Wolf strutted through the Mage Academy hallways, heading towards Amphitheater Alpha. The effectiveness of his Saturday night experiment still impressed him. His only regret was that The Den sold out by the time he returned wearing a second face.

He never guessed maidens were so effective. Truly, it was bizarre. Wolf harvested ten weeks’ worth of Soul Force from three virgins, the amount he reaped from several hundred average prostitutes, maybe even a thousand.

Wolf expected an improvement. But he never suspected it would be two-hundred-fold. This oddity sparked his greed. Dangerous thoughts swarmed his mind; the worst of which was creating a secret manling farm where he bred women like cattle. However, even Wolf found the notion too revolting.

While extreme, this thought inspired other, more socially acceptable ideas. For instance, collecting and employing female urchins and young women looking to feed themselves, or becoming a feudal lord and imposing the law of the first night.

Deep down, concepts of forced prostitution disturbed Wolf. But if he acted on them, he could become an Edict-Maker within two to three decades. That way, he might revive his father, or let him reenter reincarnation. He ruminated on that idea for hours, but failed to reach a conclusion. Morality opposed to his needs and wants.

Still weighing those thoughts, Wolf opened the amphitheater door and entered his stage. He decided to shelf them temporarily.

I see nothing wrong with it, Master. Silver expressed her dissatisfaction. They are resources for you to use. Do you think of moral implications when eating eggs for breakfast? You don’t, you just eat them.

We’ll discuss this later, Silver. I have a class to teach. Wolf couldn’t handle yet another egg debate. Silver seemed to disapprove of Wolf’s delay tactic, but didn’t argue with her master.

“Are there questions regarding last week’s lesson?” Wolf began this lecture the same way he did his previous ones, with a Q and A session.

Several hands shot up in the air, and Wolf pointed towards the fastest one. “Yes?”

A thirty-year-old student stood up.

“Professor, you mentioned that some Monster Beasts are impossible to beat with magic alone. Could you elaborate? How should we act if we encounter them?” The man inquired about Wolf’s passing remark from last time.

“Run. Then get a Sword-Sage or a well-trained knight to help you. I am aware Mages underestimate these professions, but they are very important and have their place in your party. I will focus on the subject during the coming weeks, when I cover the importance of party composition and balance. Next question.” Wolf spoke swiftly and pointed at the second fastest student. One by one, he went through his students’ questions, clearing their doubts.

“Today’s topic is enviro—” Before Wolf ended his sentence, the amphitheater door opened and three women in their mid-twenties entered. Their timing was perfect, as if they waited for the auditorium’s absolute silence.

They wore standard issue Mage Academy robes and their looks were average. Under normal circumstances, Wolf wouldn’t have spared them a glance. However, his soul almost jumped out of his body when he saw them. One was chubby, bordering fat. The second one had a memorable crooked nose and kept her chin up, exuding a dignified, scholarly air. The last one hid. She had a stick figure and quivered like a startled rabbit.

“It was our first time,” the scholarly woman declared, her voice echoing in the silent hall. She appeared angry, leaving the sentence hanging above Wolf’s head like a sword. Only she dared face him. Her two companions lowered their gazes and trembled.

“Being late. This is our first time coming late to class. We’re allowed to attend. Right, Professor?” The woman looked Wolf straight in the eye with smoldering rage and lips twisted in disgust.

Wolf saw the victorious glint in that gaze and panicked. They were students? The Mage Academy can expel me. There’s also the monetary fine. Luckily, I asked them multiple times whether they were willing. Otherwise, I would face trial and might get castrated.

Wolf’s mind raced.

“Yes.” Wolf nodded, forcing himself to stay calm. I can use Reforge Mind to remove their memories. Yes. That would be the simplest approach. Unfortunately, I only have one ready. I’ll have to skip my session at the Headmaster’s office and prepare two more. What if Richard comes looking for me?

Wait, they are Fifth Order Mages? No wonder I gathered so much Soul Force from them, compared to regular women— Stop thinking about nonsense. This is a life and death matter.

Only a fraction of Wolf’s mind focused on the lecture. He made mistakes and fumbled for words several times. Anna noticed something was off, but didn’t know what unhinged Wolf.

She glanced at Matilda and Wayde, but they shrugged.

Finally, Wolf’s awkward lesson ended.

“If anyone has anything to discuss, I’ll return here in two hours, after my lunch break. Or you could ask during my next lecture.” Wolf improvised towards the end.

Unfortunately, this weak line was the best plan he came up with. He needed to erase those prostitutes’ memories. He was certain they would extort him, but that was offering themselves so Wolf could mop up the evidence.

Amphitheater Alpha isn’t meant for lectures, anyway. It will be empty. The giant conference hall usually remained vacant, only used for ceremonies and large gatherings. As for scheduling his long break, Wolf needed to prepare spells and make sure the appointed time overlaps with usual classes. He hoped these precautions would ensure privacy.

Wolf was out of it. He tried to plan contingencies and cover all the angles when Anna came over.

“Lunch?” she asked, raising her eyebrow a bit.

Wolf struggled not to jump. Instead, he gave himself a moment and nodded.

Anna didn’t ask pointless questions. She knew that people who kept quiet needed to think, not answer random inquiries. Even Wolf figured this out. Well, Mandy told him directly, so he knew.

Wolf shoveled food into his mouth like a puppet. He didn’t taste the meal, nor did he join in on the conversation. His friends saw something was up, and gave him enough room to figure things out. They had full faith that regardless of what issue Wolf faced, he’d pull through.

Wolf finished his meal first. He then closed his eyes and prepared his spells, sitting in the middle of the cafeteria. He originally intended to go to the amphitheater, but if those three showed up early, he wouldn’t have the spells ready.

Wolf opened his eyes and found that Matilda was straining herself to talk about the next mission the three of them could take, after Anna’s birthday and semestral exam.

“Sorry about that guys.” Wolf had to say something. Deep down he felt warm he had people like these to watch his back.

Matilda and Anna smiled, while Wayde gave Wolf a wink.

“You can handle it,” Anna said confidently.

Wolf nodded, then left to handle it. First he went to see Richard and tell him their training today would have to be canceled before going back to the amphitheater one.

Just like he had expected, when two hours passed those three entered the auditorium. “You perverted ba—” The scholarly one started as soon as she’d closed the door, but her indignant shout was stopped midway by a Subtle Paralyze Masses.

Wolf didn’t want to exchange words with these whores. They were after his money or his life, and he simply stepped to remove the bitch’s memories. However, those memories stumped him.

On Saturday evening nothing out of the ordinary happened to the scholarly woman. She didn’t even know about The Den. Instead, she spent the evening quietly reading a book. But on Sunday, Wolf was supposed to hold a private lesson for her and her roommates. The three women waited together in their flat, where Wolf used Paralyze Masses as soon as he entered their apartment, then raped them one by one.

The scene was obviously fake. It couldn’t fool Wolf who had experienced such violence first hand so many times when trying to make lives better for others. But it was more than enough to pass lie discerning spells, or fool memory searches and hypnosis.

Wolf removed those fake memories, replacing them with ones in which the woman spent the entire day in bed burning with fever.

They were thorough. For raping three Fifth Order Mages I would get castrated for sure. They could even push for the death penalty. Wolf frowned and immediately knew who was behind this.

He went on to the next woman, only to confirm that the perpetrators had tampered with her memories as well. This time he was on the lookout for any information about the plot, or the person who could alter memories, but came up blank. The only thing he noticed was that there were suspicious moments when the woman sat down to read a book, seemingly at random.

Wolf didn’t notice it with the first one. He didn’t care. But this time, he found the memory which they used to fill up the removed sections. Sure enough, it was the same with the third woman. Again reading the same book over and over again.

Whoever did this was a professional. Wolf observed those three unsteadily walk out of the amphitheater. Having someone cast a spell of Tenth Order like Reforge Mind would cost several thousand gold pieces per casting. Whoever did this aimed to kill me. They wouldn’t settle for castration.