Chapter 116 - You Didn’t Plug It In

"What exactly are those head monsters?" Saul had always thought that after two years of reading countless books, he was well-informed, but the unknown always outweighed the known.

And in the wizarding world, the unknown often meant danger.

Since he had no clue about these strange creatures before him, Saul wanted to retreat into the tent and wait for Byron and Nick to return.

However, as soon as he looked up, he saw several head monsters had somehow climbed onto their experiment table.

One of them was even pressing the back of its head against the Soul Wave Perception Instrument.

The device tilted from the impact and almost fell to the ground.

But the head monster that had bumped into the perception instrument showed no awareness of its near mishap. Instead, it simply jumped in place again.

Saul couldn't take it anymore. He hurried forward, intending to save the instrument.

But just as he lifted his left foot, his diary suddenly flew out and blocked his face.

> Lunar Calendar Year 316, April 14th

Even with only a head left,

The head monsters never stop in their pursuit of knowledge.

They are forever immersed in their quest for understanding.

But if they realize you can see them,

They’ll warmly invite you to join them in their pursuit.

So, what do you say? Consider it?

Sure, you’d be a bit shorter…

But that’s just because all the nutrients go straight to the brain~

Saul silently shut his mouth and prepared to lower his left foot.

However, as soon as he put his foot down, something felt off beneath him.

Feigning ignorance, he glanced down—only to find he was stepping on a woman's long hair.

That woman's head was awkwardly running around. Suddenly, feeling her hair being stepped on, she was pulled back by the force, flipping backward and rolling right to Saul’s ankle.

"Oh!!! Some big oaf just stepped on my hair!"

A chill ran down Saul’s spine.

At that moment, a line of head monsters walked past him.

None of them helped the fallen woman; instead, they burst into laughter.

"I told you that hair is too much trouble! You should just eat it."

"Baldness is supreme!"

"Or maybe you should just eat his foot?"

"Let’s just hope his foot doesn’t stink as much as your mouth!"

The woman’s eyes darted around frantically.

Saul could tell she was close to being persuaded by them.

"Ah," Saul said emotionlessly, "my foot is suddenly so itchy."

With a racing heart, he lifted his left foot and theatrically scratched his sole through his shoe.

The woman took the chance to scurry back a few steps, freeing her hair.

"Oh, I need to go wash my hair!" She fled in distress.

In truth, the dirt in her hair was probably worse than whatever had stuck to Saul’s shoe.

Confirming that no other heads were underfoot, Saul carefully placed his foot back down.

Just as he was about to breathe a sigh of relief, a sudden crack made him look up—only to see the Soul Wave Perception Instrument was about to fall off the table!

The base had already slid halfway over the edge.

Saul took a deep breath.

Straightening his posture, he walked forward, muttering to himself, "This perception instrument doesn’t seem too complicated. I might as well try operating it."

Cautiously, he picked up the teetering, waist-high device.

He had originally planned to carry it back to the tent, but when he turned around, he found himself surrounded by a dense crowd of head monsters.

They all strained their necks, staring at him with anticipation, as if hoping Saul could see them.

If he wanted to return to the tent, he’d have to either step on them or deliberately avoid them—which would only make them realize he could see them.

Saul swayed slightly with the device in his arms and muttered, "So heavy... Forget it, I don’t want to break it. I’ll just test it here."

He pretended to slowly lower the instrument.

Because of his deliberate slowness, the head monsters ahead of him saw the device descending and quickly scattered to the sides.

Seizing the moment when there were no heads beneath him, Saul firmly set the perception instrument down.

Now, even if the head monsters knocked it over again, it wouldn’t break.

To make his earlier excuse seem real, Saul attempted to operate the instrument using the method Byron had taught him.

This was his first time using it. Even though Byron had demonstrated it once, Saul still fumbled with the controls.

Not to mention, he was surrounded by an invisible audience.

"He’s so clumsy!"

"And this guy’s supposed to be a wizard?"

"No, just a wizard apprentice!"

"If my apprentice was this dumb, I’d eat his brain!"

"As if you even have an apprentice!"

Saul tried his best to block out the mocking voices, but whether it was from nervousness or simply forgetting the key steps, he couldn't get the perception instrument to start.

"Forget it!" Saul slumped backward in frustration, accidentally placing his hand on a head before sliding onto the ground. "I must be too stupid."

He expected another round of ridicule.

But instead, everything went silent.

Using his peripheral vision, he glanced at the ground.

The head monsters were still there.

But they were completely silent.

It was as if they all had foul-smelling socks stuffed in their mouths.

Saul slowly blinked and turned his gaze toward the mirror in front of him.

In the mirror, he saw a twisted reflection of himself.

And behind his distorted self—stood a figure!

It had no clear facial features.

But it was not distorted.

Saul’s body turned ice-cold. Even his breathing halted.

A spirit?

No… Not just any spirit.

An evil spirit!

The very thing Byron had been searching for had delivered itself to them.

But now, Saul was alone.

He tried to muster his mental power to cast a spell, but he couldn't move at all.

Even his spiritual energy felt sluggish, like hardened lava, no longer as active as before.

"This evil spirit... has sealed my movements."

His thoughts slowed down as well. His rigid consciousness prevented him from feeling true fear.

He stared into the mirror, unable to look away.

Saul even wished he was in a life-or-death crisis—because then his diary would intervene, allowing him to shift his focus and break free of the evil spirit’s control.

But the diary remained still.

Even Little Algae showed no reaction.

Clearly, this evil spirit wasn’t on its menu.

Saul had no idea what the evil spirit intended to do.

It just seemed to want to stare at him.

Gradually—

The blurry figure in the mirror started becoming clearer, like mist slowly dissipating from the glass.

Saul faintly saw a pair of eyes—

Suddenly, a hand patted his shoulder.

"Hmm?"

Saul jolted, finally able to move.

Instinctively, he turned toward the voice—only to see Byron crouching beside him, looking at him with concern.

"Hmm?"

"Byron, I—I just saw an evil spirit!" Saul stammered, avoiding mention of the head monsters. But when he glanced down again—

They were gone.

At some point, all the head monsters had vanished.

"You saw an evil spirit? Through the perception instrument?" Nick emerged from behind Byron, carrying several large stones.

"That’s impossible." He set the stones down, walked over in confusion, and checked the device. "You never even turned the instrument on."

"What?!" Saul exclaimed, pointing at the mirror. "Look—"

His words were cut off.

In the mirror, there was only his own distorted reflection—

And Byron’s, crouching beside him.

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