Chapter 340: Contact

Saul lowered his head. “What’s your name?”

“Bambu,” the boy’s courage had run dry, and his voice began to shrink. “In reply to you, sir, I’m called Bambu.”

“Bambu, becoming a wizard’s apprentice isn’t necessarily a good thing. Half of the ones who entered the Wizard Tower with me are no longer in this world. And half of the ones who remain have been missing for a long time.”

Bambu’s mouth fell open.

Clearly, he had no idea of the cruelty and brutality that lay beneath the wizard’s dignity and nobility.

The wind rushed into his mouth and made him choke.

“Go back,” Saul repeated.

Bambu’s eyes turned red. He felt his earlier reaction must have disappointed this adult.

But he no longer had the courage to plead with the wizard before him again.

Even though the man had saved him, even though he spoke gently, even though he’d let him stand and speak… in the end, he was still a wizard.

The boy left, disappointed. Saul returned to the seashore, eyes fixed on the increasingly blurry horizon, disturbed by storm clouds and howling wind.

The tide was rising.

Especially once night deepened—it rose to a shocking degree.

Saul had been standing four or five meters from the water, but in the blink of an eye, the waves began to lick the soles of his shoes.

Pale gray hands appeared silently among the foamy crests, fingers crooked, trying to drag this foolhardy man into the deep sea to drown.

In the next moment, a black tentacle extended from each of Saul’s palms. Concealed beneath his wide cloak, they quietly dropped into the seawater.

Once submerged, the black tentacles swayed in the water like dark seaweed.

Then, the pale arms hidden in the foam suddenly vanished. Only a bit of white froth remained, splashing against Saul’s shoes—only to slide helplessly away from the dustproof-enchanted leather and roll into the sand.

The wind still howled, but the tide’s rise seemed to slow down.

Or rather, it returned to normal.

“I thought someone as kind as you would’ve taken that boy in!” A voice with a touch of playful mockery came from behind.

Saul turned slightly and saw the two wizards who had been lurking in the shadows now standing behind him.

The black tentacles swiftly withdrew from the sea and, unnoticed beneath his cloak, slithered back into his palms.

There were indeed soul fragments in the seawater. It was those fragments’ radiation that caused the many strange phenomena here.

But compared to what Sander and Bambu described, this felt lacking.

According to them, this place shouldn’t have just a handful of soul fragments.

Fewer than ten vengeful spirit couldn’t cause such horror.

At least one wraith would be needed to match the stories.

Since Saul hadn’t spoken, the woman behind him gave a cold snort. “Hmph, no wonder you’re from the Wizard Tower. Arrogant to the bone.”

She must have overheard his earlier conversation with Bambu when Saul mentioned the Tower.

Judging by the magical fluctuations from her body, she was only a Second Rank apprentice. Her daring attitude likely relied on the tall male apprentice beside her.

Saul slowly turned around. “I saved him, and he answered my question. It was an equal exchange.”

“A regular person in exchange for a Zero Rank spell? Your magic sure is cheap.”

“Shut it, Andy,” the man finally spoke.

He looked down at Saul’s pale face. “You’re Saul, right?”

Saul narrowed his eyes. “You know me?”

The male apprentice nodded. “Heard from Jero. Said he had a junior named Saul, recently taken in by Wizard Master Gorsa. He’s been wanting to invite you on a mission, but you’ve never agreed.”

“I haven’t had the time,” Saul replied casually.

The other apprentice furrowed his brow, then relaxed. “Interested in teaming up?”

“I’m Parker, Third Rank. This is Andy, Second Rank,” the tall man introduced succinctly. “We’re here waiting for a soul tide.”

Saul noticed that the moment Parker brought up cooperation, Andy instantly tensed. She clearly didn’t want Saul to join.

“You two…” Saul carefully sensed the magical fluctuations emanating from them. “You don’t specialize in the dark element, do you?”

Soul tides—things invisible and untouchable—tended to interest apprentices specialized in light or dark elements.

“We don’t. Your mental acuity is just like Jero said—sharp. We’re waiting for the soul tide to trace a ship.”

“A ghost ship?”

Couldn’t be some sunken treasure hunting expedition, right?

Andy dropped her gaze, clearly unhappy.

“Something like that. But there’s no real treasure, just a few wraiths. If there were anything truly valuable, this place would’ve been locked down by the major wizard factions long ago.”

The water had already reached their ankles.

Out of the corner of his eye, Saul noticed something odd about Andy’s reflection on the water.

Her body looked normal, but the image reflected in the water looked like a greasy, blurry smear.

And as the tide rose and fell, that smear drifted slowly, spreading toward Saul.

“Forget it. I won’t be staying here long.”

Parker raised an eyebrow. Though he hadn’t mentioned what exactly they were pursuing on the ghost ship, most people would be curious enough to ask and judge if it was worth the risk.

He hadn’t expected Saul to reject the offer so quickly after only a moment’s thought.

“No wonder you’re a disciple of a Second Rank wizard. Looks like these petty gains mean nothing to you.”

After being turned down so bluntly, Parker’s tone lost its earlier friendliness.

Saul wasn’t afraid of him, but there was no need to make an enemy who might try to trip him up later.

“I didn’t take that many days off.”

He hadn’t come here with ambitions of unraveling the soul tide’s secrets—just to cash in while the tide was up.

According to the seashell-picking boy Bambu, the soul tide usually occurred once or twice a month.

It hadn’t happened yet this month. Since it was already late in the month, it should occur in the next couple of days.

That meant Saul should be able to return by the end of the month.

But if he agreed to cooperate with Parker to chase down some ghost ship, who knew how long the delay would be?

Besides, as long as he didn’t remove anything from the Second Storage Room, he could use any materials there freely. What ghost ship could possibly compare to Gorsa’s stash?

Most importantly, Saul didn’t like adventuring with people he just met—even if they dropped Jero’s name.

Hearing Saul refuse, Andy smiled.

She turned and stood on tiptoe, as if to whisper something to Parker. But her voice wasn’t hushed.

“I heard that the more gifted and capable an apprentice is in the Wizard Tower, the less freedom they have. Looks like it’s true.”

As she spoke, the greasy smear on the water had drifted beneath Saul’s feet.

In the next moment, a receding wave carried the smear to touch Saul’s shin.

Andy gave a sidelong glance, looking smug—like she’d just finished gossiping and turned casually toward the subject.

It was her special ability: by using a water-oil mixture to make contact, she could probe the information of whoever it touched.

Being kept around by the powerful Parker wasn’t just about her body—she had her own cards to play.

But the moment her gaze landed on Saul, her expression changed.

The greasy shadow on the water instantly collapsed, breaking apart into pieces.

Andy hurriedly smoothed the hair whipped by the sea wind, using the motion to break eye contact with Saul.

Then she turned away, leaning gently against Parker’s chest. Her probing gaze withdrawn, she didn’t dare look at Saul again.

(End of Chapter)

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