Saul detected traces of Soul Resin properties in the bit of skin tissue provided by Byron.
However, it could only hold a small amount of soul fragnts, and storing them wasn’t its primary function.
Within it, Saul noticed faint signs of the Plastic Bone Formula. Byron must have borrowed the formula Saul once gave him.
After examining Byron’s body, Saul had a clear idea of the situation. If Byron ever failed to suppress the evil thought inside him, Saul was fully capable of handling it.
Though, all those wraiths Byron had spent so long collecting… would end up benefiting Saul.
He successfully obtained the formation for constructing a ntal realm, but to actually deploy it would still require considerable preparation.
Three days later, Saul was rummaging through old notes in the private library of the Nineteenth Floor Tower Master.
Luckily, he soon found the Soul Stabilization Experint that he’d only skimd through before.
He imdiately sat down on the floor and began reading.
There were three attempts recorded in the Soul Stabilization Experint, but all had ended in failure.
Even failed experints could be valuable; Saul could use the procedures to organize his own thoughts.
“Hmm… Third item: reducing the chances of consciousness collapse and soul-body contamination by stabilizing the soul’s emotional state. Hypothesis One: Moon Sleep Essential Oil (Failed. No improvent). Hypothesis Two: Bell of Loss (Can temporarily stabilize, but inevitable contamination after the effect wears off. Failed).”
Saul flipped to the next page.
“Hypothesis Three: Grinding Sound Fruit,” He paused for a mont, then continued reading, “Temporarily stabilizes soul consciousness, but the effect is too short to contribute significantly to the experint. Failed.”
At this point, Saul rested his chin on his hand, “The Grinding Sound Fruit seems to have so effect, even if short-lived… But I don’t need a long duration—just long enough to access the diary within the ntal realm.”
This plan was worth a try.
Saul imdiately took out a blank notebook and began copying down the handling procedures and experintal thods related to the Grinding Sound Fruit.
Finally, so progress again—Saul, in high spirits, was ready to go to the registration office to exchange for so Grinding Sound Fruit.
“Even though the amount of Grinding Sound Fruit tributed from Grind Sail Town has sharply decreased over the past two years, the Tower should still have so stock left.”
Unable to contain his excitent to start the experint, Saul quickly made his way downstairs.
Whether he passed familiar or unfamiliar faces along the way, he didn’t stop to greet anyone.
But when he arrived at the registration office, the result he received was completely unexpected.
“Sorry, we’re out of Grinding Sound Fruit,” The person in charge of the office was a Third Rank apprentice, but she still spoke politely to the lower-ranked Saul.
“What?” Saul frowned, “As far as I know, the Grinding Sound Fruit isn’t particularly useful in magic experints. How could we be completely out of stock?”
“Uh…” The senior apprentice couldn’t answer, awkwardly shifting her gaze.
“I want to see the inventory records for the Grinding Sound Fruit,” Saul suddenly extended his hand.
“What?” The apprentice was stunned, staring in disbelief at Saul outside the window, “You can’t. That’s not allowed.”
Saul smiled, “Senior, are you saying I have to request permission and get official authorization first? Is that really necessary? Just a waste of ti.”
The senior apprentice bit her lip, suddenly regretting not calling in sick today.
Right now, who among the Third Rank apprentices didn’t know Saul was the Tower Master’s favorite student? Trying to access a simple inventory log wouldn’t be hard for him at all.
Since sticking to the rules wouldn’t work, why risk offending Saul?
Having reasoned it through, the apprentice obediently went to fetch the records.
The registration office managed the Third Warehouse—the largest warehouse in the Wizard Tower, occupying the entire sixth and seventh floors of the East Tower.
Even the storage ledgers alone filled an entire bookshelf.
The on-duty apprentice spent so ti before she finally found what Saul wanted.
Saul took the record and imdiately began flipping through it.
In the earlier entries, when Grind Sail Town had just begun tributing the fruit, so apprentices, and even ntors had exchanged for the Grinding Sound Fruit.
Later on, it beca almost exclusively claid by Nick.
That was understandable—Nick was probably the only apprentice in the Tower studying emotion-based wizardly.
But as the tributes from Grind Sail Town dwindled, Nick's redemption frequency also decreased.
Only three other people appeared in the records during this period.
What caught Saul’s attention, though, was that the final person to exchange the fruit had taken all the remaining stock.
“Do you know this apprentice nad Tom?”
Saul pointed at the na of the last person who redeed the fruit and asked the apprentice.
“Him?” The senior apprentice had completely given up resisting and ca over to take a look, “That na’s pretty common, but it does seem familiar.”
She suddenly ran off, and after a while, dug out a personnel register.
“Ah, I rember now—two months ago, he went missing during an outside mission. He’s officially presud dead, though no body has ever been found.”
“Two months ago…” Saul looked down at the inventory record in his hand.
The date when Tom took the Grinding Sound Fruit was exactly two months ago...
Even though he couldn’t get the fruit from the registration office, Saul wasn’t too worried.
There was one person who definitely had a stash left!
Knock knock knock!
Saul rapped on Nick’s door.
Ever since they returned from Hanging Hands Valley, he’d only seen Nick once or twice. Then he heard Nick had locked himself in his room and hadn’t co out since.
Perhaps he’d encountered so kind of problem.
If Nick didn’t have any either, Saul would have no choice but to apply for a trip outside the Tower and check if there were any leftover Grinding Sound Fruits in Grind Sail Town.
Though the barbarians had invaded last ti, it was unlikely they destroyed all the fruit.
For the sake of continuing to receive protection from the Wizard Tower, the town should’ve resud trying to cultivate the fruit.
Especially that First Rank wandering apprentice who showed up last with soldiers—he seed like a reasonable man.
He’d likely stay behind with those soldiers to help rebuild the town.
Of course, the best-case scenario would be if Nick still had so Grinding Sound Fruit.
Saul raised his hand again to knock.
But just then, Nick’s door creaked open a sliver, revealing a bloodshot eye.
“Senior… Nick?”
Saul was shocked—he hadn’t seen Nick in months, and the man looked completely different.
His face—there wasn’t a single hair left.
Not only that, Nick’s cheeks had sunken deep into the bone, making him look more like a skeleton than a man.
“Saul, what do you want?”
“I’d like to purchase sothing from you.”
“What?”
Saul glanced around. There was no one nearby, but he still felt it was inappropriate to ntion the Grinding Sound Fruit aloud.
“Nothing too rare, but sothing with particular significance to you.”
Nick’s crimson eyes stared fixedly at Saul for a few seconds, then he widened the door gap and allowed him in.
As soon as Saul stepped in, Nick shut the door tightly behind him, then even took out a special kind of sealing tape and sealed the cracks around the door.
“Senior Nick, what… what happened to you?”
Up close, Nick looked even more terrifying than when Saul saw him through the door gap.
If, through the door, Saul had thought he resembled a skeleton—then now, with Nick standing fully before him, it was clear:
He was a skeleton.
Only barely held together by the scraps of mory that still lingered in his flesh.
(End of Chapter)
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