When a new piece of plastic bone emerged from the large container, Saul finally had enough of them.
These plastic bones he’d stumbled upon by chance were resistant to heat, water, and acid. After Saul reprocessed them, they became even more flexible—ordinary sharp tools couldn’t cut through them.
What’s more, when subjected to continuous electric shocks, the material turned soft like putty, which made it easier for Saul to work with.
After sending off his first customer, Saul returned to his workbench. The solution in the crucible had nearly evaporated, leaving just a small pool of thick residue at the bottom.
It looked a bit like the sauce left in a pot after simmering down on high heat.
Carefully, Saul picked up the still-hot crucible with his white-boned left hand, poured the contents into another bottle, and sealed it.
With that, his preparations were nearly complete.
Tonight—or tomorrow—the final step would begin: Wizard Body Modification.
Saul leaned back lazily in his chair, staring blankly at the jars and vials on the table.
He had a strange feeling—as if, once the modification was complete, he would no longer be himself.But if he didn’t go through with it, he would never gain control over his own fate.
He glanced at the hourglass clock on the wall. Only four in the afternoon.
Three more hours to go...
Saul turned to look at the candle on the teleportation platform.
The flame flickered dimly.
The day’s work was already done.
“Should I send that Second Rank apprentice’s brain to Kongsha?”
He still hadn’t handed over the Second Rank apprentice he’d obtained after Peggy’s death.
He’d studied it for a while himself but couldn’t figure out how Kongsha intended to use it.
With his current knowledge, the brain wasn’t a particularly useful ingredient for wizardly.
Too many hidden dangers inside.
“Forget it. That Second Rank apprentice already gave me quite a surprise. I’ll trade his head to Kongsha for something more useful.”
Saul walked over to the cabinet, took out a box, and wrapped it in the pale yellow leather Kongsha had given him.
That piece of leather had come in handy against the wraith last time. Thankfully, it hadn’t been damaged, but it had inevitably picked up a foul stench. Even though Saul had done his best to clean it, the smell still lingered—just not enough to make someone gag.
As for the mask… Saul had shelved it for now.
After wrapping up the box, he walked to the door.
His hand was on the crimson doorknob when he suddenly stopped.
He raised his hand—
“Smack!”
—and slapped himself.
“Damn it, you’ve come this far, and you’re still trying to run?”
He’d hit himself hard—his right cheek instantly swelled.
But the pain snapped him back to reality.
He cradled the leather-wrapped box and placed it back into the cabinet, then returned to the workbench.
“The sooner I complete the modification, the sooner I will escape this mess. Delay and failure both mean death. No more waiting—start the experiment now!”
The reason Saul had been so distracted all day was that he finally had every material needed for the body modification.
Even Keli had noticed how tense he was.
His fear of failure had made him instinctively avoid starting the experiment.
It wasn’t until he reached the door that he finally slapped himself, using the pain to summon memories of near-death experiences.
“Sid is still watching like a hawk. Kongsha is far from kind. And Kaz’s test isn’t that far off either—where do you think you’ll find the time?”
Saul took a deep breath and resolutely opened the bottle, taking out all the plastic bones and placing them on a large tray to begin electroshocking them.
The shocking device was originally a weapon inscribed with a Zero Tier Vibration Shock. Saul had bought it, stripped off the unnecessary parts, and modified it into lab equipment.
The pile of plastic bones began to soften and collapse under the continuous shocks.
But they still weren’t quite ready to be used.
Saul opened other bottles and began preparing a fusion liquid.
This fusion liquid evaporated quickly and lost effectiveness fast, so Saul had to mix it on-site, right when the plastic bones were soft enough.
Fortunately, he had practiced many times already, and this time, everything went smoothly.
The other scattered items were all read,y too.
As he kept an eye on the softening plastic bones, Saul took off his shirt and casually tossed it over the back of the chair.
He raised his left hand—bone-white all the way to the wrist.
The plastic bones were now completely softened. Saul poured them into the fusion liquid.
He watched them continue to shrink and soften further, turning into something like cement in texture.
Saul picked up a few vials from the table and downed them.
He even took a small drop of the potion Kongsha had given him—the one that accelerated elemental particle absorption.
At last, he reached into the fusion liquid and grabbed a handful of softened plastic bones, and began smearing it onto his white-boned left hand.
The fusion liquid burned parts of Saul’s skin. Blood mixed in, staining the clear liquid a dark red.
The pain made him gasp sharply.
But his own flesh and blood were necessary for the modification—he had no choice but to endure.
As more and more plastic bone was applied to his left hand, the long-numb hand slowly began to feel pain again.
And pain was better than numbness.
All the while, Saul kept a close eye on the Hardcover Book.
Its calm and quiet presence was the best reassurance he could get.
Finally, all the plastic bone had been applied. Saul’s right hand was now drenched in blood.
But he didn’t stop—he kept shaping the softened bone with his wounded right hand.
This step was like molding clay or working with pottery—just with far more unusual materials.
Under Saul’s efforts, a hand gradually took shape. He’d spent plenty of time practicing with clay in secret just to make sure this false hand wouldn’t look too ugly.
With the white bone inside as support, a blood-streaked prosthetic hand soon took form.
It was a size larger than Saul’s right hand, but it wouldn’t look so out of place once he grew up.
Once he finished connecting the prosthetic to the skin and bone, Saul plunged his entire left forearm into a large jar filled with liquid.
White steam hissed out, obscuring the view.
A roasted meat aroma filled Saul’s nostrils, but it failed to bring any thoughts of food.
It was just too painful.
Just holding his hand inside without pulling it out already took everything he had.
To distract himself, Saul let his thoughts run wild.
“This is just one hand—and it already hurts this much. What kind of horrors did Senior Kongsha go through for her modifications? And Senior Monica… does she really feel nothing from those constant electric shocks?”
“Oh right, and that guy I saw just once—Big Pink. Did he have no skin at all? Like something out of a horror story, wrapped in bandages to serve as skin…”
The hourglass clock chimed, signaling that time was up.
Saul yanked his arm out of the jar with too much force and fell backward onto the floor.
His back slammed into the ground. Saul curled up, clutching his left hand, rolling in pain.
When the agony finally lessened, he was soaked in sweat. He slowly sat up, leaving smudged trails on the floor.
Using his right hand, he gripped the table leg and pulled himself up bit by bit.
The excruciating pain made his head pound.
It felt like the pain in his left hand was spreading through his entire body. He felt horrible all over.
Like he’d just survived a serious illness… and might not survive much longer.
But the Hardcover Book’s stillness reminded him he was still alive.
Trembling, he reached for the final potion.
It was a heart he had taken from that Second Rank apprentice possessed by a wraith.
A heart that still showed signs of life—despite coming from a corpse.
Saul had examined it thoroughly. It wasn’t toxic. In fact, it still held traces of an undigested potion, and it was that very potion that preserved its vitality.
Saul speculated the apprentice had taken some life-saving potion after being gravely wounded and managed to return to the Tower. But he hadn’t known he was possessed, and at the very end, he died—and brought the wraith back to the Tower with him.
Of course, there was an even darker possibility—
The apprentice had returned alive, only to be silenced by Peggy, who wanted to snatch his materials for free.
Either way, everything now belonged to Saul.
(End of Chapter)