Chapter 303: The Hardship of Advancement

When Saul and the now-recovered Byron left the laboratory, Keli had already completed a series of preparations and was leisurely seated in the front hall, flipping through a book left on the table by the former owner, Mochi Mochi.

Hearing movement, she looked up from the pages just in time to see the two descending the stairs, one after the other.

Especially Saul—he was even carrying a backpack.

“You’re… leaving already?” she casually tossed the book onto the couch.

“Yes. I haven’t returned to the warehouse in a long time. I originally thought I’d be gone for just ten days or so, but I ended up staying an extra half-month. I need to hurry back and hand over my work.”

Saul was fully aware that once he and Byron left, Keli would be alone in the Black Castle. While it was true she had voluntarily come here to study her magic, and her personality wasn’t one to mind solitude, the Black Castle was ultimately not as convenient as the Wizard Tower.

“Sorry. We finally get to meet again, and now I’m leaving in a rush,” Saul said. It had been a long time since he and Keli had studied or researched together.

It seemed that after advancing to Second Rank apprentices, the two of them had begun walking different paths.

Keli, on the other hand, seemed much more carefree.

She shrugged and said, “No worries. If there ever comes a day when we’re always sitting around chatting with nothing better to do, that probably means death isn’t far away.”

She added, “I’ve left a communication track at the Registry and with Mentor Gudo—it lets you contact me directly at the Black Castle. If you need anything, just go to either of those places… Oh, right, be sure to bring plenty of magic crystals. The communication track eats up a lot of magic.”

“Then let’s stick to letters,” Saul declined with a smile.

Keli rolled her eyes, sat back down on the couch, found the book she’d just tossed aside, and resumed reading.

Saul said his farewell. “Then Byron and I will be off.”

Keli didn’t look up, only lazily waved a hand in farewell.

But then Byron suddenly spoke, “Actually, you don’t have to keep calling me ‘Senior.’ If I’m not mistaken, you’ve already reached Third Rank, haven’t you?”

Saul hadn’t expected Byron to notice, but he didn’t deny it. “Yes.”

Over the past half-month, Saul had successfully mastered the Second Rank spell Touch of Torment.

He was now officially a Third Rank wizard apprentice!

Thud!

Keli’s book slipped from her hand and smacked hard onto the floor.

“You’re Third Rank already?” she stood up in disbelief. “How long has it been since you reached Second Rank? Has it even been three months?”

Saul thought seriously for a moment. “Nearly half a year.”

“You even had to think about it?” Keli clenched her fists, teeth grinding.

Then she suddenly straightened her back, her expression resolute. “Next time we meet… I’ll have caught up to you.”

Her eyes burned with intensity. She didn’t think for a second she was exaggerating.

Saul, too, shed his smile and nodded solemnly. “I believe you.”

The two of them had absolute faith that Keli would advance to Third Rank. Only Byron, standing off to the side, felt as if he’d just been stabbed in the chest.

He looked at his own age compared to these two youths, and his expression slumped.

…

Before long, Saul and Byron boarded the carriage that would take them back.

This two-horse carriage was far larger than the one Saul had ridden alone. Who had paid for the upgrade was anyone’s guess.

The Black Castle behind them was already hidden beneath the shade of the trees by the time Saul looked back through the window.

It wasn’t that he was overcome with emotion and reluctant to leave. Rather, he’d secretly left something behind.

When Saul turned his head, Little Algae also quietly poked out from the window, imitating its master and observing the fragments it had left behind in the Black Castle.

Although Keli wasn’t as likely as Saul to attract “trouble,” and even had a magical artifact personally prepared by her mentor for self-defense, Saul still couldn’t fully trust the outwardly cordial relationship between Borderfall City and the Black Castle. He didn’t feel comfortable leaving her here alone.

So, he instructed Little Algae to leave behind some clones, and in critical moments, it was allowed to steal nourishment from the Devil Vine to protect Keli.

Little Algae originated from the Soul-Devouring Mire and was originally a magical creature on the same level as the Devil Vine. But ever since following Saul, its strength had steadily increased thanks to the influence of the diary.

Now, when it encountered the Devil Vine, it could easily suppress it, and had even nearly seized the Devil Vine’s territory.

It wouldn’t be long before the Devil Vine realized there were clones of Little Algae hidden in the forest surrounding the Black Castle.

Hopefully, it wouldn’t cry too loudly when it did.

“You two really make me jealous,” Byron sighed from across the carriage, finally speaking after Saul straightened up.

“Hmm?” Saul had still been thinking about the Black Castle and Borderfall City and didn’t quite catch his meaning at first.

“For you and Keli, advancing to Third Rank is just a matter of time. But me—if I hadn’t gotten your Plastic Bone Formula, I might’ve already left the Wizard Tower, wandering alone and aimlessly chasing the next advancement.”

Saul smiled. “But you figured it out with your own intelligence. My formula wasn’t a real solution—it just provided a direction.”

“A single spark of enlightenment is incredibly rare,” Byron replied, his voice full of emotion.

Now that he’d resolved the issue of the wraith within him, Byron seemed to have opened up—his words flowed freely.

“Even a powerful Wizard Tower struggles to cultivate a single Third Rank apprentice. Even someone as gifted as Kongsha is still wandering out there, trying to find a way to advance.”

At this point, Byron suddenly seemed to recall something, and his expression darkened slightly.

“Oh, right. Nick is dead.”

Saul froze. “Senior Nick…”

He’d noticed something was off with Nick the last time they met. Remembering how Nick had helped him in Hanging Hand Valley, Saul had asked after his condition.

Unfortunately, Nick hadn’t shared anything, nor had he sought Saul out afterward.

And Nick specialized in the light element. Even if Saul had known the trouble he was in, he probably wouldn’t have been able to help.

“How did he die? Accident? Murder?” Saul asked urgently, remembering Nick’s connection to the Grinding Sound Fruit.

“Neither. He failed to advance and succumbed to contamination.”

“Failed to advance…” Saul murmured. “So it really can kill you.”

He recalled the last time he saw Nick.

Nick specialized in light, but the spells he studied all had to do with emotion. Saul had never asked why emotion was considered part of the light element.

He had always believed that dark magic was more dangerous—after all, it dealt with death and wraiths, and the knowledge it required was often bizarre and chaotic.

But now, it seemed that light might only sound pleasant.

Byron explained that although Nick’s focus was emotion, he had to constantly repress his own feelings. Every time he was wounded or his mental body fluctuated, the fear, sorrow, or even joy he’d suppressed would rebound like a tidal wave.

If he couldn’t withstand the backlash, his mind would collapse.

That was why Nick so often relied on Grinding Sound Fruit to help him endure the most intense surges of emotion.

“Everything you described matches the state he was in,” Saul admitted. The news of Nick’s death left him feeling heavy. “But the way he looked in the end… he didn’t seem like he’d simply been contaminated.”

He remembered Nick being tense but still rational—he’d even given Saul his last Grinding Sound Fruits.

Saul frowned.

The apprentice who had once applied for large amounts of Grinding Sound Fruit had died. Grind Sail Town had been wiped out entirely. And now, even Nick, the one who knew the fruit best, was gone.

The mood in the carriage grew grim.

Now, all those connected to the Grinding Sound Fruits… were almost completely wiped out!

(End of Chapter)

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