At this moment, the first man who had entered with a flamboyant demeanor stopped in his tracks and looked back at Billy.
âDonât you care that your brother is dead?â
Billy, however, was completely indifferent as he continued walking inside and found a document to look through. âIf you care, then you care.â
The first man, having been rebuffed, wasnât angered. Instead, he asked with interest, âAnything new in the tower these past six months?â
âJero, you just want to know who else is dead, right?â the female apprentice who had walked over said, flashing a charming smile as she placed her elbow on Jeroâs shoulder.
Jero pushed her arm down with one finger. âDonât do that, Rita. I only sleep with the dead.â
Rita, the Third Rank female apprentice, rolled her eyes. âOther than Billâs death, thereâs nothing particularly noteworthy. Oh, right, Byron and Wright, who were with him on the mission, brought back a sailing ship. They apparently traded it for quite a few credits.â
Jeroâs eyes immediately lit up. âA sailing ship? I like that. How many dead people would it take to buy it?â
âYouâd better hurry up,â Rita said. âA lot of people are interested in the sailing ship.â
At that moment, the third person walked in, removed her hood, revealing the beautiful lower half of her face and a glass head filled with a milky substance.
The two Third Rank apprentices already in the activity room immediately stopped talking and turned back to their own business.
Kongsha ignored everyone else and swayed her hips as she walked to a bulletin board, looking at the names on it.
Jero, intrigued, followed Kongsha and walked over.
This bulletin board listed the names of apprentices responsible for important tasks within the tower.
Every time Kongsha returned from the outside, she would come here and look over all the names.
Usually, she would leave right after looking, but today, one of her eyes lingered on a particular name for a long time.
Soon, more eyes appeared, all focusing on that one point.
Jero followed Kongshaâs gaze and read the name out loud.
âSecond Warehouse: Saul.â He scratched his chin. âNever heard of this name. A Third Rank apprentice who joined from the outside? I really want to meet him.â
âI advise you not to mess with him, hehehe.â
Another person entered the activity room.
It was the president of the Mutual Aid Society, Lokai, accompanied by the towering and recently unemployed Kujin.
Lokai was the one speaking.
Both Jero and Kongsha turned around. Kongsha remained expressionless, while Jero looked even more interested.
âOh? Could he be another person with a background, like you?â
Lokai wasnât offended by the mockery. âWell, if you canât even find any background information, thatâs what makes him even scarier.â
He gestured with his thumb toward Kujin. âNow, heâs only been promoted to Second Rank for less than half a month, and heâs already replaced Kujinâs position.â
âHmph!â The male apprentice who was with Rita suddenly stood up, a look of disdain on his face. âSo, Second Rank apprentices can come into the activity room at will now?â
Kongsha didnât acknowledge him. She withdrew her gaze and quickly left the room.
If anyone knew her, they might think Kongsha was leaving because she feared the wrath of the Third Rank apprentices.
Lokai spread his hands with a smile. âSecond Rank apprentices can enter the activity room if they are accompanied by Third Rank apprentices. Ferguson, did you forget?â
Ferguson immediately grew angry and stepped forward.
Lokai didnât avoid him, but Kujin raised his hand to block Ferguson.
Ferguson glared coldly at the hand blocking his path and didnât step forward. He turned to Kujin and said, âYou lost your job to a Second Rank apprentice, and now youâre playing guard for one? Youâre going backwards. Donât even think about advancing to become a true wizard. Just go be someoneâs dog!â
âYou!â Kujinâs face turned bright red, and he almost made a move.
But Ferguson simply bypassed them and left the activity room.
Kujin glanced around. While no one was openly mocking him, he still felt a bit embarrassed.
âIâm leaving. You stay here,â Kujin said quickly, leaving the room.
Lokai, left behind in the activity room, wasnât angry. He just shrugged and sighed, âThey really get along well, donât they?â
Rita, who had just dismissed Kongsha, now walked over, lifting her chin. âDid you get the things I wanted?â
Lokaiâs smile grew brighter. âOf course, weâre the Mutual Aid Society. If Sister Rita is willing to join, I can give you a discount.â
Rita raised an eyebrow. âHow much of a discount?â
Lokai gave a figure.
Rita, seemingly unconcerned, said, âThen Iâll join.â
The two immediately started their transaction, while Jero once again focused his attention on the bulletin board.
âSaul?â He looked intrigued.
Back at the Wizard Tower, the days and diary became full again.
Study, experiments, work⊠oh, work hadnât officially started yet.
In the two days since he took over the Second Warehouse, Saulâs quill hadnât moved once.
Because of the disgusting dream he had on his first night back, Saul was a bit apprehensive and hadnât slept since, replacing sleep with meditation.
He didnât want to return to the tower only to get tangled in strange troubles.
The dream had also warned Saul that the Nightmare Butterfly cocoon was now ready to assert its presence.
Saul had experienced dreams that foretold danger before, but they were always related to himself. He had never had a dream about a murder scene.
And it was a scene seen from the perspective of the killer.
This instantly reminded him of the Nightmare Butterfly, the cocoon that had moved to his left eye.
The little girl who had worn the cocoon for four years had seen othersâ dreams, but it had no other obvious effects.
Thus, Saul hadnât taken the potential danger of the cocoon seriously.
But the experience of the first night back in the tower clearly told Saul that the cocoon from the Nightmare Butterfly had changed in some way.
âShould I take it out?â
Saul found a mirror and held a disinfected needle near his eye, contemplating whether to proceed.
Just before he could act, he hesitated again.
Though the dream had been unpleasant, it hadnât caused Saul any harm yet.
He was also concerned that if he removed the cocoon, it might return to his right eye before he could seal it. What then?
He couldnât spend all his time playing hide-and-seek with it in his body.
âMaybe I should get help.â Saul twirled the needle between his fingers and then stopped, âHayden!â
Before Saul left the tower, Hayden had still been a First Rank apprentice.
But he had worked in the corpse room for nearly ten years and was very skilled in anatomy and material preservation.
Saul planned to have Hayden help him remove the Nightmare Butterfly cocoon.
As long as he stayed fully conscious during the procedure, Saul wasnât worried about Hayden making any sneaky moves.
After all, Saul was now a Second Rank apprentice, and his strength and magic far surpassed Haydenâs.
Once the decision was made, Saul grabbed the surgical tools he had prepared and stood up, ready to find Hayden.
But just then, something on his chest suddenly glowed.
The light came from his heart, a soft, warm glow.
Saul looked down and pressed his hand to his chest.
Though he had never seen this kind of light before, in that moment, he knew exactly where it came from.
The Soul-Calling lamp!
Saul slowly turned his head, and sure enough, he saw his own lowered head.
He chuckled bitterly. âAs expected, the tower master gave me this lamp, clearly signaling that my soul will likely leave my body again.â
Since it wasnât the first time, Saul wasnât as panicked as before.
He followed his previous method, turning his back to his body, preparing to walk toward the farthest point from his body.
But after a few steps, Saul realized he had already exceeded the farthest distance from last time.
Saul looked back, and his body hadnât moved.
The radius had indeed expanded.
Saul raised a hand to cover his forehead. âWhy is it that every time I learn a bit of new knowledge, I face deeper unknown effects? No time to catch my breath?â
Complaining was useless. Saul could only focus on resolving the current issue.
He continued forward, searching for the new boundary.
With the next step, the world before Saul suddenly accelerated like being fast-forwarded 16 times, and when it stopped abruptly, a door appeared in front of him.
It was the third door leading into the warehouse, the innermost metal door.
Everything in front of him seemed to move sporadically in all directions, making Saul feel nauseous.
âDid I⊠teleport?â
That was Saulâs first reaction. However, when he tried to move again, he realized he couldnât move at all.
âWhatâs going on?â
He couldnât even look down at the Soul-Calling Lamp on his chest. He could only stare straight ahead.
At that moment, the metal door suddenly creaked open.
A tall, displeased-looking Kujin walked in.
âKujin? How can he come in?â
As the former warehouse manager, Kujin had lost the ability to enter freely.
This was different from the corpse room; the magic array on the metal door was the lock, and now the âkeyâ was in Saulâs hands.
Before Saul could get nervous, another person, short in stature, followed Kujin inside.
When Saul saw that person, his vision froze in shock.
It was him.
Saul saw himself, following Kujin, walking into the Second Warehouse with a curious look on his face.
(End of Chapter)
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