In the days that followed, Saul entered an intense study mode.
Dormitory—studying.
Classroom—studying.
Morgue—working and studying!
He had never felt so fulfilled before!
Whenever someone asked, he simply said he was preparing for the test in three months.
Even Keli, who had been relatively calm, was starting to feel pressured by his relentless efforts.
However, in the eyes of some, Saul’s determination looked more like desperation. A final struggle.
News that Kaz demanded Saul reach 10 joules of magical power by his first test spread quickly, as expected. Some people had faith in him, while others thought he had no chance.
Everyone had meditated before and knew roughly how much magic power could be increased in a month.Though no one knew exactly how far behind Saul was, Duke’s words made it clear that his chances were slim to none.
Saul later tested himself in secret. His current magical power was only 3 joules, while the standard passing line was actually 10 joules.
In other words, Kaz was demanding that he reach the level of a normal First Rank apprentice within three months.
This was his punishment for sneaking in.
Although Kaz had assigned him a new job, he never said that Saul didn’t have to meet the magic power requirement.
Saul didn’t want to gamble on whether Kaz would lower his expectations just because he was useful.
Especially since he had Kongsha eyeing him like a hawk, not to mention Sid, who would surely seek revenge once he returned.
Saul wished he could sleep only two hours a day, but lack of rest would lower his efficiency over time.
Luckily, his mental aptitude allowed him to fully recover with just four hours of sleep.
At least he had the ability to push himself to the limit.
On this particular day, the "Basic Knowledge of All Things" class covered the topic of animals.
Saul had already finished reading the entire section back in his dorm and even memorized some useful facts.
He continued flipping through the book at a pace far beyond the classroom schedule.
Rustle.
The pages turned.
"Ghosts and Monsters?"
Saul was stunned and immediately began reading carefully.
In stories and movies from his past life, morgues were notorious for supernatural occurrences.
While he hadn’t encountered any actual danger in the morgue yet, strange things happened there all the time.
For instance, while sawing off a corpse’s arm, it suddenly spoke, saying it hurt.
If not for the fact that the corpse had already been cut in half, Saul might have tried to find a doctor to save it.
At the time, all he could do was take two clothes and stuff them into both halves of the corpse’s mouth.
Lately, he had been deeply engrossed in Grimm’s Understanding of Sorcerous Body Modifications and The Guide to Corpse Refinement, making him especially sensitive to the word “ghost.”
"The end of life is generally divided into material death and mental dissipation…"
"Mental dissipation occurs in various forms. When it is not entirely controlled by the will of its original self, it is called a ghost. When it is controlled by another will, it is called a monster."
"…When the material vessel is destroyed or lost, ghosts can temporarily inhabit other objects, commonly dolls, clothes, or corpses."
Dolls?
Reading this, Saul thought of the little wooden girl doll used to test mental strength.
Was there a ghost inside it?
Could he borrow it for research?
And what about the color-changing trash can in Kaz’s lab—was that a ghost or a monster?
Fear often comes from the unknown.
After days of studying, when Saul recalled that terrifying night in the lab, his fear had been replaced by curiosity.
He quickly skimmed through the entire “Ghosts and Monsters” section and found that most of it focused on categorizing their types and traits.
Explanations like the one he had just read were rare.
Perhaps it was too advanced—something First Rank apprentices weren’t ready for.
Nearby, Keli happened to glance at his progress.
"You’ve already finished reading the Ghosts and Monsters section?" Her mouth fell open as her eyes darted between Saul and his book.
"Just skimming."
At that moment, Saul made a decision.
He looked toward the Second Rank apprentice at the front of the room, who had already finished summarizing the lesson and left the students to self-study.
Then, he glanced around at the increasingly empty classroom, where some people were either slacking off or dozing.
He quietly packed up his things and whispered to Keli, "I’m heading back first."
Keli opened her mouth as if to say something, but Saul was already hurrying away.
She pouted, then looked down at her Introduction to Rune Construction, deciding she should at least master all the basic runes first.
Having a strong mental aptitude made learning fundamental knowledge much easier.
Even though she knew Saul was still struggling to increase his magic power, she couldn’t help but envy him a little.
"Senior Mark!" Saul rushed into the lab with an armful of books.
As expected, Second Rank apprentices rarely attended public classes. Their time was mostly spent on one-on-one guidance from mentors and self-study.
It seemed Mark really did use the lab as his personal study room.
Saul wondered if Mark had ever experienced the horrors of that night.
"Why aren’t you in class?" Mark instantly recognized Saul’s voice and greeted him with a friendly smile.
After all, Saul was one of the apprentices Kaz had taken under his wing. That meant he must have done something to impress the mentor.
Unlike those other two apprentices—whatever their names were—who still had to come to the lab in the afternoons just to study on their own.
Mark had already taken a fair amount of tuition from them, but he hadn’t even bothered to remember their names.
Three months from now, how many of these First Rank apprentices would still be here? A year from now?
Unimportant people weren’t worth remembering.
For a wizard, ordinary apprentices were just expendable.
For advanced apprentices, lower-ranked ones were also expendable.
It wasn’t about status—just survival.
"Senior Mark, I encountered some difficulties while studying composite runes. I’d like to ask for your guidance."
Mark instinctively glanced at his study notes to check today’s date.
"You… finished learning basic runes already?"
Saul nodded.
Mark rubbed his chin. "You’re progressing fast. If you can solve your magic power issue, advancing to Second Rank is only a matter of time."
"Alright. I’ll teach you how to construct one composite rune for free, but just one. If you want to learn more, you’ll have to pay."
A free lesson on composite runes meant their past encounter in the lab was being written off.
Regardless of what role Mark had played that night, as the lab’s administrator, he had been negligent.
This was his way of compensating Saul—not because Saul had been in danger, but because Mark had been at fault.
"Thank you, Senior."
Saul flipped to the last few pages of Introduction to Rune Construction.
"Can I start with this composite rune?"
It was a dark-element composite rune.
Mastering it would allow him to combine it with basic runes to form multiple Zero-Rank dark-element spells.
In other words, learning this rune meant Saul could finally start learning magic.
In the very first class, Mentor Gudo had warned them not to be too hasty in learning spells.
But Saul didn’t have the luxury of time.
"Of course. First, you need to understand that composite runes aren’t just simple overlays of basic runes. There are also many changes in magical power conduction…"
Saul skipped half of one class and the entirety of another.
Under Mark’s guidance, he gradually realized…
Composite runes were insanely difficult!
(End of Chapter)