Chapter 45: Declaring Failure

“Hmph, at least you’re cautious.” The woman snorted coldly, rolling her eyes impatiently. “Because you’re cheap. The guy next door might cost me two corpses.”

Well then, turns out he really

was

the cheaper option.

Saul glanced over. The other two First Rank apprentice corpses seemed to already be under consideration.

“Hurry up. Stop dawdling,” the icy senior sister urged.

Left with no choice, Saul clutched the soft leather mask and walked toward the corner.

Just as he was about to step into the magic circle, a rustling sound suddenly froze him in place.

The hardback book expanded and flew open in front of him.

Mocking words once again surfaced.

[July 11th, Year 314 of the Lunar Calendar

What a wonderful day. Knowing you’re short on materials, someone kindly delivers you a corpse.

Be a good boy and put on the ‘Absolute Mask of a Pure Maiden’, sit obediently inside the circle, and observe the three corpses carefully.

Huh? Why can’t you see the Wraith? Turn your head—wait, are your eyes playing tricks on you? Why’s the Wraith on Peggy now?

Oh, ho, ho, ho… nope, your eyes aren’t fooling you. That cleanliness-obsessed Wraith is on you!

Tonight, Peggy will write in the mission ledger: “Processed three First Rank apprentice corpses today.”

Saul knew it—good things like falling from the sky never happened to him!

Anyone who promises high returns for no cost is a damn liar!

Never be greedy. Don’t fall for it!

Saul immediately decided to abandon the plan and reject the so-called “assistance.”

More words appeared on the diary page, and Saul’s eyes nearly bulged out of his head.

Great. Now, the senior sister turns hostile and straight-up slaughters him.

“What are you waiting for? Get in there already!” Peggy’s voice behind him was now laced with obvious irritation.

Saul slowly turned around, a smile more pitiful than a crying face plastered on.

“Senior Sister, I think… one First Rank apprentice corpse might not be enough.”

Peggy’s eyes widened in disbelief. “You want two?”

“No, no, I’m not that greedy. It’s just, I’m running short on a few materials for my experiments lately…”

He began listing materials by name, all while his mind raced for a way out.

Sabotage the ritual circle?

No good—the hardback book mocked his IQ and told him he’d just end up dead, killed by the wraith and Peggy working together.

He thought of two more options, both immediately vetoed by the book.

“What the hell are you talking about? Where am I supposed to get you materials right now?!”

Saul gave a bitter laugh and kept stalling for time.

“Senior Sister, you seem pretty rushed today. I imagine your mission report tonight will say, ‘Processed one First Rank apprentice corpse,’ right?”

Peggy narrowed her eyes.

“You’re not dumb. That’s right. I’m keeping the Second Rank apprentice corpse for myself. But if you snitch afterward, I have plenty of ways to kill you.”

With that, she pulled a bulging silver pouch from her robes and tossed it at Saul.

He caught it. A crisp clinking sound came from inside.

A huge pouch full of magic crystals!

“These could buy at least ten sets of the materials you just mentioned. Get in there! If you keep dawdling, I’ll break your legs and toss you in!”

“Thank you, Senior Sister.”

Saul tucked the pouch into his coat and stepped into the circle, mask in hand, obediently sitting down.

“Put the mask on!”

Peggy urged again, this time unable to hide the killing intent in her voice.

“Okay, just finding the right side.”

Saul flipped the mask in his hands. At the same time, he used his nail to pop the seal on a tiny bottle hidden in his palm.

This was the plan he came up with at the last minute—and the hardback book hadn’t ridiculed him for it.

“Absolute Mask of a Pure Maiden.” “Clean-freak Evil Spirit.” It reminded him of the bottle he had hidden in his coat: the Elemental Fairy’s Ultimate Filth.

With both Peggy and the wraith being way out of his league, Saul had no choice but to bet on this path that the book had pointed him toward.

As he flipped the mask, he dumped most of the potion onto it.

The moment he put it on, a faint fishy stench hit his nose.

The mask seemed sticky and immediately clung tightly to his face.

“I’ve contaminated this ‘Absolute Mask.’ If you really are a clean freak, then stay the hell away from me!”

Meanwhile—

Peggy was already on the verge of exploding. That damn newbie finally sat down inside her ritual circle.

Of course, the circle under Saul was purely decorative—the real power lay in the mask on his face.

Peggy kept a stony expression, gritting her teeth through the burning chafing between her thighs as she stepped into the circle of candles.

She took off her large outer robe, revealing a nightgown-like dress and pale calves.

Kicking off her short boots, her equally pale bare feet came into view.

Her skin was so smooth and fair, it looked just like the material of the mask on Saul’s face.

“Keep a close eye on the three corpses. If you see one of them start smoking black mist, tell me immediately! That wraith moves fast—I need to pinpoint its location the moment it shifts!”

“Yes.”

“Begin.”

Peggy raised her arms, her fingers rapidly forming different gestures with each hand.

At the same time, she began chanting silently.

All the candles on the floor suddenly flared to life.

The runes on the ceiling, walls, and floor squirmed like living worms.

Only the area around Saul remained still and quiet.

He dutifully kept his eyes on the three corpses.

The room grew increasingly bizarre.

The candle flames stretched a full meter tall, flickering wildly like living beings burning in agony. Saul could almost hear faint screams.

The black lines on the floor split and reformed like stick figures dancing around a bonfire.

Saul felt a moment of hallucination—those stick figures seemed to stand up and twirl their flat bodies, celebrating the leap in their life form.

“Tell me now! Where’s the wraith?!”

Peggy’s sharp voice snapped him out of it.

Saul turned his gaze—and locked it on Peggy.

“It’s on you, Senior Sister,” he said coldly.

Peggy froze mid-movement and spun around. Her face was covered in black threads, looking utterly demonic.

“You dare look again?!”

In Saul’s eyes, the black threads peeled off Peggy’s skin and rapidly formed a distorted, snarling face.

Its hollow eye sockets and gaping mouth were grotesquely wide. It surged toward Saul.

Its mouth opened wide, black, thread-like drool dripping down in torrents.

Boom!

Saul’s body jerked backward as if something had crashed into him. A wave of dizziness and icy cold flooded from the mask.

But before he could react, the sensation vanished like touching a red-hot iron pan—it recoiled instantly.

He fought through the burning soreness in his eyes and forced them open, just in time to see the black spirit retreating in agony back into Peggy.

“Aaaahhh!” Peggy screamed in horror. “What’s happening?!”

The wraith’s twisted face slammed into Peggy’s own, and her voice turned hoarse and grating.

“So foul! So disgusting! How can there be something this filthy?! You lied to me! That wasn’t the purest virgin! It was a disgusting man!!!”

“Get out, you perverted wraith!” Peggy struggled with all her might to expel the intruder.

Two souls were now battling for control of Peggy’s body.

In the corner, Saul tore the mask off his face and gasped for breath.

It wasn’t like he was trying to prove he was a pure virgin.

But after being momentarily possessed, the mask now stank so badly that even someone immune to the scent of a corpse room like him couldn’t take it.

Every second he kept it on made him want to die from sheer disgust.

Amid the chaos, the hardback book appeared again.

[July 11th, Year 314 of the Lunar Calendar, Clear Skies

What a fascinating reaction.

A fresh maiden’s skin, an elemental fairy’s ultimate filth, and a dash of a cleanliness-obsessed cursed spirit…

Combined, they’ve created a terrifying mask for a necromancer!

Ugh!

But you really need to get rid of that stench first.]

(End of Chapter)

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