All-around teacher at the magic academy

"Sigh, finally off work." Luca sighed and complained to his colleague, "I'm so busy every day, I don't even have time to relax."

“Well, there’s nothing we can do about it,” Henry replied helplessly. “We’re short-staffed in law enforcement right now; every position is understaffed.”

“Of course I understand, but working overtime every day, I really can’t take it anymore.” Luca said, patting his back, his voice revealing exhaustion. “If this continues, I’m worried my body won’t be able to keep up.”

"Yes, I don't know why the crime rate has been rising recently. I really hope we can add some new personnel as soon as possible."

"Let's not talk about this anymore, I have to hurry home, my wife and kids are waiting for me to have dinner together," Luca said with a smile, a happy smile spreading across his face as he mentioned his family.

"Alright, alright, we all know you have a beautiful wife and a lovely daughter. You have to show them off in front of us every day. Don't you get tired of it?" Henry teased, half-jokingly.

“Hey, how could I get tired of this?” Luca replied with a laugh, then teased Henry, “Oh right, I almost forgot, you’re still not married. You’re not getting any younger, it’s time to start a family.”

"Go to hell." Henry pretended to be angry and made a move to kick Luca, but he felt a little helpless. It wasn't that he didn't want to start a family, but what girl would want to marry him for this kind of life?

"See you tomorrow." Luca dodged Henry's kick as usual and waved to him with his back turned.

"See you tomorrow."

..........

Walking home, Luca hummed a little tune. For him, a day's hard work was all for this moment of peace and tranquility. The end of each workday was the happiest time of his day.

His wife's gentle smile and his daughter's joyful figure naturally came to mind, and this anticipation made Luca unconsciously quicken his pace.

He had walked this road home countless times; he knew every inch of it as well as the lines on his palm. Because he returned home late every day, the road was usually deserted, which made him walk even faster.

Just as he hurriedly turned the familiar street corner, a sudden sense of crisis struck him.

Luca's heart pounded, and he instinctively wanted to retreat. But just then, a dark arrow shot straight from afar, aimed directly at him. As the magic arrow drew ever closer, Luca, at the last second, mustered all his strength, channeling his adrenaline, and narrowly dodged the arrow just as it touched him.

The magical arrow finally landed behind him, slowly dissipating into the air. Luca was drenched in cold sweat; he had just brushed with death. Had he not reacted quickly, he would probably be a cold corpse by now.

His gaze was sharp as he stared at the blurry black figure in the distance, knowing in his heart that the peace of the night had been broken.

Luca chuckled wryly to himself, "Looks like I'll have to work overtime tonight. I wonder if the captain will pay me overtime." His words carried a hint of self-deprecation, but also revealed a firm resolve.

As soon as he finished speaking, he turned and sped away, leaving only a blur in his wake. In the blink of an eye, Luca's figure had disappeared a hundred meters away, leaving only the quiet night and his still-pounding heart.

He wasn't stupid; Luca knew perfectly well that with the power of that arrow, he couldn't possibly withstand it head-on.

Recalling the recent incident where law enforcement officers were assassinated by a dark mage, he could roughly guess that the man in black was likely the assassin who had killed three law enforcement officers. Faced with such an opponent, Luca knew his chances of winning were slim; his best option was to flee, even though he wasn't sure if he could escape the pursuer.

As Luca ran, he kept looking back, only to find that the man in black had disappeared from sight. But this did not make him lower his guard; instead, it made him feel a chill run down his spine.

As he ran, he silently prayed, hoping to encounter his colleagues along the way; he absolutely did not want to lose his life on this road. But reality seemed to be contrary to his wishes. When he felt a sudden attack from his right, Luca quickly stopped and once again narrowly escaped the attack.

He immediately changed direction and continued to flee, but no matter how he ran, the shadow always followed him closely, clinging to the side wall not far away, as if to indicate that his misfortune was not yet over.

Luca felt like crying. Why was that assassin so relentlessly pursuing him? Why was he chosen as the target? Was he destined to suffer such misfortune?

However, in his despair, a sudden inspiration struck him. He immediately chanted a magic incantation in his mind and swiftly sent a distress signal into the air. He was filled with regret; it was all his fault for being too panicked and only thinking about escaping, forgetting to call for help.

Luca realized that simply running away wasn't a long-term solution; he had to take action to slow down his pursuers. So, while running, he kept throwing fireballs to his sides and rear, hoping to use them to hinder the assassins' pursuit.

Just as Luca was considering other escape strategies, an arrow suddenly struck his shoulder. He jolted and staggered, but he endured the pain and continued to stagger forward.

He was unwilling to die like this; his wife and daughter were still waiting for his return at home. Thinking of this, Luca's tears welled up; he felt utterly pathetic.

Luca made up his mind that if he could escape this time, he would study magic even harder and improve his strength. No, he absolutely could not continue being an enforcer. He could find an easier job, even if the salary wasn't that high, it was still better than losing his life.

He felt another chill run down his spine—the assassin's second arrow was about to be fired. Luca felt he might truly be facing the end of his life. He dared not look back, and could only keep running with all his might. Even if it was just one more step, he would never give up; he didn't want to accept his fate so easily.

"Stop!" A sharp shout pierced the night sky, followed by several rapidly flying stone spikes, which were precisely aimed at the assassin's hiding place.

The assassin was forced to abort his attack, quickly blending into the surrounding shadows and disappearing silently into the night. He was unwilling to risk his life for a single injury; after all, failure offered another chance, but injury could mean certain death.

He couldn't help but recall the figure he had encountered the night before, and a chill ran down his spine. He absolutely did not want to confront that person again. He had thought that the target he had chosen this time would be relatively easy to deal with, but he hadn't expected that the other party had been on the run and that reinforcements had arrived so quickly.

Upon hearing the voice, Luca was instantly filled with joy, his tense nerves finally relaxing. He stopped in his tracks, his body involuntarily collapsing to the ground, even forgetting the pain in his shoulder. At that moment, all he wanted to do was take a deep breath, grateful for this unexpected rescue.

Luca looked up at the rescuer and saw it was Henry. He couldn't help but complain to him, "Why are you only arriving now?"

“I’ve arrived as quickly as possible. If it weren’t for an emergency, the captain forgot to tell you and asked me to come and inform you, you might be dead by now.”

"I can't thank you enough." Luca lay on the ground, panting heavily, feeling that the few minutes of escape had exhausted all his strength. At this moment, he just wanted to lie quietly on the ground, not thinking about anything. Oh, no, thinking about his wife and daughter wasn't so bad.

"Do you still have the strength? Let me take you to the hospital," Henry said with concern, noticing the wound on Luca's shoulder.

"Oh dear, I completely forgot about that. I have no strength left, help me up," Luca said weakly.

Henry quickly offered his help, supporting Luca as they slowly walked towards the hospital.

...

Luca returned home with his bandaged wound. As soon as he opened the door, he saw his daughter running happily towards him. He couldn't help but gently pinch her little cheek, intending to pick her up, but then he suddenly remembered the injury on his shoulder.

"Why are you so late?" His wife's voice came from the living room, filled with worry. When she saw the bandage on Luca's shoulder, her eyes immediately welled up with tears.

"How did you get hurt?" his wife asked, her voice trembling.

Seeing the worry in his wife's eyes, Luca felt incredibly guilty. He replied softly, "There was a little accident on the way back, but it's a miracle we didn't make it back."

Upon hearing Luca's story, his wife trembled involuntarily, tears welling in her eyes. "Can you please quit this line of work? What will happen to me and our daughter if anything happens to you?" she pleaded.

Luca looked at his wife affectionately and nodded. "I'll listen to you. After this experience, I've come to a realization. Nothing is more important than life. I'll talk to the captain tomorrow, but I feel a little sorry for my colleagues."

"Let's eat first, the food's getting cold, I'll go heat it up," the wife said, turning and walking towards the kitchen.

“Okay,” Luca replied, though physically exhausted, his heart was filled with warmth and gratitude for his home.

...

Leon remained engrossed in his office, studying the book he had borrowed from Professor Polan. Every line of incantations about curses chilled him to the bone, for he recognized the characters.

As time passed, darkness fell outside, and Leon even forgot to eat. He stretched, looked out the window at the dim night, and then rubbed his empty stomach.

"It's time to get something to eat," he muttered to himself.

On his way to the restaurant, Leon's thoughts were still lingering on the contents of the book. He had a general understanding of its content and had formed some preliminary speculations.

He suspected that the spells in the original spellbooks were indeed written in the language of Earth, but he wasn't sure if only the curse spellbooks were like that. To confirm this, he would need to find other original spellbooks for comparison.

As for why later books changed this script, Leon speculated that it might have been to prevent future generations from having too much contact with it, although the specific purpose remains unknown.

He also pondered the book's origin. Leon was now certain that the author of this magic book, like himself, was a time traveler. But he didn't know if the author was still alive.

"Perhaps I should try to find some clues in the royal library's records," Leon decided to himself.

Setting those thoughts aside for the moment, Leon turned his attention to his plans for the evening. After all, he had to work the night shift at the law enforcement branch.