Boom—
It was as if a towering structure had suddenly been erected in Saul’s ntal world, shaking the very foundations of his entire spiritual body!
First-Tier spell, Soul Borer, successfully constructed.
Saul slowly stood up, feeling the change from a First Rank apprentice to a Second Rank…
Though, truth be told, there wasn’t much of a difference.
His ntor had said before that the distinction between a First and Second Rank apprentice lay only in the strength of their spell mastery—there was no fundantal transformation in their body or spirit.
But if he concentrated, Saul could indeed sense sothing subtly different.
That was the influence brought by the First Rank spell inside his ntal body.
The Soul Borer, whose final form was still a mystery, was continuously affecting Saul’s mana and mind.
For now, the influence was faint, but Saul could feel it—once he continued to reinforce and refine this spell, that influence would deepen.
And when that ti ca, Saul would have to find a way to resist it. If not, both his mind and body would start to deteriorate.
But the only truly effective thod would be to find a locator of his own—to dispel and resist the inevitable corruption brought by spellcasting and to stabilize his ntal body.
“Locator…” Saul glanced at his left shoulder and thought, How can I convince the diary to move?
The locator could wait a bit longer. Saul stood up, and when he turned around, he found Penny already fast asleep.
He chuckled and shook her awake. “Penny, wake up.”
But Saul also realized—Penny wasn’t really relaxed enough to fall asleep here.
It was more likely that his earlier battle with Shelly, and the standoff with the wraith, had affected her ntally.
For an ordinary person, sleep was the best form of protection when their mind couldn't cope.
Penny groggily raised her head, her eyes still murky.
Saul helped her up. “I’ll take you out of here. But be ntally prepared—once you leave, you and Ada probably won’t be able to stay in this town.”
Penny stood with Saul’s support. The thought of leaving their stable ho crossed her mind, but her expression stayed relatively calm.
“I’ll take Ada and go.”
She really did act like Ada’s older sister.
Saul searched through Shelly’s remains one last ti, taking anything valuable and discarding the rest.
But he never found the book that supposedly allowed the artificial creation of vengeful spirits.
In the end, he copied down the entire ritual array from the ground, and based on his mory, restored the parts he had destroyed earlier.
Only then did he leave the room on the third floor of the tower with Penny.
But just as they stepped onto the spiral staircase, Saul heard the sounds of wailing, crying, and killing from outside the tower.
Sothing was wrong!
Saul imdiately grabbed Penny and dashed down the stairs.
The entrance of the tower had been sealed by Shelly’s spell—he clearly hadn’t wanted anyone interrupting his casting.
Which also ant that when things went south outside, no one could call upon him for help.
Saul pressed Penny against the wall. Then he threw the door open.
What lay beyond was a scene straight from hell.
Corpses of Grind Sail Town’s residents littered the ground, and everywhere, wild barbarians were hunting down the living.
Across the way, the fruit-grinding fields had their stone walls completely toppled, the inside a chaotic ss. Severed limbs lay draped over stones—dead or alive, it was impossible to tell.
By now, the true battlefield had shifted toward the town’s outer wall.
Barbarians were trying to climb the not-too-tall wall, while the guards did everything they could to push them back down.
While Saul scanned the situation, two barbarians spotted him.
They didn’t care about his stunned expression. With gleaming blades raised, they charged.
Their sharp weapons scread through the air, slashing at Saul from both sides.
The barbarians’ wide mouths exhaled frosty breath, as if already imagining Saul sliced into pieces.
But before their blades could fall, one barbarian’s body suddenly twisted—his limbs snapping together as though clutched by a giant invisible hand.
Soft flesh surrendered first, twisted and snapped by the invisible force.
His rigid bones stubbornly resisted, until they cracked one by one, breaking through his skin in jagged black-red spikes.
The other barbarian had to stop his assault as well. A black smoke began seeping from his seven orifices, and patches of his skin started to char.
Then ca flickers of red fla—creeping from his ears, licking at his eyes, catching his hair...
If the first barbarian died swiftly—albeit horribly— The second suffered much longer.
He howled in agony, stumbling backward on failing legs. He only managed a few more steps before his charred feet collapsed, bringing down his massive fra in a cloud of black ash.
Saul followed the fleeing barbarian’s path with his gaze—only to lock eyes with a new figure.
A scrawny barbarian, face painted with so unknown substance, was riding on the shoulders of another massive tribesman.
They had a priest?
Then this wasn’t so minor raid.
But the local wizard apprentice… had just died.
Saul stepped toward the priest, raising his hand.
His ntal body stirred—the First Rank spell model carved within was instantly activated, ready to unleash.
Transparent phantom worms—Soul Borers—ford in Saul’s palm, writhing slowly around his hand.
The barbarian priest squinted at the sight and spoke word by word: “New… wizard apprentice.”
He didn’t recognize Saul but could tell he wasn’t from Grind Sail Town.
The priest stared hard at Saul, seemingly weighing whether to engage.
Suddenly, he opened his mouth wide and, with a vicious yank, tore out two of his own teeth.
Blood dripped from the corners of his mouth as he summoned two nearby barbarians.
“Eat… block… witch.”
The two warriors obediently swallowed the priest’s bloody teeth.
Then ca pained roars as they beat their chests with ferocious strength.
Their dark skin rapidly flushed red, gleaming unnaturally like it would burst at any mont.
But their expressions only grew more frenzied. One charged Saul with a crazed howl.
The priest didn’t stick around either. He raised his wooden staff and smashed it down on the head of the barbarian he was riding.
“Attack! Grind Sail!”
Aside from the two red-skinned warriors heading toward Saul, the rest of the barbarians abandoned their prey and followed the priest toward the town’s crumbling wall.
Saul glanced that way but caught sight of two familiar figures in a nearby house.
It was Ada and Jayce!
They hadn’t fled the town—they had been hiding in an empty building, waiting for a chance to rescue Penny.
They were now staring at Saul in shock, not even realizing they had been spotted.
Thankfully, the other barbarians had all moved toward the wall, or they’d be dead by now.
The two red-skinned warriors were now nearly upon Saul.
Saul sneered, “Compared to Jayce, I really am the dishonorable one.”
He raised his hand—and both barbarians slipped and tumbled to the ground, one after the other.
They struggled to rise, grabbing at the ground for leverage, but the greasy earth pulled them deeper as they tried to shift their weight.
Saul then cast Scorching Breath.
Flas erupted across the barbarians’ bodies, a wave of heat surging forth.
But Saul quickly noticed—though they scread, the flas didn’t fell them. Their skin was only mildly scorched.
“The priest’s teeth… boosted their magic resistance?”
Saul suddenly snapped his hand—and two Soul Borers flew toward the red-skinned warriors.
“Then let’s see… what this mutated First Rank spell can really do.”
(End of Chapter)
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