Thor froze, his first thought being, How much could I sell it for without losing out?
But Byron knew that a successful, general-purpose modification formula could serve as the foundation for a small wizard faction.
Yet Byron could only take advantage of Thor being a new Level 1 Apprentice and try to buy it cheaply.
Though it wasn't possible to buy it outright, Byron still felt deeply ashamed.
It wasn't an equal exchange, because he currently had nothing of equal value to offer.
After giving it serious thought, Thor refused Byron.
"Sorry, Senior. It's not that I don't want to give it to you. It's just that I'm afraid I'm the only one who can successfully use this modification formula."
This modification had actually been extremely dangerous.
Normally, a Level 1 Apprentice wouldn't even know what a Locator was. They could only wait for their consciousness to gradually collapse amid the false bliss of Wizard Body Modification, until death slowly came for them.
But Thor had an item naturally suited to serve as a Locator—the Death Wizard Diary.
Thor still didn't understand exactly what a Locator was, but after this experiment, he had some guesses.
It was something that allowed a wizard or apprentice to anchor their perception of the world.
With the Death Wizard Diary there—What a hassle. I'll just call it the Diary from now on.
Even if Byron hadn't shown up, Thor wouldn't have died.
If Thor ever came close to death, the Diary would pop up to remind him it existed. The moment he saw it, his consciousness would anchor itself, preventing him from collapsing and fading away.
But now that Thor thought back on it, the feeling of his perception collapsing, his consciousness becoming disordered, and his mental body gradually breaking down and vanishing had been truly horrifying!
"A modification formula tailored to only one person?" To Thor's surprise, Byron seemed relieved when he heard that. "Then I can afford it. I don't want to use the modification myself. I just want to understand how you designed the formula."
"I still owe you a favor... and now I owe you the equivalent of at least a hundred credits." Byron suddenly felt terribly poor. "Is there anything you want?"
Thor was stunned. He hadn't even said anything, and Senior Byron had already signed himself over?
"Senior, how about you check my physical condition first?"
Byron felt the task wasn't worth Thor asking for as payment, but he happily pulled a pile of things out of his stomach anyway.
With the help of Senior Byron, who had plenty of experience—he'd been a Level 2 Apprentice for at least a decade—Thor finally gained some understanding of his current condition.
His Magic Power was temporarily at 11 joules. Judging from the energy leaking out of his left hand, he could raise it to at least 13 joules before his left hand fully stabilized.
Thor's Mental Power had also increased a little.
That was rare. Perhaps the fantastical experience of losing control had strengthened his Mental Power.
Unlike Magic Power, which could slowly accumulate through meditation, even if the process was slow, Mental Power was much harder to increase.
Mental Power was more like a person's basic attributes. Aside from a few forms of Wizard Body Modification, rare potions, ability advancements, and other special circumstances, it was difficult to increase it significantly.
It was like the example of using a vessel to collect water.
An apprentice with poor Magic Power talent could eventually trade their bowl for a bigger one.
But no matter how fast they ran to fetch water, they'd only get so fast—about nine seconds for a hundred meters.
Also, although Thor's left hand was a little ugly and looked like a fake hand, it didn't hinder his movements. It remained nimble.
Modifying a hand was safer than modification formulas that altered the eyes, Mouths, or internal organs, and the aftereffects would be much less severe.
As for the exact aftereffects, Thor would have to figure them out over time.
"Hold on to your consciousness."
Byron repeated this warning to Thor over and over.
"Otherwise, one day, you won't be yourself anymore."
Thor took this to mean he should hold on to his sense of self and always remember who he was.
He went over the cartoons and novels he'd seen, the games he'd played, the tests he'd taken, and his past life as an overworked office drone...
Yeah, he was doing fine on that front for now.
Byron also explained what a "Locator" was.
This was knowledge Thor wasn't supposed to learn yet, but he'd already used a Locator to complete Wizard Body Modification.
Now Thor only had to raise his Magic Power to 50 joules and construct a Tier 1 spell model within his mental body to smoothly become a Level 2 Apprentice.
After becoming a Level 2 Apprentice, he would only need to keep raising his Magic Power and learning Witchcraft to become a Level 3 Apprentice.
After all, he already had the Locator required to become a Level 3 Apprentice.
As a newcomer, Thor had overcome the most difficult barrier people usually faced before reaching Level 3.
Thor finally understood why Byron's gaze held a hint of envy and grievance.
He'd just started kindergarten and already had a guaranteed spot at university.
All that remained was to grow up.
Byron didn't ask Thor how he'd done it, nor did he ask what his Locator was.
"Before you become an Official Wizard, don't tell anyone anything about your Locator, and don't try to find out about anyone else's. If someone exploits your Locator's characteristics to target you, death is almost the only possible outcome."
Thor nodded.
It was like a martial artist's vital point. If someone struck it, the air would go right out of you.
Finally, Byron told Thor how to test his left hand's ability and determine its specific properties.
The original purpose of Wizard Body Modification wasn't to increase an apprentice's Magic Power. That was only the most basic part.
The truly powerful forms of Wizard Body Modification, like Byron's or Kongsha's, altered parts of the body that could become their trump cards.
As he spoke, the wounds on Byron's body healed again.
He swayed.
Byron had stabbed himself more than a dozen times today.
His brain wasn't getting enough blood.
Byron refused Thor's offer to walk him back and staggered away from the second floor of the East Tower on his own.
When Thor checked the time again, it was only half past five.
He sat back down in front of the Experiment Table and stared at the cluttered surface. It felt as if more than ten days had passed.
His gaze gradually shifted to his left shoulder.
His Mouths split open.
"Modification is so damn good!"
Jenna clutched the collar of her clothes, her face pale with panic as she huddled on the little bed in her dorm room.
The dormitory was the safest place in the school.
She'd always believed that.
So no matter how hard her classes had been during the day, or how frightening the mentors and seniors she'd encountered were, she could always get a good night's sleep once she returned.
But tonight, she really couldn't sleep.
She pulled open her collar again, lowered her gaze, and stared at her chest.
Jenna came from a fairly well-off family and had developed early. Her figure was already taking shape.
Sometimes, she secretly admired her body while bathing.
But today, she'd seen a worm in the center of her chest.
The worm had crawled out from her breastbone. It was only about as long as her index finger and didn't look dangerous.
What was terrifying was that the worm had Jenna's own face!
"Senior Sid was right. We really have been controlled." Jenna couldn't bear to look again and buried her face in her pillow. "How could there be a truly selfless organization in this world?"
"Why would the Mutual Aid Society target a bunch of newcomers like us?"
Jenna couldn't understand why the kind Senior Luokai, and the companions she'd discussed problems with, would put such a terrifying Curse-Spell on her.
"If Senior Sid hadn't warned me..." A trace of infatuation flashed in the young woman's eyes, but it was quickly replaced by fear. "I'd probably still be like everyone else, unaware of the danger. But I've already been cursed. What should I do?"
Jenna's toes curled and uncurled, crumpling the sheets.
"Unfortunately, Senior Sid isn't good at lifting curses, and he doesn't dare openly oppose Luokai." Jenna furrowed her brow again. "What can a newcomer like me do to escape the Mutual Aid Society's control?"
Suddenly, something came back to Jenna.
"Right, Keli. She only attended one Mutual Aid Society meeting and never came again. Could she have realized there was a problem from the start?"
"Damn it, why didn't she warn us?"
Before you continue