I became a god through archaeology in the Wizarding World.

"I am... I am the steward! You can't kill me! Brut's brother won't let you get away with this, and neither will the Iron Duke..."

Kane's legs thrashed wildly in mid-air, his face turning purplish-red from lack of oxygen, as he struggled to squeeze out broken pleas and threats from his throat.

Rhodes looked at him, his eyes completely unmoved.

"Brut's brother, Kruger? The Iron Duke?"

Rhodes repeated the two names softly, then shook his head: "At this distance, they can't save you. Besides, the dead don't tell on you."

"Spare me..."

"Click."

A crisp crack cut off Kane's final plea for mercy.

With a slight flick of his wrist, Rhodes used the terrifying strength granted by Stone Skin to instantly snap Kane's cervical vertebrae.

That head, which had once been held high, now drooped limply to one side, completely lifeless.

Rod released his grip, letting the corpse slide to the ground like a puddle of mud.

The forest returned to a deathly silence, broken only by the occasional hooting of owls in the distance.

Rhodes released his right arm from its petrified state; the heavy, rocky texture faded, and his skin returned to its human paleness.

He flexed his fingers, but instead of leaving immediately, he drew a sharp razor from his waist.

"Next, it's the doctor's working time."

He looked around, his gaze sweeping over the three corpses, his mind racing.

Brutus died from a blunt force trauma to the back of the head, resulting in a fractured skull; Vickers died from asphyxiation and neurotoxin poisoning, with ligature marks on his neck; Kane died from a broken cervical spine, with fingerprints on his neck.

These wounds are too obvious. If the academy's coroner saw them, he would immediately recognize that they were inflicted by someone skilled in earth and plant magic.

"A new killer must be created."

Rod walked to Brutus's body; the burly man's death was the most gruesome, his skull caved in.

"This blunt force injury looks a lot like the paw strike of a fully grown, berserk demonic bear," Rhodes muttered to himself.

He crouched down, skillfully slicing through Brutus's already shattered scalp with the razor in his hand.

Instead of hacking randomly, he followed the muscle fibers and mimicked the angle at which a bear's claws tore through flesh, creating several deep lacerations that exposed bone, thus concealing the original marks left by his fist.

Next up is Vic.

Vic's cause of death is the most complicated; the residual toxins and ligature marks are the most telling factors.

Rod walked to the tree and laid Vic's body down.

He used a razor to cut open the bruises on Vic's neck caused by the poison vines, enlarging the wound to make it look like a gruesome sight of someone being torn apart by a wild beast's fangs.

As for the toxins in the body...

Rhodes pulled out a bottle of inferior corrosive potion he had bought from the black market and poured a little onto Vic's wound.

"Sizzle sizzle..."

The acid corroded the flesh, emitting a pungent, burnt smell, perfectly destroying any traces of toxin residue and making the wound look as if it had been torn apart by some kind of monster with corrosive saliva.

Finally, there's Kane.

Rhodes did the same thing, destroying the fingerprints on Kane's neck and adding several cuts to his chest and abdomen to create the illusion that he had been gutted by the claws of a wild beast.

Having done all this, Rhodes stood up and examined this masterpiece that resembled a battlefield.

The three apprentices were attacked by a first-ring magical beast, the Berserk Demon Bear, deep in the Misty Forest, and were all wiped out.

This is the script that Rhodes wrote for them.

"A perfect scene."

Rhodes put away his scabbard and began looting the spoils.

Brutus's greatsword was too heavy to carry, but he had a finely crafted chainmail and a bag of about thirty gold coins.

Vic's two poisoned daggers were valuable items, and Rhode unceremoniously put them into his boots. He also found two bottles of antidote and a bottle of invisibility potion.

Finally, there's Kane.

As the steward, Kane was the wealthiest.

Rhodes pulled a heavy money bag from his pocket, which contained at least fifty magic stones.

Although the wand inlaid with rubies wasn't of high grade, it was still worth a dozen or so magic stones.

Just as Rhodes was about to stop, his fingers touched something hard in Kane's inner pocket.

Upon closer inspection, it turned out to be a black letterbox sealed with sealing wax.

A clear design was printed on the sealing wax: a tightly clenched steel handguard.

The Iron Duke's coat of arms.

Rod's heart skipped a beat, and he immediately crushed the sealing wax and took out the letter inside.

By the faint moonlight, he quickly scanned the document.

The letter was short, but contained a wealth of information.

[...That old man's research has crossed the line. If he doesn't shut up before the annual review, initiate the purge plan. Also, thoroughly investigate his teaching assistant's background; if any clues related to that thing are found, kill him without exception. P.S.: The first installment of operating funds has been transferred to your account via the black market.]

Rhodes' eyes narrowed slightly.

"That thing..."

It seems that the Iron Duke not only knows that Professor Isaac is researching mortal history, but may even know through some channel what is buried in the underground ruins.

This letter is irrefutable evidence.

This proves that the Iron Duke is plotting murders against Institute personnel, and may even be planning a conspiracy against the entire Institute.

"very good."

Rod folded the letter again and tucked it into the most secret pocket of his body.

This is not just a trophy, but also a handle, a bargaining chip that can be used to negotiate with the academy's higher-ups or even the king at crucial moments in the future.

"It's time to go back."

Rhodes glanced at the sky; dawn was approaching.

Instead of leaving immediately, he rammed his head against a large tree and rolled on the ground, getting himself covered in mud.

Then, he hardened his heart and used a razor to make several shallow cuts on his left arm and back, letting the blood seep into his leather armor.

If you're going to put on a show, you have to go all the way.

How could a squad that was attacked by a raging demonic bear possibly have a single member return unscathed?

……

At dawn, as the first rays of sunlight pierced through the miasma of the misty forest, the guards at the west gate of the Royal Academy were awakened by a series of urgent knocks.

"Open the door! Open the door now! Help!"

Through the observation hole, the guard saw a blood-covered, ragged figure stumbling toward the gate.

Rhodes' face was as pale as paper, his eyes filled with terror and relief at surviving a disaster. Several broken branches were stuck in his back, making him look extremely disheveled.

"It's that history teaching assistant!" The guard recognized him and quickly opened the side door.

Rhodes collapsed to the floor as soon as he entered, gasping for breath and shouting hoarsely, "A magical beast... a magical beast! A berserk magical bear! Manager Kane and the others... they're all dead!"

"What?!"

The guards were terrified.

Three combat apprentices died, and only one history department administrative assistant came back alive?

This is simply a fantasy.

But seeing the horrifying wounds on Rhodes' body and his terrified appearance, the guard had no choice but to believe it.

"Quickly! Notify the academic affairs office! Notify the medical team!"

Amid the chaos, Rhodes was lifted onto a stretcher.