"Hey—ah!!!"
The enormous mouth, just about to clamp down on Saul's head, suddenly swerved toward the small porcelain vial revealing the holy oil. Despite its bulky fra, the fat worm changed direction in an instant.
It was like it had been injected with a surge of adrenaline. It first contracted, then launched forward, so fast that it left behind only a blur.
Its gaping maw opened wide midair—shockingly, it was almost as massive as its elephant-sized body.
Victor, unable to move quickly, could only lift his head and watch helplessly as that enormous mouth descended like a shroud of darkness.
Boom!!!
The violent impact completely shattered the stone staircase. Fragnts flew everywhere, so scraping Saul’s cheeks raw.
But he had no ti to enjoy the sight of Victor being swallowed whole, nor to register the stinging pain on his skin.
The instant the worm leapt, Saul turned and ran.
He dashed past the nearly liquefied Clawn and Swan, who stood there crying wide-eyed, and sprinted toward the depths of the corridor.
The little Algae, now missing several tendrils, quickly retracted behind him, slurping back into the base of Saul’s neck like a noodle.
At the end of the hallway, as expected, Saul found a passage leading underground.
It was a large door built into the floor, covered in runes.
Just as Morden had analyzed. The laboratory of this castle was indeed built underground.
But as soon as Saul stopped in front of the door, a new problem presented itself.
The entrance to the basent was sealed with a magic barrier.
Although the magical currents flowing through it were slow and dim, Saul could still tell that the entire door was protected by a spell formation ant to prevent outsiders from entering.
His eyes flicked from rune to rune, but he couldn’t make heads or tails of it.
The more he looked, the more dizzy and disoriented he beca.
The hallway behind wasn’t that long. Once the worm finished digesting Victor, it might co this way.
Clawn looked done for, and Swan clearly couldn’t resist the worm-faced monster.
If Saul couldn’t find a way in—or another escape route—he’d likely be seeing that death warning from the diary again very soon.
“With my current knowledge, there’s no way I can crack this formation. If I try to force my way in…” Saul gave a bitter laugh. “Only the Tower Master might be able to break through it by force.”
“This is the trouble the Tower Master wanted to deal with? This isn’t just danger—without the diary helping deduce a way out, I’d be dead a dozen tis over.”
He glanced around. There were a few rooms at the end of the corridor, but they were all ordinary—no place to hide.
Staring at the sealed entrance, Saul suddenly said, “Diary Bro, could you please bring out Lord Morden?”
He was going to try sothing new, not even knowing if it would work.
But with the exit blocked, Saul had two options: enter the basent and rely on the true wizard’s protective spell formation to block the enemy or break through the wall.
The latter, though, would definitely make a racket and alert others, killing any chance to explore further.
And Saul hadn’t forgotten—his primary reason for coming to the Ralph Estate was to find clues about the diary.
Who would've thought he’d get ambushed by the bizarre and mysterious Victor the mont he entered and now was being chased by a giant worm?
He felt that the danger here had already far exceeded the Tower Master’s warning.
This might be his last chance to explore the Ralph Estate.
[What do you want now? Honestly, I really don’t want to answer your questions. I’m the emperor of the Kema Empire, a Second Tier wizard—how can I act as a ntor to a Second Rank apprentice?]
Saul ignored Morden’s complaints. “Lord Morden, can you see the sorcery formation on the ground?”
[See what? It’s pitch black here. I can’t see a thing.]
As expected, the consciousness in the diary couldn’t see the outside world.
But it could receive Saul’s thoughts.
In that case...
Saul shut his eyes and began using his ntal power to sketch out the magic formation on the floor.
Soon, veins bulged on his forehead, and beads of sweat poured from his pores.
A few seconds later, those beads turned into droplets of blood.
He abruptly opened his eyes, the whites bloodshot, his black pupils twitching violently as he endured imnse pain.
“Ugh!!!”
Clenching his teeth, he tasted the tallic tang of blood in his mouth.
His head felt like it was being split open, as if soone had stabbed a thick surgical needle into his brain.
And then the needle started sucking out his brain matter, making him feel like his very soul was escaping through that hole.
But Saul knew—he couldn’t give up now.
He was close to completing the ntal replication of the formation.
One second… two… three…
When the final stroke was done, he seed to hear the sound of tearing flesh.
He exhaled sharply.
“Huff... Huff... Lord Morden… can you see it now?”
[…]
[Kid, I don’t know who you are. But you’re impressive—really impressive. A Second Rank apprentice, and you dared to replicate such a complex spell formation using your ntal form. I believe that, as long as you don’t die by accident, the wizarding world will hear your na soday.]
Saul gave another bitter laugh. People only grow when they’re pushed to the edge.
Though it felt like a long ti, the whole process took less than a minute.
A short ti doesn’t an it was easy.
If he had failed to finish the drawing in ti, the entire formation’s structure would have collapsed, and he’d have to start over.
“Lord Morden, can you unlock this formation?”
[The formation isn’t exactly brilliant, but it does use a unique rune-linking pattern. I must ask: how much do you want it unlocked? If you want a complete analysis, with full flexible control, even I would need a few days.]
“I just need the door unsealed and the ability to shut it again afterward.”
[That’s doable. I’ll need… two hours.]
“I’m sorry, Lord Morden—I might only have a few minutes.”
Maybe not even that.
The hallway was still quiet, but Saul didn’t know when the worm-faced monster would beco interested in it.
It could be the next minute or the next second.
All he could do was hope the Death Diary’s warning would give him a few minutes’ head start.
[If it’s that short, then I can only break the seal forcefully. But that ans once you close the door, the protective strength will be far weaker than before.]
Saul gritted his teeth and glanced back into the dark corridor.
He couldn’t hear anything, but there was a faint squelching sound of fat squirming and bubbling behind him, in rhythm with his heartbeat.
White misty bubbles began forming in his mind’s eye.
He licked his cracked lips. He had made up his mind. He had to get underground first.
“Then please, I’m counting on you. I don’t have much ti.”
This ti, Morden fell silent, and the black page of the diary stilled.
Saul quickly used the ti to begin ditating.
Since he was in enemy territory, he couldn’t go fully into deep ditation. He had to settle for a semi-subrged state to recover his drained ntal and magical energy rapidly.
The headache still throbbed, but he was used to that by now.
Strong swimrs drown the deepest.
His ntal talent was exceptional, but also the part of him that got injured the most.
“When I get back, I’ve got to have a real chat with Gorsa. Even if he’s raising parasites, he can't treat like this! No more help unless I get so real benefits!”
Saul rambled in his head to distract himself from the pain while healing his spiritual injuries.
Finally, the diary lit up with fresh text.
[It’s done. Opening it is easy—just connect these few nodes with magic, and the door will open.]
A complex white pattern appeared before Saul’s eyes.
He took one look, and suddenly, it felt familiar.
Just then, the diary seed to read his thoughts and flipped to reveal its cover.
That white pattern was… exactly the sa as a symbol on the diary’s cover.
(End of Chapter)
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