This wizard only wishes to be a teacher
Chapter 232 - 211 Soul Hunter

Chapter 232: Chapter 211 Soul Hunter

"Good morning, Lurah," Anos set down his cup and looked towards Lucien.

"Good morning, Father," Lucien replied perfunctorily. However, under the observation of his "Mind Reading" talent, he could clearly see that Anos’s body seemed to be enveloped in a black filter, rendering his entire being in shades of black, as if wearing a terrifying filter.

Even upon closer inspection, one could glimpse an intermittent streak of crimson hidden beneath the churning blackness.

Malice, and very strong malice at that!

Lucien’s spiritual power struggled to stabilize his emotions, which allowed him to maintain a normal expression. He hurriedly manipulated "Lurah" to sit down in his seat and then lowered his head, trying hard to shift his attention from Anos onto the food in front of him.

Crack—

However, while cutting a slice of savory sausage, Lucien’s slight nervousness made him exert too much force, and the knife struck the plate with a loud sound, attracting the attention of a few people nearby.

"How can you be so careless?" Anos’s attitude seemed no different than usual. He picked up his own knife and took the opportunity to reiterate dining etiquette to Lurah, as if he were a genuinely caring father. But the blackness swirling around him was so dense that Lucien found it difficult to ignore.

He stealthily glanced at the few servants, two "brothers," and "mother" beside him, noting that their emotions seemed very normal and were primarily characterized by "friendliness" and "closeness."

Only "Second Brother Carol" had a faint stream of black in the emotional color surrounding his body, but it did not give Lucien a sense of danger. Combined with the dominant bright yellow representing exuberance on his person, Lucien easily deduced that he was probably plotting some harmless prank.

But Anos...

Lucien slightly lowered his head, feeling an urge to use his "Mind Reading" talent to probe Anos’s true thoughts, but he was also worried that if his mind-reading ability were detected by Anos, it could escalate the crisis he was facing.

It could be that Anos was also being played by some "player," who happened to have items or means to defend against mind reading or mental control. Therefore, if he realized his mind was being read, he would undoubtedly take a much more aggressive approach, even... finding an opportunity to kill Lucien in broad daylight.

Thinking this, Lucien suppressed his inner impulse and also pondered the myriad speculations as to why Anos harbored such intense malice toward him.

Was it because of some dissatisfaction that "Anos" had with the identity of "Lurah"? Like suddenly discovering a change of hair color, or perhaps learning through some channel about the true mastermind behind the incident in the library?

Lucien’s mind raced through one after another possibility, though all felt somewhat far-fetched. After all, if it were the latter cases, Anos would not have the need to continue playing the caring father in front of a child, and Lurah’s mother would also not be as composed as she was...

So, the malice did not originate from the identity of "Anos" itself.

Lucien silently picked up a napkin and wiped his mouth; by now, he was more than seventy percent sure that the identity of "Anos" was also played by a player.

Could it be Thunder? Or some player who had happened to notice something unusual about him?

Ideas flashed through Lucien’s mind at great speed, and for a moment, his right hand even reached towards his storage ring, contemplating the feasibility of assassinating "Anos" with a sneak attack.

But soon, Lucien abandoned this thought. After all, if he used the identity of "Lurah" to kill "Anos," it would lead to extremely adverse consequences, and "Lurah" would likely be executed on the spot by the other guards of the Menter family...

Even if not executed, such an act of patricide against a character he was meant to hold dear would undoubtedly be a gross violation of what the character ought to do, and might attract the scrutiny or even punishment from the Dream Rules.

Lucien guessed, the player behind the role of Anos, likely had similar concerns to his own, which explained why they had not directly attacked him.

Moreover, relying on the power of "Lurah" to kill Anos would be extremely difficult, given that Anos was a formidable saint-level Awakener, whose talent for manipulating flames rivaled that of a first-level Wizard, and he was also proficient in Knight Fighting Skills.

Even without employing supernatural talents, Anos’s excellent physical condition and proficient combat skills meant that even a dozen well-trained soldiers would struggle to kill him momentarily.

Knowing he was suspected of being a player and harbored strong malice towards himself, the player impersonating Anos would surely be vigilant and wary of Lurah. Under such circumstances, there was simply no chance for a successful sneak attack; in fact, he might inadvertently give his adversary a justified reason to execute him.

Lucien, with his head bowed, chewed his food thoroughly while rapidly contemplating viable strategies.

"Killing Anos would be a Pyrrhic victory for me. After all, without the protection of a father, the identity of Lurah would inevitably face severe repercussions, and my life’s trajectory would change drastically. Unless it’s absolutely necessary, this path should not be chosen."

Lucien set down his knife and, out of the corner of his eye, noticed that Anos had finished breakfast and left. He quickened his pace of eating and also lifted his head to look at Anos, who was radiating dense, dark energy.

"The best method would be to deal with the actual player. My biggest advantage now is that he doesn’t know I’ve realized his identity. I must make good use of this information discrepancy. Perhaps this is the key factor that could turn the tide."

...

Night descended once more. Lucien quickly disassociated himself from the identity of Lurah and took out a quill from his storage ring, refilling it with three drops of golden, special ink.

He then took out a sheet of paper, prepared to write a new magical regulation, but when Lucien tried to wield the quill, he found he couldn’t leave a single useful word on the paper.

"You bearded biped, don’t bother. You’ve already written a "regulation," and until it’s consumed, you can’t write a second one," the voice of Earl Sanaxis echoed in Lucien’s mind, causing him to cease his actions.

"What a shame," Lucien said, shaking his head in resignation. He had thought he could write a very targeted "regulation" to secure a significant advantage, but upon hearing Earl Sanaxis’s reminder, he was hesitant to destroy the original life-saving "regulation."

"Furthermore, scion, I must remind you not to amend the rules too frequently, as this might attract unwanted attention," Earl Sanaxis’s voice intoned ominously. "Moreover, every act of ’twisting’ the rules is a challenge to them, so the next time you twist the rules, you’ll pay a steeper price."

Lucien frowned upon hearing Earl Sanaxis’s explanation, but then his frown gradually eased and he exhaled softly. "True. If twisting the rules were so easy, considering the difficulty of obtaining the ink, this world would’ve long been contorted into something unrecognizable by numerous players."

"Good that you understand. After all, you don’t possess the strength I do," Earl Sanaxis muttered, seemingly wanting to brag, but he was strongly suppressed by the Dream World, yawning mid-sentence with a voice that sounded exhausted.

"Sanaxis, do you have any good advice then?" Lucien pressed for time, quickly seeking counsel from Earl Sanaxis, the "local."

All Lucien received in response was the Earl’s deliberately loud snoring.

The corners of Lucien’s mouth twitched, but he also understood that this was Sanaxis’s way of expressing that he was out of ideas. Lucien now had to figure things out on his own.

"Hm? Is someone coming?" Lucien suddenly sensed something and quickly merged with the identity of Lurah. However, he did not manipulate Lurah to wake from sleep but silently waited, also ready to activate the previously written regulation at a moment’s notice.

Click—

As the door was gently pushed open, Lucien saw a blue "octopus" walk into the room.

"Soul Hunter!" Lucien’s consciousness trembled slightly. Inside Greybone Academy’s archives, he had seen records of these special life forms. When looking at books related to the Fairy Clan, he had come across mentions of these creatures.

According to those records, such supremely evil life forms had already been extinct in the Wizard World, with only a handful of Wizards retaining specimens. Yet Lucien never expected to find a living Soul Hunter in the Dream World!

It was well known that Soul Hunters, evil entities that feast mainly on the souls of humans or other humanoid intelligent beings, enhanced themselves and even reproduced by devouring the souls of these intelligent species.

Moreover, by using certain "culinary techniques," they could select parts of the souls they consumed to become their avatars, retaining some of the memories, combat methods, and emotions from the souls’ previous lives, and then disguising themselves as the victims to continue living for periods ranging from five to fifteen years.

Soul Hunters were natural predators to humans and other intelligent beings, which is why almost all intelligent species would consciously hunt down these terrifying Soul Hunters, leading to their eventual extinction.

But now, Lucien faced one of these malevolent, extinct creatures as an adversary, drawing closer step by step!