Saul blinked and shifted positions, continuing to ponder the ârune problemâ in front of him.
âA Second Rank wizard? How did he end up in charge of a library?â
From Aguâs appearance, Saul couldnât discern any particularly unusual bloodline.
[Because of my race, I was constantly hunted. Eventually, I died at the hands of a Third Rank wizard from the Gorsa Family. My soul was extracted by him and turned into an eternal servant.]
âAn eternal servant, no wonder you offered to serve me for a hundred years.â Saul smacked his lips.
âIâm a bit curiousâwhat exactly is your race? If the question is too sensitive, or dangerous for me to know, feel free not to answer.â
[Itâs only dangerous if you tell others.]
[I am a Faceless One.]
Saul had never heard of that race. Aside from raising an eyebrow, he didnât show much reaction.
[Faceless Ones are like shadowsâwe have no identity of our own. We survive only by replacing others.]
âSo this name, Agu, is it your own, orâŠâ
Though obligated to answer Saulâs questions, Argu still paused for a while before writing new text.
[It was given to me by the daughter of the last man I replaced.]
It seemed Agu was someone with stories of his own.
Saul didnât press furtherâdidnât ask about the man or his daughter.
âWhat kind of race are the Faceless Ones? Do you reproduce by splitting, or are you hermaphroditic?â As a wizard, Saul found this a topic of academic interest.
Agu had likely grown used to wizardsâ inquisitive nature, and answered without resistance.
[We were born in the Lightless Abyss. We can also self-replicate.]
No wonder Agu could easily split himself into three parts.
As for the Lightless AbyssâSaul had heard of it before. It had been briefly mentioned in the Basic Knowledge of All Things. A spatial rift.
But that was all the books had said. Not even a single detail about what existed within the Abyss.
Saul knew not to dig too deeply. He instructed Agu to rest quietly in the Black Page for now, to conserve energy.
Agu fell silent, and the diary turned to Mordenâs page.
Saul didnât initiate contact with Morden again.
The old king of the mortal world was nearing the end of his conscious existence.
To preserve Mordenâs mind, Saul temporarily decided not to consult him furtherâat least until he found a way to replenish the Black Pageâs energy.
Thus, Herman also managed to retain his consciousness by sheer luck.
Time passed quickly in study and experimentation.
In the blink of an eye, three days had gone by. Dressed in a grey robe, Saul arrived on time at the 13th floor of the East Tower.
Rounding the corridor, he saw the room Lokai had mentioned.
Lokai, as president of the Mutual Aid Society, was personally welcoming Second and Third Rank wizard apprentices arriving for the exchange meeting.
As soon as Saul approached, Lokai abandoned the person he was talking to and came over eagerly.
âYouâre finally here! I thought you werenât coming todayâhehe.â
âAm I late?â Saul asked coolly in the face of Lokaiâs enthusiasm.
âNo, itâsâŠâ Lokai pulled out a pocket watchâan uncommon sight in the Wizard Tower where hourglasses were the norm. âAh, exactly at the last minute.â
âCome in, hehe. Itâs really lively today. Lots of Third Rank apprentices showed up. Iâm sure youâll recognize someone inside.â
At that moment, Saulâs heart stirred. He suddenly turned his head.
Half a second later, Lokai also turned his gaze behind Saul.
At the end of the corridor, Kongsha was approaching in a deep purple satin gown.
Uncharacteristically, she wore no cloak or hood. As she walked, her pale long legs occasionally emerged from the dress, catching the eyes of many.
And Kongsha, whose face was fully exposed without concealment, stared back at the onlookers with her many bloodshot eyesâmore than a dozen of them.
âKongsha,â Lokaiâs expression grew complicated, âYou werenât invited to this exchange meeting.â
âAre you going to stop me?â
Kongsha had already walked up to the two. All of her eyes were pressed against the glass wallâone turned to Lokai, two to Saul.
But most of them were aimed to her left.
That made Saul notice her left side as well. He squinted and directed his mental energy toward it, but saw nothing.
âLet her in,â came a voice from inside the room.
Saul looked over and saw a man standing at the door, smiling.
That smile was subtly unpleasant, as if mocking someone.
âBesides, Iâve never seen someone contaminated by an elf before. This is a good chance to observe.â The man continued.
His words were like a torch thrown into dry hay, instantly changing the atmosphere inside and outside the room.
Even Saul couldnât help but glance at Kongsha, trying to find traces of contamination.
But unlike the wary stares of others, Saul wasnât nervous.
After all, heâd recently encountered an elf himself, and received guidance from a reliable source.
Encountering elves wasnât dangerous in itself. As long as one kept a clear understanding and didnât accept them as real, one wouldnât be affected.
Cognition is mostly formed subconsciously. The best way to avoid elven contamination is to minimize exposure.
Still, Saul was curious to see what someone affected looked like.
Besides, for the woman who had led him into the wizardâs path, he had some faith.
At that moment, Kongsha also directed one eye at the man in the room and said coldly, âJero, if youâre really curious, I can introduce you to Hirsidges.â
She raised her hand and pointed to her left, as if someone truly stood there.
Even the smile on Lokaiâs face faltered.
No one knew whether Kongsha was joking, but anyone with even partial knowledge about elves knew: the more you understand elven illusions, the more likely you are to be contaminated.
And yet, Jero stepped forward fearlessly, arms folded, bowing slightly in the direction Kongsha had pointed.
âSure! Hello, Hirsidges. Iâm Jero, a Third Rank wizard apprentice, specializing in lightning. I love women with unusual traitsâcare to be friends?â
There was no reply.
But Jero acted as if heâd heard something, nodding as if in response.
Saul could tell at once that Jero was lying, or putting on a show.
Because judging from where most of Kongshaâs eyes were focused, if someone were standing to her left, their head would be at least half a head taller than Jeroâs.
Saul had no interest in this farce. Since he couldnât find traces of an elf on Kongsha, he gave up, bypassed Jero, and stepped into the activity room first.
The setup looked like a classroom partyârows of chairs formed a circle, leaving the front and center open.
In the center stood two rolled-up scrolls, each about two meters tall.
Saul sensed faint magical waves from them.
They likely had wizard formations drawn on themâthough he didnât know their purpose yet.
Still, with them placed front and center, heâd probably find out soon enough.
Saulâs entrance acted like a resume button for the animation paused by Kongsha. Everyone withdrew their gazes from the doorway.
Some turned to Saul instead.
He looked back.
And sure enough, he spotted a few familiar faces.
Billy, whom heâd seen during his night tour of the East Tower, was sitting in the back. His head was lowered, eyes on the floor, seemingly uninterested in the outside commotion.
But Angelaâwho had made a secret deal with Billy was not here.
Next to Billy sat a pale-faced Wright.
And on Wrightâs lap was a girl.
She looked about sixteen or seventeen, dressed in a black-and-white maid outfit. The skirt was deliberately shortened, just above the knees.
Her legs were covered in white thigh-high stockings, and she wore small black lambskin shoes.
With her fair complexion and attire, the girl looked like a porcelain doll.
[End of Chapter]
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