Diary of a Dead Wizard - Chapter 799: Sorrow of the Mermaids

For the rest of the journey, Saul kept staring at the lantern.

The lantern performed even more stably than Saul during teleportation. With Saul’s mental strength, those who could currently surpass him in mental power were most likely only fourth-rank wizards.

And among fourth-rank wizards related to light who were also from the Tribunal, aside from Tribunal Chief Frim, Saul couldn’t think of anyone else.

The spatial shifting finally stabilized, and the carriage stopped in place. The coachman outside was probably adjusting to his physical discomfort.

Ultra-long-distance teleportation arrays had significant effects on the body and spirit. Even though the teleportation array had protective facilities, Saul still felt his spiritual body shake somewhat during the extended transmission.

Yet the lantern across from him remained stable as ever. If Saul hadn’t vaguely sensed slight mental fluctuations from the lantern when the array activated, he might have taken it for an ordinary object like the carriage.

“The Chief came personally to pick me up?” Saul probed.

Despite being recognized by Saul, the lantern’s glow remained warm and stable.

Frim didn’t pretend not to be there. A mental force entered Saul’s mind, automatically producing a majestic yet somewhat ethereal voice.

Saul immediately replied, “I took this from someone else. Going to Nephret now counts as returning it to its rightful place.”

Seeing the lantern remain silent, Saul treated this matter as vaguely settled.

The Chief didn’t come just to fine me, did he?

Saul continued probing the other party’s attitude.

Mental intent transmitted from within the lantern again.

“You relied on yourself alone to suppress and seal a Strom Eye that was about to erupt…”

Hearing this, Saul raised his eyebrows mentally. This incident happened over a year ago. Why bring it up now? Could it be an excuse?

If the other party brought their purpose into the open, Saul could better think of targeted solutions, like how he had schemed against Ophelia.

“…I need to confirm whether you have potential pollution.”

Saul immediately thought of the white bone fragment at his right fingertip.

The pollution on that had directly “detonated” a third-rank wizard.

Saul didn’t move rashly. Thinking that he had already been with this lantern for nearly a day, he slowly pretended to understand and asked, “So do you see any hidden pollution on me?”

“You have almost no pollution characteristic of the black tide, which makes you more suspicious. However, the specific examination—I’ll personally check after we reach Evernight.”

Personally?

What was before him wasn’t actually the person himself, but more like intent attached to the object.

Regardless, whether he would visit the Tribunal again in the future, the fact that this wasn’t a real fourth-rank big shot still made Saul breathe easier.

Having just escaped from Ophelia, he didn’t want to immediately face another fourth-rank opponent.

Moreover, the Tribunal was different from Sky City.

Because of the dominance of the Tribunal and Stargate Council, Ophelia’s influence was mostly confined to Sky City, so she couldn’t possibly hunt Saul across the world.

But if he truly angered the Tribunal without another fourth-rank coming out to protect Saul, he would have to accept worldwide wanted orders or even purge orders.

Thinking of purge orders, Saul was actually quite curious.

Tribunal wizards had once carried purge orders to kill people, and those killed often had no clear reasons, so what exactly were these purge orders based on?

It couldn’t simply be eliminating dissidents.

But Saul couldn’t ask directly.

He instead brought up, “The coachman outside said this time’s destination isn’t the Tribunal, but the Evernight Royal Palace.”

Saul suddenly thought, could it be that going to the Tribunal required passing through the Evernight Royal Palace? Just like how he was now returning to Stat to go to Nephret Continent.

However, Frim’s answer was completely different from what Saul had imagined.

“Going to the Evernight Royal Palace is because there’s something I need your help with.”

The Tribunal actually has something they need my help with?

Saul showed surprise but still calmly asked, “What do you need me to do?”

“I request Doctor Saul to treat the mermaid clan polluted by the black tide.”

Frim especially emphasized the word “Doctor.”

Saul smiled. “So my reputation as a doctor has already spread to Nephret? Then I won’t be modest—I do indeed have some insights into pollution caused by the black tide.”

“If you can solve the mermaid problem, the Tribunal won’t let your efforts go unrewarded.”

After conveying this message, the warm yellow light in the lantern suddenly disappeared, plunging the entire carriage interior into darkness. Saul could no longer sense Frim’s presence.

He pushed the carriage door open a crack, looking at the coachman’s back.

“How’s your recovery?”

“Ready to depart at any time, Lord Saul.” The coachman immediately turned halfway to respond.

Neither mentioned Frim who had just left.

“Then let’s go.” Saul snapped his fingers, using an illumination spell to brighten the carriage again.

After all, before entering the next ultra-long-distance teleportation array, he didn’t want to stay in a dark carriage the whole time.

The flying horse carriage didn’t take off but traveled smoothly on land, clearly indicating that the teleportation array to Nephret Continent wasn’t close.

Saul looked outside through the partially closed door and suddenly felt the distant scenery looked somewhat familiar.

“Which area of Stat Continent is this?”

“You should be very familiar with this place,” the coachman said quietly. “This is one of the entrances to the Borderland—Dwarf Valley.”

Saul wasn’t actually very familiar with Dwarf Valley.

However, he knew that unlike the Elven Four Seasons Forest located on a World Side, Dwarf Valley was located in the main world.

The valley had been deliberately modified by dwarves, turning it into a nearly magic-free environment. Later, for unknown reasons, the number of dwarves decreased, and the surviving dwarves all left Dwarf Valley, turning it into a dead land.

However, people reportedly saw dwarves there, but their condition was abnormal, like walking corpses.

The witness at the time lacked sufficient strength and preparation, ultimately not daring to pursue, fearing some strange occurrence and encountering disaster due to inability to use magic.

Saul was quite curious but had never had time to explore Dwarf Valley.

Just then, the mermaid Kate, who had been lying quietly opposite, suddenly turned her face toward him. Her expression was extremely complex—sometimes troubled, sometimes serene, as if she had suddenly developed multiple personalities.

Watching Kate’s changing expressions, Saul silently closed the half-open door and applied a soundproof barrier.

“Kate, what’s wrong?” One of Saul’s hands had already become a semi-transparent gray tentacle, ready to subdue Kate who seemed to be having problems.

Before Saul could act, Kate’s expression suddenly became completely serene, and she silently glanced at Saul’s arm.

Saul changed his hand back to normal, feeling that the other’s gaze was inexplicably familiar.

At this moment, a voice that didn’t belong to Kate spoke, “When the dwarf clan was at its most glorious, they nearly turned the human race of this world into their slaves and workers. Who could have imagined their current fate would be near extinction?”

Saul exclaimed in amazement, leaning forward toward the mermaid.

“You are… Floco?”

The mermaid calmly nodded, saying, “Although my strength hasn’t fully recovered, I was once fifth-rank after all. Separating a strand of consciousness externally is still possible.”

The soul bodies Saul separated could only serve as experimental materials. He had long been interested in Ophelia’s method of creating consciousness splits and Pei’er’s ability to leave soul fragments with her own consciousness.

He asked curiously, “How do you manage to separate consciousness entities? Is it the same as Ophelia’s method of creating splits?”

Floco gently shook his head, clearly much more skilled at controlling this body than Kate.

“It’s different. I can split my consciousness into this body because inside this monster-like mermaid… there’s actually a trace of my bloodline.”

(End of Chapter)