Chapter 222: Gotta Charge Extra

The idea of enhancing the soul body through devouring was still just a hypothesis.

Saul wouldn’t recklessly carry it out just because he had a hunch—no matter how reliable the diary was as a safety net.

Before any experiment could begin, there were still many preparations to make.

He had already settled on the topic, but he still needed to go through justification, implementation, and verification, among other steps.

And all that had to wait until his body modifications were further along—so he wouldn’t randomly have out-of-body experiences anymore.

Otherwise, if he suddenly separated from his body and encountered some unknown danger, the risks would be too great.

Suppressing his excitement, Saul finally remembered that Heywood was still waiting outside.

“Right… leaving someone hanging that long isn’t very polite.”

He began thinking about how to initiate an out-of-body experience on his own.

Because Tower Master Gorsa had warned him not to separate from his soul casually, Saul had never tried it on purpose before. His previous experiences had all been passive; he had never explored how to do it willingly.

But he had a theory—one he believed had a high chance of success.

That theory revolved around his meditation diagram—the Erosion Diagram.

The Erosion Diagram was a closed loop.

At the top of the diagram stood a man. Walking halfway through the loop, he transformed into a monster with an octopus-like head.

Then the monster walked another half-loop and turned back into a man.

If Saul’s soul was considered the “monster” in relation to his body, then if he could return from monster (soul form) to human (physical body), couldn’t he also consciously transition from human to monster?

He consulted the diary, but received no reply.

So he cheerfully began the experiment.

He started circulating his meditation technique.

Following the motions in the Erosion Diagram, he imagined himself as a monster—trying to shed his disguise…

“Imagining myself as a monster is kind of tricky,” Saul rubbed his forehead. “Actually, when I was returning to my body before, I didn’t think about whether I was a monster—I just wanted to go back. Maybe now I just need to try wanting to leave…”

He attempted again.

Sure enough, when he dropped the idea of changing his mindset, the process became much easier.

After a few tries, he slowly stood up from his original position and completed a half-loop in six steps.

Saul opened his eyes and looked down at himself.

Gone was the skeletal arm. Looking behind him, he saw his own body slumped back against the chair.

“Success!” Saul grinned. “At least now I can collect Heywood’s payment. And in the future, I can design some experiments around this.”

Even though the Tower Master had warned that soul separation was dangerous, Saul couldn’t resist the temptation—especially if it might drastically boost his mental power.

What kind of wizard stays safe and sound in a sanctuary all the time?

Besides, he had the diary to back him up.

He took a moment to calm his excitement, composing himself and reverting his face back to his current-life appearance before heading out to meet Heywood at the storeroom entrance.

The only thing in his way was the crowd of corpses at the door. They were quite enthusiastic and kept trying to invite Saul to come hang out.

He finally made it to the door after struggling through, and directly phased through the storeroom entrance.

Unlike the bronze doors, this one didn’t have lethal rules attached to it, so Saul felt more at ease passing through.

Outside, Heywood still stood in his original posture, head slightly lowered, his heterochromatic violet-blue eyes dimmed a bit.

Though Saul didn’t deliberately reveal himself like he had with George, Heywood noticed him immediately.

When he looked up, his purple eyes gleamed faintly.

It wasn’t the first time he’d seen Saul’s soul form, but Heywood still found it fascinating. He couldn’t help himself from probing a bit.

“The time you were out of your body was several times longer than the time you were inside. If you weren’t doing anything else… then this was your first time initiating it yourself?”

Saul didn’t deny it.

Heywood was impressed. “You succeeded on your first try, and that quickly. That means you’ve already grasped the principles of soul separation. I’m jealous.”

“Aren’t you in a hurry to save your sister?”

That snapped Heywood out of his curiosity. He took out the black bottle again.

He pressed his hand lightly on the seal, and the black cloth covering it slid down, revealing half the mouth of the bottle.

A damp, moldy basement smell wafted out instantly.

“Just bring your arm close. The scent will cling to you and should last around ten minutes.”

Saul held out his right arm. Wisps of mist wrapped themselves around it shortly after.

The scent could cling to a soul form?

He nearly gave in to his own curiosity, but for now, the priority was fishing Heidi out of that interlayer.

If he failed or arrived too late, he might miss his shot at the Nightmare Butterfly’s knowledge, and a second exchange with Heywood would certainly come at a steeper price.

He shook his hand to confirm that the mist still held fast around his arm, then looked up and said to Heywood, “Alright, I’ll head back into the storeroom and try from there.”

Heywood paused for a moment. “Can’t you try here? If anything goes wrong, I can help.”

Saul offered a simple excuse, or rather, a reasonable explanation.

“If Heidi vanished after pulling me into the interlayer from inside the storeroom, I think entering from the same spot gives me a better chance of finding her.”

This time Heywood nodded almost immediately.

“If you don’t find her, you can come back and try again from here. The interlayer isn’t a solid space—fluidity in soul forms is perfectly normal. If you come back, I can also help deduce Heidi’s location based on what you saw.”

Saul smiled. “Multiple trips into the interlayer will cost extra.”

Heywood didn’t hesitate. “No problem.”

Saul passed back through the storeroom door.

He hadn’t lied—he returned to his bed before slowly descending.

He didn’t fully understand the nature of the interlayer, and this felt a bit like carving a mark on a moving boat, but it was still better than aimlessly wandering.

Naturally, Saul kept an eye on the diary the whole time. If it signaled for him to stop, he’d withdraw immediately.

This time, with greater control over his soul body, Saul successfully sank back into the interlayer, and returned to the eye-filled darkness.

Just like last time, the moment he arrived, he felt those scorching gazes.

Every single eye in the black darkness—big and small—snapped toward him.

Saul endured the burning pain crawling over his body as he scanned his surroundings. Eyes were everywhere, thick as grass, making his skin crawl. He did a quick sweep but saw no sign of Heidi’s grotesque face.

Not daring to linger, he withdrew before the diary even had to intervene.

“This interlayer feels extremely dangerous—far more mysterious than the wax-filled tubes. If Heidi got lost in here and couldn’t get back, she must’ve run into serious trouble. If she’s too deep in, there’s no way I can reach her.”

Still, for the Nightmare Butterfly’s secret, Saul was willing to risk one more time.

But before his second entry, he waited a little—Heywood had used scent to attract his sister, and it needed time to diffuse.

After about two minutes, Saul entered again. Nothing.

He left before the burning sensation grew unbearable.

“One last attempt. If it still fails, I’m going back out to make Heywood pay more.”

With that decision made, Saul took a deep breath and entered the interlayer one final time from the same spot.

This time, the moment he arrived, a horrifying human face lunged toward him.

“Bang!” Saul instinctively threw a right hook.

Then he realized—that might’ve been Heidi’s face.

(End of Chapter)

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