Please Take Care, Don't Let the Door Hit You on the Way Out

When Thor discovered that no matter what materials he picked up, the Hardcover Book would only display the word "Dead," he knew—the limit had been reached.

It wasn't the limit of the Hardcover Book, but the limit of the cauldron.

Even with the naked eye, one could clearly see the viscous purple sludge churning from time to time, with familiar-looking organs occasionally surfacing before quickly sinking back to the bottom.

It was like a drowning person struggling incessantly, only to eventually perish beneath the water, turning into a pile of withered bones and sludge.

Thor grabbed the handle of the cauldron and, with a pained expression, poured the contents into the large chest used for storing corpses.

The large chest provided by the Wizard Tower was truly magical.

No matter how much a corpse thrashed about, it would become as quiet as a chicken once thrown inside.

Thor watched as the solution began to undergo some indescribable chemical reaction with the guest in the chest, and before the smoke could spread, he quickly slammed the lid of the large chest shut.

Standing up and looking at the slightly trembling chest, Thor shook his head and sighed.

"As expected, with my current meager knowledge of wizardry, trying to strike it lucky and succeed on the first try is still too difficult."

"It could also be that the modification of the sense of smell is beyond my current level of understanding. Should I try a different direction?"

Thor looked back at the remaining materials on the workbench, estimating how many more times he could squander them.

In the corner of the workbench lay a book filled with several pages of notes.

It recorded, in the language of Thor's past life, all the various possible ways to die during an experiment, as mentioned by the Hardcover Book.

By meticulously analyzing and categorizing these deaths, Thor worked backward to deduce the properties of each experimental material and the effects they might produce in the potion.

Through constant induction and summary, he sought to continuously correct the direction of his experiments.

This was a typical case of knowing the result and deducing the process.

It was also an experimental method that no other wizard dared to imagine.

"Sizzle!"

The sound of the candle brightening interrupted Thor's deep thoughts.

He sighed, rolled up his sleeves, and braced himself.

Although having his train of thought interrupted by work was painful, having guests meant there would be a steady stream of experimental materials in the future.

Research is often dull and tedious, especially when you only have a half-baked understanding of the underlying principles.

Thor spent five dull days, and finally, on the sixth day, he welcomed a first-rank apprentice guest.

This guest was not a new student; he was someone Thor had never seen before. He didn't know how the man had died, only that he had left behind a pair of eyes staring fearfully and helplessly at the ceiling.

The upward angle of his gaze made it seem as if his entire pupils were being squeezed into his upper eyelids.

It was as if something existed above him, drawing his attention.

The corpse was incomplete; Hayden, who was responsible for the previous step of the process, usually worked diligently most of the time.

This resulted in Thor's harvest being correspondingly reduced.

Thor checked the body, found nothing of value, and had no choice but to go for the head.

The removed organ was placed into a box of appropriate size.

Thor took out the pale yellow leather given to him by Kongsha and wrapped the entire box in it, setting it aside.

The remaining guest was then sent into the large chest.

When it was time to get off work, Thor held the box, tightly wrapped in pale yellow leather, and poked his head out the door to observe.

This was the first time Thor had brought a corpse out of the Corpse Room.

Despite Kongsha's assurances, Thor was still somewhat uneasy.

The rules of the Wizard Tower were sometimes not that important.

As long as you could ensure that no one would find out.

With Kongsha's strength, if she really wanted to get her hands on the brain of a first-rank apprentice, she wouldn't need to scavenge it from a corpse.

She could create a few herself at any time.

Yet, she had gone to great lengths to get Thor into the Corpse Room, all for the sake of one brain per month.

It was clear that the Wizard Tower still valued its apprentices quite a bit.

Secretly killing one or two was fine, but killing too many would result in a heavy price.

"If I can't take the materials out, I'll just leave them in the Corpse Room and wait for Kongsha to come and get them. Anyway, the servants who clean up never touch anything outside the workbench." Before he had even failed, Thor had already thought of a backup plan.

He cradled the box and carefully walked out of the Corpse Room.

To avoid running into the seniors and upperclassmen next door, Thor deliberately dragged his feet until nearly eight o'clock before setting off.

The lights in the corridor were no longer as bright as they had been in the afternoon, and the occasional flickering of the candle wicks seemed to urge Thor to hurry.

As Thor reached the end of the corridor, he saw a burly man slumped against the corner of the wall, looking as still as a corpse.

Thor took a step forward.

The burly man's nose suddenly twitched.

Thor hugged his arms tightly, ready to turn and run at any moment.

The burly man's face turned toward Thor's direction, his nostrils twitching a few times.

Silence.

He could hear the sound of his own breathing.

The burly man suddenly moved; he braced one hand against the floor and slowly stood up.

To say he stood up wasn't quite accurate; it was more like he rose and hunched his chest, terrified of hitting his head on the corridor ceiling.

Although the burly man couldn't see, he still walked accurately toward where Thor was standing.

It's over.

Thor clutched the yellow leather and slowly backed away until his spine pressed against the cold stone wall, a tingling, numb sensation spreading from the muscles of his back into his internal organs.

I'm going to get caught.

Does the Hardcover Book have no warning? Being discovered shouldn't be fatal. This is my first offense; if I put the item back in the Corpse Room, perhaps I won't even be punished.

Thor tilted his head to look at the scarlet door not far to his side, wondering if he should put it back right now.

Strive for leniency.

But at that moment, the burly man's direction suddenly changed.

This caused Thor to set his heel, which he had just lifted, back down.

The burly man slowly entered the Corpse Room where Thor was hiding.

Thor glanced over and saw the burly man barely squeeze through the door, stop with absolute precision beside the workbench, and reach out to pull the large box underneath it.

The heavy box was like a prop made of foam in the burly man's hands, lifted with ease.

Then, without bumping into anything else in the room, the burly man successfully squeezed back out the door.

He turned right after exiting.

Thor watched quietly as the burly man carried the large box into the depths of the pitch-black corridor.

Heavy footsteps echoed, but they gradually faded away.

I must leave as soon as possible!

Safe for now!

Thor snapped back to his senses, immediately realizing it was getting late, and sprinted outward while clutching the object in his arms.

The East Tower was still very dangerous for a level 1 apprentice, especially since he currently only knew two non-offensive rank 0 spells, leaving his ability to protect himself in doubt.

The nearest passage between the East Tower and the West Tower was on the fifth floor.

As he ran, Thor suddenly felt something was strange.

From the second floor to the fifth floor, it should only take three turns.

But just now... had he not turned a corner for a long time?

Unease rose in Thor's heart, but he didn't dare stop his pace.

He didn't know why, but he felt his head was heavy and his center of gravity was unstable, as if he were about to fall at any moment.

It felt as if something was emerging from the crown of his head, growing wantonly into a wobbly, massive sphere that constantly hindered Thor's movements.

Thor wanted to look up, but the action of raising his eyes suddenly stalled.

He thought of the guest he had received today.

That apprentice who had desperately rolled his pupils upward, trying hard to see the top of his own head.

Thor stopped abruptly.

As he suddenly ceased his forward momentum, something flashed rapidly before his eyes.

It seemed to be a smooth forehead, with a bit of brow and eye, peeking down from the top of his head before snapping back due to the tension of the recoil.

What exactly has grown on my head?

Sure enough, the Wizard Tower held no goodwill toward him.

Others might walk by the river often without getting their shoes wet.

Only he would inevitably fall into a ditch the moment he stepped near the river.

His soul talent had provided him with the capital to survive, but it had simultaneously brought him a fatal catastrophe.

Thor let go of the object and slowly raised his hand.

His fingertips rose past his brows, but then froze in mid-air.

What if he actually touched something?

Thor's hand slowly retreated.

He kept his head still and cast his eyes toward the Hardcover Book.

Can I handle this?

The Hardcover Book did not react.

Thor's taut nerves suddenly relaxed.

The Hardcover Book didn't react, huh~

He continued to cradle the head in his arms, not loosening his grip even though he guessed the disturbance above his head had originated from it.

He walked step by step, steadily, toward the wall, calculating the distance.

"Nice to meet you, please take care of me!"

Following the boy's gritted-teeth voice, he lunged toward the wall and bowed ninety degrees with sudden force.

His figure blurred into an afterimage.

"Thud!"

Something... slammed violently into the wall.

"Splat—"

Then came the sound of something shattering.

Thor stood up, and a viscous liquid slid down from the top of his head.

It felt a bit like squeezing shampoo directly onto his scalp.

Cold.

It dripped down slowly.

Thor wiped his forehead hard with a blank expression, preventing the unknown liquid from flowing into his eyes.

"Don't let the door hit you on the way out!"