Chapter 177: A Gift of Knowledge

There was no point complaining to the corpses.

Saul hadn’t broken any rules—these corpses couldn’t hurt him. But if he did violate the rules, they wouldn’t let him off either.

After spending half the night tending to the corpses, Saul made a point to report to Kaz the next morning.

He glossed over the private transaction, merely mentioning that after he accidentally pushed open two doors, the senior apprentice beside him had been dragged in by something with noodle-like arms—and still hadn’t come out.

Sure enough, Mentor Kaz didn’t ask for any details. He simply said, “Understood.”

Two days later, Saul brought the two books he’d borrowed on wraiths to the library on the tenth floor of the East Tower.

Of the two books he’d found, only one mentioned anything related to the Nightmare Butterfly. And even then, the information was vague. All Saul gathered was that the Nightmare Butterfly was terrifying, could muddle a person’s perception, and could be captured. Beyond that, he learned almost nothing.

Even the identity of the third narrator in that story was suspect. Who was he, really?

An outsider who had witnessed the tragedy? …Or the Nightmare Butterfly itself?

With no other clues, Saul could only temporarily reinforce the seal on the Nightmare Butterfly’s cocoon and refrain from further research.

He was afraid it might one day crawl back into his eye.

He decided to deal with his physical issues first—then invite the diary to help study the cocoon later.

Returning to the present, Saul stepped into the library.

Today, the place was unusually lively. Quite a few apprentices were lingering around the first few rows of bookshelves.

The haughty young librarian was still on duty.

Saul walked straight over. “Hello, Mr. Librarian. I’m here to return these two books.”

The young man turned his head with a sneer, but when he saw it was Saul, his expression changed to one of tension. “Oh. Just hand me the books.”

Saul was surprised. In the past, returning books always involved logging them at the librarian’s desk and then putting them back himself.

If you didn’t return them to the right place, the librarian would jack up the prices on your next loan—brutally.

The kind of price hike that could scar any apprentice for life.

But today… why was the process different?

Saul didn’t understand what had gotten into the librarian, but with so many apprentices around, he obediently handed over the books.

When it came to this kind of thing, Saul was always quite cooperative.

“Are you borrowing more books today?” The young man suddenly asked as Saul was about to leave, having briefly hesitated after taking the books.

Saul hadn’t planned to borrow more, but since the other party was surprisingly polite for once, he cautiously replied, “I don’t have much magic crystal left…”

He had just earned five hundred—after all, the candle had ended up in Ferguson’s hands. So despite all the chaos, the deal was technically a success.

But money was never enough, especially as your power grew—prices scaled accordingly.

It was said that true wizards used experimental materials that were astronomically expensive, which was why they usually made their own instead of buying them.

“Ahem. We’ve got some soul-related books that are damaged or defiled. I remember you’re interested in that kind of thing. Want to take a look?”

“The library sells books?” Saul was immediately intrigued.

In the wizarding world, the unknown usually meant danger—so libraries weren’t necessarily safe.

If all books were open-access, nine out of ten tower apprentices would probably lose their minds.

But if he could buy books at a discount, Saul was more than willing to risk it.

After all, he could tell whether a book was dangerous before opening it.

“Yes. Because they’re damaged or stained, once we confirm they’re safe, we sell them at a discount to suitable apprentices.”

Saul still found it odd. “But I’ve been in the Wizard Tower for two years and never heard of this…”

“You think organizing a library is easy? Once every two years is already pushing it,” the youth snapped, looking ready to lose his temper.

Seeing the familiar crankiness return, Saul actually felt a little relieved.

“Then please show me the way.”

The youth lifted his chin. “Go to the first column, eighth row of shelves. That’s where the books marked for disposal are.”

Saul glanced around—nothing seemed out of the ordinary. He even sneaked a peek at the diary on his shoulder—no reaction.

Only then did he head toward the first column of shelves.

“This should be the eighth row.”

He reached the designated spot and saw no one nearby.

“So only suitable candidates are told about this. Not many people know, huh?” Saul muttered to himself as he approached the shelf.

There were only a few books on it, tossed around in a disorganized mess.

Most were lower-level books, without any protective seals—Saul could see all the covers at a glance.

One of them was even a book he’d borrowed back when he was still a First Rank apprentice.

He turned to inspect a few others—sure enough, two were related to souls.

Just as he leaned in to examine them more closely, a figure suddenly appeared beside the shelf—right in front of him.

It was the elderly librarian.

Hands clasped behind his back, he strolled past the two soul-related books Saul had just eyed.

“The Book of Ethereality and How to Hide in the Cracks—one is missing its entire second half, and the other’s middle portion is irreparably stained. Though they’re incomplete, they still offer fragmented knowledge.”

The old man slowly turned around, still with his hands behind his back, and surprisingly wore a smile.

“One book for 300 magic crystals or 29 credits. If you want both, 560 crystals or 54 credits total.”

Wait, was that a bundle discount?

Saul stepped forward. “Can I look through them first?”

He’d always been allowed to skim the first few pages before borrowing a book.

But the old man shook his head.

“No. Disposal books—no previews. Buy it or leave it.”

That felt a bit unreasonable.

Whether in credits or magic crystals, this wasn’t a small amount for Saul.

He hesitated.

But the titles alone were tempting.

Especially the second one. It always reminded Saul of those black shadows that would dart into the cracks in the stone floor before the Tower Master showed up.

“I’ll take both—paying with credits!” Saul gritted his teeth and made the purchase.

He was low on crystals, but he still had some credits. Senior Wright had immediately repaid his loan contract after returning to the tower, and Saul had managed to save over a hundred credits a few days ago.

But with all the experiments and borrowed books lately, that balance had already dropped below a hundred.

This purchase would bring him down to just thirty credits.

Still, for a wizard, knowledge was everything. Even if it hurt, Saul firmly decided to buy both books.

Others might worry that incomplete books could mislead them onto dangerous research paths.

But Saul had the Diary of a Dead Wizard. It could always correct his mistakes. At worst, he wouldn’t find the right path—but he wouldn’t spiral into madness and die from misinterpretation.

Hearing Saul’s decision, the old man’s smile deepened.

“Very well. Take the books and go pay.”

With that, the old man’s figure vanished abruptly, leaving only his echo lingering in Saul’s ear.

“Was he really here just to pitch a sale? Do they get commissions for selling books?”

Still confused, Saul stepped forward and picked up the two books.

Suddenly—

A hand wrapped in pink bandages snatched The Book of Ethereality from his grasp.

Saul looked up—and found himself face-to-face with the Tower Master, completely cloaked in a reddish-brown robe.

“Tower Master?”

Gorsa held the book up, eyed it for a few seconds, and gave an ambiguous grunt before casually tossing it back onto the shelf.

That slim book, barely a centimeter thick, hit the shelf with a loud thud—the whole structure even shook a little.

As if it wasn’t a book that landed—but a person.

(End of Chapter)

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