Faerun: The arcane mage is still too imprisoned.

[Second phase mission: "Eliminate the Blood Wolf Gang" has been completed!]

[Second Stage Reward: First-level spell - Summon Scout Mosquitoes - now learned!]

[Summon Scout Mosquito: Summons a scout mosquito that looks exactly like a regular mosquito and is completely controlled by the arcanist.]

It has a maximum flight speed of 10 meters per second, and its visual and auditory levels are equivalent to those of the arcane mage and are shared with the arcane mage (the arcane mage can actively sever the sharing). It comes with the permanent 0-level spell [Quiet Mist].

Duration: 10 minutes per Arcanist rank.

Phase Three Mission: Eliminate as many Rilder City gangs as possible within one week.

[Third-stage rewards: Depend on mission progress.]

"Let's wipe out the remaining two gangs before leveling up..."

Looking at the panel, Lance decided to learn magic first.

[Consuming 30 experience points, you have learned the level 0 spell - Death's Bell!]

[Consuming 30 experience points, you have learned the level 0 spell - Thunderclap!]

……

[Consuming 100 experience points, you have learned a first-level spell – Holy Slash!]

[Consuming 100 experience points, you have learned a first-level spell – Featherfall!]

……

Current experience: 11/000

Cielsa gently hugged Lance from behind, her soft hair brushing against the back of his neck: "Lord Lance, it's time to rest..."

……

As dawn broke, the poor residents of the West District, who had spent the night in fear and smelling the burning odor, cautiously peeked out.

Some people mustered their courage and peered into the ruins from a distance, where they saw corpses and remains scattered haphazardly.

The news spread like wildfire among the lower classes, and people whispered among themselves, their faces filled with fear and confusion.

A few people had already gathered at the street corner, pointing into the distance and discussing:

"Have you heard? The Blood Wolf Gang was wiped out last night..."

"Really? Isn't the Blood Wolf Gang leader a professional?"

"It's absolutely true! My cousin lives nearby and was woken up in the middle of the night by flames. He said the entire gang's headquarters was on fire!"

"Has anyone seen how many bodies?"

"I heard from acquaintances inside that...they were all charred corpses."

Rumors spread like wildfire.

By the time the morning market opened, seven or eight versions of the story had already circulated.

Some say the Blood Wolf Gang embezzled the nobles' goods and were silenced; others say a rival gang hired mercenaries from the north; and a few whispered the word "magic."

But regardless of the version, there is a consensus: the slums are about to undergo a major change.

The patrol team from the public security brigade arrived late.

The captain was a middle-aged man with a full beard, wearing worn leather armor, and the scabbard at his waist was badly worn.

He stood outside the ruins with four of his men, frowning as he looked at the charred wooden beams that were still smoking.

"Boss, this..." a young team member said in a low voice.

"Shut up," the captain interrupted him and walked into the ruins.

The scene was terrible.

Most of the bodies on the first floor were burned beyond recognition, but it was clear that they had struggled before they died.

There were several relatively intact bodies. The captain squatted in front of one of them—it was a lean, middle-aged man with a charred hole in his chest, the edges of which radiated outwards.

It was magic that killed him.

Either the caster or the spell scroll.

"Now that makes things easier."

The captain stood up and dusted off his hands.

"The Blood Wolf Gang committed suicide!"

He announced loudly enough for the onlookers to hear, "The Blood Wolf Gang is fighting amongst themselves; they've set fire to their own stronghold!"

He turned to his younger brother and said, "Report it like this."

"But boss, those wounds—" the young team member wanted to say something more.

The captain glared at him and delivered a powerful flying kick: "I said it was suicide, and it was suicide. What, you want to take on this kind of case?"

"You want to investigate the mages?"

"Or do you still want to investigate the young masters and ladies who can afford precious spell scrolls, and even use them to slaughter mortals?"

"Or perhaps you're trying to investigate the noble gentlemen?"

The young team member shrank back, not daring to speak.

They hastily documented the scene, carried out a few relatively intact corpses, wrapped them in straw mats, and prepared to take them to the mass grave outside the city.

The rest, burned to charcoal, were buried on the spot under the ruins.

As the team was packing up, the captain glanced back at the ruins.

He had been a sheriff for twenty years and had seen far too many of these kinds of things.

Gang warfare, vendettas, massacres... but to wipe out an entire gang overnight, with undisguised traces of magic everywhere...

"Tsk."

"Let's go," he said to his men. "Don't talk about what happened today."

"Yes, boss."

After they left, the onlookers gradually dispersed.

But from the shadows, several pairs of eyes were watching.

Old Bones, the leader of the Shattered Bone Gang, a thin and ruthless middle-aged man, was listening to the intelligence reports from his subordinates.

His eyes flickered, and his fingers tapped rhythmically on the table without his noticing.

"Boss, there are obvious signs of magic at the scene. This is definitely not something an ordinary person could do," a trusted confidant said cautiously.

The old man remained silent for a moment, then convened an emergency meeting with the core members.

The atmosphere in the meeting room was tense and oppressive. Everyone sat around a worn-out table, their eyes revealing unease and worry.

"What do you all think about this?" Old Bones broke the silence first.

"I think it was the Gray Rat Gang who did it. We have to take action immediately, or how will we maintain our foothold in this territory in the future!" A radical member waved his fist and shouted.

"I think it's better to be cautious," another member of the cautious faction said, frowning. "If we act rashly and anger those big shots, we'll be in trouble."

After listening to everyone's comments, the old man pondered for a long time and finally made a decision: "Strengthen security, suspend all activities, and observe the situation for two days before making any further decisions."

Barton, the leader of the Gray Rat Gang, is a burly, muscular Level 2 warrior who is even more alert than Old Bones.

Upon hearing the news of the Blood Wolf Gang's annihilation, he immediately led his trusted confidants to the scene to investigate.

They searched carefully through the ruins, leaving no detail unchecked.

Upon returning to the gang's headquarters, Barton immediately summoned all core members and issued the order: "All members, assemble and stand by. Suspend all communication with the Grey Robes. We may be the next target; we must prepare for the worst."

Patton's brow remained furrowed as he watched his men depart to carry out their orders.

After much deliberation, he decided that if the situation worsened, he would ask the Grey Robe for help.

……

Riverside villas.

Lance didn't wake up until nine in the morning.

He sat up in bed, stretched his shoulders, and heard Cielsa humming a song downstairs.

Sunlight streamed through the curtains, casting soft dappled patterns on the oak floor.

The air was filled with the aroma of freshly baked bread.

"Phew, another peaceful morning."

When Lance came downstairs, Cielsa was busy in the kitchen.

Soup was simmering on the stove, and freshly baked dark bread, fried eggs, and smoked meat were laid out on the table, along with a small dish of fresh berries.

"Good morning, my lady." Cielsa turned around with a faint smile on her face. "I went to the market this morning and bought some berries; it was the last batch of the season."

Lance nodded and sat down at the table.

He ate quietly, while Cielsa sat opposite him, sipping her floral tea.

"Lord Lance, what are we going to do today?"

"Um……"

Lance cut off a piece of fried egg. "Remember that scroll shop we saw before? We went there to buy materials for spell scrolls."

"Can we go shopping again after we've finished shopping?"

"……Can."

After breakfast, Lance went upstairs to change into a loose and comfortable purple silk robe.

Cielsa also changed into a beautiful dress.

"Let's go."

Soon, the two spotted an unassuming shop not far ahead. The wooden door was open, and a wooden sign at the entrance read "Goto Roll Shop".

The shop was piled high with rolled-up parchment, and an old man with a white beard was sitting behind the counter wiping his quill pen; it was Goto.

[Target: Humanity]

[Level: 1]

"Level 1 professional? Mage? Or something else?"

"In the scroll shop, that must be a mage. At such an old age, he's only level 1; his intelligence is probably only twelve or thirteen."

When Lance saw Goto, his thoughts wandered, but he showed no outward signs of distress.

Goto looked up and saw Lance. He was momentarily stunned, but his eyes immediately lit up. Ignoring Cielsa to the side, he put down his quill and went to greet him.

"Sir, what do you need? We happen to have some [Mage Armor] scrolls in stock right now, twenty gold coins each."

"As you probably know, the scroll for this spell is extremely sought after; it's not always available. You've come at a good time!"

"I need scroll materials," Lance said directly, "parchment that can be used to copy spells, along with a pen and ink."

Yes, yes!

Goto quickly turned around, grabbed a bundle of parchment from the shelf, and became even more enthusiastic.

"These are enchanted parchment scrolls, one gold coin per scroll. How many do you want?"

"Give me two hundred first."

"hiss--"

Goto gasped.

He then pulled out a pen from the drawer; the penholder was made of hardwood, and the tail feathers were gleaming gold. "This is a pen made from griffin tail feathers, two gold coins each. And this deep-sea squid ink, three gold coins a bottle."

"Ten pens, ten bottles of ink."

Lance listened, took out gold coins from his dimensional pocket, and put them on the counter.

Thank you for your patronage!

Goto smiled so hard his eyes narrowed into slits as he wrapped up all the materials and handed them over.

"If you want to sell spell scrolls, the highest-priced first-level spell I buy is [Mage Armor], which costs eighteen gold coins per scroll."

Other spells, such as [Magic Missile], [Oil], and [Burning Hand], cost nine gold coins each.

Goto paused, then added, "[Invisibility] Scroll of fourteen gold coins."

Lance took the package, weighed it in his hand, and stuffed it into his dimensional pocket.

"Okay, I understand."

"I'm leaving." Lance didn't say much, just gestured with his chin to Cielsa.

"Take care, sir, come back when you're done!" Goto called from behind.

The two strolled along the street.