No One Has It Easy

Kongsha was no saint. Everything she did for Thor came with a price he would have to pay.

Kongsha chuckled softly, "What are you afraid of? Didn't you drink the potion readily enough last time?"

Last time, Thor was merely a servant, facing the threat of death with no power to resist.

But this time, there were three months left until the first assessment.

Thor was no longer completely clueless about how to grow stronger, so naturally, he didn't want to gamble his future on a potion with unknown side effects.

"There is no problem with taking this potion in the short term, but if you take it long-term, it will overdraw your potential and consume your life force. Once it's all used up, you will naturally die."

Kongsha changed her tone, "However, if you show some spirit and work hard, perhaps you can become a level 2 apprentice before your potential is exhausted. By then, you won't need to force your mana to increase; you can turn to sorcery research to achieve results and pass the biannual tests."

After speaking, she held up the small vial and shook it. The transparent liquid sloshed inside, full of temptation.

"Overdrawing potential." Thor stared at the vial and sighed softly, "If I really take it long-term, does that mean I will never have the possibility of becoming a formal Wizard?"

"Ha!" Kongsha was almost amused to death by what she heard, "Don't get ahead of yourself! Even I am not certain that I will definitely promote to a formal Wizard."

Although she didn't say it explicitly, this sentence basically confirmed Thor's suspicion.

"I'm sorry, Senior Sister Kongsha, I cannot take this potion." Thor kept his head lowered, but his voice was firm.

Kongsha's smile vanished. She stood up and stared at the top of Thor's head.

Inside the glass dome on half of her skull, a dense cluster of five or six eyeballs emerged, pressing tightly against the glass and glaring viciously at Thor.

Although he didn't look up, Thor could still feel endless pressure and fear.

After Thor turned pale and his body began to tremble, Kongsha retracted the eyeballs with a light laugh.

"Do you think three months is a long time? Since you are unwilling, I won't force you. However, when you regret it and come begging me, what you'll have to do will be much more than just this."

With that, Kongsha sashayed around Thor and walked out of the dormitory.

After a long while, Thor turned to look at the closed door and raised a hand to wipe the cold sweat from his forehead.

Drenched in cold sweat, the moisture gathered into droplets under his touch and slid down the corner of his eye.

Terrifying as it was, Thor had to refuse Kongsha's potion.

For one, he could not allow himself to become Kongsha's puppet, gambling his life on her kindness.

For another, as a transmigrator with a Hardcover Book in his possession, he could not be satisfied with a future as a level 2 Wizard apprentice.

The door to the world of Wizards had opened a crack for him, and even catching a glimpse of what lay beyond was enough to make Thor yearn for it.

"Am I naturally cursed with bad luck? Why do I always encounter all sorts of dangers? Surviving in this world is just too difficult!"

There was Sid in front, Kongsha behind, and Mark in the middle with his ambiguous attitude.

There was Kazi above, Brown below, and Duke hiding malice by his side.

Was there no one good in this Wizard Tower?

Could he not just live the life of an ordinary apprentice, studying honestly, without encountering an enemy at every turn?

Because of the recent intimidation, Thor's limbs were still weak. He managed to move two steps before letting himself collapse onto the bed.

"Having refused Kongsha, I can only find a way to get stronger on my own for now."

Thor covered his eyes with his left hand; the cold, hard bone stung his eyelids.

"Damn it, if it comes to it, I'll just stop being human! There's class tomorrow... sleep!"

Half a night of sleep punctuated by intermittent nightmares left Thor feeling unrested.

Yet, he still crawled out of bed early, sporting two dark circles under his eyes, and found George working on the fourth floor before class.

George was thrilled to see Thor approach. He was scheduled to clean the corridors at dawn tomorrow; although he might not encounter anything, it was better not to go if he didn't have to.

As long as Thor valued him, the other servants wouldn't dare assign him dangerous tasks.

"My lord, are you here to take me on as your exclusive servant?" George's eyes were shining.

"Not yet."

George was still a child and immediately showed a disappointed expression, but he quickly perked up, "I understand, my lord. George will always look forward to serving you!"

Thor brought up the real matter, "In these past few days, has anyone come looking for Brown?"

George shook his head, "Everyone is together when we rest, and he was there at those times. But I don't know about the nights."

Thor pondered; perhaps the person who instructed Brown to target him hadn't appeared yet.

He changed his approach, "Then before, after I was injured, have you ever seen a blond youth of eighteen or nineteen come to find Brown?"

Thor described the appearance of the level 2 apprentice, Sid.

George's mouth fell open after hearing this.

Seeing George's expression, Thor immediately pressed, "Have you seen him?"

George stammered, "M-my lord, I haven't seen him come to find Brown... but, but, isn't the person you described the one who used a book to smash... the one who injured you?"

Thor's eyes widened.

His fragmented memories had never told him who had killed the original owner of this body, but after George's reminder, scenes suddenly flooded into Thor's mind.

The fear that had been sealed away by death erupted in an instant.

It was a bright, yet still bone-chillingly eerie, large room.

It was row upon row of towering bookshelves.

It was a blond youth with a strange expression, incessantly pulling books off the shelves and shoving them back in.

It was a few vague whispers regarding a "diary."

It was the sight of him turning around to reveal a face twisted in fury.

It was a Hardcover Book, a palm thick, being hurled casually in his direction.

It was a dizzying sensation mixed with intense fear and a splitting headache.

It was a deathly, silent darkness...

Thor swayed, utterly shocked.

What surprised him was not the discovery that Sid had once killed "himself," but the Hardcover Book.

It was actually the very same Hardcover Book that floated above his left shoulder!!!

Thor had always assumed the Hardcover Book was a perk of his transmigration, a cheat, a golden finger.

He never expected that the Hardcover Book was actually an original object of this world!

He resisted the urge to cast his gaze toward his left shoulder.

Then, he thought of the word "diary" he had heard from Sid's mouth, as well as the familiar format that appeared before the text on the Hardcover Book...

Was the thing Sid was looking for the very same Hardcover Book that had been tossed at him?

Thor sneered.

He wondered if Sid realized it.

If the other party discovered that the Hardcover Book was the object he was searching for, then the layers of murderous intent Thor had encountered these past few days finally had a reason.

Thor did not know how to detach the Hardcover Book, and he certainly could not give it up.

Then it can only be a fight to the death, he thought to himself, surprisingly no longer feeling much fear.

Lifting his eyes, he saw George looking at him with trepidation, so Thor softened his expression. "Alright, you go back. Once I've settled down, I will have you transferred out."

George was overjoyed; with those words from Thor, his life could be extended by several years.

After leaving the jubilant George, Thor went specifically to greet the butler.

The man was respectful upon seeing him and readily agreed not to assign George to any dangerous tasks.

Only then did Thor hurriedly pack his things and rush toward the East Tower.

The first class today was Basic Cognition of All Things.

Thor arrived late, but Keli had already saved him a seat.

"You finally made it. If you hadn't come, I would have thought something happened to you too." Keli rubbed her chin again. "Though I suppose that's unlikely."

"Too? Who had something happen to them?"

Could someone be even more unlucky than him?

Keli mentioned a name, but Thor had never even heard of him.

"He went crazy." Keli noticed that Thor didn't show a panicked expression like the others. "Why aren't you surprised at all?"

"I have already witnessed the horrors of this place; I just didn't expect that after only one day, someone would already go insane," Thor said in a low voice.

If not for the appearance of Big Pink last night, his own best-case scenario would likely have been going insane as well.