[{"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-42":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},1380413,1828,"Chapter 42: Let Me Show You What Real Witchcraft Is","diary-of-a-dead-wizard-chapter-42",42,"\u003Cp>\"Sid\" slowly released Brown's fist. He didn’t answer the question but instead asked, “Do you remember why I told you to get rid of Saul?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Brown felt like his whole body was on fire—so excited he had no time to think carefully.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Because that brat Saul offended you.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Then why didn’t I just kill him myself?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This time, Brown hesitated. “Because servants are the property of the Tower Master?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“That’s all you can think of? Useless.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Sid” snapped, turning to leave.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Brown knew this was a fleeting chance. He hurried to blurt out the wild speculations he’d kept buried in his mind.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Because… because, my lord, you can’t kill him yourself.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Oh? You figured it out?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Brown felt like bubbles were rising all over his body.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He was thinking, if he passed this test, could he become Lord Sid’s personal servant? And then, over time, maybe even walk the path to becoming a wizard?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I’ve guessed a bit, my lord.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What did you guess? Tell me. Let’s see if you’re still worth using.” Sid folded his arms.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Brown’s face lit up with joy. “When I asked you if we should drag Saul up to the tenth floor so you could deal with him yourself, you muttered, ‘If I could kill him myself, why would I need you?’”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Hm. What else?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You also told me to check Saul’s body and the places he stayed after he died, to see if there was a red hardcover book. And that if I found it, no one else should touch it or even find it.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Brown swallowed. His mouth was so dry. He wanted a drink, but how could he think about water now?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“My lord, you wanted to kill Saul just to get that hardcover book, didn’t you?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He licked his lips, but his tongue was too dry to help—it just made his cracked lips sting.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“…You’re very clever.” “Sid” sighed, then asked gently, “Do you want to witness the power of wizard?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Brown immediately answered with fervor: “Yes, my lord! I want it more than anything—I even dream about it!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sid curled his lips into a slight smile.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Then look down.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Brown hesitated, then lowered his head—and his pupils contracted sharply.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His body was smoking.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Flames licked out from several charred holes in his body, licking his skin and clothes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Brown’s mind froze. He couldn’t understand what was happening.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He looked up, hoping Sid would save him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But all he saw was a fist made of white bone.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Crack!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Saul sent Brown’s nose straight into the back of his skull with a punch.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He stood up, watching the flames burst from Brown’s throat.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zero Tier Spell: Demoralized Gaze.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Magical Tool: Phantom Sound Eye.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zero Tier Spell: Scorching Breath.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Saul panted. Perfect—he’d just used up the last of his magic.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the end, he had to rely on a physical blow to silence Brown’s wailing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He flicked his left hand to shake off the blood and flesh stuck to the bone, then turned to his left shoulder.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Hardcover book? Diary? So you’ll detach from me after I die?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The hardcover book said nothing, hovering quietly near his shoulder like it was watching a show.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As the flames spread and licked up Brown’s fingers, Saul reached over and yanked out a small fragrant bead.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“This must be something Sid gave him. It didn’t kill him instantly... but what's inside smells like organ-eating beetles.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Saul sniffed it again.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“The outer layer is some kind of wax. Smells like corpse-wrapping wax.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Corpse-wrapping wax had a mild suppressive effect on spirits and ghouls. But the effect only lasted about three months. After that, the wax melted on its own.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then the beetles inside would break free, burrow into the nearest living person, and devour their organs until they burst.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Saul twirled the black string holding the bead around his finger before tossing it into the fire.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Flames melted the bead, burning the beetle inside to ash before it could even wake up.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This was Saul’s first time killing someone, but disappointingly, he didn’t feel any remorse.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Demoralized Gaze and Phantom Sound Eye didn’t allow him to read others' thoughts.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But judging by the fragmented words Brown uttered in his fear-induced illusion, this man was, most likely… not human.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Scorching Breath couldn’t ignite a real blaze—it burned for a while, then naturally went out.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Saul looked down at the figure who had once tormented him, tried to kill him repeatedly, now reduced to charcoal.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He stepped over Brown’s corpse.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The morning sun couldn’t penetrate the thick stone walls of the Wizard Tower.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Inside the tower, the difference between morning and evening was determined solely by how bright the wall sconces were.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>On the sixth and seventh floors of the west tower, a group of people gathered along the sloped corridor, whispering about the charred body blocking the way.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The butler hurried over with a few servants.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He bowed to the apprentice lords while ordering the male servants to clean the mess quickly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sid was walking down the slope, frowning in displeasure at being blocked again.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Never seen a corpse before? Move!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Second-Rank apprentice snapped, and the First-Ranks quickly scattered like frightened birds.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As Sid stepped past the motionless male servants and ignored the constantly bowing butler, his gaze finally flicked to the corpse on the ground.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He paused.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The face was unrecognizable, but the scent from the corpse was clearly that of his own handcrafted corpse-wrapping wax.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Was the dead man… Brown?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sid didn’t care about losing a former lackey.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Brown would’ve died to the Tower’s curses or the beetle inside him soon anyway.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sid kept descending casually until someone began climbing up from below.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Saul raised his head and smiled at the oncoming Sid.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Good morning, senior.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sid froze.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He watched Saul turn at the sixth floor and disappear down the corridor.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then he turned back to stare at the charred corpse—and his eye twitched hard.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When he turned back again, Sid’s expression had grown terrifyingly dark.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He felt insulted.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even a rat from the junkyard dares to bare its teeth at me?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But one thing puzzled Sid:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Isn’t Saul specialized in the dark element? How does he know fire-type spell?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A few days later.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Saul sat at his improvised lab table in the morgue, organizing his recent study notes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wizard Body modifications were crucial, but the foundations couldn’t be neglected.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He had now mastered three Zero Tier spells.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If others found out, they’d be shocked.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So far, only Keli had a vague idea of Saul’s progress—which was also why she now had deep dark circles under her eyes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even Keli, widely known as a genius, could only use a single Zero Tier spell so far—Flash, a non-lethal spell.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This was because Keli’s control of compound runes wasn’t as refined as Saul’s.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Now, Saul was about to begin studying his fourth Zero Tier spell.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Most apprentices wouldn’t learn so many spells.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The usual path was to master one, train it until it became second nature, and only then move on to the next.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Learning multiple spells at once often led to rune confusion.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Especially with compound runes—mixing up two similar-looking but totally different ones was all too easy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The best-case scenario from a mistake was a few days of intense headaches.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Bad enough to make reading impossible.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The worst-case scenario? Spell backlash—possibly fatal.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>What gave Saul an edge was that while others memorized shapes, distances, and angles—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He memorized coordinates.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The advanced method would be memorizing formulas, but sadly, he didn’t know how.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>(End of Chapter)\u003C\u002Fp>",1262,"2026-06-05T22:22:08.591Z",1,"novelbin.me","3a1ad58186d55ee600f64d1e602f4f1f5aed5f28bccca07f4dc222e9948c842c","diary-of-a-dead-wizard-chapter-43","diary-of-a-dead-wizard-chapter-41",1037,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fdiary-of-a-dead-wizard-cover.jpg"]