[{"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-20":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},1380391,1828,"Chapter 20: Outstanding People Always Find Opportunities","diary-of-a-dead-wizard-chapter-20",20,"\u003Cp>Mark saw determination in Saul’s eyes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Though he couldn’t understand how a newcomer who had just become an apprentice could make up his mind about body modification the very next day.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After all, it had taken him a full month of hesitation before he dared to operate on his own hands.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But now, Mark could already see some value in Saul.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Anyone who could escape the Midnight Lab definitely wasn’t an ordinary newcomer.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Either he had skills, or he had powerful backing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You can copy it first. This book is written in a straightforward manner. If, after reading it, you still want to study in more depth, come find me in the lab. I’ll be here for the entire month.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Such a gentle side from Senior Mark left the other two newcomers in the lab wide-eyed with shock.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Thank you, Senior Mark.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Mark gave Saul his space and walked to the other side of the lab.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At that moment, Angela, who had been quietly observing for a while, picked up the book in front of her, walked over to Mark, and flashed a sweet smile.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Senior, I kept failing at a few spots while trying to construct runes today. Could you help teach me?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She held the book up to her chin, trying her best to show her cutest side.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Of course,” Mark smiled, “10 magic crystals, or 2 credits.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The spark of joy that had just lit up in Angela’s eyes was instantly extinguished.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She only had a few dozen magic crystals in total; how could she spend them on just a couple of questions?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I—I’ll try to figure it out myself.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She quickly returned to her seat, lowering her head deeply, afraid to see any mocking looks from the others.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She thought maybe she’d have to find a chance to ask Mentor Kaz, but her and Duke’s performance yesterday didn’t seem to impress him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Would he even come to the lab today?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The book “Grimm’s Understanding of Sorcerous Body Modification” wasn’t thick—just a little over a hundred pages. It wasn’t a printed edition either, so it didn’t contain that many words.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>While copying, Saul even skipped some useless interjections, focusing only on the essentials and making notes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But for a student who had only been in class for two days, fully understanding the book was harder than expected.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Saul didn’t hold back and went to ask Mark directly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Judging from Mark’s change in attitude, Saul could tell he was trying to make amends.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But why?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Was it because Saul’s survival made him wary? Or had he learned about Big Pink’s involvement?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Either way, Saul wasn’t going to miss this chance to reap some rewards.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With Mark helping summarize key points, Saul’s copying speed increased greatly. He was confident he could finish copying all the important content before noon the next day.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That would make the 2 magic crystals well spent.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Mentor Kaz arrived again after 3:30 PM.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But he had a deeply furrowed brow, seemingly troubled by something difficult.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When Duke tried to approach him with a question, Kaz brushed him aside without a word.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Only then did the two newcomers understand why other apprentices didn’t come to the lab for help.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That patient teaching on the first day had just been a deceptive prelude. Once you stepped in, he immediately showed his true cold self.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Duke couldn’t regain his sense of superiority over Saul. He looked uneasy and kept sneaking glances at Saul with increasingly complex expressions.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But no one expected what happened next: after frowning for a while, Mentor Kaz suddenly walked over to Saul.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Mentor?” Mark stood up nervously, thinking Kaz had come for him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But Kaz stopped right in front of Saul. “Come with me.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Saul was startled, then delighted.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yesterday, Duke and Angela had been taken away, while he was left behind, essentially abandoned by the mentor. But today, Kaz had suddenly remembered him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>What changed his mind?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Saul quickly gathered his books and quietly followed Kaz.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They followed the slope down the East Tower. Occasionally, when they passed other apprentices, they all stepped aside and bowed their heads respectfully.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As a new apprentice, Saul had never been to the lower floors of the East Tower.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He only knew that the lower levels of the West Tower housed the butlers and servants. The lowest floor there was a garbage dump.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When Saul swept the hallways, he used to bring the trash to a storage room where others would collect and dispose of it. He had never gone to the dump himself, so he didn’t know what it was like.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He had only heard that the servants who went down there were all old-timers, strange folks who barely spoke to others.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The lower they went, the dimmer the lights in the hallway grew. Saul kept his head down, close behind Kaz, not daring to look around.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But in his mind, he counted the floors:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Nine…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Eight…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seven…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Two!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As he counted down to two, Kaz suddenly turned and led him into that floor.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At the entrance stood a man who looked over two hundred pounds, slouched against the wall, unmoving.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He blocked most of the hallway.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Kaz led Saul through the remaining space. The big man didn’t react at all.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A few steps in, there was a red wooden door.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Kaz pushed it open with a loud creak.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As Saul entered, a pungent stench, mixed with the smell of blood assaulted his nose.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He immediately held his breath and looked up at his mentor.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Kaz stood in the middle of the room, completely unfazed, as if he had no nose at all.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The walls were painted with a ghostly white powder. Strange writing, like graffiti, covered them in messy strokes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Thankfully, though it looked chaotic, the writing didn’t make Saul dizzy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At the center of the room was a conveyor belt extending from the wall.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Its entrance was covered with black leather tassels, concealing what lay inside.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Next to the belt was a long table, covered in all sorts of open square boxes of varying sizes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>These boxes were empty, but their edges and corners were smeared with some kind of sticky residue.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Some even had clusters of fingertip-sized mushrooms growing on them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Tools like hammers and chisels hung from one side of the table.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Underneath the table sat a large wheeled box, its lid open. Its inner walls were stained with dark red, nearly black marks.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That box seemed to be the source of the room’s stench and blood odor.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Near the back wall was another table and two chairs, one of which was casually pulled out.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Books and loose sheets of paper were piled on the table, along with a fallen pen holder and pens scattered on the floor.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“The first and second floors of the East Tower are where we store bodies. This is the second floor.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Bodies?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Saul’s lips tightened. Suddenly, everything he had seen in the room clicked together.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“If you can handle the work here, you’ll earn 3 credits per month.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Saul looked up sharply.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The apprentice handbook said that 1 credit could be exchanged for 10 magic crystals. But credits had far more uses, and the reverse wasn’t true; 10 magic crystals couldn’t buy 1 credit!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Saul almost couldn’t hold it in—“I want it, I can do it, I’m in!” was about to burst out of his mouth.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But then he remembered Angela and Duke from yesterday. Had they been brought here too? And then sent back to the lab because they didn’t meet the mentor’s standards?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What would you like me to do?” Saul asked, trying to sound calm and obedient.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Process mutated corpses,” Kaz replied as he pulled a lever next to the conveyor belt.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The belt started to move. Soon, a fresh corpse broke through the leather tassels and rolled out before them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Saul had expected corpse-related work, but the sight of a real body still drained the color from his face, making him take two steps back.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The body was tied to the belt and covered with a black leather sheet. Its face was intact and visible.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Saul recognized it immediately. It was the very same new apprentice Keli had mentioned, the one who had his legs shredded and buried in the flowerbed yesterday.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>(End of Chapter)\u003C\u002Fp>",1385,"2026-06-05T22:22:08.591Z",1,"novelbin.me","908c5ac782e0b942f5a1c6baa237ce74ba50b7ebce4fbd06bc14875a5d665a89","diary-of-a-dead-wizard-chapter-21","diary-of-a-dead-wizard-chapter-19",1037,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fdiary-of-a-dead-wizard-cover.jpg"]