Chapter 5: Gaslight Them Into Thinking It Was A Dream

Richard was frightened.

There were people here?

He quickly snuffed out the "fireball" in his palm.

Although he wasn't afraid of trouble, as a member of the nobles, this could affect his reputation.

He wasn't the firstborn in his lineage either so it meant no land to inherit. One day he would have to reclaim his own.

If word got out that he bullied others who would want to be his subordinate?

Putting on a tense smile, Richard turned around.

Upon turning around his smile immediately faded.

Casual black wear with the standard one star badge of a student who had not yet become a first order apprentice..

And a face mask

This was clearly someone simple…and up to no good.

He felt he was being ridiculed. Richard gritted his teeth and tried to ask: "Which family are you from?"

After all, no one couldn't be underestimated, this was a famous magic school. Even if most students weren't yet adept at magic casting they could have a crushing family background.

He still had common sense. In this world where one might suddenly die without knowing how..

The first thing a professional bully does is check the family background of the person he is bullying.

However the two people next to him clearly pig teammates…

"How dare you poke your nose in our business peasant"

"Kneel down…blah blah blah"

Qiubai Balin gave Richard a strange glance ('-'*)

This kid clearly didn't play the cards according to routine.

But this really didn't change his danger assessment rating.

With a thought, strange fluctuations of brilliance pulsed from the patterns in his right palm.

Of course, this process was unperceived by the three..

The truth of this "rune" was hidden within the fabric of space-time.

And a truly terrifying thing was…

It could also hide him.

Richard watched the masked man's eyes curl into crescents and raise his middle finger. ᵔᴥᵔ╭∩╮

'What does that mean? Is it some sort or spell?'

Before he could ponder the meaning of existence, Richard's eyes widened.

The man in front of him disappeared!

This was a high level magic caster who was able to use spells like invisibility or superspeed(not)! 

But, he clearly doesn't have the aura of magic or ether on him! Or did he carry some treasure to hide it?

In Richard's terrified gaze, he heard a thump and the person on his right (passerby A) rolled his eyes and passed out.

Of course, Qiubai Balin couldn't use invisibility spells or super speed. Although his predecessor was able to barely cast spells, he lost whatever magic ability his predecessor had the day they became one.

This was the ability of the "rune" he had discovered through two years of trial.

Through his connection with the "rune", he could coat himself with a dimensional barrier that creates the effects of "invisibility".

Thus, coated with the power of spacetime, he could hide his body in space-time to achieve the effects of disappearing.

Of course it wasn't a complete vanishing from the world..

The barrier created through the power of spacetime could be penetrated through a high concentration of the all pervasive magic particles created through magic casting.

So a super skilled magic caster with keen battle intuition would likely be able to solve his current development of the "rune".

Furthermore his spirit wasn't strong enough for the sustained use of the "rune"s space-time abilities.

But definitely enough for unskilled magic apprentices.

After finishing off the first person, Qiubai Balin immediately moved on to the next.

Shrouded by space-time, his presence was erratic and free as ghost.

He stretched out his arms and rear naked choked the passerby B.

His arm muscles bulged and squeezed tightly on the passerby's skinny neck.

The rear naked choke. One of the most deadly moves in MMA. By blocking off the supply of blood from the carotid arteries to the brain, a person could immediately pass out in a matter of seconds.

These guys were only apprentice magicians who had little means and little combat awareness.

The most they could do was probably randomly fire fireballs with meager power.

Even if they did, with their slow fire rate and casting speed Qiubai Balin could easily choke them.

But now they were too panicked to even remember to act.

Just like no matter how many youtube videos on fighting you watch , if you don't actually enter an actual battle it would be hard to fight the instinct to freeze.

Sure enough, in a matter of seconds passerby B also rolled his eyes and passed out. 

He glanced up.

Richard was already starting to flee after seeing his accomplices gasping for air.

Oops, can't let any fish slip through the net.

Qiubai Balin bent down in a sprinting position and went ahead full speed.

No matter how tough they appear, nobles who frequently indulge in wine and lust were no match for Qiubai Balins physical fitness.

Richard at this moment was completely panicked. In this dim environment found in ghost stories, there was an invisible enemy he couldn't see.

"Dman, a lunatic is killing just for a pariah"

Right when he was about to shout for help, it suddenly occurred to him…

Wait…kill?

That's not right.

As an academy with nobles and aristocrats the mindless killing would only attract the attention of the higher ups.

With their means and in this isolated world, any troublemaker could be instantly found

With a stroke of inspiration, Richard turned around.

He didn't believe this bastard would kill them!

"Hey, my father is a viscount, if you dare to touch…"

Before Richard could finish his sentence, he felt his throat being tightened.

His eyes bulged and a suffocating sensation locked his through. Something hard was pressing on him!

Richard desperately clawed at his throat but to no avail.

Whatever was locking his throat was like iron tongs leaving him no escape.

And in a matter of moments Qiubai Balin completed a triple kill.

"Heh, viscount? My family is a marquess." Qiuabi Balin glanced at the fallen Richard with pity.

Has brains but not much…

Qiubai Balin knew it wasn't time to relax yet. People could wake up surprisingly quickly from chokes.

He reached into his pocket and took out a small sachet.

Reaching into the sachet with two fingers, pinching out a bit of white powder, Qiubai Balin proceeded to  place it under the noses of the three fallen and stacked their bodies in a pile.

'Hey, nightshade rose powder. Easy to get and perfect for murder and arson.'

Of course he didn't intend to kill them but to keep them asleep for a while longer and maybe weaken their impression of today also.

Qiubai Balin glanced at the pile of dung with pity.

They were too weak. They didn't even have the basic awareness that a mage shouldn't let a warrior get close.

Of course, it couldn't be blamed on him. In the Mortal Realm, out of the four orders(levels) the magic apprentices were at the bottom.

Despite being out of the range of mortals, their physical bodies were still a weakness that couldn't be solved until they reached the second order, the senior caster.

This was also the reason why many super wealthy starting mages would hire knight attendants. Pity again though as the sanctuary of magic caster forbade knight attendants.

This allowed Qiubai Balin who exercised his body more frequently to overpower them. 

After all one needs a sense of security…

….

Qiubai Balin glanced across the hallway and locked his sight upon the sleeping beauty.

There were several patches of burnt skin on him, holes in his tunic, and patches of his blonde hair were missing.

Cleaning up the mess, Balin went over and hoisted the kid over his shoulders like a dead slug.

Right after he reached into a hidden pocket on his trousers and took out another sachet with one hand.

Open the sachet, dump contents inside on ground, holding breath and leave.

A mixture of dream dust mixed with nightmare gold scattered on the floor. Known as noble's crack. It would then appear as if the student were high on drugs while the nightshade rose powder blurred their memories like fine wine.

'A mixture of dream dust and nightmare gold. Praise the truthseekers!'

Truthseekers, they were like the alchemist from stories and chemist from modern times.

Studying magic substances and the way they interact with magic elements.

With excellent pharmaceutical abilities, they were magic casters who delved into the researching apex of magic nature.

True nerds through and through. But they were the "nerds" everyone knew not to mess with them despite their weak frontal combat abilities

After all, the strongest foes weren't brought down with brute force.

All sorts of drugs were produced from their hands making their reputation so revolting they were used as bedtime stories for parents to stop their children from crying.

The drugs they made had all sorts of miraculous effects and truly earned their reputation as cash cows.

For example,

What if you suddenly wake up someday and find yourself another gender/race and hear the phrase "the operation was successful"?

You were most likely drugged with a gender changing potion in your sleep.

What if you wanted to boost your spear wielding abilities on the bed?

One Vigorous  potion and your fencing abilities will be undefeated.

The dream dust and nightmare gold were the results of high level truthseekers.

'Send him to the infirmary and then go home.' 

Qiubai Balin headed to the school infirmary and gently placed Issac Jellal on the white sheets.

After tucking him in, he secretly left a note in his clothes along with a sachet and immediately left leaving the nurses full of resentment.

Although the school nurses were very plump and voluptuous, they were demons in disguise.

There had been multiple cases of students being lured into their lairs and then the fate waiting for them was to naturally turn into experiment subjects. 

The school nurses had always been professional truthseekers.

And their favorite targets were naturally the fit and healthy.

The academy was truly a place of crouching tigers and hidden dragons.

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Later this cross world international gesture would become a widespread symbol of Qiubai Balin ╭∩╮ᵔᴥᵔ╭∩╮