The room was mostly dark. Only a single candle gave off a brim light. It would not take long for it to die off like those before it. The great shine it had emitted once had already been reduced to a mere glow. Most people would find it hard to even see in the room as it was now. It was a big room. So big that the light did not reach a single wall. The atmosphere was like most would imagine a shady workshop of dark mages. Surprisingly, this was the very opposite. If someone had told Cloffing that this room was part of the academy before he had become a teacher here, he wouldn't have believed it. But it was true. By now, he had been here for more than an hour, but his eyes still had not adapted to the darkness. ‘How could she work like that?’ was the thought that had crossed his mind several times by now. He looked at the table right in front of him. A closed book laid at the side of the table. Numerous shady looking gadgets had been placed around it. Above all of them was a tiny figure. She had leaned over the table like that since Cloffing arrived here. She had also been like that when he left before… Did she move at all while he was gone? If he hadn't seen the new tools on the table, he wouldn't have been sure about that. She was so focused on the object before her that she hadn't even noticed him entering the room. To be fair, she hadn't noticed him leaving either. Mrs. Fotto was amazed by what she had been given. The book, or more correctly the seal, was incredibly complex. In all her years as professor, she didn't remember seeing anything that could be compared to this. How many hours had passed since her first try to break the seal? Had it been days? She didn't know, and neither did she care. The technique that had been used to seal this book was breathtaking. At least in her opinion. If she could recreate it- no. That was completely out of question. She could not even grasp the knowledge that was needed for something like this. Recreating this was just impossible for her. Although she hated to admit it, the dark mage had to be a genius. A greater genius than she was… She mumbled to herself. ‘If only we could hire that guy…’ Cloffing was shocked by such a suggestion. ‘We can't possibly hire a dark mage! Especially after they killed Mr. Stellox!’ Mrs. Fotto Twitched. She looked at him astonished. ‘Oh, Mr. Cloffing. You were also here, right… What are you doing here again?’ She was seemingly tired. Not because of her work or the lack of sleep she had gotten, but because she was forced into this social interaction. She didn't even try to hide her lack of enthusiasm around him. ‘I am here to get the book. You said you would be finished by now. I saw you working, so I didn't want to interrupt you. How is it going?’ She shifted her main focus back to the book. ‘Oh yes, I forgot. The progress is… not progressing.’ Cloffing sighted. He knew that the seal was beyond anything he had ever seen, but he had hoped that Mrs. Fotto would find a way to open it anyway. As he looked at the book again, the room fell into silence. It stayed like that for a few minutes. Cloffing didn't know what to say, and Fotto had already forgotten about him again. Suddenly she took a few steps backwards. ‘I think I know it!’ All this time, she had analyzed the mana of the seal. It couldn't be seen by the normal eye, but every seal had several layers of mana circles, circulating the mana and keeping up the spell. If a mage understood those layers and knew how the mana flooded, they could insert their own mana in opposing directions and break the seal. The average seal had three layers. More expensive ones would have four layers, the seales of the academy had five layers, and a royal seal would have six. This one was different- it had seven. With every added layer, the difficulty to break the seal multiplied. Fotto had worked several days on this and only figured out the first six layers. That alone was already impressive. Royal seals were meant to last for several generations. If word got out that someone could break them in a mere few days… that didn't matter right now. The reason for her excitement was that she finally managed to sense the start of the last layer. Normally, that wouldn't get her anything, since she needed to figure out the whole layer. But this case was different. Among all the tools she had placed on the table, one stood out the most. It was a metal ball with several stones and runes on it. This magical tool, which was called a mana disturber, was so incredibly expensive that Cloffing nearly got a heart attack upon seeing it placed so close to the table's edge. Such a mana disturber could, as the name suggests, disturb the flow of mana. Seals were built to resist devices like this one, so it couldn't break seals by itself. It needed direction. Now that Fotto had figured out the start of the last layer, she could direct the force of this tool while breaking the other layers herself. She wasn't sure that this would work, but it was worth a try. She grabbed the mana disturber and placed it on the book. Both of her hands touched the book, when she began her work. Unlike most magic, spell breaking didn't necessarily need any incarnations. That was because the seal breaking itself was not a clear spell, but consisted of the practiser themselves controlling and inserting their mana. Of course there also were exceptions, some spells which would result in similar effects, but Mrs. Fotto always did it herself. The book started to twitch. Mr. Cloffing broke out in sweat. He had often seen the process of breaking magic seals, but just couldn't get used to this feeling… seal experts had such a great control of their own mana… it was frightening. What would happen if an attack mage would gain such control? He didn't want to think about it. As he continued to watch her, a sound suddenly filled the room. It was the sound of breaking glass. He knew what that meant. The book emitted some light. When normally invisible mana circles were shattered, their mana left them and often transformed into light. It was one of the most natural forms for mana after all. Fotto had a big smile on her face. ‘I did it! I did it! The seal is broken! Who said I couldn't do it? I could! And I did! I am great! The kingdoms greatest expert when it comes to seals!’ She talked faster and faster. This was the first time Cloffing heard her talk with such enthusiasm. She took another look at the book. ‘Well… I guess now I am only the second biggest expert on this topic. Whoever did this, they are a genius!’ Cloffing suddenly felt a bit unwell. He had known Stellox. Stellox hadn't been knowledgeable about this topic at all! How did he get this book? And its cover was written in the old language to that… Just what was the meaning of this? He talked to himself. ‘Could this be? What if…’ It took him a while to notice that Fotto was staring at him. Losing his composure like this made him feel a bit embarrassed. He cleared his throat. ‘Thank you for your help. I will get this book to Mr. Vonstadt now, if you don't mind.’ She looked a bit sad. ‘Sure… it's not like I could study the seal after breaking it anyways…’ She seemed pretty down for someone who had just achieved something of this level. Cloffing looked back at her while opening the door with the book in his hand. ‘I am sure there will be another opportunity like this. If they can really create seals like this, we may need you to break another one soon.’ Her expression cleared up. She had never been stuck like she had been for the past few days. The feeling of struggle and achievement was nearly addictive to her.’Yes, I am sure of that.’ Her excitement had calmed down and she was back to talking slowly and quiet. As he closed the door behind him, he wondered if all geniuses were as weird as she was. Looking at Harms, who had an incredibly corrupted and twisted personality, this theory seemed quite plausible to Cloffing. He increased his walking speed as he left the main building. Breaking this seal had taken them longer than expected. Luckily, the dark mages hadn't made any big moves in the last few days, but that was only a question of time. With every day they needed to find the culprits, the reputation of this academy continued to suffer. Cloffing walked through a few parks. It was clear where he was headed- the Dame. Mr. Stroff had told him that Mr. Vonstadt was the only one who could encipher this book. He had been assigned to a room in the basement of the Dame to increase his security. In the last few days, he had continued to look through the books they had found in the hidden room. Most of them were written in the old languages, so the contents were currently unclear. ‘Even the slightest hint in these books could tell us more about the culprits.’ Was what Mr. Harms had said. As Cloffing continued to walk, he passed a few members of the support staff. Judging by their uniforms, it was reasonable to assume they were part of the gardener section. They waved their hands at him. It was a common gesture among them. He didn't know every one of them. The support staff had far too many members for that. Of the four people, he knew the biggest one. He always gave off the impression of a friendly giant. His blonde hair always reminded Cloffing of one of his former students. They had talked a few times, but besides that they were strangers. Most teachers had close to no contact with the support staff. That was not due to arrogance or any of the sort, but due to how invested most were in their private studies. Cloffing had to laugh. It took an emergency like this to make him even notice them… Acknowledging this made him almost feel bad. He took a look at the other three workers. One of them was small and muscular, another one had noticeable white hair, and the last one was a plain looking woman. He tried to at least remember their faces as he continued to walk. It didn't take long for him to reach the Dame. A professor had been placed as guard at the front door. Right now that was one of the earth professors. Cloffing didn't quite know his name, but he thought to remember it started on an R. He went inside. The sound of the heavy door closing behind him gave him an ominous feeling. It was like the door sealed off all possible ways to get in or out. ‘As expected of the Dame.' he quietly said to himself. He knew the way to the basement since he had been here before. The many corridors and doors gave off the atmosphere of a prison or something similar. He finally arrived at the right door. He knocked three times and waited. What was important was not the number of times one knocked, but the time one waited before knocking again. After around 30 seconds, he repeated. This time, the door got unlocked. It wasn't a person who unlocked the door, but the door itself. Once again, the work of a magical enchantment. The room behind this door has a similar layout to the one of Mr. Fotto. The most noticeable difference was that this one had enough light. The room was filled with overfilled bookshelves. Each and every book was written in one of the old languages. In the middle of the room was one big table. At least a hundred books were stored on this one. Most of them were brought here from the secret room they found. Mr. Vonstadts sat on a chair in the back. He held one of the books and was most likely scanning through it. Mr. Vonstadts stood up when he noticed his visitor. ‘Ah, Mr. Cloffing. What brings you here today?’ Cloffing pointed at the book he carried. ‘Mr. Fotto managed to break the seal of the one we found in Mr. Stellox' room. Could you take a look at it?’ He gave him the book in question. Vonstadt opened it on the table, where most of the light was pointed at. This room had neither candles nor torches, but only a few flying crystals that emitted bright, blue light. Vonstadt read a few pages. Then he stopped, pointing his finger at one part of the text. ‘Did you say you found this book in Mr. Stellox' room?’ he was pale. ‘Yes. What did you find?’ Vonstadts read it again and again, trying to find a different interpretation for this part. But he couldn't. ‘This book- This book contains information about the hidden room…’ Cloffing didn't understand. ‘So this isn't a book of Stellox but one of the dark mages? How did it get in his room?’ Vonstadts hesitated. ‘I am not sure but… I think… I think this might be Stellox' writing.’ Now Cloffing was also dead pale. ‘But… why didn't he tell us about the hidden room if he knew about it?’ Vonstadt thought for a moment, carefully deciding how to word what he was about to say. Finally he had made up his mind. ‘Maybe… he was one of them.’ Cloffing got worked up. ‘He, a dark mage? How can you insult him like that? He was killed by them! Do you think this is a joke?’ Vonstadt tried to calm him down. ‘Please think about it. He was familiar with the old languages, he was someone no one would suspect… he could have easily built the hidden room.’ ‘Then why would he be killed by them?’ Vonstadt hesitated again. ‘What if they had a dispute for power? Or they panicked after we found the room…’ Cloffing didn't believe it. He didn't want to believe it. After a few moments of silence, Vonstadt continued. ‘Whatever the case, we should tell the headmaster about this. ‘ Cloffing nodded in agreement. ‘I’ll contact him from outside the building

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