Kongsha was no saint; everything she had done for Saul came at a price he would have to pay.
She chuckled lightly. “What are you afraid of? Didn’t you drink the potion without hesitation last time?”
Back then, Saul was still just a servant, powerless in the face of death.
But this time, there were still three months until the first assessment.
Now that he had some idea of how to grow stronger, Saul didn’t want to bet his future on a potion with unknown side effects.
“This potion won’t cause any problems in the short term,” Kongsha said. “But if you use it long-term, it will burn through your potential and drain your life force. Once that’s gone, you’ll die.”
She shifted her tone. “But if you’re determined and work hard enough, you might become a Second Rank Apprentice before that happens. Then you won’t need to forcibly boost your magic anymore. You can shift to achievements in wizardly research and still pass the biannual assessments.”
After finishing, she lifted the small vial and gave it a shake. The transparent liquid swirled temptingly inside.
“Burning potential…” Saul stared at the vial and sighed softly. “If I really take it long-term, will I lose the chance to ever become a True Wizard?”
“Ha!” Kongsha nearly burst out laughing. “You’re dreaming too big! Even I'm not confident I can become a True Wizard.”Her words, though not direct, basically confirmed his fears.
“I’m sorry, Senior Kongsha, but I can’t take this potion.” Saul bowed his head, but his voice was firm.
Kongsha’s smile faded. She stood, looking down at the top of Saul’s head.
Inside the glass dome covering half her skull, five or six eyeballs appeared, squirming and pressing against the surface, glaring fiercely at Saul.
Though he didn’t lift his head, Saul could feel the overwhelming pressure and fear.
When his face turned pale and his body began to tremble, Kongsha finally withdrew the eyes with a soft laugh.
“You think three months is a long time? Since you’ve refused, I won’t force you. But when you come begging for my help later, the price won’t be this simple.”
With that, Kongsha sauntered out of the dorm seductively.
It was a while before Saul looked toward the tightly shut door. He wiped his sweaty forehead.
Cold sweat had pooled so heavily that it formed droplets, sliding down the corner of his eyes.
Terrifying as it was, Saul had to reject the potion.
First, he couldn’t let himself become Kongsha’s puppet and gamble his life on her goodwill.
Second, as a transmigrator blessed with the hardback book, he couldn’t settle for merely becoming a Second Rank Apprentice.
The gate to becoming a wizard had already cracked open just a little. Even a glimpse beyond was enough to fill him with longing.
“Am I born under a cursed star or what? Why do I keep running into danger? It’s way too hard to survive in this world!”
He had Sid in front of him, Kongsha behind him, and Mark’s stance was still unclear.
Above him was Kaz, below was Brown, and Duke, right beside him, was full of hidden schemes.
Was there not a single decent person in this Wizard Tower?
Couldn’t he just live like a normal apprentice, study diligently, and not face an enemy at every step?
Still shaken from Kongsha’s intimidation, Saul’s limbs were weak. He staggered two steps, then let himself collapse onto the bed.
“Since I’ve turned down Kongsha, I’ll have to find a way to grow stronger on my own.”
He covered his eyes with his left hand. The cold, hard bones pressed painfully against his eyelids.
“Hell, if I have to, I’ll give up being a human! I’ve got class tomorrow… sleep!”
Even after half a night of rest, filled with scattered nightmares, Saul didn’t sleep well.
But he still got up early and, with dark circles under his eyes, found George working on the fourth floor before class.
George lit up with excitement when he saw Saul. He was scheduled for the early-morning corridor cleaning tomorrow, not a guaranteed death sentence, but one best avoided.
As long as Saul showed he cared, the other manservants wouldn’t dare assign him dangerous tasks.
“Sir, are you here to officially take me on as your personal servant?” George’s eyes sparkled.
“Not yet.”
George, still a child, looked disappointed but quickly perked up again. “I understand, sir. George will always be ready to serve you!”
Saul got to the point. “Has anyone been in contact with Brown recently?”
George shook his head. “Everyone hangs out together during breaks, and Brown’s always there. But I don’t know about nighttime.”
Saul pondered. Maybe the one who had instructed Brown to target him hadn’t shown up yet.
He changed tactics. “Have you ever seen a blond youth, about eighteen or nineteen, come looking for Brown? After I was injured, I mean.”
Saul described the appearance of Sid, the Second Rank Apprentice.
George’s jaw dropped.
Seeing his expression, Saul immediately pressed, “You’ve seen him, haven’t you?”
George stammered, “S-sir, I haven’t seen him talk to Brown… but, but isn’t that the guy who… who hit you with a book?”
Saul’s eyes widened.
His fragmented memories had never revealed who had killed the body’s original owner. But now, thanks to George, everything came flooding back.
The fear sealed away by death suddenly erupted.
A brightly lit, yet bone-chillingly eerie room.
Rows upon rows of towering bookshelves.
A blond youth with a strange expression, pulling books off the shelves and putting them back again.
A few vague murmurs about a “diary.”
A furious glare upon turning around and seeing Saul.
A thick hardback book hurled without warning.
A wave of terror and splitting pain in the head.
Then… pitch-black silence.
Saul swayed, stunned.
But what truly shocked him wasn’t that Sid had once killed “him”—it was the book.
It was the same hardback book floating beside his left shoulder!
Saul had always thought the book was his transmigration perk, his cheat, his golden finger.
But now… it turned out that this book had existed in this world all along!
He resisted the urge to glance at his left shoulder.
Then he remembered the word “diary” Sid had muttered and the familiar format of the book before it displayed any writing…
Could the thing Sid was looking for be this very hardback book he’d tossed away?
Saul let out a cold laugh.
Did Sid realize what had happened?
If Sid figured out that the hardback book was what he had been searching for, then all the threats Saul had faced recently suddenly made perfect sense.
He didn’t know how to remove the book, and there was no way he’d give it up.
“Then it’s kill or be killed.” The thought didn’t even scare him anymore.
He looked up and saw George still watching him nervously.
Saul softened his expression. “Alright. Go back. Once things settle down, I’ll have you transferred.”
George lit up with joy. With Saul’s promise, his life had just been extended by a few more years.
After parting with a delighted George, Saul made sure to speak to the butler as well.
The man treated him with the utmost respect and readily promised not to assign George to dangerous jobs.
Only then did Saul hurriedly pack his things and head for the East Tower.
Today’s first class was Basic Knowledge of All Things.
He arrived late, but Keli had already saved him a seat.
“You finally showed up. If you’d been any later, I might’ve thought something had happened to you too,” Keli said, rubbing her chin. “Though, somehow, that just didn’t seem likely.”
“‘Too? Someone else had an incident?”
Someone more unlucky than him?
Keli said a name Saul didn’t recognize.
“He went mad.” When Saul didn’t show any shock, she added, “Why aren’t you surprised like the others?”
“I’ve already seen how terrifying this place can be. I just didn’t expect someone to go mad this soon,” Saul muttered.
If not for last night’s Big Pink appearance, madness would’ve been the best-case scenario for him, too.
(End of Chapter)