The second minor arc… the prelude to what would later be called the First Minor Calamity was what Azel would like to call a weird one.

If he could, he would have killed the Skinbutcher immediately.

He knew how much pain this arc would bring, and how much chaos it would cause. But unlike the other villains, the Butcher never revealed his identity in the game.

Not once.

He'd gone as far as to mutilate his own face so no one could recognize him.

That was how deep his obsession went… a man so consumed by his perverted taste that he'd literally peeled away who he was.

Azel sighed, staring at the blood-stained meadow. 'The guy really was obsessed with skin.'

The Skinbutcher loved it… he skinned his victims alive and ate the flesh raw.

He had no pattern and no clear motive.

His victims were random, though he especially enjoyed targeting non-humans… dwarves, elves, beastkin.

He believed their skin was "tastier" and the only reason he died in the game was because he decided to go after the Elf Princess.

And now, judging by the scent and shape of the corpses, Azel could already tell that some of the bodies weren't human.

Their torsos were smaller and their bones thinner… He swore he could see two dwarves here.

But right now, he needed to calm Sybil down.

The last thing he wanted was for her wind powers to spiral out of control.

When she got angry, the air around her went wild and if that happened here, she might just launch him into orbit.

"I understand how you feel," Azel said quietly, placing a hand on her shoulder.

The winds around them still whipped violently, tearing up the grass. "I want nothing more than to find him and do the same thing. But we need to use our heads. If we lose control now, he wins before we even find him."

Sybil's jaw tightened. She wanted to argue but Azel's words made her pause.

Slowly, the wind began to settle.

"Let the Academy come and see it," he said. "Then we'll know what to do."

Her fists unclenched, though her eyes still burned.

"Fine," she muttered.

…

Within an hour, the meadow looked completely different.

Empire soldiers stood in rows, forming a perimeter around the trees.

Mages in white robes murmured incantations as they carefully lowered the hanging corpses.

Just like in the game, the whole place became a crime scene.

Azel stood off to the side with his hands in his pockets, watching as the mages examined the area.

Flare was sitting on a rock nearby, her complexion completely pale. She was still recovering from the shock.

Sybil had crossed her arms, glaring daggers at anyone who came near the trees.

Grand Mage Luke was among the crowd.

The man was as imposing as always… he was tall, black-haired, dressed in a flowing indigo robe with golden patterns.

His eyes were intelligent, the kind that could make a person feel naked under their gaze.

He wasn't doing anything… He was just watching the whole thing.

'Why do things like this always have to happen here?' Luke thought with an exhausted sigh.

He had been in this academy longer than most could remember.

He'd seen everything from rogue experiments to monster invasions. But this… this was the kind of madness that made him wonder if retirement sounded nice.

He rubbed his temples.

"I should've taken that teaching offer in the Aegis Empire," he muttered under his breath.

Then he spotted Azel in the distance.

"Come here for a minute," Luke called out, gesturing with a gloved hand.

Azel walked toward him with surprise, why would the grand mage need him?

When he stopped beside the Grand Mage, the older man folded his arms.

Up close, the pressure Luke gave off was suffocating. He wasn't called one of the strongest Grand Mages for nothing.

Alongside Stella which was Mynes's mother, Luke was a legend of the current age.

"How's Steven doing?" Luke asked casually. "It's been a while since I've seen the man."

Azel tilted his head slightly. "My father?"

"Of course," Luke replied with a smile. "I taught him a thing or two back in the day. He's arrogant, but talented. Haven't seen him in ages, though."

'Steven? Arrogant?' Azel thought and stroked his chin, he really couldn't picture it.

"I haven't either," Azel admitted. "But knowing him, he's fine."

"Good to hear."

The Grand Mage's tone softened for a moment before returning to its usual seriousness. "Now, tell me… what do you make of this whole thing?"

Azel glanced toward the trees. "It's not a monster attack, that's for sure. Whoever did this knew what they were doing."

Luke nodded. "Do you think it could be one of those leftover clones from the recent incident?"

That made Azel pause. There weren't really any leftover clones… they had all been blasted by the wave.

"No," he said finally. "The clones wanted to replace the real people. This one's just skinning them. There's no gain or logic… just madness."

Luke's brow furrowed. "So, a psychopath."

"Pretty much."

The Grand Mage knelt slightly, examining the ground beneath the trees. "Even then, I can't sense a single trace of mana. Whoever this is, they covered their tracks perfectly."

Azel crouched beside him. "I don't think they used mana."

Luke blinked. "What?"

"Look here," Azel said, pointing at a faint line near the base of the nearest tree.

The dirt was disturbed and there were small impressions leading away into the woods.

"Tracks?" Luke leaned closer.

At first glance, they looked like animal prints. "I can't believe I missed that."

"It's not your fault," Azel said, standing up again. "They look natural, but they're not. I've seen this before."

Luke turned to him. "You've seen this before?"

Azel hesitated.

He couldn't exactly tell him he just recognized them from the game.

"Let's just say I recognize the pattern. Whoever this is, he's using a skin suit to mask his scent and body shape. Makes him look like an animal to mages scanning for mana signatures."

Luke's eyes widened slightly. "That's… disgusting."

"Yeah."

They both followed the faint trail with their eyes.

It went deeper into the forest… That was where they needed to go.

"Shall we follow it?" Azel asked.

Luke considered it and then sighed. "Sure. Let's go."

He pulled off his outer robe and handed it to one of the nearby mages. "Keep this safe. I'll be back soon."

Azel looked back at Flare and Sybil.

"You two should go back… I'll be busy for a while." Azel said and then he entered the treeline with the grand mage.

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