Chapter 24: Reporting to the Teacher Isn’t Shameful

Chapter 24: Telling the Teacher Isn’t Shameful

So this meditation diagram was called An Erosion Diagram.

But Saul still felt the name he gave it himself was more vivid and fitting.

“Mentor, I asked around—no one else has this diagram in their meditation book. Only I do… someone tampered with my book. Someone is trying to kill me!”

Saul’s expression flickered between anger and lingering fear.

“So what?” Katz remained calm, even sounding a bit indifferent.

“Please, mentor, I’m asking for your help.”

Katz’s snow-white eyebrows furrowed as he looked down at Saul.

“Kid, the world of wizards isn’t one of kindness and virtue. To grow stronger, to explore deeper truths, everyone uses any means necessary. What you need to do is adapt to this world—not seek shelter from it.”

“Mentor Katz, I understand survival of the fittest,” Saul hunched his shoulders, hugging his belly with a pitiful expression, “but I’ve only been a student for two days and someone’s already sending maids and even other students to come after me. Isn’t that pushing things a bit too far? I can’t even eat the food the maid brings anymore.”

“Survival of the fittest?” Katz raised an eyebrow. “You sure know some fancy words for someone who’s barely studied.”

He paused, finally relenting a bit. “Whoever’s trying to harm you—if they’re instructing Tower maids and students to act on it—they’ve crossed a line. I’ll look into it. From now on, no one will dare mess with student resources.”

He placed a hand on Saul’s head. “Escaping the trap of An Erosion Diagram shows your own capability—that’s what matters most. Go back. Eat properly. Study hard. Get stronger. Then you’ll find that the path to becoming a wizard holds threats far worse than petty schemes.”

Saul had used up his one chance to ask questions for the day. Katz left the morgue with hands behind his back.

Saul let out a small breath of relief… but also felt a bit disappointed.

Katz had promised no one would tamper with his living necessities again, but he hadn’t said anything about uncovering the one behind it.

In other words, he still had to be wary of Syd finding new ways to come at him—or even attempting to kill him personally.

Thankfully, the Tower likely had some restrictions on second-level apprentices, or else Syd wouldn’t need all these underhanded tricks to target him.

A second-level apprentice could snap a new student’s neck with a flick of the wrist.

Saul had to get stronger, fast.

And until he could fight back, he needed to find ways to survive Syd’s relentless schemes.

He returned to copying the book.

Expressionless, Saul’s hand flew across the page, his speed barely slowing even when transcribing complex Noah script.

By 7 o’clock, he left the morgue.

Just as he exited, he saw the crimson door across the hall swing open. From inside emerged a man in his twenties, his robes bearing a badge—he too was a first-level apprentice.

One look at his age, and you could tell: this was the kind of first-level apprentice who had been stuck at that level for years.

The man glanced at Saul and looked right past him, as if he didn’t exist.

Saul stepped aside silently, letting him ascend the slope first.

There was no work today, so everyone could get off on time.

Saul lingered by the door a moment longer, curious whether the deeper red door—the one leading to the first stage of corpse processing—would open.

But after waiting ten minutes, it remained shut.

Not wanting to dawdle too long, Saul gathered his book and left in haste.

…

Katz was not in a good mood today.

None of the new apprentices he’d taken in had impressed him.

That Duke boy had strong dark-element affinity and decent magical talent, but no critical thinking and zero intuition.

He couldn’t even grasp a few basic runes—how was he supposed to understand wizardry?

Angela had slightly better talent and was more clever than Duke, but she was too flighty.

Her big eyes might be cute, but they were constantly darting around with schemes.

Even when studying basic knowledge—something that only required effort—she found ways to overcomplicate things.

She thought she was great at faking innocence, too.

Katz wasn’t the calculating type himself, and he disliked that kind of student.

In his view, apprentices who relied on scheming would always fall short on the path to becoming a full wizard.

Angela even reminded him of another girl—one who was probably now reaping the bitter fruit of her past mistakes.

As for Saul…

Katz hadn’t even taken him seriously at first.

In his eyes, someone with no magical aptitude becoming an apprentice was just a waste of the Tower’s resources.

Saul must’ve pulled some tricks to get in.

Katz had planned to flunk him during the first evaluation—but then, he discovered Saul’s spiritual talent.

No, “discovered” wasn’t quite right.

Someone had told him.

Katz walked slowly along the sloped corridor between the 16th and 17th floors of the East Tower.

These levels were where the mentors resided.

Suddenly, the shadows around him began to move.

Though the flames on the wall sconces remained steady, the shadows underfoot writhed like terrified creatures, breaking apart into countless tiny black dots that scattered, bounced, and fled into cracks between the stones.

Katz froze mid-step, his facial muscles twitching, breath slowing.

Who says a formal wizard doesn’t feel fear?

He looked up and saw a figure descending from above.

His arms were pinned to his sides, unmoving. His heels lifted high with each step, only the tips of his toes touching the ground—like the floor was too filthy to touch.

Most notably, the figure was wrapped head-to-toe in pink bandages, revealing only a pair of silvery eyes.

Kaz bowed deeply.

“Tower Master.”

“Mm.”

A soft hum was the only reply as the pink-wrapped man walked past Katz.

Katz exhaled half a breath of relief—only to tense again when the Tower Master stopped after just a few more steps.

He immediately turned around, not daring to show his back.

“That little guy—is he good with corpse handling?”

Even a formal wizard like Katz felt chills when this man spoke. Yet his tone was gentle.

“Yes. His soul talent is remarkable. During his first corpse task, he identified one more usable part than I did.”

“Heh… then you must not’ve been paying attention,” the Tower Master chuckled.

Katz trembled.

“Give him this. Let him study it and master it quickly.”

A slit opened in the Tower Master’s stomach bandages. A thin, long-fingered hand reached inside and pulled out a slim book made of silk.

“Yes, Tower Master.” Katz received it with both hands.

“Oh, by the way,” Katz suddenly remembered Saul’s earlier plea. “Someone tampered with that boy’s meditation book—replaced a page with An Erosion Diagram.”

The Tower Master turned, suddenly intrigued.

“He meditated using An Erosion Diagram?”

“Um… probably not. No way a new student could handle it. I think he realized something was off and waited until today to tell me.”

A cold wind howled through the hallway.

The Tower Master’s toes-tip gait made his body sway like a reed in the wind.

“That won’t do. Apprentice wizards are mine. Meditation books are mine. The maids… are mine.” His silver eyes arched, as if smiling. “Oh, and the lab—that’s mine too.”

The lab?

Cold sweat beaded at Katz’s hairline. But he didn’t even dare let it trickle down his face.

“Go find that little bastard and make him pay.”

With that, the Tower Master turned and continued down the slope.

Once his figure vanished around the bend, the scattered black dots eagerly leapt back from the cracks, reassembling into shadows like a joyful reunion.

Katz looked down at the book in his hands, confused.

Why… does the Tower Master care so much about that Saul?

(End of Chapter)

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