Chapter 83: Companion Flowers

The outside world didn’t seem all that terrifying after all.

Life outside the wizard tower wasn’t too different from the ancient times of Saul’s previous life.

But the very next second, Mentor Kaz’s words shattered Saul’s illusion.

“Those sealed carriages are mostly used to transport materials.”

“Materials?”

“Most of them are corpses polluted by the outside world. After all, there are only so many people in the wizard tower. If we had to rely on the corpses produced here, you’d all be out of work.”

No wonder Saul didn’t recognize the appearance of many of the corpses.

“Do the surrounding towns offer people up willingly?”

“They don’t have the strength for that. Most of the time, it’s Third Rank apprentices who actively go out to collect the polluted corpses. It’s also a way of protecting the nearby territories. Otherwise, why do you think they’re so willing to send their children here?”

Kaz smiled—a smile that was hard to tell if it was more proud or more mocking.

The two walked toward the garden.

As they neared, a small window in a wooden hut swung open, and a sallow-faced middle-aged man poked his head out.

His features were plain, except for an unusually long, protruding nose—like Pinocchio’s.

Probably modified as well.

“Good afternoon, Master Kaz!” the man greeted enthusiastically.

Kaz nodded in response, then pointed at the man and said to Saul, “That’s the gardener. Once you’ve chosen your companion flower, he’ll teach you how to take care of it.”

Saul quickly nodded to the gardener, who replied with a bright smile full of yellowed teeth.

They arrived at the garden gate just as a breeze passed by, and the smell of freshly baked bread wafted into Saul’s nose.

What lay before them was called a garden, but it looked more like a vegetable patch.

The land was divided into plots, each lined with rows of flowers. The stems were slender, but the buds were quite large, with only two petals on each.

Some flowers were in full bloom, others still budding.

When the wind blew, it looked like rows of big-headed babies dancing.

The scent of bread grew even stronger.

Saul had already eaten, but he still felt hungry.

“Mentor, are these all companion flowers?”

Kaz lifted his chin. “They are. ‘Companion flower’ is just a general term for this type of plant. They look different, but their growth process and properties are the same.”

The two walked between the ridges.

Saul couldn’t shake the feeling that the flowers were turning their heads in sync with their movements—though it was impossible to tell front from back on a flower.

“These flowers thrive on rot and decay. So regular soil won’t work. After you pick one, go find the gardener to have it transplanted into a pot, and he’ll give you a pack of fertilizer.”

Fertilizer?

Saul’s steps faltered.

Was it the same kind of fertilizer he had almost become?

“Companion flowers bear fruit roughly once every six months. One fruit per plant. The fruits come in various types, and their probabilities differ—there’s currently no way to cultivate them for specific outcomes. Blue ones increase magic power, red ones enhance physique…”

Saul quickly pulled out a notepad and began jotting everything down.

Kaz glanced at him and shook his head. “You should’ve been writing this down a long time ago. Green ones are detoxifying, purple ones are poisonous. If you get a white one, be sure to hand it in to the tower.”

Saul paused mid-writing, waiting a moment, but Kaz said no more.

“Mentor, is there something wrong with the white fruit?”

“Not exactly. White fruit stabilizes the mental body, which the tower is short on. If you manage to grow one, you can exchange it for 20 credits, no problem.”

Twenty credits… That’s half a year’s pay!

So valuable!

Saul looked at the flowers again, now seeing them as a mountain of gold.

“Flowers that have already bloomed are hard to transplant. Just pick a budding one.”

“Yes, Mentor.” Saul put away his notes and moved closer to the flower beds.

There were over a hundred flowers in the field, most in bloom, with only a few still in bud form.

With credits on the line, Saul didn’t rush his decision. He tried to observe and guess which one might bear a white fruit.

At the very least, a blue one would do.

But the flowers looked entirely random—different colors, different shapes—some like roses, others like tulips. None had fruit on them.

The ones that bore fruit were probably already harvested.

As Saul examined the flowers closely, Kaz’s voice sounded behind him again, soft and cold.

“Rum wants you under his name, doesn’t he?”

Saul immediately stopped and turned around.

After a brief hesitation, he admitted honestly, “Yes.”

Kaz nodded, showing no sign of anger.

“I figured. You had another reason for choosing me as your mentor, didn’t you?”

The real reason Saul had picked Kaz was because of Kongsha’s influence. That potion she gave him had temporarily heightened his sensitivity to dark elemental particles—so much so that dark surpassed light, becoming his strongest elemental attribute.

That led Saul, unknowingly, to choose Kaz over Rum.

“And do you regret it now?” Kaz asked.

“No, I don’t.” Saul replied without hesitation.

He wasn’t just flattering his mentor—he truly felt no regret.

If not for the opportunity Kongsha gave him, he wouldn’t even qualify as an apprentice.

Instead of resenting her manipulation, he saw it as the price of entry into the apprenticeship.

A perspective that aligned perfectly with Senior Byron’s values.

Kaz gave a crooked smile, though it carried a hint of coldness.

“Right. Now that you’ve undergone body modification and are leaning toward dark affinity, there’s no going back.”

Suddenly, the sunlight felt much less warm on Saul’s skin.

He quickly added, “I truly don’t regret it, Mentor! If I hadn’t been working in the morgue, I’d never have completed the modification…”

Oops. That was close—he nearly spilled about using morgue’s materials.

Saul quickly shifted gears, “…Besides, I really enjoy working in the morgue. It’s perfect for focused study and research.”

Whether Kaz picked up on Saul’s morgue’s meterials or not was unclear, but his expression definitely improved.

“Sigh…” Mentor Kaz stood hunched, hands behind his back, and let out a soft sigh. “If only everyone could learn to be content like you.”

Everyone else?

Who?

Who wasn’t content?

Ever since he’d learned the Tower Master’s true identity, Saul suspected that even his job in the morgue had been arranged.

The Tower Master had instructed him to study corpses and souls—how could he possibly disobey?

And Saul wasn’t lying: the work really did suit him.

He just hadn’t expected Mentor Kaz to sigh like that.

It left Saul with a vague sense of unease.

Who was so discontent that it could make Kaz sound so weary?

Kaz didn’t elaborate. He simply dropped the topic, leaving Saul full of questions.

“With your current abilities, you’re fine working in the morgue. As long as you turn in the materials on time, I’ll pass your tests.”

Wait—every month’s test is going to be that simple?

“Thank you, Mentor. I’ll get it done.”

Saul had been worrying that for the second test, the mentors would demand he master more spells.

He already had a lot to learn, and spell study had taken a backseat.

He recalled that Senior Mark’s test had also been task-based—organizing a lab or something similar.

That made Saul more certain of what he’d already suspected:

The wizard tower wasn’t a school—it was a workplace.

The apprentices’ initial period of rapid learning was just onboarding. If a trainee couldn’t handle any job after that, they’d be let go.

The tower was a ruthless employer. And even fired employees had to serve as nourishment—giving their all to the very end.

In that case, those two new apprentices who’d left the classroom first during the initial test, without even learning a single compound rune—they were probably in serious danger.

Now that he thought about it, Saul hadn’t seen them in class today.

Could it be… they’d already been “terminated”?

“Thank you, Mentor. I’ll keep doing my best.” Saul gave another earnest promise.

“Mm.” Kaz turned to leave. “Take your time choosing. Once you’re done, go find the gardener. Be back before sunset.”

(End of Chapter)

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