Professor Lucius gave the Mystical Ring to Vale with a complicated smile on his face.
"You deserve this. No one knows the name of this ring, so Ashe simply calls it the Plain Obsidian Ring."
Well, there are already Mystical Artifacts that are called Spirit Rings, Dark Rings, or even Elemental Obsidian Rings, so Vale couldn't blame her for choosing that name.
"Plain Obsidian Ring isn't too bad…" Vale replied as he gestured to Yvaine to take the ring.
Yvaine obliged as Vale saw her hands sticking out of his shadow.
Vale then watches her take the ring together with her into his shadow. It was a marvelous sight since this was the first time the Dark Spirit could put something in his shadow aside from themselves.
Professor Lucius also marveled at the sight since he didn't have a Dark Spirit…
His knowledge about them had also broadened, thanks to Vale.
After this, the Professor guided Vale to the upper floor of the building where the criminals were kept.
To his surprise, the criminals were actually not treated so poorly!
They were living in such an expansive room with a living space and bunker beds that could accommodate about a dozen more prisoners. Although no walls were dividing their restroom, bedroom, and dining area, it still looked much better than he expected.
Furthermore, there were only six of them using the 'prison' so the place looks like a vacation house!
"This…"
Vale actually expected a cold and damp underground dungeon with poor air ventilation.
He thought that there would be a row of prison cells where he'll hear and see people begging to get out.
Well, he probably got influenced by the books and movies he read in his previous life.
He then shifted his attention to the people inside. There were six prisoners, all bound by a handcuff that was thicker and stronger than the one used by Manager Faith.
A couple of guards were outside this room, but Vale also noticed ten Tier 2 Variants inside the room monitoring these criminals 24 hours a day.
"Are they Arcane Arts Practitioners of different path?" Vale asked curiously.
"Yes… All of them are from the Holy Arts Faction."
"Holy Arts Faction?" Vale repeated in shock as he looked at the six people once more. These people are playing board games to pass their time. These prisoners don't seem bothered by their situation and they even ignore the two people who have just arrived.
"What are their crimes? Why are they kept here?"
"They attacked some students of the Academy outside. They were then captured by the members of the Order to be used as our supplier of Holy Water and various Holy-Attributed items." Lucius briefly explained, but this just made Vale confused.
"Hmm?" Vale tilted his head as he failed to understand why a Dark Arts Faction needed Holy Water and other Holy-Attributed materials.
Professor Lucius noticed his confusion and explained with a smile.
"People aren't usually allowed here, especially for a first-year student like yourself. However, since you have a special relationship with Alchemist Heinz and are also favored by the Headmaster, I think that it should be fine to let you know about these matters. Actually—"
"Ahem… Professor, I think that it's fine if I don't know about the real reason they were imprisoned here. I believe that the lesser I know, the lesser chance I'll have of getting into a complicated situation. I honestly just want to try something on these people. I didn't expect that these prisoners were important to the Academy." Vale interrupted as he believed that knowing more would just cause him some trouble in the future.
Lucius helplessly at these words since he could understand Vale's concern about them.
"Are you planning to use the same spell you used against Ashe?" Lucius asked.
"Yes, Professor." Vale answered without hesitation. At this point, he can only blame Master Heinz for all the suspicious spells he'll use from now on.
He'd just tell these people that this is just a part of being an experimental subject of the great Alchemist. In any case, he's not planning to stay here forever… Once he retrieves the shadow taken from him by the Headmaster, he'll just disappear right away.
"Very well, I'll permit you to do that as long as you don't kill them. In any case, these people can be replaced. There are plenty of Holy Arts Practitioners who had been causing trouble to our students who were doing missions outside the Academy."
"Thank you, Professor!" Vale replied with a grateful smile as he couldn't believe he quickly got a chance to extract Holy Arts Practitioners!
"Alright. I just have to add a condition… and that is for us to watch what you're about to do."
As Professor Lucius said this, three people suddenly appeared behind them.
Vale hadn't noticed them until they showed themselves! They were all wearing the same uniform as Ashe, so Vale could guess they were members of the Order of the Evanescent Vessels.
Based on their bearing, one of them might even have a higher position than Ashe! He was probably the Captain of the Sixth Squad!
At this point, even the calm and collected prisoners had a trace of panic in their eyes. They may have ignored Lucius and Vale, but the three people behind them brought dread to their very being.
The man Vale suspected to be a Squad Captain showed a dry smile and said. "Don't mind us, kid. We just want to observe your skill. We're not here to cause you some trouble… Whether you had that skill after obtaining your Dark Spirit or after you got experimented on by that delusional Alchemist, it doesn't matter to us."
Gulp…
Vale couldn't really decline their request so he could only nod nervously... In any case, he has a foolproof reason for being a unique practitioner, thanks to Master Heinz. He just has to own it and play the part well.
Soon, the six prisoners were lined up, and Vale extracted them one by one!
He was even so careful about it and only extracted them in less than ten seconds. He was afraid that he'd extract too much to the point that they'll become useless to the Order.
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