I became a god through archaeology in the Wizarding World.

The darkness before dawn is the deepest.

Rhodes walked through the college's back garden, the dew wetting the hem of his linen robe.

After disposing of the corpse and the ring, the faint smell of burning on his body had been mostly dissipated by the night wind, leaving only a faint chill.

The old red brick building of the history department stood in the mist like a hunched old man.

As Rhode walked toward the entrance to the underground warehouse, just as his hand was about to touch the doorknob, the danger perception granted by the [Ironbeak Raven] on the back of his head suddenly stung like a needle.

It didn't come from behind, but from inside the door.

There are people inside, and more than one.

Rhodes's hand froze in mid-air, his eyes instantly turning cold.

But he didn't turn around and leave, as that would have made him seem guilty.

He took a deep breath, his face showing a tired and blank expression, and pushed open the heavy oak door.

"Squeak~~"

The sound of the door hinges rubbing together broke the silence.

The warehouse was not dark as usual, but brightly lit.

Several floating magical orbs of light illuminated the cluttered space as bright as day. The once neatly arranged boxes of artifacts were now in disarray, with books and scrolls scattered all over the floor.

In the only open space in the center of the warehouse, there was a high-backed chair covered with soft cushions.

Steward Kane sat there, toying with a short wand inlaid with a cheap gem, staring grimly at the doorway.

Behind him stood two burly men wearing leather armor and carrying clubs at their waists.

Those were unofficial thugs from the academy's enforcement team, who specialized in handling dirty work for the apprentice supervisors.

"You're later than I expected, Rhodes."

Kane's voice carried a chill; he didn't yell or shout as usual, and this unusual calmness was all the more dangerous.

Rhodes stood in the doorway, his gaze sweeping over the trampled notes on the ground—his manuscript of mortal history research that he had used to disguise himself.

"Steward Kane..."

Rhodes lowered his head, his voice hoarse: "I don't recall inviting any guests. Besides, casually handling the professor's artifacts, what if they get damaged..."

"Shut up!"

Kane jumped to his feet, his wand pointed directly at Rhodes' nose: "Don't try to intimidate me with that crazy old man! Isaac is in deep trouble himself!"

He approached Rhodes step by step, his eyes blazing with malice: "Someone reported that a large amount of precious alchemical materials have recently gone missing from the History Department's warehouse. And you, a poor teaching assistant who can't even afford to eat, have been spending lavishly on the black market lately, even buying meditation potions."

Kane stopped in front of Rhodes, a cruel smile playing on his lips: "Tell me, Rhodes, where did you get your money? Did you steal from the academy? Or... make a fortune off the dead?"

Rhodes' heart skipped a beat.

"Money from the dead."

The word was used subtly; Kane was testing the waters.

The assassin has disappeared, and the employer behind him cannot find the body, so naturally he will suspect the target.

But they had no evidence.

"I don't know what you're talking about."

Rhodes raised his head, his eyes calm: "I've been helping Lord Tom of the Necromancer Department with his waste disposal lately. It's hard and dirty work, but the pay is fair. Every penny I've paid has been earned honestly."

"Necromantic?"

Kane paused for a moment, then sneered, "That good-for-nothing Tom who only knows how to play with corpses? How much money can he give you? Search him!"

He waved his hand, and two burly men behind him immediately rushed forward.

They roughly grabbed Rod's collar, trying to pin him against the wall and search him.

Rhodes did not resist. He knew very well that the ring was hidden in the crack of the incinerator wall, and the assassin's gold coins and letters were hidden in a secret compartment in the basement. Now, he had nothing on him except a knife for self-defense and a few loose silver coins.

A burly man searched Rod's body for a long time, finally pulling out only the empty money bag and the dull bladed knife.

"Manager, there's nothing here." The burly man threw the items on the ground with some disappointment.

Kane's expression grew even more grim.

He originally thought he could find some contraband, or at least a large sum of gold coins, so that he could legitimately drag Rhodes into the law enforcement team's dungeon.

Once inside the dungeon, there are plenty of ways to get him to reveal the assassin's whereabouts.

"impossible……"

Kane stared at Rhodes, his gaze venomous: "You must be hiding somewhere, in that basement! Pry open the floorboards!"

"That's the academy's property."

Rhodes suddenly spoke, his voice low but his tone unusually firm: "If you don't have a formal search warrant from the registrar's office, damaging the building structure is a serious violation of discipline. Steward Kane, you don't want this small matter to affect your official wizarding exam at the end of the year, do you?"

This statement hit Kane right where it hurt.

Kane did not have a search warrant; he was merely ordered to intimidate and probe.

"You dare threaten me?"

Kane was furious. He felt his authority had been severely challenged. How dare a mortal use the assessment to intimidate him!

He gave a wink to the burlyest thug next to him.

The thugs understood immediately.

In this dog-eat-dog academy, it's common for mortals to be beaten for arguing with wizard apprentices.

"Kid, you're too stubborn."

The burly man grinned and stepped forward, extending a large, hairy hand to shove hard into Rod's chest.

This push didn't require any special technique, but with the strong man's weight of nearly 200 pounds and brute force, it was enough to make an ordinary person fall over and even break a few ribs.

Kane crossed his arms, waiting for the sight of Rhodes collapsing to the ground, begging for mercy.

However, the scene did not turn out as he had hoped.

"Bang!"

A dull thud was heard.

Rhodes did not fly out, nor did he move his feet even an inch.

He stood there quietly, his feet rooted to the ground as if they were planted there.

In that instant, the grayish-white rock texture flashed by beneath the skin of Rhodes' chest.

【Stone Skin】Targeted Activation!

The forces were mutual; the strong man felt as if he had not pushed a person, but rather a granite pillar.

The enormous recoil force is transmitted back to the wrist through the palm.

"Click."

A crisp, clear sound.

"Ahhh!!"

The burly man let out a scream, clutching his wrist and staggering back several steps, sweating profusely from the pain.

His wrist was twisted in an unnatural position, clearly bruised.

The warehouse fell silent instantly.

Kane stared wide-eyed in disbelief at Rhodes, who remained motionless, and then at his subordinate who was clutching his wrist and groaning.

"This...how is this possible?"

Rod patted non-existent dust off his chest, his face still bearing that blank expression.

"I'm sorry, Steward."

Luo De explained calmly, "I move hundreds of kilograms of stone and artifacts every day, so I'm physically stronger than the average person. Your men... are probably too lacking in exercise."

This is blatant mockery.

However, there was not a trace of magic power emanating from Rhodes; he had withstood it entirely with his physical body.

Kane's face turned pale and then red, and he looked at Rhodes with suspicion and uncertainty.

This useless teaching assistant, whom he used to bully at will, has completely changed his feelings towards him today.

That composure, that coldness deep in his eyes, made him instinctively feel uneasy.

"Good...very good."

Kane gritted his teeth and picked up his wand from the ground: "Rhodes, you've been hiding your true strength. But don't think this is the end of it."

He walked up to Rhodes, lowered his voice, and said in a tone only the two of them could hear, "No matter who's behind you, and no matter where you've hidden them, the Iron Duke's patience is limited. You'd better pray you survive the annual assessment."

After saying that, Kane kicked away the debris on the ground.

"Let's go!"

He left the warehouse in a disheveled state with two of his men.

Only after the footsteps completely disappeared did Rod exhale a long breath.

He loosened his collar and glanced at his chest.

There was a bruise there. Although [Stone Skin] blocked most of the damage, the impact still made his blood surge.

"The Iron Duke..."

Rod muttered to himself, his eyes gradually sharpening.

Kane's words confirmed his suspicions: the assassins were the Iron Duke's men, and Kane was their informant within the academy.

They only have suspicions now, and there is no concrete evidence yet.

But this suspicion will soon turn into actual murderous intent.

"We need to speed things up."

Rod crouched down and began to clean up the mess on the ground.

Professor Isaac's underground exploration project can no longer be delayed.

That was his only chance to quickly gain power and protect himself from the impending danger.

He picked up a notebook with footprints on it and gently patted off the dust.

"After you're done tidying up, I'll go check on how things are going with the professor."

Rod quickly tidied up his things, pushed open the warehouse door, and walked towards Professor Isaac's office.