Chapter 33: Did the Hardcover Book Level Up? |
Saul once again observed the… lump of flesh on the teleportation platform with a semi-immersed perspective. This time, it was no longer covered by that hazy holy light.
Suddenly, Saul sensed something.
He abruptly turned his head toward the teleportation entrance. Behind the black tassels, a pair of eyes were staring at him in horror.
Saul, still holding the bone cleaver smeared with flesh and dripping with blood, walked toward the teleportation entrance.
He lifted the black leather tassels and saw a person inside, crawling backward in retreat.
The room’s lighting slanted into the teleportation entrance, casting a stark line between light and shadow on the person’s face.
Saul narrowed his eyes, recognizing the person’s identity.
“Senior, this is our first meeting. Why don’t you come over and have a chat?”
“Ah, well, haha…” Hayden glanced at the cleaver in Saul’s right hand and swallowed nervously. “I-I just thought that corpse looked a bit odd and wanted to check if you needed any help.”
“Well, that’s really kind of you. I’m actually quite busy here. Could you help me move it inside? Look at me…” Saul gestured to his own small frame. “I’m young and weak. I can’t lift something that heavy.”
Hayden’s smile froze. He was just being polite!
But seeing the cleaver still firmly gripped in Saul’s right hand, he had no choice but to comply.
Step by step, he crawled out of the teleportation entrance. “Haha, you’re so small. Are you even ten years old? Let me help you, then.”
“Wait a moment.” Saul suddenly tossed the cleaver back onto the workbench with a loud clang, then turned back to Hayden with a bright smile.
“Senior, I was joking. Did you actually come over? Go back. This isn’t a passage for the living. I can handle this work myself—otherwise, my mentor might think I’m unfit for the job.”
“Ah? Alright then, just call me if you need help.” Hayden, stuck halfway out, had no choice but to retreat.
Saul stood at the teleportation entrance, lifting the tassels as he coldly watched Hayden back away step by step until he returned to his room.
The tassels on the other side fell, blocking the light that had been shining into the passage.
The passage was about three meters long, about a meter in both width and height. Thick walls surrounded it, separating the two rooms.
If not for this passage, the rooms would have been quite soundproof.
Saul let the tassels fall and glanced up. The candlelight above the teleportation entrance had returned to its dim glow.
His work for the day was done.
But there were still some finishing touches to take care of.
He pushed a large chest from under the workbench to the conveyor belt and then picked up the bone cleaver again, scraping off the chunks of flesh bit by bit.
A round object rolled off the edge of the conveyor belt, bounced a few times on the floor, and finally came to rest at the door, stopped by the entrance.
What was that?
Saul gripped his cleaver and approached the door, ready to strike at any moment.
Upon closer inspection, he realized that the object on the floor appeared to be… an eyeball?
With a rustling sound, the hardcover book flew up again, unfolding before Saul’s eyes. He immediately went on full alert.
[June 25th, Year 314 of the Lunar Calendar, Clear Skies
Today is quite a fine day. You dodged an attack from a cunning enemy, sent him where he belonged, and obtained a Phantom Sound Eye.
Strange, isn’t it? Why can an eye speak?
Or is it that you only think the eye is speaking?
This time, Saul didn’t fully understand what the hardcover book was saying.
He didn’t understand how he had died.
An eye? An illusion?
Would his eyes split open? Would his mouth disappear, or would it be sealed shut?
Moreover, Saul noticed that for the first time, the hardcover book included a weather description after the date. He was sure this had never happened before.
As Saul stood there, stiff and unsure of what to do, the hardcover book suddenly flew back to his left shoulder.
But he hadn’t done anything!
Saul’s eyes lit up. “Could this not be a death prophecy but some kind of identification skill?”
He turned to the hardcover book on his left shoulder. “Buddy, did you level up?”
Unfortunately, the hardcover book remained silent, completely ignoring him.
“Sigh, you should really give yourself a description first.”
Even with this theory, Saul remained cautious. He tightened his grip on the cleaver and slowly approached the eyeball at the door.
From the way the hardcover book had behaved, the message probably wasn’t a death prophecy. But that was only Saul’s assumption, and he couldn’t let his guard down.
Carefully, he squatted down, took out a small box, and used the back of his knife to nudge the eyeball into it. Even after sealing the box tightly, the hardcover book did not issue any further warnings.
Saul stood up, excitement surging in his heart.
Although he had dodged several death warnings before, his only reward had been surviving. He hadn’t expected an actual item drop today.
Too bad the hardcover book hadn’t given him any hint about the eyeball before he noticed its anomaly.
Would it be able to upgrade again in the future? Maybe even turn into an active radar?
Setting aside his fantasies about the hardcover book, Saul adjusted his facial muscles to appear more solemn.
Then, he picked up his bone cleaver and pushed open the door to the corpse chamber.
Since arriving on the second floor of the East Tower, he had never explored the deeper parts of the corridor.
As he walked down the corridor, he noticed it was still curved, though at a gentler angle than on the tenth floor.
The lighting on the second floor always seemed dimmer than in other places, and the farther he walked, the darker it became.
At the corridor’s end lay complete darkness. Saul couldn’t make out what was hidden beyond the shadows.
After a dozen more steps, a second crimson door appeared.
This should be the corpse chamber where the senior responsible for the second stage of processing worked.
Saul stepped forward and knocked.
After a long pause, a voice finally responded.
The door opened slightly.
Hayden’s face appeared behind the gap, his body blocking the view of the room’s interior.
“Senior, sorry to disturb you. My name is Saul. I joined as an apprentice a month ago. I'm so rude for not knowing your name.”
“I’m Hayden.” His hand remained firmly pressed against the door as if ready to slam it shut at any moment. “I became a First Rank apprentice much earlier than you. What do you want?”
“I wanted to ask, Senior Hayden, when you were handling that corpse earlier, did anything seem off to you?”
Hayden shuffled uncomfortably. “Oh, that? Well, I did think it was a little strange. But I didn’t see anything particularly wrong or valuable, so I sent it over to you. Haha, you seemed to be handling it just fine.”
Saul stared at him without blinking until Hayden averted his gaze, muttering, “Well, maybe I was mistaken.”
Saul forced a stiff smile. “Then I’ll be counting on you in the future, Senior.”
Leaving Hayden behind, he continued toward the first corpse chamber.
As soon as Saul was out of sight, Hayden shut the door and muttered darkly, “Why am I afraid of some new apprentice?”
Then his expression changed again, and he nervously rubbed his hands. “No need for conflict… There’s still time to deal with him later.”
Meanwhile, Saul placed his cleaver in the corridor’s shadows.
He needed it for Hayden, but it wouldn’t be appropriate when meeting Senior Byron.
He smoothed his face, his somber expression shifting to one of refined courtesy.
Knock, knock, knock.
The crimson door slowly opened, spilling warm light from within. A woman, only half a head taller than Saul, stood in the doorway.
Saul hesitated.
“I was looking for Senior Byron. May I ask who you are?”
The woman, her eyes half-lidded, spoke in a flat tone. “Byron has reached the age to leave the Tower. He’s packing up.”
“Leave the Tower?” Saul forgot his original purpose, startled. “Do we have to leave at a certain age?”
(End of Chapter)
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