Chapter 470: Not Familiar

Saul ran back with John’s head in hand. He had to regroup with Julie first and figure out what those tree roots were.

Why did the diary warn him that not a single bit could be taken away?

If that was the case, then during battle he couldn’t get injured, couldn’t bleed, couldn’t even lose a strand of hair. That kind of restriction would be far too limiting.

Though it didn’t seem like a death warning, it might bring even greater trouble.

He quickly checked his Soul Fishing. Thankfully, it had only been torn—not missing a piece of his soul body.

Otherwise, he would have had to figure out how to retrieve it.

Little Algae was doing fine. As long as the main body remained strong, it didn’t care much about losing a few vines.

When Saul ordered Little Algae to leave a clone behind and escape, the diary didn’t issue any more warnings. Clearly, only Saul’s main body was subject to that particular restriction.

The roots behind him didn’t give chase—perhaps they were held up by Little Algae, or maybe they just didn’t dare to follow.

Soon, Saul saw Julie, who was still in the thick of battle with a wraith.

To his surprise, roots had appeared on her side too—though not as many as he had encountered. There were only two main root stalks, with finer branches spreading out from them.

But Julie’s magic didn’t seem particularly effective against this type of plant-based monster.

One of her legs was already bruised and swollen, tightly constricted by the roots. Though the roots showed signs of being scorched, they hadn’t broken.

Meanwhile, floating on the surface of the water was a long-haired woman, paper-thin like a sheet of parchment.

She had been glaring venomously at Julie, but the moment Saul appeared, her eyes flipped upward to lock onto him, and the head in his hand.

“YAAAHHH!!”

The wraith let out a piercing scream, releasing a visible psychic shockwave toward Saul.

Pure spiritual force attack—Saul wasn’t afraid of that. Especially not from a newly formed wraith.

He simply vibrated his mental form, easily dispelling the attack.

Wary of the roots, Saul didn’t use Soul Fishing. Instead, he used Touch of Torment to viciously smack the wraith into the water.

But because the water buffered the blow, the wraith wasn’t dispersed. After sinking, it floated back up again, glaring at Saul with even more hatred.

With Saul now engaging the wraith, Julie could finally breathe a little and focus on breaking free from the roots.

While pretending to be locked in battle with the wraith, Saul kept an eye on Julie’s side. He noted that the roots didn’t seem intent on stealing her soul or limbs.

Taking advantage of the roots being preoccupied with Julie, Saul concealed himself in his Soul Fishing during the next round of combat.

Against soul forms not stronger than himself, that move was incredibly effective and could end the fight quickly.

So, when Julie finally tore free from the roots, Saul was already calling for retreat.

“It’s handled. Let’s go. These roots are really tough to cut through.”

He repeated the same tactic he used earlier—throwing out Little Algae to block the roots.

The gnarled, claw-like roots here didn’t pursue either.

After a few twists and turns through the tunnels, the noise behind them finally stopped.

Julie exhaled deeply and stood on the water’s surface, looking up at Saul hovering midair, “You ran into those strange root-like monsters too?”

“Yeah.”

“And that severed head that ran off?”

“Here.” Saul pulled out the Wraith Jar he’d stored away. “It hasn’t fully turned into a wraith—more like it’s teetering between a wraith and a vengeful spirit.”

“Ah… even so, you still got something out of this!”

Julie’s expression sank. Originally, she had told Saul to chase after the head with the intention of keeping the actual wraith to herself and leaving the not-quite-there spirit for Saul to handle.

These newly formed, not-yet-powerful wraiths had a decent capture rate.

In these cleaner missions, the academy’s reward was just the surface prize. What everyone really wanted were intact wraiths.

Whether for experimentation or resale, they were highly valuable magic materials.

She hadn’t expected those eerie tree roots to show up halfway and derail her efforts. Not only had she failed to capture the wraith, she’d nearly been caught herself.

Julie had been so focused on escaping the roots, she hadn’t noticed how Saul had dealt with the wraith.

But in her mind, if he’d finished it so quickly, he must have just destroyed it outright.

In the end, her selfishness had handed Saul the prize—he was the only one who got something out of it.

Julie had heard that Saul had also run into those strange roots, but didn’t know the number and scale he faced was several times her own.

She assumed the head was easier to deal with, and that’s why Saul managed to escape the roots and capture the vengeful spirit at the same time.

Although she’d still receive some magic crystals or resources from the academy for completing the mission, to her, that wasn’t nearly enough.

Julie’s eyes glinted as she lightly licked her lips.

“No way. I have to get something out of tonight too.”

She flew up to hover beside Saul. “You had a pretty fruitful night. Shouldn’t we celebrate?”

Saul blinked. Even if he

were

to celebrate, what did that have to do with Julie? Why was she suddenly so enthusiastic?

“Your place, or mine?”

Julie twisted her waist seductively, winking at him. A fresh, grassy scent—like the air after rain—spread through the underground waterway.

Saul furrowed his brow, momentarily unable to understand what Julie meant.

Was she asking to split the spoils?

“Waaah! Big Brother Saul, finally another beauty’s taking interest in you! Who cares whose place—just push her down! If you’re in a hurry, even right here works. I promise I’ll cover my eyes and not peek!”

Penny’s chattering voice rang in his ears, finally making Saul realize what Julie’s words had been implying.

No—scratch that. It wasn’t even a hint. She was practically spelling it out.

Saul was speechless.

“Big Brother Saul, are you shy? Let me help! Little Algae, go! Just like those tree roots earlier—tie up this woman!”

Feeling a strange movement on the back of his neck, Saul immediately barked in his mind, “Little Algae, don’t listen to Penny’s nonsense.”

Then he scolded the nightmare butterfly, “Penny, stop corrupting Little Algae!”

Because he was too busy disciplining his two pets, Saul hadn’t answered right away.

Julie, feeling pleased, assumed Saul was just a bashful boy—so nervous he couldn’t even talk.

But in the next second, a cold response came from Saul’s mouth:

“Not interested.”

It took Julie a full two seconds to realize Saul was rejecting her.

“Why?” she asked, baffled.

Wizards, though often eccentric, were generally indulgent when it came to pleasure. With their exalted status and lack of societal restrictions, they rarely said no to enjoyment—especially with each other. This wasn’t some maid or noble girl we were talking about.

Saul shrugged.

“I guess I’ve got a bit of a persecution complex. Especially bad with strangers.”

And with that, he turned and walked away.

Julie stood there, her chest rising and falling with frustration. But after a few seconds, she suddenly smiled again.

“This Saul… even though he mainly practices dark-element magic, there’s no rot in him. His body should be fine… Could it be… he’s just shy because it’s his first time?”

She bit her lip with a smile, flicked her hair with one hand, and her white curls shimmered against her pearl-like skin.

“Not familiar? Well then, we’ll just have to get familiar.”

(End of chapter)

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