How come this arcanist is invincible?

Chapter 110: The Investigation Begins

He briefly explained the situation, explaining that this was the rule in the industry, and the Dark Brotherhood needed to know it, from which they would take a cut.

Moreover, he did not intend to conduct the preliminary investigation himself. The Dark Brotherhood had a wider network and channels, making them more suitable for preliminary reconnaissance. The commission he received was considered as payment for this.

Sofia's expression softened after hearing this.

Receiving a commission from the Finafenne family, in a sense, also means that the previous conflict between the two sides has temporarily come to an end.

The two boarded the small boat and slowly sailed away from the large ship.

Inside the cabin, the half-elf swordsman asked in a low voice:

"Madam, why entrust this matter to the Dark Brotherhood? Their reputation is not good, and our family can investigate it ourselves."

Ella sighed softly:

"I understand your thoughts. They are profit-driven people, and their reputation is indeed not good."

But the forces involved behind this matter are too complex. Could it involve other elven families? Could it implicate internal personnel? Or is there an even more troublesome force at play?

If we let the Dark Brotherhood investigate, whatever the outcome, we'll have room to maneuver. Even if the situation gets complicated, we can extricate ourselves in time.

She looked at the sword dancer and slowly said:

"This is also why the Noble Council of Twin Harbors allowed the Dark Brotherhood to establish a base here. If we handle some things ourselves, it's easy to cause conflicts; by using outsiders, we can avoid getting burned."

The sword dancer understood the reason and nodded.

……

Back at the inn, Kane reverted to his human form.

He sat at the table, which smelled faintly of pine, and opened a brand-new "Introductory Dictionary of Susas Elven Language." Thanks to his outstanding intelligence, he learned very quickly.

Then he took out his notebook,

The notebook was filled with densely packed Chinese characters.

He turned to a new page and wrote: Twin Harbors, Dark Brotherhood, Ella Finafine, Unknown Potion. After a moment's thought, he added another line: Demonic Cult?, followed by a question mark.

"No matter what, let's improve our own strength first."

With a thought, an invisible shield unfolded in front of him. He then drew his dagger and slashed down forcefully, instantly dissipating the shield.

Kane concentrated, whispered the incantation, and cast the "Element Absorption" spell.

During this time, whenever he was alone, he would repeatedly practice various first-level spells to improve his spell proficiency.

But studying magic is different from practicing with scimitars and daggers; daily progress is very limited.

Even though his learning speed is much faster than when he was an arcane apprentice, he still hasn't mastered any first-level spells to level 5 or higher.

Even so, compared to most spellcasters, my mastery speed is already considered fast.

Just like Reed, he leveled up "Blazing Orb" to a very high level to meet the Night's Watch's combat needs.

He calmed himself down and looked at the system panel; most of his skills had been improved.

Name: Kane

Main Class: Arcane Mage lv20 (max)

Secondary Profession: Alchemy Apprentice lv10 (max)

Attributes: Omitted

Race: Human, Drow Elf (switchable)

Traits: Undead, Dagger Expert, Aether Affinity (Low), Arcane Enlightenment, Matter Identification (Low), Darkvision (Low), Keen Senses (Low), Spell Resistance (Low), Resilient Life

Knowledge: Nord script, Sussus script, basic arcane arts, principles of life, basic conversion, material research

Skills: Dagger Mastery lv10 (max), Susas Curved Blade lv10 (max), Potion Making lv9, Basic Enchanting lv3, Weighted Running lv1, Sewing Mastery lv1

Spells: Mage's Hand (modified) lv10 (max), Water Manipulation lv10 (max), Friendship lv4, Cloud Mist lv3, Protection from Evil lv3, Elemental Absorption lv3, Shield lv3, Disguise lv2, Lesser Animated Corpse lv1

Rank: First Rank

The second stage of the advanced change school requires five prerequisite knowledge items. He has already mastered three of them, and he can naturally learn the remaining two by proceeding step by step.

After reading the information on the panel, he closed his eyes.

The next steps in the investigation will depend on how much information the Dark Brotherhood can gather from Sophia's side.

……

The next day, he pretended to be idle during the day and wandered around the city at will.

As night fell, he switched to the appearance of a pure-blooded drow and returned to the Dark Brotherhood's tavern stronghold.

Upon his arrival, Sofia bowed in greeting:

"Lord Kane, we have found some information regarding the hallucinogenic water you asked us to inquire about."

Kane nodded, signaling her to continue.

Sofia then spoke:

"As you predicted, this drug did indeed appear about six months ago. After taking it, one would fall into a hallucination, and afterwards become lethargic. In addition, we have also discovered another situation."

"What's going on?" Kane asked in a deep voice.

"Apart from the deceased you went to mourn, the conditions of the other users varied. The vast majority of people only became lethargic; not everyone died as a result, and some even disappeared."

"Missing?" Kane paused slightly.

Before he could think it through, Sophia continued:

"The missing person was a young half-elf. Dissatisfied with his family's situation, he managed to buy and consume hallucinogenic water. After taking the drug, he was delirious and incoherent all day long."

His family reported him missing to the sheriff, but after a search, the sheriff found that he had vanished without a trace.

Kane nodded upon hearing this, and then asked a few more questions about the details.

According to Sofia's summary, very few people died directly from the hallucinogenic drug, and only a small portion went missing. The vast majority of users were lethargic but still refused to stop taking the drug.

That makes sense. If this drug had caused mass deaths, it would have alarmed the Council of Nobles and launched a thorough investigation, rather than simply issuing a weak ban and dealing with the matter hastily.

He looked at Sophia and asked, "Do you have any psychedelic potion on hand?"

Sofia shook her head, looking apologetic:

"I'm sorry, Mr. Kane. According to our investigation, the hallucinogenic potion purchased must be consumed immediately at the location specified by the vendor."

Once you leave that location, the potion will lose its effectiveness and become a regular sleeping pill, unable to produce any hallucinations.

"It will fail?" Kane pondered, this was completely different from the properties of the potion he knew before.

"Could you take me to where it's sold and used?"

Sophia looked at his pure-blooded Drow appearance and hesitated, saying, "Your Excellency, it is really inconvenient for you to appear in public with your appearance like this."

Kane chuckled softly, "Of course I won't go myself, it's just a friend of mine, he's human."

Sofia remained silent for a moment, secretly speculating that this friend was most likely a spy planted in the shadows by her family.

She finally nodded and replied, "Of course, no problem."