Chapter 155: What Are You Looking For? |
“Mentor, if I choose an exit, will it be connected to you?”
“Any mentor could be involved. The projects that Mentor Tali is researching are mostly related to death,” Mentor Kaz said with a hint of meaning.
If it were before, Saul might not have thought much about it.
But ever since he learned that the Tower’s main goal is to resurrect Lady Yura, he immediately guessed that these research projects might all be related to the resurrection of Lady Yura.
If that’s the case, then the Tower Master, Gorsa, is surprisingly a sentimental person.
It just doesn’t seem to match his appearance or personality.
“Mentor, I’d like to choose the exit-related work.” Saul didn’t keep Kaz waiting too long and made his decision.
“You’re as bold as ever,” Kaz said, a strange smile showing on his eerie face. It was unclear whether he was pleased with Saul’s choice.
He turned to face the corridor on the right and raised his voice, “Kujin!”
He appeared to be nearly two meters tall, and now Saul looked like a little guy in front of him. The nameplate on his chest clearly indicated that he was a Third Rank apprentice.
“When will I grow taller?” As Kujin approached, Saul lifted his neck slightly, until it reached a rather awkward angle.
In front of Kaz, Kujin made an effort to calm himself, but the downturn of his mouth revealed his reluctance.
“Mentor Kaz.”
“Get ready now and hand over the work to Saul.” Kaz didn’t explain, didn’t introduce Kujin, and didn’t give Kujin any chance to argue; he directly announced the final decision.
Kujin looked at Saul, noticing his new nameplate on his chest. His cheeks puffed up and deflated again, repeatedly.
He couldn’t hold it in and spoke up, “Mentor Kaz, letting a newcomer take over the work, what if he messes it up…”
“That’s his problem,” Kaz waved his hand impatiently. He was always intolerant when it came to these matters.
Kujin had no choice but to swallow his complaints.
If Kujin, who was standing here, were only a Second Rank apprentice, he wouldn’t dare to say another word.
“Understood.” Kujin lowered his head and turned to Saul, “Come with me.”
Saul followed Kujin and took a few steps, but then he realized that Mentor Kaz didn’t follow them.
He turned to look at Kaz, only to find the man staring at him with a complicated expression.
Seeing Saul turn around, Kaz’s emotions vanished beneath the wrinkles on his face. “Go ahead, what, do you still want me to see you off?”
Saul paused and bowed deeply to Kaz, “Mentor, take care.”
Kaz snorted lightly, turned, and walked quickly away with his hands behind his back.
Saul turned back and saw that Kujin had already almost reached the door. He hurried to catch up by running a couple of steps.
“There are hundreds of materials here, but the most common one is this.” Kujin said, forcefully pushing open the heavy door.
Behind the door was an exceptionally bright world.
There were so many candelabras that Saul was momentarily blinded by the light.
Once his eyes adjusted to the brightness, he saw that inside the door... stood many people.
His heart skipped a beat, and he immediately held his breath, walking slowly behind Kujin.
Behind this third door, there were over a hundred people standing in perfect rows.
They were spaced a meter apart, with their legs together and their hands naturally hanging down.
They looked like they were standing at attention.
But they all had their eyes closed, and their skin looked as pale as paper.
Upon closer inspection, not one of them was still breathing.
These were all dead people!
“Scared?” Kujin closely watched Saul’s reaction, seemingly eager to see him falter.
But Saul, though his face became more serious, didn’t lose his composure.
“I’m fine. I used to work in the morgue on the second floor and saw all kinds of strange corpses.”
“Hah,” Kujin sneered, the corner of his mouth curling up. “What you’ve seen could only be called corpses. The people in front of you were at least Second Rank apprentices when they were alive.”
“At least Second Rank apprentices?” Now Saul was a bit surprised. “Does that mean there are many Third Rank apprentices here?”
“The strongest here are the true wizards,” Kujin said, enjoying the sight of Saul’s wide eyes and slightly open mouth.
But Saul quickly reined in his emotions and immediately asked, “Managing these corpses must have a lot of rules and taboos, right?”
“There are only two taboos here.”
“First, there must always be at least 81 candelabras lit in the room.”
“Second, materials with numbered labels must not be touched or moved.”
The fewer the taboos, the more serious they are.
“There are many rules, though. They’re all written in the manual over there. You can read it slowly later.”
Saul firmly imprinted these two taboos in his mind, but he still maintained a sense of skepticism. “Senior Kujin, are these two taboos also written in the book?”
“…Yes, they’re on the first page. Don’t worry, I won’t lie to you.” Kujin stepped forward, “If I don’t do my job properly during the handover, I won’t be able to get away with it either.”
As Kujin, tall and broad, passed by one of the corpses, his arm brushed against it, causing the corpse to tip slightly.
He immediately stopped and propped the corpse upright.
Saul silently noted this and thought he’d check the manual later to see if there was a rule about this.
After passing through the crowd of dead bodies, they reached the usual tall cabinets of the storage room. On the cabinets were various containers and equipment.
Bottles, jars, boxes, bags, as well as metal racks, flowing soil, and more.
Saul followed Kujin into the central aisle between the cabinets.
At the end of the aisle, there was a spacious area. This should be where Kujin usually studied and researched.
Saul immediately saw a five-meter-long table, as well as cabinets nailed to the walls and floor.
The table was very clean, clearly arranged deliberately. It was unclear whether this was Kujin’s usual habit or if it had been tidied up in anticipation of Saul’s arrival.
If it was the latter, it would suggest that Kujin had already known his job might be handed over to a new person before Saul came.
Saul thought to himself: “Perhaps this task was actually arranged for me by the Tower Master?”
After all, Gorsa was the first person in the Tower to know that Saul had advanced and was about to return.
Moreover, Saul had suspected for the past two years that the opportunity to work in the morgue was also arranged by the Tower Master behind the scenes.
What the Tower Master values must truly be his soul aptitude.
Kujin took out the rule manual and handed it to Saul, along with three large quill pens.
The pens were exaggeratedly large, each longer than Saul’s arm.
“These are communication pens. Once the mentor has a need, this pen will write the request on paper. Although mentors mostly issue requests after 3 p.m., if it’s urgent, they might have you wake up in the middle of the night to prepare something. You can keep one in your dormitory for backup, or you can choose to stay here.”
“Stay here?” Saul was surprised. “Aren’t we required to leave the East Tower by 8 p.m.?”
Kujin moved his things to a trolley beside the table. “This place is one of the most dangerous in the East Tower, but it’s also one of the safest.”
After quickly moving all his things, Kujin pushed the trolley and glanced sideways at Saul, looking down on him from above. “As long as you don’t break the taboos.”
With that, he pushed the trolley out of the room.
The hourglass clock ticked behind Saul as he turned around and saw that it was only a little past 9 a.m.
Saul picked up the manual and flipped through a few pages. “Second Morgue Rules?”
There were several pages filled with writing, but the back pages were blank, seemingly waiting for someone to add new rules at any time.
The two taboos Kujin mentioned were indeed prominently written on the first page.
Aside from these two taboos, no other information was recorded on the first page.
Saul flipped through the whole book, checking every page, and found no signs of erasure or magic residue.
He then placed the manual back on the table.
“There’s still a long time until 3 p.m.” Saul’s skeletal fingers tapped lightly on the table, producing a crisp sound. “I’ll check my body and soul again. Maybe a more professional person can help me find where that shadow is hiding.”
Although Byron and Nick had checked and found no other souls within him, Saul was certain from last night’s experience that there was something ghostly hiding around him.
This time, he planned to visit the apprentice physician in the Tower who specialized in checking the physical and mental health of apprentices.
It would cost him quite a few credits, but spending credits was better than constantly having an unknown spirit hiding around him.
Just as Saul took a step forward, he suddenly heard a voice beside him.
“What are you looking for? Me?”
A shadow suddenly appeared in front of Saul, blocking his path.
Saul looked up and came face to face with a pair of enchanting red eyes.
(End of Chapter)
Comments 1