Chapter 90: The Seaweed Dumpling

The last time Saul met Luo Kai, the latter had publicly invited him to join the Mutual Aid Society.

If not for Mentor Katz’s sudden appearance, calling Saul away, he would have had to think of a way to tactfully refuse Luo Kai.

Now, running into him head-on, Saul wondered if he would bring it up again…

“I asked you last time if you wanted to join the Mutual Aid Society. Have you given it any thought?” Luo Kai smiled as he stepped forward, blocking the library exit.

Straight to the point. No beating around the bush.

Saul tensed up instinctively, but he quickly reminded himself—he was no longer a complete newcomer.

“Apologies, Senior Luo Kai. My work keeps me extremely busy, and I simply don’t have the time to participate in any activities. I hope you understand.”

His tone was respectful, but he left no room for negotiation.

Luo Kai took another step forward, closing the gap between them to less than a meter.

“Are you really that busy? Or… are you worried about this?”

He extended his hand, curling his index fingers twice—like a little worm wriggling.

Saul’s pupils shrank. The other party had openly acknowledged the existence of the parasite!

Troublesome. Today might not be easy to handle.

But to Saul’s surprise, Luo Kai didn’t press further or insist he join.

“Heh, I get it. But you don’t have to be so tense. That little thing is just a precaution to ensure Mutual Aid Society’s internal information doesn’t leak. Talented apprentices like you, Saul, we naturally trust your character—we wouldn’t use such measures on you.”

“Thank you, Senior. But as I said, I truly don’t have the time.” Saul saw an opening and subtly shifted his foot, trying to squeeze past Luo Kai toward the door.

“Alright. But even if you don’t want to join, you’re welcome to attend our discussions. You work in East Second Floor, right? If you’re unsure, you can ask Hayden. The Mutual Aid Society has always had a pleasant cooperation with him.”

Discussions? Hayden would be there too?

Saul responded noncommittally. “If I get the chance.”

“Great. You can always find Doze—he’ll bring you there.”

After saying this, Luo Kai stepped aside, clearing the path.

Saul glanced at the two of them, nodded, and quickened his pace, leaving the library.

Luo Kai remained in place, watching Saul’s departing figure with a smile.

After a while, he suddenly spoke to Doze behind him.

“Ever since all your friends died, you’ve become much quieter.”

Doze trembled but gritted his teeth, saying nothing.

Luo Kai didn’t turn back. He simply raised his hand and patted the top of Doze’s head twice.

“That’s a good thing. If one wants to grow, they must learn to let go.”

---

For the next few days, Saul dedicated all his spare time to reading A Madman’s Guide to Raising a Soul Servant and Speculations on Soul Carriers.

Both books discussed methods of preserving soul entities and touched on Soul Grease. The latter was more of a theoretical overview, while the former was more practical.

Soul Grease was a broad category, with many subtypes.

Depending on the type, it could preserve souls for anywhere from a few days to several decades. When combined with other techniques, the duration could be further extended.

Beyond preservation, many Soul Greases had additional effects. For instance, the plastic bone in Saul’s left hand enhanced his perception of dark elemental particles and increased his magic reserves.

High-quality Soul Grease was considered an extremely valuable material in the wizarding world.

Unfortunately, according to the book’s classification, Saul’s plastic bone was of the lowest grade.

A soul could only survive within it for a day or two before dissipating.

Naturally occurring Soul Grease was rare. Most of it was artificially synthesized, meaning its composition could be improved over time.

If Saul could refine his plastic bone, not only would it extend a soul’s preservation time, but it would also further boost his own magic capacity and dark element sensitivity.

Optimizing an existing body modification technique was much easier than creating a new one from scratch.

This realization reassured Saul—his pitifully low magic reserves finally had a path to improvement.

But this research was challenging. He was essentially studying advanced material. Some terms in the books had no explanations, forcing him to either borrow more books or consult a mentor.

The deeper he delved, the more he learned, and the better he understood Soul Carriers, the book the Tower Master had given him.

“The Tower Master must specialize in dark magic. All his assignments involve souls, corpses, and similar topics. The wizard tower even dedicates two entire floors of the East Tower to corpse storage—clearly, it’s a priority. I wonder what the Tower Master is researching now… Must be something on a completely different level.”

After two months of effort, Saul finally made a small breakthrough in optimizing Soul Grease.

He discovered that one of the materials used in dissolving the plastic bone could be replaced to reduce the number of impurities that harmed soul preservation.

The only issue was finding the right substitute.

At this stage, the diary wasn’t much help.

It could warn Saul against certain materials, but it couldn’t tell him which ones would have positive effects.

He had to rely entirely on his own knowledge and experimentation.

Now, he truly understood how regular wizards conducted research.

Hypothesis. Experimentation.

Failed tests were either discarded or shelved for later.

One day, Saul went to the registry to get a new batch of materials.

“This is Cloud Lightning… Wait, why did I pick this? What am I thinking?” Saul smacked his forehead.

“I already know plastic bones are weak to electricity. Do I actually plan to add electricity to it?”

As he muttered to himself, a sudden thought struck him.

“Actually, since plastic bones are weak to electricity, I should find a way to counteract that weakness. Otherwise, in battle, it’ll be a fatal flaw! I need to write this down.”

Saul quickly recorded the idea in a separate book.

Whenever he had interesting ideas but lacked the time to explore them, he wrote them down for later.

After jotting down his thoughts, he straightened up and resumed analyzing his materials.

“Alright, which one should I test next—”

Before he could finish, a black tentacle, about the thickness of a thumb, coiled around a test tube and lifted it in front of his face.

“This one? Hmm, it’s slightly alkaline. Will it affect the solvent’s corrosiveness—”

“…Wait, WHAT?!”

Saul’s body jolted as realization set in. He leaped off his chair.

Yet, the black tentacle didn’t retreat. Instead, as if guided by some force, it moved even closer to his face.

Black. Slender. Slimy surface. The way it wrapped around objects…

“…You… Are you a Soul-Devouring Swamp Leech?”

Saul traced the tentacle back to its base, but it disappeared behind his shoulder.

He turned around—only for the tentacle to move with him, staying in his blind spot.

He moved. It moved exactly the same way.

Expression stiff, Saul reached up and ran his fingers along the tentacle’s root—

And found it attached to his own neck.

His body went cold. Without thinking, he bolted for the morgue’s door.

Should he go straight to Mentor Katz? Or would it be faster to run next door to a Level Two apprentice?

The black tentacle still held the test tube, perfectly steady, following Saul as he sprinted.

But just as Saul’s fingertips touched the morgue’s blood-red door—

He suddenly stopped.

He glanced at his left shoulder.

“Diary bro, are you just gonna sit there and watch?”

The diary remained silent.

Saul’s mind whirred. He reached up and grasped the tentacle at its base—

No reaction from the diary.

He tightened his grip—

“Squeak!”

The black tentacle popped right off.

Saul checked his neck. No wound. No new tentacles growing.

“…So, it wasn’t a parasite? Just a small piece that got stuck to me?”

The tentacle, now detached, still stubbornly held up the test tube.

Saul exhaled, snatching it from the tendril’s grip.

“Fine. Before I figure out what the hell you are, I might as well check out this potion you, my little seaweed dumpling, picked out for me.”

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