Wizard: This witcher is neglecting his duties.

Chapter 67: Follow-up to the Case

That evening, after dealing with all the aftermath of the werewolf incident, Deacon Ozk, somewhat exhausted, found Wayne practicing his swordsmanship by the river.

He stood aside, observing the witcher's ferocious, swift, and relentless swordplay, which resembled that of a vicious wolf, before stepping forward, respectfully bowing, and saying:

"Master Wayne, the injured workers have been taken to the clinic for treatment. According to the doctor's diagnosis, they should all only have superficial injuries and are not in life-threatening condition."

"The remains of the two workers who died have been taken home by their families."

"As for the child you brought back, we also sent people to his aunt's house, and he is already being taken care of."

He hesitated for a second, looked up at Wayne's expression, and then said tentatively:

"However, the workers had some objections to burying the werewolf's body."

"They believed that the best way to deal with such a monster was to burn the werewolf's body."

Upon hearing this, Wayne sheathed his steel sword, turned to look at Deacon Ozk, and, with a serious expression and earnest tone, spoke in the manner of an expert convincing a layman:

"Mr. Ozk, the workers are ignorant and do not know that werewolves are extremely dangerous monsters. They are shrouded in a terrifying curse. Even if their corpses are burned, these monsters will turn into evil spirits and continue to endanger the safety of the workers."

"The reason I buried him next to my wife and asked you to help me find the real culprit is because only in this way can I eliminate the monster's hatred and let him rest in peace."

Wayne paused here, then said in a helpless tone:

"People living in towns are too far away to be in any danger, but we lumberyard workers here have to stay near this forest."

"You wouldn't want another evil spirit by your side that can turn invisible, can curse, is fearless of swords, and is always trying to kill the living, would you?"

As Wayne recounted the story, Ozk's face paled with fear. He had seen the werewolf's corpse with his own eyes: a strong body over two and a half meters tall, huge claws as sharp as blades, and a wolf-shaped head full of sharp teeth, a gaping maw, and a ferocious and terrifying appearance.

Seeing such a terrifying monster, the southerner found it hard to imagine how many people would have died or been injured to destroy it without the help of the master demon hunter in front of him.

Thinking of the evil spirits that might appear in the future, Ozk shuddered, his attitude becoming even more anxious, and he said seriously:

"Understood, Master Wayne. I will urge the managers of the nearby logging camps to compile a list of lumberjacks who might have appeared near the hunter's hut three days ago, based on the physical characteristics you provided."

"We'll ask you to come then for further verification."

Wayne nodded, watching the deacon's departing figure, thinking to himself that although he had told some lies, white lies can sometimes lead to a more perfect ending, and justice can be served as a result.

Sure enough, driven by these evil rumors, the logging camp owners all became quite cooperative, and within a few days they provided Wayne with a fairly accurate list.

After eliminating the werewolf, his work at the lumberyard became quite leisurely during the few days he was on duty.

Apart from a few ignorant ghouls and low-intelligence Andrei bugs that occasionally appear around the lumberyard, no other monsters attack this large lumberyard.

During this free time, Wayne would take a regular-level duty roster from Deacon Ozk every day, complete it like a job, and receive a reward.

He usually practiced riding skills in the open space, gathered herbs in the forest, brewed witcher potions, and also took out his bow and arrow, which he hadn't practiced in a long time, to practice. He was quite content.

The expert-level werewolf quest provided him with fifty experience points and an expert-level treasure chest, successfully advancing his Witcher level from level five to level six.

Not only did my physical fitness improve slightly, but I also received a system reward of one ability point.

Wayne (16 years old)

Occupation: Witcher

Level: 6 (23/600)

Ability value: 6 points

Attributes: Strength 18, Agility 23, Constitution 20, Spirit 23.

Skills: Swordsmanship LV5, Signs LV8, Genetic Mutation LV4, Gwent LV4.

Special Bloodline: Ancient Blood (weak, unawakened) requires 10 ability points to activate.

Additional skills: Archery LV2, Cooking LV5, Planting LV3, Alchemy LV3, Riding LV3.

Currently, aside from cooking, which has reached level five and for which no skill specialization has been selected, mutation levels (increased by drinking potions) and Gwent levels (increased by playing cards) have both reached the peak of level four.

If he puts some effort into these two skills, he will most likely break through to level five within a month, thus gaining the opportunity to choose a skill specialization.

The only downside is that ability points are extremely precious. Apart from the small amount of ability points provided with each level up, the only way to obtain this power is by absorbing magic nodes from all over the world.

However, absorbing magic nodes will inevitably damage the space, creating a tiny spatial rift. This made Wayne somewhat conflicted, and he felt that he had to choose his targets carefully.

That afternoon, it had been five days since Wayne had been on duty at the lumberyard.

Deacon Ozk approached him with a serious expression and said:

"Master Wayne, the seven logging camps near the werewolf hut have gathered fifty-three lumberjacks who might have been near the hut when the incident occurred and who match the physical characteristics you provided. They are awaiting your questioning."

Do you have a moment now?

Upon hearing this, Wayne raised an eyebrow in surprise, not expecting that Deacon Ozk and the lumberyard owners would be so efficient.

It seems that the rumors about evil spirits have frightened and scared those merchants who make money from logging, so they have put effort into this area in order not to hinder their profits.

He nodded to Ozk and asked:

"Where are they now? Are they in those logging camps?"

Ozk shook his head and said:

"In order to resolve this matter as soon as possible, the businessmen have sent these loggers to our logging camp, where they are now being guarded in our dormitories."

Faced with such a thoughtful arrangement, Wayne said appreciatively to Deacon Ozk:

"Thank you for your hard work, Mr. Ozk. It is because of your help that things have gone so smoothly."

"Next time I see Mr. Rewaden, I will tell him the truth about it."

"Your efforts will surely earn his praise."

Ozk looked at Wayne with some delight and said with a smile:

"Thank you, Master Wayne. It's my job."

After exchanging a few pleasantries, Wayne and Ozk went together to the lumberyard's dormitory.

Sure enough, just as Ozk had said, the fifty-odd lumberjacks, each with a different expression, were guarded in a dozen or so dormitories. Some were whispering to each other, some were silent, and some looked tense.

They clearly already knew why they had been gathered here.

Instead of immediately questioning the lumberjacks, Wayne quietly hid outside the dormitory and observed them one by one with his keen observation skills.

They also marked individuals who exhibited particularly strong feelings of guilt, fear, anger, or other emotions.

Half an hour later, after he had observed the situation sufficiently, he turned to Deacon Ozk, who had been by his side the entire time, and said:

"Deacon Ozk, please arrange a room for me. I need to question these lumberjacks individually."

Otzke was very cooperative and immediately arranged a spacious room. He also had some lumberyard guards control the area, allowing the lumberjacks to enter the room one by one to be questioned by Wayne, preventing them from causing any disturbance.

In fact, Wayne didn't know what interrogation was. When the lumberjacks were arranged to sit opposite him, he could only recall what he had seen in TV dramas from his previous life: police questioning criminals and asking questions such as alibis.

Of course, as a witcher with spellcasting abilities, he doesn't need any special interrogation skills.

When he faces those he has marked who show particular guilt, anger, fear, or other strong emotions, Wayne will use the Axii sign to directly hypnotize them and ask them the questions he wants to know.

Things went smoothly. The biggest challenge was not interrogating the loggers, but narrowing down the criminals from hundreds or thousands of loggers across all the logging sites to just a few dozen who could be questioned individually.

When the three prisoners were sent to the logging camp in Rewardon by their boss, their fate was already sealed.

All that's needed is the length of the interrogation.

About two hours later, before evening had even arrived, Wayne, who had cast spells more than ten times in a row, finally managed to capture the three criminals through the hypnosis of the Axii sign, despite the exhaustion in his body, and recorded their crimes in detail.

Even if these criminals tried to deny their crimes after waking up, they eventually succumbed to the irrefutable evidence and confessed when faced with the detailed criminal records in black and white.

Deacon Ozk immediately understood and, with the help of several guards, sent the three notorious criminals, along with their signed criminal records, to the Vizima prison.

As expected, they were destined to be hanged on the execution ground.

(End of this chapter)