Chapter 184: The Storm Approaches |
Saul nodded and leapt directly off the carriage, against the wind.
The wind blew open the collar of his shirt slightly, revealing a thumb-sized wooden figurine on a black cord hanging around his neck.
The cord was short, so the figurine rested snugly between his collarbones. Even with the jolt of his jump, it didn’t sway in the slightest.
Upon closer inspection, there was a small wooden spike on the back of the figurine, piercing deeply into Saul’s skin.
This was the temporary locator he had rushed to have made before setting out.
It would last for three months.
There was basically no need to worry about accidental soul detachment.
“You should go find an inn and rest. I’ll go on alone from here.”
The coachman hesitated, then cautiously asked, “Young master, please allow me to wait for you here.”
Despite that, the coachman still wanted to wait for him in place.
Saul didn’t press the issue. “As you wish. If you stay by the roadside, hide inside the carriage. Don’t sit outside in the rain like a fool.”
The coachman bowed deeply. “Please be careful, young master!”
Leaving the coachman behind, Saul pressed forward through the wind toward the blocked-off path.
He observed it for a while and confirmed that it had been barricaded layer upon layer until the entire path was thoroughly sealed.
He walked toward a dilapidated shack to the side and knocked on the door.
After a long pause, an old woman in tattered clothes and with a dazed expression cracked the door open slightly.
“What is it?” Her voice was swallowed by the howling wind.
Saul reached out to steady the door. “Hello, madam. I haven’t been here in many years. What happened to this road? Why has it been sealed?”
The old woman clearly heard him, but didn’t realize it was thanks to a bit of spell.
When she saw Saul asking about the path, a trace of unease flickered in her cloudy eyes.
“You can’t go in there. Anyone who goes in either dies or goes mad!”
That sounded dangerous, which only confirmed that this was exactly the place Saul was looking for.
“But I have friends who live there. Are they all dead?”
The old woman glanced up at Saul in surprise. She looked over his plain clothes and hesitated before replying, “If they weren’t dead, they'd have moved away. I stayed because I’m too old to walk far. Young man, take my advice. Whether your friends are still alive or not, don’t go looking for them. Just go back to where you came from.”
Unwilling to give up, Saul pressed on. “Madam, do you know what exactly happened?”
But the old woman clearly didn’t want to answer and began to retreat into the house.
Seeing this, Saul opened his hand, revealing a silver coin.
The old woman’s eyes widened, and she no longer tried to shut the door.
Her gaze fixed on the silver coin, she said with a trembling voice, “All I know is that the deaths started at the end of the road, in the Ralph Estate. It’s changed names several times, but now it’s called Ralph Estate again.”
She still tried to dissuade Saul. “You shouldn’t go there, or ask questions. It’s far too dangerous!”
“Ralph…” Saul murmured. “Has no one done anything about this?”
This place still belonged to the Wizard Tower’s territory. If reported, it could qualify as a Second Rank apprentice’s external assignment.
But the old woman only shook her head.
Saul asked a few more questions, but she could barely answer any of them.
In the end, he placed the silver coin in her hand and turned to leave.
As he climbed over the barricade and continued on, the old woman closed the door behind him with a worried expression… then grinned, baring a twisted smile of excitement.
She gleefully polished the silver coin again and again, even kissing it, before carefully placing it into an inconspicuous ceramic jar.
Inside the jar was already a thick pile of copper and silver coins—there were even a few gold coins.
Once she was done, the old woman returned to her usual sorrowful look, sat back on her small stool, and waited for the next traveler to ask for directions.
…
Ralph was Sid’s grandfather.
And Sid was the first mortal enemy Saul had encountered after arriving in this world.
Most importantly, Sid knew that Saul possessed the Diary of a Dead Wizard.
Back then, Saul had used the diary to obtain information from Sid’s lingering consciousness that the Diary of a Dead Wizard had been passed down by their Bloodthorn family ancestors.
Yet no one had ever been able to unlock its secrets and become its true master.
To that end, Sid’s grandfather had tried all sorts of methods and was driven mad for a long time.
According to Sid, by the time he entered the Wizard Tower, his grandfather had already killed everyone else in the family. And eventually, even the grandfather himself died.
But that raised a question. How had Sid survived and made it to the tower where the diary was?
“The Tower Master sent me here to handle a ‘loose end.’ It’s very likely related to Sid and his family. Are there any other survivors from their bloodline? Or perhaps some lingering wraiths? And most importantly… does anyone else know the diary still exists?”
The thought of the diary made Saul tense up.
“Cleaning up the remnants of a two-year-old incident… Why wait two years? Was it just to wait until I advanced to Second Rank?”
That would mean the enemy’s strength was at least on par with a typical Second Rank apprentice.
Since this involved his most important secret, Saul frowned deeply.
In truth, after Sid’s death, Saul had planned to visit his family’s estate to uncover the diary’s secrets. But back then, he was only First Rank—neither qualified nor strong enough to leave the tower, so he’d had to shelve the idea.
He hadn’t expected the Tower Master to assign him here ahead of time.
So this “loose end” was definitely tied to Sid, and the strange events in Samp Town were likely connected to it as well.
For this mission, Saul had deliberately concealed all signs that marked him as a Wizard Tower apprentice, donning the gear of a regular mercenary.
But on these deserted streets, his presence still stood out.
Another gust of wind roared past, lifting a broken tree branch from the ground.
By the time the branch landed again, Saul had vanished.
When he reached the end of the path, the clouds overhead had grown even heavier. Though it was still daytime, the sky looked as dim as dusk.
A grand estate loomed before Saul’s eyes.
Even though the gate bore marks of weathering and the walls were crumbling with debris and dead branches scattered everywhere, it couldn’t hide the estate’s former splendor.
Peering over the tall wall, he could see the rooftops of the manor’s castle in the distance.
As he pondered whether to push open the gate or climb over the wall, he suddenly sensed someone watching him.
Without hesitation, Saul turned and gave chase.
Mid-run, he suddenly crouched, then sprang up, snatching a pebble and flinging it with force.
“Ow!” a boy yelped.
Saul stepped forward, just about to grab him, when suddenly a small fireball shot toward him from afar.
He quickly dodged, but the fireball exploded midair, turning into a shower of sparks that filled every direction he could escape to.
Nowhere to run—so he didn’t.
A transparent giant hand appeared in front of him, swatting at the fiery embers.
The fierce sparks were extinguished in an instant, most of them blown away; the few remaining couldn’t harm Saul.
“Oh?” A second, older voice sounded from behind a nearby building.
Saul turned his head to see an elderly man with white hair and a wooden cane stepping out from around the corner, staring at him in surprise.
“You can cast Zero Tier spells instantly—not bad. You’ve already advanced to Second Rank, haven’t you?” Though the man was old, his movements were agile.
Judging from the magical fluctuations earlier, the white-haired man seemed to be an ordinary Third Rank apprentice—unless, of course, he was hiding his true power.
(End of Chapter)
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