Diary of a Dead Wizard-Chapter 476: Summoned by the Dean

Saul stroked his chin. “Are you sure the wraith is gone? I was just about to strike it when you suddenly woke up.”

“Uh!” Shaya froze, his face scrunching up. “Don’t tell me you were holding back on purpose…”

He instinctively tensed up, ready to defend himself. But midway through his words, something seemed to occur to him. He shut his mouth and, rather obediently, pulled out the meditation diagram from his pack.

Saul accepted the diagram and stowed it away in his storage device with a flip of his hand.

Truth be told, there were many ways he could’ve taken the diagram from Shaya. Before leaving the Wizard Tower, he had purposely brought along some lightning-element spell materials.

The materials from the Wizard Tower were all of high value—more than enough to trade for a meditation method Shaya didn’t use.

But Saul had wanted to see what exactly the wraith lingering on Shaya really was.

“Alright, I’ve given you the thing. Now get lost,” Shaya began ushering him out.

Saul didn’t take offense at this guy’s habit of discarding people the moment he was done with them.

Even if Saul had cured his nightmares, he hadn’t cured his paranoia.

Saul also wanted to return quickly. But just as he turned to leave, he caught something in the corner of his eye—Shaya suddenly turned pitch black.

Yet when Saul spun around, fully alert, Shaya had returned to normal.

And judging by the look on his face, Shaya seemed unaware anything had just happened.

“What is it? Don’t tell me you’re asking for more payment?” Shaya took a half-step back upon seeing Saul’s serious expression.

Saul narrowed his eyes. Above Shaya’s head, he saw a thin line curling upward.

The end of the line vanished into the air, disappearing without a trace. freeωebnovēl.c૦m

Troubled, Saul left.

Shaya was now the third person he’d seen take on a different form in his vision.

A wizard apprentice whose head turned into the shape of a watcher-bird. A regular store clerk who appeared as a scorched corpse. And now, Shaya, who had become a shadowy figure.

Just what was happening to these people?

Or… was something happening to his own eyes?

As he walked, Saul pressed lightly on his eyelid.

At that moment, he saw two Third Rank apprentices walking toward him.

“Wizard Saul, Dean Pond requests your presence at the clock tower.”

Bayton Academy’s clock tower was a tall, slender spire located near the center of the academy grounds.

Unlike the ever-present hourglass lamps inside the Wizard Tower, the academy used more mechanical clocks to keep time. Even Caugust City beyond the walls did the same.

Saul followed the two apprentices into the clock tower and was surprised to discover it held more than met the eye.

The top floor of the tower concealed an enormous interior space.

He remembered that Bayton Academy sold mobile houses that looked small on the outside but contained vast internal rooms.

It seemed this spellwork had also been applied here.

From the outside, the top floor appeared no larger than a few square meters. In reality, it spanned over a hundred.

The space had no partitions or wall decorations. As soon as Saul entered, he saw Dean Pond seated behind a long table. Across from him, a woman sat properly on a sofa.

The woman had shoulder-length black hair and a thin, drawn appearance. Not exactly beautiful, but her eyes were strikingly bright.

As Saul approached, the woman suddenly looked up. Her burning gaze exerted more pressure than even Dean Pond’s presence.

Yet judging by the spiritual energy radiating from her, she was only a First Rank wizard.

Dean Pond smiled and greeted Saul. Seeing that he was staring at the woman, he made the introductions.

“This is Beth. Like you, she’s a First Rank wizard, but she’s close to advancing, so she doesn’t spend much time at the academy.” Dean Pond’s expression was filled with pride as he looked at her. “Once she completes her promotion, she’ll be taking my place as the next dean.”

Beth rose and gave Saul a slight nod. She seemed the silent, reserved type.

The standard black wizard robe hung loosely on her thin frame.

Though it was summer, her collar was buttoned all the way to the top.

Only her face and her pale, equally thin hands were visible.

Saul also noticed that when introducing Beth, Dean Pond had not mentioned what element she specialized in.

After introductions, the three of them sat down, and Dean Pond finally brought up the real reason he had summoned Saul.

“The root creature that you and Julie encountered before has appeared again. This time, the Third Rank apprentice who encountered it didn’t make it back alive.” Dean Pond’s smile vanished.

“When Julie first reported the incident to me, I immediately sent people into the underground waterways to investigate. Aside from discovering that the soil had become loose, we found nothing else. The root creature was gone.”

“This time, after the creature reappeared, a true wizard who was present managed to bring back a piece of its root.”

Dean Pond raised his hand, and a transparent, sealed test tube floated above his palm.

Inside was a white root segment about the length of a finger.

It floated quietly within the tube, rising and falling as if it were nothing more than a normal radish hair, showing no strange traits.

It was indeed the same root Saul had seen before. At the time, he had taken great care not to let any part of his body be taken by the creature, so he hadn’t brought back a sample.

“After Beth studied it, she found that the root tends to pursue creatures with magic radiation. However, it also displays a certain reaction toward soul bodies.”

“Still, after just a few experiments, its activity level dropped rapidly. Now, it’s essentially inert. Saul, did you bring back any pieces of the root creature when you encountered it last time?”

Saul shook his head. “When the root network grows, it becomes extremely hard to deal with. Julie and I were facing it for the first time, and for safety’s sake, our first instinct was to withdraw.”

“I see.” Dean Pond’s expression remained unreadable. “In that case, if you encounter it again and are able to bring back a sample, the academy is willing to exchange it for magic crystals or spell materials.”

Saul’s eyes lit up.

Clearly, Bayton Academy was very interested in these roots. They must’ve discovered something about it but hadn’t shared the details with him.

If that was the case, Saul decided that next time, he would keep a portion for his own study before handing over the rest.

Outwardly, however, he simply nodded readily. “Sure.”

Dean Pond then asked about the battle with the root creature. After thanking Saul for his cooperation, he dismissed him.

Throughout the entire conversation, the female wizard named Beth hadn’t said a single word.

She simply sat quietly with lowered eyes, appearing utterly uninterested in monsters or battles.

As Saul left, he gave the woman another glance. He couldn’t shake the feeling that she was far from ordinary.

After Saul was gone, Dean Pond stood at the window, watching until Saul had walked a good distance away before turning back to Beth.

“What did you sense?”

Beth slowly raised her head, as if moving in slow motion.

Even her voice was languid, like someone not fully awake.

“He’s very alert. He didn’t notice.”

“If I wanted to keep him in Bayton…”

“There’s no chance.”

(End of Chapter)