Chapter 671: Illicit Competition
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
If he allowed this person to escape, then how could Benjamin live up to his director name?
At that moment, he used the water vapor to disperse the poisonous smoke. He then sought after him at the fastest speed — Having grasped the water elemental domain, his flight speed was no slower than before.
"You can’t escape."
With the low mumble, the fleeing mage turned around and saw Benjamin’s face drew closer and closer. Fear and despair evidently emerged in his eyes.
"I..."
He opened his mouth as if to explain something, but Benjamin has no more time for bullshit. Once the target was within attack range, he summoned a large water ball and swallowed the old mage whole, drowning any possibly for the other party to struggle any further.
The water ball soon spun wildly. It wasn’t two seconds before the old mage lost consciousness. At that, Benjamin transformed the water ball to a water bubble and brought him back to the building.
Everything happened within seconds and their location was far from the research building, so no one would have noticed anything out of the ordinary.
However, those in the building may have realized something was amiss.
"What happened?" A few mages rushed out from the laboratory, in shock and disbelief as they stared at Benjamin and the old mage in the water bubble. They were filled with questions, "Director? Mage Randall? You..."
Benjamin sighed and tossed the parchment that was removed from the foot of the bird to these mages.
In actuality, the content of the parchment was straightforward. Although Mage Randall attempted an escape in the time frame when Benjamin was reading the parchment, that instant was enough for Benjamin to read its contents.
Those mages read the content out loud, "The director is almost back. Will communicate more info on runes when the opportunity arises."
They were stunned and quickly had a disbelieving look on their faces.
The knowledge of the runes was a thing where everyone swore secrecy to. Benjamin provided them with the research materials and venue, and they had the obligation to contain the information within the academy. Benjamin would decide how this knowledge be used.
Leaking confidential information could be said to be very fatal.
"We never did notice..." One of the mages took a deep breath and couldn’t hold his tongue, "Why did he do what he did?"
Benjamin shook his head and did not say more.
It wasn’t his place to blame these mages. Apart from his water element sensing technique, there was no other way to survey a person with no blind spot. Hence, if someone wanted to leak information, as long as that person was careful enough, it could be done.
"Then... How do you plan to deal with him?" Another asked.
"I’ll first need to find out who he leaked the information to." Benjamin took a glance at the person in the water bubble, "He may have already transmitted a lot of info to someone during my absence."
The mages all nodded.
"What about after interrogation?" One of them pleaded on behalf of Mage Randall, "He may have been just blinded for a moment. Perhaps Director could look at how much effort he has put in on our research to lighten the sentence."
Benjamin instead snorted, "This was our agreed upon rule. Now he has broken the law. I will not kill him but I sure as hell, will not let him go easy."
"Then..."
"Lock him up in the basement. Use him as a lab rat for any dangerous runes experiments." Benjamin coldly spoke, "How long he lives would depend on his own luck."
Although he said so, turning him into a lab rat had no difference with killing him directly.
This could serve as a warning to others. The runes research team were old mages gathered from the outside world. Talking about loyalty, it would be less than the other mages from the academy. Of course, Benjamin hoped for everyone to get along, without incurring any unpleasantries. But once shit has happened, he had to make a show, so that they would think twice before following his footsteps.
And so, the mages exchanged glances but no one spoke anymore.
This matter became a secret, kept within this experimental building. Benjamin took Mage Randall down to the basement and chained him onto the chair with an antimagic chain. He started with the interrogation.
"Who did you send those parchments to?"
After forcing him awake, Benjamin coldly stared at the old mage as he questioned.
"... I can’t tell you." The mage was silent for a moment before adding, "If I were to talk, you will kill them all. You will not let me go anyway."
"Them?" Benjamin’s face darkened by a few shades, "So you’re saying that your accomplice is a group of them?"
"Director Benjamin, you can kill me but I will not tell you more." The mage spoke with trembling voice, "Since I’m held captive, I’m prepared... Just kill me!"
Benjamin instead, flashed a smile.
Anyone who has yet to undergo interrogation would say something like this.
"You want to die? That’s easy. But before that, you will tell me everything."
As he spoke, he tossed a waterball, disrupting the other party’s intention to commit suicide. He conducted the process with consummate skill and without any warning. The old mage went blank on the spot.
He then looked at Benjamin’s "harmless" smile. His face quivered.
"What... What are you trying to do..."
After about half an hour later.
Benjamin walked out of the basement and closed the door, shutting away all screams and howls in that room.
Only, his face didn’t perceive a better color.
"You’ll now have competitors. Aren’t you happy? Are you excited to be the industry’s first?" The System took pleasure in his misfortune.
"... Shut up."
Benjamin helplessly shook his head.
What he obtained from the horse’s mouth, was surprising news.
The confidential information about the runes was sent to some mage organization in Fereldan. And that mage organization... They were prepared to build a new mage academy. Basically, they wanted a piece of a pie that only Benjamin had baked.
Honestly speaking, Benjamin has no issues with others building an academy. This could become a trend and he himself became the first to run a school, inevitably there would be a second or third... In the name of progress, he should be happy for this phenomenon.
However, others building an academy while being wisecracks and stealing the results of their research, that was not a good thing.
Mage Randall seemed to be one of the founders of that mage organization. His companions were prepared to build an academy and so he used this opportunity to steal the knowledge about the runes. And now, putting others aside, at least the entire content on the meditation method of the runes have been sent to the hands of that mage organization.
Benjamin could feel a migraine coming his way.
Such a huge group as the mage organization, once time has passed, this classified information... would most likely be no longer classified.