The battle ended with the ambushers completely annihilated, while Rosen emerged unscathed.

He heaved a long sigh, feeling as though he had narrowly escaped death.

The entire battle lasted less than five seconds. He had activated six powerful spells at maximum speed, leaving him with less than twenty percent of his mana remaining, thanks to the boost from the Crescent Staff and Vigilance Potions.

Any mistake during the battle could have led to failure due to mana depletion.

Knowing his mentor was watching over him in secret, Rosen closed his eyes and started meditating on the Dawn Origin Point.

One breath!

Two breaths!

Three breaths!

His mana recovered quickly. After about five seconds, it was restored to over sixty percent.

The effect was powerful, but it also placed tremendous stress on his body. He couldn't overuse it.

Just then, several streams of information flashed through his mind.

'Unknown spell detected. Spell emulator has unlocked new function: Spell Analysis.'

"What does that mean?"

He immediately switched from the spellbook to the spell emulator, and there was indeed a new button that said 'Spell Analysis'.

The button was blinking. Upon opening it, he found two spells recorded - 'Bloodwhip' and 'Underground Python', with progress bars for analysis below them.

Unfortunately, there was a line of red text across the progress bars.

'Analysis failed! Spells too complex, exceeds emulator capabilities.'

Now he understood. It was using the known spell formulas to analyze the structure and principles of the enemy spells.

This was something he could do himself, the new function just saved him some effort.

No, wait, the more complex the spell, the more effort it saved, so it was a good feature after all.

Just then, voices came from the entrance of the triangular plaza, citizens coming to investigate the commotion.

With his mana nearly restored to 70%, Rosen turned and ran towards the plaza exit.

The exit led to a secluded alley, not too long, and he sprinted the 30 meters at full alertness before emerging onto the busy main street again.

Rosen breathed an inward sigh of relief as his mind raced to think.

"The real culprit is nearby, and so is Master, still watching from the rooftops. The culprit doesn't want to expose themselves, so they must be trying their best to stay hidden."

"That means the culprit won't be flying in the sky, too conspicuous and Master would spot them immediately. Could they be using invisibility?"

"Unlikely, invisibility spells consume a lot of mana, and the effects are limited anyway, enough to fool warriors but not powerful mages... Wait, what's this?"

While analyzing, something on the ground caught his attention.

It was a fresh set of footprints, looking vaguely familiar.

With some thought, Rosen realized what they were.

"They look exactly like the footprints the woman in blue left outside the Levier clothing store!"

This meant while the two accomplices ambushed him, the mastermind was waiting here to see the outcome.

She didn't make a move on Rosen, just detonated her subordinates, which meant her identity was highly sensitive!

The footprints were clear and conspicuous. Rosen's mind stirred, ignoring the mental fatigue after the great battle. He broke into a run, following the prints.

He noticed the white-haired granny also gave chase, reassuring him. He focused on tracking.

After a while, Rosen sensed something amiss.

"The prints are intentionally left by the roadside, quite obvious. With her caution, how could she make such a mistake?"

"Can't be to lure me somewhere secluded for an ambush, doesn't seem like it, the prints stay in the downtown area."

After some thought, an idea came to Rosen - "Don't tell me it's framing others again?"

But he had to see where the footprints led.

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And so the chase continued for over half an hour.

As he followed the trail, the surroundings grew increasingly familiar, until finally, he was led right to the entrance of the Hound's Home inn.

The prints extended right through the front door of the inn.

The clear prints on the ground showed this person had just entered the Hound's Home.

Rosen's mind tightened as he called out loudly, "Uncle Harick! Uncle Harick!"

"Oh Rosen's back! Come on in, I'm mopping the floor!"

The voice was casual, with a hint of grievance, not like someone under duress. Rosen breathed a slight sigh of relief.

He listened closely and did hear the sounds of a mop.

Gripping his staff, he proceeded cautiously into the first floor hall of the Hound's Home.

In the hall, Harick held a mop, scrubbing the floor vigorously while grumbling.

"That Ollie is becoming unbearable. Tracking mud all over the place, no attention to his feet!"

"Ah, my nice hardwood floors must be all scratched up now."

Then looking up at Rosen, he exclaimed, "What're you so tense for? You look like you've seen a ghost!"

Rosen shook his head repeatedly. "No ghosts, I've got mud all over my shoes too, wasn't sure where to step."

Harick pointed to the doormat. "Take off your shoes then! I got nice new shoes ready just for you."

"Thank you so much uncle, I really appreciate it."

Rosen quickly swapped for the clean new shoes. The soles were very soft and the leather warm and cozy, made of lambskin it seems.

"These are great shoes! Oh right, where's Ollie?"

"Upstairs in his room. You need him for something?"

"Yeah, a small favor to ask of him."

Rosen headed briskly for the stairs, carefully inspecting the inn for clues.

After looking around, it was clear to him.

"So it's framing others again, and the target is Ollie this time."

What should he do then?

Rosen smirked. "My goal is to clear my mentor of the murder accusation. As long as he's vindicated, the rest doesn't matter."

"Sorry Ollie, but you'll have to take the blame for the murder for now."

Having figured this out, he lightly knocked on Ollie's door.

"Ollie, may I come in?"

A response came from within.

"Oh it's you Rosen! I'm changing, give me a moment!"

The voice was casual and natural, no sign that anything was amiss. This confirmed Rosen's deductions.

He had patience, lightly responding "Sure thing."

Just to be safe, after speaking, he retreated back to the top of the stairs.

After a while, the door clicked open and Ollie emerged from the room.

Seeing Rosen standing not too far at the top of the stairs, he asked curiously, "Why're you standing so far?"

Rosen didn't respond.

He scrutinized Ollie carefully. His demeanor was relaxed, clothing and hair neat and tidy, not a hint of tension or anxiety.

No wait, there was a bit of nervousness.

When Rosen stared intently at him top to bottom, Ollie shifted his body uncomfortably.

"What's up? Got something dirty on me? Why're you staring at me like that?"

Saying so, he turned to head back into the room. "Let me check the mirror."

Rosen's mind stirred. 'Since the culprit chose to frame him, there must be a reason.'

He decided to test it out. "Ollie, have you heard of the Winterless King?"

Ollie halted abruptly, spinning around to stare intensely at Rosen, sky blue eyes fixed on him.

"How do you know that name?"

This reaction was highly abnormal.

Rosen gripped his staff tightly, taking a step back to the corner of the stairs.

He had planned, at the first sign of Ollie losing control, he would jump down the stairs and escape with Lightning Charge.

As long as he made it out the front door, his mentor's aid would be immediate!

He continued asking, "So you do know about the Winterless King?"

Ollie gave an awkward laugh. "Of course I know, wandering bounty hunter that I am, I know many unusual secrets."

Just then, familiar footsteps sounded from below, followed by Shappolay's laughter.

"Ahaha, some poor sod got his nose sliced off in the South Market today, hahaha!"

"His nose? Why?" Harick asked curiously.

"Not his face nose, his other nose... Oh it was gruesome, blood sprayed out several meters!"

Shappolay's voice was filled with schadenfreude.

Rosen's mind stirred, already guessing what happened. He sighed inwardly, "That's the price of infidelity."

But he didn't forget the task at hand.

He immediately yelled out, "Uncle! Uncle! Come quick! I've discovered an important secret!"

Hearing his voice, Shappolay stomped up the stairs, grumbling all the while.

"Rosen, what's the deal, don't you know I've been running around town all day, my legs are about to fall off!"

Just then, a soft click sounded from Ollie's room, as if someone tossed something inside.

Ollie glanced back, face suddenly twisted in shock, and tried to retreat into the room.

Rosen's mind stirred, somewhat surprised. 'What happened in the room?'

Seeing Ollie trying to enter the room, he didn't take risks pursuing. He just shouted loudly.

"Uncle! Stop Ollie! He's likely the mastermind behind the South Market murders!"

Shappolay froze. "What?!"

Already at the top of the stairs, he saw Ollie hastily moving away, and was taken aback.

"Ollie, why're you running? Dear Golden God, Rosen can't be telling the truth!"

Ollie stayed silent, half his body already inside the room.

"Don't run!"

Shappolay bellowed, silver radiance suddenly bursting from his body as his speed sharply rose. Blade unsheathed, he shot towards Ollie's room like a cannonball.

Boom!

The wooden door was smashed to pieces by his impact, fragments flying everywhere, immediately followed by Shappolay's roar from within.

"Bastard, stand still!"

Ollie's voice rang out right after. "I'm not the murderer!"

"Not the murderer? Then why're you running?"

"I have my reasons! Shappolay, I did deceive you, but never framed anyone! Never!"

Towards the end, whether from anxiety or what, Ollie's voice changed, becoming crisp and tender like a woman's.

Hearing this bizarre female voice, Shappolay exploded!

"By the Golden God, you're actually a woman! And claim not to be the murderer!"

The murderer was a woman, buxom, quite tall, no, about the same height as Ollie after all.

Shappolay would hear no explanations. He exerted himself fiercely, cannonballing towards Ollie.

Ollie paled in shock, turned and leapt out the window, landing on the roof of the building across the street. She hopped from roof to roof, her speed inhumanly fast.

She was so quick even top tier warriors would be left behind, reaching a truly terrifying degree.

Seeing this speed, Shappolay knew he had no chance pursuing.

He was extremely frustrated, slamming the window sill.

"Liar! Great big liar!"

Just then, Rosen's voice came from behind.

"Uncle, look, a Tome of Blood Sacrifice!"

Shappolay turned to see Rosen pulling a small red book from under the bed. It was only the size of a palm, with two lines of black text on the cover.

'Tome of Blood Sacrifice - Manual of Demonic Transactions'

Shappolay's eyes bulged like a leopard's.

"By the Golden God, I can't believe I traveled with a demonic cultist for so long, even thought of him as a good comrade!"

"Ahhh, have I become so foolish?!"

He gripped his head tightly with both hands, feeling his life's beliefs crumbling!

Yet Rosen sighed inwardly.

'Sorry Ollie, I know you're innocent, but who asked you to poke your nose into this.'

'The murder charges, you'll have to carry them for now.'

As for the real culprit, he had a good idea who it was. Whether to expose them, he'll ask his mentor first.