Thinking of the death traps Kismet had created one after another, Saul recalled a scene he had witnessed when using Nightmare Butterflies to observe the diaryâs history.
In that historical segment, one of the diaryâs former owners was sitting atop a mountain of corpses, holding the diary and sighing.
He must have killed vast numbers of people for death energy.
Looking at the mountain piled high with bodies, he had probably killed enough people to populate an entire continent to reach such a scale.
Saul asked himself: did he want to become the next Kismet, or become an existence like the diaryâs previous owner?
Without needing much thought, he already had his answer.
âKismet didnât have a good life at all. And the diaryâs previous owner obviously abandoned the diary that required countless peopleâs sacrifice in the end.â
Saul had no intention of following his predecessorsâ old path.
Moreover, regarding how to replenish the diaryâs death energy, he vaguely had a new idea forming in his mind.
Saul left the wizard towerâs fifth floor, walking down the spiral staircase.
As Saul moved, several eyes sprouted from the walls as if in a stress response.
They would drill out from inside the walls when Saul approached, then close their eyelids again when Saul left, hiding as if they never existed.
When Saul reached the third floor, a mouth suddenly sprouted from the white door that matched the wizard towerâs color scheme.
âTower Master!â
The mouth enthusiastically greeted Saul, but before getting Saulâs response, the door it was on was pulled open from inside.
Byronâs wooden face appeared, his eye sockets full of dark circles. âPerhaps we could recruit some assistants.â
Byron wore specially-made black wizard robes with steel needles stuck all over them.
âWe also need to purchase a new batch of test subjects.â
Saul smiled. âJust discuss these matters with Hope. Heâll help you contact Jiajia Gu.â
Byron bared his teeth. âI need apprentices and true wizards to cooperate in experiments.â
His smile gradually distorting, Saul asked helplessly, âSenior, are you still researching the Inertization Formula? You should put more thought into advancement too. I canât be certain when the Borderland will experience another Black Tide pollution outbreak.â
Byronâs small-scale Black Tide inertization experiments were complete, but he had been unable to expand the inertizationâs range of influence.
At most, he could only treat one person at a time.
Later, Byron temporarily gave up expanding the inertizationâs range and began researching the reverse experiment of inertization.
That is, reactivating already inertized black powder back into Black Tide, carrying powerful pollution.
Saul had repeatedly advised Byron to focus more on personal advancement, but Byron could be terribly stubborn sometimes.
He had buried himself so deep in Black Tide experiments that he refused to climb out of that pit.
As a result, over all this time, his magic power hadnât changed much.
However, his mental strength had gradually become more resilient through the repeated cycle of being polluted and treated by Saul.
âDonât worry, I know what Iâm doing.â Byron brushed it off with his usual excuse again. âI need several assistants for long-term experimental cooperation. They might need to live in the wizard tower. Or if you find it inconvenient, I could also move to the mushroom forest.â
âNo need for the trouble.â Saul waved his hand. âAlthough my wizard tower isnât particularly spacious, housing another dozen or so people wouldnât be a problem. Besides, I released the mouths and eyes from the interlayers precisely so there would be monitoring when others enter the wizard tower in the future.â
Saul thought for a moment, then continued, âIâll be going out in a couple days and will take Agu and the others with me. Before then, Iâll arrange assistants for you.â
Byron nodded, not asking where Saul was going. If Saul needed him, he would be called.
With their exchange complete, Byron didnât waste a moment, directly closing the door and returning to continue his research.
The mouth on the door continued talking.
âTower Master, good evening! Do you need me to open the door for you?â
âTsk.â Saul pulled his mouth corners in disgust. âBeen out for so long and still doesnât have a bit of brains.â
The mouth on the door laughed âhehe,â revealing yellowed, sharp teeth. âYouâre absolutely right!â
Saul continued downward, the eyes in the walls following him down like a string of colored lights.
When he reached the first basement level, a mass of black mist blocked the stairway, completely obscuring the next level.
This layer of black mist would block unauthorized intruders.
Hidden deep within the mist was Black Tide pollution that Saul had extracted and processed. Even third-rank wizards entering would be blocked for a time by the suddenly appearing high-purity pollution.
If they continued to force their way through, those with insufficient strength would quickly be eroded by the pollution, their entire body mutating into unknowable monsters.
As the wizard towerâs master, Saul naturally wouldnât be blocked by the black mist.
In the blink of an eye, Saul passed through the black mist and entered the first basement laboratory.
This was generally used for more dangerous and secretive experiments.
Monster limbs were distributed across several differently-sized experiment tables, most limbs still maintaining activity with various instruments connected to their tissues.
Books beside the instruments faithfully recorded various experimental processes and data.
Agu, who was monitoring the active limb readings in the laboratory, saw Saul approach and hurriedly put down his instruments to come over.
âMaster.â
âIâm here to check on the Baisek Magic Mirrorâs reaction. Continue with your work.â
Agu immediately recalled the relevant data and proactively introduced it to Saul: âCurrently monitoring the souls remaining in the magic mirror, but due to the mirrorâs influence, the readings are constantly fluctuating. Accuracy still needs confirmation.â
Saul and Agu came to a corner of the laboratory.
Here appeared to be just a row of shelves, but after removing the surface disguise magic, what appeared before them was an antique full-length mirror.
In the mirror was a womanâs silhouette.
She sat on the ground with her arms around her knees, curled up in a ball.
Her long hair was disheveled, falling to the ground and accumulating in several natural arcs.
Through the gaps in the black hair strands, one could see that this woman, with her back to the mirror surface, seemed to be wearing no clothes.
Her alluring body curves were faintly visible, emanating seductive charm.
If someone with impure thoughts saw this, they probably couldnât help but press against the mirror surface, hoping that by drawing closer, they could see more beautiful scenery.
But whether Saul or Agu, both maintained calm expressions, standing a meter away from the mirror surface without moving.
After waiting a moment and seeing the figure in the mirror still motionless, Saul knocked on the mirror surface with his knuckles.
âNo one here is interested in illusions. If you donât want to get beaten like last time, youâd better come out immediately.â
The Baisek Magic Mirrorâs surface rippled with water-like waves.
When the ripples stopped, the original womanâs silhouette disappeared, replaced by a mass of white smoke that constantly expanded and contracted.
Suspended in the center of the smoke was a human head very familiar to Saul.
It was Peiâerâs face.
But when this face opened its tightly closed eyes, the rich malice emanating from those eyes almost seemed to materialize and drill out from inside the mirror.
âYou finally came.â The face of Peiâer in the mirror was extremely gloomy.
âCan you sense Peiâerâs consciousness now?â Saul ignored the resentment from the person in the mirror and asked calmly.
âI told you!â The head suddenly lunged forward, then crashed against the mirror surface with a bang, unable to break through. âI want to devour ninety-nine womenâs souls, otherwise I wonât help you contact that fool!â
Saul crossed his arms. âAre you forgetting that youâre also a soul fragment stripped from Peiâer?â
The face laughed loudly. âWhat do you understand? I actively left her! Left that waste! That fool!â
âShe doesnât look particularly smart either.â Agu covered his mouth with the back of his hand and complained to Saul in a not-very-quiet voice.
But Saul didnât continue joking with Agu.
âSheâs the evil thoughts stripped from Peiâer. This kind of mindless frenzy might just be one layer of her disguise. Donât be deceived. Everything according to the rules.â
(End of Chapter)
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