Chapter 341: Butterfly |
Night had fallen deep. The moonlight could not pierce through the thick clouds.
On a cliff some distance from Saul and the others, a light flickered to life.
It came from a decrepit lighthouse. No one knew who still lingered alone by the sea, casting a lone, steady beam of safety over the pitch-black waters.
Saul continuously shifted his position, keeping himself standing where the seawater just barely covered his ankles.
From time to time, he extended his soul metamorph into the water using Touch of Torment, probing for the concentration of soul fragments and any other anomalies.
Occasionally, pale arms lacking in self-preservation would reach out to touch him—only to end up making a negligible contribution to Saul’s soul energy reserves.
After Saul rejected their cooperation, Andy and Parker quickly left the shoreline, retreating to the shadows beneath the cliff. Their figures flickered in and out of sight, seemingly protected by some form of spell.
All three were waiting for the appearance of the Soul Tide.
According to the locals, before every Soul Tide, the sky would turn oppressively gloomy and fierce winds would tear across the sea.
The seawater would grow warm but clothes soaked in it would become all the heavier.
Heavy breathing would echo beside the shell-pickers standing in the sea. And if they dared to unwrap the black cloths from their faces, they would discover that the ones breathing were actually schools of fish rising from the depths.
Fish, which normally couldn’t breathe on the water’s surface, would rise upright, poking their mouths out of the waves, gazing longingly at the starry sky, and making “ha-chi, ha-chi” sounds.
As if the undead of the deep sea were yearning for air.
At this moment, if a shell-picker failed to escape in time—fleeing to the shore and then far inland—they would slowly begin to be assimilated by the surrounding fish. Their heads would tilt upward, their mouths gape wide, breathing faster and faster, while the air in their lungs grew ever thinner.
Eventually, dazed and delirious, they would follow the fish without looking back, plunging deep into the ocean—never to be seen again.
Tonight, the winds by the sea were indeed strong, and the night unusually dark. Perhaps the Soul Tide was on the verge of arriving.
The local shell-pickers had already left the beach completely before nightfall set in.
As far as the eye could see, only Saul and the other two apprentice wizards remained.
Yet the three of them waited with entirely different states of mind.
“You're nervous. What did you see just now?”
Shrouded in the shadows of the cliff, their figures hidden from outside sight, Parker finally spoke to Andy, who was still trembling.
“Saul’s mental power is so strong. I’ve only ever felt pressure like that from true wizards.”
Parker’s brows furrowed slightly, then relaxed. “Sounds about right. Jero said something similar. Did he detect your probing?”
“Probably not. Even many true wizards can’t sense my methods.”
“Mm. Your reconnaissance ability is unusual.”
The two continued to watch the sea, occasionally glancing at Saul from the corners of their eyes.
“Why do you think he insists on standing in the water like that? Doesn’t it bother him?” Andy scratched the skin behind her ear.
“I suspect he’s testing something through the seawater.”
“Those apprentices backed by powerful masters really do have all sorts of tricks. Who knows what treasures he’s hiding?” Andy licked her lips, her voice growing colder. “Parker, could you take him?”
“If it’s just a fight, I have a sixty percent chance. If it’s a fight to the death—he’s done for,” Parker said calmly.
But before Andy could reply, he suddenly pinched her sharply on the butt.
“But that’s not what concerns me. Apprentices from the big factions, especially ones mentored by Second Rank wizards like him, always carry life-saving trump cards. That’s one thing. We have our cards too. But if he’s carrying a tracking curse, we’d be in trouble.”
“A curse?” Andy looked up in surprise, scratching her neck again without realizing it.
“I once accidentally saw a fight in a forbidden area—two people clashing, and one of them was also an apprentice of a high-ranked wizard. There were no other witnesses besides me. But I clearly saw it: after the killer succeeded, a shadow burst from the victim’s body and burrowed into his. When we left the forbidden zone, the victim’s master was already waiting outside and instantly picked out the killer. Only later did I learn that it was a type of tracking spell.”
Parker didn’t elaborate on the killer’s miserable end. Instead, he continued warning Andy. “High-ranked wizards usually won’t give their apprentices magic items too far beyond their level—it could backfire and harm them. But tracking curses are different. They’re safe. They help protect the apprentice’s life… or their secrets.”
Andy pouted, as if watching a treasure chest grow legs and run away right in front of her.
Especially after being so badly rattled by Saul’s terrifying mental force, the memory of it left her feeling humiliated. Her urge to kill him only grew stronger, hoping to erase her shame.
But hearing Parker’s warning, she knew she’d never get the chance.
What—was she supposed to gamble that Gorsa didn’t care about this genius apprentice’s life?
Everyone knew… that was a losing bet!
“…Got it.” Andy reached for her backside again, feeling the spot where Parker had pinched her growing itchier.
“Huh?” Just then, she suddenly turned her head to look ahead to the left.
“What is it?”
“I think I just saw a butterfly fly past… But no way, there’s no way a butterfly would be here. I must’ve been seeing things.”
“A butterfly?” Parker scanned the area, finding only a few small flying insects. “Could this be the onset of the consciousness-disturbance field before the Soul Tide? But shouldn’t it be fish, not butterflies?”
“I’m probably just too nervous.”
Andy could no longer find any sign of the butterfly, and the itchiness on her skin was gone. Her mood immediately lightened, and she stopped thinking about the earlier conversation.
She rested her head on Parker’s chest, listening to his heartbeat.
“What’s he doing now?” Parker hadn’t noticed Andy’s flirtation.
He’d been watching Saul from the corner of his eye the entire time.
Saul suddenly stepped forward, walking into deeper water.
Andy glanced over when she heard that, watching him stop once the waves reached his knees. She didn’t think much of it.
She chuckled softly. “Don’t tell me he’s been charmed. That’d be embarrassing.”
…
The icy seawater pricked at Saul’s calves. Though he couldn’t hear the two apprentices’ conversation, he knew they were definitely observing him.
As for whether they were plotting something against him—that was another question.
The smarter a person was, the more cautious they tended to be. And since Parker was acquainted with Jero, he couldn’t be too much of a fool.
After one more test of the soul fragment density in the water, Saul suddenly spoke.
“What did you do to that Andy?”
A silver butterfly appeared in his vision, gently flapping its wings, gliding up and down.
The biting sea wind couldn’t move its fragile wings in the slightest.
“Brother Saul, she was probing you just now! Hmph! Thought she was being sneaky—but that thing stuck to your skin like slime. So gross!”
Saul stepped forward again, raising one hand. A pale yellow orb appeared just beneath the transparent surface of his palm.
Earlier, the girl named Andy had been covertly observing him.
The probe had been brief and disguised, made to seem subtle.
But what she didn’t know was that Saul’s entire body had been altered by Soul Resin. His skin was extraordinarily sensitive to external probes, especially those carrying mental force.
In the instant the shadow on the sea surface shattered, Saul had even managed to snatch a leftover trace from its retreat.
He looked down at his palm, analyzing it with the knowledge he had acquired.
“Andy likely specializes in water-element. She uses skin affinity to carry out concealed surveillance. Other than her spiritual connection to the target, this ability isn’t anything special.”
Having largely figured out Andy’s magic, Saul lost interest and lowered his hand.
As his palm turned, the pale yellow was gradually consumed by a ghostly gray. Not a trace remained.
By now, the seawater had reached above Saul’s knees. The waves came layer after layer, as though trying to push him away.
He stopped again to test the soul fragment concentration in the water.
No difference from the shallows.
Saul looked out toward the horizon. Suddenly, his body shot out of the water, pausing mid-air before shooting forward again.
“Brother Saul, where are you going?” Penny, who had been playing in the waves, fluttered back into view. “Weren’t you planning to wait by the shore for the Soul Tide?”
“The soul fragment concentration in the water hasn’t increased for a long time. At this rate, the Soul Tide won’t happen tonight. If I’m just going to waste the whole night waiting—I might as well go see for myself.”
(End of Chapter)