Although his eye had just been mysteriously invaded by a cocoon, Saul wasn’t panicking—at least not yet.
Penny had worn this cocoon for three or four years without issue, and she was just an ordinary little girl. As a wizard apprentice, he had even less reason to fear it.
Besides, as long as the diary didn’t get involved, the situation wouldn’t be considered a real problem.
The only troubleso part was that he couldn’t ask Byron for help right now. After all, there was no way to explain where this cocoon had co from.
If not for the diary’s warning, he wouldn’t have noticed it at all.
He’d have to wait a while before bringing the matter to light.
His experints on the Nightmare Butterfly Cocoon were forced to move into a secondary phase—but that would have to wait until they returned to the tower.
Saul relaxed slightly and leaned against the window. “Where are we heading?”
“There’s a mountain hollow if we go around here,” Nick offered, speaking up from behind the perception device. “It’s a bit deeper than our original location, but it shouldn’t be too dangerous for us.”
“Are you sure we won’t run into more of them over there?” Saul was a bit concerned. Their journey hadn’t exactly gone smoothly so far.
“Unlikely,” Byron said in his deep voice. “I’ve been thinking—those things probably showed up at the entrance of Hanging Hands Valley because of a rare tidal storm.”
Seeing that Saul wasn’t familiar with the term, Byron took the ti to explain.
Hanging Hands Valley was the burial ground of thousands of wizards and had essentially split into two worlds: one above ground and one below.
The underground portion had beco a tangled network of tunnels, thanks to the rescue efforts, escapes, and excavation projects of the past.
Dangerous monsters like the man-headed beasts usually dwelled in the deeper parts of these tunnels.
They rarely ca out, since the stability of the surface world was actually detrintal to their existence.
However, every so often, a few unpredictable storms would erupt from underground, pushing these monsters into other tunnel sections—or even all the way to the surface.
When that happened, the general rule was simple: evacuate imdiately. Once you were outside the storm-affected zone, it was much safer.
Tidal storms were rare events, which was why the outskirts of Hanging Hands Valley were still considered relatively safe for wizard apprentices.
None of the three had any intention of withdrawing. If just this bit of danger made them retreat, then there was no point in pursuing the path of wizardry at all.
They bypassed a stretch of scattered boulders—each three or four ters high—when Byron suddenly ordered the wooden spider to stop.
Had they arrived?
Saul noticed Byron climbing down from the spider, so he followed suit.
The mont his feet touched the ground, he realized why—they weren’t alone.
There were several people ahead.
Two groups, by the looks of it.
One group had four people, currently engaged in battle with soone on the opposing side.
But with just a couple of glances, Saul saw that it was a one-sided slaughter—those four were being toyed with and crushed.
The other side only had two people. One of them, with long purple hair, was massacring the four with a casual, almost playful air. The other, who sat slouched on a large rock nearby, looked pale and lethargic.
By now, two of the four victims had already fallen. Foam bubbled from their mouths, and their skin had started to dissolve.
The pale-faced apprentice suddenly noticed Saul and the others. He leapt down from the rock and flew toward them.
Saul instantly activated his ntal projection, ready for battle.
But then he realized that Byron hadn’t entered a combat stance. Only Nick seed tense—though his face still betrayed no emotion.
The pale apprentice landed in front of Byron and suddenly broke into a smile.
“Yo, Byron! Long ti no see!”
Byron nodded. “Mm.”
“You’re still as cold as ever, haha.” The pale apprentice seed good-natured and turned to greet Nick. “Nick, didn’t expect to see you out here.”
Nick bowed respectfully. “Senior Wright.”
The pale-faced apprentice—Wright—finally looked at Saul, still smiling. “Haven’t seen you before, little guy. Are you newly promoted to Second Rank?”
Saul bowed like Nick. “Senior Wright, hello. I just beca Second Rank not too long ago.”
Wright chuckled. “You look pretty young. These newcors these days sure are sothing else. Might even surpass us old-tirs and beco true wizards first.”
Despite calling himself an old-tir, Wright looked quite young—possibly even younger than Byron, appearing to be in his early twenties.
Of course, if a wizard apprentice had undergone physical modifications, their aging could be slowed. You couldn’t judge age or strength by appearance alone.
Once soone beca an true wizard, their lifespan would increase dramatically, making it even more aningless to rely on looks.
While they were chatting, the purple-haired apprentice had already finished off the four opponents.
He opened his mouth toward the corpses, releasing a cloud of purple mist that engulfed the bodies.
After a few monts, the mist flowed back into his mouth—and the corpses were gone, leaving only a few piles of clothing behind.
The purple-haired man walked over to collect the loot.
Byron stared at the remains for a mont before speaking. “Those were people from the Land Drifters, weren’t they?”
Wright quickly raised his hands in innocence. “Not my fault. Those guys saw we only had two people and tried to ambush us. You know how Bill is—he always kills his enemies on the spot. Nothing I could do.”
Byron frowned. “The Land Drifters usually move in groups. He’s not afraid that killing a few will draw a crowd?”
Wright wasn’t concerned. He laughed. “No big deal. If they co looking for revenge, we’ll just throw Bill under the bus.”
At that mont, the purple-haired Bill finished looting, hands in his pockets as he strolled over.
“Byron? Hanging Hands Valley sure is busy today. Everyone’s here for treasure, huh? But why’d you bring two Second Ranks along to slow you down?”
Byron’s eyes flashed with a hint of caution.
He knew that for the Land Drifters to attempt an ambush, it must’ve been a setup—Bill likely pretended to be weak to lure them in.
The Land Drifters were a sizable wizard group. Their top-tier power wasn’t on par with the tower, so they usually avoided conflict with tower apprentices.
This was probably a case of Bill hiding his affiliation to bait the others. Now that the victims were dead, Byron couldn’t really say anything—he just hoped it wouldn’t lead to future trouble.
“We’re not here for treasure,” Byron said evenly. “But this area doesn’t really suit you either, does it?”
“Heh, just short on cash. Wright and I ca to scavenge so corpses.” Bill shrugged, then suddenly turned to Nick. “But you—Nick—what’re you doing here? Didn’t you get a letter from ntor Rum to go visit Grind Sail Town? What, did you sneak off and plunder the Grinding Sound Fruit while you were at it? Don’t tell there’ll be none left for next month when I go pick up the tribute?”
So Bill was the one who collected the Grinding Sound Fruit from Grind Sail Town every year?
Saul’s heart skipped a beat.
Then… did he know about the town’s dealings with the barbarians?
Before dying, Sherry had said that the tower had never helped Grind Sail Town. Was she referring to Bill?
Nick lowered his head slightly, looking a bit nervous.
“No need to go next month, Senior. Grind Sail Town was attacked by barbarians. The Grinding Sound Fruit fields were all destroyed.”
Bill raised an eyebrow. “Tch. These stray apprentices out here get more useless every year—getting ambushed by a bunch of barbarians?”
He chuckled. “Well, whatever. Saves the trouble of going every year.”
He slung an arm around Nick’s shoulders. “But now you’re out of Grinding Sound Fruit, huh? Tsk. I’ve always said emotions should be self-controlled. Can’t rely on potions.”
Nick bent under the pressure but could only nod in agreent.
“If there’s nothing else, we’ll be on our way.” Byron pulled Nick out from under Bill’s arm.
Wright looked curious. “You’re heading deeper with two Second Ranks?”
Byron was honest. “Saul saw several Head Monster near the entrance. I suspect a tidal storm. It might actually be safer inside.”
“Head Monster?” Wright’s expression grew serious. “Every ti those things show up, people mysteriously disappear. Let’s hope it’s not us this ti.”
But Bill’s attention was elsewhere.
He tilted his head, peering past Nick and Byron to look at Saul, who had been quietly standing behind them the whole ti.
“So you’re Saul,” Bill said, eyes narrowing, his entire deanor suddenly dangerous. “I hear about you all the ti. Quite the impressive junior, aren’t you?”
Who… keeps talking to Bill about him?
(End of Chapter)
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