[{"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-367":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},1380488,1828,"Chapter 367: Cold","diary-of-a-dead-wizard-chapter-367",367,"\u003Cp>“Is this an illusion or not?” An followed Saul’s line of sight and saw the tear in her clothes. She gasped sharply.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Just now, aside from that strange voice, she hadn’t seen any shadow of a person, merely guessed that she had been attacked.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But when she turned around, she saw nothing again and thought Saul and the others were seeing hallucinations once more.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet now, looking at the tear on the back of her robe, An was clearly confused.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Calm down. There’s no need to overthink. You were attacked.” Sensing something off with An’s state, Saul placed one hand on her shoulder and tapped her brow with the other.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He didn’t use any magic—just relied on the intensely aggressive gesture to snap her attention back.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The finger pointing at her made An’s heart skip a beat. Looking at her master, she inexplicably felt a bit numb, but it helped stabilize her faltering emotions.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“When weirdness becomes routine, it loses its power. Just treat this as facing a powerful enemy. Don’t bother analyzing their attack patterns.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Yes,” Agu responded.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then Saul crouched down, gently rubbing the torn part of An’s robe, carefully inspecting the damage.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“The outermost tear is cleanly severed. Must’ve been an extremely sharp arrow.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He walked over to where An had just stood, but his feet didn’t touch any solid object.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Judging by the ground and the condition of the grass and vegetation, one could already guess nothing had been left behind, but Saul still checked, just in case.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“No one split up for now. We’ll form a triangle formation—each of us guarding one direction. We’ll circle once around and then return.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Saul’s main purpose in coming here was to confirm what had happened to Kongsha. Searching for the missing Leon was secondary.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“If the shadow can disappear and the arrows can disappear, then a missing corpse wouldn’t be strange either.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After circling the area, the three of them weren’t attacked again. Saul now prepared to return and, with a calm mindset, find out what Kongsha had encountered here.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Master, look over there!” An suddenly pointed into the distance.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Saul looked and immediately narrowed his eyes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Behind a tree, a piece of black robe peeked out—its style almost identical to the apprentice uniform of the Wizard Tower.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The three of them cautiously moved in that direction, but when they arrived, the black robe was gone.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lifting their heads again, they saw the robe now peeking from behind a tree farther off.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You two wait here. Stay alert.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Saul said, then rushed off alone before the other two could respond.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As he got close, the robe vanished once again—this time appearing farther away, away from An and Agu’s location. Without hesitation, Saul kept chasing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But again, he failed to catch up, and the black robe appeared even farther off.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Saul looked around, mentally mapping the robe’s appearance points.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Like cheese laid out on the floor, luring me into a trap?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even so, he only paused for ten or so seconds before dashing forward once more.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The robe vanished again just before he arrived and reappearing behind a tree farther from the grassland, farther from the soul bodies, directly ahead of him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Saul took another step, but before he could run more than two meters, a black tendril burst out from the soil beneath the tree.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At the tip of the tendril was a gaping shark-toothed maw that lunged toward the robe with a vicious snap!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Ah—!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A short, sharp scream was abruptly cut off.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Saul snorted coldly and sped to Little Algae’s side.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He had just mapped out the robe’s appearances, then quickly had Little Algae lie in ambush beneath a few trees up ahead. As soon as the robe appeared, it would strike from underground.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Now, Saul saw that Little Algae’s mouth was clamped tightly on something—it couldn’t close its jaws.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Just as I thought. These phantom-like things can’t be explained by hallucinations, nor are they simply invisible.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But in the next second, Saul’s momentary satisfaction turned to alarm as he saw the tip of Little Algae’s tendril start to twist and deform.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Sever the connection!” Saul shouted immediately.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Little Algae reacted fast. It quickly severed the above-ground portion and withdrew the rest swiftly back into the deeper soil.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A moment later, the severed black tendril looked like it was sucked into a swirling vortex, collapsing inward with the surrounding air and landscape.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Plop—something fell to the ground.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Veiled Crystal Essence?” Saul rushed forward, searching through the grass.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Once out of sight or no longer in contact with a body, Veiled Crystal Essence was prone to vanishing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But before he had to transform his arm into a semi-transparent soul tendril, Saul spotted a particularly conspicuous piece of essence.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Because this one wasn’t fully transparent.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It looked like a chunk of white putty mixed with black streaks, twisted and pulled until the black lines curled through the white in a warped pattern.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Had it merged with Little Algae.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Little Algae!” Saul summoned it again and held the essence up to it. “Can you touch this?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Little Algae approached, nodded, and bumped its chin against the essence in Saul’s palm with a series of soft clinks.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Saul raised his arm, looking at the center of his forearm. Though he couldn’t see anything, he could feel something embedded in his muscle tissue.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He hadn’t followed Monroe’s habit of storing the essence in a vital area. Even if he briefly forgot about it, Penny would occasionally land on his arm to help remind him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Over time, he’d instinctively memorized its presence inside him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But this time, Saul didn’t store the corrupted Veiled Crystal Essence in his body. Instead, he held it in front of Little Algae.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Little Algae, try storing this, if you can.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Little Algae leaned its head in.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As Saul’s parasite, Little Algae had seen Veiled Crystal Essence before. Tilting its head with curiosity, it stuck out its black tongue and gave it a lick.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Whatever it tasted or felt, the tiny tongue snapped back instantly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Before Saul could even voice a question, Little Algae suddenly opened its mouth wide and swallowed the entire essence whole.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Crunching, bone-cracking sounds followed—then a deep gulp.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Saul’s heart skipped. This definitely didn’t feel like storage.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Are you sure that’s storing? Can you even spit it back out?” Saul asked urgently.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Little Algae slowly turned its tendrils around without replying and lazily retreated back into Saul’s nape.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Did it just eat the Veiled Crystal Essence? As in, actually digest it?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Saul was concerned, but judging by Little Algae’s behavior, it wouldn’t be coming back out any time soon.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was usually quite clever—why had it completely misunderstood his intention this time?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Or… was it just acting on instinct?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Penny also eats the essence. If Little Algae really did eat it, should I call Penny back?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Saul pondered this as he walked back toward An.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Master!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hearing the two call out in the distance, Saul thought something was wrong and hurried over.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But when he was still over ten meters away, the two black-robed, black-blindfolded soul bodies ahead of him suddenly transformed—into pale figures, arms drooping at their sides.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Saul skidded to a stop—just then, he felt something slam into his back.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Two pale hands reached in from both sides of his neck and wrapped around—trying to embrace him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Little Algae, dizzy from earlier, couldn’t come out. Saul didn’t hesitate anymore. He activated his soul body, circulated his magic, and summoned a translucent Soul Armor barrier around him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But the next second, he felt a chill pierce his bones.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The pale hands behind him hadn’t been pushed away by Soul Armor. Instead, they were enclosed within it along with him!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Two arms rested on his shoulders. The cold spread through every point of contact, freezing his whole body.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Saul gritted his teeth, pulled his arms in, gripped the one clinging to his right shoulder, then hurled his body forward with a strong twist!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Return the stolen treasure—gah!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A pale figure was flung over Saul’s shoulder and slammed viciously to the ground!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Saul straightened, face grim—his back, shoulders, and hands were all frozen stiff with cold.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But in the next instant—a second pair of hands, then a third, a fourth...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A dozen pale arms reached out from behind him, grasping for his head, his neck, his shoulders…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At the same time, accompanied by resentful weeping.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Give me back the treasure!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Give me back the treasure!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Give me back the treasure!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Woof.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>(End of Chapter)\u003C\u002Fp>",1419,"2026-06-05T22:22:08.874Z",1,"novelbin.me","753d07f1fc783e4165869bd4877e4d9ed719787bc42789d08a5698f784691b6d","diary-of-a-dead-wizard-chapter-368","diary-of-a-dead-wizard-chapter-366",1037,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fdiary-of-a-dead-wizard-cover.jpg"]