Saul clenched his teeth slowly.
The cold truth made his breath catch in his throat, but deep inside, there was a voice telling him that this was the true face of the world.
Vini seed dissatisfied with the degree of impact the truth had on Saul. She drew closer again, the shadow leaning forward, and lingered by his ear.
A faint voice echoed, "Do you know how many years Gorsa has been stuck at the peak of Second Rank?"
"If you don’t understand the aning of this, let give you an example. Do you know why a Second Rank apprentice who hasn’t advanced to Third Rank by the age of thirty is expelled from the Tower?"
"Why does the Wizard Tower release them instead of exploiting them to death?"
"Because those who stay at the peak of their rank for too long will be continuously polluted by the unknown from the upper ranks. Keeping those Second Rank apprentices in the Tower would eventually turn them into monsters. You should know, working in the morgue, that anything polluted is sent to the junkyard. Even soone as powerful as Gorsa wouldn’t dare use them."
Saul vaguely felt a sweet scent blowing against his face, but the sweetness was followed by an overwhelming bitterness.
Vini continued, "You say Gorsa... is he becoming more and more like a monster?"
Saul could no longer hold back and took a large step backward, his back hitting the desk. The pain and fear caused him to gasp heavily.
"Hah... hah..."
He couldn’t help but think—if the Tower Master beca a monster, how many humans would still remain in this Wizard Tower?
As Saul fell into the horrifying future that Vini had described, a soft voice suddenly ca from the door.
"Yura, don’t scare Saul."
Saul and Vini turned their heads simultaneously, and saw Gorsa, wearing a red-brown cloak, walking from the center of the bodies.
As Gorsa walked, the bodies parted automatically to let him through, and once he passed, they closed up again.
When he reached Vini and Saul, Gorsa opened his arms, pulling back the cloak to reveal a body wrapped in pink bandages.
"Co back."
Vini’s shadow, however, stayed in place.
But Gorsa was patient with her. "Co back... behave."
Only then did Vini glance at Saul. Her red eyes revealed nothing of her thoughts.
She walked over, opened her arms, and embraced Gorsa, before dissolving like raindrops on the surface of a lake, rging with his body and disappearing.
Saul snapped back to his senses. When Vini turned to look at him as she left, he seed to glimpse a beautiful yet cold woman’s face.
Gorsa withdrew his hand, and his large cloak swept gently, covering his body once more.
He lowered his head and spoke softly to Saul. "Don’t worry about Yura’s words, especially those about resurrection. When you reach Third Rank, I’ll explain these things to you."
Saul could no longer resist stepping forward. "Tower Master, was that spirit truly Lady Yura?"
Gorsa nodded. "Yes, it was her."
He chuckled softly. "Did she tell you she was just a copy and called herself Vini?"
Saul didn’t know how long Vini’s conversation with him had been overheard, but it no longer mattered. After all, Vini herself had been absorbed into Gorsa’s body.
He nodded.
"She always does this. When she’s happy, she says she’s Yura, but when she’s not, she’s Vini." Gorsa's eyes curved slightly, but then darkened quickly. "I’ve tried my best to preserve her consciousness, but while replenishing Yura’s soul energy, she still received external contamination. So her perception has been affected."
"There’s nothing to be done for now. Consciousness is even more fragile than the soul. Sotis, even a slight external shock or a shift in one’s own thoughts can cause severe damage to a consciousness, taking it from one extre to another."
Gorsa extended his right hand from under his cloak, holding an old, rusted oil lamp with a thin layer of oil inside.
"The body is the foundation of the soul. Don’t play with leaving the soul."
Saul hesitated but reached out to take the oil lamp.
It was small, and he could hold it in one hand.
The wick was a tiny thread of cotton, burning steadily.
Had the Tower Master noticed that he had once left his body? Or had Vini, who had been by his side, inford Gorsa?
"I don’t know why I suddenly left my body last night. It startled , but thankfully I returned afterward."
Saul explained, trying to show that he hadn’t sought out death intentionally.
"This Soul-Calling Lamp should be kept with you. Drip a few drops of blood and saliva from your fingertip into the oil. If your soul leaves your body again unexpectedly, it will help you return to it."
Saul tightened his grip on the lamp. Did the Tower Master believe that soul detachnt would happen again?
"Thank you, Tower Master. But do you know why this is happening to ?"
"You probably have so guesses. Go verify them yourself, rather than listening to others," Gorsa’s eyes curved gently once more. "If you want to thank , grow quickly. At least reach Third Rank, then you might be able to help ."
Saul quickly nodded. "Yes, Tower Master, I will work hard."
Gorsa smiled and suddenly disappeared from Saul’s view.
Now, the vast storeroom was empty, with only Saul left alive.
Without the worry of a possessing wraith, there was no need to seek help from others.
Saul held the Soul-Calling Lamp and walked back to the desk, sitting down.
He leaned over the desk, arms around his face. At that mont, no one could see his expression.
Before 3 p.m., Saul had moved all his experintal materials from the morgue on the second floor of the East Tower to the storeroom on the first floor.
Then, during lunch, he went to find Senior Byron, intending to transfer the contributions earned from the wind-sail ship to him as a reward for saving his life.
Unsurprisingly, Senior Byron didn’t refuse, accepting Saul’s gratitude without hesitation.
"When did you return?" Byron calculated his share and then returned so credits to Saul.
"I actually ca back yesterday," Saul said with a bitter smile.
Byron glanced at Saul but assud he had stayed with the Tower Master after returning, so he didn’t ask further.
"What about the matter with Wright?"
Saul knew what Byron ant and smiled. "His actions at the ti were actually the norm in the wizarding world. I was more surprised that you ca to find ."
"I had so confidence before I acted," Byron said nonchalantly, not considering his actions to be particularly remarkable. "If you had died, I would have fled imdiately, without avenging you."
Saul shook his head. "Senior, don’t you care about this life-saving grace?"
"I just did a bit of assistance. Your survival was due to your own strength. As for that little bit of gratitude..." Byron lifted the ledger in his hand. "It’s been paid off."
Saul smiled obediently. There was no need to dwell on such matters.
"By the way, where does Wright stay?"
Seeing Saul’s seemingly innocent smile, Byron silently mourned for Wright and then easily gave out his dorm number and frequently visited laboratory.
The information was very detailed.
But Saul didn’t go to find Wright. There was no rush on that front.
Instead, he took the opportunity to move into a new place.
Keli hadn’t returned yet.
He felt so regret, but this was the normal rhythm of missions. Who would return in just a few days like him?
With no ti to rest, Saul exchanged so things he needed and returned to the second storeroom.
...
While Saul was busy, the news of him replacing a Third Rank apprentice to beco the storeroom manager had already spread among the senior apprentices.
In the 12th floor of the East Tower, there was a lounge specifically for Third Rank apprentices to socialize.
It was usually not very crowded, but Third Rank apprentices who had returned from external missions would typically co by here.
They would exchange their experiences and discoveries from the outside world, or inquire about any new news within the tower.
Today, the door to the lounge was pushed open again, and three people walked in from outside.
Two n and one woman.
The first man had a flamboyant deanor, the second one had a grim expression, and the third woman wore a large hood that covered most of her face, leaving only her fair and well-defined chin exposed.
The two people who had been talking in the lounge stopped imdiately when they saw the newcors.
They exchanged glances, and one of the won stood up and walked toward them.
"Billy, I heard your brother Bill died on this mission," she said.
The man with the grim expression lifted his head and replied coldly, "Oh."
(End of Chapter)
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