Chapter 365: Infighting

“Your companion may have advanced to the Third Rank, but something seems off about her,” Saul frowned and reminded Kongsha.

Normally, when a Second Rank apprentice advanced to the Third, it meant they had fully accepted their locator. Whether or not the locator was suited for them, the bond between apprentice and locator should be stronger than ever at that point.

This was typically reflected in high energy levels and a stable mental form.

But when Saul looked at Kongsha and Kasila, he couldn’t shake the feeling that it should’ve been Kongsha who advanced.

“All the apprentices I brought into the valley this time were those with no time left for advancement. If they managed to advance, they should be grateful for the opportunity I gave them.”

Kongsha didn’t seem concerned about Kasila’s abnormal state.

“Relax, I’m not criticizing you,” Saul clarified. “I just don’t get it—how could she advance in such a poor state?”

Kongsha smiled. “If your entire worldview has been overturned, then accepting a mere locator becomes a trivial matter.”

Like saying—if I’ve already thrown away my dignity, then you can’t guilt-trip me anymore, huh?

Saul couldn’t help comparing Kasila to Monroe, who had also advanced to the Third Rank.

Suddenly, Monroe’s previous weird behavior seemed a lot more palatable.

At that moment, An and Agu—who had split off to search other houses for veiled crystal essence—also left the first house they’d chosen.

When the two saw Saul standing with two unfamiliar people, they quickly approached.

Kongsha had been about to say something more when she suddenly noticed three figures with pale faces and black cloths covering their eyes standing behind Saul, and her guard instantly went up.

“These people…” she said, having more inside knowledge than Mark did. “They’re all vessels?”

“Yeah.” Saul knew that Kongsha had also once participated in Gorsa’s resurrection experiments—though she was eventually cast aside after failing.

So it made sense she would know about soul infusion.

“Heywood clearly said soul infusion had been terminated,” Kongsha bit her lip lightly, her gaze at Saul turning complicated. “Don’t tell me this was done just for you…”

Saul didn’t answer her question. Instead, he turned and pointed to the house behind him. “Mark said he found his veiled crystal essence in one of these white houses. But I searched every one and found nothing special… Okay, maybe the shape is strange. So I’m wondering—what causes the veiled crystal essence to appear? Is it related to the disappearance of the elves?”

As Kongsha listened, her emotions gradually settled, and a faint smile returned to her face. “There used to be speculation that veiled crystal essence was the remains of elves. But even before the elves disappeared, there were already records of it in the world. Still, after being stuck here for so long, I’ve come up with a new theory.”

She stepped to Saul’s left. “Maybe veiled crystal essence is the collapse of a mental realm.”

“The collapse of a mental realm?” Saul didn’t think it was quite that simple, but if the collapse of mental realms contributed to the formation of the substance, it wasn’t entirely implausible.

The two chatted for a bit about the formation and structure of veiled crystal essence. Kasila, meanwhile, remained silent the entire time.

She stood behind Kongsha like a tagalong.

During a lull in the conversation, Saul noticed the grass beneath their feet had deepened in color—from yellowish green to dark green.

This meant summer had returned.

And with summer came Mark and the others, who had gone out to look for food.

Herman was wearing the body of a slender girl, his hands tucked into the robe to lift up, revealing pale thighs with an unnatural bluish tint.

Just a bit higher, and the hem would expose his white, knee-length shorts.

But no one paid attention to that.

“Master!” Herman ran over expressionlessly to show Saul what he had gathered. “Melons, mushrooms, and wild yams.”

Saul glanced at the haul, then looked at Mark.

Their hands were empty—who knew where they’d put what they picked?

“Kongsha!” Mark rushed over when he saw her. “Where did you go? I thought we weren’t supposed to leave the gathering point alone?”

The one who answered wasn’t Kongsha, but Kasila, who had been silent until now.

“Leon disappeared.”

“What?” Mark’s head jerked up in shock.

Even Monroe, who had been trudging along at a slow pace, immediately turned to look.

Kasila trembled even harder, and then burst into tears. “I knew we shouldn’t have advanced in this valley. Now he’s gone mad. I’m next. I might be next!”

She rubbed her hands together, her right fingernails scratching at the back of her left hand until bits of flesh peeled off—though surprisingly, there was barely any blood.

Before anyone could comfort her, Monroe suddenly charged forward, face twisted, and seized Kasila by the shoulders.

“How could Leon go mad? He was clearly more normal than you!”

Kasila didn’t get the sympathy she expected—only Monroe’s choking grip on her arms. Her fear deepened.

“I don’t know, how would I know?!”

“How can you not know? You walk around terrified every day like you’ve seen a wraith. Why haven’t you gone mad?”

Kasila suddenly clamped her hands around Monroe’s neck. Her fingertips turned from pale to a bright, vivid red in the blink of an eye.

Monroe’s neck immediately started to smoke, emitting a sizzling sound, and the smell of roasted meat filled the air.

No one had expected Kasila to suddenly cast a spell and one that looked like she was trying to cook Monroe alive.

Saul watched coldly and didn’t intervene.

Though Monroe’s neck was now a charred mess, it hadn’t hit any vital spots. For a Third Rank apprentice, this kind of injury was nothing—a spell could heal it instantly.

But Kasila had him by the throat, stopping him from chanting any incantations.

Though Monroe knew many spells, his options for silent casting were limited, and he certainly wouldn’t waste them on healing.

At this point, separating the two might require the use of a spell.

Yet neither Kongsha nor Mark made any move. Clearly, they didn’t want to risk disturbing their mental forms.

Soon, Monroe’s eyes rolled back from being strangled, while Kasila shouted through gritted teeth, “Who says someone who looks clear-headed is actually sane?! You think you’re any better?!”

Mark looked like he wanted to separate them, and he seemed genuinely angry.

“There’s only a few of us left. Why the hell are we fighting?”

He shouted, but neither of them listened. They kept struggling.

Monroe suddenly let go of Kasila’s hands, tucked his own into his sleeves, and pulled out a spell tool.

Mark’s furious expression froze instantly, and he instinctively took a step back.

Suddenly, two black tentacles shot up from the ground beneath their feet.

One instantly wrapped around Kasila’s arm, binding her arms together and yanking them behind her back to tie them to her ankles.

The other encased Monroe and his spell tool like a mummy.

Both continued to struggle violently.

But Little Algae didn’t touch Kasila’s searing hands, and on the other side, it plugged Monroe’s mouth tightly and bound his arm and the spell tool with a coil around his chest.

Saul stepped between the two. Seeing that neither had calmed down yet, he sneered coldly. “Let’s see… who’s tired of living? Good timing—my vessel reserves are still a bit low.”

The madness in their eyes gradually faded, replaced by fear.

At Saul’s current level, dealing with ordinary Third Rank apprentices was easy. These two, who’d advanced through underhanded means, were nothing.

He hadn’t wanted to bother with two people going off the rails but he noticed Kongsha just watching coldly.

And Mark, who pretended to intervene, hadn’t tried that hard at all.

Though their behavior could be explained by not wanting to risk mental disruption in the Elven Valley, Saul had a strong gut feeling:

They were happy to see the two fight.

Best if one of them died.

(End of Chapter)

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