Thor looked up at Byron, whose expression was as serious as ever.
"Is it the coordinate diagram for that Composite Rune?"
The corners of Byron's eyes crinkled. "Yes. It was only a construction diagram for a Composite Rune, but it gave me a lot of inspiration. That's how I found my own Locator at the last moment before turning thirty."
"Locator?"
"You'll naturally learn about it when you reach Level 2. Knowing about it now would only burden you and disturb your thoughts."
Thor nodded.
In the Wizard World, you needed a certain level of strength before you could explore its knowledge.
Learning about advanced knowledge too early would only drive you mad.
"Although you can't learn about this knowledge yet, once you reach Level 2, you can come find me and join my team. I'll share some of what I learned as a Level 2 Apprentice."
"A team?" This was another term Thor had never heard before.
"To fuse with a Locator, Level 3 Apprentices all go out looking for opportunities. That's why you'll hardly ever see them inside the Wizard Tower."
"At the same time, the places they go are all dangerous, so they often travel in teams. Many Level 2 Apprentices also go out with them to search for a Locator that suits them, though some of them die out there."
Byron sighed, his whole body making a whistling sound.
"It can't be helped. Resources in the Wizard Tower are limited."
Thor thought of his empty Experiment Table and cabinets, and the large bag of Magic Crystals in his arms. He sighed too. "Yeah, far too limited."
Byron walked over to Peggy's long table and leafed through the books on it. After inspecting the three Stone Coffins in the room, he returned to Peggy's decaying corpse.
"These three corpses contain Evil Spirits. Peggy should have turned them over to Mentor Kazi to deal with. But... greed got the better of her, and she wanted to keep the Level 2 Apprentice's corpse for herself."
Thor nodded. The Hardcover Book had told him as much. After Thor died, Peggy would write in the Registration Book that there were three Level 1 Apprentice corpses.
It was obvious what had happened to the Level 2 Apprentice's corpse.
The wound that had replaced Byron's lips opened and closed again.
"But she underestimated the Evil Spirit and overestimated herself. She got in too deep and could only use you as a scapegoat."
Thor nodded again. Senior Byron had gotten everything right.
"You did well." Byron gave his final assessment, the corners of his eyes curving as he looked at Thor with approval.
"I just got lucky." Thor had only been able to kill Peggy because the Hardcover Book helped him rule out every wrong choice, and because he had several items Kongsha had given him.
With his own abilities, two uses of Strike Undead would have been his limit.
So he still needed to stay close to that beautiful powerhouse—just be careful not to get dragged into trouble.
"I'll handle Peggy's belongings. Do you have any objections?"
Thor immediately shook his head. "None. It's safest to let you handle them, Senior."
Byron didn't waste words. He walked over and effortlessly lifted two of the coffins.
One held a Level 2 Apprentice, and the other a Level 1 Apprentice.
"Let's go."
Thor was taken aback. He didn't know what Byron intended to do, but he immediately followed.
Byron passed Hayden's room and stopped to kick the door.
The door opened a crack. When Hayden saw Byron outside, he opened it all the way.
"Senior Byron."
"Mm."
The wounds on Byron's body had already healed. He tossed one of the Stone Coffins containing a Level 1 Apprentice into the room.
"Bang!"
The coffin hit the ground, kicking up a cloud of dust.
"Hm?"
Hayden had worked with Byron for several years, so he immediately understood what Byron meant.
"I understand. I skipped work tonight, so I don't know what happened here."
"Mm." Byron nodded.
Hayden immediately closed the door, pretending no one was inside.
Thor, standing nearby, was utterly dumbfounded by Byron's actions.
Carrying the remaining Stone Coffin, Byron led Thor to the third Corpse Room.
He did it again, opening a cut in his throat.
"There's something wrong with Peggy's corpse. I'll keep it and report it to the mentor. This one is basically fine, and it still has some value. Since Peggy had already hidden it, I'll leave it with you."
It seemed Senior Byron was dividing up the spoils. That meant Peggy's corpse belonged to him.
Thor didn't mind.
But Byron didn't take Peggy's corpse outright. He offered Thor something better in exchange.
"Peggy was your kill. I'll keep her, but I won't take your things for nothing. If there's anything you'd like in exchange, you can come find me anytime within the next month."
Thor stood up in delight. He could already list a whole stack of things he wanted.
But he glanced back at the Stone Coffin on the floor and suddenly calmed down.
Byron was about to become a Level 3 Apprentice. He wouldn't be leaving the Wizard Tower.
And as one of the few people in the entire Wizard Tower who had no ill will toward Thor—in fact, someone who could become an ally—he was a rare find.
Thor still hadn't settled on a final plan for his Wizard Body Modification experiment. He might as well save this opportunity for when he truly needed it.
"Until I officially become a Level 3 Apprentice, I'll take over the work in the Corpse Room. Come find me anytime."
"Senior, do you know Sid?" Seeing Byron about to leave, Thor called after him.
"Hmm?" The wound had healed.
"Sid and I have some bad blood. Do you think Peggy might have tried to kill me because of Sid?"
Byron shook his head.
For some reason, Thor understood what he meant.
He was saying "I don't know," not "no."
Byron looked Thor up and down, a hint of puzzlement in his eyes.
He was probably wondering how a Level 1 Apprentice, a newcomer who had only arrived a month ago, could have made so many enemies.
Byron left the room, giving Thor some space. He still had to deal with Peggy's corpse and the trouble she'd left behind.
Thor was pleased with Byron's response, too.
At the very least, Senior Byron probably wasn't close with Sid.
That meant Senior Byron could become another powerful ally for Thor against Sid.
A Level 3 ally!
With a relaxed smile, Thor walked over to the Stone Coffin.
It looked unusual, not made of ordinary material.
That made sense. What ordinary coffin could contain an Evil Spirit?
Thor rubbed his hands together excitedly. "A man can't get rich without a windfall. The bandits weren't lying."
Thor locked the door from the inside.
This would be the first time he handled a corpse that Hayden hadn't screened.
And it was an intact specimen—the first material that belonged entirely to him.
Peggy's business really did seem unrelated to Sid.
After Kongsha killed the newcomer Sid had brought back to replace Thor, Sid hadn't shown up for a long time.
Life returned to normal, with studying and experiments once again taking center stage.
But Thor knew Sid wouldn't give up.
Sid's Hardcover Book hovered over Thor's shoulder, and his several narrow escapes had only made Thor more aware of how powerful the book was.
If anyone tried to take the Hardcover Book now, Thor would fight to the death to stop them.
He didn't know how much Sid understood about the Hardcover Book.
But he guessed it wasn't much.
The Hardcover Book could foresee death. Sid's several probing attacks had indeed threatened Thor's life.
But each time, the murderous intent had been too hesitant!
That had given Thor time to find a way to save himself.
Thor asked himself: if he were trying to steal the Hardcover Book, he would choose a method of killing that left no time to react and nowhere to escape.
He wouldn't keep wasting chances like Sid, only for Thor to figure out his intentions.
So although Sid was tracking down a book, he didn't seem to know exactly what the Hardcover Book could do.
Then how had he learned the book existed?
"Whoosh!"
The sound of flames interrupted Thor's thoughts. He stood and glanced at the crucible on the table and the other containers with reactions underway.
There should still be a long time before the reactions finished.
He got up to greet the first visitor of the day.
Thanks again, dear readers!
Before you continue