Meet the principal

At night, the old street is quiet, and most of the shops have been closed. There are no pedestrians here at night, and it seems even more lonely now. Only the lit street lamps leave faint shadows on the road.

But in the corner of the old street, the lights of Antoine's Alchemy Workshop were still on.

Antoine put down the cup in his hand and scanned the working conditions of each alchemy circle again before cutting off its magic supply and stopping the operation of the circle.

Of course, he couldn't let the magic circle continue to work while he was sleeping, otherwise if something went wrong along the way, his alchemy workshop might be blown up directly. Antoine packed everything up before slowly walking upstairs. Go back to the bedroom and get ready for bed.

About an hour passed, and just as the snoring began to start upstairs, Antoine's door was quietly pried open, and a figure tiptoed into the alchemy workshop.

"It's so simple."

Sanderson was wearing coarse black clothes. This kind of fabric that had been with him for many years made him feel very uncomfortable at this time. His footsteps were very light and almost made no sound. After all, theft was his old profession.

If it were placed in Piram's alchemy workshop, the buzzer of the alarm circle would sound the moment Sanderson picked the door lock, but that kind of special circle would cost a lot of money to arrange and maintain, and Antoine obviously couldn't afford it. Can't afford this.

Sanderson came to the side of the alchemy circle and took out a dark green stone from his pocket.

Of course he doesn't know magic, but what Piram gave to Sanderson was a genuine magic item.

This magical prop called the Recording Stone can perfectly replicate the structure of a magic circle in a space. It is a creation left over from ancient magic, and its specific principles have not yet been analyzed by modern magic.

In the beginning, the record stone was used for archeology. When mages found ancient magic relics, they used the record stone to imprint those difficult-to-analyze runes and magic circles for back study. Now it has become a convenient means of copying. Blueprints used to carry small and medium-sized magic circles.

Sanderson activated the recording stone according to Piram's instructions, and a burst of green light swept across it, and he quickly copied one of the Coke production lines, flawlessly and flawlessly.

"time to go."

Sanderson thought, but he suddenly found that the surroundings were silent, and the snoring that had been continuous before had stopped at some point.

In just a moment, Sanderson broke out in cold sweat. He hurriedly put away the recording stone and walked towards the door.

"You thief!"

There was a roar from behind Sanderson, followed by a stream of hot air.

Even Sanderson, who had no magic at all, could still catch the trajectory of the burning flame in mid-air with the corner of his eye.

A ring of magic, fireball.

The egg-sized core was surrounded by red flames, hitting Sanderson in a straight line.

He hurriedly rushed forward, and the fireball streaked across Sanderson's head, leaving a scorch mark on his hair. It hit the wooden door and opened up a path for Sanderson.

Sanderson panicked, rolling and crawling, and hurriedly slipped out. As the night grew thicker, he quickly disappeared into the alley and could no longer be found.

Since the copying process of the recording stone will not leave any traces, Antoine will only think that it is an ordinary thief trying his luck in the alchemy workshop. Sanderson was impressed by Piram's wisdom, and he took a big breath with lingering fear. , touching the recording stone in his pocket, it took him a while to settle down, but he felt a dampness in his lower body.

What he just experienced made him incontinent.

...

The next day, in Antoine's alchemy workshop, Antoine was talking with Sheriff Leslie who came to investigate and collect evidence.

"Are you sure nothing is missing?"

Leslie looked at the door that was blasted open by the fireball spell, thinking that the mage himself might have done more damage to this room than the little thief.

Fortunately, Leslie did some research on the surrounding neighbors. Someone did see an unidentified guy sneaking out of Antoine's alchemy workshop last night. Only then can he roughly conclude that the theft was real and not this person's. The delusion of a mage.

"Nothing is missing. I think the thieves must be looking for my alchemy circle."

Antoine pointed at the alchemy circle he was running.

"This is a bit difficult to handle, Sheila, what do you think?"

Leslie asked her colleague. Sheila is a first-level mage. Due to the recent increase in magical crimes, the Magical Crimes Division where she works has gradually become busier.

"If it is a crime using a recording stone, then basically no evidence will be left behind. And if the other party does not openly use the alchemy circle on certain occasions, we will not be able to find the whereabouts."

Sheila shook her head. Her wheat-colored skin was very healthy, and she didn't look like a mage who focused on research in the laboratory.

"How about prophecy?"

Leslie asked. There had been examples in the past of using astrological predictions to successfully find clues, so he asked.

"There is no way. There are too many magical elements involved in the incident, and the prophecy will be greatly interfered with, unless a high-level mage can be called upon, such as the one in 'Stargazer'."

Sighing, Sheila was at her wits' end.

Unlike most people's impression of the ability to predict the future, although prophecy can provide a relatively accurate divination for events that do not involve magic, if there are magical elements in it, such as the current incident, then the results of the astrology will be There will be huge deviations, even completely contrary to the truth.

"Mr. Antoine, do you have any clues, such as competitors?"

Asking based on experience, Leslie picked up a bottle of Coke that had been made. The town of Sorento where the old street is located has not yet become popular in this drink, so he still knows nothing about Piram Coke.

"Pyram's Alchemy Workshop recently produced a batch of cola, which is similar to mine, but the taste is different."

Antoine replied that he followed Rainer's instructions and did not directly accuse Antoine, but only hinted at it.

"Piram Alchemy Workshop? The possibility of business competition is quite high."

Sheila seemed to be in a bit of a dilemma. This alchemy workshop itself had many improper behaviors, but due to the lack of direct evidence, the sheriffs in several cities were unable to convict him. As a mage, Sheila also despised it. Piram's behavior.

"We will go back to investigate, but Mr. Antoine, I still have to tell you that unless direct evidence can be found to prove that your alchemy circle was indeed stolen by Piram Alchemy Workshop, there will be no conviction."

"I see."

Antoine nodded and did not tell the two magistrates in front of him about the signature he set in the alchemy circle for the time being.