He had been focused on Saul’s potion this whole time, but when he turned his head, he suddenly noticed something was wrong with Saul’s left hand.
Saul raised his left arm and rolled up the sleeve to the elbow, revealing a hand that had turned a dark gray, and the front of his forearm, now stained a pale gray.
Kaz grabbed Saul’s left hand, muttering a string of incantations under his breath. Then, his eyes suddenly flashed with a blinding light.
The flash vanished in an instant.
But Saul felt an intense discomfort—as if he’d been stripped naked and thoroughly scrutinized.
“Dead man’s bone, heartleaf, sulfur solution… and some other strange materials…”
Kaz slowly let go of Saul’s hand. When he looked back at him, his gaze was layered with complexity.
“You actually managed to create a completely new Wizard Body Modification tailored to your own condition.” Kaz's tone held a mix of amazement and alarm. “How could you be so reckless? Aren’t you afraid of dying?”
Saul had already prepared his answer.
“I was afraid. But I had no other way to get my magic level up to 10 Joules before the test.” Saul lowered his head, staring at his left hand with a heavy expression. “I figured, since my left hand was already like this… even if it failed, worst case, I’d just lose the whole thing.”Kaz snorted coldly, “Hmph, you think if it failed, you could just cut off the hand and be fine?” Then he frowned. “Why did it have to be 10 Joules?”
Before Saul could roll his eyes and reply, Kaz suddenly recalled the offhand remark he’d made back when he didn’t think much of Saul—the one where he casually set that goal for him.
“Ahem.” Not wanting to admit he’d forgotten about it, Kaz hastily added, “Even if your mana doesn’t reach 10 Joules by then, as long as I see your effort and progress, it’s not like I can’t be lenient.”
With this life-or-death matter brushed aside, Kaz changed the topic. “So, what can your arm do now? Have you tested it?”
Saul retracted his hand, unsure if he should feel pleased or disappointed.
“After the initial modification, my magic increased significantly—now it’s stabilized at 13 Joules. My mental strength has also improved a bit. My left hand can resist ordinary damage and even some degree of spells. As for exactly how much… I haven’t dared test it too far.”
Kaz listened to Saul’s calm report, stroking his chin and sneaking a glance at Saul’s eyes.
He thought: this apprentice really doesn’t understand the value of what he’s done. Clearly, he had no idea how much his wizard-body modification could mean to others.
No, he couldn’t let the kid get cocky.
“But your setup probably has a major flaw.” Kaz circled around Saul. “The sudden gain in magic could overload your mental body and push you to the brink of cognitive collapse. A First Rank apprentice wouldn’t be able to handle that. You’d either explode with a boom, snap into madness with a buzz, or…”
Kaz stopped behind Saul. His voice dropped, turning frigid—like the deep sea on a winter night.
The temperature in the morgue plummeted.
Saul opened his mouth; the breath he exhaled crystallized into frost.
He felt like he was about to freeze to death.
The air solidified. The oxygen in his lungs felt like blocks of ice.
Kaz slowly raised a hand and placed it on Saul’s head.
“…Or let me ask it another way—are you still Saul?”
A sharp, lethal intent pierced down from above, seizing his brain. It was as if the reaper's scythe was already poised behind him.
If he hesitated for even a second, he’d lose his head!
Saul forced open his mouth and pushed out a strained voice, tasting iron as blood filled his mouth.
“Yes!”
Kaz withdrew his hand.
The temperature began to rise.
All the discomfort vanished. Even the blood in Saul’s mouth was gone.
It was as if nothing had happened—like it had all been an illusion.
“Good.” Kaz stepped back in front of Saul.
What had just terrified Saul so thoroughly was, in fact, merely a verification spell Kaz had cast.
“Your mental body hasn’t collapsed into disorder. Seems like you really did get lucky and survived the backlash. But luck won’t always be on your side. Don’t go using yourself as a test subject for reckless modifications like this again.”
“Yes, Mentor.” Saul lowered his eyes.
He had thought Kaz might try to buy the modification formula or trade him for it through guidance or threats.
But surprisingly, Kaz didn’t seem particularly interested. He’d immediately identified most of the materials Saul had used and pointed out the biggest flaw in the process.
Apparently, this sort of wizard-body modification was only impressive to someone like Byron, a Second Rank apprentice. To a full-fledged sorcerer, it wasn’t worth snatching at all.
That was fine, too.
Saul relaxed a little inside. This means I don’t have to worry about the mentors trying to forcibly take the formula.
“Mentor Kaz,” Saul raised his head again. Though still shaken from earlier, he had to seize the opportunity to ask while Kaz was still here—who knew when he’d show up again.
“I read in the rulebook that only Second Rank apprentices can apply for live-subject experiments. But do you think, given my current situation, I could apply ahead of time?”
Kaz nodded. “You do seem to have talent in that area. The rigid rules would only hold you back. Seems like you’ve studied the Guide to Corpse Refinement thoroughly. In that case—”
His sentence cut off.
Ten full seconds passed in silence.
Saul couldn’t help but glance up and saw Kaz standing there, mouth half-open, as if someone had hit pause on him.
“Mentor?” Saul asked carefully, shifting his weight and preparing to retreat if necessary.
He was afraid Kaz was about to explode again.
“Ah!” Kaz suddenly snapped out of it, eyes wide and full of fury. “Live-subject experiments? Hah! Did you even read the Guide to Corpse Refinement I gave you? Do you think I gave you that book just so you could mess around with corpses?”
The mentor who had just looked pleased now turned hostile in a flash.
Is everyone here schizophrenic or something?
Saul quickly bowed his head, not daring to argue. He could only complain silently in his heart.
It’s literally called “Corpse Refinement.” If not corpses, what else am I supposed to be working with—living people?
“You’ve been in the morgue this long, seen so many polluted corpses and mutated materials, and this is all you can think of?”
Kaz was practically spitting with rage, pounding on the long table with his finger.
Saul’s brow furrowed as he stared at Kaz in confusion.
Wasn’t he assigned to the morgue simply to fill a role that no one else wanted? Could the mentor have had deeper intentions?
Seeing Saul still didn’t get it, Kaz cursed at him like he was hopeless.
“You idiot! What did I say when I praised you? You're not even trying. What kind of talent do you have? Soul talent! Soul talent, damn it!”
He berated Saul thoroughly, scolding him for not doing his duty and wasting his potential. Then he stormed out in a rage, slamming the door behind him.
Leaving Saul alone—completely baffled.
Neglecting my duty?
I’ve been submitting all my materials on time. Okay, I’ve secretly stashed a lot, too, but the amount I handed in is definitely above the passing line. How’s that neglecting my duty?
Was I wasting my talent?
Didn’t he say I have a knack for identifying mutations and corruption? How is that a waste?
Soul talent?
Sure, he said I had high soul potential. But then he also said my affinity for dark magic was low, so all the soul talent did was increase my chances of seeing ghosts. What—does he want me to see more ghosts?
Because of Kaz’s mood swings, Saul completely forgot to ask the question he’d originally intended—about the difference in how Zero-Tier spells affect ordinary people versus apprentice sorcerers.
Now, he didn’t even feel like continuing his experiments. He just sat dumbly on the bench, trying to make sense of the hidden meaning behind Kaz’s strange words.
He sat there without moving until the candlelight on the teleportation platform suddenly flared with a fsshh, signaling that it was time to begin work again.
(End of Chapter)