Saul looked up at Byron. The man’s expression was as serious as ever.
“Is it the coordinate diagram for that compound rune?”
Byron’s eyes crinkled slightly. “Yes. Though it’s only a construction diagram for a compound rune, it gave me a lot of inspiration. That’s how, just at the tail end of my thirtieth year, I was able to find my own Locator.”
“Locator?”
“You’ll understand once you reach Second Rank. Knowing too early would only burden you and cloud your thoughts.”
Saul nodded.
In the world of wizards, knowledge also demanded strength. Learning about high-level knowledge too soon would only lead to madness.
“But even if you can’t understand this knowledge yet, once you reach Second Rank, come find me and join my squad. I’ll share some of my insights from back when I was a Second Rank apprentice.”
“Squad?” Yet another term Saul had never heard of.
“Third Rank apprentices need to leave the tower to search for opportunities in order to fuse their Locator. That’s why you almost never see them inside the tower.”“Also, the places they go are often dangerous, so most travel in teams. Some Second Rank apprentices follow them, hoping to find a Locator suited to them. But some of them end up dying out there.”
Byron sighed, a whistle-like sound escaping from his whole body.
“There’s no helping it. The resources inside the tower are limited.”
Thinking of his empty lab bench and cabinets, Saul hugged the hefty bag of magic crystals in his arms and sighed, too. “Yeah, too limited.”
Byron walked over to Peggy’s long table, flipping through the books on it. He then checked the three stone coffins in the room before returning to Peggy’s decayed corpse.
“There is a wraith hidden in these three corpses. Peggy should’ve handed them over to Mentor Kaz. But... her greed got the better of her, and she wanted to keep the Second Rank apprentice’s corpse for herself.”
Saul nodded. The hardback book had already told him: after Saul died, Peggy would have registered them as three First Rank apprentices on the record.
The whereabouts of that Second Rank corpse were now obvious.
The wound standing in for lips continued to move.
“But she underestimated the wraith and overestimated herself. She got stuck and could only drag you in as a scapegoat.”
Saul kept nodding. Byron had nailed every detail.
“You did well,” Byron concluded, the corners of his eyes lifting slightly as he looked at Saul with satisfaction.
“I just stumbled through.” Saul had only managed to kill Peggy thanks to the hardback book ruling out all the wrong options and a few tools Keli had given him.
Otherwise, with his strength, he’d be maxed out after two shots of the Strike Undead.
So, if there’s a big thigh to hug, you hug it—just be careful not to get dragged into the pit.
“I’ll handle Peggy’s belongings. Any objections?”
Saul immediately shook his head. “No objections. With you handling it, it’s the safest way.”
Byron didn’t waste words. He walked over and effortlessly picked up two of the coffins.
One held the Second Rank apprentice; the other, a First Rank.
“Let’s go.”
Saul blinked, unsure of Byron’s intent, but he quickly followed.
When they passed Hayden’s room, Byron stopped and gave the door a few kicks.
The door opened a crack. When Hayden saw Byron outside, he opened it all the way.
“Senior Byron.”
“Mm.”
Byron, now fully healed, tossed the First Rank apprentice’s stone coffin inside.
Bang!
It hit the ground, kicking up a cloud of dust.
“Hmm?”
Hayden had worked with Byron for years and understood the message immediately.
“I get it. I skipped work tonight. I don’t know what happened here.”
“Mm.” Byron nodded.
Hayden promptly shut the door and pretended the room was empty.
Meanwhile, Saul stood there, jaw nearly hitting the floor at Byron’s handling of things.
Byron hoisted the last coffin and led Saul to the third corpse room.
Once again, he slit open his throat to speak.
“Peggy’s corpse is problematic. I’ll stay behind and report it to the mentors. This one is mostly fine and still valuable. Since Peggy already tried to hide its existence, I’ll leave it to you.”
So, Byron was... splitting the loot? Meaning Peggy’s corpse was now Byron’s.
Saul didn’t mind.
But Byron hadn’t just taken Peggy’s corpse. He was also offering Saul something better.
“You’re the one who killed Peggy. I’m taking the corpse, but I won’t just rob you blind. If there’s anything you want in exchange, come find me anytime within a month.”
Saul stood up, delighted. He could already name a long list of things.
But glancing at the stone coffin on the ground, he calmed himself.
Byron was about to become a Third Rank apprentice. He wouldn’t leave the tower.
And as one of the few people in this place who didn’t mean him harm—possibly even someone who could help him—
That was rare.
He still hadn’t finalized his Wizard Body Modification plan. Better to save this opportunity for when he really needed it.
“I’ll be taking over the corpse room work until I officially advance to Third Rank. Come to me anytime.”
“Senior, do you know Sid?” Just as Byron turned to leave, Saul stopped him.
“Hmm?” The wound closed again.
“I’ve had some issues with Sid. Do you think Peggy might’ve tried to kill me because of him?”
But Byron shook his head.
For some reason, Saul understood what he meant.
He was saying “I don’t know,” not “No.”
Byron studied Saul for a moment, confusion flashing in his eyes.
He was probably wondering: how did a mere First Rank apprentice, a newcomer barely a month in, manage to make so many enemies?
Byron left the room, giving Saul the space. He still had to deal with Peggy’s corpse and the mess she left behind.
Saul was satisfied with Byron’s response.
At the very least, Byron didn’t seem to be close with Sid.
That meant Byron could become another thigh to hug in his struggle against Sid.
A Third-Rank thigh!
Saul wore a satisfied smile as he approached the stone coffin.
It looked special—not made from ordinary materials.
Well, regular coffins couldn’t exactly contain a wraith, could they?
Saul rubbed his hands in excitement. “No one gets rich without windfalls. The robber wasn’t lying!”
He locked the door from the inside.
This would be his first time handling a corpse that hadn’t been pre-screened by Hayden.
And his first complete set of materials, all to himself.
…
It did seem that Peggy had nothing to do with Sid.
After Kongsha killed the new apprentice Sid had brought to replace Saul, Sid hadn’t shown up for quite some time.
Life returned to peace. Studying and experimenting once again became the focus.
But Saul knew Sid wouldn’t give up.
On Saul’s shoulder was the hardback book that Sid was clearly after—and each near-death experience only made Saul more aware of its power.
Now, if anyone tried to take the book from him, Saul would fight to the death.
He wasn’t sure how much Sid knew about the hardback book.
But he suspected it wasn’t much.
The book could foresee death. Sid’s attempts on his life had indeed been dangerous—
But they always lacked decisiveness.
Which gave Saul time to find a way out.
He thought to himself: If I were trying to steal the book, I’d use a method that left no time to react, no place to escape.
Not like Sid, wasting chances and getting caught every time.
So, Sid was clearly chasing after a book, but he didn’t seem to fully understand what it could do.
Then… how did he even know the book existed?
Whoosh!
The sound of flames snapped Saul out of his thoughts. He stood up and glanced at the crucible and other containers on the table.
Still a long way to go before the reaction is finished.
He got up to greet his first guest of the day.
(End of Chapter)