures. No one had ever resisted his mental attacks like this.

Yet Joel’s mind revealed absolutely nothing.

Determined to uncover the truth, Thomas increased his power again.

THMM!

The floor of the courtroom lit up, line by line, as the domain’s pressure grew even stronger.

He searched for any weakness in Joel’s defenses, hoping to force out his hidden secrets.

Meanwhile, the Null-Band on Joel’s wrist continued displaying him as an F-rank, Level 1 Flesh-Guide.

The difference between his supposed rank and his resistance was almost unbelievable.

But even Thomas’s stronger attack failed.

Joel’s mental defenses absorbed everything, leaving the inquisitor with nothing but static.

Compared to the terrifying pressure Joel had endured beneath the sea, this interrogation was still manageable.

And so, while Thomas continued trying to break into his mind, Joel remained completely calm.

[Ding!]

[ Cognitive Fortress: absorption ongoing ]

[ Intrusion grade: maximum, sustained ]

[ Fortress integrity: 100 percent. Contents: undisclosed ]

[ Note: The intrusion has been archived in full. Filing: fan mail. ]

Thomas finally stopped trying to break into Joel’s mind, although his domain remained active.

For the first time that day, he had encountered something he couldn’t understand.

Joel sat calmly in his chair, showing no signs of pain or fear. He breathed normally, as though he were simply waiting for the interrogation to end.

The instruments had detected nothing.

No lies, no evil intentions, and no signs of injury. Only silence where Thomas expected to find Joel’s thoughts.

"Then we’ll do this with words," Thomas said. "Since your mind refuses to reveal anything."

He opened his ledger and began questioning him.

"Did you kill the five students from the rogue group?"

"No," Joel answered.

The brass balance remained level, and the silver bell stayed silent.

"Did you order their deaths?"

"No."

Once again, the instruments showed that he was telling the truth.

And Joel really wasn’t lying.

Before Nyx left to scout the camp, he had specifically ordered her to observe, not attack. She had killed the five students on her own initiative, without receiving any new orders from him.

Thomas studied him for a moment before asking another question.

"Then what do you know about their deaths?"

"Each student was killed with a single, clean cut, and evidence was left on their chests," Joel replied. "Those five were involved in an ambush, and someone clearly wanted them to pay for it."

He paused briefly.

"Beyond that, I was deep underwater, fighting the Stratum Boss in front of my teammates."

The brass balance moved slightly before returning to its original position.

Every word he had spoken was true.

Thomas studied him for a moment.

"Then explain the powerful magic detected in Stratum 5," he demanded. "My instruments recorded enough magical activity to suggest a war was taking place. And somehow, an F-rank student was involved."

"A Level 45 Stratum Boss died down there," Joel answered calmly. "The Leviathan Priest used attacks powerful enough to crack stone, and its death caused an enormous explosion."

He looked directly at Thomas.

"My squad used everything we had to survive. Our beacon lines had been cut, and we couldn’t contact the instructors. According to the academy’s field manual, using powerful magic in such a situation is considered survival, not unauthorized warfare."

The white lamp continued burning steadily.

It detected no evil intentions in Joel’s words, while the silver bell remained completely silent.

Thomas said nothing as he recorded the answers in his book.

"Your squad testified that a harpoon pierced straight through your body, yet the wound healed within minutes," Thomas said. "A normal person cannot recover from an injury like that. Explain."

"The harpoon passed through my flesh without damaging anything important," Joel replied calmly. "I’ve always healed faster than most people. You can check my first-year medical records at the academy."

He paused before continuing.

Joel gave a small smile.

"The harpoon is outside as Exhibit A. I kept it as a reminder of the attack. Now it carries the skull of a Level 45 Stratum Boss, which is a much better use for it."

Thomas watched him closely.

"Your mind is completely sealed," he said.

The pressure inside the domain suddenly increased, and the countless empty eyes on the benches turned toward Joel.

"No one your age should have mental defenses this powerful. If your mind is locked, then you must be hiding something."

Thomas leaned forward, his cold eyes fixed on Joel.

"Tell me, boy. What exactly are you hiding inside that mind of yours?"

"Nothing. My mind isn’t locked. It’s simply quiet," Joel replied calmly. "There’s very little inside it, and everything there belongs to me. I’m not hiding anything that your instruments haven’t already examined twice tonight."

The silver bell remained silent.

The brass balance stayed level, and the white lamp continued burning steadily.

For a long moment, Thomas and Joel stared at each other across the desk.

Neither could prove the other wrong.

[Ding!]

[ Interrogation concluded ]

[ Verdict: truthful, all answers ]

[ Deception detected: none. Malicious magic: none detected ]

[ Survival Accumulation: 0 percent. Being audited is not being endangered; it is being famous ]

[ Note: The house thanks the inspector for a professional atmosphere. Quiet is legal. ]

Thomas closed his ledger.

"The instruments do not lie," he said. "And I follow the same laws I enforce."

He looked directly at Joel.

"You are free to go, Joel Carrow. The instruments have confirmed your innocence. However, you must remain in camp until my investigation is complete. That is standard procedure."

He paused, his eyes narrowing.

"I have interrogated thousands of people. Powerful men have broken down and begged for mercy under my domain. Yet you sat through everything without showing the slightest fear."

Thomas leaned forward.

"Over ten thousand minds have passed through my domain, but yours gave me nothing but static. That tells me something is hiding beyond my reach."

His voice grew colder.

"Luck like yours doesn’t happen without a reason. Someone or something is behind it, and when I discover the truth, I expect you to be just as calm as you are now."

Joel stood and gave him a polite smile.

"Thank you for your time, Inquisitor," he replied. "I must admit, the little bell was my favorite part."

WHMM!

Thomas’s domain disappeared, and the courtroom of light returned to an ordinary tent.

Joel stepped outside, where several students were watching nervously, waiting to see what condition he would be in.

Roan was waiting nearby with two cups of something hot.

Sybill immediately approached Joel and checked his ears for blood. When she found none, she looked even more surprised.

After seeing Victor Kole carried away on a stretcher, she had expected Joel to suffer the same fate.

"How was it?" Roan asked, handing him a cup.

"Long," Joel replied calmly. "But it wasn’t too bad."

He took a sip and continued walking.

Around him, the camp was filled with frightened students, many still shaken by Thomas’s interrogation.

Yet Joel had passed without revealing a single important secret.

And now that the investigation was behind him, he could quietly begin planning his next move.