Saul froze, and his first thought was: How much would I have to sell it for to not take a loss?
But Byron knew well—an effective and versatile modification formula could serve as the foundation for establishing a small-scale wizard faction.
And yet, he could only take advantage of Saul being a fresh First Rank apprentice to try and buy it on the cheap.
While it wasn’t going to be a full buyout, Byron still felt deeply ashamed.
This wasn’t an equivalent exchange, because right now, he had nothing of equivalent value to offer.
After giving it some serious thought, Saul still refused Byron.
“Sorry, senior, it’s not that I don’t want to give it to you. It’s just… this modification formula probably only works for me.”
The transformation he went through had actually been incredibly dangerous.
Normally, a First Rank apprentice wouldn’t even know what a “locator” was. In the blissful delusion that came with body modifications, they would slowly lose their minds and eventually die.
But Saul had something uniquely suited to act as his locator—the Diary of a Dead Wizard.Even though he didn’t fully understand what a locator was yet, he had some guesses after this experience.
It was something that could anchor a wizard’s perception of reality.
With the Diary of a Dead Wizard in hand—ugh, what a mouthful. From now on, he’d just call it “the diary.”
Even if Byron hadn’t shown up, Saul still wouldn’t have died.
The moment he teetered near death, the diary would jump out to remind him it existed. Just seeing the diary again would re-anchor his consciousness and stop it from unraveling.
But thinking back on it now, the sensation of having his perception collapse, his mind unraveling, and his soul starting to dissolve—it was terrifying.
“A one-of-a-kind, tailored transformation formula?” Byron, surprisingly, let out a sigh of relief after hearing Saul’s explanation. “That means I can afford it. I’m not looking to transform myself—I just want to understand your design process.”
“I still owe you a favor… and now I owe you the equivalent of at least a hundred magic credits.” Byron suddenly realized how broke he was. “Is there anything you want right now?”
Saul was stunned. He hadn’t even said anything yet, and Byron was already signing his life away?
“Senior, how about… you help me check my physical condition first?”
Byron felt like the request wasn’t even worth using as payment, but he was still more than happy to pull out a bunch of tools from his stomach.
With the help of the experienced—at least ten-year veteran Second Rank apprentice—Byron, Saul finally had a decent understanding of his current state.
His magic power was sitting at 11 Joules, and judging by the energy leaking from his left hand, he could probably reach at least 13 Joules before the transformation fully stabilized.
His mental energy had also gotten a small boost.
Which was rare—most likely a result of that chaotic, mind-warping ordeal strengthening his spirit.
Mental energy wasn’t like magic power. Magic power could be slowly built up through meditation, even if it was a slog.
But mental energy was more like a basic personal attribute. Other than certain body modifications, rare potions, leveling up, or unique experiences, it was almost impossible to increase significantly.
Think of it like collecting water with a container.
Even a talentless apprentice’s bowl could eventually be swapped out for a bigger one.
But no matter how fast you run to collect it, your speed is still capped—like a 100-meter dash in nine seconds.
As for Saul’s left hand—while it looked a bit freaky, almost like a fake hand—it didn’t impact his movement and was still fully functional.
Compared to modification formulas that altered eyes, mouths, or internal organs, this one was far safer and had far fewer side effects.
Though what those side effects actually were… Saul would have to figure that out over time.
“Hold on to your consciousness.”
That was the warning Byron repeated over and over to him.
“Otherwise, one day, you won’t be you anymore.”
Saul figured that meant staying true to himself—never forgetting who he was.
So he went back and reviewed his past life: all the anime he’d watched, novels he’d read, games he’d played, tests he’d taken, and the soul-sucking jobs he’d worked…
Yeah. He was pretty sure he had a firm grip on his identity.
Byron also explained the concept of a locator.
This was knowledge Saul wasn’t supposed to be learning yet, but he’d already used a locator to complete a body modification, so what could you do?
Now all Saul had to do was boost his magic power to 50 Joules and construct a First-Tier spell model within his spirit. Then he’d officially become a Second Rank apprentice.
And once he was a Second Rank, he could continue improving his magic power and learning spells to ascend to Third Rank.
After all, he already had the most crucial requirement for a Third Rank apprentice—a locator.
Saul had overcome what most considered the hardest hurdle before even reaching Third Rank.
Now, he finally understood why Byron looked at him with that odd mix of envy and grievance.
He was the kind of kid who gets a guaranteed college admission right after starting kindergarten.
Now, all that was left was for him to grow up.
Byron didn’t ask how Saul had managed it, nor did he ask what Saul’s locator actually was.
“Until you become a True Wizard, don’t tell anyone anything about your locator—and don’t try to find out what others’ are, either. If someone uses your locator against you, there’s pretty much only one outcome: death.”
Saul nodded.
It was like the pressure point in martial arts—get hit there, and you’re done.
Finally, Byron taught Saul how to test his left hand’s abilities to determine its specific traits.
The real purpose of body modification wasn’t just to boost magic power—that was just the foundation.
The truly powerful modifications, like Byron’s or Kongsha’s, turned certain body parts into their ultimate trump cards.
At that, the wounds on Byron’s body started healing again.
He gave himself another little shake.
He’d already stabbed himself a dozen times today.
His brain was probably running low on blood at this point.
Byron refused Saul’s offer to walk him back and left the East Tower’s second floor swaying slightly.
When Saul checked the time again, it was only 5:30.
He sat back down at his workbench, looked at the mess, and felt like ten days had passed.
His gaze slowly drifted to his left shoulder.
Then his mouth curled up into a grin.
“Modification… feels freakin’ amazing!”
Jenna clutched her collar tightly, face pale, curled up on the small bed in her dorm.
The school dorms were supposed to be the safest place.
She had always believed that.
No matter how exhausting her lessons were during the day, no matter how terrifying the instructors or upperclassmen were, she’d always been able to sleep soundly once she returned here at night.
But not tonight.
Tonight, she couldn’t sleep.
She pulled open her collar again, eyes dropping down to her chest.
Jenna came from a decent background. Her body had matured early—she already had a fairly developed figure.
Sometimes, when she bathed, she’d even sneak a look at herself in the mirror.
But tonight… she had seen something horrifying at the center of her chest.
A bug.
It had crawled out from her sternum. It was about the length of her index finger—not very threatening in appearance.
The terrifying part… was that the bug had her face.
“Senior Sid was right. We really have been taken over,” Jenna whispered, burying her face in the pillow, overwhelmed. “There’s no such thing as a truly selfless organization in this world…”
“Why would the Mutual Aid Society target a bunch of newbies like us?”
She couldn’t understand. That kind, friendly upperclassman Lokai, the fellow newcomers who used to discuss homework with her—why would they plant such a horrific curse on her?
“If Senior Sid hadn’t warned me…” A flash of admiration flickered in Jenna’s eyes—quickly replaced by fear. “I’d probably be just like the others, completely unaware of the danger. But I’m already cursed. What do I do now?”
Her toes curled and clenched, crumpling the sheets beneath her.
“It’s a shame… Senior Sid isn’t good at breaking curses. And he can’t openly go against Senior Lokai, either.” Jenna frowned again. “I’m just a newbie. How could I possibly break free of the Mutual Aid control?”
Suddenly, something clicked in her mind.
“Wait… Keli. Keli only went to one Mutual Aid meeting and never showed up again. Did she already figure it out back then?”
“Damn it. Why didn’t she warn us?”
(End of Chapter)