Chapter 47: A Tier-Three Lifeline

Saul looked up at Byron, whose expression remained as serious as ever.

"Was it the coordinate diagram of the composite rune?"

Byron's eyes curved slightly as he nodded. "Yes. Although it was just a structural diagram of a composite rune, it gave me a lot of inspiration. Thanks to that, I was able to find my own positioning device at the last critical moment before turning thirty."

"Positioning device?"

"You’ll naturally understand once you reach the second tier. Knowing too soon will only burden you and cloud your thoughts."

Saul nodded.

The knowledge of the wizarding world could only be explored with sufficient strength. Learning about high-level knowledge too early could drive one insane.

"But even though you can’t comprehend these things yet, once you become a second-tier apprentice, you can come find me and join my team. I’ll share some of my experiences from when I was a second-tier apprentice."

"Team?" This was another term Saul had never heard before.

"Third-tier apprentices must venture out to find opportunities to merge with their positioning devices. That’s why you rarely see them inside the wizard tower."

"Since the places they go are dangerous, they often form teams for their journeys. Many second-tier apprentices also join these teams to search for their own positioning devices—though some die along the way."

Byron sighed, his entire body producing a whistling sound.

"There’s no helping it. The resources within the wizard tower are limited."

Saul thought about his own empty workbench and cabinets, clutched the large bag of magic crystals in his arms, and sighed in agreement. "Yeah, way too limited."

Byron walked to Peggy's worktable, flipped through the books, and then examined the three stone coffins in the room. Finally, he returned to Peggy’s decayed corpse.

"These three corpses contained evil spirits. Peggy was supposed to hand them over to Mentor Kaz for processing. But… greed got the better of her. She wanted to keep the body of the second-tier apprentice for herself."

Saul nodded. The hardcover book had already told him that after he died, Peggy would have reported three first-tier apprentice corpses in the registry. The fate of the second-tier apprentice’s body was obvious.

Byron’s throat wounds continued to move as he spoke.

"But she underestimated the evil spirits and overestimated herself. She got trapped and had no choice but to find you as a scapegoat."

Saul nodded again. Byron had nailed it.

"You did well," Byron concluded, his eyes curving slightly as he looked at Saul with approval.

"I just got lucky," Saul admitted. His success in killing Peggy was largely due to the hardcover book helping him rule out all the wrong choices, along with the few tools Kongsha had given him.

Otherwise, he would have been helpless after casting just two spells.

A strong backing was still essential—he just had to be careful not to get dragged into something worse.

"I'll handle Peggy’s belongings. Any objections?"

Saul immediately shook his head. "No objections. Having you handle it is the safest option."

Byron didn’t waste any words. He walked over and easily lifted two of the coffins.

One contained the second-tier apprentice, the other a first-tier apprentice.

"Let’s go."

Saul was momentarily confused about Byron’s intentions but quickly followed.

As they passed Hayden’s room, Byron stopped and kicked the door.

The door opened a crack, and upon seeing Byron, Hayden immediately swung it open all the way.

"Senior Byron."

"Mm."

Byron, whose wounds had already healed, tossed one of the first-tier apprentice coffins inside.

Boom!

The coffin hit the ground, kicking up dust.

"Hmm?"

Hayden had worked with Byron for years and immediately understood his meaning.

"I get it. I skipped my shift tonight, and I have no idea what happened here."

Byron nodded in approval.

Hayden quickly shut the door, pretending no one was there.

Saul, meanwhile, was left completely stunned by Byron’s maneuver.

Carrying the remaining coffin, Byron led Saul to the third morgue.

He cut his throat again to speak.

"Peggy’s body is problematic. I’ll keep it and report it to the mentor. But this one is fine. It still has value. Since Peggy hid its existence, it’s yours now."

So Byron was dividing the spoils. Peggy’s body belonged to him.

Saul had no complaints.

But Byron didn’t just take Peggy’s corpse; he also offered Saul a better deal.

"You killed Peggy, so I’m keeping her body—but I won’t take it for free. If you want something in exchange, you can come to me anytime within a month."

Saul’s eyes lit up. He could list a whole bunch of things he wanted right now.

But when he looked back at the coffin, he suddenly calmed down.

Byron was about to become a third-tier apprentice. He wouldn’t be leaving the wizard tower.

And he was one of the few people in the entire tower who wasn’t hostile toward Saul—someone who could actually be an ally.

That was incredibly rare.

Saul’s Body Modification experiment wasn’t finalized yet. It would be better to save this favor for when he truly needed it.

"I’ll be taking over the morgue duties before my formal promotion to third-tier. You can come find me anytime."

"Senior, do you know Sid?" Saul asked as Byron was about to leave.

"Hmm?" His wounds healed completely.

"I have a grudge against Sid. Do you think Peggy might have been trying to kill me because of him?"

But Byron shook his head.

For some reason, Saul understood the message.

Byron wasn’t saying no—he was saying he didn’t know.

Byron scrutinized Saul, his eyes flickering with confusion.

He was probably wondering how a first-tier apprentice—a newcomer who had only been here for a month—had managed to make so many enemies.

Byron exited the room, leaving Saul alone. He still had Peggy’s body to deal with, along with the mess she left behind.

Saul was quite satisfied with Byron’s response.

At the very least, it seemed like Byron wasn’t close to Sid.

That meant Byron could be a useful counterweight against Sid—

A third-tier lifeline.

Saul grinned as he walked toward the coffin.

The coffin looked special, not made of ordinary materials.

Which made sense—how else could it have contained an evil spirit?

Saul rubbed his hands together excitedly. "One cannot get rich without unexpected windfalls. Those bandits were right after all."

He locked the door from the inside.

This was his first time handling a corpse that hadn’t been filtered by Hayden.

His first complete material, all to himself.

…

Peggy’s death really seemed to have nothing to do with Sid.

After Kongsha killed the newcomer Sid had brought to replace Saul, Sid hadn’t shown up for a long time.

Life returned to a peaceful routine. Studying and experimenting once again became the main focus.

But Saul knew—Sid wouldn’t give up.

The hardcover book sat on his shoulder, practically glowing with Sid’s determination to obtain it.

And after narrowly escaping death multiple times, Saul had come to fully grasp the book’s power.

Now, if anyone tried to take it from him, he would resist with everything he had.

He wasn’t sure how much Sid knew about the book’s abilities.

But he guessed it wasn’t much.

The book could foresee death. Sid had made several attempts on Saul’s life, but they were never decisive enough.

Each time, Saul had been given a chance to react.

If he were in Sid’s position, he wouldn’t hesitate. He’d strike in a way that left no room for escape or counterattack.

Yet Sid kept wasting opportunities, letting Saul realize his intentions.

So, while Sid was chasing after a book, he didn’t fully understand its power.

Which meant—how did he even know about its existence?

Fwoosh!

The sound of flames interrupted Saul’s thoughts.

He stood up and checked the cauldron and other containers on his worktable.

The reaction still had a long way to go.

He got up to greet his first guest of the day.

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