Witch, Fireball and the Evil God of Steam

The front hall served as the study for every learned scholar. They would meditate and record their insights on magic, passing them down to the next scholar in hopes that one day someone would gather all the wisdom and cross that final threshold.

Rowena poked her head inside, and the smell immediately made her wrinkle her nose.

It was the stench of rotting food, wafting steadily from the scholar's desk. She could vaguely see a plate with a pumpkin pie on it.

She covered her nose in disgust, a sense of foreboding instantly rising in her heart.

The current scholar, though elderly, was not a messy person. The last time they met, she was in high spirits and would never leave a pumpkin pie to rot.

Rowena recalled what the magicians had said.

The scholar had been in seclusion for some time now.

"Something seems to have happened."

Rowena said.

She barged into the room first, bypassing the front hall and heading straight to the back hall used for meditation and reflection.

This was undoubtedly a reckless and disrespectful act, and if taken further, it could be seen as an offense against the scholar's dignity.

The gray magic power was becoming denser.

The back hall was enveloped in a celestial ambience, making one feel as if they were in the universe.

The scholar was seated in the center of the back hall, facing away from them, seemingly immersed in meditation.

But there was also an aura of decay here.

Rowena and Ethan exchanged glances and stepped forward.

The situation was worse than she imagined. As she moved to face the scholar, she immediately realized the scholar's condition — her eyes had been burned through, leaving only two hollow black cavities, yet her face showed no sign of pain, as if she had calmly and serenely walked toward death.

It seemed she had been dead for some time.

"It looks like she suffered a backlash during meditation."

Rowena frowned. Although she disliked the scholar, she had never hoped for the old woman's tragic death. Moreover, this was not a mistake the scholar should have made. Only those new to meditation, who recklessly sought danger, could see things they shouldn't and suffer a backlash.

Hurried footsteps interrupted Rowena's thoughts.

Led by Silver Fox, the Great Mages were rushing in aggressively.

At the forefront was the vice president, whom Rowena least wanted to see. They almost immediately noticed signs that the stargazing room's door had been forcibly opened.

They didn't linger in the front hall and headed straight to the back hall, where they saw Rowena examining the scholar.

"She suffered a backlash from meditation."

Rowena shared her findings with everyone, "She probably died some time ago."

"That's impossible!"

Silver Fox immediately rebutted, "I spoke with the scholar just last night!"

His rebuttal sparked discussion among the Magic Masters. They were indeed certain they had seen the scholar recently.

The vice president's face was grim. He stared at Rowena and sneered, "I've always said, keeping you is a curse."

Rowena was infuriated. These incompetent Magic Masters, spending their days in the Mage Tower, hadn't even realized the scholar had long been dead.

That's why she hated dealing with them. She knew that even if she wasn't the murderer, the vice president would spare no effort in blaming her.

What had she said? Nothing good ever came from dealing with these Magic Masters.

"Are you suggesting that I killed the scholar?"

"A backlash from meditation is your conclusion, but how could the scholar make such a basic mistake?"

The vice president said, "Unless someone forcibly entered her room during her meditation and influenced her mind using external forces, leading to such a result. If I remember correctly, aren't you an expert in such magic, Miss Rowena?"

This wasn't a misunderstanding; it was a setup.

Ethan realized.

But... something still didn't add up.

He had been observing the exchanges among the Magic Masters. Perhaps Silver Fox lied due to his personal vendetta, but those discussing Magic Masters truly believed they had recently seen the scholar — at least they thought they had seen her in person.

If they hadn't intruded into the stargazing room today, the deceased scholar might have remained with them for a long time.

How did this work?

Was the scholar's ghost still wandering the Mage Tower, or had someone intentionally fabricated the fact that she was still alive?

"Mr. Ethan."

The vice president approached him with measured respect and said, "I highly respect you, but you've been deceived by Rowena. She is a cunning liar who intends to use you as her witness to cover up her crime against the scholar."

Ethan was taken aback by the vice president's mysterious comments, forcing him to ponder deeply.

Theoretically, the Magic Masters of the Mage Tower did not want to make an enemy of him. If they intended to pin the crime on Rowena, they would need to disrupt his relationship with her.

But this person spoke without sense; was his mind clouded by hatred, or had his long tenure as vice president left him unchallenged, with no one daring to oppose his nonsense?

"I want to verify something."