The Moon Thief

When Heinald came to a clock tower, he stopped. The height of this clock tower was about 50 meters. It was made entirely of stone, and at the very top of this tower was a bell. When he entered the clock tower, he saw spiral steps leading upwards. When he got up, he came to an iron door.

The door was locked.

Heinald knocked the door.

A few seconds later, the iron door opened with a creak. The person who opened the door was a small boy, about twelve years old.

"Greetings, my lord!" The little boy immediately bowed his head and greeted him.

"I'm looking for Avnord Tellsen, son." Heinald didn't give the little boy the stern stare he gave most people. This boy was also an Apprentice Ainsar and reminded him of his own childhood. Apparently, this little boy was also getting an education.

"Come in!"

Heinald went inside when he heard the voice rising from the back. A rather cluttered room appeared before him. There was a large table in the middle of this room, but the top of the table was completely filled with papers, books, candles and cups. On the left side of the room was the mechanism of the great clock of the clock tower. On the right side of the room were two beds packed into a small space. Apart from all these, most of the places were covered by libraries.

He saw a man in front of one of these bookshelves trying to find a book he was looking for. His face was not visible; He had a long but slender body and white hair. There was no hair on the top of his head, only on the sides and back. He was wearing a long gown of dark green with white flower embroideries. The waves of energy emanating from him indicated that he was a Level 2 Ainsar.

As Heinald learned, this man was a witness to the event, Avnord Tellsen!

When the man found the book he was looking for, he snapped his finger, and after pulling it out from among the other books, he turned and looked at it, "You're here for Furyus Almhad's disappearance, aren't you?"

"How did you know?" Heinald asked.

"It's not hard... A young genius who managed to become a Level 2 Ainsar at a fairly young age is learning and visiting the address of someone like me who has little to do with the outside world. You're obviously from the Ruthas Academy. It's easy to understand why you came here with a simple deduction. "

Heinald chuckled lightly, "You're right, I heard you knew something about Furyus Almhad's disappearance."

"You heard?" The man grinned, "As if you'd better say you gave that goddamn witch thousands of Arkana Stones..."

"Then let's call it that." Heinald shrugged, "After all, there are some things I want to learn and I've been able to reach out to someone who knows 'some' things."

The man sighed, "That damn witch is using my address as part of her trade..."

There was a brief silence.

The man shook his head and said, "My advice to you would be to just let it go, I can tell you what's going on, but believe me, any reward you get is not worth pursuing."

"I'll make the final decision on whether to continue or not, once I know what's going on anyway." Heinald said.

"Furyus Almhad has been kidnapped by a group that can effectively use Black Magic, which is reason enough for you to stop pursuing it." Avnord Tellsen picked up a blank sheet of paper from his desk and began to write on it.

"I can also use Black Magic effectively." Heinald said.

"Maybe. However, can you do that in the heart of a city and easily disappear without leaving a trace?" Avnord Tellsen stared at his face for a few seconds, then his gaze fell back onto the paper in front of him. "If so, we've found the person who had a hand in his disappearance."

Heinald sighed, "All I'm asking you to do is tell me what the attack was like, and if there's anything that caught your attention, tell me."

"When the sun went down, they came like shadows on the mountains and took Mr. Furyus and disappeared." Avnord Tellsen's writing hand stopped, "Whoever those people were... They weren't just regular users of Dark Magic, so my advice to you is to let it go and move on with your life.

Avnord sighed when he saw his stern gaze and said, "If you want to die so badly... Mr. Furyus' wife and children were in league with his kidnappers."

"What!?" Heinald's brows furrowed.

"When their carriage was attacked, they calmly got out of the carriage and talked to the people hiding behind the shadows.

Avnord's brows furrowed.

"I have no idea why his wife and children would do such a thing, but Mr. Furyus must have gotten himself in a lot of trouble."

"They told me that Furyus looked worried, were they telling the truth or were they lying?"

"Is Furyus' old friend also involved in this?

Heinald had a storm of questions in his head. The matter was getting more and more complicated.

"What do the city guards think of this situation? Have you heard anything around?" Heinald looked at Avnord, who was still typing something.

"The city guards came to the scene very late that night... You know what that means, right?" Avnord shot him a glance.

Heinald nodded slowly, looking rather thoughtful.

He had a dark expression on his face when he left the clock tower. Whoever attacked Mr. Furyus was certainly not a member of an ordinary community. He wasn't sure about going after it.

"I will present the information I have obtained to the academy, let someone else take care of the rest. I am sure I will earn some Achievement Points with the information I get." Heinald had made up his mind when he got into the carriage.

Those who kidnapped Mr. Furyus seemed to have authority even over the city guards.

"Hmm?" As Heinald was looking out the window of the carriage, a bird came to his window. A small roll-shaped note was left on this bird's back.

He immediately opened the window, took the note and began to read.

"I know what happened to Furyus. Tomorrow night, come to the inn called Nighthawk. I'll find you."

Heinald frowned, "What the fuck is going on?

He pocketed the note and continued to watch thoughtfully. Of course he didn't trust this note, but after all he hadn't been summoned to a deserted place, he didn't think his life was in danger.

"Furyus was attacked in the city…" Heinald thought of the attack the person he was looking for had encountered.

Still, he was going to the inn called Nighthawk tomorrow night. He believed that even if attacked, he would be able to survive this attack. He had the energy and energy source of his Protective Type Magical Treasure.

***

The next night he went to the inn called Nighthawk. When he got out of the carriage, a man in a suit met him.

"Welcome, sir. I have been informed of your arrival, please follow me."

Heinald started following the man. This bar, Nighthawk, was the most luxurious and ostentatious inn he had ever seen. There were girls dancing in the middle of the inn, the elite of the people here was evident even from the way everyone was drinking.

No one seemed to be drinking enough to lose control. In the corner, a group of musicians were playing some pretty good-sounding music. There was no loud laughter or shouting around.

The man who greeted Heinald led him down a short corridor and into a private lounge. Inside was a middle-aged man with some gray hair between his black hair. This man had a long nose and chin. He wore a rather loose gray robe. This man was a Level 2 Ainsar.

"Oh! Welcome." Seeing him, the man stood up and held out his hand to him, "I am Havin Volz, a very old and close friend of Furyus."

"My name is Heinald." He gave a slight nod, "How did you find me?"

"Actually, I've been following you for a long time, but only had the opportunity to talk to you today. I noticed you for the first time when you visited Furyus' family. Despite your young age, I knew you were a Ruthas Academy from the fact that you were a Level 2 Ainsar and visited them."

"Do you know anything about the mysterious disappearance of Mr. Furyus?" Heinald asked.

Havin Volz's expression darkened, "Yes… He managed to send me a message that day. He saw something he shouldn't have."

"Actually, I've been following you for a long time, but only had the opportunity to talk to you today. I noticed you for the first time when you visited Furyus' family. Despite your young age, I knew you were a Ruthas Academy from the fact that you were a Level 2 Ainsar and visited them."