When she heard Saul’s question, Keli rested her chin in both hands and muttered, “There’s not much point in going outside. Everywhere’s at war. It’s either nations fighting nations or races clashing with each other. The Gorsa Wizard Tower might be dangerous and creepy, but at least it keeps the surrounding area in check. It’s a place where we can focus on studying.”
Saul was still curious about the wider world—after all, he was a passive shut-in at the moment. “Is it really still that chaotic out there?”
“Of course,” Keli said. “In the mortal world, power shifts based on the rise and fall of wizard factions. Before I came here, I heard about one wizard group wiping out another, and the country they controlled was immediately carved up by the surrounding nations and tribes.”
The wizard world...
He wondered if the world outside was as strange and terrifying as the wizard tower itself.
“Keli, do you know how people outside view the Gorsa Wizard Tower?” Saul was trying to gauge its standing.
“The Tower Master here is a Second Rank True Wizard. Usually, Second Rank Wizards can influence a few surrounding territories and cities.”
“In the eyes of commoners, this place is a den of man-eating demons. But to nobles with power and influence, it’s a birthplace of mighty figures who can rule the world. They fear the tower, but they also rely on it.”
“My father is the Duke of the Highland Territory. He only inherited the title because my grandfather was a Second Rank wizard apprentice. That’s why the Highland Territory didn’t go to my father's cousin but to my father instead.”
So Keli was a duke’s daughter—no wonder she’d brought so many magic crystals and treasures when she arrived.“When my father inherited the dukedom, he immediately started having children like crazy. Every time one was born, he’d test them for wizard aptitude. If they didn’t have it, he’d toss them somewhere random to be raised. But if they did—like me—he’d raise them carefully until they turned twelve, then send them to a wizard tower.”
Benefitting from the last generation’s protection and hoping to continue reaping rewards from the next, huh?
But raising kids purely as tools... wasn’t he afraid it would come back to bite him one day?
“Are there others in your family with wizard aptitude?” Saul asked.
Keli nodded as if it was the most natural thing in the world. “Wizard bloodlines are more likely to produce children with aptitude. I’ve got two older brothers. They were sent to different wizard factions, but their talent wasn’t as good as mine. That’s why I got sent far away to this place. Gorsa has a big name, and it’s harder to get in than most.”
When she talked about her superior talent, Keli didn’t look particularly proud. Instead, she puffed out her cheeks and clenched her fists.
“Anyway, I have to become a Third Rank Apprentice before I turn thirty. I’m not going back just to be a crutch for a bunch of useless nobles!”
Third Rank apprentice, huh...
Saul thought of the terrifyingly powerful Kongsha. Was the reason she wanted him to steal the brains of First and Second Rank apprentices to help her break through to Third Rank?
Even the impressive Byron couldn’t become a Third Rank apprentice before thirty.
“I’ve never seen a Third Rank apprentice here in the tower,” Saul muttered.
“Me neither,” Keli said. “I’ve never really seen one up close. I’ve heard they’re always traveling or doing research.”
The two of them sighed at how Third Rank apprentices seemed even more mysterious than True Wizards. Eventually, their conversation faded, and they returned to immersing themselves in their studies.
But Saul’s thoughts kept drifting.
Sometimes, he thought, with my rotten luck, I shouldn’t even be thinking about becoming a Third Rank before thirty—more like, will I even survive to thirty?
Sometimes, he thought, Come on, I’m a transmigrator! I can’t embarrass my predecessors. I’ll power through with this hardcover book if I have to!
Other times, he was mentally reviewing the procedures for the afternoon experiment, reminding himself over and over which parts would require extra caution.
And so, the morning’s general studies class passed in a blur of distraction.
After leaving the noisy classroom, Saul followed a spiral path downward.
Fewer and fewer people were walking with him.
Keli said goodbye to him on the sixth floor.
He continued downward.
Even the candlelight seemed to dim as he descended.
A faint stench of rot reached his nose.
Saul pushed open the first crimson door and locked himself inside.
Whoo—
He exhaled deeply.
At some point, entering the corpse chamber on the second floor of the east tower had become a source of comfort.
Not because it was safe here—but because this was the foundation of his strength and survival.
“I’m not a genius,” he told himself. “If I study by the book like Keli, I’ll never pass the test in two months.”
He looked at his cabinet, which was filled with experimental tools.
Saul knew that once he began body modification, there would be no turning back.
Who knew what he’d become after the transformation?
Would he end up like the horrifying Kongsha? The grotesque Gudo? Or Monica, who looked like she was in constant pain?
But if he didn’t move forward, he’d be dragged into the abyss by stronger enemies sooner or later.
Saul looked down at his thin, frail body and murmured, “Sorry, but I’m going to do some bad things to you. I hope your soul has already found a place to reincarnate.”
He walked over to the cabinet and pulled out the materials he had been secretly preparing over the past month.
He lit the cauldron and poured in the base liquid.
All the test tubes and beakers had been carefully cleaned.
Everything he might need was laid out within easy reach.
Saul began his path of self-destruction.
Originally, he had planned to follow Senior Mark’s example and modify his hands.
After gaining the Phantom Sound Eye, he even considered shoving that eyeball into his own socket.
But after some thought, he gave up on the idea.
Eyes were fragile and sensitive, and if something went wrong and he lost his sight, it would be disastrous for his future.
Since it was his first experiment, he decided to start with something safer—an organ that wouldn’t be too critical if it went wrong.
Last night, the potion he got from Kongsha gave him a new idea.
If just smelling the potion enhanced his meditation, then it meant the nasal cavity could absorb potion effects, too.
Expanding from that, the skin also had pores.
In his previous life, there were plasters that could heal, and there were cases of poisoning through the skin.
Both were worth trying.
In the end, Saul chose the riskier option: the nasal cavity.
Not because he liked danger.
…Okay, maybe he did enjoy a little danger.
But mostly because he might not have enough time to try multiple approaches.
He needed the one with the highest efficiency and success rate.
“Hopefully, I won’t end up with a pig’s nose.”
He took out his notebook, which contained a list of procedures and cautions from Grimm’s Understanding of Sorcerous Body Modification.
After reviewing the steps one last time, he officially began preparing the materials.
…
If the hardcover book had thoughts, it would probably be questioning its existence.
It had never triggered so many death alerts before.
Sometimes every thirty minutes. Sometimes every five seconds. Its host kept coming up with suicidal ideas.
The boy always had some indescribable ingredient in hand, ready to throw into the already-overloaded cauldron. Even when the book stopped him in time, he’d immediately switch to another equally reckless plan.
【…You died.】
【…You died!】
【…You died!!!】
【…You died a horrible, mangled death!!!】
Saul: Yeah, yeah, I get it, my bad.
Saul: Eh, I’m not changing.
If the hardcover book had known it would end up as a “sensitivity tester,” it would have begged its former owner to install a daily limit of three death warnings.
Instead of being repeatedly abused by this clueless, fearless little maniac!
(╯#-皿-)╯~~╧═╧ This golden finger was never meant to deal with this kind of madness!
(End of Chapter)