Chapter 166 – Invitation from Kujin
Sol ran inside the corridor.
He had just created a new Dead Man's Flower, and the moment he stood the flower in the corridor, Saul instantly regained his senses.
But the dream didn't end there this time.
At last someone had discovered his misdeeds and was hot on his trail!
The dreaded hunter now had his bow and arrows raised in his hand, ready to be loosed at a moment's notice.
Saul was cornered on the ramp, but a man had sprung up on the ramp as well.
The man who barred the way was only half-faced, and so frightened that Saul, who was running, nearly fell to the ground.
The other person was actually Konza, who he hadn't seen for a long time!
"Got you." Kong Sha's red lips rose slightly.
Saul turned around, and the person chasing him behind him was holding a silver-blue longbow with a gloomy face.
The pursuer behind him was a third level apprentice.
Compared to him, the seemingly terrifying Kong Sha in front of him became a more promising way to live.
Saul heard himself chanting incantations so fast that he couldn't even hear the runes contained within.
However, just as he was running and chanting the incantation at the same time, eyeballs suddenly appeared from Kongsha's head that was half-filled with white syrup.
These eyeballs clung to the glass wall, focusing on the ever-approaching Saul with incomparable desire, incomparable excitement.
"Ah!!! Go to hell-" Saul was just about to wave his hand, but his brain suddenly went blank, surprisingly completely forgetting what he was doing.
Only a short and sharp shout remained ...
Saul snapped his eyes open and saw that the left side of his face was pressing against the cold floor tiles.
He didn't rush to get up from the floor.
This time the dream seemed to end with the death of the murderer.
If that was the case, it was not a bad thing.
Saul wouldn't have to endure the disgusting sensation of tearing up raw flesh every time he slept after all.
But ...
He remained pressed against the floor, observing his room for the first time from such a perspective.
It was like a timid voyeur, hiding in the most secret crevices, observing and being wary of the outside world.
And Saul, who maintained such a posture, inexplicably felt a sense of reassurance.
After a while, he climbed up and glanced at the time.
It was 6:00 a.m., just good enough for breakfast.
Saul was getting a little hungry.
He raised his right hand and suddenly probed his tongue, flicking the fingertips that had turned white.
The hunger seemed to be slightly satisfied, but what followed was an even deeper need.
Saul took a deep breath, suppressed his stormy emotions, and walked into the washroom.
He caught a basin full of water and dove in head first.
It wasn't until his lungs began to groan and his trembling arms could barely support the weight of his body that Saul jerked his head up.
The water splashed around, hitting the walls and floor, the excess running down the bridge of his nose, cheeks, and strands of hair into his collar.
"KAM!" Saul cursed several times in rapid succession, "Consciousness almost got really lost."
Saul wiped the water directly off his face with his hand, the vague sting from the friction of white bone and skin making him more aware.
"This Nightmare Butterfly has actually become so terrifying?"
"Is it because the magical radiation inside the wizard tower has expanded its influence, or is it ... about to hatch?"
The problem of the eyes had reached the point where it had to be solved.
Even if the owner of the dream went offline, Saul couldn't guarantee that he'd fall asleep one time and be pulled into the dreams of someone even more terrible.
Or consciousness.
"Should we go to Hayden for surgery now?" Saul thought about it, but then dismissed it on his own, "Although I have prepared the materials to seal the cocoon, it's not for the Nightmare Butterfly, so I don't know if it will go wrong."
"You can't be in a hurry, it's only easy to make mistakes when you're in a hurry." Despite understanding that the danger of the Nightmare Butterfly was far greater than he had imagined, Saul kept telling himself to be calm.
"The danger comes from the unknown. I must find out the characteristics of the Nightmare Butterfly. Even if I can't find out, it's good to have more understanding."
Saul patted his left shoulder, "Diary buddy, can't your item identification make the introduction more clear?"
Diary kept his mouth shut.
"Go look in the library." Saul still thought that he couldn't recklessly remove the butterfly cocoon, and if he couldn't find an answer even in the library, he could still ask his mentor.
If there was really no luck, it wasn't too late to go back to Reckless, and Saul had the diary to back him up anyway.
After rearranging his instruments, Saul left the dormitory.
However, when he had just pulled open the door, he saw a man standing outside that he needed to look up to – Kujin.
"Senior Kujin," Sol immediately flashed his trademark polite smile, "What do you want to see me about?"
"I have an experiment that requires an assistant, and as you were able to obtain Mentor Katz's approval, I believe you have the strength to do so. If you are willing to come, I can give you 10 credits per session."
Per-credit?
And the per-credit price was quite appropriate.
Sol's heart immediately fluttered, "I'd love to help Senior, I just don't know what kind of experiment?" "The content of the experiment of course can't be disclosed freely, if you don't have anything to do now, you can come with me."
Saul's feet didn't move, "I'm sorry, Elder Kukin, I still really have something important to do right now."
Kukin's face clouded over.
Saul immediately suggested, "How about 2:00 this afternoon?"
Kukin thought for a few seconds and nodded his head in agreement, "Yes, at 2pm, you come to my room, 1404."
Saul here immediately responded, "No problem."
Looking at Kukin's distant back, Saul still maintained a smile on his face.
Ever since he worked in the corpse room, he knew that the apprentices would make some small deals in private.
As long as the things traded weren't too excessive, the mentor turned a blind eye.
But having seen Culkin and Ferguson's conspiracy, Saul knew that this wasn't a small deal.
Rather, it was a bait!
Whether or not that bait is to be taken, and how, is still a question.
Saul closed the door and walked briskly toward the library.
But the matter of the eyes was more urgent, and compared to this matter, the experiments of remodeling the hands were delayed.
At 6:05 a.m., no apprentice had yet visited the library.
As soon as he entered the library, Saul saw the young administrator standing in the center with a condescending face.
Without greeting, he slipped inside, his arm unconsciously brushing the hem of the youth's coat.
No, it wasn't brushed, it went straight through.
The youth administrator was just about to jump up and curse when he suddenly saw that a piece of his sleeve was unexpectedly missing.
His just-opened mouth snapped shut, and a piece of his tongue couldn't retract in time to be pinched off, disappearing again before falling to the ground.
The youth's lips began to tremble as he slowly raised his head and stared in the direction where Saul had disappeared.
He suddenly cried.
The tears were equally too late to fall before they dissipated into the air.
Saul didn't know what was happening outside.
He just followed his memories and started looking for information about the Nightmare Butterfly in the Insects chapter of the advanced version of All Things Cognizant.
However, after going through the entire catalog, he didn't see any relevant words, so he could only quickly head to the next location.
Advanced Edition Cognition of All Creatures, Foreign Objects Chapter.
None!
Advanced Edition Cognition of All Things, Demonic Objects Chapter.
None!
Advanced version of All Things Cognitive, Spiritual Chapter.
None!
Saul put down the last book, and even though he had scanned the table of contents of each book in a hurry, the intense input of information still made him dizzy.
This was still the effect of the two small increases in his mental power, if it was before, he would have had to crawl his way out by now.
"Should I go ask the librarian?" Saul had just ventured this thought when another thought suddenly came into his head.
Dreams, nightmares, butterflies.
He looked deeper into the library, and it was as if his vision had pierced through the white fog to see the fourteenth row of bookshelves.
Even though the Tower Master had told Saul before that the person hiding beneath the fourteenth shelf was only his fear, Saul hadn't been there again for a long time.
Even if he did go, he wouldn't be looking specifically for knowledge about evil spirits.
So that person had just been lying at the bottom of the fourteenth row of bookshelves, never showing his face.
Sol clenched his fists and silently walked deeper into the library.
Soon, he came to the bookshelf that had haunted him for so long.
Just as he reached it, Saul saw the arm that was half-exposed outside the horizontal partition on the lowest level of the bookshelf.
"Even though I already know its nature, it's still difficult to face fear head on."
Despite saying that, Saul lifted his feet and walked to the front of the bookshelf without even a moment's hesitation.
"What on earth is it that makes one feel terror at the mere sight of a hand?"
Saul took a deep breath, a light mist entering his nose and being exhaled by his mouth.
He crouched down and slowly tilted his head to the right, until it was at an angle almost parallel to the ground.
Finally, he saw it.
He saw himself.
Not Saul, but himself!
Face up, a blank look on his face, dark red corpses covering his skin.
The very same former life in which the traveler had died.
Happy New Year! I wish you all a new year of good health all the time and prosperity!
Thank you, my fellow readers, for being with us last year, and I hope that we can all still walk together in the days ahead and grow into a better version of ourselves together!
(End of chapter)