The room full of boys stared at Saul in shock.
For a moment, the entire room went quiet.
But soon, three boys exchanged glances and stepped forward.
"You’ve got some nerve!" The first boy picked up a chair from the floor and swung it hard at Saul. "Let’s see whether your hand is tougher than wood!"
Saul raised his left hand. The bone-white one, and smashed it into the wooden stool.
Crack!
The stool shattered instantly, splinters flying across the attacker’s face.
Yet none of the boys moved to attack again.
Everyone fell silent. Their faces were no longer filled with surprise but dread.
Even Brown, groaning on the floor, stared at Saul’s left hand in horror and instinctively backed away.There was no hiding the left hand now.
The servant boys didn’t wear gloves. They did manual labor daily. It was impossible not to use their left hand.
So, Saul simply exposed it, using it to shock the others and shift attention away from his right hand.
“You… You’re cursed?”
That was the first thing that came to their minds.
“Can it spread?”
“Go tell the steward!”
Saul didn’t bother explaining. He turned his gaze to Brown and suddenly reached out with his left hand.
"AHHH!!
Brown was so terrified that he forgot about the pain in his left hand. He scrambled away on all fours.
Saul waved his skeletal hand at the others again.
The group of boys shrieked and stumbled back in terror.
Saul suddenly realized he was being a bit childish but he had to admit, it felt good.
“Starting tomorrow, I’m not cleaning the corridor anymore.” No one dared argue. “You all take turns.”
He pointed his bone-white index finger at Brown. “You’re first.”
Brown’s face turned pale in an instant.
“Steward! It’s him! He’s cursed and didn’t report it!”
A boy’s voice rang out behind him.
Saul turned to see one of the other boys who often mocked him, now leading a middle-aged man in a black uniform into the room.
The steward showed no fear upon seeing Saul’s hand.
Instead, his brows drew together in a quick frown. “Come with me.”
Saul glanced at the snitch, then silently followed the steward out.
They walked to the storage room.
“Speak,” the steward said.
“I helped Second Rank Apprentice Lady Kongsha with a live experiment,” Saul replied.
The steward froze. “You volunteered?”
Saul was confused. What, was the steward going to file a lawsuit on his behalf?
“Ahem…” The steward cleared his throat. “I mean, did Lady Kongsha pay you? If not, you can request compensation from the butler. After all, servants are assets of the tower master; even apprentices aren’t allowed to just use you up.”
Saul didn’t believe a word of it.
Before he transmigrated, he’d been killed by a wizard apprentice with a book. Now that he’d taken over this new Saul’s body, no one had come to apologize or compensate him.
This steward was just testing his relationship with Kongsha.
So, Saul replied with a calm face, “No.”
Seeing the steward’s expression shift, he continued, “Lady Kongsha and I don’t need to talk about compensation.”
The steward’s face changed again.
He was halfway to getting mad but then forced a smile instead.
“Haha… Well then, I won’t get involved. You can go back. No need to work for the next couple of days—rest up.”
He glanced nervously at Saul’s skeletal left hand.
Saul gave a slight bow. “Thank you, Steward.”
As he pushed the door open, he saw the boys crowding around the dorm entrance, craning their necks to look his way.
When Saul walked over, they immediately scurried back inside.
“You,” he pointed at the snitch, “You’re on duty the day after tomorrow.”
The boy’s face turned as pale as Brown’s.
For the next two days, Saul lived quite comfortably.
No one gave him orders. He could wander most of the fourth floor freely. No one dared fight him for food, so he finally got to eat hot meals and, occasionally, even meat.
The steward even brought him a bottle of potion the next day, saying it was to heal his head injury.
What a joke!
He didn’t even have a scar on his forehead anymore.
Still, Saul accepted the potion respectfully and thanked the steward profusely.
Everything he was enjoying now came from others’ assumptions about his connection with Kongsha. But if he couldn’t become a wizard apprentice, it would all vanish, and he’d return to being nothing.
Kongsha didn’t even care to remember his name.
Without that title, he had no right to be arrogant. All he could do was scare the weak-minded boys.
On the third day, something happened.
The boy who went to clean the corridor at dawn didn’t return.
The steward eventually showed up carrying the boy’s corpse.
One boy excitedly described it to Saul: the servant’s head had turned into a flower.
The skull formed the center, while the flesh peeled back in layers like petals—bright red, like fire.
After bringing back the corpse, the steward handed it off to the trash handlers. Blood dripped all the way down the corridor, and even Saul, who was supposed to be resting, was summoned to help clean up.
Saul crouched with the others, scrubbing the bloodstains from the floor.
None of the wizard apprentices walking by paid them any mind.
They were always in a rush, never caring which servant had died this time.
Saul even caught a glimpse of Kongsha’s chin.
Her head was hidden under a hood, not nearly as terrifying as at night.
Back in the room, the steward returned.
“I think you’ve rested enough. You’ll resume your duties tomorrow.”
“Understood,” Saul replied immediately.
Someone whispered behind him.
Clearly, people had noticed Kongsha ignoring him earlier.
Because she hadn’t spared him even a glance, some now believed Saul was bluffing about their connection.
The steward frowned at how readily Saul agreed.
Just as he was about to speak again, the door swung open.
The butler had entered.
“S- Sir!” The steward bent low in a ninety-degree bow. “What brings you here?”
The butler ignored him completely, his face cold as he looked at Saul. “You’re Saul?”
Saul knew that this was the opportunity Kongsha had promised.
He quietly clenched his hand inside his sleeve. “Yes, Sir.”
“Come with me.”
The butler turned and left, never acknowledging the steward once.
Saul brushed past the steward, offering him a small nod and smile.
Sweat instantly beaded on the steward’s forehead.
Saul followed the butler all the way to the sixth floor.
The sixth through ninth floors were mainly for junior apprentices, though some higher-level ones who didn’t want to move out still lived there.
The tower usually felt deserted, but today, the hallway was packed.
Dozens of children, neatly dressed, stood in rows. But none of them looked innocent or childlike. Their faces were pale, full of fear and unease.
“Go stand at the end,” the butler said, leading Saul to the back of the line and pointing with his chin.
“Yes.” Saul knew these were the new wizard apprentices. He suppressed his excitement and walked quietly to the end.
The kid at the end turned around at the noise, eyeing Saul first with confusion, then irritation.
Saul didn’t know what his problem was, but he glared back, unflinching.
After living with the other boys these past few days, Saul understood one thing—
This world wasn’t like his old one. Being kind and gentle only made you a target.
So, he might as well meet this world with strength.
(End of Chapter)