[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-diary-of-a-dead-wizard":3,"chapter-diary-of-a-dead-wizard-diary-of-a-dead-wizard-chapter-119":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"english","Diary of a Dead Wizard",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},1380340,1828,"Chapter 119: A Mountain of Pale White","diary-of-a-dead-wizard-chapter-119",119,"\u003Cp>Saul hadn't figured it out yet when Bill walked back to Byron.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For some reason, Bill suddenly took an interest in Byron’s mission and proposed to join him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At first, Saul suspected it might be because of himself.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But after those two brief exchanges, Bill never initiated a conversation with Saul again.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Making Saul feel like he might have been overthinking it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Byron was initially hesitant about Bill’s suggestion.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But considering the recent strangeness in Hanging Hands Valley and the seeming instability even at the outskirts, he agreed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After all, with three Third Rank apprentices moving together, as long as they didn’t fight among themselves, they could basically sweep through the outskirts of Hanging Hands Valley unhindered.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Our mission is to capture a Wraith,” Byron first stated the objective clearly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Having two more Third Rank apprentices in the team was definitely beneficial for Saul and their wraith-hunting mission.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Before leaving, Bill casually tossed the four people he had just killed into a ground hole.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That took care of the corpses.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The group continued deeper into Hanging Valley. The wooden spiders had to squeeze through tighter spaces now—thankfully, there were no fat people among these apprentice witches.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As they moved forward, the number of ground holes steadily increased.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Some of these holes were as thin as an arm, others three to four meters in diameter. Most of them were so deep they couldn’t see the bottom.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>While driving the wooden spiders, they had to be careful not to let the spider legs get stuck in the holes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“A lot of these holes were dug by wizards during exploration. Since there was no overall planning, they just drilled wherever they liked. The underground is a chaotic web—it’s easy to get lost,” Byron explained while carefully maneuvering the spider, chatting with Saul.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At the same time, he was warning the not-so-familiar Bill and his companion not to wander off.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After about an hour, Nick would occasionally activate the soul wave detector to check for any signs of Wraith activity.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But perhaps because they were still at the outer edge of the valley—or maybe Wraiths were less active during the day—the Soul Wave Detector didn’t show much.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Is this thing even working?” Bill curled his finger and knocked on the mirror of the soul wave detector device a couple of times.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Byron had just furrowed his brow when Nick suddenly shouted, “I detected Wraith activity!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Saul leaned over for a look, and sure enough, he could see a faint shadow on the mirror.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>What confirmed it as a Wraith and not a regular reflection was the figure’s shape—it was a perfectly smooth humanoid silhouette, without the distortions typical of other mirror reflections.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But this shadow was different from the one Saul had seen alone before.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The one he had seen earlier, although also lacking facial features, had appeared very close to the mirror, as if it were standing right behind him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Its color had been dark gray, nearly black, unlike this one, which was pale and faint—like a wisp of smoke that could dissipate at any moment.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Byron slowed the spider and glanced at the mirror. “Yep, definitely a Wraith. But it’s so faint—it must’ve passed through a day or two ago.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Bill perked up. “A day or two? Could it have crawled up from underground?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wright, sitting on the far side of the mirror and seeing nothing, still joined in, “Bill, your fingers really work wonders. Wanna knock it again?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Saul was startled, afraid Bill would actually mess with the device again. If this thing got thrown off, recalibrating it would be a huge pain.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Luckily, once Bill heard there were Wraith traces, his attention shifted.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Before the wooden spider even came to a full stop, he jumped out the window.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Well then, what are we waiting for? Let’s find a tunnel and head down!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But Byron didn’t respond. Instead, he stopped at a relatively flat area near the cliff edge.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This would be their temporary base.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Saul helped Nick carry the detector down and set it up, then clapped his hands and looked around.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Compared to their original base, this area had way more tunnels. It felt like they were standing on a massive block of cheese—tunnels honeycombed the ground, and even the nearby cliff was dotted with holes leading who-knew-where.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After setting up camp, Byron started assigning tasks.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I suggest we each search separately for caves with signs of corruption. Afterward, we’ll gather and compare our findings to pick the most promising one.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But Bill immediately objected.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Wright and I aren’t good at detecting Wraiths. With your method, we might walk right past key clues without realizing it. I say we all just pick a tunnel and go straight down. If we go deep enough, we’re bound to run into a Wraith.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Byron looked concerned. “If we go too deep, we might run into something we can’t handle.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Nick and Saul were both Second Rank apprentices, especially Saul, who only knew a single First Tier Spells—he barely had any means to protect himself.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“If we can’t handle it, we run,” Bill said casually. “Byron, you’re way too cautious—that’s why it’s taken you so long to reach Third Rank.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Whether intentional or not, Bill slapped a hand on Saul’s shoulder. “If you want to be a wizard, you can’t be afraid of danger.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Saul had seen how Bill used that purple mist to melt corpses. Now being touched by him made Saul uncomfortable.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But the diary remained silent, which meant Bill hadn’t tampered with him—at least not yet. And it was unlikely Bill would make a move on him in front of Byron.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After thinking it through, Byron finally agreed with Bill’s suggestion.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You do have a point. Let’s stick together and head straight underground. But someone still needs to stay behind and monitor the Soul Wave Detector. Nick and Saul can take turns.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Taking the opportunity to assign Saul this task, Byron pulled him aside.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“There’s still something strange about what happened earlier. Tidal storms, even when they occur, rarely reach the entrance of Hanging Hands Valley. So I plan to finish this mission quickly and leave as soon as we can.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Saul nodded.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Of course, if we come across a suitable Wraith, we’ll help you capture it—but there might not be time for thorough research.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Finding a more intact Wraith had always just been a bonus. Since the situation was getting odd, Saul wasn’t going to push his luck.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Besides, just completing this mission would earn him a lot of academic credits. Saul wasn’t greedy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I’ll figure it out myself. Don’t worry about the Wraith.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Saul thought to himself—worst case, he’d have Nick smash the spirit again to enhance his hands. It’d just be a bit wasteful.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Once the new plan was settled, it was already afternoon. But no one wanted to waste the day, so they ate a quick meal and set out.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Nick would stay at the camp today.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wright crossed his arms, staring at the dense maze of tunnels before them, his pale face looking conflicted.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Which tunnel… do we go into?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Bill clapped his hands, “Doesn’t matter. Let’s take the closest one!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He pointed at a hole just five meters away, nearly two meters in diameter.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Byron, however, chose another one—about three meters wide, with signs of recent activity around it. “Let’s go with one that’s already been explored a bit. Bigger space makes it easier for the group to move.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Saul didn’t immediately join the debate. He remembered Byron’s initial plan—tracking Wraiths through signs of corruption—and a thought struck him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Observing corruption… wasn’t that exactly his specialty?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Saul half-closed his eyes and visualized the Human-Monster Movement Diagram.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And the world before his eyes… didn’t change much.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Could it be that there really weren’t many Wraiths on the valley’s edge? Or maybe too many people had explored this area before, leaving everything too clean?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It didn’t look like a burial ground for wizards at all.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>There were dozens of large holes and even more smaller ones before him—but not a single one gave off a reaction.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Saul was disappointed. He turned to end the visualization when suddenly, his eyes caught the cliff behind them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>There, on one side of the mountain wall, several caves were lined with strange white phantoms writhing just outside their entrances.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Saul couldn’t help but walk over for a closer look. Just as he tried to study them, the white phantoms suddenly stretched out—becoming thin, bony, white hands.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>These hands were long like wooden rods, clustered like wild grass. They grew around the cliffside caves and waved endlessly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As Saul’s gaze settled on them, they seemed to sense his attention—and began to wave more vigorously.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As if calling him over…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Or crying out for help.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>(End of Chapter)\u003C\u002Fp>",1466,"2026-06-05T22:22:08.872Z",1,"novelbin.me","131d0a2229ab65311471485a090fbfd8d675b36dd5311ed96331d20fecde49ab","diary-of-a-dead-wizard-chapter-120","diary-of-a-dead-wizard-chapter-118",1037,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fdiary-of-a-dead-wizard-cover.jpg"]