Impossible, Absolutely Impossible

Tolia was startled and hurriedly stepped back into the corner.

"Good morning, beautiful miss."

"I need a small favor from you."

As he spoke, Ahab's gaze swept over her from head to toe before finally settling on the book tucked beneath Tolia's arm.

Why did that book look somewhat familiar?

Tolia thought the small favor Ahab meant was that he wanted her novel.

"No, you can't have this!"

"You can have anything else you want, I won't fight you for it, but not this!"

Little Potato, who had always yielded to Ahab in everything, stubbornly resisted him for the first time.

But Ahab was not listening seriously at all. He was searching through his memories.

He had never read novels in this world, so why did it feel familiar?

It was not familiar to him. It was familiar to this body.

Right, the original owner had apparently written novels professionally before boarding the ship.

That was right. The one under Tolia's arm, along with the few on the table, had all been written by the original owner.

Did that mean—

"These are all fine books, but there will never be any new ones again."

Ahab said meaningfully.

He had originally thought he would need to deceive Tolia properly before getting her to help him.

Now, it seemed he could save himself some brainpower.

"You actually read this kind of book? No, that's not what I meant..."

Before Tolia could finish, Ahab interrupted her.

"I know the author. In the final book, the murderer is that one-eyed man."

Tolia looked stunned. Right, now that she thought about it, there really had been plenty of foreshadowing in the book...

No, that was not the point. Ahab Gul, that demon, actually knew the author?

The author's books were all so beautiful, lovely romance stories. The author had to be a very gentle person.

The Great Demon King Ahab knew him???

"That author truly will not publish any more works, but if you agree to help me..."

"When the time is right, I can introduce you to the author."

As he spoke, Ahab smiled meaningfully.

"I met that author at the academy. He's a Wizard Apprentice too."

At the same time, Ahab quietly rejoiced inwardly.

On the Ferry Ship, Gray had kept such a close watch over him that he had never found an opportunity to deal with Tolia.

As Tolia's realm grew higher in the future, the suppression from her talent would only become more obvious.

Tolia possessed both stupidity and cleverness. She knew to yield to him in everything now, but once she grew powerful, she would certainly decide to eliminate him and remove a potential threat.

But those novels of hers, and the original owner who had written them...

Useless original owner, at least you're good for something.

That was what Ahab thought.

"Fine, but it's a deal. I'll help you, and you have to introduce me to..."

"What do you need me to help you with?"

Ahab walked to the door and extended a hand in a gesture of invitation.

"I'll explain on the way. It isn't dangerous."

The West District was the academy's area for new students, mainly where Third-Rank Apprentices researched, studied, and received instruction.

The East District, on the other hand, was the experimental area. It contained a large number of sealed laboratories, prisons for experimental subjects, and greenhouses for cultivating experimental materials.

Following the signs and making several turns, Ahab found the Third Prison.

The prison was entirely underground, with only a trapezoidal gate made of special metal standing above the surface.

When Ahab was still dozens of meters from the gate, he saw a familiar figure.

Vivian?

As he approached, Ahab noticed more details.

The sleep crust at the corners of Vivian's eyes had not been wiped away. Her head bobbed up and down, and she looked utterly drowsy.

More importantly, her left forearm was in a cast, wrapped in gauze and suspended from her neck in a sling.

Ahab understood.

He had specifically chosen to bind Vivian to a metal chair to prevent her from using electricity to escape.

It seemed she had broken her left arm, then forcibly pulled that fractured arm out of the rope loop...

And after escaping, Vivian had not chosen to rest. She had rushed to the East District at once.

She wanted to obtain the Vampire King's Nail before he could!

She's got some grit.

When Ahab first met Vivian, he had rated her six out of ten. Later, when she failed to hold out after three days and four nights, her rating had fallen to three.

Now, it had risen to a seven.

"Ahab Gul!"

Vivian sniffed, and her anger immediately flared.

It was no wonder. A neat and tidy young girl had been tied to a chair for days without sleep, forced to eat, drink, and relieve herself all in that chair...

What? She had been the one to trick Ahab out of his materials first?

How could those be compared!

Her magic power had now recovered to full capacity, and she desperately wanted to fight Ahab Gul to the death.

However, Vivian soon noticed another figure behind Ahab.

It was a delicate, frail-looking girl, her posture all hunched inward... She looked utterly pathetic!

But Ahab Gul was already difficult enough to deal with. If he had an assistant as well...

I'm not being pathetic. I'm considering the bigger picture. Getting the Vampire King's Nail comes first.

Vivian convinced herself of this.

"Click, creak—"

The heavy door to the underground prison opened automatically, and a fairly handsome young man walked out.

The young man wore a Wizard Robe similar to Ahab's, but the Metal Badge on his chest was completely different.

Second-Rank Wizard Apprentice, Loghart.

"Wasn't I told the one looking for me was a female apprentice? How did it turn into so many people so quickly?"

Loghart swept his gaze around, his large belly protruding. He licked his lips almost imperceptibly and said,

"You're all here for the Vampire King's Nail?"

Ahab stepped in ahead of Vivian, a friendly smile appearing on his face at lightning speed.

Battle face activated in an instant!

"Yes, Senior. We're apprentices who arrived this year, and we need this material for an experiment."

"We heard that you have quite a lot of it. If we can satisfy you, would you be willing to part with a few pieces?"

Meanwhile, after Ahab stepped forward, Tolia quietly slipped over beside Vivian.

The two girls began whispering to each other.

The orange situation was looking excellent.

"Was your arm injured by Ahab Gul?"

"I'm telling you, don't ever try to fight Ahab Gul head-on."

"On the Ferry Ship, Ahab was afraid that his poor talent would leave him without resources, so he poisoned all the apprentices aboard. Only me and one other person survived."

Tolia felt that she should save whoever she could.

She had just seen it herself: that fiery girl Vivian had first flown into a rage upon seeing Ahab, then swallowed her anger.

"Huh? He killed dozens of people? Impossible, absolutely impossible!"

Vivian muttered in disbelief, then abruptly raised her head to look at Ahab.

Vivian gave a lightning-fast wink, closing her left eye and quickly opening it again.

At the instant she opened it, an almost imperceptible silver gleam flashed through her left eye.

"Spirit Vision still can't see sin. Anyone with blood debts on their hands can't possibly be without sin."

At the same time, Vivian's gaze toward Log, the Second-Rank Apprentice, became heated.

"More than sixty sins? He killed more than sixty people? If I can judge him, I won't have to worry about the power of faith..."