Chapter 32: A Responsible and Considerate Colleague
The moment his thirty minutes were up, Saul excused himself.
Mark watched Saul’s departing figure, momentarily lost in thought.
"Why do you have such high hopes for that brat?"
His palm split open again, revealing a flickering glimpse of the tongue inside. But this time, it wasn’t just writhing—it spoke with a human voice.
"The Mentor has already given him an opportunity, hasn’t he? Besides, I’m curious to see how far he can go. I’ve never seen a first-level apprentice successfully undergo a body modification before."
The palm made a swallowing sound.
…
Saul had no idea that someone (or something) was already eyeing his body hungrily. All he knew was that the knowledge he had gained from Mark was well worth the two credits.
Hesitation? Fear?
Ha.
Impossible.
Saul couldn’t wait to get to the morgue and test out the flood of ideas rushing through his mind.
He walked quickly down the stairs when, suddenly, a hooded woman brushed past him.
That beautiful jawline, those seductive red lips—they were all so familiar.
Even after twenty days without seeing her, he hadn’t forgotten a single detail.
He slowed his pace, stopping to turn around.
But Kongsha didn’t linger. Her figure disappeared around the bend of the ramp.
As they passed each other, she had subtly gestured with a single finger.
Saul stood in place for a long time. When he finally continued walking, his mood had shifted.
He wasn’t surprised that Kongsha had signaled for him to find her.
Ever since he had rejected her initial proposal, he had anticipated that she would come back for him.
After all, she had gone through considerable effort to place him under Kaz’s mentorship. There was no way she would give up so easily.
He had resisted the urge to seek her out first for nearly a month.
But today, she had reached out to him first.
Saul descended the stairs slowly, ignoring acquaintances he passed along the way.
Entering the third morgue on the second floor of the East Tower, he shut the door behind him gently.
“Whew—”
He finally felt a bit more relaxed.
"I was too firm last time. I need to soften my approach this time," Saul mused, considering his strategy for tonight’s meeting with Kongsha. "She probably sees me as a greedy and arrogant fool. Tonight, she’ll either threaten my life or sweeten the deal to lure me in. Hopefully, it’s the latter."
But no matter what kind of coercion Kongsha planned, Saul had already decided to accept her terms.
If Sid, who had gone on a mission, wasn’t dead, then he would be returning soon. Saul needed a powerful backer as a deterrent.
His previous outright rejection of Kongsha was a strategic retreat.
He didn’t want her to see him as expendable cannon fodder.
Saul gathered up the books on the long table.
He had intended to start preparing for his body modification today, but Kongsha’s sudden appearance had disrupted his focus.
Though he wanted to use her, deep down… he was still afraid of her.
With his mind unsettled, he would likely fail any experiments he attempted.
Better to just read instead.
"Fzzzt!"
The candle on the teleportation platform flickered to life.
A visitor had arrived.
Saul walked over and pulled the lever with practiced ease.
The conveyor belt whirred, and a new "guest" passed through the black fringe curtains, arriving before Saul.
“…This guy looks clean.”
That was Saul’s first impression of the corpse.
His expression was peaceful, his eyes gently closed, and his hands naturally resting at his sides. The black leather cover draped over him looked almost like a blanket, stopping neatly at his chest.
Saul pulled back the leather cover, only to find that the man’s body bore no visible wounds.
“Huh? How did he die?”
Turning the body over carefully, he still found no injuries.
That was even stranger.
The apprentices handling the previous inspection phases should have recorded something.
Had they deemed this corpse completely worthless?
Saul flipped the man back onto his back and entered a semi-immersed meditation state, scanning his body for any traces of magical energy or abnormalities.
Yet even in meditation, he found nothing.
The entire corpse appeared hazy, as though bathed in a faint holy glow.
"Still nothing. Why was a body like this sent to the morgue?"
Straightening up, Saul turned his head in confusion.
“Ha!”
He startled, stumbling back a step.
The corpse had opened its eyes.
Its head had turned to the side, gazing at him with serene calm.
In truth, bodies opening their eyes mid-process wasn’t rare.
Saul was just too distracted in his thoughts to expect it, which made it more startling than usual.
Regaining his composure, he stepped forward, intending to close the man’s eyes with his fingers.
"Rest now. In this wizard tower, let alone the dead, even the living have no rights."
Yet, the moment he shut the corpse’s eyes, they stubbornly reopened.
“…Fine. If you like it that way, I won’t argue.” Saul didn’t waste time debating with a dead man. He grabbed a cloth, preparing to drape it over the body’s face.
"Could you not cover my eyes? I’d like to see how I die."
The corpse spoke.
Okay.
Saul had encountered talking corpses before.
But one that spoke with such clarity and logic?
That was a first.
“…You’re not dead?”
No heartbeat, no breathing—by all measures, the man should be long gone.
Could this be some wizard’s deep hibernation technique?
The body on the conveyor belt smiled warmly, like an elder indulging a mischievous grandchild.
"This place is dangerous, child. What you think is good may not be good. What you think is bad may not be bad. What you believe is alive might already be dead. And what you assume is dead… may still be alive.
"As for me? I am both dead and not dead.
"So please, do not destroy my body."
Something was very wrong.
Saul’s hand slipped into his pocket, fingers pressing against a small packet.
"This guy’s suspicious. Maybe I should just dump him into the corpse bin."
Just as he moved forward to do so, the Hardcover Book suddenly flew to his face.
Lunar Calendar Year 314, June 24th
Today, while handling corpses, you met a kindred spirit.
You had a deep and meaningful conversation, so much so that you couldn’t bear to harm him.
You carefully placed his body into the corpse bin.
Unexpectedly, the bin was quite comfortable.
You happily closed your eyes inside it.
Saul’s head snapped up.
The corpse was still smiling at him.
His expression darkened.
Reaching behind him, he fumbled around the tool bench before grabbing something.
A bone cleaver.
He gripped it tightly, stepping toward today’s “guest.”
“W-what are you doing?” The corpse’s smile twisted. Its eyes locked onto the knife, and its limbs began twitching as though it was trying to stand.
Saul swiftly pulled out the packet from his pocket, crushed it, and sprinkled its contents over the body.
The white crystals shattered upon contact, breaking down into even finer powder.
Simultaneously, the corpse ceased its spasms, as though some force had restrained it.
The voice that had been so composed turned pleading.
"Please don’t hurt me! I may look scary, but I’m not what you think! I’m not actually dead! I can still come back! Don’t—"
"Duang!"
The Hardcover Book obediently flew back to Saul’s left shoulder.
His face blank, Saul raised the cleaver once more. Once the work was done, he straightened up, breathing heavily.
Fortunately, his modified arms had been strengthened. Otherwise, a twelve-year-old wouldn’t have been able to handle such a laborious task.
"I don’t know where the bodies from the morgue end up. But I do know this— I’m a responsible colleague. I wouldn’t want to trouble my fellow apprentices. After all… They should be very satisfied with this one."
Chapter 33 is missing...
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