Mark saw determination in Saul’s eyes.

Though he couldn’t understand how a newcomer who had just become an apprentice could make up his mind about body modification the very next day.

After all, it had taken him a full month of hesitation before he dared to operate on his own hands.

But now, Mark could already see some value in Saul.

Anyone who could escape the Midnight Lab definitely wasn’t an ordinary newcomer.

Either he had skills, or he had powerful backing.

“You can copy it first. This book is written in a straightforward manner. If, after reading it, you still want to study in more depth, come find me in the lab. I’ll be here for the entire month.”

Such a gentle side from Senior Mark left the other two newcomers in the lab wide-eyed with shock.

“Thank you, Senior Mark.”

Saul sat back down. He didn’t have much time. He had to copy the book as fast as possible.

Mark gave Saul his space and walked to the other side of the lab.

At that moment, Angela, who had been quietly observing for a while, picked up the book in front of her, walked over to Mark, and flashed a sweet smile.

“Senior, I kept failing at a few spots while trying to construct runes today. Could you help teach me?”

She held the book up to her chin, trying her best to show her cutest side.

“Of course,” Mark smiled, “10 magic crystals, or 2 credits.”

The spark of joy that had just lit up in Angela’s eyes was instantly extinguished.

She only had a few dozen magic crystals in total; how could she spend them on just a couple of questions?

“I—I’ll try to figure it out myself.”

She quickly returned to her seat, lowering her head deeply, afraid to see any mocking looks from the others.

She thought maybe she’d have to find a chance to ask Mentor Kaz, but her and Duke’s performance yesterday didn’t seem to impress him.

Would he even come to the lab today?

The book “Grimm’s Understanding of Sorcerous Body Modification” wasn’t thick—just a little over a hundred pages. It wasn’t a printed edition either, so it didn’t contain that many words.

While copying, Saul even skipped some useless interjections, focusing only on the essentials and making notes.

But for a student who had only been in class for two days, fully understanding the book was harder than expected.

Saul didn’t hold back and went to ask Mark directly.

Judging from Mark’s change in attitude, Saul could tell he was trying to make amends.

But why?

Was it because Saul’s survival made him wary? Or had he learned about Big Pink’s involvement?

Either way, Saul wasn’t going to miss this chance to reap some rewards.

With Mark helping summarize key points, Saul’s copying speed increased greatly. He was confident he could finish copying all the important content before noon the next day.

That would make the 2 magic crystals well spent.

Mentor Kaz arrived again after 3:30 PM.

But he had a deeply furrowed brow, seemingly troubled by something difficult.

When Duke tried to approach him with a question, Kaz brushed him aside without a word.

Only then did the two newcomers understand why other apprentices didn’t come to the lab for help.

That patient teaching on the first day had just been a deceptive prelude. Once you stepped in, he immediately showed his true cold self.

Duke couldn’t regain his sense of superiority over Saul. He looked uneasy and kept sneaking glances at Saul with increasingly complex expressions.

But no one expected what happened next: after frowning for a while, Mentor Kaz suddenly walked over to Saul.

“Mentor?” Mark stood up nervously, thinking Kaz had come for him.

But Kaz stopped right in front of Saul. “Come with me.”

Saul was startled, then delighted.

Yesterday, Duke and Angela had been taken away, while he was left behind, essentially abandoned by the mentor. But today, Kaz had suddenly remembered him.

What changed his mind?

Saul quickly gathered his books and quietly followed Kaz.

They followed the slope down the East Tower. Occasionally, when they passed other apprentices, they all stepped aside and bowed their heads respectfully.

As a new apprentice, Saul had never been to the lower floors of the East Tower.

He only knew that the lower levels of the West Tower housed the butlers and servants. The lowest floor there was a garbage dump.

When Saul swept the hallways, he used to bring the trash to a storage room where others would collect and dispose of it. He had never gone to the dump himself, so he didn’t know what it was like.

He had only heard that the servants who went down there were all old-timers, strange folks who barely spoke to others.

The lower they went, the dimmer the lights in the hallway grew. Saul kept his head down, close behind Kaz, not daring to look around.

But in his mind, he counted the floors:

Nine…

Eight…

Seven…

…

Two!

As he counted down to two, Kaz suddenly turned and led him into that floor.

At the entrance stood a man who looked over two hundred pounds, slouched against the wall, unmoving.

He blocked most of the hallway.

Kaz led Saul through the remaining space. The big man didn’t react at all.

A few steps in, there was a red wooden door.

Kaz pushed it open with a loud creak.

As Saul entered, a pungent stench, mixed with the smell of blood assaulted his nose.

He immediately held his breath and looked up at his mentor.

Kaz stood in the middle of the room, completely unfazed, as if he had no nose at all.

The walls were painted with a ghostly white powder. Strange writing, like graffiti, covered them in messy strokes.

Thankfully, though it looked chaotic, the writing didn’t make Saul dizzy.

At the center of the room was a conveyor belt extending from the wall.

Its entrance was covered with black leather tassels, concealing what lay inside.

Next to the belt was a long table, covered in all sorts of open square boxes of varying sizes.

These boxes were empty, but their edges and corners were smeared with some kind of sticky residue.

Some even had clusters of fingertip-sized mushrooms growing on them.

Tools like hammers and chisels hung from one side of the table.

Underneath the table sat a large wheeled box, its lid open. Its inner walls were stained with dark red, nearly black marks.

That box seemed to be the source of the room’s stench and blood odor.

Near the back wall was another table and two chairs, one of which was casually pulled out.

Books and loose sheets of paper were piled on the table, along with a fallen pen holder and pens scattered on the floor.

“The first and second floors of the East Tower are where we store bodies. This is the second floor.”

Bodies?

Saul’s lips tightened. Suddenly, everything he had seen in the room clicked together.

“If you can handle the work here, you’ll earn 3 credits per month.”

Saul looked up sharply.

The apprentice handbook said that 1 credit could be exchanged for 10 magic crystals. But credits had far more uses, and the reverse wasn’t true; 10 magic crystals couldn’t buy 1 credit!

Saul almost couldn’t hold it in—“I want it, I can do it, I’m in!” was about to burst out of his mouth.

But then he remembered Angela and Duke from yesterday. Had they been brought here too? And then sent back to the lab because they didn’t meet the mentor’s standards?

“What would you like me to do?” Saul asked, trying to sound calm and obedient.

“Process mutated corpses,” Kaz replied as he pulled a lever next to the conveyor belt.

The belt started to move. Soon, a fresh corpse broke through the leather tassels and rolled out before them.

Saul had expected corpse-related work, but the sight of a real body still drained the color from his face, making him take two steps back.

The body was tied to the belt and covered with a black leather sheet. Its face was intact and visible.

Saul recognized it immediately. It was the very same new apprentice Keli had mentioned, the one who had his legs shredded and buried in the flowerbed yesterday.

(End of Chapter)

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