It had been less than twenty days since he had lost his entire right hand, and the phantom limb pain from the amputation still troubled him.
Colin carefully watched Marjorie's right arm, feeling a bitter taste in his heart, as if blocked by a large stone... Below that, a simmering anger was brewing.
Marjorie was the first classmate he met when he came to Atbolde.
He still remembered that it was outside the mentor's residence.
Marjorie had shown him how to bypass the defenses of the mentor's residence, set up by Nado, and taught him a small witchcraft trick...
Later on, his current residence was actually found with Marjorie's help.
Back then, Marjorie was in a robust and healthy state.
But now, he had sustained such serious injuries...
Losing a limb was not as trivial as Marjorie had described.
For a Wizard Apprentice, the integrity of the body could even affect the success rate of advancing to an Official Wizard!
And even if one advanced later, during the phase when a First Rank Wizard strengthened their body, there would still be some adverse effects.
After all, during the Apprentice Rank, the Spirit Sea had not yet opened, and the soul was not strong enough.
The soul, most of the time, was intertwined with the body... Losing a limb would also damage part of the soul.
If the limb replacement or reattachment was delayed indefinitely, then that part of the soul, which lost the support of the physique, might eventually be permanently lost...
When the pain eased slightly, Marjorie lowered his right arm and continued,
"I'm worried that the mentor, seeing me in this condition, will disregard the injuries and go seek trouble with the Hidosh Family... So since then, I haven't visited the mentor either."
"I don't even know how bad the mentor's injuries are now…"
Thinking of this, his eyes darkened, and he sighed,
"Colin, do you know... Sister Lillian also went missing on the battlefield."
"I wonder how distressed the mentor will be when he hears this news... I really hope Sister Lillian, like you, just encountered some accidents and will eventually come back safely!"
Colin's lips moved, about to explain, but what came out was—
"Let's hope so..."
He did not explain to Marjorie that the mentor's injuries had been temporarily managed with the help of Ancient Tree Spring, nor did he explain Lillian's whereabouts...
After all, he also had no way of knowing what the current situation of Lillian really was, and for Marjorie, knowing too much wasn't a good thing as a mere Apprentice.
After a moment of silence.
Colin asked again:
"Senior Marjorie, why are you working in that ordinary Magic Crystal Store?"
He had asked an apprentice named Thompson for a long time, gathered some clues, and then followed them to find this place.
"Prosthetics are too expensive, the stores under the School do not accept me, and going out on missions... my injury still affects me a bit," Marjorie replied briefly.
He chuckled and continued, "I am somewhat grateful to the Hidosh Family for driving me out of my original residence. The place I live now is not as spacious as before, but it is much cheaper!"
Colin silently sighed, letting Marjorie lead the way home, planning to go to a relatively safe environment to see if there was anything he could help with.
…
Meanwhile, elsewhere.
In a luxurious study, Oliver was reporting back.
"Lord Yasi, this is the situation, the bond between Colin, who received the Silver Feather Token, and Atbolde is not as deep as we imagined.
After I finished speaking, I hinted that I was planning to leave and would return after Atbolde's death."
"Hmm."
On the soft solo leather sofa, a male wizard with teal hair responded softly, his gaze wandering, and it was unclear what he was thinking.
Oliver stood respectfully to the side, head bowed, seeming to think of something, he continued,
"Colin Leonard only joined the School a little more than six months ago.
According to investigations, he was initially misidentified as less talented at the time of joining, and was passively assigned to the Atbolde Faction, not by his own choice. Shortly after joining, he also secluded himself for several months…"
Oliver looked up, speculating,
"So, it's also possible because of this, he actually doesn't care about Atbolde's current situation!
He is only reluctant to leave at this time out of concern for his reputation... He poses no threat to us."
"Oh?"
Yasi chuckled lightly, lowered his arm from his chin, and looked at Oliver as he softly asked back,
"Are you teaching me that I need not worry about him?"
The light words, when they landed in Oliver's heart, felt as heavy as Mount Tai, causing his face to instantly turn pale as he hurriedly explained,
"Lord Yasi, I spoke out of turn."
"Don't be nervous." Yasi smiled, leaning back slightly, letting his body sink into the back of the sofa, and lightly instructed,
"Repeat what you just said."
Oliver, as if pardoned, hurriedly recounted his conversation with Colin.
This time, he almost did not add any extra opinions or words, racking his brains to repeat almost every sentence completely.
It was only at the end that he respectfully asked,
"Lord Yasi, what should we do then?"
Yasi Hidosh, what he disliked most was others telling him what to do... Oliver silently recited in his mind.
Even though the Faction he belonged to had always been affiliated with the Hidosh Family.