Hearing Thor's words, Keli propped her chin on both hands and muttered, "There's nothing interesting about going outside. There's fighting everywhere. It's either one country clashing with another or one race at war with another. The Gorsa Wizard Tower is dangerous and terrifying, but it still holds sway over the surrounding area. At least it's a place where you can focus on your studies."
Thor was still curious about this world. After all, he was stuck at home whether he liked it or not. "Is it still that chaotic outside?"
"Of course. The secular world's power shifts with the strength of the Wizard World. Before I came here, I heard that one group of wizards had wiped out another. The countries and tribes that group controlled were immediately divided among their neighbors."
The Wizard World...
He wondered whether the wizarding world outside was as strange and terrifying as the Wizard Tower.
"Keli, do you know what people outside think of the Gorsa Wizard Tower?" Thor wanted to find out how powerful the tower was.
"The Tower Master of this wizard tower is a Level 2 Wizard. Generally, a Level 2 Wizard's influence extends over several nearby territories and cities."
"To ordinary people, this is a place where demons eat people. But many powerful nobles see it as the birthplace of the strong who control the world. They fear the Wizard Tower, but they also depend on it."
"My father is the duke of Meigao Territory. He became a duke because my grandfather was a Level 2 Wizard Apprentice. That's why Meigao Territory didn't go to my uncle. My father inherited it instead."
So Keli was a duke's daughter. No wonder she'd had so many Magic Crystals and treasures as soon as she entered the Wizard Tower.
"Right after inheriting the dukedom, my father started having children day and night. He had each one tested for wizard talent. If they didn't have any, he'd raise them somewhere or other. Those of us with wizard talent, like me, were carefully raised until we were twelve and then sent to a Wizard Tower."
Had he benefited from the older generation's protection and now wanted to cash in on the next generation?
But wasn't a duke who raised his children purely as tools afraid they'd turn on him one day?
"Does anyone else in your family have wizard talent?" Thor asked.
Keli nodded and said matter-of-factly, "Wizard talent is more likely to appear in the descendants of wizards. I have two older brothers, and they were sent to other wizard factions, but their talent isn't as good as mine. That's why I could be sent so far away. The Gorsa Wizard Tower is famous, and its entrance requirements are higher than those of other places."
Though Keli mentioned her excellent talent, she didn't seem particularly proud. Instead, she puffed out her cheeks and clenched her fists.
"Anyway, I'm going to become a Level 3 Apprentice before I turn thirty. I refuse to go back and support those useless drunkards!"
A Level 3 Apprentice!
Thor thought of the powerful and eerie Kongsha. Was she making him steal the brains of Level 1 and Level 2 Apprentices so she could reach Level 3 herself?
And Senior Byron, who also seemed incredibly strong, still hadn't managed to become a Level 3 Apprentice before turning thirty.
"I've never seen a Level 3 Apprentice in the Wizard Tower."
"I've hardly ever seen any Level 3 Wizard Apprentices around me, either. I heard they're always traveling or doing research."
After sighing over how even more mysterious Level 3 Apprentices were than Official Wizards, the two finally stopped talking and immersed themselves in their studies.
But Thor kept getting distracted as he studied.
Sometimes he thought that, given how unlucky he was, there was no point worrying about whether he could become a Level 3 Apprentice by thirty. He should focus on whether he'd even live that long.
Sometimes he thought that, as a transmigrator, he couldn't let down those who'd come before him. He had to grit his teeth and make it through, even if it meant clinging to his Hardcover Book!
At other times, he went over the afternoon's experimental procedure in his mind, repeatedly reminding himself where he had to be extra careful.
In short, he spent the morning's common class distractedly.
Leaving the noisy classroom, Thor followed the spiral ramp down.
There were fewer and fewer people around him.
Keli said goodbye to him on the sixth floor.
He continued down.
Even the candlelight seemed several shades dimmer.
He continued down.
A faint stench of decay crept into his nostrils.
Thor pushed open the first scarlet door and shut himself inside.
"Phew—"
Thor let out a long breath.
At some point, entering the Corpse Room on the second floor of the East Tower had started to make him feel at ease.
Not because it was particularly safe, but because it was the foundation that would let him grow stronger and stay alive.
"I'm not a genius," he told himself. "If I study steadily like Keli, there's no way I'll pass the test in two months."
He looked at his cabinet, which was packed with all kinds of experimental equipment.
Thor knew that once he began the Wizard Body Modification, there would be no turning back.
Who knew what he'd be like after the modification?
Terrifying Kongsha? Repulsive Gudo? Monica, who looked like she'd be in a lot of pain?
But if he didn't move forward, a powerful enemy would drag him into the Abyss sooner or later.
Thor looked down at his thin body and thought, Sorry, I'm about to do some unpleasant things to your body. I hope you've found somewhere to be reborn.
Thor went to the cabinet, took out the various materials he'd prepared over the past month, and began his experiment.
He lit the crucible and poured in the base solution.
The test tubes and beakers of all shapes and sizes had been cleaned.
He'd placed all the materials where he could reach them easily.
Thor began his reckless path.
At first, Thor had planned to work on his hands, like Senior Mark.
Especially after obtaining the Phantom Sound Pupil, he'd briefly considered stuffing the eyeball into his own eye socket.
But after thinking it over, he gave up.
Eyes were delicate and sensitive, and if he accidentally went blind, it would have a huge impact on his future.
Since this was his first experiment, it would be better to try some safer organs that he could afford to lose.
The potion he'd gotten from Kongsha last night gave Thor a new idea.
If merely sniffing a potion could strengthen his meditation, that meant his nasal cavity could absorb its effects.
Taking the idea further, the skin had pores, too.
In his previous life, there had been cases of medicinal plasters curing illness and toxins absorbed through the skin causing death.
He could try either of those.
In the end, Thor chose the nasal cavity, which was relatively more dangerous.
Not because he liked taking risks.
All right, he did like taking risks a little.
But more importantly, he might not have enough time to conduct multiple experiments.
So he had to choose the method with the higher success rate and greater efficiency.
"I hope this doesn't turn my nose into a pig's snout."
Thor took out his notes, which listed the general procedure and precautions based on Green's Cognition of Wizard Body Modification.
After reviewing the experimental steps one last time, he began preparing the materials.
If the Hardcover Book had a mind of its own, it would probably have questioned its existence.
Never before had it warned of death so often.
Sometimes it took half an hour, sometimes only five seconds, before its host came up with another way to get himself killed.
The boy kept pulling out all sorts of questionable materials, eager to toss them into the crucible that was already on the verge of collapsing. Even when the book stopped him in time, the boy would immediately find another way to get himself killed.
[...You died.]
[...You died!]
[...You died!!!]
[...You died without a body left!!!]
Thor: I know I messed up.
Thor: Ah, I'm just not gonna change~
If the Hardcover Book had known it would one day be used for "allergy testing," it would have begged its former owner to add a limit of just three warnings per day.
Instead, it was being repeatedly abused by a clueless and fearless little Shorty!
(╯#-皿-)╯~~╧═╧ This cheat wasn't the kind of job a book should have to do!
I've updated the synopsis. Do you like it?
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