Chapter 158: Fearing What’s to Come
At that moment, the first man who had entered stopped in his tracks and turned to look at Billy.
“Aren’t you going to do something about your brother’s death?”
Billy, however, didn’t care at all. He continued walking inside, found a document, and began flipping through it. “If you care so much, you handle it.”
The first man hit a wall but didn’t get angry. Instead, he asked with interest, “Any new developments in the tower over the past six months?”
“Jero, you just want to know who else has died, don’t you?” A female apprentice who had just entered smiled seductively, resting her elbow on Jero’s shoulder.
Jero pushed her arm off with a single finger. “Don’t do that, Rita. I only sleep with the dead.”
Rita, a third-level apprentice, rolled her eyes. “Aside from Bill’s death, nothing major has happened recently. Oh, but Byron and Wright, who traveled with him, brought back a sailing ship. They exchanged it for quite a few academic credits.”
Jero’s eyes immediately lit up. “A sailing ship? I like those. How many dead bodies would it take to buy one?”
“You’d better hurry,” Rita said. “A lot of people are interested in that ship.”
Just then, a third person entered the room. They removed their hood, revealing a beautiful lower face—and a glass head filled with milky-white liquid.
The two third-level apprentices who had been in the room immediately stopped talking and turned to mind their own business.
Kongsha ignored them, swaying her hips as she walked to a bulletin board and scanned the names written on it.
Jero, intrigued, followed her over.
The board listed the names of apprentices responsible for important tasks within the tower.
Every time Kongsha returned from outside, she would come here and read through all the names.
In the past, she would finish reading and leave, but today, one of her eyes remained fixed on a single name for a long time.
Then, more eyes emerged, all focusing on the same spot.
Jero followed her gaze and read the name aloud.
“Second Storage Room: Saul.” He rubbed his chin. “Never heard of him. Is he a third-level apprentice who joined from the outside? I’d love to meet him.”
“I’d advise against that. Hehehe.”
Another voice spoke as more people entered the lounge.
This time, it was Luo Kai, the leader of the Mutual Aid Society, accompanied by Kujin, a towering man who had just lost his job.
The one who had spoken was Luo Kai.
Jero and Kongsha turned at the same time—Kongsha with a blank expression, Jero with even more curiosity.
“Oh? Does that mean he’s someone with powerful backing, like you?”
Luo Kai wasn’t offended by the teasing. “The fact that we can’t find anything about his background is what makes him truly frightening.”
He pointed his thumb at Kujin. “He was just promoted to Second-Level Apprentice less than half a month ago, but Saul has already taken over his job.”
“Hmph!” A male apprentice sitting with Rita suddenly stood up, looking displeased. “Since when can second-level apprentices just waltz into the lounge?”
Kongsha ignored him, retracting her floating eyes and striding quickly out of the room.
Anyone unfamiliar with her might assume she was leaving out of fear of the third-level apprentice’s anger.
Meanwhile, Luo Kai simply spread his hands and smiled. “Second-level apprentices can enter if they’re led by a third-level apprentice. Have you forgotten, Senior Ferguson?”
Ferguson’s expression immediately darkened as he stormed forward.
Luo Kai didn’t back away, but Kujin raised a hand to block Ferguson’s path.
Ferguson’s gaze turned icy as he stared at the hand in front of him. He didn’t press forward but instead sneered at Kujin.
“You lost your job to a second-level apprentice, and now you’re playing bodyguard for one? You’re just going backward in life. Forget about ever advancing to Official Wizard—just become someone’s lapdog instead!”
“You—!” Kujin’s face turned red with anger, almost ready to strike.
But Ferguson simply brushed past them and left the room.
Kujin glanced around. No one was laughing at him, but he still felt humiliated.
“I’m leaving. Stay here if you want.” With that, Kujin strode out.
Luo Kai, left alone in the lounge, wasn’t upset. He simply shrugged and remarked, “They sure have a strong bond.”
Meanwhile, Rita, who had previously looked down on Kongsha, now approached with her chin raised. “Did you get what I asked for?”
Luo Kai’s smile brightened. “Of course. This is the Mutual Aid Society, after all. If Senior Rita is willing to join, I can even offer you a discount.”
Rita arched an eyebrow. “How much?”
Luo Kai named a price.
Rita waved it off as insignificant. “Fine, I’ll join.”
The two immediately began their exchange, while Jero once again turned his gaze back to the bulletin board.
“Saul?” His interest only grew.
---
Returning to the Wizard Tower, life and the diary became full again.
Studying, experimenting, working... well, work hadn’t officially started yet.
In the two days since taking over the Second Storage Room, Saul hadn’t even used his quill pen once.
Because of the disgusting dream he had the first night back, he had been too wary to sleep, using meditation instead.
He didn’t want to fall into some bizarre trouble right after returning to the tower.
The dream also served as a warning—the Nightmare Butterfly’s cocoon was starting to make its presence known.
Saul had experienced premonition dreams before, but they had always been about himself. He had never dreamt of a murder scene from the killer’s perspective before.
This immediately made him think of the Nightmare Butterfly—the cocoon that had voluntarily embedded itself in his left eye.
The little girl had worn that cocoon for four years, and the only effect had been that she could see others' dreams.
Because of that, Saul had never considered the cocoon a serious threat.
But the experience on his first night back clearly indicated that something had changed.
“Should I take it out?”
Saul grabbed a mirror and held up a sterilized needle, hesitating as he aimed it at his eye.
Yet, just before he could act, doubt crept in.
The dream had been disturbing, but it hadn’t harmed him.
And what if he extracted the cocoon, only for it to crawl back in before he could seal it?
He couldn’t exactly play hide and seek with his own body.
“Maybe I should find some help.” The needle twirled between his fingers before coming to a stop. “Hayden.”
Before Saul left the tower, Hayden had only been a First-Level Apprentice.
But he had spent nearly a decade working in the Morgue, specializing in human dissection and material preservation.
Saul decided to let Hayden extract the Nightmare Butterfly for him.
As long as Saul remained fully conscious during the operation, there was no risk of Hayden trying anything sneaky.
After all, Saul was now a Second-Level Apprentice, far superior in both strength and magic.
Determined, he grabbed his surgical tools and stood up to find Hayden.
But just then, his chest began to glow.
The light came from his heart, a soft, warm luminescence.
Saul pressed a hand to his chest.
He had never seen this light before, but he immediately knew what it was.
The Soul-Guiding Lantern!
Slowly turning his head, Saul saw his own dangling head.
He sighed bitterly.
“As expected… When the Tower Master gave me this lantern, he was already warning me—I might have another out-of-body experience.”
Because it wasn’t the first time, Saul wasn’t as panicked as before.
Following the method he had learned previously, he turned his back to his body and walked away to find the furthest point he could reach.
But after just a few steps, he realized—
He had already surpassed the distance from last time.
Just as he was about to investigate further, a metal door suddenly swung open before him.
Then, to his shock—
He saw himself following Kujin into the Second Storage Room.
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