Chapter 71: The One Trapped in the Back

"Could it be that these three are actually the same person?"

Having encountered many strange wizard apprentices before, Saul speculated about the peculiar nature of the three before him.

But he quickly realized he was wrong.

The folding door was pushed open just a sliver, and a blond-haired, blue-eyed young man stepped out, nodding slightly to the girl at the front of the line before turning away.

The man who emerged wore the same uniform, with the same second-level apprentice badge pinned to his chest.

The first girl in line took a step forward and entered through the narrow opening, while Kaz took the opportunity to lead Saul inside as well.

Once inside, Saul immediately used his peripheral vision to search for Mentor Rum.

The room was indeed quite large.

Due to the spatial constraints of the wizard tower, its width was limited, but its length seemed extensive.

The reason he could only guess was that the room had no solid walls—only heavy curtains made of what appeared to be thick leather, hanging on either side.

Each curtain was about a meter wide, thick enough not to sway.

The previous female apprentice had already moved to the right side and lifted one of the heavy curtains.

Saul leaned slightly forward and caught a glimpse of the adjacent "room."

Then he saw a beam of light shining diagonally onto the ground.

Saul blinked, feeling that the light was different from ordinary candlelight.

A sudden wave of tension washed over him—not due to the imminent meeting with Mentor Rum but for another reason.

"Rum?" Kaz did not enter the side spaces recklessly but simply raised his voice.

"Hmph!" A response came from the right side, though the tone was far from pleasant.

"Hey."

Kaz gestured for Saul to follow.

Together, they lifted the curtain where the apprentice had passed through and entered the next "room."

The moment Saul stepped in, he felt the temperature was noticeably warmer.

Instinctively, he looked toward the source of warmth—and saw sunlight!

His eyes welled up with tears.

On the outer wall, a small square window about a meter wide was embedded within the thick wall. The blackened window was open outward, but due to the thickness of the wall, only a small portion protruded outside.

That single beam of light pierced through the thick wall, as if traveling across the stars, casting a diagonal glow on the ground, bringing an unearthly warmth to the cold chamber.

Saul had not seen sunlight in over three months!

"You'll have more chances in the future," he sighed inwardly, forcing back his overflowing tears before quickening his pace to catch up with Kaz.

After a few steps, only a faint mist remained in his eyes. Even as he passed through the light and felt its warmth firsthand, he remained composed.

At the far end of the room, Mentor Rum sat like a mountain of flesh.

Saul had seen overweight people on TV and online before—some even unable to move due to their weight.

But none could compare to this.

This man, if he could be called that, was truly a mountain of flesh.

He seemed male, though his immense layers of fat obscured all external gender characteristics. His medium-length, disheveled blond hair reached his jaw, propped up by rolls of chin fat. He had no beard, his nose was buried in the folds of his cheeks, and only the area around his eyes remained relatively flat.

But the most striking feature was his stomach.

Layer upon layer of fat stacked upon itself, making it impossible to distinguish where his chest ended and his abdomen began. His legs were completely hidden beneath the folds of flesh, resembling a billowing skirt.

Yet, his arms were bizarrely slender—stretching nearly two meters long, with three distinct segments, seemingly non-human.

Was this man really Rum?

The flesh mountain paid no attention to Kaz or Saul but instead used his unnaturally long hands to inspect the female apprentice who had entered before them.

She remained expressionless as he examined her entire body.

There was no indecency in his actions—his expression was scrutinizing, almost picky, as if inspecting vegetables at a market for rotten leaves.

"Lie down on the table."

The female apprentice was finally dismissed and walked to a cold, narrow iron table beside Rum, beginning to undress.

She wore no top beneath her robe but was neatly dressed from the waist down.

No one in the room averted their gaze.

Even Saul watched silently.

In the morgue, he had seen many bare female corpses.

But this was his first time seeing a living one.

The apprentice showed no hesitation, removing her robe with practiced indifference before lying down on the long iron table. She swept aside her golden hair, revealing her pale, bare back.

Rum extended his unnaturally long hands and pressed lightly against her back.

Suddenly, golden symbols formed in the center of her pale skin—a rune array.

Intricate runes intertwined with lines and Noah script.

It was the first time Saul had seen such a formation, and he couldn't help but examine it closely.

Then, before his eyes, the golden runes shifted, rearranging themselves into the image of a male face.

The rune-formed eyes moved—locking onto Saul.

He immediately lowered his head, averting his gaze.

Because of this, he missed the surprised glance Rum cast his way.

Moments later, Rum finished his examination, waved his hand for the apprentice to dress, and dismissed her.

"Not bad. Next."

The girl remained expressionless, her emotions unreadable.

As she exited, Rum let out a faint sigh.

But he quickly suppressed it, looking toward Kaz while speaking in a cold tone.

"This is the one you recommended? He killed my experiment assistant. Why would I agree?"

"Because he's suitable." Kaz shrugged.

"Suitable? A mere novice apprentice? What could he possibly know?"

"He can learn." Kaz remained indifferent.

Rum chuckled dryly. "Learn? How long? You think I have time to waste on him?"

Kaz, unfazed, replied, "Since when have we not wasted time?"

Noticing Kaz’s mood, Rum softened his tone.

"You saw Kira?"

"Call her Lady Kira now. She advanced to the second rank."

"A Rank Two wizard?" Rum looked shocked but soon became lost in thought. "She advanced… while I fear I may never advance in this lifetime."

Kaz said nothing, seeming to agree with the sentiment.

For a moment, the room fell into silence.

The arrival of the second male apprentice broke the stillness.

Rum snapped back to attention and spoke to Kaz. "You can leave now. I need to test him. If he’s unqualified, I’ll let him crawl back alive."

Kaz hesitated, glancing back at Saul, as if wanting to say something.

But in the end, he said nothing, simply patting Saul’s shoulder before turning to leave.

Saul hadn't expected this.

Was Kaz not going to explain what happened with Sid?

Or did he think as long as Rum didn't kill him, enduring a bit of hardship would be enough to settle the matter?

Rum's cold gaze pierced through Saul, making him feel as though he, too, had been stripped bare.

The second apprentice had already reached Rum.

Rum, unenthusiastic, gave him a few absent-minded squeezes before instructing him to lie on the iron table.

"Observe carefully. I'll ask you questions later."

"Observe? Me?"

Still uncertain of the situation, Saul nonetheless entered a semi-immersive meditative state.

That was his definition of "serious observation."

Through his heightened perception, he saw the golden runes appear on the male apprentice’s back, quickly forming the image of a woman’s head.

Suppressing his discomfort, Saul continued analyzing the runes, trying to decipher their meaning.

Then, suddenly—a white, translucent head shot out of the formation.

It was restrained by an invisible force, its features stretched in agony.

It looked exactly like the woman formed by the golden runes!

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