But to his surprise, golden characters emerged within the parentheses that followed.
Colin speculated that this was probably closely connected to the insufficient foundational knowledge he had accumulated so far.
These days, he had been planning to go to the School's Teaching Castle to enroll in some witchcraft knowledge courses—primarily recognized Second Rank foundational knowledge, as well as knowledge on the Fire Element, to make up for this deficiency.
After all, he had earned some points from carrying out the mandatory tasks, which he could use to pay for the courses.
As for the outcome of the Natural Healing Skill Limit Breaking, it was less than satisfactory; it only went from Middle First Rank to Upper First Rank.
Fortunately, Colin didn't have a great need for Healing Magic since he already had a strong defense and the Strong Life Talent to rely on, so it didn't really matter.
After breaking the limits of three witchcraft spells, Colin did not continue to practice. Instead, he turned around and left the True Knowledge Society.
Colin walked past the broken fountain outside the gates of the True Knowledge Society Castle, where a thick layer of snow had accumulated,
and the orange sunset sank into the distant horizon.
He glanced left and right... he was in luck this time, as there happened to be a public carriage by the roadside.
Colin stepped up into the carriage, and as the sound of the whip cracked, the carriage slowly began to move.
At the same time, around the corner and out of his line of sight,
a common Wizard wearing a hood subtly withdrew his gaze.
He then quickly walked along the street for a long time, crossed intersections, turned down alleys, and eventually arrived before two extravagantly dressed Pureblood Wizards.
Bale and Garna listened intently to the report from the Wizard before them, their expressions filled with a mix of shock and skepticism.
"You've done well. You can go; no need to continue monitoring," Garna said, gesturing for the common Wizard to leave before firmly closing the door. He seemed to feel that wasn't enough, so he cast a Silence Barrier with a wave of his hand.
"Colin Leonard really came back?" Garna inhaled sharply, disbelief evident in his gaze toward Bale.
Shock was apparent on Bale's face, too. After a pause, he asked, "Are you Hidosh Family certain that Joyce has disappeared?"
"Regardless, Joyce hasn't returned up to now, and it's been almost a month since he left. No one knows of his whereabouts..." Garna paused, then added, "except for us."
"Joyce went to the Extreme North to deal with Colin... but now this First Rank Wizard has returned, and Second Rank Joyce has disappeared?"
Bale sat back down, resting his chin in his hands, with a thoughtful frown.
"Colin is no ordinary First Rank Wizard..." Garna hesitated for a moment before continuing, "Moreover, before this, he had already successfully killed a Second Rank Wizard named Yasi."
"Are you suggesting Joyce went to take care of Colin but ended up being killed by him instead?" Bale raised his eyebrows, his voice rising slightly.
A Second Rank Wizard, fully prepared, going after a First Rank Wizard but ending up killed instead?
What a preposterous notion!
"I don't know," Garna said with a shrug, sharing the disbelief.
"However, if Joyce didn't accidentally lose his way or was unlucky to encounter some danger in the Extreme North...
Then, the only possibility seems to be that the Golden Feather killed Joyce..."
Bale's brow furrowed deeply, and after a long silence, he looked up at Garna and said in a low voice, "Regardless, Joyce's disappearance is undoubtedly connected to the Golden Feather."
Garna nodded in agreement.
Bale continued, "Have you heard if your Hidosh Family has plans to continue dealing with this Golden Feather?"
"Not sure. Does your Bunier family have any news?" Garna shook his head.
"No concrete news, but I heard some rumors... probably there will be new actions," Bale responded.
Garna fell silent for a moment, his expression troubled, "The Magic Stone that Joyce promised us... we still haven't received it."
"Forget about it! This failed interception mission cost my family three months' worth of resources, one more month than previously estimated," Babu added resentfully, "What a losing deal!"
The room fell briefly into silence as the two men exchanged glances, their eyes flickering.
"We can't afford to make losing deals!" Babu eventually said, slapping the table and standing up.
Garna nodded in agreement, "You're right!"
They sat down again, conversing in hushed tones.
The translucent Silence Barrier isolated them from the outside world, blocking sound and blurring the figures of the two individuals.
...
On the other hand, the carriage traveled along and soon stopped at the side of the road.
Colin stepped out of the carriage, turned into an alleyway and after a short walk, arrived at the familiar Darren's Commission.
After returning to Neustadt City, he would visit this place every other day to check for updates on custom witchcraft commissions or requests to purchase magical services.
After all, to earn Magic Stones, one had to look at the commissions for custom witchcraft.
Walking up to a column in the hall, he placed his hand on a crystal, and a screen of light unfurled before him like water.
Colin quickly went through the commission tasks updated in the past two days.
'There's still nothing suitable.'
With a sigh in his heart, Colin was about to leave Darren's Commission and head home.
However, at that moment, a witch from the commission firm suddenly approached and called out to him.
"Lord Colin, you have an exclusive commission. Please follow me."
Colin raised an eyebrow and followed the witch to a room behind the commission counter.
"That's the thing, Lord Colin," the witch began as soon as she sat down, sensing his confusion. "While Darren's Commission normally operates with anonymous transactions,
if needed, the wizard who posts a commission can specify a particular wizard through us, such as the one who completed their last custom witchcraft."
"And your exclusive commission is just like that. The wizard who posted it is the same one who posted the commission for Elemental Life Enhancement that you completed last time."
Colin nodded, understanding what was going on.
'... It seems that the Elemental Life Enhancement witchcraft I crafted last time must have satisfied the client.'
"So, what exactly is the request for this exclusive commission?" Colin asked.
However, the witch before him shook her head and said,
"The wizard didn't specify the exact content of the exclusive commission. They just said it's still a custom witchcraft, within the difficulty of Second Rank, and there's more—" she paused and continued, "The reward is five hundred thousand Magic Stones."
Colin arched his eyebrows; this amount of Magic Stones was something he couldn't refuse.
"How should I find out the exact requirements of the commission?" he continued.
"The client said they need to discuss it in person."
Colin frowned slightly.
"If you're worried about privacy," the witch smiled, "there's no need. Darren's Commission provides Hidden Witch Tools especially for wizards who don't wish to reveal their identities, crafted by a Third Rank Wizard. Theoretically, wizards below the middle level of Third Rank cannot possibly see through it.
Of course, there's a fee for using it, but it's necessary."
"However, the commissioning wizard has already mentioned that if you agree, he will pay for the use of the Hidden Witch Tool, and you won't have to spend a single Magic Stone."
"I understand," Colin said with a slight nod.
The commissioning wizard had indeed been very thoughtful.
After pondering for a moment, he said, "I am willing to learn more, please arrange a time for me."
"Very well, Lord Colin," the witch nodded. "Is tomorrow morning suitable for you?"
"I have no issue. Does the commissioner have time then?"
The witch smiled, "That lord emphasized that if you were willing to learn more, to arrange a meeting as soon as possible. He's available at any time."
Colin nodded, curiosity unwittingly arising within him.
This commissioning wizard was in such a hurry; it made him wonder what kind of custom witchcraft they wanted... But at the very least, he was certain that the difficulty would be high.
However, it didn't matter. He hadn't accepted the commission yet. Tomorrow was simply for understanding more, and if it wasn't suitable, he could still refuse.