Without Money, You Can't Take a Single Step

For his fourth spell, after consulting with Mark, Thor decided to choose another 0-circle spell with the dark attribute: Strike Undead.

This was primarily because his work environment was far too prone to ghostly manifestations, and Strike Undead was exceptionally effective against them.

After studying for about two hours, he had already formed a preliminary concept for the new spell's analytical model.

Thor was once again roused by his work, rising to welcome the first guest of the day.

A skeleton...

"Isn't this a bit too clean?"

There wasn't a scrap of flesh left on the entire body, as if it had been dug out of the ground after several decades.

Such a clean corpse actually made Thor feel that something was abnormal.

He set down his tools, invited the guest into the large crate, and then turned to visit the senior next door.

"I don't know." Hayden remained behind the palm-width gap of his door to receive Thor. "By the time it reached me, the corpse was already a skeleton."

Hayden had simply forwarded it to Thor.

Thor bid farewell to Hayden and looked toward the room of the new Level 2 apprentice.

The new Level 2 apprentice was not as easy to talk to as senior Byron.

Asking him would likely yield no results.

The first procedure in the Corpse Room did not involve collecting materials; it was primarily about eliminating any potential dangers present on the corpse.

Therefore, by the time that corpse was sent to the Corpse Room, it had likely already been stripped of its flesh and blood.

This small episode did not take up much of Thor's energy; on the contrary, because there were no other clients today, Thor was able to continue his own research.

It was just that the progress of his Wizard Body Modification was far behind his spell learning.

If only Wizard Body Modification could be as simple as runes and spells.

If others knew Thor's thoughts, they might be angered to death.

He poured out the failed refining materials that were about to explode once again.

As Thor closed the lid of the large crate, he suddenly paused.

"Huh?"

The skeleton from today was actually slowly shrinking and corroding under the influence of the chaotic solution Thor had created.

Had he just created sulfuric acid?

Thor latched the lid shut, waited for a while, and then opened it to look.

The skeleton had completely dissolved, yet the large crate itself showed no changes and remained sturdy.

"I'm afraid the most valuable things in this entire Corpse Room are these crates."

Thor patted the sturdy crate, tempted to pry a piece off of it.

"Hmm?" Thor suddenly noticed a small, grayish-white pebble at the bottom of the crate.

He fetched some tweezers and a test tube to retrieve the small pebble.

Thor had originally assumed that a stone formed through dissolution and re-solidification would be very hard, but to his surprise, it had some elasticity, much like a cow's tendon.

He labeled the test tube and recorded the entire process of this refining attempt alongside the small pebble, thinking he might find a use for it later.

For now, it was truly fast for destroying evidence.

It was like the corpse-dissolving powder he had read about in his past life.

Thor performed a few more tests on the small pebble and discovered that it was impervious to fire, water, and acid; even an ordinary sharp blade could not leave the slightest scratch on it.

If used well, could it be fashioned into some kind of defensive gear?

Thor poked the pebble gently with a small steel needle while letting his thoughts wander.

The next day, during a public lecture.

Keli slammed her book down beside Thor, sat down, and shared a piece of earth-shattering news.

"That new apprentice you asked me about yesterday... he's dead!"

"Dead? Didn't he just arrive?" Thor curled his toes inside his shoes, struggling to keep his expression looking natural.

"Yeah, I guess he offended someone; he died before he even met his mentor. Before I came here, my father kept warning me to forget my former status and pride, and to honestly act like a lower-class person until I become a Level 2 apprentice."

Keli sighed, unsure if she was mourning for the new apprentice or feeling sad for herself.

Thor withdrew his gaze and looked down at the Noah Language characters before him.

Wizard spells were not ordinary languages; they did not involve daily vocabulary, names, or verbs. All their meaning served wizardry, elements, and spiritual power, so their vocabulary was actually quite small.

Over the past month or so, Thor had memorized every word in the Noah Language. This would have been unimaginable in the past, but now he did not feel it was a struggle.

His main energy was not even focused on this.

Therefore, at present, Thor's study of the Noah Language was mainly about consolidating the basics and using it in conjunction with wizard books.

But today, he was reading with a distracted mind.

When he killed Brown the day before yesterday, he felt nothing, thinking his nerves had been tempered to be incredibly tough by this dangerous world.

But today, upon hearing the news of the new apprentice's death, he realized that he could still feel distressed after all.

Thor remained expressionless, mocking himself internally.

I did this for my own benefit, actively causing someone else's death.

I... can no longer be considered a good person.

He closed his eyes, engraving the torment in his heart at this moment.

But he did not regret it.

A few days later, while Thor was continuing his experiments in the Corpse Room, he suddenly realized something.

The skeleton guest he had seen earlier was very likely the new apprentice who had just entered the Wizard Tower.

All corpses in the Wizard Tower that died due to anomalies were sent to the Corpse Room for processing first, to avoid the accumulation of too many ghosts and bringing about more unstable factors.

On the other hand, it was also to recover parts of those corpses that had become valuable for experiments due to mutations.

Because the refining method for Plastic Bone—a name Thor had coined himself—was discovered from that newcomer's remains, he had been using the guest's bones for refining these past few days.

But today, he had to stop.

Because the materials needed for refining were basically all used up.

He also had no money or credits left.

"This definitely won't work if things keep going like this!"

Thor stood before the experimental bench, rubbing his chin.

"Relying on a fixed salary to fund projects is a dead end. I must find some way to increase my income."

What Thor was doing was Wizard Body Modification, something no other Level 1 apprentice had touched, and some hadn't even heard of.

Therefore, with the income of an ordinary Level 1 apprentice, he could never support his long-term experiments.

Moreover, for the sake of his experiments, the materials Thor submitted recently had decreased significantly, though fortunately, Mentor Kazi had never reprimanded him for it.

Because of this, Thor's actions had become increasingly bold.

However, even so, the materials he had on hand were almost exhausted.

"I don't have anything valuable on me right now. The Phantom Sound Pupil is a powerful tool for auxiliary combat and must never be sold. The Plastic Bone, once perfected, will be my secret weapon and cannot be leaked either."

Finally, Thor thought of his insights regarding rune study, especially his mastery of composite runes: the Coordinate Method.

If he sold it to those wealthy Level 1 apprentices, he might be able to make a fortune. After all, this was knowledge that even the Level 2 apprentice, Byron, was interested in.

The Coordinate Method sounded novel, but the actual principle was not complicated, as it didn't involve anything too profound.

It was just that the choice of trading partner needed to be carefully considered; he had to choose someone who wouldn't have a conflict of interest with him and whose moral character was at least acceptable.

Keli was a good choice, but he had already fleeced her once; he didn't know if she still had any credits or Magic Crystals left.

As for the other Level 1 apprentices, Thor really hadn't interacted with them much.

And those he had interacted with, he didn't want to deal with.

"Wait!" Thor's eyes lit up. "Why was I so stupid? Mentor Byron, a Level 2 apprentice, is clearly the most suitable candidate!"

He was wealthy, capable, about to leave the tower so there was no conflict of interest, and he was a decent person.

Across the passage connected by the conveyor belt, Thor greeted the neighbor, Hayden, and happily skipped work to go find Byron.

"1016, this is the floor." Thor stood on the ramp of the tenth floor of the West Tower and peered inside.

He had been here a few times, and in his impression, Mentor Byron's room had never caused him any trouble.

The corridor of the Level 2 apprentices was always very quiet, not to mention that it was currently the time when all laboratories were open.

Thor had come over rashly, and only when he was almost at the door did he remember that he might not be able to catch Byron at this time.

Just as Thor was about to approach Mentor Byron's dormitory, a door beside him suddenly opened, and Mark walked out.

"Thor? Are you looking for me?" Mark greeted the Thor in front of him with some surprise.