’How much did you take... And who the hell is supposed to be in charge of you anyway?’

He might have been the Chief Mage, but Lu Cang had no interest in managing the country of Lorren. He naturally couldn’t be bothered to deal with issues like corruption.

In the end, even if the man had embezzled a hundred million, it wouldn’t have had much to do with him.

’But you got so scared you confessed everything immediately. You’re really putting me in a tough spot!’

’I thought Root Mages were supposed to be calmer than this. Couldn’t you at least pretend?’

"Enough talk. You’re coming with me."

With a cold expression, Lu Cang grabbed him by the shoulder. A shroud of darkness enveloped them, and the two vanished without a sound.

The students swallowed hard.

’This renowned and illustrious teacher... was taken away just like that?’

...

「Lorentz Magic Academy」

Lu Cang arrived at his office. Despite having taught here for so long, he had rarely ever visited the place.

With a casual lift of his hand, a Protective Magic spell enveloped the entire room.

’With Dusk’s Space Root Magic, he should still be able to escape.’

’Of course... he wouldn’t get very far.’

Having advanced to a Level 4 Mage, Lu Cang’s Perception Distance had also undergone a qualitative leap. His current Perception Distance was now 600 kilometers.

It might seem like only a threefold increase in radius, but in terms of spatial volume, it was a full twenty-seven-fold improvement.

After all, Lu Cang wasn’t a creature living on a one-dimensional line.

Moreover, the Root Magic "Shift of the Dipper" had a maximum transposition distance, a limit determined by the user’s maximum Casting Distance.

Lu Cang estimated that Dusk’s maximum distance for this was no more than 50 kilometers.

’If he dared to run, I could easily drag him back.’

"Since you’ve said it out loud, I can’t very well pretend I didn’t hear it."

Lu Cang picked up his teacup. He used Ice Element Magic to cool the hot water to the perfect temperature, took a sip, and said, "Tell me everything."

Dusk struggled internally, but in the end, he quickly confessed his crimes.

’He embezzled... a full thirty million?’

’You’ve really outdone yourself.’

Publishing magical research for students, rigging student grades in some departments, helping students cheat on exams, and showing favoritism to those who paid him.

’Just by doing those things, he could embezzle thirty million?’

But not everyone could earn money as easily as Lu Cang.

The adventure remuneration for a typical Level 4 Adventurer was much higher, but their average annual income only rose to about 10,000 gold coins, and they faced a much higher mortality rate.

In a Tier Four Dungeon, the probability of encountering a King Level Demon was much higher than in a Tier Three Dungeon. When most Level 4 Adventurer’s Guilds encountered a King Level Demon, casualties were almost a certainty.

While the mortality rate wasn’t as extreme as the high probability of a total wipeout for a Level 3 Adventurer’s Guild, losing one or two members was often unavoidable.

And now this guy had embezzled thirty million gold coins just from corruption alone.

"I didn’t want to take it! They forced it on me!"

"I couldn’t just return it! If I had, I would have seemed out of place among my colleagues! They’ve truly ruined me!"

Lu Cang simply continued to sip his tea and said, "If that were all, you shouldn’t have been so panicked when I came looking for you."

"Speak. What is the real reason?"

He was a Root Mage, after all. He could think down to the root source of things, so he couldn’t be lacking in reason. There had to be another hidden story.

Dusk froze for a moment, then immediately explained the full story.

It turned out that back in late December, rumors had already been circulating about impending arrests, and Dusk had been living in a state of constant anxiety.

Recently, people from the Inspectorate had frequently been seen taking individuals away from the Mage Tower.

Furthermore, he had heard that with Lu Cang’s current, awe-inspiring reputation... perhaps the higher-ups wanted to give Lu Cang an opportunity to establish his authority within the nation.

Besides, Root Mages held a special status. If one wanted to arrest a Root Mage, it was best to dispatch another Root Mage.

So, the moment he saw Lu Cang, his heart had seized up.

And when Lu Cang had been so firm about taking him away, it had caused him to completely show his true colors.

"Oh."

"However, this matter has nothing to do with me. If you have further confessions to make, go find the people from the Inspectorate and confess to them yourself."

"I came to find you only for your Root Magic."

With a casual lift of his hand, Lu Cang moved a chair behind Dusk.

An involuntary twitch crossed Dusk’s face.

’Just... for my Root Magic?’

’Then why did you ask me so many questions about all that other stuff?’

"Sit."

"Yes..."

Dusk demonstrated his Root Magic for Lu Cang, then shared and discussed his understanding of Root Magic with him.

From their last exchange about Root Sources, he had already learned of Lu Cang’s comprehension of the Root Source and understood why Lu Cang was able to use his own Root Magic.

However, it was merely the ability to *use* it; truly learning it was very difficult.

As Dusk spoke, Lu Cang felt a Law completing itself, gaining an epiphany of a Law that did not exist in the world within his mind.

’What a vast, blank sea of Magic.’

While listening to Dusk’s explanation, Lu Cang flipped through an ancient tome in his hands.

Lorentz Academy still had quite a collection of books describing ancient Space Magic, the accumulation of the academy’s thousand-year history.

The exchange between Lu Cang and Dusk gradually deepened, and the two slowly entered a state of fully engrossed scholarly discussion.

Dusk was truly shocked by Lu Cang’s current understanding of Magic.

Compared to their last exchange, Lu Cang’s current understanding of the Root Source could now be described as a qualitative leap.

He remembered that during their last discussion with four people, although Lu Cang had participated, his theoretical depth had ultimately been rather peripheral.

But now, Lu Cang’s ideas were so profound that he was on the verge of not being able to understand them.