[{"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-2":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},1380373,1828,"Chapter 2: The Living Test Subject","diary-of-a-dead-wizard-chapter-2",2,"\u003Cp>Saul stood frozen in place.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He was thinking, but time was running out.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The candlelight on the wall had already shifted from a dusky yellow to a deeper amber. Once it turned bright yellow, that meant dawn was near. And before the flames turned white, Saul had to be back on the fourth floor.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Those were the rules.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The pool of blood was still there.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If he left it, he’d be flower fertilizer by morning.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But clean it?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He was just an ordinary person. No powers, no tricks. What could he possibly do about this eerie, murderous blood?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ask for help?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Report it to the butler?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The butler never appeared at night, and Saul had no idea where to find him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His movement was restricted to the fourth-floor servants’ quarters and the 11th through 13th floors.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>No way out.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Saul’s trembling fingers suddenly steadied.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He placed the mop back onto the cart and straightened his clothes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then, he walked to the door directly across from the room leaking blood, raised his hand, and knocked three times.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the silent corridor, those three knocks sounded painfully loud.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Saul glanced down at the floating hardcover book. No new death prediction appeared.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He raised his hand to knock again when the door before him suddenly creaked open.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Saul’s breath caught in his throat.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The door inched open.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And behind it, a tall, slender figure emerged.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A woman, dressed in a black nightgown, she was voluptuous, but not overweight. The exposed skin was pale and smooth.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Saul looked up and saw a graceful jawline, full red lips, a high nose and above that... nothing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The woman had only half a head.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the dark of night, the sight nearly made Saul’s soul leave his body.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He forced down the terror and kept his expression polite.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But his teeth betrayed him, chattering uncontrollably.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The woman tilted her head. The top half of it was gone. The exposed flesh at the cross-section was pale and decayed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Where her eyes should have been, a hemispherical glass dome was embedded.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Inside the dome, a cloudy white liquid sloshed about. As she tilted her head, something eyeball-like bumped gently against the glass.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"What is it?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Her lips moved. Her voice was unexpectedly pleasant.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"M-Ma’am...\" Saul heard the tremble in his own voice. He took a deep breath to steady it. \"Blood is leaking from the room across the hall. I don’t have the means to deal with it. Please... help me.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The woman lifted her head slightly. An eyeball pressed against the glass dome.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then it disappeared again as she lowered her head, chuckled softly, and said, \"Why should I help you?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Saul knew he wouldn’t be lucky enough to knock on a stranger’s door and find a kind, helpful soul.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Ma’am, what would you have me do?\" he bowed his head.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He was just a servant. He had no right to negotiate.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The woman cradled her chin with slender fingers. \"I need a living subject for an experiment. But I’m a bit short on credits right now. If you volunteer, I’ll take care of your little problem.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Saul glanced at the hardcover book floating over his shoulder.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>No reaction.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He was still far too weak to protect himself. His only hope was to gamble on the book’s death warning system.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Alright.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The woman curled her red lips in satisfaction, clearly pleased by Saul’s decisiveness.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She stepped aside and let him enter her room, then turned and did something outside.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Saul stood inside the room.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was larger than the shared dorm he lived in with over a dozen other boys and it even had a separate inner chamber.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>An oil lamp lit the living area, casting a steady and bright glow, likely aided by some enchantment.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At the center of the room sat a long table, cluttered with strange tools and materials he didn’t recognize.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The most eye-catching of all was a black cauldron atop a small stove, bubbling with thick black liquid.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"That’s the thing I need you to try.\" The woman had entered again without him noticing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Saul turned. The door was already closed. He didn’t know if the blood outside had been dealt with.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I need you to put one hand into the cauldron. Then tell me what you feel.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She pulled out a long bench, sat down across from him, crossed her legs, and waited expectantly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Saul knew he had no room to bargain. So he didn’t plead, didn’t beg.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He rolled up the sleeve on his left arm, took a deep breath, and walked forward. Without hesitation, he plunged his entire hand into the black liquid.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He didn’t dip a finger first, better to risk the whole thing than irritate the woman with hesitation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Tss—!\" Saul sucked in a breath.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Not from pain but from cold.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A biting, bone-deep cold.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Clack, clack, clack...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His teeth chattered uncontrollably.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"You can take it out now.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At her command, Saul yanked his hand back.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But the moment he saw it, the breath he’d just let out caught in his throat again.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The flesh was gone.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His left hand was nothing but clean, bare-bone—like a skeleton hand straight from a medical model.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The worst part? There was no pain at all.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Hah... hah...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Saul panted, gripping his left wrist with his right. Both hands shook violently.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As his skeletal hand trembled, it made a dry, clicking sound.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The woman offered no comfort. She stood and tapped her chin thoughtfully.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Must’ve added too much Jisheli python stomach acid. What do you feel in that hand right now?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"C-c-cold... but not painful...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Saul tried to suppress his fear and chill, doing his best to respond like a professional test subject.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I... I think I can still control it.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He flexed his skeletal fingers slightly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was difficult, but they moved.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Not bad.\" The woman smiled, looking quite satisfied.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She sifted through the table, selected a few ingredients, and casually tossed them into the cauldron.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Two wisps of white steam hissed upward. Then, the bubbling resumed as before.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Now,\" she sat back down, her chin tilted with interest. She pointed at the cauldron.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Put in the other hand.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Saul exhaled.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He’d expected this.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The first trial clearly hadn’t worked.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So a second test was inevitable.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He released his left hand, then decisively plunged his right hand into the bubbling black liquid.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Nnngh—!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A deep freeze shot up his arm.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His right hand, submerged in the fluid, went entirely numb.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"You can take it out.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He yanked it free.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Relief washed over him as it wasn’t a skeleton hand this time.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Not only that, but his rough, calloused palm was now smooth and pale.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Before she could even ask, Saul said, \"C-c-cold... even colder than before... clack clack... but not painful. I can control it...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He flexed his fingers and raised his hand to show her.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The woman smiled again, but wider this time, revealing sharp white teeth behind her red lips.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"You really are a surprise.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She stood and even clapped her hands twice.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Crossing the room, she opened a cabinet and pulled out a crystal vial, handing it to Saul.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Drink this.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seeing Saul's hesitant, pale face, she laughed, her body trembling with amusement. The white liquid inside her glass dome sloshed along with her movements.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Relax. This one’s not an experiment—it’s the healing potion.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>(End of Chapter)\u003C\u002Fp>",1229,"2026-06-05T22:22:08.591Z",1,"novelbin.me","058ebc650a3f7038e5b92cbf82a68e62284e84ba38385ebc8cb0e6b137296b88","diary-of-a-dead-wizard-chapter-3","diary-of-a-dead-wizard-chapter-1",1037,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fdiary-of-a-dead-wizard-cover.jpg"]