Thor's enthusiasm for academic discussion had completely faded. He took Keli's meditation book and, fighting off his dizziness, flipped through it from beginning to end.
The contents were in the same order, but the diagram on his page seventeen had changed from Keli's Ten Thousand Snakes Diagram to the Human-Monster Walking Diagram.
Keli leaned over to take a look, too.
"Why is this page different in our books? Hmm..." She only glanced at it before squeezing her eyes shut and turning away. "I'm so dizzy. I feel like throwing up."
It took her quite a while to recover enough to open her eyes. They were bloodshot, and tears seemed ready to spill from them at any moment.
"I guess this diagram is only for someone with Mental Power as strong as yours. I can't even stand looking at it."
Thor took back his meditation book and stared intently at the monsters on the page.
If only people with sufficiently powerful Mental Power chose this diagram, then conversely, was this the only diagram that wouldn't make people with stronger Mental Power feel dizzy?
Thor glanced again at the Ten Thousand Snakes Diagram in Keli's book.
If he hadn't found the Human-Monster Walking Diagram, he would probably have chosen this one as his meditation diagram.
A whole string of questions immediately surfaced in Thor's mind.
Had someone deliberately replaced the contents of his book?
Who could have done it? Could it still have been Sid?
Had he known Thor would choose the Human-Monster Walking Diagram? Had he tampered with it somehow?
Would observing this diagram further put Thor's life in danger?
At that thought, Thor glanced at his left shoulder. The Hardcover Book sat quietly.
All right, for now, it didn't seem to pose a threat to his life.
The meditation books and other study materials had all been delivered to Thor's door by a maid. Could Sid have made the switch along the way?
Even though the Human-Monster Walking Diagram had saved his life twice already, Thor still didn't dare keep using it to meditate.
"Hey, kid, you're Thor, right?" Just then, a Level 1 Apprentice sitting on Thor's other side leaned over.
He looked about seventeen or eighteen, and stood a good two heads taller than Thor.
"Where'd you get that meditation diagram?" He'd overheard Thor and Keli talking.
"Senior, have you seen it before?"
"Senior? Heh, I like that." The other man grinned. "I saw it in a book once. The meditation books used by Level 1 Apprentices and Level 2 Apprentices are different. If I remember right, the diagram you've got is meant for Level 2 Apprentices."
He licked his lips, his eyes burning with interest.
"I'll give you one credit. Make me a copy."
This man actually wanted the meditation diagram from Thor's book, even though nobody knew where it had come from?
Thor rested a hand on the spine of the book.
He thought of the Human-Monster Walking Diagram, which had helped him in the Laboratory, then remembered the maid who'd been lying on the cold conveyor belt yesterday.
"I could, but aren't you worried there might be something dangerous about it, Senior? After all, it's a diagram meant for Level 2 Apprentices."
The Senior licked his lips again. "You don't need to worry about that. Are you selling or not?"
Of course he was selling it.
After class, the three of them went to the Library on the ninth floor of the East Tower. There, the Senior took the initiative and found someone to make a copy of the diagram for them.
Thor, meanwhile, asked him to go to the Registration Office and transfer one credit directly to Keli.
The Level 1 Apprentice didn't know about the deal between Thor and Keli. He merely gave them a suggestive look and sighed. "Ah, to be young. You're already spending money on a woman."
Keli was so furious she wanted to kick the man in the balls, but Thor held her back.
"Is his brain addled? I'm only twelve!"
After the Level 1 Apprentice left with his copied diagram, Keli angrily complained to Thor.
"Yeah, it must be."
After calming the girl down, Thor left Keli behind and returned to the Library. He renewed the book he'd borrowed yesterday, Green's Cognition of Wizard Body Modification, for another day.
He'd unexpectedly spent yesterday afternoon in the Corpse Room, so he hadn't finished copying the book. But now Thor had an income, so he didn't mind borrowing it for another day.
After renewing the book, Thor returned to his dormitory for lunch.
The maid who brought his food this time wasn't the same one as before. After all, the previous one was already stuffed inside the big box beneath the Console.
The new maid looked a little older. Her hands trembled the whole time she handed him his meal, and she nearly spilled it.
Her face was pale, and she kept bowing and apologizing to Thor, as though he would take her life at any moment.
Thor gave her a cold look and waved her away.
The maid might have been frightened by what had happened to her predecessor. Or she might have known something.
Thor decided to take his meditation book and go find Mentor Kazi.
Surely Mentor Kazi wouldn't want the new hire he'd just brought in to die on the job the very next day.
As he thought this, Thor glanced at the food on the table.
Someone had tampered with his book. What about his food?
Sure, if they wanted to poison him, they could've done it long ago.
But once suspicion took root, everything looked threatening.
Thor stared at the food on the table, unable to summon even the slightest appetite.
"I'm still too weak. I have to buy myself some time. At the very least, I can't let Sid do whatever he wants like before!"
Thor hurried to the Corpse Room on the second floor of the East Tower, his stomach empty.
There were no visitors in the Corpse Room today. The candle on the Teleportation Platform burned dimly, as though it might go out at any moment.
Thor walked over to the conveyor belt and listened carefully for a while. He could hear rustling from the room next door.
He asked in a low voice, "Senior, is there no work today?"
A thump came from the other side. Only after a while did a voice answer.
"Can't you see there's no work? Do you know how scary it is when someone suddenly speaks in a place like this?"
"Uh, sorry."
Thor thought about it. If he'd suddenly heard someone speaking in a place like this, he'd probably have been startled, too.
"Senior, if there's no work, do we just wait here the whole time?"
"What else would we do? If you dare wander off and mess up Mentor Kazi's business, you might be the one lying on that belt tomorrow."
Thor looked at the pitch-black conveyor belt, its surface still marked with visible stains, then obediently sat back down at the table.
The place smelled awful and had a terrifying atmosphere, but at least it had a table, chairs, paper, and pens.
Thor simply continued copying Green's Cognition of Object Modification there.
When he focused on his work, time always flew.
Thor looked up and realized it was almost seven, but Mentor Kazi still hadn't arrived.
"What do I do?"
He rubbed his stomach. A twelve-year-old body could eat from morning till night. Especially after two days of living well, Thor found he could barely endure being hungry.
He was now so hungry he felt dizzy. If he didn't see Mentor Kazi today, would he have to go hungry again tomorrow?
Or should he go find Kongsha?
Thor shook his head again.
He didn't want to be completely under Kongsha's thumb. If he couldn't prove his worth to her again, she would definitely make him take that potion that drained his potential.
"No bodies today?" Kazi's voice suddenly came from the doorway.
Thor turned around in delight.
Kazi's expression was calm. He didn't seem displeased that there'd been no work today.
"Mentor!" Thor hurried over, holding up the meditation book he'd kept on his lap the whole time.
"If you have a question, ask quickly. I'm in a hurry."
"Mentor," Thor said, opening the book to the page with the Human-Monster Walking Diagram. "This is my meditation book."
Kazi took an interest when he saw the diagram. "The Erosion Diagram? You're a Level 1 Apprentice and you dare use this to meditate?"
Before you continue