Diary of a Dead Wizard

Chapter 102: Your Dream… It's So Scary

“What are you so tense about? I just thought Penny looked bored all alone, so I wanted to take her out for a stroll.”

“Liar! If I hadn’t come back early, you would’ve already run off with her!”

The more Ada thought about it, the more frightened he felt. He raised his fists again and charged.

Jayce scrambled up from the ground and dodged twice, but on the third try, he caught Ada’s fist with one hand.

“Alright, alright, if you keep swinging, I’ll start hitting back.” Jayce’s tone turned cocky again, but then he caught a glimpse of a small, slender finger peeking out from the window, and his expression lost some of its arrogance.

“You can’t keep hiding Penny forever.” Jayce adjusted his collar, then pushed Ada back with one strong shove.

Ada stumbled back a few steps and hit the door with a loud clang.

He was trembling with rage, his fists clenched so tight the knuckles turned white.

Jayce ignored him—he knew Ada wouldn’t really fight.

As he passed by Saul this time, he turned and gave him a mocking smile.

“Well, found yourself a job?”

Saul said nothing, and Jayce pointed his thumb back at Ada.

“You might as well let Ada feed you. He’s already brain-dead.”

After Jayce left, Saul walked over to Ada. “Are you alright?”

“I’m fine!” Ada snapped.

He stood there silently for a while, then turned and went out into the yard to clean up the mess.

Saul didn’t help. Instead, he went inside to check on Penny.

Penny was surprisingly standing on the ground, her expression a little lost. The starlike silver glow in her eyes had dimmed.

“Brother Saul,” she said as she heard him approach, again calling his name with eerie accuracy. “Why can’t I go outside?”

“Out there…” Saul clicked his tongue. “It’s a mess.”

“Oh.” Penny’s voice dropped.

She walked back to the bed, opened the cabinet door, and crawled inside.

A little while later, Ada returned to the house after finishing the cleanup.

Seeing the cabinet door shut, he walked over and whispered something.

Then he approached Saul.

“You… you can stay here three more days. After that, you’ll have to go. I remember there’s some work in town that includes room and board. It’s tough, but if you really can’t take it, go find something somewhere else.”

Perhaps Saul’s idle attitude and cold detachment these past few days had finally crossed Ada’s bottom line. He was now giving Saul a deadline.

“Alright.” Saul nodded, jumped onto the table, and lay down with his back to Ada.

The room fell silent, the only sound being Ada’s long sigh.

That night, Saul actually dozed off for a bit.

And this time, he was keenly aware that he was dreaming.

In the dream, he had returned to the mortuary, lying on the conveyor belt.

The hundreds of corpses he had processed were now standing around him.

One corpse, its head split in two, held a cleaver aimed directly at Saul’s skull.

Another was a pile of meat chunks stacked like blocks, balancing a hammer on top, ready to topple.

“Saul.”

Someone was calling him.

Saul pushed away the corpses trying to dismember him and sat up on the conveyor belt.

The corpses collapsed like dominoes.

Beyond them stood Gorsa, wrapped head-to-toe in pink bandages.

Even knowing it was a dream, Saul showed respect to the Tower Master.

“Tower Master.”

With an eerie motion, Gorsa slowly raised both hands and began unwrapping his bandages from the top of his head down.

And underneath…

There was nothing.

Saul’s mouth slowly fell open, astonished by what his subconscious seemed to be revealing about the Tower Master’s true form.

Was this what they called the subconscious?

When the bandages reached the eyes, two silver eyeballs dropped to the ground.

Gorsa’s mouth was still moving.

“Saul, do you know why I had you study souls?”

All at once, the bandages collapsed without support, landing in a heap—but his voice continued.

“You tell me—does just having a soul… count as being alive?”

The corpses crowded back in, mouthless or not, all making noise.

“Just a soul… is that enough to live?”

“Brother Saul! Brother Saul!” a little girl’s panicked, tearful voice called out.

“What is it, Penny?” Saul jerked awake.

In the dark, he couldn’t see her face, but her hand was clutching his clothes, trembling.

“Brother Saul, don’t go back to sleep.”

“Your dream… it was really scary.”

Had Penny been in his dream too?

Saul hadn’t noticed at all.

He rubbed his drowsy forehead, gently patted her hand, and whispered, “Alright. Brother Saul won’t sleep. Don’t be scared, Penny. Dreams aren’t real—go back to sleep.”

While she was still dazed, Saul cast a minor healing spell and a resistance boost on her.

Those were the only two beneficial spells he currently knew.

There was no choice—if Penny kept getting dragged into his dreams, going mad might be the least of her problems.

After being comforted, Penny seemed much more at ease.

She cheerfully crawled back into the cabinet to sleep.

But Saul couldn’t fall asleep again.

In his two years at the Tower, he rarely had dreams—let alone meaningless ones.

So why was he dreaming like this here, in Grind Sail Town?

Saul pondered as he half-closed his eyes and slipped into meditation for the rest of the night.

Only, that night… for many, was a sleepless one.

On the northern outskirts of Grind Sail Town, from the tower that stood beside the murmuring fruit fields, came a loud bang.

The guards stationed by the Grinding Sound Fruits all lowered their heads, not daring to look.

Inside the decrepit tower, a middle-aged man stood stark naked within a magical array at the top floor.

Not a single hair on his body.

Outside the array lay the corpse of a woman he had just thrown out.

The girl who had been taken away that morning now lay in a corner, limbs severed.

Her eyes were wide open, blood trickling from the corners—clearly unwilling to die.

The First Rank apprentice stood within the array, jaw twitching, his expression twisted.

His chest heaved violently, and it was half an hour before he finally stepped out and took a black robe from a shelf to dress himself.

“Ruper,” he called, voice low and cold with rage.

Though quiet, the sound reached its intended target.

Grind Sail Town’s mayor, waiting nervously outside, took a deep breath before pushing open the door with trembling hands and climbing the spiral staircase to the third floor.

“Lord Shelly.” Ruper’s face twitched as he saw the corpse, quickly pushing down any reaction and bowing deeply to the First Rank apprentice.

“The ascension failed this time.” Shelly’s voice still held a trace of resentment. “But I’m just a hair away from becoming a Second Rank apprentice. Go find me another suitable girl. Immediately!”

“Another girl?” Ruper hesitated. “We’ve already taken so many. The townsfolk are getting restless. When Lord Yuka returns, won’t he grow suspicious?”

Shelly glared, silencing him.

“Once I’m Second Rank, why would I care what he thinks?”

“Yes, yes…” Sweat beaded on Ruper’s forehead.

“Oh, and bring me two… no, five Grinding Sound Fruits.”

Ruper flinched. Though just warned, he couldn’t help but protest, “But those barbarians will be arriving in a couple days. And next month, the Tower’s people come to collect their share… We don’t have much left.”

Shelly dismissed his concern. “We can’t wait. Yuka will be back the day after tomorrow. If he finds out what we’re doing, he’ll definitely stop us. I’m this close—I must ascend before then.”

He waved a hand, his tone softening slightly.

“Once I’m Second Rank, I’ll have the power to confront those barbarians. Wasn’t that the point of all this? To stop their endless plundering?”

Hearing this, Ruper’s eyes grew determined.

“Alright. I’ll have someone fetch the Grinding Sound Fruits.”

He sent the message and sighed.

“The Tower took our tribute but refused to help us wipe out the barbarians. We’ve been forced to do shady deals with them just to survive.”

Then, glancing cautiously at Shelly, he lowered his voice.

“But I still don’t get it—why do those barbarians want the Grinding Sound Fruits instead of meat?”

(End of Chapter)