Saul was running down the hallway.
He had just created a new Corpse Flower and placed it in the corridor, and the mont the flower stood there, Saul instantly regained his clarity.
However, this ti, the dream did not end there.
Finally, soone had discovered his evil deeds and was chasing him down!
Now, that terrifying hunter had raised the bow and arrow in his hand, ready to release the string at any mont.
Saul had been cornered on a slope, but another person appeared on the slope as well.
The person blocking his path had only half a face, and Saul nearly tripped in fear as he ran.
It was none other than Kongsha, whom he hadn’t seen in a long ti.
“I got you,” Kongsha's red lips curled up slightly.
Saul turned around, and behind him was a person holding a silver-blue longbow, with a dark expression.
The pursuer was a Third Rank apprentice.
Compared to him, the seemingly terrifying Kongsha seed to offer a more hopeful escape route.
Saul heard himself quickly reciting a spell, his speed so fast that he could not even hear the runes hidden within.
However, just as he was running and chanting the spell, an array of eyeballs suddenly erged from Kongsha's head, which was filled with a half bottle of white liquid.
These eyeballs were tightly pressed against the glass surface, full of insatiable desire and excitent, focusing intently on the approaching Saul.
“Ah!!! Die—” Saul was about to raise his hand, but suddenly his mind went blank, and he completely forgot what he was doing.
Only a sharp, short scream remained…
Saul abruptly opened his eyes, and found his left cheek pressed tightly against the cold floor tiles.
He did not rush to get up.
This ti, it seed that the nightmare had ended with the death of the killer.
If that were the case, it might actually be a good thing.
At least, he no longer had to endure the disgusting feeling of tearing into raw flesh every ti he slept.
However…
He still stayed pressed to the ground, observing his room from this angle for the first ti.
It felt like a timid voyeur, hidden in the most secret crevices, watching and alert to the outside world.
Maintaining this posture, Saul felt a strange sense of reassurance.
After a long while, he finally stood up and glanced at the ti.
It was 6:00 AM, just in ti for breakfast.
Saul felt a little hungry.
He raised his right hand, suddenly extending his tongue and gently licking his finger, now turned to white bone.
The hunger seed partially satisfied, but a deeper craving quickly followed.
Saul took a deep breath, suppressing the wild emotions within him, and walked into the washroom.
He filled a basin with water and then dunked his head into it.
He stayed subrged until his lungs began to protest and his trembling arms could barely support his weight. Only then did he abruptly lift his head.
Water splashed everywhere, hitting the walls, the floor, and extra water flowed down his nose, face, and into his collar.
"Damn!" Saul cursed repeatedly, "I almost lost control of my consciousness."
He wiped the water off his face with his hand. The faint pain from the friction between his bones and skin helped him snap back to reality.
“This Nightmare Butterfly has beco so terrifying?”
“Is it because of the magic radiation from the Wizard Tower expanding its influence, or is it... about to hatch?”
The issue with his eyes had reached a point where it could no longer be ignored.
Even if the owner of the dream went offline, Saul couldn’t guarantee that he wouldn’t be pulled into the dream of a more terrifying person during one of his future sleeps.
Or rather, his consciousness.
“Should I go find Hayden for surgery now?” Saul thought for a mont, but then dismissed the idea, “Although I have the materials to seal the cocoon, they are not for dealing with nightmare butterflies. I don’t know if that will work.”
“Can’t rush, rushing makes things worse.” Although he understood that the danger from the nightmare butterfly was far greater than he had imagined, Saul kept telling himself to stay calm.
“Danger cos from the unknown. I must figure out the characteristics of the nightmare butterfly. Even if I can’t find the answer, any additional knowledge is better than none.”
Saul patted his left shoulder. “Co on, diary buddy, can’t you write a clearer description in your item identification?”
The diary remained silent.
“Let’s head to the library,” Saul decided. He still felt that it was too reckless to take out the butterfly cocoon just yet. If he couldn’t find the answer in the library, he could ask his ntor.
If all else failed, he could try acting on instinct—after all, Saul had the diary as a backup.
After rearranging himself, Saul left his dormitory.
Just as he opened the door, he saw a man standing outside—Kujin, soone he had to look up to.
"Senior Kujin," Saul imdiately flashed his trademark polite smile, "Did you need sothing from ?"
"I have an experint that requires an assistant. If you can get approval from ntor Kaz, I believe you have the ability. If you’re willing to join , I can offer you 10 credits per session."
Paid per session?
And the rate was quite favorable.
Saul’s interest imdiately piqued, "I’d be happy to help, but I’m curious—what kind of experint is it?"
“The contents of the experint cannot be disclosed freely. If you don’t have anything pressing right now, you can co with .”
Saul hesitated for a mont but did not move his feet.
"Sorry, Senior Kujin, I actually have sothing very important to take care of."
Kujin’s expression darkened.
Saul quickly suggested, "How about this afternoon at 2 PM?"
Kujin pondered for a few seconds, then nodded in agreent, "Alright, 2 PM, co to my room, 1404."
Saul imdiately responded, "No problem."
Watching Kujin’s retreating figure, Saul kept the smile on his face.
Since working in the morgue, he had co to realize that apprentices often made small trades in private.
As long as the items involved weren’t too extre, the ntors usually turned a blind eye.
But having witnessed the conspiracy between Kujin and Ferguson, Saul knew that this was no small trade.
It was bait!
Whether to bite, and how to bite, was still a question.
Saul closed the door and quickly headed to the library.
However, the issue with his eyes was more urgent. Compared to this, the experint to reconstruct his hands could be postponed.
It was still 6:05 AM, and no apprentices had arrived at the library yet.
As soon as he entered, Saul saw the arrogant young librarian standing proudly in the middle.
Without greeting him, Saul quickly dashed inside, his arm unintentionally brushing past the librarian’s clothes.
No, not brushing past—he had gone straight through.
The librarian had just opened his mouth to yell when he suddenly noticed that a piece of his sleeve was missing.
His mouth, which had been open wide, snapped shut, and just before his tongue could retract, it was severed and vanished mid-air before it hit the floor.
The librarian’s lips trembled as he slowly looked up, staring at the direction in which Saul had disappeared.
He began to cry.
The tears, too, disappeared before they could even fall.
Saul had no idea what had happened outside.
He was just following his mory, searching for information on the nightmare butterfly in the advanced "Basic Knowledge of All Things: Insect Edition."
But after flipping through the entire index, he found no related entries and had to quickly move on to the next place.
Advanced Knowledge of All Things Cognition, Foreign Objects Edition.
Nothing!
Advanced Knowledge of All Things Cognition, Monsters Edition.
Nothing!
Advanced Knowledge of All Things Cognition, Ghosts Edition.
Nothing!
Saul put down the last book. Even though he had hurriedly scanned the indexes, the high intensity of information input still made his head spin.
This was the result after his ntal strength had improved slightly twice. If this had been before, he would already be crawling out of the room.
“Should I go ask the librarian?” Saul briefly considered this, but then a new thought ca to mind.
Nightmare, butterfly.
He looked towards the back of the library, as if his gaze had pierced through the white mist, landing on the fourteenth row of shelves.
Even though the Tower Master had once told him that the person hidden beneath the fourteenth shelf was just his fear, Saul had not visited in a long ti.
Even if he did, he wouldn’t have specifically gone to look for knowledge about spirits.
And so, that person had been lying there at the very bottom of the fourteenth shelf, never showing themselves.
Saul clenched his fists, silently walking towards the back of the library.
Soon, he arrived at the shelf he had not forgotten.
As soon as he approached, he saw the arm half-exposed beyond the shelf’s partition.
“Although I already know its nature, confronting fear head-on is still difficult.”
Despite saying that, Saul raised his foot without hesitation, walking straight up to the shelf.
“What exactly makes so scared just seeing a hand?”
He took a deep breath, the faint mist entering his nostrils before being exhaled through his mouth.
He crouched down, tilting his head slowly to the right until it was almost parallel to the ground.
Finally, he saw it.
He saw himself.
Not Saul, but his past life—the one who had died.
Face up, confused, with dark red corpse marks all over his skin.
It was the body of the previous soul traveler.
(End of Chapter)
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