Chapter 115: The Mountain Full of...
After the Wood Spider descended to the bottom of the rocky slope, under Byron’s command, they set up several tents at a location some distance from the mountain base.
If nothing unexpected happened, they would be staying here for at least a month, maybe even longer.
Once the tents were quickly assembled, Byron called Saul over to help set up the experimental equipment.
Since they were here to capture vengeful spirits, they first needed to determine their approximate locations.
Byron was now setting up a soul fluctuation detector that had been moved from the wizard tower.
Saul had never seen nor used such a device before, so all he could do was hand over materials and assist on the sidelines.
With no need to use his brain, Saul absentmindedly passed items while observing his surroundings.
"Senior Byron, why are there so many holes in the ground and at the mountain base? Some of them look like they were artificially dug."
"That's right. The original surface of this land actually lies beneath us. It's said that years ago, a Tier 3 True Wizard moved half a mountain here and buried an entire battalion of enemy wizards underneath it."
"Half a mountain?" Saul was stunned, unable to imagine how much spiritual power and magic would be required to lift an entire mountain.
His Wizard’s Hand could barely lift a chair at this point.
"Some wizards were buried but didn't die. They dug tunnels to escape, but even those who made it out mostly didn’t survive. Later, treasure hunters came searching for valuable materials. Over time, this place became riddled with holes."
Saul noticed a hole nearby with a diameter of barely ten centimeters. He couldn’t imagine what kind of person could crawl out of such a tiny opening—or go in searching for treasure.
Just then, Nick, who had gone out scouting, returned.
"I did a preliminary check. There are almost no spirit presences here. If we want to catch vengeful spirits, we’ll have to go deeper."
Byron clapped the dust off his hands and asked, "How much deeper?"
Nick swish—unfolded a map.
The map floated in midair without needing a table for support.
Saul leaned in and saw that the map depicted the steep slope near the entrance of Hanging Hand Valley.
"Are we searching in this area? Are we moving together or splitting up?"
Byron and Nick both turned to look at Saul.
"...What?"
"I’ll search with Nick," Byron said first. "You stay here and watch the equipment."
Nick nodded. "You just became a Tier 2 Apprentice, and you’re not familiar with many spells yet. It's better for you to stay and review your knowledge."
"...Alright." Saul had hoped that advancing to Tier 2 mid-journey would let him take part in the exploration.
At this moment, Byron finished setting up the soul fluctuation detector. "Alright, it’s ready. It’s also portable, so we can move it if needed."
"Have people captured spirits here before?" Saul looked at the mirror-like surface in the center of the detector and moved closer to examine it.
The mirror wasn’t smooth—his reflection was warped and distorted.
Seeing Saul’s curiosity, Byron explained briefly.
"The mirror intentionally distorts reflections. If the image appears normal after activation, that means it's a spirit."
"Can I try it?" Saul gently touched the mirror.
Strangely, it felt smooth to the touch.
Was the silver coating inside uneven?
Byron demonstrated, "This dial adjusts the wavelength. You can try it later. Just don’t go past this red threshold."
Saul looked at the red-marked scale. "What happens if I exceed it?"
Nick folded the map and made a blooming hand gesture in front of Saul.
"You might see something you’re not supposed to see. It could be good or bad."
---
Wizards were always efficient.
Byron and Nick quickly decided on their exploration route and left the temporary base.
After they left, Saul didn’t idle around either.
He had just advanced to Tier 2 and absorbed a large number of soul fragments—which, although they couldn’t be stored for long, could affect Soul Essence and increase his magic power.
He had no idea how much his magic power had increased.
With all kinds of testing instruments available in the base, Saul took this rare opportunity to run a full-body examination on himself.
The results were astonishing.
His magic power had shot up to 53 joules.
Spiritual power couldn’t be measured precisely, but Saul could feel that his spirit had become even more refined.
The grudges that Wizard Shelly had accumulated for who knows how long had ultimately benefited Saul.
However, he had no intention of following Shelly’s methods of creating vengeful spirits.
Even if absorbing soul fragments could greatly boost his strength, the impurities might bring terrifying consequences.
Like Soniel, for example.
After confirming that his breakthrough hadn’t caused any negative side effects, Saul sighed in relief.
If an apprentice suffered bodily or mental damage during advancement, minor injuries could still be remedied.
But Saul didn’t want to damage his body on his first promotion.
Setting aside the black crystal, he double-checked that he was alone before pulling out a silver sphere from his pocket.
The tiny sphere, barely half a centimeter in diameter, occasionally flickered with starlight inside.
It was the Nightmare Butterfly’s Cocoon, which he had extracted from Penny’s eyes.
Saul had originally obtained two silver hemispheres, but when he held them together, they automatically fused into a single sphere—and he could no longer separate them by hand.
He had never heard of a Nightmare Butterfly before.
After meeting up with Byron, he checked all the books related to butterflies, but found no records of it.
Clearly, this was beyond the knowledge of a Tier 1 apprentice.
Yet, Saul was deeply intrigued by Penny’s ability to enter other people’s dreams.
"I wonder how this cocoon can be activated to let me experience dream-walking too."
Saul gently traced the surface of the silver cocoon with his finger while jotting down his thoughts on paper.
1. The simplest method: Hold the cocoon while sleeping. Start with ordinary people nearby to ensure safety.
2. Implant it into the eye, then sleep. Recreate Penny’s experience—but the cost is steep, and restoring body parts is expensive. If I get rich, maybe I can try it.
3. Use meditation to synchronize my spiritual energy with the cocoon and test activation methods...
"Plap, plap, plap..."
Saul suddenly stopped writing and sat up straight.
He thought he heard something.
Resting his hands on the table, he was about to stand up when—
A shadow passed under his desk.
Saul looked down and his eyes widened in disbelief.
A head.
A severed head with two feet was waddling under his desk.
It was a middle-aged man’s head, absentmindedly humming a tune as it walked.
A head with feet, its ankles short and stubby, waddling like a penguin—or perhaps a duck.
It would have been almost funny, but Saul couldn't laugh.
Because that human face was anything but cute.
Before he could react, another voice spoke:
"You're slacking off again."
A second head crawled out from under the tent.
A middle-aged woman, with long chestnut hair dragging on the ground, stirring up small pebbles.
But she didn’t care.
She was chasing after the man’s head.
"Lord Morton is assembling the troops. We’re leaving soon."
But the man’s head ignored her, waddling away out of the tent.
The woman’s head followed after him.
They never acknowledged Saul's presence.
Byron had never mentioned encountering monsters like this in Hanging Valley.
A creeping sense of unease filled Saul.
He stepped toward the tent entrance and pulled open the flap.
And instantly—
Goosebumps erupted from the soles of his feet to the tips of his hair.
Outside the tent—
The entire mountain was filled with countless human heads.
Each one standing on two feet.
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