Damn!
In his rush to leave, Saul had grabbed the item carelessly, exposing the side with the three-dimensional coordinate diagram.
"Mm~"
This time, the nasal sound took a turn, carrying a hint of pleading.
A Second Rank apprentice had seen something interesting. He didn't snatch it outright but simply expressed his desire.
A very... distinct expression of desire.
Saul sighed inwardly and spoke in a low voice to the seemingly harmless and barely noticeable senior apprentice, "Senior, it's almost eight o'clock. How about we discuss this back at the West Tower dorms?"
"Mm!"
A short and cheerful sound followed.
Saul quickly made his way back to the West Tower, with the Second Rank apprentice trailing closely behind.Silent. Unnoticeable.
Like a ghost haunting his back.
By the time Saul returned to the West Tower dormitories, most apprentices had already made their way back.
It was an unspoken rule that few stayed outside in the East Tower past eight, but they didn't return too early.
This was the busiest time in the West Tower dormitory area. Even some of the more established First Rank apprentices living on the sixth floor would come out for some fresh air.
The reason? Too much pressure.
Living in such a small wizard tower, those who hadn't reached the Second Rank rarely had the chance to step outside.
After a full day of mentally exhausting studies, the moment they returned to the dorms was when they were both most fatigued and most relaxed.
Saul had almost never seen apprentices like this.
Because every time he returned, he would go straight into his room, never lingering outside.
But today seemed especially lively.
"Saul!" Keli was leaning against her dormitory door, seemingly waiting for him.
When she saw him, she took two steps forward, looking slightly displeased.
"Why didn't you attend the Mutual Aid Society meeting?"
Saul blinked.
"I forgot."
He really had forgotten.
At first, he had been completely absorbed in studying the three-dimensional coordinate axis, losing track of time. Later, he had been so buried under work that he barely made it back to the East Tower on time.
In that state, how could he possibly remember anything about the Mutual Aid Society?
"I only went because Doze said you'd be there." Keli pouted, her expression much more animated than usual.
"I only said I’d consider it..."
"Knew it. Doze is unreliable." Keli pretended to be angry, but she quickly recovered, even breaking into a smile. "But the Mutual Aid Society was actually pretty interesting. Discussing things together really helped me understand some problems I hadn’t thought about before. Hehehe..."
Saul was suddenly on edge, staring at Keli.
Keli felt uneasy under his gaze and quickly looked herself over. "Why are you looking at me like that?"
Saul rubbed his arm. When Keli laughed just now, he felt a chill run down his spine. His goosebumps hadn’t even settled yet.
"Why did you laugh like that?" Saul asked bluntly.
"Laugh?" Keli instinctively touched her face. "Did I?"
"It was just..."
"Hehehe..."
Saul and Keli turned their heads at the same time and saw a girl living diagonally across from them laughing as she talked to Doze.
"...Hehehe."
Doze seemed to have heard something amusing and started laughing as well.
Saul felt the entire dormitory area had taken on a strange atmosphere.
He looked further down the corridor. Had all the new apprentices come out? Why were there so many people?
"Hehehe."
"Hehehe..."
The seemingly normal yet eerily unnatural laughter echoed intermittently through the hallway.
Saul's gaze finally landed on Keli.
"Hehehe." She was still watching Doze, as if she had heard something funny, and began laughing too.
"Keli!" Saul smacked her on the forehead.
"Ah!" Keli was stunned. "What are you doing?"
Saul didn’t know how to explain, but he just felt that he couldn’t let Keli keep laughing like that.
He grabbed Keli and dragged her into his dormitory.
It was Keli's first time inside Saul's room, and her eyes immediately locked onto his desk.
As expected, a top student was always the most interested in studying.
Saul had just closed the door when he remembered the nearly invisible senior apprentice was still behind him.
He turned to open the door and invited the senior in—only to find that the "Mm"-uttering senior was already standing behind Keli.
Keli was curiously examining Saul’s desk, restraining herself from touching anything.
The senior apprentice suddenly lowered his head. His mouth stretched like an extendable hose, extending over ten centimeters, pressing against Keli’s head.
Keli, however, seemed completely unaware, still focused on the desk.
"Senior, don't!"
Hearing Saul's sudden exclamation, Keli quickly turned around—only to find a middle-aged man standing behind her at some unknown moment.
His snake-like mouth was practically "kissing" the top of her head.
Although Keli was usually a proud and composed girl, seeing someone's mouth pressed against her head froze her in terror.
When she tried to move, she found that she couldn’t.
"Saul... Saul..." The twelve-year-old girl called for help in a trembling voice.
Saul was about to rush forward when the senior apprentice shook his head at him.
"Mm~"
A drawn-out, fluctuating sound of refusal.
"Gulp."
It was as if something was being sucked out of Keli’s head. A bulge traveled from her scalp down the senior apprentice’s hose-like mouth.
Only then did the senior retract his bizarre mouth. He wiped his lips with the back of his hand and nodded at Saul.
"Mm!"
Saul’s first instinct was that the senior was telling him—everything was fine now.
Ever since the senior had retracted his mouth, Keli had remained frozen, her face growing darker by the second.
"I got tricked," she muttered, touching the top of her head. There were two small wounds, barely painful unless pressed.
Keli came to her senses and respectfully bowed to the senior who had "saved" her.
"Thank you very much."
The senior ignored Keli and simply nodded at Saul.
"Mm, mm."
Saul respectfully handed over the blueprint in his hand.
The senior had already seen it. Even if Saul refused, he had no means of stopping him from taking it.
Besides, he had helped Keli.
And Keli had helped Saul before.
"Senior, if you're interested, I can explain the principles behind it."
Since he had already handed over the blueprint, Saul didn’t mind sharing more. He knew a Second Rank apprentice would eventually figure it out anyway.
The silent senior did not refuse. Saul pulled him and Keli to the table and briefly explained the concept and applications of coordinate axes.
After a brief silence, the senior suddenly opened his mouth wide.
His mouth stretched like rubber, wide enough to fit an entire arm.
Then he actually reached inside and pulled out a small notebook.
Scrawled on the cover were a few messy words:
Byron’s Study Notes.
"Senior, your name is Byron?"
Byron nodded, then hesitated before pulling a sharp dagger from his mouth.
Casually, he sliced a five-centimeter cut across his neck.
Dark red blood gushed out.
Saul and Keli were shocked.
Was he committing suicide right in front of them?
But beneath the wound, a set of yellowed teeth and a thick tongue struggled to emerge.
"The Mutual Aid Society’s parasite won’t kill you," a hoarse voice said, as if it hadn’t spoken in a long time. "But it’s not a good thing. Stay away. Don’t meddle."
As Byron spoke, his wound healed. By the time he finished his sentence, the cut was gone, leaving only a trail of blood running down his neck to his chest.
(End of Chapter)