Chapter 113: Black Castle
"Senior Byron, why did you turn into human skin and hang yourself on a tree?" Saul asked, his face dark as he looked at Byron, who had already returned to the carriage.
Just moments ago, he had seriously mistaken Byron for a monster.
"Uh..." Byron hesitated, glancing at the coachman, who had already been healed and continued driving. There was a small slit on his neck. "I just... took a bath."
So you decided to hang yourself out to dry?
Saul was speechless.
As they spoke, they arrived at the gates of Black Castle.
Both Saul and Byron got off the carriage one after another.
Saul looked at the coachman, who still had a mushroom umbrella on his head and seemed a bit sluggish, and reminded him, "The mushrooms on your head aren’t really a problem anymore. In a couple of days, they’ll wither and fall off on their own."
In fact, the mushroom on the coachman’s head already looked less full and had started to wilt.
For the first time, the normally emotionless coachman raised his head, his eyes filled with tears as he looked at Saul. Then, suddenly, he knelt down and slammed his forehead hard against the ground.
The mushroom umbrella made a thump as it hit the ground.
The coachman said nothing because words were useless.
After struggling to survive in the Wizard Tower for so long, he had long since understood the rules of survival.
As long as you’re useful, you live.
Still, he bowed deeply toward Saul’s departing figure, banging his head against the ground twice more. The mushroom umbrella was repeatedly smashed into the dirt, growing more withered each time.
Though Saul didn’t turn around, he heard the noise behind him.
"It was actually you who saved him," Saul said.
"Mm." Byron nodded toward Saul and pointed at him.
Saul understood—it was Byron acknowledging that he hadn’t abandoned the coachman.
Byron’s mouth split open as he said, "A coachman is a tool. When traveling, you must be good at maintaining and preserving your tools."
His words sounded heartless, but this was the philosophy of wizards. If something was useful, it was worth protecting—nothing more, nothing less.
The two approached the entrance of the narrow castle.
The door itself was also narrow—just one meter wide but four meters tall. Anyone slightly overweight would struggle to squeeze through.
Byron stepped forward and lightly knocked twice with his knuckles.
Saul could feel the magic imbued in those two knocks.
Suddenly, a vertical pupil appeared in the center of the door, surrounded by rune formations forming its iris.
The eye scanned Byron from head to toe before shifting its gaze to Saul.
Then, the vertical pupil closed, and the door creaked open outward.
"The entrance to Black Castle opens outward when allowing people in. If it opens inward, it’s for material transportation. Don’t go the wrong way."
After saying that, Byron walked in first, with Saul following closely behind.
Once they had entered, the door automatically closed behind them.
Contrary to its ominous name, the interior of Black Castle wasn’t dark or terrifying. In fact, it was quite luxurious.
However, the decorations inside were also distinctly narrow and elongated.
The hall’s ceiling was a towering ten meters high, with a five-meter-long crystal chandelier swaying precariously at the top, looking as if it could fall at any moment.
The hall itself was only three meters wide but stretched dozens of meters deep. At the far end, symmetrical curved staircases led upward, their steps barely a meter wide.
Definitely not designed for overweight people.
As Saul was observing the castle, a dark green vine suddenly sprouted from the door behind him. It looked like the shriveled hand of a corpse, creeping silently toward the back of Saul’s head.
The vine morphed into a claw, ready to seize his neck.
Suddenly, a black tentacle emerged from the back of Saul’s neck, swiftly coiling around the sneaky vine. With a snap, the tentacle executed a lethal spin, effortlessly tearing the attacker to shreds.
By the time Byron and Saul turned around in response to the noise, all that remained on the ground were several dried, broken branches.
Byron instantly recognized the culprit behind the prank.
"Hmm?" He narrowed his eyes toward the hall.
"Ha ha, ha ha, don’t be angry, don’t be angry."
Hearing the voice, Saul turned around again and saw a tall, lanky man descending the stairs.
The man was over two meters tall but as thin as a bamboo pole.
Byron’s expression remained cold. "Hmph!"
"Got it, got it," the man said, still grinning. He bent down, resting his hands on his knees, and looked at Saul. "Hello, hello! You must be Saul. I am the guardian of the Wizard Tower here in Black Castle. My name is Moki-Moki."
Saul hesitated. Was this guy’s name really Moki-Moki, or did he just have a verbal tic?
"Nice to meet you… Mr. Moki-Moki."
The man continued smiling, his eyebrows curved like parentheses.
"Don’t be mad, don’t be mad. I was just curious—curious about who could help Byron reach the third level before turning 30. I was even thinking that if he got kicked out of the Wizard Tower, I’d kindly let him help me guard the gates!"
"Just luck," Saul responded humbly.
Hearing this, Moki-Moki became even more delighted.
"Oh, I like you! I like you, little guy! You’re so skinny—just like me! You look great. My mentor is Master Anze. Is he yours too?"
"I follow Master Kaz."
"Oh, Master Kaz is great too—just a bit dull."
Byron: "Hmm?"
"…I mean, I’m not very composed, ha ha, I’m not very composed."
"I’m taking Saul to rest. You can leave now," Byron said impatiently. Seeing Saul arrive alone, he had many questions and didn’t want to waste time with Moki-Moki.
"Alright, alright." Moki-Moki didn’t seem offended. He stepped aside with a smile, clearing the path for them as he watched them go upstairs.
Byron led Saul up the right staircase to the second floor and into a narrow, coffin-like room.
"Why did you come alone? Where’s Nick?"
Saul quickly gave a brief account of what had happened in Grindstone Town.
After listening, Byron’s expression darkened.
He opened his mouth slightly, revealing sharp teeth.
"Saul, remember—if you haven’t seen the actual mission details, never complete a task for someone else."
Saul froze. "Are you saying there’s something off about this mission?"
"Think about it—Grinding Sound Fruits calm the mind. If someone in the tower needed them, who would it most likely be?"
Saul paused, then suddenly realized. "Nick? If he needed them, why didn’t he go himself?"
"That’s the issue. His mission was simply to go to Grindstone Town and convey the Wizard Tower’s stance. But he claimed there was a hidden task—to investigate the reason behind the fruit’s decline. Yet, do you actually know if this ‘hidden task’ exists? All you received was a letter of reprimand from Master Rum, wasn’t it?"
Saul’s expression grew serious.
"And even if he asked you to investigate, did he say you had to solve the problem? If you discovered the culprit behind the decline, what were you supposed to do? You had no idea, did you? Because you weren’t the one assigned the mission."
Saul now realized his mistake.
Ever since the first test, when multiple mentors took an interest in him, he had faced fewer dangers in daily life, and even his diary rarely issued death warnings anymore.
Though he constantly reminded himself to stay vigilant, his guard had still inevitably dropped.
"Senior, are you saying Nick deliberately sent me to Grindstone Town? But why?"
Saul was asking, but really he was asking himself.
There are no powerful enemies in Grindstone Town. Even if someone want to kill him with the help of barbarians, it is unlikely.
Even if Saul can't beat them, he can still run away.
Does Nick know what happened in Grindstone Town?
As Saul pondered, Byron calmly said, "Wait until Nick arrives—then ask him yourself."
Saul was taken aback but then chuckled. "Yes, we’ll ask him first."
Saul crossed his arms and said, "If I hadn't temporarily advanced to Level 2 this time, those red-skinned barbarians would have been really difficult to deal with. Nick has to pay me extra."
Byron: "Hmm... hmm?"
Byron took another look at Saul and finally noticed that the Level 1 assistant he had hired had actually upgraded on his own.
Was the originally agreed payment for Saul... a bit too low?
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