Diary of a Dead Wizard-Chapter 179: No Compromises

Saul was left standing alone in the corridor.

He looked around. There were several other white doors lining the hallway—presumably rooms containing equally dangerous materials.

At the end of the library corridor, a familiar ramp came into view.

“This must be the floor reserved exclusively for the Tower Master... just not sure which exact level.”

Levels 18 through 21 of the Wizard Tower belonged solely to the Tower Master. No one else was permitted to live or conduct research there.

Unfortunately, none of the floors in the tower were labeled, which made things rather inconvenient.

Saul being allowed in here to read books already meant he had earned Gorsa’s initial approval.

But if he truly wanted Gorsa’s full recognition, he would have to pass a series of trials.

The dangerous mission at the end of May was one such trial—and certainly not the last.

“If I make it through all of this, what will be waiting for me in the end?”

Yura, the horde of corpses, Mentor Kaz, Mentor Rum, Kongsha… their faces flashed through Saul’s mind like a revolving lantern.

Expressionless, he walked up to a large white door engraved with a golden magic array. He inserted the pinky finger of his left hand into the keyhole.

Unlike a regular lock, Saul felt something envelop his finger bone briefly, before quickly releasing it.

Then the white door popped open with a faint click.

Saul pushed it open, revealing a study dominated by white tones. Opposite him was a massive floor-to-ceiling window.

The sunlight streamed in just right.

He reached back and closed the door.

“No matter what, I won’t become one of those ghosts doomed to wander beneath the Wizard Tower for eternity.”

“Whether Master Gorsa is raising me to be an experiment or genuinely grooming me to be his assistant—I’m not going to waste this opportunity!”

“Schemes? Let them scheme. Manipulation? Fine by me. No one in this world is born obligated to be kind to another!”

“In the world of wizards, even stagnation is a mistake. If I give up now, I might as well have died back when I was just a servant.”

“Right, dear Diary?”

Saul twisted his neck from side to side, glancing at the diary quietly floating over his left shoulder.

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“Which of these books can I read right now, I wonder?”

…

Saul vanished into the depths of the library, and that same evening, he descended from the floor reserved for the Tower Master.

This didn’t become widely known, but a few watchful eyes who had been keeping track of him took note.

East Tower, Level 16—Mentor Anze’s quarters.

While Rum was confined to one corner of his spacious quarters due to health issues, Anze rarely left his rooms simply because he disliked hassle.

He had the most apprentices among the five mentors. Almost all of his research and experiments were carried out by students, while he merely oversaw progress and steered direction.

Today, upon hearing that Saul had descended from Level 18, he immediately summoned Lokai, the president of the Mutual Aid Association.

“Have you been keeping an eye on Saul’s movements lately?”

Lokai wore his usual playful grin when speaking with his mentor.

“Hehehe, of course! You told me to monitor him closely, so I’ve been pouring all my energy into it.”

“Any findings?”

“Oh, Saul? He managed to kill a Third Rank apprentice like it was nothing. Officially it’s still being treated as a disappearance, but it won’t be long before it’s confirmed as death. We just haven’t figured out how exactly he pulled it off.”

Anze closed his eyes in thought. “Was that Third Rank apprentice someone you sent?”

“Yes, hehehe.”

Lokai, twenty-seven years old, had been stuck as a Second Rank apprentice for over a decade.

He was once a dazzlingly talented apprentice, but after so many years in the same stage, everyone had forgotten that. His light had long been overshadowed by rising stars like Bill, Billy, and Wright.

He seemed to have accepted his fate, now running the Mutual Aid Association and acting as Anze’s errand boy.

And he genuinely seemed to enjoy it.

But very few knew that Lokai was one of Anze’s key pieces.

He was like a fisherman at sea, holding all the nets in his hands.

“Ferguson’s lightning flared up the day Saul took over Warehouse Two. Hehehe, with his hot-headed and arrogant nature, he definitely would’ve made a move on Saul. And while Saul has talent, he’s no match for Ferguson—especially when lightning directly counters his abilities.”

Lokai gleefully recounted every step of his plan to Anze.

“Next, we just need to find Ferguson’s corpse. Then we can determine whether the great Tower Master personally intervened to save Saul.”

Anze folded his hands together. “Gorsa has never involved himself in conflicts between apprentices. The last time he appeared outside the tower to save Saul and Wright, he could still claim he was driving off intruders. But if he saved Saul from Ferguson…”

“That means Saul is extremely important to him!” Lokai’s eyes sparkled.

“Exactly.” Anze leaned back, sinking into the soft cushions of his sofa.

“Next, I plan to have Kujin befriend him. That way, we’ll have a read on his movements. Once he leaves the tower, everything will depend on your command.”

But to Lokai’s surprise, Anze raised a hand.

“No need.”

Lokai was momentarily confused.

“From now on, react as normally as possible.”

He didn’t immediately ask for clarification. Instead, he lowered his head, maintaining his smile while thinking.

“Hehehe… Hehehehe…”

Eventually, his grin broadened. “I see what you mean. The most normal reaction it is. I’ll withdraw everyone watching him.”

Anze nodded. “Lokai, you’ve always been clever enough.”

Lokai’s grin widened further, pride dancing in his eyes and curling at the corners of his brow.

“Well, I’ll leave you to rest then.” He gave a deep bow and backed out, never turning his back.

Just as he was closing the door, he heard Anze speak again.

“You’ve got three years until thirty—feeling nervous?”

“Of course not, Mentor. I’m not the type to compromise.”

With that, Lokai gently shut the door.

Anze kept his eyes closed, listening to the footsteps fade into the distance.

He murmured softly, “Neither am I.”

…

Saul spent ten full days reading in the white room on Level 18.

He even discovered two new formulas for synthesizing Soul Resin.

One of them, however, was marked by the diary as off-limits for now. So Saul focused on the other.

He found that this type of Soul Resin, called “Soul Eye,” shared a similar weakness—it feared sunlight.

However, unlike his “plastic bone,” which melted instantly in light, Soul Eye’s powers were merely weakened by strong light, and some of its lethal techniques became unusable.

What’s more, the formula included several ideas for improving this flaw. These had never been implemented due to the high cost of experimentation.

Studying the proposed improvements for Soul Eye gave Saul some new ideas for his own plastic bone.

Still, his main focus since entering the Tower Master’s private library had been on soul research. After reading several experiment reports, he had to admit he hadn’t even scratched the surface of this field.

No wonder the Tower Master insisted that only Third Rank apprentices were qualified to assist him.

Saul resolved to begin a soul-related research project once he reforged his plastic bone.

He would pursue this research alongside his work with the locator device.

As for the subject and direction of the project… he’d need the diary’s help again.

He had been so engrossed in the reading that he completely forgot his appointment with Kongsha.

That night, he was walking down the corridor, holding his notebook of copied information, reading as he walked—when he collided headlong with someone’s slender back.

The person didn’t budge an inch, while Saul himself staggered back two steps.

“Sorry!”

It was clearly his fault for not watching where he was going, so Saul immediately apologized.

Then the person turned around, gently pulling back a wide hood with elegant fingers to reveal half of a beautiful face.

(End of Chapter)