Summoned with an SSS-Rank Portal Skill-Chapter 345: Extracting Information

William quickly thought of an answer to give Brian. He had already imagined that such a question would come.

"In fact, it was the headmaster who told me where you live," William replied. "Since it's just you and me left at the school, he wanted me to come and talk with you."

Brian seemed to buy the idea, as he simply smiled and began pouring the wine for them.

"Ahh, that makes sense. Really, it's just you and me now to take care of those brats," Brian said with a laugh.

Besides the two of them, there was also the librarian, but Brian wasn't counting on her help. Apparently, the two didn't get along very well.

Brian poured the wine for both of them and sat down in the chair in his dining room. He savored the wine before drinking.

"This is very good. You have good taste," he said.

In truth, William had only chosen the wine that looked like it had the prettiest bottle and the highest price. He had no idea which wine was good and which wasn't.

"But what exactly do you want to talk to me about?" Brian asked.

As they exchanged those words, William's mind was conflicted. He had a mission to complete. The Lich would never escape on his own, and to break the barrier, William needed to extract the information from Brian's mind.

Yet Brian seemed like a decent guy, different from what William had imagined. Around the school, he was mysterious and often cold. William had seen him act harshly with students and even with the guards more than once.

But at that moment, he didn't seem that way at all. He came across as a good man who was simply doing the job he had been hired to do. That was the image he projected.

"I just came to chat a little, have a drink. The headmaster asked me to take his place for a while while he handles something important, and that left me a bit nervous."

William gave an awkward laugh. Brian pointed to the wine glass. The two drank as they talked for a while.

"Don't worry, it won't be that much work," Brian said. "The students won't want to cause trouble with you. And you've got all the first-year students on your side, right?"

William's reputation as the professor of the first-year students was well known throughout the school.

At first, William kept the conversation light, speaking about trivial things with Brian, trying his best to make it seem like nothing more than a casual talk. However, after both had consumed plenty of alcohol, he began to steer the conversation toward something more specific.

Brian, though a relatively strong mage, didn't have a body as tough and resilient as William's. That was something unique to combat mages—or, in William's case, someone whose body had been enhanced by demonic energy.

In other words, it took a long time for William to get drunk or feel any effect from alcohol. Brian, on the other hand, by the time they finished that glass of wine and moved on to another, was already struggling to speak.

He kept drinking only because William was keeping pace with him. Brian firmly believed that William would suffer the same effects from the alcohol as he did.

Looking straight into Brian's eyes, William asked, "Have you ever taught here before?"

Brian didn't think much before answering. He was far too susceptible to saying careless things. 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝚠𝚎𝚋𝗻𝗼𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝚘𝐦

"A few times," he said. "Now I'm here at the school to do more important things."

"More important than training powerful mages to protect the kingdom?" William pressed.

That made Brian laugh.

"In the end, it's the older, stronger mages who have to defend the kingdom when a threat too great appears. It's not like these brats are going to do anything."

Although Brian's words were a bit harsh, he was right—and William knew it. In the end, it was the older mages who had to shoulder the greatest burdens.

Still, ensuring new, skilled mages was important. After all, at some point, the elder mages would no longer be there to protect the kingdom, and new talents would be needed.

"And what exactly do you do here at the school?" William asked.

Brian, though altered by the alcohol, didn't answer that question. He still had enough awareness to know that was too much.

Instead, the opposite happened. He looked at William with a hint of suspicion.

"Why do you want to know that?" he asked.

William could feel the atmosphere grow tense again. Already accustomed to situations like this, he quickly found a way out.

"You know I'm investigating the spy who was caught here at the school, right? I'm just asking about everyone. Even though you're someone the headmaster trusts, I can't avoid asking a few questions."

"Ahhh, so you're the one leading the investigation about that guard? My bad, I had no idea," Brian said. "Makes sense you'd find my motives a little suspicious. But don't worry, I'm not doing anything here that the headmaster doesn't know about."

This only confirmed the Lich's words. The headmaster was truly involved in the creature's abduction. William hadn't treated that information as certain before, precisely because he didn't want to trust just anyone—especially a powerful Lich who had lived for hundreds of years.

"Sorry for asking out of nowhere without warning. It came off a bit wrong," William said.

Brian laughed at anything.

"Hahaha, relax, man. Let's drink and enjoy this peaceful night, because tomorrow it'll just be us and the brats at this school—and damn, imagine the stress we'll have."

The idle chatter went on for quite some time. It was around three in the morning, and Brian could barely stand. William had the perfect opportunity.

He had decided to change his plan: instead of fighting Brian directly, he would get him drunk and attempt to enter his mind using his demonic energy.

With his mind altered, it would be easier to extract information—and possibly do so without Brian realizing.

In fact, William had already been sending small amounts of his demonic energy into Brian's mind throughout the night. This was the best method. Rather than flooding him with a large surge of energy all at once, he had been feeding it in gradually to ensure Brian wouldn't notice easily.

And it seemed to have worked, since William managed to gain access to Brian's mind, glimpsing some of his memories.

What he sought was the memory of Brian creating that barrier. Yet he found nothing. There was no memory of Brian constructing it.

"What the hell?" William thought.

Something didn't feel right. He then tried searching for a memory of Brian seeing someone else create the barrier for him—and voilà, he found it.

In the end, the one who had built the barrier wasn't Brian at all, but a mysterious mage who seemed quite powerful. William couldn't make out the face clearly in that memory.

"Don't tell me…"

William immediately thought of the mage the Lich had spoken about. Apparently, they had constructed that prison for the Lich even before capturing the creature. It was a well-structured plan.

At last, William withdrew his demonic energy from Brian's mind after realizing the barrier hadn't been made by him.

He placed Brian, who was nearly asleep, onto the sofa and left for his own quarters.

The next morning, the mysterious mage arrived at the school. But that wasn't even the worst part.

Brian had sensed something strange the night before, once the effects of the alcohol had worn off. He went straight to confront William, demanding answers.

"Did you get into my damn mind?" he asked.