...
Lynch fought back the nausea from using the Awakening Potion a second time in such a short period. He raised his grim Magic Staff again and chanted a short, arcane spell.
A spectral light flashed from the tip of the staff. A deathly-pale ball of energy the size of a human head, trailing a curved tail and resembling a small ghost, quickly took shape. With a wave of his staff, it shot out silently.
[Weakness Curse: Lv1 (0034/3000)]
This was another of the Necromancer's basic signature spells. It could make the target's entire body go limp and their legs give out, as if they'd spent three days and nights straight carousing at the Oak Boggart House.
Since the skill was relatively easy to level up and quite effective, Lynch had already trained it to Lv1 long ago.
The ball of cursed light was much faster than the Skeleton Soldier, arriving first despite being cast second.
The illicit couple, who were in the middle of getting dressed, were startled again.
But Leon Hosley was a seasoned bully with excellent physical conditioning and quick reflexes. He immediately rolled, trying to dodge the Weakness Curse.
But the small, ghost-like ball of light was like a homing missile. It followed his movement, swerving in mid-air and sinking directly into Leon Hollis's body.
The power of the Curse erupted within him instantly.
Leon Hollis felt a paralyzing numbness spread through his bones. His legs went weak, and he nearly stumbled to the ground. It was as if half his strength had been siphoned away, leaving him feeble and powerless.
At that moment.
Bone Jade charged up to him, swinging its Bone Knife in a frenzied assault.
Leon Hollis dodged hastily, but his robes, which he hadn't even had time to tie properly, were still slashed with several cuts.
He wanted to counterattack with a Holy Light Bomb, but his body was too weak.
Furthermore, the future Skeleton King, Bone Jade, was exceptionally strong and gave him no opening. Its blades pressed in close, relentlessly engaging him in melee. The Holy Knight apprentice was actually pushed into a corner, barely able to defend himself and constantly in peril.
"Purify! Use the Purification Skill, quickly!" Leon Hollis roared at the dazed nun beside him, his voice a mix of alarm and fury.
The nun snapped out of her stupor as if waking from a dream. She frantically formed a spell sign with her hands and chanted a Sacred Spell, trying to cast the Holy Light Purification Skill.
But she was too young and too panicked, failing twice in a row.
This completely dashed Leon Hollis's last hope of escaping in the chaos.
In truth, according to Lynch's calculations, it wouldn't have mattered even if the nun had managed to cast the Holy Light Purification Skill. At her level, purifying Bone Jade would have been no easy task.
After all, this was a powerful being capable of withstanding a single purifying strike from an Angel Sentinel.
Just as the chaotic struggle was unfolding.
Two female Holy Light guards in full armor emerged from the breach in the wall, flanking an old matron in a simple white nun's habit. Her expression was stern.
The matron's gaze swept across the scene, immediately landing on the disheveled man and woman entangled in a fight with a Skeleton Soldier.
One of them was none other than Sister Yibela, whom she had personally mentored and held in high regard.
The worldly and experienced old matron's brow furrowed. She already had a good idea of what was going on.
At once, she snorted coldly and, with a casual wave of her hand, cast a Holy Light Purification Skill at Bone Jade.
CLATTER!
Bone Jade instantly collapsed as if its soul had been ripped out, its skeleton scattering across the ground.
"Matron~"
Sister Yibela's eyes were filled with terror and utter despair.
Leon Hollis, however, tried to bluster his way out of it. "Matron, we were here to eliminate the evil presence."
The old matron gave him a cold look. Her gaze fell upon the unsightly thing exposed beneath his tattered black robe, swaying in the wind. Her voice was ice-cold. "Take them away. Examine their bodies carefully."
"Yes."
The two female Holy Light guards immediately stepped forward, grabbing the despairing, limp-bodied couple and dragging them back into the convent.
The old matron, meanwhile, glanced at the scattered bones on the ground, her brow furrowed slightly as she muttered to herself, "'A Tier One Skeleton from the Netherworld, a Tier One Weakness Curse... It seems we're dealing with a Tier One Necromancer.'"
Just then, another guard came forward, bowed, and reported, "Matron Bertie, the Angel Sentinel's ward was triggered multiple times tonight, consuming a total of one and a half Bright Magic Stones."
At this, the old nun Bertie's brow furrowed even more deeply.
'A Necromancer comes to the convent in the middle of the night and repeatedly triggers the Angel Sentinels. What kind of strange probing is this?'
'Is there a conspiracy behind it?'
"Search the vicinity. Have the wall repaired as soon as possible tomorrow. The convent is to maintain the highest level of alert."
"Yes, Matron."
Soon, a squad of guards poured out from the breach and began searching the area for a certain Necromancer.
But Lynch had already taken off at a full sprint the moment Bone Jade had entangled that wretched couple. With his excellent physical fitness, he quickly vanished into the distance.
From far away, he glanced back.
The breach in the Holy Maiden Convent's wall was now brightly lit with torches.
Lynch knew that Leon Hollis was utterly ruined this time. Even if he wasn't killed, he'd at least lose a layer of skin.
'Oh, great and unspeakable existence, I've caught an adulterer for you this time.'
'But you don't need to thank me.'
Then, his figure melted into the night.
As the saying goes.
When the job is done, flick your sleeves and go, hiding your deeds and your name.
***
「Time passed.」
When Lynch, wrapped in a black robe with a hood obscuring most of his face, emerged from the Raven Inn, the sky was already starting to brighten.
A thin morning mist, like a veil of light gauze, drifted through the streets, carrying a slight chill.
He tightened his robe and weighed the heavy coin purse in his hand, an involuntary, satisfied smile appearing on his face.
The purse contained a full one hundred and twenty Gold Coins—his payment for selling information to The Seeker's Eye just now.
The Seeker's Eye was a large, nationwide intelligence organization with tangled, unfathomably deep roots.
The Seeker's Eye also had a side business: publishing a weekly magazine that was a bestseller across the country—*Rumors and Truth*. They would print unimportant tidbits of information or explosive, juicy gossip to make a profit.
One could say they had quite the business acumen.
As for what information Lynch sold?
It was, of course, the explosive, scandalous news that Baron Horsley's second son, the Holy Light Knight apprentice Leon Hollis, had been caught red-handed in a late-night tryst with a nun from the Holy Maiden Convent.
That's right, that Leon Hollis was also the son of a nobleman.
Otherwise, the story wouldn't have been worth one hundred and twenty Gold Coins.
Lynch figured that since those sanctimonious hypocrites of the Holy Light System were masters of the cover-up, always hiding away their stinking, dirty laundry, he might as well help light a fire under them—and earn some money to pay off his debts in the process.
'I'm doing this for the good of your Holy Light Church. No need to thank me.'
Of course, to maintain its reputation, The Seeker's Eye had extremely high standards for the authenticity of its information. When acquiring intel, they would conduct a strict [Lie Detection] test, with zero tolerance for false reports.
It was precisely this rigorous and responsible attitude that made their regional editions of the *Rumors and Truth* weekly sell so well. Exceptionally explosive news would even be circulated nationwide via raven.
"Thank you for nature's gift," Lynch muttered under his breath. He stuffed the coin purse into his robe, pulled his hood lower, and walked quickly in the direction of Hurst Royal Extraordinary Academy.
...