[{"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-85":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},1380737,1828,"Chapter 85: Live Up to Your Name","diary-of-a-dead-wizard-chapter-85",85,"\u003Cp>The little tendril blob landed on Saul’s left shoulder. Every tendril on it reached upward, twisting and trembling like it was having a seizure.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What is this thing?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As Saul muttered to himself, the diary that had been quietly floating by his left shoulder glided in front of him with practiced ease.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[August 26th, Year 314 of the Lunar Calendar, Clear Skies]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Looks like you've discovered another secret space beneath the Wizard Tower.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>No one knows how many secrets lie buried here.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Beneath your feet is the Soul-Devouring Mire that’s existed for who knows how long.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Right now, the core consciousness of the mire is dancing on your shoulder.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It’s clear—it really, really likes you.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Soul-Devouring Mire? Core consciousness?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Diary, you’re off-topic again. You realize that, right?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“This little tendril blob likes me?” Saul muttered.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Just then, the blob suddenly leapt from Saul’s left shoulder, hurling itself into the air. Judging by the trajectory—it was aiming straight at the diary!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Whoosh—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The tendril blob missed, tumbling off the edge of the platform and straight into the sludge.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Saul: “…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Diary, are you sure this core consciousness likes me? Not you?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The diary didn’t respond, merely floated back to his left shoulder.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But its behavior just now made Saul a little uneasy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Could that tendril blob actually sense the diary’s presence? Otherwise, why would it rush wherever the diary went?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“It’s called the Soul-Devouring Mire, so its essence shouldn’t be that blob—it should be the whole sludge pit. Why can the sludge sense the diary?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Even the Tower Master has never noticed my left shoulder.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This realization made Saul tense up.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If anyone else—like Sid—were to discover the diary in his body, Saul would never know a moment of peace again.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A death prophecy—what a powerful golden finger in this world. Worth dying for, literally.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Did it pull me down here just for the diary?” Saul’s face darkened.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He was no longer in a rush to escape.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He carefully observed the entire mire, wondering if there was a way to destroy all of it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Or at least get rid of that core consciousness.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Would Scorching Breath work? If there are corpses buried here, there might be flammable gases trapped underneath. I’ll have to be careful not to blow myself up.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As Saul pondered, the tendril blob that had fallen down clambered back up the platform.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It crawled to Saul’s feet, shook off some mud, then began curling its tendrils, bouncing toward Saul again.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Saul stretched out his left hand and threw a punch, trying to knock it away.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But the moment his fist connected with the blob, it extended countless black tendrils that wrapped around his wrist, latching onto him tightly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That punch ended up hitting nothing. Saul quickly adjusted his stance and drove another fist hard into the ground.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But just as his punch was about to land on the stone, his movement halted—abruptly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The blob hadn’t dodged or tried to escape at all. It even nuzzled against his left hand, looking like it really liked his left hand in particular.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Saul stared at his hand—now practically wearing a black boxing glove made of tendril—and thought, Is it not sensing the diary?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Diary of a Dead Wizard—its origins unknown, but clearly extraordinary. Saul believed it was at least at the level of a Third Rank True mage.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Tower Master Gorsa was an experienced Second Rank mage. There shouldn’t be any being stronger than Third Rank hidden under the tower.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And this Soul-Devouring Mire obviously served as a dump for bodies and fragmented souls…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Fragmented souls?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Saul looked at his left hand—the hand the diary had identified as capable of temporarily storing soul fragments: a soul resin.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Could the tendril blob be sensing the residual soul aura in his hand?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then maybe it pounced at the diary not because it sensed the diary itself, but because it detected the soul fragment inside?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After all, when Sid was shattered by the electric chair, a shadowy fragment had entered the diary.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That shadow had to be a very special part of Sid’s soul. Otherwise, the diary wouldn’t have absorbed it so readily.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But that fragment was gone now.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Saul couldn’t be sure what exactly the blob had sensed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>While Saul mulled this over, the tendril blob kept nuzzling against his hand non-stop.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Had enough licking me yet?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Snapping out of it, Saul grumpily tried to peel the black blob off his left hand.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But it was stubborn—remove it from one side, it latched back on from another.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Panting, Saul finally gave up trying to pull it off.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Hah… Are you clinging to me because you want to leave with me?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Saul decided to leave first and figure out what to do with it later.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But the moment he said that, the blob froze in place.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It didn’t move again but it also didn’t let go of his hand.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“…So do you want to come with me or not?” Saul was now intrigued and started teasing the blob.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Glorp… glorp… POP! Glorp… POP!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Suddenly, the sludge surrounding the platform began to churn. Huge gas bubbles rose and burst.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Thick black tendrils as thick as thighs emerged from the sludge, stretching desperately toward the platform, but stopping short—afraid to climb up—whipping violently around the base.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>WHIP!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>SLAP!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The ferocity of the lashes seemed like they wanted to tear Saul to pieces.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Saul immediately realized he’d said the wrong thing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With a forceful yank, he pulled the blob off his hand with ease this time.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Hey now, I never said I was really taking you with me. If you’re gonna throw a fit over it, then stay here.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The tendril blob seemed to understand him. It trudged to the edge of the platform, looking back three times with every step, then finally leapt back down.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It really did look like a kid dragged home from school by a scolding parent.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But even after it returned to the mire, the disturbance didn’t subside.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was like the parents themselves were now angry, arms on hips, warning Saul with deadly seriousness.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The tendrils kept thrashing at the muck, and soon, something even more horrifying surfaced before Saul.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Pale human faces emerged from the sludge. Their expressions were twisted, eyes glaring at Saul, mouths opening and closing—pleading? Cursing?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>There was no sound, yet Saul’s ears buzzed painfully.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even when he covered them, the strange soundwaves persisted.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Saul had no time to worry about anything else. He turned and stacked two lab tables together, climbing up in haste.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But he forgot he was only twelve. Even on two tables, he couldn’t reach the ceiling.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He tried leaping, caught some soil overhead with one hand—but couldn’t pull himself up and fell back down, the tables wobbling dangerously.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Huff!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The ringing in his ears grew heavier. Saul crouched in pain, clutching his head. He barely managed to stand again but couldn’t jump anymore.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Just as he was about to fall off the table, a shriveled, yellowed hand suddenly broke through the dirt above and grabbed his arm—yanking him out of the underground world.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Saul finally saw daylight again.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Ptoo! Ptoo!” He spat dirt from his mouth, eyes still shut, thanking his rescuer profusely, “Thank you, thank you—I really thought I was done for.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His rescuer was the gardener. The skin on his hands was as yellow as his face.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The gardener’s face bore the same radiant smile, though his movements were noticeably stiff.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“No need to be afraid. That’s just one of the Wizard Tower’s old labs. It’s been abandoned a long time,” the gardener explained warmly. “The Wizard reinforced it, but once in a while, an apprentice still falls through.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Saul felt unwell—like a bad omen had taken root in him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>(End of Chapter)\u003C\u002Fp>",1295,"2026-06-05T22:22:08.871Z",1,"novelbin.me","10fc99f8a5d0a5cff136c251750e5ed3db49ae57e505f8ec7d5187bdc2afe8dc","diary-of-a-dead-wizard-chapter-332","diary-of-a-dead-wizard-chapter-331",1037,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fdiary-of-a-dead-wizard-cover.jpg"]